Thursday, July 31, 2014

Habits of Mind

Daily Reflection
Our minds seem to have this bad habit of making immediate judgments. We see a mother shouting at a small child in a store and we think, "wow, she really shouldn't shout at her child like that; she isn't a very good mother." Or, my neighbor is always banging around in his garage at 11:30pm when I am trying to get to sleep and he should really be more mindful of others. He should change his habits. He is inconsiderate. Notice how the mind is assigning a meaning to another person's actions. This happens very quickly, and most of the time, we are unaware of it. This is why yoga is such an important practice. The practice of yoga can help us slow down our thinking, notice our thinking and become more aware of these automatic habits of our minds. Yoga can help us to stop making assumptions about others and to stop judging their actions so quickly. It can make our thoughts more neutral. For example, "isn't it interesting that the mother is shouting or isn't it interesting that my neighbor is doing something in the garage at 11:30pm. I wonder what it is?" Helping our minds react in a more neutral way can lead to greater compassion with others and better relationships. No one wants to be judged.

In your journal today write down 3 examples of situations in which you judged another's behavior very quickly, without thinking about it. As you go throughout your day, notice this habit of mind as you encounter each experience. Write down the results. What was the experience? What did your mind tell you? Now, take a step back and change this to a more neutral event. Replace what your mind tells you with, "isn't it interesting that...." What has this exercise told you about yourself and your habits of mind?

Swami K

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Karma

Daily Reflection
Many people in western culture misunderstand the word karma and the role it plays in their lives. Karma is not ethically charged. This means that it is not good or bad. It is neutral. In the west, we tend to think of karma as "what goes around comes around" or if we do something bad, bad will come to us, just as if we do something good, good will come to us. However, this is not the correct understanding of karma. Karma is the law of cause and effect. All this means is that if you do an action there will be an effect of that action. Our minds misunderstand this concept and assign meaning to the results. Yes, there are consequences to the actions we take. These just happen naturally as a result of the action. Your mind falsely tells you whether or not these consequences are good or bad.

In your journal today, I want you to think about 3 actions that you took and the results that came of those actions. For example,

Action = moved to a new town
Action = went shopping on Thursday morning
Action = smiled at my neighbor this morning

Record the results of each action and notice what the mind tells you about the results.

Result of moving to a new town  = had to make new friends
Result of going shopping on Thursday = was able to read a book on Friday
Result of smiling at neighbor = was invited to dinner

Notice as you read through the example that you are assigning meaning to each of the results and that this meaning could go either way. Perhaps you like to make new friends and welcome the opportunity (positive association) or maybe you find it hard to make new friends and are having trouble (negative association). The important thing to notice during this exercise is your mind is making the associations and is creating the meaning.

This means that you can change the meaning at any time.

Swami K

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Ask Yourself Why


Daily Reflection
Sometimes we get very caught up in our lives without stopping to ask ourselves, "why"? Why am I working at this job? Why do I make the choices that I do? Why am I where I am today? This is a very important part of our spiritual practice. We need to know why we have chosen to do something. Knowing why can help us focus, can help us observe if we are making a choice for the right reasons, and knowing why can help us to live more harmoniously. For example, recently a student of mine failed to pass my class for a third time. I asked her to ask herself why. Why did she keep failing the class? Her response surprised her. It was her last class and she wasn't ready to graduate. She was afraid to move forward. Another student of mine moved to another state and her license to practice nursing was declined. For months, she was angry, wanted revenge, felt unworthy and felt the need to prove herself. I asked her why was she caught up in this problem when other very exciting opportunities were arising in her life. She said it was her ego. She needed this license only to satisfy her ego. She recognized that this was causing her problems and her eyes finally opened to the other possibilities available to her in her life.

In your journal today, ask yourself why. Why are you doing what you are doing? Begin at the beginning of your day and record all of the things you did and ask yourself why. For example, why do I get up at 4am and not at 6am? Why do I work in an office rather than at home? Keep going and you will discover some very important insights into who you are and what you want in your life.


