As part of my transition from 2013 to 2014, I participated in an on-line women’s retreat, in which I wrote to my future self with “Instructions For Freedom.” Here’s what emerged.

– Highest first.
This is a teaching I’ve heard from my teachers. For me it means to remember to check in with my highest self. It means to choose the option that corresponds to my loftiest goals. It means to put my practices high on my everyday “to do” list.

– Love is all there is. Remember this.
I know this, but I forget. I get caught up in the day-to-day challenges, stress, hormonal fluctuations, weather, what have you. Then I might do something I regret, and when once more I get connected to my heart, I am so sad for words or actions that came from anger or frustration, rather than a place of love.

– Practice.
This pertains primarily to my twice a day meditation practice: just do it. I never regret having done it, but I do regret skipping it.

– Receive grace, in whatever form it comes.
By this I mean both positive or negative. Each presents its challenges, and I want to meet each with equanimity. I feel that sometimes I keep myself closed to receiving what the divine is offering by thinking it should take a particular form.

– Worrying is a waste of time. Stop it.
Sometimes I spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about the future. It robs me from being in the present moment. I lose sleep. I make bad decisions when I am in this place. I suspect that if I am able to do the instructions above, this one will happen automatically.

– Get out of the way and allow the divine to flow through you in all you do.
I’ve gotten a taste of this as I’ve moved closer to my heart with my practices. The more I can allow myself to be a conduit for the divine, rather than trying to do it with my individual self, the better the outcome.

– Serve.
I truly want my work to be of service to others. I continue to struggle to manifest this. So I put this out there as a sort of a prayer and reminder.

– Stop comparing.
Akin to worrying, I find constantly comparing myself to others to be a waste of time.

– Others can be a reflection for you, but ultimately you must let go of what other people think.
I acknowledge that it is important for us to give and receive feedback to/from our family, friends, and colleagues. Yet I must receive feedback about my actions from others in a discerning way, ultimately referencing back to many of the above points: Did my action come from the highest? Is it reflective of love and service?

– Believe in yourself.
A bit of a double entendre here. Many of the above instructions will lead to a greater connection to the essential Self. Believe in yourself when you move from that place.

I invite you to consider what instructions for freedom you would write to your future self. Please feel free to share them here.

As I was working out at RallySport last week, I saw a news story about yet another person who entered a school with a gun and a lot of ammunition intent on killing a bunch of kids and himself.  Then I didn’t hear anything else about it, until I saw a story on-line about the woman in the office of the school who apparently talked this gunman out of completing his intended acts.  I watched a 15 minute video of her explaining what went on in her head,  how she related to him, and what she said.  I was so intrigued because I often wonder how I would react if I found myself in a similar situation.

Two things stood out for me in this video.  The first was that she remembered a teaching from her church to “anchor yourself in God.”  And second, she said she saw herself and her own children in this disturbed young man preparing to do so much harm.  She watched him load his gun, and he even fired some shots near her.  She just keep talking to him, connecting with him, reminding him of a greater part of himself.

This woman is a hero to me, and her actions are an example of courage and grace.  They are also an example of how I see yoga working.  She anchored herself in Source and remembered that underneath our skin, underneath our actions, we all come from that same Source.

Her words and actions remind me very much of a teaching from the Yoga Sutras that lists qualities to cultivate on the path of yoga including shraddha, virya, and smriti.  Shraddha is faith, and virya is strength, and she exemplified both of these with her steadfast determination to anchor herself in God.  And she remembered (smriti).  She remembered her own challenges, and those of her children.  She remembered to anchor herself in something greater.  She remembered that the divine manifests in many different ways, including her own disabled child, and this disturbed young man.

Her actions reminded me why both the teachings/philosophy of yoga and the practice are so important for how we meet challenges in our lives. Her actions reminded me that the path of yoga I prefer is about both anchoring ourselves in the Divine and seeing the divine in others.  And further, that anchoring allows us to continue to refine our understanding and act in ways that create more beauty and harmony in the world, rather than more death and destruction. In this way, each of us can be a hero in our own lives.

CONTEMPLATION:
Sit quietly and ask yourself: what do I anchor myself in?  How do I anchor myself?
Allow yourself to sit with these questions for a few moments, then journal about it.

I hate to answer “why” questions. Because.  Because the answer seems either trite, deceptively simple, or exceedingly complex. And articulating the nuance and complexity is hard. Yet I find that in the process of answering such a question, I come back to the fundamental truths I tend to forget, again and again.

I have been struggling for some time with writing. I am yearning to make it part of my life, but I struggle so much with finding the time, doing it, and following through.  Sound familiar? Perhaps there is something in your life for which you have a yearning, but have a hard time manifesting. Sometimes it is important to ask why you want to do it. Remember why it is important.

So at the top of the page I write: Why do I write? The  answer sounds trite and simple: I write for myself and I write for others.  Did I mention that I hate these kind of questions?  For ultimately the question is: why does anyone do anything? As I allow the words to flow through me on to the page, I come to a place of deeper remembrance.

Writing helps me.  It helps me clarify my thoughts. In the process of articulation and its refinement, I deepen my understanding. This is true of many topics that I write about, but it is particularly true of yoga. I have some teaching I want to share, and in the process of taking that idea from its initial pulsation in my awareness  to  concrete words and sentences, something happens that brings it home to me in a way that nothing else does.

I write for the same reason I teach yoga:  because I want to make a positive difference in other people’s lives. I write with the hope that something in the writing touches someone in a way that will move them forward, help them see more clearly, articulate a nuance or open a crack for the light to come through.

I write as well for the practice and process of it.  It reminds me that when I can connect to some deeper place in myself,  I can let the writing flow, allow myself to be a conduit for the teachings. When I do this, I am sometimes surprised at what flows through me, which allows me to remember that it is not only me creating the writing, I am a vehicle for the great wisdom teachings. As such, it might be me who helps someone else make a connection to themselves, a shift in their lives that might not otherwise happen if I don’t write.  All of this motivates me to be an as clear a  conduit as possible by continuing my yoga and writing practices.

What I write about writing can be said for many activities. Why do we do ANYthing?  Everything can be done in service, as an offering, as an expression of a larger creative energy, which is why it is important to remind ourselves why…why?  Why write?  Why practice yoga?  Why study philosophy?  WHY? Why am I here?  Why am I here, if not to create more connection, more love, more light, more beauty, more sweetness, to connect more fully to myself and to others, to the world.  And that is why I write.

PRACTICE:
Is there something in your life you are yearning  to manifest but not yet able to?  It could be in any aspect of your life: health, exercise, nutrition, practices, hobbies, vocation, etc.  Find a quiet time when you have 20-30 minutes. Have your journal at hand and ask yourself: why do I want to _________?  Sit with the question in your awareness for 5-10 minutes, then write about it. Allow yourself to write without planning it out or judging. Simply let whatever wants to flow onto the page do so.