MyLifeYoga

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

‘I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.’

The old woman smiled, ‘Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?’

‘That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.’ Continue reading →

The word “Shalom” means “peace” and “complete” in Hebrew and is derived from the word “whole”. The Sanskrit word for peace is “Shanti” and it also means silence. We now see that there is direct connection between silence, wholeness, and peace.

When our mind is in silence we free ourselves from the chatter of our ego. When the ego is sidelined, it ends division and we become whole. When the peace within reaches its highest level we reach a state of such silence that we transcend all division including language and space-time. This is the realm beyond words, thoughts, and language and the Bible calls it “The peace that passes all understanding.” (Philippians 4.7)

The power of this silence is so great that almost every prayer of the ancients in India ends with the invocation to peace, “Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!”

With this background, let us go back thousands of years and read the poem written in Atharva Veda. Let us invoke the peace it projects for our every living moment:

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In a post read by more than 3 million people Bronnie Ware summarizes “The top 5 regrets of the dying”. She worked in palliative care for a while. Her patients were those who had gone home to die and counted their remaining time in weeks.

In her post she says, “People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth.” She adds that though her patients went through a range of emotions ranging from denial to anger to remorse, all of them found acceptance before their passing.

In talking to her patients she found that a common theme arose when it came to the question of the regrets they had and what they would have done differently:

1. I wish I’d Had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

When we study the 5 regrets a common theme emerges: All 5 regrets are associated with the ego. If we live our life only for our ego, an entire lifetime may slip by without having a life that nourishes our soul.

Working hard towards achieving ego-centered goals is seen as pointless. Not allowing the ego to create walls between our loved ones is important. Sidelining the ego so that we can be true to the innermost voice of the soul is also seen as essential to live a full life.

Regrets arise when we miss what is truly important for the superficial. In the end we have to leave behind our ego and all that we accumulate. What is truly important is the feeling of love that permeates our life and the connections of love we create. The only accomplishments that matter are those that we measure in terms of what we have done for others.

Yoga is the science of consciousness. The journey of yoga is a journey into deeper consciousness. The techniques of yoga are designed to lessen the grip of ego so that deeper consciousness can be accessed. When you undertake the journey into yoga not only does it reduce stress and improve health, it also makes life more meaningful.

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My five year old was disappointed. He sat on the small elf chair at the Christmas worktable,

“Mine’s not good at all. See? All the colors are mixed up.”

“It’s beautiful, pal.” I held the clear, plastic baseball up and wondered if I could rearrange the sand. I twisted the cap, but it was hot-glued and tacky to touch, “Your dad will love it!”

“No, it isn’t good, Mom. Look at Cal’s.” He kicked his leg back and forth and picked at a glob of glittery glue on the tabletop.

Cal, my son’s cousin and best friend, sat at the workbench and poured a scoop of florescent green sand into a funnel. He chose a football instead of a baseball, and worked with elfish attention to detail.

He mapped out the design in his mind, picked his colors deliberately, and in long slow intervals added layer after layer of dyed sand. He squished his cheek on the workbench, and fixed an apprentice’s eye on the shiny specs that drained into the hourglass.

He overheard our conversation, but continued his work. He selected snowy white for the final layer and looked at us. His best buddy sat with his chin in his hand.

Cal completed his endeavor and handed the football to the silver-haired lady elf. Her apron had two red-striped pockets. She holstered candy canes in one and her hot glue gun in the other. She adhered the top of Calvin’s handiwork, “Nice job,” she chirped, “you would make a fine helper for Santa.” Calvin smiled and joined his cousin at the sticky table. Continue reading →