“Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring.” – William Alexander
Category Archives: Readings
Reading from Class week of 4/16/2013: Yoga and Life = An Obstacle Race
From Georg Feuerstein’s Yoga Gems: “Remember, Yoga practice is like an obstacle race: many obstructions are purposely put on the way for us to pass through. They are there to make us understand and express our own capacities. We all have that strength, but we don’t seem to know it. We seem to need toContinue reading “Reading from Class week of 4/16/2013: Yoga and Life = An Obstacle Race”
Reading from Class week of 4/9/2013: Georg Feuerstein on “Mindfulness”
From Yoga Gems: “So long as we are on automatic, we are propelled by our own habit patterns, and this merely reproduces our state of unenlightenment. The moment we introduce mindfulness, however, we can control undesirable thoughts, motivations, emotions, and actions and activate their positive counterparts.” – Georg Feuerstein With renewal of spring, I was inspired by the illuminationContinue reading “Reading from Class week of 4/9/2013: Georg Feuerstein on “Mindfulness””
Readings from Class: Transitioning to Spring with Charles Dickens and Sarah Ban Breathnach
Week of 3/25: “It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” – Charles Dickens, Great Expectations The experience of teaching in the Back Bay and walking between classes this time of year always inspiresContinue reading “Readings from Class: Transitioning to Spring with Charles Dickens and Sarah Ban Breathnach”
Readings from Class: More of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra 1.33
Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali 1.33: I.33 maitrî-karuñâ-muditopekæâñâä sukha-duïkha-puñyâpuñya-viæayâñâä bhâvanâtaå citta-prasâdanam I have focused my study and practice on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.33 (Chapter 1, verse 33) more fully over the last month. During this process, I have continued to share different translations and commentary on this sutra in classes. From The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali:Continue reading “Readings from Class: More of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra 1.33”
Reading from class: Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtra 1.33
In the first book of the Yoga-Sūtra, Patañjali offers 7 practices to minimize distractions of the mind. Pada 1.33 describes how we should relate/respond to all beings/others. I.33 maitrî-karuñâ-muditopekæâñâä sukha-duïkha-puñyâpuñya-viæayâñâä bhâvanâtaå citta-prasâdanam This week I am sharing Chip Hartranft’s translation from his book The Yoga-Sūtra of Patañjali, which adds a Buddhist perspective to the scienceContinue reading “Reading from class: Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtra 1.33”
Reading from class: one of my favorite quotes is from Abraham Lincoln (for President’s Day week)
“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better”. — Abraham Lincoln
Reading from Class: (Self-) love and equanimity by Sri Swami Satchidananda
“Don’t love only your fellow humans. Love everyone and everything equally. All things are your fellow beings, not only humans. By loving everything you are really loving yourself. Everything is nothing but the expression of yourself. If you stand in front of a mirror, you love that reflection. You smile at it and it smilesContinue reading “Reading from Class: (Self-) love and equanimity by Sri Swami Satchidananda”
Readings From Class: ahimsa inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
With a theme of ahimsa for January and in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his life’s work of peace and love for all, I’ve been sharing the following over the last few weeks: “Always be sure that you struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons. Never succumb to the temptation of becomingContinue reading “Readings From Class: ahimsa inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
Reading From Class: Ajahn Sumedho’s wise words revisited
“To practice we must start exactly where we are. Of course, we can always imagine perfect conditions, how it should be ideally, how everyone else should behave. But it’s not our task to create an ideal. It’s our task to see how it is and to learn from the world as it is. For theContinue reading “Reading From Class: Ajahn Sumedho’s wise words revisited”