As Mother Teresa stated, “The problem with the world is that we draw the circle of our family too small.” Our intention this week is to invite more interconnectedness and community (“kula” in Sanskrit) into our lives — expanding our circle — while staying rooted, grounded, and balanced. Yoga Sutra lll.24 (maitryadisu balani) describes that the cultivation of friendliness creates inner strength. Experiencing healthy compassion and lovingkindness toward ourselves and others strengthens our interconnectedness and sense of overall well-being.

Where and with whom in your life can you experience more interconnectedness, community (kula), friendliness, lovingkindness, and compassion?

Let’s learn some lessons about community and interconnectedness from nature. Visualize a flock of geese flying overhead in a “V” formation.

Fact 1: As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

Fact 2: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

Fact 3: When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.
Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the difficult tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities, and unique arrangements of gifts, talents, and resources.

Fact 4: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep going!
Lesson: We need to make sure our “honking” is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement, which is to listen to one’s own heart or core values, and to listen to the core values of others, is the quality of “honking” we seek.

Fact 5: When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation of geese and try to catch up with the flock.
Lesson: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times, as well as when we are strong.

Who is in your “V” formation?

(The original version of Lessons from Geese was written by Dr. Robert McNeish in 1972.)

Visualize the neighborhood in which you live. Do you know the names of five of your neighbors? Do you know much about them? Let’s aim to go from stranger status to acquaintances to building relationships — community — kula — connection — all with friendliness, compassion, and lovingkindness. “You must love your friend in the same way you love yourself.” ~ Matthew 22:39 TPT

How do we build community and interconnectedness? 🌎
✭ Look for opportunities, be intentional — go the extra mile and take a risk!
✭ Eliminate personal “time suckers”— prioritize your time to create more availability in your day.
✭ Be willing to be interrupted, oftentimes these are Divine appointments and you and others will be blessed!
✭ Stay in a “V” formation — don’t fly solo!

Rise Up song lyrics by Andra Day

You’re broken down and tired
Of living life on a merry-go-round
And you can’t find the fighter
But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out
And move mountains
We gonna walk it out
And move mountains

And I’ll rise up
I’ll rise like the day
I’ll rise up
I’ll rise unafraid
I’ll rise up
And I’ll do it a thousand times again
And I’ll rise up
High like the waves
I’ll rise up
In spite of the ache
I’ll rise up
And I’ll do it a thousand times again
For you

When the silence isn’t quiet
And it feels like it’s getting hard to breathe
And I know you feel like dying
But I promise we’ll take the world to it’s feet
And move mountains
Bring it to it’s feet
And move mountains
And I’ll rise up
I’ll rise like the day
I’ll rise up
I’ll rise unafraid
I’ll rise up
And I’ll do it a thousand times again
For you

All we need, all we need is hope
And for that we have each other
And for that we have each other
We will rise
We will rise
We’ll rise, oh oh
We’ll rise

I’ll rise up
Rise like the day
I’ll rise up
In spite of the ache
I will rise a thousand times again
And we’ll rise up
High like the waves
We’ll rise up
In spite of the ache
We’ll rise up
And we’ll do it a thousand times again
For you oh oh oh oh oh

“It’s funny how, in this journey of life, even though we may begin at different times and places, our paths cross with others so that we may share our love, compassion, observations, and hope.” ~ Steve Maraboli

 

Today we practice SIMPLIFYING — looking at our daily life, our priorities, possessions, activities, commitments, habits, thoughts and actions — and taking the time to reevaluate, gracefully letting go of what no longer serves us and establishing new intentions. When we simplify, we release unwanted expectations and stress and open up to increased freedom, joy, and inner peace. As Steve Maraboli states, “The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.” What, where and how can you simplify? What would make your life lighter and easier? What can you get rid of? Where can you make adjustments to allow for more breathing room?

Take a minute to personally reflect.

Here are 3 practical tips to help prioritize and simplify: 

❦ Look for soul stops. Even on your busiest days, set aside several 5 minute breaks to pause, tune-in, pray, and meditate. This helps redirect thoughts, feelings, and actions — even in the midst of the craziest schedule. Try bookending your day with longer spirit-filling stops.

❦ Be keenly aware. Ask God to get your attention. Look for Divine appointments — a text from a friend at just the right time, a song that speaks directly to your heart, a random opportunity to help someone, a funny situation that turns your day around for the best.

❦ Set limits. Pick a time your distractions begin, and tell them when they end. During those hours, do the phone thing, and computer thing, and every other thing you pour your soul into, but when that time comes to an end, shut it down. Disconnect to connect personally and spiritually.

How will these changes add to your freedom, joy, and inner peace?

