24 Dec
2013

Final Scene of It’s a Wonderful Life and Why it Matters at Christmas

Final Scene of It’s a Wonderful Life and Why it Matters at Christmas

If you’ve ever seen this film, there’s no doubt that this final scene is moving. If you’ve never seen this film, I encourage you to do so.

Why I Disliked It’s a Wonderful Life in My Youth

Growing up, my family watched It’s a Wonderful Life every year at Christmas time. I remember dreading having to watch the movie mostly because I could not understand it in my youth. For a ten year old kid, the movie was unappealing because it was:

  • In black and white
  • The characters sounded funny (1930’s American English)
  • It was “boring”

What It’s a Wonderful Life Means to Me

Over the years, I’ve grown to love It’s a Wonderful Life. Today, it is my favorite movie and I’ll even go as far as saying that it has literally changed my life.

I enjoy the film more and more each time I watch it. After watching it last night, I felt compelled to share my experience on Lucid Practice.

What is It’s a Wonderful Life About?

As a boy, the protagonist, George Bailey had always wanted to travel the world, build buildings, and shape the direction of the rising USA. However, after high school he ended up staying in the, “crummy old town” he grew up in because of circumstances outside of his control.

Midway through the movie, mistakes and hardships have compounded and George is in a bad place. He contemplates suicide at which point he asks God for a sign.

God grants George the magical gift of seeing the world as if he had never been born. One of the film’s many strengths is in its ability to depict the horror of the condition of George’s hometown, his family, and his friends without his presence in their life.

After the powerful scenes that ensue, George’s guardian angel says, “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole to fill, doesn’t he? … You see, George, you really had a wonderful life. Don’t you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?”

What We Can Learn from It’s a Wonderful Life

The poignant message of It’s a Wonderful Life is this: Be a good person and make a positive impact (even if your efforts seem to go unnoticed) on the world. This is the way Brian and I intend to live and that’s the reason Lucid Practice was Founded.

The scene above is the climax of the film when George realizes that the adversities in his life are minuscule when compared to the gift of life itself. The struggles and suffering that each of us have and go through can be looked at in the same light.

This is one of the ways I have looked at life and it’s been an incredible instrument, arming me with positive energy in the face of adversity and negativity.

The scene above and this outlook on life can be directly related to this eloquent quote:

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” ~Albert Einstein

What if we all looked at life this way? And not just throughout the Christmas season, but all the time….

Here are six traits that are emphasized throughout It’s a Wonderful Life:

  • love
  • family
  • community
  • friendship
  • honesty
  • faith

It’s a Wonderful Life and Christmas

The above traits are also qualities of Jesus. To me, the definition of Christianity and Catholicism is simply, “being Christlike.”

So this holiday season and beyond, be Christlike (even if you’re not technically Christian). Remember how sacred the gift of life is and do your best to make a positive dent on the universe.

Merry Christmas to all of the Lucid Practice Community!

Love, Paz

 

13 comments Paz Romano
5 Aug
2013

Two Life Lessons from the Great Teachers

Two Life Lessons from the Great Teachers

Father Juan stood before the group speaking from the heart in a heavy but understandable Guatemalan accent. The topic was love and by the end of his homily, tears were rolling down my cheeks.

buddhaandjesus

A traveler was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho and was attacked by robbers who stripped him and left him half+dead in the street. A priest and a Hebrew man passed by without helping him. But a Samaritan (at the time Samaritans were seen as society’s outcasts) stopped and cared for him, by taking him to an inn where he paid for the beaten man’s care and stay.

This is of course, the story of the Good Samaritan. Father Juan had an interesting interpretation. Everywhere we look, he said, there are those who represent the half+dead man in this parable. He pointed to the marginalized of society.

He encouraged us to consider suicidal individuals, racial minorities, women considering abortions, and orphans. There are people that need our help. Help them. Show love to the marginalized members of society without regard for the differences that may exist between you and them.

When Jesus told this parable, his message was simple: “Go and do as the Samaritan did.” Father Juan’s message in his homily, “We are all human beings. People need our help. Look into your heart. Go help.”

As I sat with my eyes tearing up and a smile across my face, I came to a conclusion: the more we study the great ancient teachers…. Jesus, Buddha, or the more recent greats…. Gandhi, Dalai Lama, and Nelson Mandela, the more we see that they are preaching two of the same lessons:

1. Love.

2. We are all one.

Has a spiritual passage, a homily, a teaching, or a simple conversation ever touched you in a similar way?

0 comments Paz Romano
23 Jul
2013

Is Yoga Spiritual? Is Yoga Religious?