Swami K

Monday, July 28, 2014

Fear is Greater Than the Reality

Daily Reflection
Every day we live with our own fear. There are so many things that are out of our control that we feel fearful. We can be afraid of failure, afraid of success, afraid our partner will leave, afraid our partner will stay, afraid someone we love will die, afraid to work on our goals, afraid to question, the list goes on and is as unique as each individual. However, we should be aware that our fears often go unrealized. Those things we fear, those things we worry about never happen. We cause fear within ourselves and the fear is often greater than what actually happens. We can let go of this tendency towards fear by not focusing on the past, not focusing on the future, but instead, focusing on the present moment.

In your journal today reflect on what you fear. Ask yourself why you fear those things. What happened in your life, perhaps in a past experience that led to the fear? How many of the things you fear have actually come true? Would you agree with the statement that fear is often greater than the reality?

Swami K

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Reflections

Please take the weekend to reflect on your journal entries this week. Look for patterns in thinking, explore ideas in more detail, and summarize what you learned about yourself this week.

Swami K

Friday, July 25, 2014

Acknowledge Yourself


Daily Reflections
Oftentimes we are focused on the future and how we will move forward in our lives. We think about what we want to achieve rather than what we have achieved. It can be very difficult to take an objective look at our lives and give ourselves praise for all that we have already done. We are caught up in our own lives as they are right now. Accomplishments happen over a long period of time, in little baby steps, and often go unnoticed.

In your journal today, I want you to reflect back on your last 5-10 years and record all that you have done, how you have changed, what goals you have met, what you have achieved and accomplished. Think about who you were and what you were doing 5 years ago, 10 years ago. Who were you then, what has changed and how are you now? I also want you to reflect on some of the things that are a little more abstract. What I mean here is that it is easy to see things like - "well, I have my degree now" then it is to see "ah, I am much kinder now than I was 10 years ago." Acknowledge how far you have come. Celebrate who you are.

Swami K

Thursday, July 24, 2014

This Month


Daily Reflection
Most of us are goal setters. We set big goals at the beginning of the year but often find we lose sight of them. Not only do we lose sight of them but we become unfocused on what we really want. I constantly hear people say, "I'm really not sure what I want to do with my life." I hear this from those who are 15 and those who are 80. It is an ongoing experience that we all have in our lives. As our lives change so do our needs and wants and this change is constant. It can be very overwhelming to try to decide what we want to do with our lives. This goal is too big and we are unlikely to be able to decide.

One technique I use to combat this problem is that I ask myself at the beginning of each month, "what do I want to do this month? What do I want to accomplish?" I try to choose just one thing rather than several so that I can really dive deep and focus. I find that if I choose several things, I lose focus and end up doing nothing.

In your journal today, reflect on what you would like to accomplish during the month of August. What one goal can you work on? Put it on your calendar for August 1st and track your progress.

Swami K

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Focus on You


Daily Reflection
Today, I want you to focus on you. We need to set aside time in our lives to nurture ourselves, reconnect to our spirit, and soothe our souls. To live a life of happiness we need to do things that make us happy. It is just too easy to lose ourselves in the lives of others, to focus on helping others, and sacrifice our own needs.

In your journal today, I want you to make a list of those things that bring you joy, that make you feel peaceful, that fill your soul. For example, on my list would be taking a walk on the beach, taking an asana class, meeting with friends for dinner, etc. After you have your list, open your calendar and schedule time to do these things. Continue this practice. Every Sunday, revisit this list and make time to focus on you each week.

