The Invitation

I absolutely love, love, looooove this poem! It's by Oriah Mountain Dreamer...

 I read it first in Portuguese and had to find the original version right after!


"It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.

If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments."

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

~ Namasté  ॐ

Law of attraction and Pistachios

"When you want something the whole universe conspires in helping you achieve it." ~ Paulo Coelho

I doubt there's someone out there who has never heard about the law of attraction. You might not agree or have completely understood what it meant, but I'm sure everyone has at least heard a version of it. The law of attraction, the main theme for the movies "The Secret" and "What the bleep do we know?," simply states that your thoughts and feelings have the power to attract whatever you want into your life. So if you have a positive and happy life, chances are you're going to attract more of the same to your life. And the opposite is true as well. 

I've always deeply believed in the law of attraction, and together with my pollyanna outlook on life, I must say I've always been very blessed and lucky and I believe that everything in my life came to prepare me for what comes next. Even during complicated moments (which weren't that many anyway) I knew I had to let it go because there was a reason that it was happening, but I had faith in what would be coming next. I believe this is one of the reasons I never get sick. Seriously, in 20 plus years of life I've never been to the hospital, I remember getting food poisoning twice and chicken pox once. And that was when I was a child. Haven't been sick (knock on wood!) ever, and the more I keep saying and feeling that I'm healthy, the more I believe I will always be healthy. Especially now when I'm learning new ways to nourish my body, my mind and my soul.  

I've always been pretty good at imagining and attracting what I wanted to my life. That's how I ended up in Vancouver, with a Canadian degree and a Canadian passport. I never thought that this wouldn't happen. In my mind, and my heart, I was already here. So I shouldn't be surprised when I start attracting little things to my life, right? Some people believe in coincidences.. I believe in synchronicities...

One day, a few weeks ago, I was grocery shopping and I saw Pistachios and although I really wanted to eat them, I was discouraged by the price so I thought I'd ask someone to give it to me just for fun. I didn't buy them at the time because I thought they weren't worth it. Then, a couple of weeks later, I was volunteering like I always do on Saturdays and one of the volunteers said she had something for me. On our break I went to the volunteer room and she gave me a bag of pistachios! Seriously! It wasn't Christmas or my birthday so at first I thought that it was a weird thing to do but I said thank you, and I enjoyed everyone of those salty treats! It was only when I went grocery shopping again that I remember my thoughts and I giggled to myself, recognizing the law of attraction in action. 

On another day, I was thinking about books that I wanted to read and that I had to buy at any time. But because my friends gave me so many books to read I didn't even think about it anymore. Then, coming home one day, I saw a pile of stuff (everyone donates stuff they don't want anymore on the lobby for my building) on the table and what was my surprise when I saw that 3 books I wanted to read had been donated. Needless to say, they became my books.. And the list goes on. There's the trasmission in thought of receiving a call/message/email from someone you haven't talked in a long time, but you had been thinking lately. This way, I even got a call from my ex wishing me a happy valentine's day. 

All I have to say is THANK YOU, Universe. Thank you for allowing me to be one with you, and thank you for matching my vibration. 

That's why I say, be careful with what you think, feel or say. Your thoughts, feelings and words have the power to reinvent your life.

May I attract love, peace, lightness and happiness.

~ Namasté ॐ

Please come home

"Please come home. Please come home
Find the place where your feet know where to walk
And follow your own trail home.

Please come home. Please come home into your own body,
Your own vessel, your own earth.
Please come home into each and every cell,
And fully into the space that surrounds you.

Please come home. Please come home to trusting yourself,
And your instincts and your ways and your knowings,
And even the particular quirks of your personality.
Please come home.

Please come home.
And once you are firmly there,
Please stay awhile and come to a deep rest within.
Please treasure your home. Please love and embrace your home.
Please get a deep, deep sense of what it's like to be truly home.

