Richard Rohr: 

In the second half of life, you have begun to live and experience the joy of your inner purpose. The outer purpose and goals matter less and less and have less power over you. You are much more self-possessed and grounded. At one and the same time, you know what you do know (but now deeply and quietly), and you also know what you do not know. Only people who are comfortable not knowing can usually smile. People who are preoccupied with “I know” have little space for smiling.

A creative tension in the second half of life, knowing what you know and knowing what you don’t know, is a necessary one. All you know is that it is foundationally all right, despite the seeming contradictions and conflict. That’s why the holy old man can laugh and the holy old woman can smile. I heard recently that a typical small child smiles three hundred times a day and typical old men smile three times a day in our culture. What has happened between six and sixty?

“Peace begins with a smile..”  Mother Teresa

My dear cousin Bob is a deacon in NY, USA. Here’s a beautiful story Bob shared with me earlier today.
Here’s a true story that occurred yesterday:

After Mass, the Priest and Deacon usually go to the door of the church and greet those leaving. Yesterday, I was doing that when a family approached. Father, Mother, two daughters (about 8 and 5). I know the family.

I heard the Mother whisper to the 8-yr-old: “ask him.”

The girl looked shyly at me but said nothing. So the Mother said a bit more loudly “Go ahead, ask him.”

The girl looked at me and asked: “Are you a veteran?”

I replied, “I served in the Army but it wasn’t war-time. Does that make me a veteran”

The girl looked at her Mother questioningly and the Mother nodded her head “yes”.

The girl reached out her hand to me and said “Thank you.”

Thank you to all those who have served our country. Your sacrifice and dedication is incredible. At Lucid Practice, it’s our hope that this type of gratitude is present on all days, not just Veterans Day.

Via Bob Campbell and Mustard Seeds

In February of 1995 I visited Honduras which is located in the Caribbean Sea. Leaving the group I walked through the streets of poverty and disease wondering what life would be like if I were to live there. After purchasing something in a store I stood holding my change and having a fragmented conversation with one of the locals who only spoke a little English. After 5 minutes or more the woman behind the counter signalled to me to give back the change from my purchase which I was still holding in my hand. I hesitated for a few moments because I already thought she had not given me enough of the foriegn currency. Finally, I handed her the change and after shuffling around in her money box she handed me back some money–more money than she originally handed me. I believe our experience of surrendering to God has some similarities. We are scared to abandon what we have and give everything to God in case we end up with less than what we started with. Fools we are! God always gives more than what He asks from us.

“Acceptance, done with any kind of hope, motive, expectation or goal, is not real acceptance – it is rejection in disguise, an attempt to escape the moment. True acceptance is a thrillingly fearless naked plunge into the unknown, a total alignment with all the creative energies of life itself, and an emergence into the vastness of the moment. There are no promises, for acceptance is timeless.”

~Jeff Foster

Via PeaceLoveYoga

The Connection Between Ashtanga Yoga Student and Teacher

I had the fortune of being an Ashtanga Yoga student at Jois Yoga in Greenwich before it closed recently. Two aspects that stood out at Jois were:

• Universal respect for the traditional yoga practice
• High degree of respect/reverence for the teachers

Sarath and Saraswathi Jois at Jois Yoga in Greenwich, CT

Most of the practitioners I befriended seemed to be extremely dedicated and well read. They followed Krishnamacharya/Pattabhi Jois guidelines such as:

• Practice Mysore Style Ashtanga each day (ideally first thing in the AM) with practice beginning at the same time each day
• Practice asana every day except Saturdays
• Follow the eight limbed path, live by the yamas and niyamas
• Teacher Led Ashtanga Primary Series on Fridays
• No asana practice on Full Moon or New Moon Days (click here to find out why)
• Practice mostly with one teacher and form an intimate student/teacher bond

The final bullet point on the list stood out to me the most. One of the students made a gift in the form of a Sanskrit mantra on a slab of wood for her teacher.

The Sanskrit yoga mantra translates to read:

Let us together be protected

Let us together be nourished and blessed

Let us together join our mental forces in strength for the benefit of all

Let our efforts be luminous and joyful

May there be no discord between us

Let there be peace in all realms

This mantra comes from the Jois family and is featured in Sharath Jois’ book (see book review here). This gift from student to teacher speaks volumes to the impact that the teacher has had on her life.

It’s a touching piece that beautifully articulates the importance of a harmonious relationship between the student and the teacher. The mantra also speaks to peace (in the final line) in a broader context, which I think is a beautiful intention. If you identify with this mantra, you’ll probably enjoy this version of the Ashtanga Yoga Opening Mantra.

If there’s been an important yoga teacher that you’ve had in your life, consider reaching out to him or her and express your feelings. A gesture like this can go a long way.

Has there been a specific teacher in your life who has had a profound impact on you? We’d love to hear your story 🙂

In many ways, Jesus and Buddha were talking about a very similar process of human transformation.

Pain is the foundational teacher of transformation for both of them, which led to compassion in Buddhist language and love in Christian language (I accept the common definition that our suffering is the degree of resistance we have toward our pain). Buddha taught us how to change our mind about what causes our suffering; Jesus taught us to change our very attitude toward necessary suffering, and that we could make it into a redemptive experience for all concerned.

They both recognized that pain is the only thing strong enough to grab our attention and defeat the ego’s dominance. Our suffering, in my definition, is whenever we are not in control. It is our opposition to the moment, our inner resistance that says, “I don’t want it to be this way.” Since the ego is always trying to control reality, it is invariably suffering, irritated, or unhappy, because reality is never exactly what we want. Isn’t that true? So Buddha teaches us how to undercut the ego in a most radical way through mental attitude and discipline. Jesus teaches us how to undercut the imperial ego by always choosing love, dedication, and service. The final result is often the same, although Jesus’ teaching had more social implications, which most Christians roundly ignored.

Jesus’ suffering on the cross was a correct diagnosis and revelation of the human dilemma. It was an invitation to enter into solidarity with the pain of the world, and our own pain, instead of always resisting it, avoiding it, or denying it. Lady Julian of Norwich, my favorite Christian mystic, understood it so well, and she taught, in effect, that “There is only one suffering and we all share in it.” That is the way a higher consciousness eventually sees the so-called problem of evil. That is the way the Buddha saw it too. There is only one suffering, and for Christians Jesus personified a radical surrender to the cosmic mystery of human suffering—a non-resistance to reality until we learn its deepest lessons.

Adapted from Jesus and Buddha: Paths to Awakening

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve – I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for help that I might do greater things – I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy – I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life – I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for – but everything I had hoped for.
Despite myself, my prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed!