THE WISDOM OF FORSIGHT

"TAKE CONTROL OF EVENTS WHILE THEY ARE PEACEFUL. PREVENT DIFFICULTIES BEFORE THEY ARISE. PREPARE FOR ROUGH SPOTS WHILE THE GOING IS STILL SMOOTH. DEAL WITH THE SITUATION BEFORE IT DESCENDS INTO CHAOS"

Lao Tsu (c. 604- c531BCE) China

ONE WORLD...

"The world will be balanced, when WE are balanced"

Tarthang Tulku (b. 1935/Tibet)

Nourish Yourself First...

This past week, I read another passage that was very thought provoking to me. It deals with the act of "nourishing ourselves". Allow me to quote from the passage...

'By bringing your own mind, body and emotions into a state of harmony, you become better able to nurture others'.

This really rang true to me. I have recently had surgery on my foot, and have been spending way too much time lying on my bed, and not nearly enough time focusing on my "inner nourishment".

In this same passage, it mentions five pillars of yoga that we can practice, to better nourish our inner beings.

1. Right exercise.
2. Right breathing.
3. Right thinking.
4. Right nutrition.
5. Right relaxation.

Although I have had plenty of relaxation, I may not have had the PROPER relaxation. Exercise? Not much, while recovering from the surgery. Right thinking? Possibly, but there is always room for improvement. Right nutrition? When my wonderful wife prepares the meal, yes... when I am left to my own devices, probably not.

As you ponder these five things, take a mental note of what YOU can improve on. Make it a point to change just one or two things in your daily life, that will help nourish your inner spirit. By doing so, it will better prepare you for your dealings with others. And if we all did that, well... the world would be a much better place.

A Sacred Space, A Quiet Space

"YOGA IS SERENITY"
Bhagavad Gita (400-300 BCE)

I have a wonderful, little book (really, it's only 3" x 4-5" x 2" thick) called, 1,001 PEARLS OF YOGA WISDOM, by LIZ LARK. This book is a wonderful treasure, and is filled with wonderful bits of wisdom, ideas, poses, and general information that will help make your life a more relaxing AND fulfilling experience.

The one thing that caught my eye, the other day, is a little paragraph that talks about creating a "sacred space". Although this paragraph talked of creating a sacred space for your asana practice (yoga practice), I was inspired to take it a step further. First, let me quote the paragraph, word for word...

"Create your own personal, distraction-free space for meditation and asana practice at home. Make it a place you can return to where you can "switch off" completely. Site it beside a window if possible so that you can reflect on nature."

I think it was the part about reflecting on nature that made me think of one of MY favorite places. Our house is situated on a hill, although the hill drops off behind the front side of the house. It really isn't noticeable from the street, as the house looks like a one story house, with a possible basement. In reality, you enter the house on ground level, but it is actually the top level of a two level home. As you move through the top level, you exit through a sliding glass door on the back end of the house. Where the front of the house is on ground level, the back end of the house is actually a balcony, that is a full 7-8 feet off of the ground. We are also blessed to have one of the largest Cottonwood trees in the area. My "fortress of solitude" is on this balcony, where I like to sit in a comfortable chair, and do one of several things. I love reading, I love playing the guitar, and sometimes I just enjoy sitting and listening to the leaves of the tree rustle in the breeze. The house also sits on a third of an acre property, most of which is situated in the back yard. Although this is a small bit of land for you country folk (or wealthy folk), it's a decent sized yard for the area. I am not bragging (truth be told, there are times that I'd rather have a smaller yard) about the size of the yard, but because of the size, we sometimes have several winged friends that like to come and visit. Of all the places in my yard, this is probably the most peaceful. Well, with the exception of the planes that fly overhead, as we are right in the flight path of the Salt Lake International Airport. BUT, even the planes are peaceful to me.

Regardless, my piece of advice for you, today, is to find a place where YOU can find peace. Sometimes, in the chaos of life, we can lose control of our surroundings. Even if our houses are a bit messy, or just full of clutter, try and find one little place, that you can rid of stress causing messes, a make that your sanctuary. Even if our houses are complete chaos, if we have that ONE place where we can escape to, you will find an amount of peace in your life.

So, whether you are a yogi, and need a place for meditation and asana practice, or you are a stressed out single parent who needs a place to escape, try and create that place that will bring you that peace you need.
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