Please come home. Please come home.
And when you're really, really ready,
And there's a detectable urge on the out-breath, then
Please come home.

Please come home and please come forward.
Please express who you are to us, and please trust us
To see you and hear you and touch you
And recognize you as best we can.

Please come home. Please come home and let us know
All the nooks and crannies that are calling to be seen.
Please come home, and let us know the More
That is there that wants to come out.

Please come home. Please come home.
For you belong here now. You belong among us.
Please inhabit your place fully so we can learn from you,
From your voice and your ways and your presence.

Please come home. Please come home.
And when you feel yourself home, please welcome us too,
For we too forget that we belong and are welcome,
And that we are called to express fully who we are.
May we wake up and remember who we truly are.

Please come home."

By Jane Hooper

------

~ Namasté ॐ

The truth about relationships

"The truth about relationships 

written by Matt Licata 

It is no secret that relationship-yoga is, for many, the royal road to profound (and often excruciating) revelation about where we really are in our lives, to illuminating exploration of our emotional/somatic world, and to uncovering the unconscious forces that are at least in part running the show. Intimacy has a unique way of showing us very quickly where we’re caught, where we’re holding on, how we’re closing to immediate experience, and the intricacies of how we defend and guard against the unyielding realities of the heart. We really don’t want to be too exposed. Maybe a little bit here or there, on Tuesdays and Fridays, or when we’re sure that even in the face of intimate exposure, things are likely to remain relatively safe and predictable. 

People often ask: you’ve met and worked with so many teachers and authors behind the scenes, in their most vulnerable, unscripted moments. Who are the ones that are really, truly awake; and who are the ones that maybe aren’t quite as awake as they come off in their public roles? I find myself simultaneously enjoying and cringing in the wake of these sorts of questions. Perhaps playfully, but also in a more serious way, I usually offer a response along the lines of: if you really want to know how awakened someone is, don’t ask them. Don’t ask their students or disciples. Don’t read their books. Don’t watch them on stage responding to questions from devotees. Ask their intimate partners. This is often met with a bit of awkward silence. 

We have so many ideas about relationship that we’ve picked up from our families of origin, teachers of all kinds, the media, books, television, and movies. One idea in particular that I’ve been really aware of lately is the idea that a conscious, intimate relationship is one where both partners feel profoundly connected at all times. And that if this feeling of connection is missing, then something must inherently be wrong; and must be fixed. Connection is one very fundamental quality of a relationship, yes. But what about the times when we feel disconnected from our partners, our friends, our children, our parents, our co-workers? Where has the “relationship” gone? 

What is relationship, anyway? Is it a feeling? A sense of security? A warmness in the heart? A content knowing that there is someone to share the journey with? Is relationship, like love, a vast enough field to contain aliveness, flatness, waves of joy, feelings of irritation, sensations of disturbance? Can we sit in the fire of intimate relationship knowing that all of our fears, fantasies, anxieties, scary parts, and vulnerability will likely never ever be resolved into some neat little relationship package? That there is something perhaps about intimacy that by definition is ultimately unresolvable? And that is in fact why it is so transformative. Can we find a way to be in relationship where we do not limit the mystery of love’s expression, and resist the temptation to have the fire of love conform to our endless requirements? Perhaps there will always be surges of uncontainable grief, sadness, fear, anger, and irritation that arise in the intersubjective field of lovers. We are all painfully aware of the seemingly miraculous power of our partners to touch our sore spots and to elicit the most unexplainable reactions within us. 

One question I find especially important to explore at the deepest levels, conscious and unconscious, is: can we allow the other matter to us? Are we willing/able to let another touch us, to expose ourselves so profoundly to them, that we stand completely naked, vulnerable, fully exposed to very unsafe waters of real love, knowing that we could be devastated at any instant? Many of our childhood biographies, of course, present a very unstable situation, a groundless reality where it was not safe to let another become too important. As innocent little ones, of course we very naturally allow others to deeply matter. This sort of exposure, as we all know, is tremendously risky; and we can learn very quickly the danger involved in letting someone matter, usually the hard way. But as little ones we can’t really help it, we’re wired to connect. 