Swami K

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Painting Thoughts


Daily Reflection
Our thoughts rise and fall. We habitually think the same thoughts and it is difficult to change our thoughts. For this reason, we draw thoughts to us. The problem is that we do not often observe these thoughts or participate in the situation. We let our thoughts control us and our actions reflect these thoughts. If this is the case, perhaps we should draw (or paint) our thoughts. What I mean here is that as a painter paints on her canvass so too can we. Paint the thoughts you want to have (instead of the thoughts you do have) onto your canvass today.

In your journal today reflect on what thoughts you are always thinking. For example, do you often think of your partner? Do you often think of work? What are your thought patterns? What thoughts are you drawing to you and how does this shape your life? If you could change one thought that would help you live more harmoniously what would it be?

Swami K

Monday, July 21, 2014

Forgetfulness


Daily Reflection
The subject of today's reflection is forgetfulness. Oftentimes, we may experience pain in our lives because we are forgetful. What do we forget that causes this problem? We forget that we are not our thoughts and that we are not our bodies. We are spirit. Most of the time, we identify with what our thoughts are telling us and we attach ourselves to these thoughts. We think that the thoughts are us. We also cling very tightly to the way the body is feeling and lose our focus. For example, I am hungry. Have you ever been so hungry that you are consumed with this hunger and can't think of anything else? We are not our bodies. We need to let go of the thoughts and let go of the physical sensations and remember that we are spirit.

In your journal today write down one example of when you were caught up in your thoughts and discuss how these thoughts brought pain into your life. How might taking a few minutes to center yourself and returning to your spirit help you?


Swami K

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Reflections

Please take the weekend to reflect on your journal entries this week. Look for patterns in thinking, explore ideas in more detail, and summarize what you learned about yourself this week.

Swami K

Friday, July 18, 2014

Tracking Your Life Path


Daily Reflection
Today, I'm going to share a practice that I find truly helps me in my life. I keep an excel spreadsheet to track the things in my life that I find important. I started this practice in January and have been reviewing it monthly. Across the top of the spreadsheet, I have the month and then I break the month out into days so that I have an entry for each day. In the rest of the columns, I have listed out things that I want to make sure I incorporate into my life. For example, my columns read time with my husband and children, asana/spiritual practice and study, and what things I focused on during the day (my thought patterns). Each day, at the end of the day, I record a simple "yes or no" if I spent time with my husband and children, did yoga, etc. I find that this practice provides a nice record of what I find important as well as what I am focused on. It also points out to me if I have strayed from the path or lost focus.

In your journal today reflect on whether or not this practice might help you. If you believe it would, open up a spreadsheet and get started. If you aren't quite sure what to do, send me an email and I will help you get started.

Swami K

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Look Around

Daily Reflection
Today, I want you to look around at the people that you have in your life. Are they kind, friendly, warm, compassionate? Are they greedy, mean, selfish, angry? The people we are surrounded by often help us to create what we see in life. If we are surrounded by kind people, we see kindness. If we are surrounded by angry people, we see anger. If we are surrounded by anxious people, we see anxiety.

In your journal today think about the people in your life and the characteristics they have. Choose several people to write about and try to pick people in which you see positive qualities as well as negative. How do you feel and what do you think when you are with those people you feel have positive qualities? How do you feel and what do you think when you are with those people you feel have negative qualities? Who do you want to be?

Swami K

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Rooting Down


Daily Reflection
We need to gain a firm footing in our lives. During our asana practice in order to successfully balance in any pose we have to root down or build a solid foundation. We need to ground our feet to the earth and build upwards. Life is like this. We need to root down in our lives. We need to build a solid foundation in order to reach up, stretch and grow. If our footing is weak, we will fall over.

In your journal record your thoughts on how strong your own footing is. Are you approaching each day from a firm foundation? What do you feel creates a firm foundation? How could you best put this into practice?


Swami K

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Slowing Down


Daily Reflection
Students often ask me how to slow down. They are very busy and overwhelmed with the amount of tasks they have to get through each day. I generally suggest they try two things:

1. Set aside 5 minutes for your meditation practice first thing in the morning
2. Slow down your breathing

The reason to set aside a little time in the morning for meditation is because it will set the pace of your day. If you start your day from a place of feeling centered, it is easier to stay centered the entire day.