“Our life is frittered away by detail — simplify, simplify.” ~Henry Thoreau

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The Weight of Objects, Clearing a Space for Change, by Madisyn Taylor

In life, we tend to have an easier time acquiring possessions than we do getting rid of them. Just as we harbor emotional baggage that is difficult to let go of, our lives can tend to be filled with material objects that we may feel compelled to hold on to. Most people are not conscious of how much they own and how many of their possessions are no longer adding value to their life. They fiercely hold on to material objects because this makes them feel secure or comfortable. While it’s true that the ownership of “stuff” can make you feel good for awhile, it seldom satisfies the deep inner longings that nearly everyone has for fulfillment and satisfaction. It is only when we are ready to let go of our baggage and be vulnerable that it becomes possible to recognize the emotional hold that our possessions can have on us.

It’s not uncommon to hold on to material objects because we are attached to them or fear the empty spaces that will remain if we get rid of them. Giving away the souvenirs from a beloved voyage may feel like we are erasing the memory of that time in our life. We may also worry that our loved ones will feel hurt if we don’t keep the gifts they’ve given us. It’s easy to convince ourselves that unused possessions might come in handy someday or that parting with them will cause you emotional pain. However, when your personal space is filled with objects, there is no room for anything new to enter and stay in your life. Your collection of belongings may “protect” you from the uncertainties of an unknown future while keeping you stuck in the past. Holding on to unnecessary possessions often goes hand in hand with holding on to pain, anger, and resentment, and letting go of your material possessions may help you release emotional baggage.

When you make a conscious decision to fill your personal space with only the objects that you need or bring you joy, your energy level will soar. Clearing your personal space can lead to mental clarity and an improved memory. As you learn to have a more practical and temporary relationship to objects, positive changes will happen, and you’ll have space to create the life that you desire.

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“Each of us has favorite items and places that help to calm and quiet us. What stills our mind? A walk in the park, a special place in the city, a quiet room? A rock, a cross, a picture, a lit candle? Use these places and things to find that place of stillness in yourself. Find the power in stillness. It’s a power that comes gently like the morning sunrise or the evening stars. Take time each day to seek out stillness, to find that sacred spot.
Let your mind and soul be at ease. Don’t grasp and grab for the magic and miracles. When you reside in that place of stillness, the joy, miracles, and magic you’re seeking will find you.” ❤︎ ~ Melody Beattie

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“Let go of something, somewhere. Use yoga to become aware, to touch what lies beneath the surface of the skin. Is there tension longing for release, a knot of fear so deep and familiar that you believe its part of who you are? Ease into dark corners, locked rooms, unexplored hallways. Gain entry not by force of will, but only by softness. Enter on the wings of breath, and turn the key of self-acceptance to let go of something, somewhere.” ~ Danna Faulds

To simplify life I am___________.

There is freedom in letting go. ❤︎

Springtime is the season of reNEWal — abundant life awakens and is displayed all around us — the warm sun, blooming flowers, birds chirping in song, change in the air. It is the perfect time to BREAK THROUGH OUR BLOCKS. “Sometimes we’re so blocked in a particular area we don’t even consider a breakthrough a possibility. We’re so blocked we don’t even see our blocks. Stay open. Don’t limit yourself. Something that yesterday seemed entirely unfeasible and forever beyond your grasp may tomorrow, next month, next year — or today — become something you can do naturally, something that’s available to you. It can come as a total surprise, in an area you hadn’t considered. Your breakthrough may happen in an area you’ve been struggling with and working on.” ~ Melody Beattie

How are you reNEWing? What breakthrough are you looking for?

Life is more than setbacks, and it’s not static. Appreciate and respect where you are now. But let yourself move to the next level when it’s time. Celebrate your breakthroughs when they come. Listen to that quiet voice, that fleeting thought that says, Why don’t you________? — even if it’s something you’ve never done before. ~ Melody Beattie

Who or what is pulling on you?

What do you think you should do?

Now take it to the next step, the next level. What does your heart lead you to do?

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Bhavana Meditation:

Bhavana is a Sanskrit word meaning reflection, contemplation, infusion.

To practice a bhavana meditation, think of a quality you would love to be permeated by, and soak in it.

1. Think of one, two, or three qualities you would love to be infused with. Ask within yourself, “What would I love to be filled with? What kind of energy? What quality of being?” You could write these words in your journal. Your words might be quite different from one another, such as power, peace, love, excitement, stability, clarity.
2. Give yourself a chance to love each word, leisurely. Bond with the word; let your body be at home with it.
3. Develop a rhythm of leisurely thinking of each word and then pausing to feel it resonating in you. Like when you drop a pebble into a pond, watch the ripples. You might think one of your words every ten or twenty seconds, so it takes a full minute to think all three. Get used to this rhythm: the word, the feeling of the word, the sensations and imagery, the silence after the word, then the next word.

