The Sky is the Limit

"Limited to one per customer. I'm at my limit." Even the speed limit, there is that wall of not going beyond. Some limitations are good, in fact,  necessary, but sometimes they box you right into  a corner. In this thing we call life, we often create our own limitations by having expectations. Twice in two days, it has surfaced through others perspectives. Someone was speaking about tattoos the other day with me, and the perception, or  societal "stigma" that comes with them. Another, because I was subbing for my dear friend, who is a well revered yogi..."oh, tell me he's not here?"( Really?) Did you ever come from this place and then have a totally wonderful experience?  Right there, the limitation is created by the perception. Ask yourself, when someone  or something different was presented to you, and right away the mind put up the wall. Hmmm, bet you got at LEAST one....The truth here, is,  that  sometimes this mental/emotional limitation keeps you from experiences that can shift your perspective and connect you deeper on the human level. From the yogic viewpoint, viveka and vairagya-discrimination and detachment. Seeing things for what they really are is what is called for in every situation.  I love the pay it forward commercial of the older woman who drops her wallet, and the goth looking young man picks it up, and contrary to most peoples perception chases her down to give it back. Not what you thought, right? I will never forget some years ago on the way to a teachers seminar in Newark, I got lost when I hit the city, hopelessly! I was beginning to panic. Low on gas, and late, I asked the driver in front of me  at a red light where my location was, (and no, it was not a nicer part of the town, for sure!) The driver said "follow me, this way," Ask yourself right here, what would your  expectation been...(am I going to reach my destination, or is this "scary" person going to set me up for a carjack or worse...). I let go of fear, put it up to trust,  and this wonderful human got me to my conference, and  with a smile and wave was on his way. Don't let your preconceived expectations, societal or otherwise color your encounters, and limit your vision of the world. We are all different, something that should be embraced with no limitations set on our mutual experience......look around, the sky is the limit, you just have to see the sun  through the clouds.


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Shed Your Skin

For those that know me personally, or read me often, you probably know that I am a major fan of Peter Gabriel, amazing man, profound songwriter, activist,  among many other things. ( side note, he is currently working an  interspecies communication project with the founder of the internet, and Sean Johnson and his  Wild Lotus band will be doing a "Bananafit" to raise awareness) A particular song contains a message of "shed your skin.....this is the new stuff.... this is for real....come dancing in."  This is profound right now- we happen to be in the year of the snake in the Chinese zodiac. They are auspicious. ( Interestingly enough, a garter snake managed to come dancing in the other morning in my living room, message for sure, made me think! Alerted by cat,  the wee creature was dispatched back outside none the worse for wear.) Snakes, you see, hunker down and hide in the cold, conserving energy, and waiting- they are cold blooded. But when the spring brings warm sun, they emerge and bask themselves, preparing to shed their skins. But here they are vulnerable, the eyes cloud over, the cannot see. The constricting old tight skin prohibits their growth. They must shed what no longer serves them so they can grow and see the world once again. The snake is connected to earth energy, she is seen as feminine, she feels every vibration, and represents the force of Kundalini, the coiled energy of creation that resides at the base of the spine ready to activate.  We are very much like the snake about to shed, we must let those things that no longer serve us peel away so that we too, may grow, and actively reach our full potential on this planet, we must feel and raise the vibration. Sometimes we  just don't see the bigger picture-blind to what lies right under our noses. Now is the time. We are moving away from patriarchy and the paradigm is shifting towards matriarchy, the time of reconnecting with the Divine feminine. The connection to the Earth, our root needs to be restored, we need to feel her again, and fell and  renew ourselves in the process. This is the time to come dancing in, this is for real.

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Who's got the Golden Ticket?

