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Impermanence

4/25/2016

Exactly one year ago, I was in Nepal, teaching yoga at a few places around Kathmandu.

It was Saturday, we went to the Farmer’s market. We bought avocados and goat cheese. And some really good home-made bread. Maybe some cookies as well. We were on our way to a picnic to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
But then with no warning, no countdown, no one to be held responsible – the earthquake happened.

I had classes to teach, friends to meet, places to see, a plane to India to board. To say the least, Mother Earth cared little for my plans, or anyone else’s.

It shook us all down to our very cores. Friends were out of reach. Friends lost houses. Friends lost their family members. Friends lost their lives. Friends showed up for each other. Friends helped to whomever they could and as much as they could.

We all know that nothing lasts forever, including ourselves. We know it, but we don’t live that knowledge - the fact slips our mind often. The earthquake showed us exactly how fragile we are, reminding us that the most precious thing we have – our lives – are so easily lost. It showed us what Impermanence really means.

It showed us that every breath we take matters so much as if it was the last. Because it could easily be.
As the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake, during a mental earthquake inside of me, I promised myself that I would celebrate each day, no matter what it brings. That I will appreciate every feeling, as feeling means I am alive. That I will take care of the people around me, no matter who they are. That I will make every moment worth being your last.

Honestly, sometimes I forget to live the knowledge of impermanence and take myself and my plans too seriously. It’s ok, I am just a human. I am still learning. :)

Sending love to Nepal and concluding with a few lines by Buddha and a photo from Bhaktapur taken before the earthquake:

Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:

a star at dawn,

a bubble in a stream;

a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,

a flickering lamp,

a phantom

and a dream.

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Step by step

4/22/2016

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Over the past few weeks, I shared with you some short but effective practices of bringing yourselves back into the present moment, using the tools that you always have at your disposal – your breath and your body.

This Friday, I am hoping to inspire you to try the practice of walking meditation. Or if you wish to call it mindful walking. If you are the type who claims for themselves that that they can’t possibly sit calmly in one place longer than three minutes at the time, then walking meditation can be a wonderful place to start your meditation practice.

"The earth is so beautiful. We are beautiful also. We can allow ourselves to walk mindfully, touching the earth, our wonderful mother, with each step. We don’t need to wish our friends, “Peace be with you.” Peace is already with them. We only need to help them cultivate the habit of touching peace in each moment."
Thich Nhat Hanh

Start by choosing a place for your practice. It can really be anywhere inside or outside, but if possible to choose, I suggest you going into nature. You can decide to practice walking meditation on a log stroll, or you can choose to do it in your back yard or even if your room, walking repeatedly between points A and B.

The most important thing to understand is that your walk has no other purpose, no ending goal, other than being aware of the joy of mindful movement.

As you are actually not going anywhere, there is no place for rush or impatience in your steps. Go slowly, as slowly as possible. Dedicate at least 15 - 20 minutes to your practice.

Start by becoming aware of your feet moving. Left foot lifting, right foot touching the ground. Right foot lifting, left foot touching the ground.

Notice the transfer of your body weight, first the heel touches the ground, then the rest of the foot rolls down following it. Same with lifting – the heel lifts first, leaving the body weight on the balls of your foot and the toes are the one to make the last contact.

Doing a walking meditation barefoot is a whole different experience – so many different changing sensations to experience at the soles of our feet. So many subtleties! You can place your attention only at one part of your foot, or you can let it glide from heels, to arches, to toes and back. Examine the ground with the soles of your feet. Notice the different sensations as you the surface on which you are walking changes. Notice the change of sensations even when you are stepping on the same surface! That is the nature of everything - it changes, no matter what. Observe this change at the soles of your feet.

Don’t let the moments of the first and last contact of your foot with the ground get unnoticed. Focus on the point where your heel first touches the ground lightly, with almost no body weight… then the point of contact getting bigger and bigger, until that millisecond when your entire foot is firmly on the ground. Try to catch that moment, to be fully aware of it, and then the next moment in which your body weight goes onto your feet balls before your toes leave the ground.

Imagine that you are watching a slow-motion video of your feet touching the ground, appreciating its stability with every step.

Let your mind completely rest on your feet. If thought come, acknowledge them and let them pass. Do not entertain them. Go back to the simple movement of your feet.

Go back to the simple joy of every step.

P.S. For an inspiring read about walking meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh, follow the link below:
http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books2/Thich_Nhat_Hanh_A_Guide_to_Walking_Meditation.htm

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The Peace of Wild Things

4/18/2016

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Whenever I feel frustrated, agitated, purposeless, sad, angry, scared, worried, jealous, alone, abandoned, uncertain, hopeless... I go and find a big tree. The bigger the better. The older the better. The rougher the bark the better.
I let my bare feet feel the ground, I sit under the tree and lean against its roughness. I sit with the tree and try to just be.

More often than not, things fall back into place.

It the photo is one of those trees. I ''found'' this one in Sri Lanka and it taught me that when you choose to grow in unconventional ways, the results can be magical!

This Monday I wanted to share with you a poem by Wendell Berry, an inspiring contemporary American poet and environmentalist.

