Well, I leave tomorrow for Yogananda's Ashram in Encinitas, CA for 2.75 days of silence and meditation. Then, up to L.A., from there, for a four day Yoga teacher training with Shiva Rea, called Embodying the Flow.

I'll be back to posting when I return. Honor the cyle of transformation you are in as we expand into the fullness of the Summer Season. What is to give light must endure burning. I can't remember who said that, maybe it was Buddha. I put it in a post a long time ago, but there has been much burning taking place, not coincidentally, since the dawn of Summer. Trust in the Intelligent Unfolding and you will find the eternal joy you are seeking right within your own Self. Fear not, for there really is no thing to fear. Breathe into the changes and allow the positive Force of Life to guide you into alignment with all that is. Accept this moment, and in your faith and acceptance you will be receptive to the Infinite Grace illuminating you to the Light of Consciousness. Non-attachment will liberate you from fear and awaken you to the bliss of your Being. No worries...be happy.

A very special person shared this poem with me today. It's incredible...I hope you like it..

Happiness

There's just no accounting for happiness,
or the way it turns up like a prodigal
who comes back to the dust at your feet
having squandered a fortune far away


And how can you not forgive?
You make a feast in honor of what
was lost, and take for its place the finest
garment, which you saved for an occasion
you could not imagine, and you weep night and day
to know that you were not abandoned,
that happiness saved its most extreme form
for you alone.


No, happiness is the uncle you never
knew about, who flies a single-engine plane
onto the grassy landing strip, hitchhikes
into town, and inquires at every door
until he finds you asleep midafternoon
as you so often are during the unmerciful
hours of your despair.


It comes to the monk in his cell.
It comes to the woman sweeping the street
with a birch broom, to the child
whose mother has passed out from drink.
It comes to the lover, to the dog chewing
a sock, to the pusher, to the basket maker,
and to the clerk stacking cans of carrots
in the night.
It even comes to the boulder
in the perpetual shade of pine barrens,
to rain falling on the open sea,
to the wineglass, weary of holding wine.
-Jane Kenyon

p.s.-Stillness Speaks is a book by Eckhart Tolle. I haven't read it, but it could be a great summer read. Peace...Read more

I had hoped to post before my trip to Rosemary Beach, Florida, but I got caught up in getting ready to go away. The vacation was awesome...exactly what I needed...four days of rest and relaxation. I feel rejuvenated in my body, mind and spirit.

As many of you know, the Summer Solstice was this past Saturday, June 21st.
For thousands of years, Yogis, Sages, Rishis and like-minded people have gone through the tradition of performing 108 Sun Salutations on the Fall and Spring Equinox and Winter and Summer Solstice.

The following is from an article written by Shiva Rea explaining the significance of the number 108:

The number’s significance is open to interpretation. But 108 has long been considered a sacred number in Hinduism and yoga. Traditionally, malas, or garlands of prayer beads, come as a string of 108 beads (plus one for the “guru bead,” around which the other 108 beads turn like the planets around the sun). A mala is used for counting as you repeat a mantra—much like the Catholic rosary.

Renowned mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence. This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. Such phenomena have given rise to many examples of ritual significance.

According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body.

And, yes, one can offer a yoga mala of 108 Sun Salutations. Please take a moment to visit www.globalmala.org for more information on the power of 108 and joining the “mala around the earth” to be formed by the worldwide yoga community on September 21 and 22 of 2007. - Shiva Rea

The first Global Mala was held last year. This will be an annual event to take place each year on the Fall Equinox. People all around the world participated in this event...it was incredible...all part of the awakening of the Collective Consciousness.

So, on Saturday, while I was at Rosemary Beach, I participated in my own Summer Solstice practice. Whether one is able to perform all 108 Sun Salutations is not what's most important. Any cycle divisible by nine is said to be powerful. So, I meditated for 27 minutes and then performed 27 Sun Salutations. Just 27 Sun Salutations was pretty challenging. I've never gone through the full 108 cycle. I really have only began to recognize the significance of the seasonal changes since beginning my studies with Shiva last July. Prior to then, I was not as tuned into it. But, after going through just 27 on Saturday by myself, it makes sense to me why this ritual is usually performed with a group in order to make it through all 108. I can imagine it would be a bit easier and sustaining to feel the group's energy during the process. There were several instances where I wanted to give up, but I didn't. The practice is for each salutation to be a prayer, typically offering the prayers of the first 9 salutations to oneself, the second 9 to one's family/friends/community, and the next 9 to the planet and global community, and so on, depending on how many cycles one chooses to do.