If you are a regular part of the yoga or "new age" community at large, you are no stranger to the term "enlightenment." In a society that is seeking something, a deeper meaning, we all want a some. If you are a fan of family and children's movies and saw Willy Wonka, Mr. Wonka ( played by the ever capricious Gene Wilder) seems to have that special something and is giving away just a few special "golden tickets" that guarantee the winners entrance to the magic realm of Wonka. The lowly Charlie Bucket who has a light in his heart, can't imagine he has what it takes, wins, and the other more likely characters fall by the wayside with their greed and entitlement (poor Violet and Otto!) Who doesn't want that and a Kit Kat? We see that golden ticket to enlightenment as making us special, above the rest. Sorry to disappoint you folks out there in candyland, it doesn't. It does not give you the key to the kingdom. True enlightenment comes from realization that we are not the stuff, the label, the brand. It comes from "vidya", knowledge of the true self without all the b....s...t. ( Fill in the blank, please!) Little secret- the golden ticket is the light of your soul-we all have one. Just have to unwrap it.  In our modern age we live in a  society full of narcissism that is attached to the material, the status quo and this blocks us from seeing that by the practice of non dualism it is what sets us on the road to a state of grace-non attachment to the past, non projection about the future, seeing everyone and everything as divinely one. Equanimity. When you step through this door, you step into the place of "Satchitanand" or Being, Consciousness, Bliss.  We reach the said bliss not from the goodies of the material world, but from the consciousness of who we really are. The odds aren't so bad, probably much better than our hero Charlie Bucket had, and he made it, so....who's got the Golden Ticket?
                                                    Oh purnamidam purnamidat purnat purmudatchite
                                                     Purnasya purnamadaya purnamayvavashisatay
                                           "What is whole and perfect will always be whole and perfect
                                                           Even when nothing else remains."

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Keep Your Hands on the Wheel

Peter Gabriel sings a song that a line is thus..."keep your hands on the wheel, don't say nothing, this is for real." He's right, the message makes a heck of a lot of lot of sense......keep your hands on the wheel and be present. When you are taught to drive a motor vehicle the rule is to keep your eyes on the road, be observant to the signs . Keep the space between vehicles. no distracted driving. Our thoughts are very much like cars, when you are driving your own car- substitute body here, you need to stay focused and not wander off  the road. Thoughts keep moving past us in the drivers seat of our mind, but we need to not let them cause a traffic jam in our head. We need to not think about the past or worry about the future. Right here, right now, in the present moment they do not affect you.  If we stay in the flow, just watch the cars-substitute thoughts here (I think you are getting the idea, right?) drive on by we reach our destination safely, which would be the state of a peaceful open mind. But if we allow those car/thoughts to cut us off,  we attach and follow, much like the angry road rager, we lose ourselves. That's the equivalent of the ego attaching to the thought car, yanking the wheel out of your hand , taking you where it wants you,   and bam, you wind up not where you were supposed to be going in the first place. So, turn on the road forecast in your mind, avoid those thought jams, and keep your hands on the wheel.

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Locked and Loaded

Have you noticed that news lately is full of more fires, earthquakes, and tension packed news? If you follow astrology at all, it is an interesting time. We are experiencing a strong influence from Aries, hot and angry. The planets are locked and loaded. People and events are being triggered. We all have these triggers, if you say you have none my friend, you are not being truthful with yourself. The things, people, and places that push our buttons. That button is pressed, and because of the action, there is the reaction in us. It can come as fear, perhaps causing you to retreat inward, or  anger comes, and then the explosion. We see it coming, and beat ourselves up after. How many times have you asked yourself "why did I let ____ do that to me" (fill in your own blank, pretty sure you can!)  But if we allow ourselves to step back from the trigger before it is pulled and see it for what it really is we can change the outcome. Those triggers are really the perfect situation to use  to come from a more open, and perhaps loving perspective. Instead of asking why is this happening to me and coming from the ego, use it as an opportunity for a lesson and see it as such. The things and people that come into our lives all appear for a reason, that is for sure and we are meant to learn  or teach something through the contact. They are a mirror of us. If we can stay in the moment and come from a place of equanimity and see something of ourselves in it, we can diffuse the bomb. Ask yourself just what triggers you, and the next time you are in that situation ask yourself what is the lesson here, what do I need to see. Right now we are experiencing a very strong full moon and the energies are going to be those kind that offset your balance and question what is valid for you. Your limits and buttons will be pushed. Things may suddenly change. Stay strong in yourself, see what it is that is really going on, step back and use it as an opportunity for growth.


