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
Showing posts with label reflecting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reflecting. Show all posts
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
I Appreciate You
Daily Reflection
On most days we think more about how we want people to change. This or that irritates us about the person's personality. We think, "if only you would do...my life would be better."
Today, I want you to observe your interactions with others and I want you to notice what you are thinking. Are you thinking critical thoughts or harmonious thoughts? Are you irritated or frustrated with something that person is doing?
Today, instead of speaking up about your frustration, I want you to think about one thing that you appreciate about that person and then I want you to tell them about it. Each time you have a negative thought about someone discard it and replace it with appreciation. Continue this practice throughout your day and write about these experiences in your journal.
Swami K
On most days we think more about how we want people to change. This or that irritates us about the person's personality. We think, "if only you would do...my life would be better."
Today, I want you to observe your interactions with others and I want you to notice what you are thinking. Are you thinking critical thoughts or harmonious thoughts? Are you irritated or frustrated with something that person is doing?
Today, instead of speaking up about your frustration, I want you to think about one thing that you appreciate about that person and then I want you to tell them about it. Each time you have a negative thought about someone discard it and replace it with appreciation. Continue this practice throughout your day and write about these experiences in your journal.
Swami K
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Twelfth House
Daily Reflection
Today we will be reflecting on our twelfth house, the house of the hidden. The unexpected, the unseen, the subconscious, the secrets, the self-help or self-undoing.
If you enjoy astrology and wish to learn more about which planets and sun signs affect your personality, feel free to do so. For the purpose of our reflections today, we are just going to take a look at our lives as they are in this current moment and observe the main features we see. This is only a preliminary investigation of each of the 12 houses. We are only familiarizing ourselves with the basics.
Today you should ask yourself the following questions in relation to your twelfth house:
What have your most difficult battles been, your hardest tasks? How have you approached them?
What do you most worry about? What secrets do you carry?
Do you tend to help yourself or do things to undo what you are trying to accomplish?
What symbols are present in your life?
In what areas do you feel confined or stuck?
Swami K
Today we will be reflecting on our twelfth house, the house of the hidden. The unexpected, the unseen, the subconscious, the secrets, the self-help or self-undoing.
If you enjoy astrology and wish to learn more about which planets and sun signs affect your personality, feel free to do so. For the purpose of our reflections today, we are just going to take a look at our lives as they are in this current moment and observe the main features we see. This is only a preliminary investigation of each of the 12 houses. We are only familiarizing ourselves with the basics.
Today you should ask yourself the following questions in relation to your twelfth house:
What have your most difficult battles been, your hardest tasks? How have you approached them?
What do you most worry about? What secrets do you carry?
Do you tend to help yourself or do things to undo what you are trying to accomplish?
What symbols are present in your life?
In what areas do you feel confined or stuck?
Swami K
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Fourth House
Daily Reflection
Today we will be reflecting on our forth house, the house of home and mother.
If you enjoy astrology and wish to learn more about which planets and sun signs affect your personality, feel free to do so. For the purpose of our reflections today, we are just going to take a look at our lives as they are in this current moment and observe the main features we see. This is only a preliminary investigation of each of the 12 houses. We are only familiarizing ourselves with the basics.
Today you should reflect on your attitudes and relationship towards your mother. How well do you know your mother? How did you feel about her as a child? What is your relationship with your mother like now? If your mother has passed on what do you most miss about her? What similar personality traits do you share? How are you different?
You should also reflect on your home environment. What is your home environment like now? Is it similar or different to your home environment as a child? Is your home life satisfying? Are there any changes you would make? Do you like where you live? Would you prefer to live in a different structure or place? What are some of your family traditions? How have you kept them alive?
Swami K
Today we will be reflecting on our forth house, the house of home and mother.
If you enjoy astrology and wish to learn more about which planets and sun signs affect your personality, feel free to do so. For the purpose of our reflections today, we are just going to take a look at our lives as they are in this current moment and observe the main features we see. This is only a preliminary investigation of each of the 12 houses. We are only familiarizing ourselves with the basics.
Today you should reflect on your attitudes and relationship towards your mother. How well do you know your mother? How did you feel about her as a child? What is your relationship with your mother like now? If your mother has passed on what do you most miss about her? What similar personality traits do you share? How are you different?
You should also reflect on your home environment. What is your home environment like now? Is it similar or different to your home environment as a child? Is your home life satisfying? Are there any changes you would make? Do you like where you live? Would you prefer to live in a different structure or place? What are some of your family traditions? How have you kept them alive?
Swami K
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Day 2 - Major Life Events
Daily Reflection
If you have come to this post on Day 2, go back and take a look at Day 1 first. We are going to be spending the next 5 days reflecting on the major events of our lives. This is going to take some time and is a practice you may want to continue because it will give you many details about who you are, how you handle things, what the patterns are in your life, what your strengths are, what your challenges are, etc. This practice can be very helpful to you, particularly if you have questions about yourself, your life, what you want to do next, what your problem areas are, etc.