The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

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Listening to and with your body

4/15/2016

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Last week, I shared with you a simple technique of observing the breath and this week we’ll explore how your body can bring you back into the present moment. As you are reading this, you are most probably not moving around too much: you’re sitting at your office desk, maybe resting at home, or maybe you’re in public transport. Either way, your body is fairly still.

Remain as you are and begin by first observing your breath for a couple of seconds. Stay still and allow your breath to become subtler and subtler.

Now shift your attention from your breath to your body. Start by scanning your body from the top of your head down to the tips of your toes. Become aware of the position of each body part separately. Is your head slightly tilting to one side? Is your body weight evenly distributed between left and right? Is your spine straight? As you are observing your position, don’t change it. Don’t judge it. Just become aware of it.

Start noticing any sensations on your body. Be aware if any part of your body is touching the ground, or the furniture? What is the sensation there? Is any part of your body stiff and tense? If so, try to observe that stiffness first – how big is the area that is stiff? Do you feel that the tension starts from a particular point and then spreads around? Observe the tension for a few moments and then with the help of a conscious deep breath let it dissolve and try to relax that part of your body.

Once more scan your body from head to toe, paying attention to any sensations – warmth, cold, numbness, tingling, touch of your clothes, or the touch of air. Try to observe the sensations objectively. Even if the sensation on your body is unpleasant, don’t rush to change your position. Examine them as if you were looking though a microscope.

Gently shift your attention back to your breath.

Next time you are stuck in traffic, or waiting in a supermarket queue, in stead of getting all restless and nervous, try observing your breath and your body and see that if you practice staying in the present moment, there is no such a category as 'time wasted'.

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What reason could we even wish for?

4/11/2016

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We mostly don't associate Mondays with joy.
Usually, it's the opposite - Monday is like the ultimate nagging reminder or impermanence: no matter how amazing your weekend was, here I am and there's nothing you can do to stop me.
That's why we decided to offer you some inspiration every Monday in this new section in our blog, called quite appropriately - Monday Inspiration
Every Monday we'll share with you some of our favorite poems, inspirational quotes, or some other piece of inspirational writing.

And for the grand opening of this blog section, who could be a better guest that one of the greatest Persian mystic poets - Hafez? Hafez lived in 14th century Persia, but is still widely read in present day Iran.

This poem of his is one of my personal favorites. It is so easy forget that we don't need reasons to feel joy. Actually, there can be no reason behind joy - joy is the cause and the effect.

Enjoy the poem and feel free to share your reflections in the comments below.

And For No Reason

And
For no reason
I start skipping like a child.

And
For no reason
I turn into a leaf
That is carried so high
I kiss the Sun's mouth
And dissolve.

And
For no reason
A thousand birds
Choose my head for a conference table,
Start passing their
Cups of wine
And their wild songbooks all around.

And
For every reason in existence
I begin to eternally,
To eternally laugh and love!

When I turn into a leaf
And start dancing,
I run to kiss our beautiful Friend
And I dissolve in the Truth
That I Am.

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Mindful living: return to the breath - return to the present moment

4/8/2016

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We take around 20,000 breaths each day. How many of these breaths are we actually aware of? Chances are not so many. In the daily rush it is easy to get carried away by what is happening around us, so we rarely take the chance to look within. And as our breath goes unnoticed, so does the present moment. Our mind is constantly being pulled either by past or future, rarely allowing us to rest in the now. Every breath we take brings a wonderful opportunity to pause just for a moment and observe ourselves in the very present moment we are experiencing. So, why not use it?

Here is a simple exercise of using your breath to return to the present moment.

Wherever you are and whatever you do, bring your awareness back to your breathing

Close your eyes, or just or just soften your gaze and take a couple of intentionally deep breaths. Observe the sensations caused by the inhalation and the exhalation – the rising and falling of the belly, the expansion and contraction of the chest, subtle tickling in and around your nose, or anything else you might notice.

After two-three intentionally deep breaths, return to your normal natural breathing. Observe your natural breath for a minute - don’t try to control it in any way, just observe as it is. No judgments. No efforts. Is your breath slow or fast? Deep or shallow? Coming in evenly through both nostrils? Observe the sensations of your breath without trying to alter them.

As thoughts start coming to your mind, do not develop them further. Recognize that your attention has been pulled away from the breath by your thought, then gently return your attention to your breath and let the taught pass.

Stay with the breath for as long time as you can spare, and a few breaths more, and then return to your daily activities with a calmer mind.

And for those moments when you feel that you really have no time, or patience, or focus to stay with the breath even for a minute, try doing the following: take one deep breath in, observe it. Exhale completely, observe it. Then take one natural breath, observe it. For the duration of these two breaths, try to disengage from anything that is happening around you as well as from all mental chatter going on inside your head. For two breaths stay out of it all and observe the world within and without as if you were watching a movie. Practice this whenever you remember it. You will be surprised to see that even only two fully conscious breaths at a time can make so much difference.

Be happy.

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Impermanence

Step by step

The Peace of Wild Things

Listening to and with your body

What reason could we even wish for?

Mindful living: return to the breath - return to the present moment

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