When we think about the specifics of what we would like to manifest in our lives, our visions should feel absolutely yummy: I mean an “ooh-that-feels-so-wonderful” kind of feeling. Each idea we project for our future—the perfect mate, the ideal scenario at work, perfect health and wellness—should excite us from our toes to our noses and beyond. Our visions should make us come alive. Those who “sort of” want happiness only “sort of” get it.
Stretching, meditation, and gratitude make up this simple daily ritual.
When I was little, my family lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. Every summer day, without fail, my mother would load my little sisters and me into her blue Nash Rambler and head to the municipal swimming pool. We’d always get there early enough to mark our turf with a combination of old towels, sunblock, and toys. By noon the pool was so crammed with kids that I had bruises from all the kicks, elbowings, and thuds from my sisters trying to learn how to swim underwater with their eyes closed.
The idea of altering your mind through movement sounds almost metaphorical. Stretch yourself. Strengthen your core. Grow some backbone. Listen to your body.
Yet recent science has found not only that you can trigger a physical change with your mind but also that real transformation can start with your body: with movement, with breath, with shifting your physical habits, no matter what your age.
As I slowly applied this technique, it radically transformed not only my yoga practice, but my entire life.
It’s been five months since January 1, the day when many of us vowed to change some aspect of our self before the year’s end. Regardless of whether we resolved to develop new eating habits, cultivate a particular spiritual virtue, or quit an addictive substance, most of us have probably already fallen off the path.
What is feminine wisdom? What is feminine power? What role can they play — for both men and women — in this time of such significant global change? Feminine wisdom is mysterious and multi-dimensional. By its very nature it is hidden in the depths of our being. And even after decades of -feminism and women’s empowerment, even though we now value the -importance of relationships and the sacredness of creation, we can easily miss the subtlety and “otherness” of this hidden feminine wisdom.
A seismic shift is happening. The change that is underway is profound and will seem to most to be revolutionary. What is this shift? The historic paradigm that our self-worth comes from what we own is ending. We’re moving away from valuing multiple cars, multiple televisions, plastic surgeries, and saving little. This shift will underscore the false consumption-oriented economy that we in the West think is the key to prosperity and happiness. Finally, it is sinking into our collective head that our borrow/spend behavior does not make us happy.
In literature, writers use metaphors to transfer information inherent in one context to another to infuse the target with an extra layer of meaning. For example, “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings” conveys the basic idea that the Psalms’ author is happy to stay near the listener, God, in order to receive his assistance, but it also imparts an empathic sense of a fledgling expressing its deep contentment and appreciation for the protective embrace of a loving parent.
Happy first days of Spring!
It’s a celebratory season, and one that just can’t help but invoke change, transformation, and rebirth. It’s spring cleaning time–get the dusty clothes out of the closet, shake off the heaviness of the winter, and clear the hangers for something lighter, more sprout-like.