In your journal today write down one overall feeling next to each life event you recorded yesterday. For example:
Birth of 1st child - fear
Marriage to second husband - great joy
Separation of pelvis - opportunity
Move in 3rd grade - relief
We will be moving on to the next step on day 3.
Swami K
If you have come to this post on Day 2, go back and take a look at Day 1 first. We are going to be spending the next 5 days reflecting on the major events of our lives. This is going to take some time and is a practice you may want to continue because it will give you many details about who you are, how you handle things, what the patterns are in your life, what your strengths are, what your challenges are, etc. This practice can be very helpful to you, particularly if you have questions about yourself, your life, what you want to do next, what your problem areas are, etc.
In your journal today write down one overall feeling next to each life event you recorded yesterday. For example:
Birth of 1st child - fear
Marriage to second husband - great joy
Separation of pelvis - opportunity
Move in 3rd grade - relief
We will be moving on to the next step on day 3.
Swami K
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
What Did You Expect
Daily Reflection
The choice lies in front of you. What do you decide? What are the results of that choice? They are often very different from what we expect. Let's take an example. Let's say you decide you want a new job. There are some problems at your old job and they begin to be intolerable so you decide that a new job is the answer. You begin searching for a new job and you apply to 50 companies. You go on some interviews and finally you are hired. You are very excited and maintain that excitement for a few months. Then, you begin to see that this new job was not quite what you were expecting and that some of the features of the old job no longer seem as annoying as they once were. The environment of the new job is very toxic and after 6 months you begin longing to be back at your old place of work. You start planning a way to leave and to approach your old boss. Your old boss is happy to take you back and addresses some of the previous problems you had. You are back at your old job and some of the old tensions have been resolved.
Our expectations of what is happening and how something might happen in the future are usually different than what actually happens. It can be very helpful to your spiritual practice if you let go of your expectations and just let things unfold. The more tightly we cling to our expectations, the more dissatisfied we become.
In your journal today reflect on a situation similar to the example I gave above. Discuss a particular situation in which you became dissatisfied with something and thought you might be more satisfied if you made a change. Look at your expectations. What did you expect to happen? What actually happened? What might have happened if you never had any expectations in the first place?
Swami K
The choice lies in front of you. What do you decide? What are the results of that choice? They are often very different from what we expect. Let's take an example. Let's say you decide you want a new job. There are some problems at your old job and they begin to be intolerable so you decide that a new job is the answer. You begin searching for a new job and you apply to 50 companies. You go on some interviews and finally you are hired. You are very excited and maintain that excitement for a few months. Then, you begin to see that this new job was not quite what you were expecting and that some of the features of the old job no longer seem as annoying as they once were. The environment of the new job is very toxic and after 6 months you begin longing to be back at your old place of work. You start planning a way to leave and to approach your old boss. Your old boss is happy to take you back and addresses some of the previous problems you had. You are back at your old job and some of the old tensions have been resolved.
Our expectations of what is happening and how something might happen in the future are usually different than what actually happens. It can be very helpful to your spiritual practice if you let go of your expectations and just let things unfold. The more tightly we cling to our expectations, the more dissatisfied we become.
In your journal today reflect on a situation similar to the example I gave above. Discuss a particular situation in which you became dissatisfied with something and thought you might be more satisfied if you made a change. Look at your expectations. What did you expect to happen? What actually happened? What might have happened if you never had any expectations in the first place?
Swami K
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
The Nature of My Life
Daily Reflection
Today we will be reflecting on the nature of your life. We want to evaluate what activities you are most focused on at this time.
In your journal today make a list of everything you did today. For example:
4am - 6am worked on reflection posts for my blog
6am - 8am teaching work
8am - 8pm went grocery shopping, spent time with kids, did house chores
Once you have your list you will be able to see what the main focus is of your life and how much time you are spending on each activity. If you were to look at my list above, you would notice that most of my time and energy goes to being a wife and mother. I spend the majority of my time attending to my children, spouse, and the daily maintenance of the home. What this tells me about myself is that I find my home life extremely important and that I also find it rewarding. This exercise can also help you evaluate whether or not you want to be spending this amount of time focused on one particular thing. It could be the case that I am spending all of this time and energy on my family life but I don't find it rewarding. It is important to note down the feelings and emotions associated with where you are spending your energy particularly if you wish to make a change. You can use this as a starting point to evaluate your time, how you spend it and whether or not you would like to be spending it in a different way.
Swami K
Today we will be reflecting on the nature of your life. We want to evaluate what activities you are most focused on at this time.
