The Wisdom of Buddha
For the last year I’ve been traveling ~ body, mind and spirit ~ in many places and through multi-layered dimensions of life. This grand adventure to different continents and different ways of feeling consciousness has led me to really appreciate these words:
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
— The Buddha
“Live in the present moment”
This has changed everything. This practice of living in the present – appreciating what blessings and opportunities are held right now, on open palms of constant generosity – is the difference between peace of mind and emotional blindness. It is the secret to moving out of worry and into calm knowing that everything will always work out perfectly and is in fact actually precisely okay right now. Even if it doesn’t seem like it.
More and more I find myself staying in awareness. Less often do I forget that We are all Connected. Even in the strangest corners of my mind and in the face of stark difference in living conditions and way of life. Even then I found myself in awareness of our connection.
Mini-meditation: Touching the Now
Feel the Earth beneath you
Breathe your Roots deep into the planet
Feel the Song of creation within your Breath
Breathe your heart Light higher and lift you
Open to the Spacious sky of your mind
Listen to it speaking-showing and slow it Sweetly
Gently gather your Gratitude for the Blessings
This moment is Bestowed to you
It is a gift
An infinite possibility Lovingly placed before you
Breathe the Now like nectar
Feel yourself Be
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Connecting and Understanding
The web of life lights up when you pay attention. It dances for you when you believe. It bends for you when you ask, and sometimes pulls the carpet out from underneath you to make you stronger.
This game of living consciously is like hide and seek. We loose sight of the big picture and clarity is veiled. We tumble down into the trough of a wave on the ocean of life into the shadow called “Separation Illusion” or delusion…
We worry about stuff when we forget that we’re actually held by the supportive net of creation. When you think you’re alone, that you have to act as an individual being and take care of everything – well, that’s a heavy weight to try to carry and maneuver through time and space.
But then you remember that each and every part of this experience of being human, as well as the vast, infinite possibility of the universe and beyond are ALL held by one consciousness… Even the very first time you realize this truth you’re still ‘remembering’ because you’ve never fully forgotten. It is in you because it is you.
And when you start thinking like that, and do it on a regular basis, there is such relief and reassurance.
Because you don’t have to do it all yourself. We are each supported by the whole, which is beyond comprehension. But it can be felt. It can be meditated upon and opened into. It can be found in the eyes of a small child in a strange land, or in your own laughter. Divine inspiration is everywhere.
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Master in Training
The Buddha, and other masters like him, are beyond the threshold of doubt and fear. They do not worry or despair. They teach truth, consciousness and the highest joy – the path and way to live fully and happily.
Yoga, like Buddhism, teaches you how to skillfully create and walk your path in life. It helps you to accept that which comes, and to see the gift that is hidden in even the most unlikely places.
Each of us can learn to use the methods and wisdom of yoga to shift and fully support life as we know it. When you know how to be strong and courageous while balancing it with sensitivity and perspective, things flow much more smoothly.
By practicing on your mat you train your body and mind to work together with your heart. Sometimes it’s really intense. Sometimes your legs are shaking. Other times your mind tries to play its own game, but you learn how to engage it and focus with the help of your breath and the demands of the postures themselves.
In yoga class you practice challenging yourself in so many ways. When you build this experience on your mat you expand your capacity to deal with real life situations in a graceful and skilled manner. When you can find union – oneness – through the path of yoga, life becomes much more enjoyable and easily managed.
If you think of Buddha, an image comes to mind of a being so content, so at peace, that nothing could trouble his heart. This comes from a deep knowing that all is one, and that the moment – this magical, ever changing Now – this is the only time that truly matters.
When you live in the present with a broad perspective that considers the past and future but does not dwell on them, you find balance.
When you focus your intent on flowing with the blessings that are offered in this moment, Buddha’s peace and loving heart are available to you.
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