It was a really powerful experience and I felt purposeful in my efforts. I am glad I chose to honor this tradition and will continue to from now on. It doesn't just have to be Sun Salutations, either. One could also say 108 chants (or 9,18,27), or meditate for 108 minutes, (9,18,27) etc.

One of the things I'm awakening to is the spiritualization of our city. Yes, you can take your spirituality with you anywhere, but it is the community which creates the collective consciousness. Even in the beautiful area of Rosemary Beach, there was a spiritual energy which wasn't present for me in the same way it is here. Dallas is feeling more and more like a spiritual place to me all the time...which is why I was so happy to come back hOMe.

I've talked about this with my friends who also study the Self-Realization Fellowship teachings. Anything can be spiritualized. Yogananda spiritualized the chants and songs he wrote, which is what makes them so effective for meditation. One of my friends shared with me about a spiritualized experience he had in taking a Tango class. Any moment can be connected to the Consciousness, if we allow ourselves to be Conscious enough to connect to it.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it yet, but I will be going to a silent retreat at Yogananada's Ashram in Encinitas, CA next Thursday. I can feel myself already being energetically prepared for this experience. I'll share more in the days ahead, before I leave to go away. Peace and blessings...

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Song lyrics | Jah Live lyrics

I feel blessed. This past weekend was one of the most powerful experiences I've ever had teaching Yoga. I taught a FREE Prana Flow Yoga Class, sponsored by lululemon athletica, at the Lofts at Mockingbird Station in downtown Dallas. There were at least 30 people in attendance for the class, which took place next to the pool on the rooftop deck overlooking the Dallas skyline. (I will post an actual photo of the event once I have one to share...lululemon took some awesome pics!) It was an incredibly inspiring location. We meditated and communed with Cosmic Consciousness, surfed on our Yoga mats, balanced in Airplane Pose holding hands, (with our eyes closed!) around the perimeter of the pool AND experienced the energizing essence of the Infinite Source with a true connection to community. Oh, and the whole class, give or take a couple of songs, was set to some of Bob Marley's greatest tunes...

We recited this mantra silently to ourselve with the word that resontaed most deeply for each of us. Such as:

Come, Father, come.
Come, Peace, come.
Come, Joy, come
Come, Consciousness, come.
Come, Light, come.

And, we gave thanks, as we sat in meditation, silently reciting...Thank You. I felt energetically transformed from the experience. When class completed it felt as though I was seeing the world with new eyes. I am so grateful to all of you who joined me and for offering your Presence and Intention to this blessed experience. I truly felt the Presence with us, not only of the One, but I literally felt the Spirit of Bob Marley with us, as well. I have no doubt his Energy was present there.

So, I will be offering another FREE class on Saturday, June 28th, as well. This will be at another great location in Dallas. Also, I recently sent out the True Yoga Newsletter so if you would like to receive it, please sign up for it online here.

In less than a month, I will be attending another Yoga training with Shiva Rea. Prior to my training, which begins July 6th, I will be spending a few days at Paramahansa Yogananda's Ashram and Hermitage in Encinitas, California. I have never been on a silent meditation retreat before and am really looking forward to this incredible experience. This is where Yogananda lived and wrote his highly-acclaimed book, Autobiography of a Yogi. I feel so blessed to be able to have this opportunity. I have heard that it is one of the most powerful experiences imaginable to get to feel the energy which eminates from his living space.

"You may be surprised at what seclusion with God will do for your mind, body, and soul…. Through the portals of silence the healing sun of wisdom and peace will shine upon you."

— Paramahansa Yogananda

I'll be back to post before I head out of town this weekend for a little relaxation and restoration in beautiful Rosemary Beach, Florida.






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