In your journal today make a list of everything you did today. For example:
4am - 6am worked on reflection posts for my blog
6am - 8am teaching work
8am - 8pm went grocery shopping, spent time with kids, did house chores
Once you have your list you will be able to see what the main focus is of your life and how much time you are spending on each activity. If you were to look at my list above, you would notice that most of my time and energy goes to being a wife and mother. I spend the majority of my time attending to my children, spouse, and the daily maintenance of the home. What this tells me about myself is that I find my home life extremely important and that I also find it rewarding. This exercise can also help you evaluate whether or not you want to be spending this amount of time focused on one particular thing. It could be the case that I am spending all of this time and energy on my family life but I don't find it rewarding. It is important to note down the feelings and emotions associated with where you are spending your energy particularly if you wish to make a change. You can use this as a starting point to evaluate your time, how you spend it and whether or not you would like to be spending it in a different way.
Swami K
Monday, August 4, 2014
The Order of Life
Daily Reflection
Everything that happens outside of me is happening within me. We often think our lives are chaotic and we have trouble understanding what will happen next in our lives. Life can look completely disorderly. However, this is only a misunderstanding of the patterns of our lives. What I mean here is that what we think, we do. This might be very obvious when we think, "I'm hungry" and then you go and get some food, but it is less obvious, when your spouse becomes angry with you out of the blue. What has happened is that the way you have been responding to your spouse (or best friend, or child, etc) has changed slightly and that person has become aware of the changes on a subtle level and is responding.
Our minds wax and wane as does the cycle of the moon but we are often unaware of these changes. Our job here is to keep this journal as a way to identify these patterns. If we know what is going on internally then we can control what happens externally. We can make some order out of the chaos.
In your journal I would like you to reflect on your life as it was yesterday. What kind of mood were you in? How did this affect the day you had? What were your responses to others as a result of that mood?
Swami K
Everything that happens outside of me is happening within me. We often think our lives are chaotic and we have trouble understanding what will happen next in our lives. Life can look completely disorderly. However, this is only a misunderstanding of the patterns of our lives. What I mean here is that what we think, we do. This might be very obvious when we think, "I'm hungry" and then you go and get some food, but it is less obvious, when your spouse becomes angry with you out of the blue. What has happened is that the way you have been responding to your spouse (or best friend, or child, etc) has changed slightly and that person has become aware of the changes on a subtle level and is responding.
Our minds wax and wane as does the cycle of the moon but we are often unaware of these changes. Our job here is to keep this journal as a way to identify these patterns. If we know what is going on internally then we can control what happens externally. We can make some order out of the chaos.
In your journal I would like you to reflect on your life as it was yesterday. What kind of mood were you in? How did this affect the day you had? What were your responses to others as a result of that mood?
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
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
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, January 1, 2014
Who You Think You Should Be
Happy New Year!
Announcements
We will be kicking off our new year with a focus on service work. If you live in the area and wish to join us for service oriented projects throughout the year, please join http://www.meetup.com/Volunteer-South-Florida/ Our first event, a meet and greet, will take place on January 8th. For more events, please check out the events page.
Starting in February there will be a weekly audio meditation and teaching available for a $5 donation. A portion of the donation will go towards a different charity organization each week. Funds raised and donated will be tracked on our giving back page.
Daily Reflection
To begin our new year we will be reflecting on the differences between who we think we should be and who we really are. This may take some intense inner work and I encourage you to reflect on these differences throughout the year.
Each of us have a picture of who we think we should be and we make choices according to this picture of ourselves. The problem is sometimes who we think we should be and who we really are are in conflict with each other.
For example, Tami thinks she should be a more authoritarian parent who sets strict rules for her children but this is not who she really is; this is what society wants her to be. She wants to be a different kind of parent.
Let's take some time in our journals and reflect on the divide between who we think we should be and who we are.
To begin write down I should be....but who I really am....
The benefit of this practice is to become more comfortable with who you really are and to love and accept that person. You will want to let go of who you think you should be.
Swami K
Announcements
We will be kicking off our new year with a focus on service work. If you live in the area and wish to join us for service oriented projects throughout the year, please join http://www.meetup.com/Volunteer-South-Florida/ Our first event, a meet and greet, will take place on January 8th. For more events, please check out the events page.
Starting in February there will be a weekly audio meditation and teaching available for a $5 donation. A portion of the donation will go towards a different charity organization each week. Funds raised and donated will be tracked on our giving back page.
Daily Reflection
To begin our new year we will be reflecting on the differences between who we think we should be and who we really are. This may take some intense inner work and I encourage you to reflect on these differences throughout the year.
Each of us have a picture of who we think we should be and we make choices according to this picture of ourselves. The problem is sometimes who we think we should be and who we really are are in conflict with each other.
For example, Tami thinks she should be a more authoritarian parent who sets strict rules for her children but this is not who she really is; this is what society wants her to be. She wants to be a different kind of parent.
Let's take some time in our journals and reflect on the divide between who we think we should be and who we are.
To begin write down I should be....but who I really am....
The benefit of this practice is to become more comfortable with who you really are and to love and accept that person. You will want to let go of who you think you should be.
Swami K
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