Tama. In Sanskrit, it means proper method. In Filipino, we've adopted it to mean correct (like a correct answer vs. a wrong one). Strangely, or aptly, the themes I have coincide with some of the words that we've adopted in Sanskrit. There are many...mukha, dukha, tyaga... In the other post, I mentioned saksi. I've also noticed some were adopted in the Ilocano dialect like rupa (form). I have always loved language and etymology and how we've chosen to adopt and evolve words is fascinating to me.
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I didn't get to sleep well last night. I'm energized now but I tossed and turned the whole night. I was in an out of dreams and places. In the edge of sleep and non-sleep, realities as we know it do not seem to matter much, and the best kept ones have a chance to unfold.
Still, it's quite difficult when a full practice awaits in the morning.
The beautiful difference is the way we open our days. I love opening my days this way. Gratefulness. Forgiveness and Guidance. I love the Gayatri and Mahamrityunjaya Mantras and the sweet bijahs that grow from them. I love the transition cues from the singingTibetan bowl. I love Pranayama and the smoothness and the sweetness I am able to get from it. Of course, I love my asana practice. I am gathering strength but more so, patience and humility.
We're 15 slokas away from completing the Sankhya text. The first course ends tomorrow. 2 weeks have gone by.
Today, Paul told us stories for the rainy afternoon. He was sharing his experiences I think in a deeper way. For me, it's a way of bringing us closer to a more intense practice, reminding us of why we are moving in this direction and softening the urge to go into a mad dash of contortions. He wants us to understand the process and why are in it or why we should be...
I love the humor he injects with each session. As I teach, I may not be able to pull off his crazy antics in class but I would love to share the passion and care and integrity in the practice.
So here he is.
Irish storytellers are called Seanchai. You couldn't really tell Paul was Irish by how he talks. Except when he says the words "free" or "freedom"
* * *Today, the news came out on Steve Jobs' resignation from Apple. His speech at Stanford is very popular but it truly resonates with me.
"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life....
The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle....
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.....
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart....
Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away...
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
Tama siya.
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