By John Robbins on November 3, 2010
I am someone who longs for world peace. Perhaps you are, too. But every single day our world spends more than $4 billion on war. The last hundred years have been by far the bloodiest in human history.
I support human rights and human dignity. I want every child to grow up healthy and strong. No doubt you do, too. But today, like every day, 20,000 children will die of hunger and poverty. Even in the world’s wealthiest country, the U.S., nearly 25 percent of children live below the poverty line.
I believe in upholding the brotherhood and sisterhood of all people. I believe in the inherent worth of every human being. But we live in a time of grotesque inequalities. There are shoe companies who pay famous athletes $20 million to endorse their shoes, while paying their workers only 20 cents an hour to make them. The CEOs of some companies make more money in an hour than many of the company’s employees make in a year.
Many of the world’s spiritual traditions teach that inner peace is found when you love the world as it is, rather than faulting it for not living up to your expectations. But our addictions are not only damaging our spirits, they are also causing irreparable harm to the biosphere and to humanity’s future.
I believe in holding a positive attitude toward life. But the rate at which forests are disappearing, coral reefs are deteriorating, the arctic ice cap is melting, and species are going extinct is undermining the capacity of the earth to support human life.
I draw strength from my kinship with animals. Some of my best friends have had four legs. Perhaps you, too, have had a relationship with an animal that has enriched you as a human being. But today, almost all of our meat and dairy products come from animals raised under conditions of horrific cruelty.
There are so many kinds of pain and loss in our times. There is illness and financial stress, there is growing unemployment and homelessness, there are oil spills and terrorists. It can seem that our little flickering candles of faith are no match for the hurricane winds of destruction and despair the world can so relentlessly blow our way. There are things happening in our world today that must make the angels weep.
Here’s what I believe: If you are going to face the suffering and destruction of life, and if you want to find a way to be effective and positive in response, you must also be open to the life-affirming powers of creativity and joy.
It can sometimes seem that we are on a planetary death march, and yet we are also living in an age of miracles. Some are so common we often take them for granted. There is the miracle of color and the miracle of music. There is the miracle of tears and the miracle of laughter. There is the miracle of breathing and the miracle of sunsets. There is the miracle of people continuing to strive for a happier world even in the face of devastation and grief.
At this very moment, people are learning new ways to communicate, to understand each other, and to resolve conflicts. Right now, people are learning to read, while others are writing poetry, and others are dancing and singing.
With every breath you take, relationships are growing, new health-giving practices are being discovered, ancient feuds are being overcome, and people are finding ways to restore their connections to the living earth. At this moment, as in every moment, ever growing numbers of people are working for a better world for themselves and for all children, now and yet to come.
We are not done. Our despair is not meant to destroy us but to awaken new life in us. Our wounds can give us depth, empathy and understanding. Our hardships can be places where we meet others and grow.
Yes, there is ugliness, which is why it matters when we bring beauty. Yes, there is great suffering, so let us live with great compassion.
This is what I have to say at this time in history. There are forces at work in the human psyche that are destructive and unconscious. And yet there is also something in us that is wondrous, that touches the infinite and belongs to the sacred.
Let us stand for this. Our dreams and prayers are rooted in something greater than the forces of death. Our grief and fury at the world’s brutalities are part of our awakening. There is something mysterious taking place in this world that is part of our healing.
With all its delusions and broken dreams, our world today is still a place where our hearts can meet and grow wings. There is horror and agony here, yes, and it is at times overwhelming. But there are also countless opportunities for the illumination of beauty and the awakening of love.
We are not done. There are sources of joy here, and we are here to protect them and cherish them.
We are not done. We can still make our lives into works of art. We can still create thriving, just and sustainable ways of life.
Bitter winds are howling. Let them howl. We can shelter each other and put our little flames together. Maybe we will yet find that the pain we feared would destroy us rather brings us back to what gives us life.
We are here to live, not merely survive. We are here to fully express and celebrate the gifts we each have to give to the world, and to receive the gifts that others have to give to us, as well.
Let us touch with love the inevitable suffering in our lives, and in the lives of those we meet. Let us tend with tender mercy that which is dying in us and in our world. And let us welcome the new life dawning in each of our souls.
We who are alive, with breath in our bodies and love in our hearts, have so very much to be thankful for. In all that takes place over the course of our lives, may we never lose track of our capacity for joy. And may we never forget the power of the choices we make.
Originally posted at HuffingtonPost.com on May 5, 2010 by John Robbins.
