On St. Joseph and the Mystery of Faith

Joseph shows us a great role model in terms of the mystery of faith.  That he stood by Mary, reared a son he did not father, risked his life by caring for the Christ Child, left his home and took what was likely a perilous journey to Egypt and then back to Israel all due to what was likely based on tremendous faith is rather courageous.

We don’t know through what medium God spoke to Joseph, but needless to say, it must have been compelling.  The story of Joseph is a story of great faith, of personal sacrifice for greater good and of commitment to purpose.

Jesus’ Crucifixion and The Mystery of Faith

As for Jesus’ crucifixion, we cannot take that part alone to lead us to place of accepting him as the messiah. It is the Passion, Jesus’ life as witnessed by the Evangelists, Mathew, Mark, Luke & John, the prophecies in the Old Testament, the experiences of people who were and are devoutly committed to prayer but most importantly, living out the mystery of faith personally. This is not a rational or logical process which, unfortunately, makes the faith endeavor DOA for many.

The Egocentric Mind and The Mystery of Faith

Another point to ponder, the rational, egocentric mind has a hard time separating itself from any experience that does not affect it directly or from that which it does not directly identify with.  This is why faith is said to be not an act of the mind but rather an act of the heart.  In addition, it is a process that requires us to go places we have never been within ourselves which requires risk and uncertainty and trust.  Most people will shy away from an endeavor that requires this of them.

The Paschal Mystery

It is called the “Paschal Mystery” because that’s what it is, a mystery.  During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the celebrant always chants “Let us proclaim the mystery of faith” which reminds us that we are engaged in a process of uncertainty.   Uncertainty and ambiguity are very hard for us to accept and to deal with in our daily lives, thus having a partner, friend and mentor with us at all times can we relieve ourselves from the pressure of uncertainty, guide us in our mission and compel us to live with passion & purpose.

Identifying with The Passion of Christ

It does my heart good when I hear people with at least some Christian formation tell me that they don’t identify with the Passion of Christ. This tells they have likely, but by no means certainly, never dealt with seriously trying events in their life.  Christianity is comprised of as many different episodes as there are in any one individual’s journey through life.  Different parts appeal to us at different times, and the same parts we may see differently at different times in our life.

If we tell ourselves that we won’t get on the bus unless we get to drive and until we know for sure what the destination is, we are resigned to live a life without faith.  Martin Luther King said it well when he said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” To that I say “‘Amen.'”

This post is an excerpt from a conversation with our dear friend Patrick Milazzo 

1. It makes me feel great physically.

The more I do it, the better I feel. Even if I just do a short 30 minute routine every day, I can feel the difference in my body so much (and you better believe I can feel it when I skip yoga for a few days). I’m more flexible, stronger, physically grounded, have better balance and less back pain when yoga is part of my regular routine.

2. It makes me feel great mentally.

Seriously. You don’t have to be intensely spiritual about yoga for it to make a big impact on the way you think, process, and perceive. Regular yoga has made me considerably less self-conscious physically and just in general. I always feel happy right after practice, no matter how stressed out I may have been beforehand. I’m sure part of it is the endorphin production and physical release that comes with any strenuous activity, but I think for me the most important part is the kind of meditative state that I got into during yoga.

I am nothing if not a thinker, and this can sometimes work against me, making it almost impossible for me to shut off my mind and ipso facto my worries, anxieties, and stresses. However, when I am practicing yoga, I am forced to focus only on my body. When my mind begins to wander, I come back to my breath. This gives me a window of relief from the nagging “to do” list that seems always to linger in my mind off the mat.

3. I get more done.

When I have a lot to do in a day, it’s easy to tell myself that I’ll get more done if I skip yoga and use that tie to do something “more productive.” However, I am always so energized after a good practice that I get way more done with yoga as a part of my schedule. The amount of times that I have procrastinated all day, done yoga, then immediately tackled the dreaded project astounds me. Yoga clears out all your mental blockages, at least for a short time, and allows space for the new ideas and creativity needed to get things done.

4. I sleep better.

Yes, yoga energizes me and helps me to be productive, but it also puts me right to sleep! On days when I practice yoga (especially in the evening) I fall asleep as soon as I crawl into bed, almost without fail.

Click to read on at Elephant Journal — YOGA 

image via Google commons

The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. Great emphasis is put on the practical aspect, because it is only through practice that one can attain a higher level of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the path are not to be understood as a sequence of single steps, instead they are highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other.

The Eightfold Path:
1. Right View
Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to see and to understand things as they really are and to realise the Four Noble Truth. As such, right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right thoughts and right actions.

Click to read more on The Noble Eightfold Path at the Library of Ra.

Image via Library of Ra

Ghats in Varanasi, India

This was origionally posted on the Daily Love

I recently took a trip to India to shoot a film and to take some time exploring one of the most full and colorful cities in the world. Once I arrived in India, I discovered my real joy came from the many adventures I created while I was there. From the wild rickshaw rides with 180-year-old drivers who could put the Nascar drivers to shame, to playing hide-and-go-seek with the children of the slums, to being chased by ten monkeys for taking a picture of them when I was told not to… and the list goes on.

One morning at five a.m., I sat on the Ghats (ancient stairs) in Varanasi watching the pujas, as my exploration in India was coming to an end, when it finally hit me. Life is ALL about the journey. Ah-ha! This was a new perspective I could easily take into my every day life.