Slowing down your breathing periodically, throughout the day, can bring you back to this original feeling of meditation that you experience in the morning and slowing down your breathing will also slow your thoughts. It is often our thoughts that make us feel busy and overwhelmed.

In your journal today record how these two techniques worked for you. Were you more centered and focused? Did your day feel easier? Slower? More satisfying?


Swami K

Monday, July 14, 2014

The Soul of A Citizen


Daily Reflection
Today's reflection is a little bit different. Today, I want to recommend a book called Soul of a Citizen. This is a beautifully written book by Paul Loeb and is one that I use in my teaching at Roosevelt University. It is a book about creating your legacy. It is a book about activism. If you want to make a change to the world but aren't sure how to get started, I invite you to read this powerful book that provides real life examples of how everyday people are changing the world one small action at a time.

In your journal reflect on what changes you would like to see in the world. Answer the question - How would I like the world I live in to be different?


Swami K

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Reflections

Please take the weekend to reflect on your journal entries this week. Look for patterns in thinking, explore ideas in more detail, and summarize what you learned about yourself this week.

Swami K

Friday, July 11, 2014

Notice Love

Daily Reflection
Some days are difficult and challenging but other days go well. Why is this? It is the result of our thoughts. As you go through your day today focus on love. Focus on those you love and those who love you (including the pets you have around you). Focus on the love you see around you at home, at your place of work, at your yoga studio, with your friends. Think of nothing else, only of love. Fill yourself with that feeling of love.

In your journal record how your day went. Was your day filled with love? You can do this anytime you wish and you can focus on whatever you like. If you want a day of happiness, focus only on happiness. If you want a day of harmony, focus only on harmony. This is the one-pointedness that we practice in meditation.


Swami K

Thursday, July 10, 2014

How We Treat Others


Daily Reflection
Whether you are having a good day or bad day or something in between, today I want you to think about every encounter you have with others. Carry a small notebook with you and take a few brief notes each time you have an exchange even if it is just to smile at someone

In your journal record all of your encounters and your reactions. Were your thoughts positive, were they negative, were they kind or aggressive, did you show caring and compassion or frustration? Tomorrow make each encounter positive whether you want to or not and notice how much better your day goes.


Swami K

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

The Influence of Our Dreams

Daily Reflection
I often find that our dreams can sometimes heavily influence our thinking. For example, last night I had a dream about my grandmother. My grandmother passed away over ten years ago now and I don't find myself thinking about her as much as I used to; however, because she was in my dream last night, I have spent a good portion of the day reflecting on her life. This happens not only with people but with themes. For example, last week I had a dream that alligators were trapping me in a stadium. The main theme of the dream was feeling trapped. I found that I spent a good portion of the day thinking about all of the times I have felt trapped in my own life.

In your journal today record your dream. Watch how that dream influences your thinking and actions today. Ask yourself, what influence did my dream have on my thoughts today? Just be aware.


Swami K

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Beware Your Thoughts

Daily Reflection
This morning I wanted to share a quote from one of my teachers, Goswami Kriyananda. In his book, A Meditation for Each Day, he asks us to watch our thoughts. He says, "Beware of that which you desire because tomorrow will be fashioned by it." The sole purpose for us to keep this journal is for us to watch our thoughts so that we can become more aware of our thoughts and so that we can beware of those thoughts. We need to think about our thinking.

In your journal today, I want you to observe your thinking, paying specific attention to your desires. What desires are floating around in there? Do you want to pick them up? In other words, do you want to act on those desires or would it be better to just let them dissolve away?