Is Yoga Spiritual? Is Yoga Religious?

Is yoga spiritual? Is yoga religious? It depends on who’s practicing and who’s teaching.

Everyone’s practice is different. One person’s practice might be deeply spiritual or religious while another person’a practice is the opposite. In the West, we’re so quick to put titles and labels on things as if once we’ve labeled something we truly understand it.

What is Yoga?

In sanskrit, the word yoga means union. When we practice yoga, we are creating a union between the body, mind, and breath.

Yoga as a Science

Our teacher, Rory Trollen, described yoga as a science where you are the scientist and the lab. Rory explained there are simple, valid ways of finding out why one day you wake up feeling happy or sad.

Rory taught us that yoga does not require belief or faith, just practice.

In the last two or three decades, when yoga was introduced to the modern world, it was received with some skepticism. At first people thought that it was another religion. But in spite of this young people took up yoga and soon others began to notice its amazing effects. Then the psychologists, medical doctors, criminologists, and philosophers started making investigations and they were surprised to find that yoga is not a religion but a science. ~Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Yoga as a System

Patanjali said that, “Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.” This does not make the practice inherently religious, instead it is a system to live a more present, intentional life.

The system of yoga helps you cultivate inner awareness. For example, as you advance your practice, you’ll be able to more easily change your mental state. You’re less likely to be a slave to the 80,000 thoughts that the average human has each day.

Yoga as a Spiritual Practice

Some see yoga as a union between their being and the universe. If this is your interpretation, then perhaps yoga is a spiritual practice for you. Dr. Larry Dossey, a leader in the field of spirituality, describes spirituality as “a sense of connectedness with something greater than oneself.”

Yoga is an aid to the practice of the basic spiritual truths in all religions. Yoga is for all, and is universal.” ~Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Do I need to be Hindu or Buddhist to Practice?

Although historical roots dating back 4,000 years show that yoga comes from Hinduism, one does not need to be Hindu to practice. There are similarities in yogic principles and the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Judaism although one need not prescribe to any particular religion in order to practice.

Yoga is not Hindu, it is not Mohammedan. Yoga is a pure science just like mathematics, physics or chemistry. Physics is not Christian, physics is not Buddhist. If Christians have discovered the laws of physics, then too physics is not Christian. It is just accidental that Christians have come to discover the laws of physics. But physics remains just a science. Yoga is a science—it is just an accident that Hindus discovered it. It is not Hindu. It is a pure mathematics of the inner being. So a Mohammedan can be a yogi, a Christian can be a yogi, a Jaina, a Buddhist can be a yogi.” ~Osho

is yoga spiritual

Is yoga a sin?

If you’re so inclined, yoga can be interpreted as a merging between you and whatever God you believe in. So, in Judeo+Christian circles, how could becoming closer to God possibly be considered a sin?

If you want to become closer to your source or to God, yoga can help. Yoga helps remove external stimuli that serve as a detriment to truly connecting with ourselves, God, the Universe and other people.

Is yoga spiritual? Is yoga religious? My experience

Yoga enhances my religious practice and helps me to become a better person. As someone of Catholic faith, I’ve found that yoga has helped bring me closer to God, Jesus, the Universe, my family, my friends, and everything and everyone around me. If that makes my practice a religious practice in the eyes of others, then so be it.

Why the questions of “Is Yoga Spiritual? Is Yoga religious?” are relevant today

Mostly because of ignorance, fear and egos of people who do not understand yoga but feel threatened by it. Also, people who get tied up in their incessant need to label things.

Conclusion on yoga’s relationship to spirituality and religion

Yoga can be religious. Yoga can be secular. You don’t have to apply a title to your practice. Your practice is whatever you want it to be.

It is clear, however, that what separates yoga from gymnastics or stretching is the union. The union between mind, body, breath and something bigger whether it be God or the Universe.

With the rise of technological addictions, external stimuli overload, and advertisement bombardment in the West, it seems a connection to something bigger that ourselves is exactly what we need.

You do not need to be religious to practice yoga although you might find that yoga leads you down a spiritual path that you never considered possible.

In your practice, is yoga spiritual? Is yoga religious?

1 comment Paz Romano
25 Jun
2013

The Bible Miniseries

bible

I spent the last few nights watching the miniseries The Bible. Throughout the ten episodes you will learn a lot and experience many different epics of The Holy Bible. It is a wonderful testament to the enduring power of the incredible text. I highly recommend watching it.

Check out the video below for the scene depicting David, the shepherd from Bethlehem, taking down Goliath, the giant Philistine warrior.

 

0 comments blevine32