Often in the challenges inherent in intimate relationship, we become convinced that it is our partner who is causing us to feel so bad. They don’t respect us, they speak unkindly to us, they don’t understand us, they’re never there when we really need them, etc. And of course there is likely some relative truth in these things. But we might also be able to see that just by being in relationship, we will be forced in a certain way to feel feelings that we really don’t want to feel. It’s not so much that our partner is doing something to us, but rather when we open ourselves to love, there are previously unmet feelings there, lurking in the unconscious, looking for the light of day. If we look closely, perhaps we can see how we organize our lives around not having to feel certain feelings. 

Intimate relationship is a yoga because it cuts into this organization. Perhaps we’re able to avoid certain feelings, certain thoughts, certain bodily sensations, certain emotions, in our daily lives or in our spiritual lives with all of our rituals and practices and worshipping the guru from afar. But in intimate relationship, alas, we’re not so lucky. The so-called “other” in intimate relationship will always push against that which is unresolved within us. How fortunate! (and painful) 

Let us all love those we’re in relationship with, including ourselves, by committing to taking love’s journey with them, knowing nothing about the route or the destination. Let us be kind to ourselves and our partners if we decide to truly take up the yoga of intimacy, knowing that it will take everything we have and are to navigate, as it offers fruits beyond this world."

Beginner's mind

Today, as I was getting ready to leave my cozy yoga mat, one of the girls started chatting about how nice it was to take a "beginners" yoga class once in a while. I told her I didn't feel like that our Hatha practice had been a beginners class to which she corrected that she just meant it wasn't as active as a Vinyasa. I'm glad we have many different styles of yoga as well as different styles of teachers from which to choose from. Some days you feel more active and you want a power flow class, but on other days you just want to breathe and let go of your day. Yoga for me is a movement prayer. Learning how to breathe had such a big impact on my peace of mind that I tend to choose classes that are more meditative and focus on the breath than those which feel more like a big work out. Don't get me wrong, those classes are great too, but they encourage those who come to yoga for fitness reasons only. Yes, I know that we're all just doing our best from our level of awareness and that it might be that some of us started just to exercise and ended up discovering that yoga is so much more than a sweaty asana practice. 

The picture below shows the 8 limbs for yoga. Explanation is not necessary, but you can see that the asana part is just one of the 8 steps to reach Samadhi ~ Enlightenment, freedom from the cycle of life and death. 

But that is not even what I wanted to say. I was reading Rolf Gates book "Meditation's from the Mat" and I must confess I was surprised by his definition for one of the Yamas: Asteya - non-stealing. The reason why I was surprised was because I never thought about what he said but it makes so much sense. We're used to thinking that as long as you're not taking something from someone else or taking something that does not belong to you, you're not stealing. What Rolf Gates says, is that every time you are at work but you procrastinate and use your time for you instead of work or when you call in sick but you are not sick at all, you're stealing from your employer. Also, if you have a meeting with a friend and you're late, you're "stealing" time from them. In this sense, Asteya become so much more. I would go beyond. I would say that even by saying a lie, or not saying the truth, you're also "stealing" someone. You're taking away their right to have an honest answer or your honest opinion. Also when someone is talking to you and you're not present, you're not listening, you're robbing them the right to be heard. 

In this sense, being a yogi goes so much further than just sharing the props or not stealing someone else's yoga mat. It goes from being honest with yourself and not "stealing" your precious life moments by worrying about the past or being anxious for the future. You need to be aware, present in the moment, of your every breath and your every movement because just by being aware are we able to fully engage in fulfilling this Yama since we will understand the deeper meaning behind non-stealing. 

May we be light, may we be love, and may we all be present here and now.