Instead of being so focused on the GOAL or the mountaintop, I could slow down and be in the NOWness of my current life adventure.

You see, I have noticed a pattern within myself, and our society in general, that we have become so obsessed with the destination – the career, the money, the car, the perfect relationship. We end up missing what’s happening NOW, operating ten-steps ahead of ourselves.

There is so much magic when we allow ourselves to be present to the Sacred Uni-versal dance that is happening at all times.

Let’s collectively get off of auto-pilot and PLAY! As I continue to practice mindfulness, like I did in India, life becomes more and more fun.

Everyone is teaching everyone to love in each moment, and every moment is another opportunity to love each other. There is no end to you. You have no limitations.

In the now you can learn to touch like you’ve never touched before, feel like you’ve never felt before, laugh like you’ve never laughed before, hear like you’ve never heard before.

There is something about you that the world didn’t give you, and the world can’t take away.

You ARE
an emanation of the Divine.
A snowflake.
A miracle.

YOU are
the sacred sands of infinity.
Here to release your gifts and talents in a way that cannot and will never be repeated!

Today there is someone who can ONLY hear from you in exactly the way you express yourself how amazing they are. Someone today is waiting for you to walk into the coffee shop and say “I love that color on you.”

Stand as the unprecedented miracle that you are and bless the world with YOU!

So as we embrace the now, we embrace the journey and know that love is all there is.

I am Preston Smiles. I live by the creed “love will find a way, everything else will find an excuse.”

(Elephant Journal)

“It is abiding as one’s Self without swerving in any way from one’s real nature and without feeling that one is meditating.”

~ Ramana Maharishi

“Meditation should not be regarded as a learning process. It should be regarded as an experiencing process. You should not try to learn from meditation but try to feel it. Meditation is an act of nonduality. The technique you are using should not be separate from you; it is you, you are the technique. Meditator and meditation are one. There is no relationship involved.“

~ Chogyam Trungpa

“Sometimes people say, ‘Well, you know, I don’t really meditate. That’s not my thing.’ Well, is your thing to be yourself? Is your thing to discover the depths of your own being? Is your thing to open your eyes to the beauty of life? Well, then you’re a meditator, because that’s all meditation is. It’s being willing to be alone, to be willing to give your own state of being room to show itself.”

~ Dr. Reggie Ray

image via google commons

We wrote about yoga, spirituality, and religion in this post a few months back.  Here’s an excerpt from Kino McGregor’s article on Mind Body Green:

If you come to the practice of yoga looking only for pleasure, yoga will eventually disappoint you. Sooner or later, you’ll get bored with the practice or you will experience pain or discomfort in a posture you previously found fun. The basic lesson of this centuries-old science of self-exploration is that if you heed the call of pleasure and pain, you will always be a slave to the sensory experience.

If you instead learn to train the mind to be present, focused and equanimous regardless of the inevitable vicissitudes of life, then you will gain your freedom and ultimately experience your limitless, powerful higher self.

Sincere spiritual investigation is a journey to your center. Along the road, all of your attachments and aversions will be challenged. Everything you know yourself to be will be questioned. It’s not for everyone.

1. You have to commit to the practice for a long time, perhaps for your entire life, before you can expect to see measurable results.

This framework removes the ego’s attachment to getting anywhere fast in the practice.

Click to read more of Kino Macgregor’s post for MBG  here — YOGA. 

5  Excuses Busted

1. I don’t have time.

There are times in life where you feel swamped and you don’t think you have time. But these are generally the times you need to practice the most. You don’t have to spend more than 10 minutes practicing. Set an alarm, do 10 minutes on your mat, and walk away. Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time’ is to say “I don’t want to.” ~ Lao Tzu

2. I start, and then I don’t know what I am doing, and give up.

Self-practice is not about mimicking your teachers hour long session. Choose a short and digestible amount—be it your own short sequence or a something specific your teacher has set for you, and do 10 minutes. If you feel lost, simplify and slowly rebuild. Chances are it’s your brain getting in the way. It’s a physical thing, so don’t intellectualize it. Move. Feel and breathe. That is all.

 3. I can just go to a class.

Yes, you can, and classes are valuable. But the best relationships in life are reciprocal—your teacher teaches you, and you practice. Through self-practice you digest what you have done in class, and meet and overcome new blockages. This is an invaluable and necessary step forward if you want to truly dig into your yoga practice.

A short daily practice is better than a one-hour long practice in a week. It’s like brushing your teeth, and it is the continuity that will start to inform your practice and other aspects of your life.

Click to read two more excuses — YOGA

image and link via Carly Mountain and Elephant Journal

Via My Yoga Blog:

I practice every day (Mo through Fr) Ashtanga yoga at the same place at the same time. I practice every day the same routine. Friday is a little exception, because on Friday a led class is offered. On Sunday I practice on my own. Saturday is a day off.

This is simple. This helps me to stay committed. Not much organizing is required. Early in bed, early up, that’s it. At 8:30 my practice usually comes to an end. Then I’ve the entire day  for any activities, duties, projects, learning……or what else comes into my mind.
I’m still amazed how fit I feel when I’m through my yoga routine that early.

This is how it shall be.  This is how it’s a piece of cake to be disciplined. No, it’s perhaps not super easy, but it’s the easiest way I know.

Same time, same place, same teacher and it’s difficult not to practice Ashtanga yoga. 

Ashtanga yoga is art if performed correctly. So beautiful.