...A Fragment of Life's Heart...

Intentions are powerful whether you realize it or not. Setting a heartfelt intention creates a channel in which the energy of the Universe can support us.  Many people have stories of how they asked and gently focused their energy towards a certain event/outcome/experience/etc and by handing it over to the Universe, so to speak, their desires were fulfilled, sometimes in a little different way than expected but fulfilled all the same. Intentions are not goals or mandates on the way things "should" be but a way of opening space inside and around us for our desires to be expressed and offered to the greater whole so that they can be fostered and cultivated into what our Soul's journey needs.  Those things we want or intend upon that do not come to pass are usually things that are not in the best interest of our development. In those cases, if our desires our built upon an honest desire for growth then we usually find ourselves modifying those intentions or letting them go...

  This is why a regular home & class yoga practice is vital to keep us from forgetting our true Self and the gratitude that comes with it. Usually when I've been aware of the kleshas (the creators of suffering!) in my life, it's usually of raga (grasping/craving) - we are in a society of "I want more" after all. Today my eyes were opened to how I've been over run by ALL of them in some form and it's not until that awareness of the full, true nature of things that transformation can happen. It's as though life has just been happening in pieces, in regard to my awareness & insight, but after one more come-apart, a lightbulb went off and one of my teachers was there to help me see more clearly what was surfacing. I knew that some new ways of being and knowing myself were arising but instead of following them on the higher road, I feel into the trap of the past, the ego (asmita) that told me I wasn't getting what I "needed & deserved,...

I think I wrote about this before but here it is again. I keep being reminded that everything is a choice, thoughts, feelings, actions, words.  And yet, it's hard to remember I get to choose when I'm being swamped by feelings & thoughts that aren't serving me or anyone else. We can choose to be with a feeling, letting it flow through us or we can fight it, question it, analyze it, share it.  The curious thing about choices is that whether I realize I'm choosing to do or say something, I'm still responsible for it.  While Krishna says to be detached from the fruits of our actions, sometimes the fruits of our actions are unkind and need to be apologized and corrected, if we can't stop ourselves before potential harm is done.  Usually when we find ourselves steeped in something and feel like we don't have choice, the best action to take is probably inaction or action that involves self-care and not the thing or person even partially being associated wit...