 "Let your beauty manifest itself without talking or calculation.
You are silent. It says for you: I am. And comes in meaning thousand fold, comes at long last over everyone.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke While the throat chakra is most often associated with sound, as our vehicle for communication, our ability to listen is also inherently connected into this energy center. We tend to be a culture of stimulus, we are constantly plugged in--to our TV, to our phones, to music and to our computers. Its hard to get away from stimulation and noise in our busy lives. I sometimes forget how much noise I have gotten use to experiencing. When my partner and I take a weekend away out of the city, I am always amazed at the sheer expansiveness of being in an environment without all the bustle of the city. Its amazing how it shifts my energy and my mood simply to find a quieter space in my life.
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I was introduced to poet Danna Faulds by a near and dear yoga teacher friend of mine. The first time I heard one of poems, my soul sparked and my heart recognized the depth, sweetness and truth of her words. This weekend on retreat I shared two of my favorite poems of hers from her books Go In and In. May they inspire as much as they have inspired me.
 After the events of Orlando I felt myself confused by my own feelings and searching for a way to bridge what I was feeling with my yoga practice. For me yoga has often been about love and surrender and allowing, but in this instance I found myself angry, hurt and confused. Love and compassion didn't feel like enough in this case and I found myself drawn again and again to the Buddhist philosophy of right action, samyak-karmanta.
What does right action mean? "This means that when we act "rightly," we act without selfish attachment to our own agendas. We act mindfully, without causing discord with our speech. Our "right" actions spring from compassion and from understanding of the dharma," writes Barbara O'Brien. And one of my favorite teachers, Thich Nhat Hanh writes "The basis of Right Action is to do everything in mindfulness."  In my recent exploration of the book Being Mortal I feel as though I'm being faced with many different ways to unpack what it means to be human. Not only looking through the lens of aging and dying, but also what it means to do that with meaning. I was recently listening to a podcast featuring one of my favorite poets David Whyte and in it he discusses this idea of dropping into the vulnerability of being alone with ourselves. If we look at today's modern world it is surprisingly difficult to be alone. If you've ever been in a waiting room or on the bus, you may notice that for the most part as soon as people are alone, their cell phones come out. Through the technology of this modern world, we have the opportunity to be connected to people at all times not only through text and voicemail, but also through social media platforms like Facebook. The ability to be alone, is something that has become increasingly rare and I would venture a guess it has also become increasingly frightening for people. |
AuthorYoga teacher, sound healer and explorer of the inner landscape. Join me! Archives
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