Namasté ॐ

Poem: She let go.

She let go.

She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of the fear.

She let go of the judgments.

She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.

She let go of the committee of indecision within her.

She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.

Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn’t ask anyone for advice.

She didn’t read a book on how to let go.

She didn’t search the scriptures.

She just let go.

She let go of all of the memories that held her back.

She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.

She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.

She didn’t promise to let go.

She didn’t journal about it.

She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.

She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.

She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.

She just let go.

She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.

She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.

She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.

She didn’t call the prayer line.

She didn’t utter one word.

She just let go.

No one was around when it happened.

There was no applause or congratulations.

No one thanked her or praised her.

No one noticed a thing.

Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort.

There was no struggle.

It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.

It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be.

A small smile came over her face.

A light breeze blew through her. And the sun and the moon shone forevermore…

~ Rev Safire Rose

****

I could have written this... Simply beautiful. 


Namasté ॐ

Being alone because you mean to.

Do something because you mean to. 

One of my favourite yoga teachers always say it. It's usually right after we did a balancing pose and she says "now return your foot to the ground because you mean to" and not because you lost your balance and you had to put your feet in the ground so you wouldn't fall. 

As a child, and later a woman, with too much imagination, it always struck me as a puzzle when people say that one, they can't do things alone, and two, they are bored. In 20 plus years of life, I can honestly say I've never been bored in my life. Seriously. As a child I had an extremely active imagination and I created games and stories with the toys I had, and when I didn't have any, I used to make my own, with whatever material I had available. I remember going to my grandparents house on the weekend where I had no toys. My favourite thing to do, was to grab a book (I was called library mouse at school) or kids cartoon magazines and I would climb my grandma's Mango tree and stay there until I was asked to come down. Or I'd climb the Jabuticabeira (a tree which grows deliciously sweet fruit from Brazil), hop on the roof and pretend I was exploring... something. I would also draw little people, cut them up and create stories that involved even extended families. 

I've always had so much imagination, that growing up I used to choose to stay home on purpose so I could develop the stories in my head. Active imagination requires solitude to develop and I was more than happy to let it be. 

In a nutshell, I was never bored, and I never had any problems being alone. I enjoy going to the movies alone, I much rather prefer going shopping (which I don't like at all) alone, and I love long walks, with or without music, and I've always loved reading a good book. All activities that are solitary in nature. Can you do all these with company? Yes. The fact is, some people cannot even go to grocery store is what scares me. If you can't be alone with yourself, what makes you think you'll be well around others? I mean, you should always be your best friend. I remember being at work and people were either on their phones, talking to someone or reading something, otherwise they would say they are bored. Bored. I have no idea what it feels to be bored. If only, I could use some moments when I do feel bored but they are non-existant in my life. 

When I moved to North America, I went from being contemplative and slow paced, to being always on the go and with work, school and volunteer commitments, I had little time to just be. Just be with myself, either doing something I enjoy or doing nothing at all. That was until last year. It makes such a big difference having free time to do nothing at all. School is over, my work schedule is a normal Monday to Friday and now I limit my volunteer commitments to one, and only once a week. Instead of FOMO ~ fear of missing out, I'm going into BFMO ~ bliss for missing out.  

I'm slowly learning to avoid doing things that insult my soul.

That is all to say that I had the most peaceful day alone. I only left the house to go to yoga in the morning (with my favourite teacher mentioned above), then had lunch and read a little near the studio. Came home and talked to my parents but the majority of the day was silent, reading or writing. Cleaning the house, listening to music... Such a peaceful and blessed day. A day many would find boring and crazy because I chose not to see anyone, but I needed sometime for myself. Time to think, to medidate and to do nothing at all. I am, after all, my best friend and I love my own company. 

Hope we all find time to be with ourselves, and just be with ourselves, without the need to distract ourselves with TV (which I happily don't own one), among other distractions. 

Namasté ॐ