You can meditate in this way for five, ten, or twenty minutes a day. You can do this with any quality you love, or are devoted to, or have faith in. ~ Lorin Roche, The Radiance Sutras

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So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. ~ Romans 12:1-2, The Message

May you be reNEWed in this season of your life. Stay open. Don’t limit yourself. A breakthrough is happening.💥

She [He] Let Go

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

(The author of this poem is unclear.  A few sites list Ernest Holmes as the author, another Jennifer Eckert Bernau, and still another Rev. Safire Rose.)

How does this poem resonate with your soul? Just this breath, just this moment, just let go. Sweetly Surrender. ♡

LET GO
Let go of the worries, and the imaginary tragedies that unfold in your mind — and just breathe.
Let go of the concept of easy — nothing is.
Let go of wanting to keep things just as they are — be open to what happens next.
Let go of what you want — and be happy with what you have.
Let go of who’s letting you down — and start focusing on who’s building you up.
Let go of what you thought your life was going to be like — and embrace how it is with a great big YES!
Let go of every single notion that you are less than, imperfect, not good enough — and accept yourself unconditionally.
Let go of how the story was supposed to end — and trust that this is just the beginning.
Let go of hoping for the ideal — and become best friends with what it means to be content. ~ Shawn Fink

“THIS IS A TIME in your life when you must learn to let go: of loved ones, of possessions, of control. In order to let go of something that is precious to you, you need to rest in My Presence, where you are complete. Take time to bask in the Light of My Love. As you relax more and more, your grasping hand gradually opens up, releasing your prized possession into My care.

You can feel secure, even in the midst of cataclysmic changes, through awareness of My continual Presence. The One who never leaves you is the same One who never changes: I am the same yesterday, today, and forever. As you release more and more things into My care, remember that I never let go of your hand. Herein lies your security, which no one and no circumstance can take from you.” ~ Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, March 24

Allow yourself to receive these intentions:

I completely relinquish control. I sweetly surrender.

I let each moment unfold as it will. 

Peace washes over me. I feel my body deeply rejuvenating itself. 

My body is light, my mind at peace, and my heart is unconditionally open. ♡

Let It Go
Let go of the ways you thought life
would unfold; the holding of plans
or dreams or expectations — Let it
all go. Save your strength to swim
with the tide. The choice to fight
what is here before you now will
only result in struggle, fear, and
desperate attempts to flee from the
very energy you long for. Let go.
Let it all go and flow with the grace
that washes through your days whether
you receive it gently or with all your
quills raised to defend against invaders.
Take this on faith; the mind may never
find the explanations that it seeks, but
you will move forward nonetheless.
Let go, and the wave’s crest will carry
you to unknown shores, beyond your
wildest dreams or destinations. Let it
all go and find the place of rest and
peace, and certain transformation. ~ Danna Faulds

Just this breath, just this moment, just let go. Sweetly surrender. ♡

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15 years ago I stepped into my first yoga class at L.A. Fitness. I was faithful at working out to stay in shape, and to relieve stress from my social work career, but something about the dim lit yoga room drew me. I was feeling a shift at 30 years old. Priorities were changing as we thought about starting a family. I longed to try something new.

The yoga class was powerful, sweaty, and challenging. I totally felt at home! I was in tune with my breath, focused inward, and all the unnecessary layers of the outside world vanished. During the final resting pose, savasana, I felt so alive, calm, clear, and balanced. I felt like the true me — unmasked and unbound! It was love at first savasana. ❤️  Yoga continues to be my moving meditation as I connect daily on the mat — body, mind, and spirit.

In yoga asana, we participate in savasana, or corpse pose at the end of each practice. It symbolizes our death as we lie down, and new life as we arise — listening to new insights about our connection with the body, mind, and spirit. Make time to JUST BE and listen to the still, small voice inside. Accept yourself for who you are outside of your life roles, responsibilities, and contributions. Rest times provide valuable insight. They allow us to put to death what no longer serves us, being able then to fully experience the joy and liberation of new life.

I release all that no longer serves me to embrace positive change in my life. ❤️

In This Moment, by Clive Fogelman (adapted)

In this moment invite stillness
With each breath let tension melt away
Give yourself permission to be here
Let the earth receive you

In this moment surrender the body
Float into effortlessness
To spaces unknown
Know that it is okay to let go

In this moment no solutions are needed
Allow the journey to unfold
As you travel through your inner landscape

In this moment breathe into your potential
Imagine yourself unmasked and unbound
Connect with your heart voice
Offering up yourself to the world

In this moment you are free
Feel gratitude for all that you are
The potential that lies within and outside
Let this be the beginning of something new

Revelation, by C. JoyBell C.

I am like a diamond
Born to the earth
The years have covered me in
Grime and mud
Filth and stench
Dirt and dung
But now is today and
I will dance and dance
I will dance and dance
I will dance and dance
I will dance and watch the dirt fall off
I will dance and watch the mud crack
And drop
I will dance and all the filth and grime
Will float away into the air
And I will see myself again
And so will you

May you put to death what no longer serves you and begin to experience the joy and liberation of new life!