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Come Back To Life

I travel over the Ben Franklin Bridge every day, and  the toll takers recognize my face, and believe it or not, some actually converse! The other day it was  warming and, gulp,  sunny
 ( I truly was beginning to forget what it looked like!) the toll taker and I exchanged simple  greetings, and commented on the beauty of the sun. ...he said it brings a lot of life. How very simple and true! Light brings life.
We have just come through winter, a very long and grey winter. It has been dense, heavy, and long. Struggling to stay up beat. Buried under layers of clothing. Waiting for the darkness to end.  We have been hanging on, looking for signs, that spring is just around the corner for some time....hopeful for the light, warmth, and beauty it brings. The symbolism of the past week with Passover and Easter mirror this.....there is a struggle, darkness, austerity and a hanging on -hoping for the light to return. But return it does through the process of trust. The seed has to endure the harshness of winter. We all have situations and times that bring us into that place of darkness and stagnation. We question.   But just as the sun shines its light and warmth, and the soft rains fall, they rekindle life anew, so it is with us. Our soul sometimes has to endure austerity to reemerge into the light. We can look at that dark place where the seed of our authentic self is buried. There may be the soft rain of tears, a struggle to peel away those layers that cover over and keep us weighed down. The uncertainty of trusting universal process, that something else is at play in the rhythm of the cosmos.  If we stay steady and present,  fix our focus on bringing new growth into our lives, extending upward into the light,  and trim away the stagnant layers of things that no longer serve us or feed our soul, we can really reemerge finding lightness in our being and truly come back to life.

The Time is Now

As I sit here in my warm bed with a cat keeping a watchful eye on me on this yet another grey chilly(isn't it supposed to be Spring yet??) day after spending the night at the emergency room hooked up to an IV glad to be home-it's the small stuff, you know? I have spent a lot of time thinking about mortality, and the unexpected changes that the Universe drops in our laps at a whim-just like that teacher you had that would ask you to answer a question when you weren't paying attention( don't even try to tell me you have never had one of those moments....)  This past month has been quite an eye opener in that department, and making me remember that life is fragile, fleeting, and to be embraced every moment. This past month started off with a family member in hospital, me having  respiratory infections that I just was not getting better from. A dear friends daughter needed surgery, a lot of people I know going through a lot of struggles. Trying to be present for them, my students, and self. The winter weather chilling us all inside and out, it was not a happy time. Kept on going, teaching classes, but feeling tired and weighed down. To quote a book I have read to my kids about winter..."the sky was grey, the roofs were grey, the whole city was grey.." pretty much sums up the mood.  Not surrendering or slowing down, though,  nope, not me. Those of you that know me personally know I am a fighter, and don't give up the ghost easily. Then the universe sent another curveball-my own daughter was hospitalized, stopped breathing, and was placed on a ventilator in guarded condition. At the same time I was denying that tired feeling for  how sick I was when I had no choice but to stop and see the doctor who ordered me to bed with strong meds for my lungs, I couldn't even visit her for two days. Interestingly enough in energetic medicine the lungs pertain to emotions and grief....hmmm. You can only imagine how I felt,  helpless and scared out of my wits.  ( She is out now  after the prayers of so many and western medical miracles, thank the Gods!) Life keeps on going, the planet revolves and the sun comes up although it seems like it is perpetually cloudy in more ways in one lately. But the writer at the helm of the grand design sent me my latest part and yesterday in excruciating pain, off to the emergency room to be a patient I went. Tests revealed a kidney infection, and a few other glitches and after intraveinous antibiotics I am enjoying the small pleasure of a purring cat by my side at home. Laying there in the hospital last night,  thinking and listening to the monitors again, the sounds of the elderly woman  all alone in the bed next to mine moaning in pain  and wondering what brought her and where was her family,  all the while  there was business as usual. We are so caught up in the wheel of life that we seldom stop and realize that in the next second that can change, possibly forever. We put things off, say we are busy, don't say the things we need to say, don't do the things that really need to be done like just be present and love one another. We fritter precious time away. We are all mortal, like it or not.  In this fast paced society we need to remember to make time. We just have the lease of this body and it's senses to experience the pleasures of each other and the beauty of this life on Earth, and when that cosmic screenwriter decides it's time to rewrite your script, you have no choice but to surrender to the grand design. Life is to be lived in the moment, not by putting things off or avoidance of those situations that make you uncomfortable. Say what you mean, mean what you say, and live your life the way you should- not limited by the past, not fearing the future and not thinking that there will always be enough time stop to smell the roses. Enjoy the blossoms and the thorns- they only bloom in your garden for a short time......the time is now.