Swami K

Monday, July 7, 2014

Standing on Your Own Two Feet

Daily Reflection
Today I wish to pass down a teaching that I learned from my teacher Swami Pranananda. This is a teaching that she learned from her guru Goswami Kriyananda. I think it is an important teaching and one that we spend our entire lives learning how to do. These teachers have called it "The Great Yoga Asana" and if you wish to listen to the entire lecture, you can find it here: http://www.yogakriya.org/

The teaching is about learning to stand on our own two feet. The lecture discusses the way we learn to stand on our feet as babies and how this process continues on through adulthood. It reminded me of what I teach my students about critical thinking. It is during college that many of my students are asked to share, for the first time, their own opinions on a topic and they learn how to investigate these topics critically. In yoga, we learn to investigate our minds in this same way. We ask questions, we reflect and we think critically about who we are and how we got there. We analyze ourselves and our lives in order to live more harmoniously and compassionately. We learn to think on our own rather than to conform and try to fit in.

Today in your journal I want you to reflect on what these words mean to you. When you saw the title of this post "Standing on Your Own Two Feet", what did you think about? What does it mean to stand on your own two feet? Do you feel that you are? How has this process been for you - easy, difficult, both? Do you feel that you could stand on your own two feet in more situations than you do?

Swami K

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Reflections

Please take the weekend to reflect on your journal entries this week. Look for patterns in thinking, explore ideas in more detail, and summarize what you learned about yourself this week.

Swami K

Friday, July 4, 2014

Standing in Your Own Way


Daily Reflection
While many of us know that we are the artists of our own lives and that what we think we will become, we never quite seem to get there because we are standing in our own ways. We want to make a change. We might even know how to make that change but we find that each day we wake up and things are the same. It is important to pay attention to why we don't make that change and why we are standing in our own ways. We might not be ready to do things differently.

In your journal reflect on how you might be standing in your own way. What patterns are you repeating that cause the same results? What small change could you make to the pattern in order to get different results? Are you ready to make this change? If not, how could you live more harmoniously until you are ready?


Swami K

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Obstacles


Daily Reflection
Obstacles. We all encounter them along our path. There are external obstacles and internal obstacles. Sometimes an external obstacle (loss of a job, move to a new place, death of a loved one) creates an internal obstacle (those thoughts and patterns that we hold on to that no longer serve us). Spend a part of today reflecting on both your external obstacles and your internal obstacles.

In your journal write down a list of your external and internal obstacles. Think about how one effects the other. Think about the relationship between the two. What is your biggest obstacle right now? How might you work more harmoniously with this obstacle? Is there a way to make it softer and less intrusive in your life? Are you ready to let it go?


Swami K

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Space Between the Thoughts


Daily Reflection
Most of the time we are too busy to recognize that there is a space between our thoughts or as soon as we sense a space we tend to fill it. We don't stop, observe it, and just be in the moment; instead, we move forward and run with the next thought. We grab onto it and let it carry us. We let it inform our day and the actions we take. Today, let's take a moment to slow down our thoughts and focus on the space. To quiet ourselves and let ourselves rest. Out of rest comes great creativity. Give yourself permission just to be still.

In your journal think about how you approach the space between your thoughts. Do you try to fill it as quickly as possible? Are you afraid when it is too quiet or you don't know how to fill your mind? Are you relieved when their is space? Do you feel peaceful?

Swami K

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Alignment


Daily Reflection
During an asana class I took last week, the teacher suggested that we focus on our alignment. This made me think about the word yoga - to yoke together your earth life and spiritual life - in a different way. I thought to ask the question is my life in alignment? Not only do we want the postures we practice to be in alignment but we want our lives to be in alignment. When our lives are not in alignment, something feels a bit off or not quite right. For example, perhaps you feel like your relationships are going well but not your work life or vice versa. Something is out of sync.

In your journal today reflect on whether or not you feel like your life is in alignment. Are all of the pieces correctly balanced? Are they harmonious with each other? Can you ease into the posture of your life and rest there without difficulty or are you struggling and sweating?

Swami K