Photo Credit: empiredude1
Read More By John Robbins on July 29, 2010
I am someone who longs for world peace. Perhaps you are, too. But every single day our world spends more than $4 billion on war. The last hundred years have been by far the bloodiest in human history.
I support human rights and human dignity. I want every child to grow up healthy and strong. No doubt you do, too. But today, like every day, 20,000 children will die of hunger and poverty. Even in the world’s wealthiest country, the U.S., nearly 25 percent of children live below the poverty line.
I believe in upholding the brotherhood and sisterhood of all people. I believe in the inherent worth of every human being. But we live in a time of grotesque inequalities. There are shoe companies who pay famous athletes $20 million to endorse their shoes, while paying their workers only 20 cents an hour to make them. The CEOs of some companies make more money in an hour than many of the company’s employees make in a year.
Many of the world’s spiritual traditions teach that inner peace is found when you love the world as it is, rather than faulting it for not living up to your expectations. But our addictions are not only damaging our spirits, they are also causing irreparable harm to the biosphere and to humanity’s future.
I believe in holding a positive attitude toward life. But the rate at which forests are disappearing, coral reefs are deteriorating, the arctic ice cap is melting, and species are going extinct is undermining the capacity of the earth to support human life.
I draw strength from my kinship with animals. Some of my best friends have had four legs. Perhaps you, too, have had a relationship with an animal that has enriched you as a human being. But today, almost all of our meat and dairy products come from animals raised under conditions of horrific cruelty.
There are so many kinds of pain and loss in our times. There is illness and financial stress, there is growing unemployment and homelessness, there are oil spills and terrorists. It can seem that our little flickering candles of faith are no match for the hurricane winds of destruction and despair the world can so relentlessly blow our way. There are things happening in our world today that must make the angels weep.
Here’s what I believe. If you are going to face the suffering and destruction of life, and if you want to find a way to be effective and positive in response, you must also be open to the life affirming powers of creativity and joy.
It can sometimes seem that we are on a planetary death march, and yet we are also living in an age of miracles. Some are so common we often take them for granted. There is the miracle of color and the miracle of music. There is the miracle of tears and the miracle of laughter. There is the miracle of breathing and the miracle of sunsets. There is the miracle of people continuing to strive for a happier world even in the face of devastation and grief.
At this very moment, people are learning new ways to communicate, to understand each other, and to resolve conflicts. Right now, people are learning to read, while others are writing poetry, and others are dancing and singing. With every breath you take, relationships are growing, new health-giving practices are being discovered, ancient feuds are being overcome, and people are finding ways to restore their connections to the living earth. At this moment, as in every moment, ever growing numbers of people are working for a better world for themselves and for all children, now and yet to come.
We are not done. Our despair is not meant to destroy us but to awaken new life in us. Our wounds can give us depth, empathy and understanding. Our hardships can be places where we meet others and grow.
Yes, there is ugliness, which is why it matters when we bring beauty. Yes, there is great suffering, so let us live with great compassion.
This is what I have to say at this time in history. There are forces at work in the human psyche that are destructive and unconscious. And yet there is also something in us that is wondrous, that touches the infinite and belongs to the sacred.
Let us stand for this. Our dreams and prayers are rooted in something greater than the forces of death. Our grief and fury at the world’s brutalities are part of our awakening. There is something mysterious taking place in this world that is part of our healing.
With all its delusions and broken dreams, our world today is still a place where our hearts can meet and grow wings. There is horror and agony here, yes, and it is at times overwhelming. But there are also countless opportunities for the illumination of beauty and the awakening of love.
We are not done. There are sources of joy here, and we are here to protect them and cherish them.
We are not done. We can still make our lives into works of art. We can still create thriving, just and sustainable ways of life.
Bitter winds are howling. Let them howl. We can shelter each other and put our little flames together. Maybe we will yet find that the pain we feared would destroy us rather brings us back to what gives us life.
We are here to live, not merely survive. We are here to fully express and celebrate the gifts we each have to give to the world, and to receive the gifts that others have to give to us, as well.
Let us touch with love the inevitable suffering in our lives, and in the lives of those we meet. Let us tend with tender mercy that which is dying in us and in our world. And let us welcome the new life dawning in each of our souls.
We who are alive, with breath in our bodies and love in our hearts, have so very much to be thankful for. In all that takes place over the course of our lives, may we never lose track of our capacity for joy. And may we never forget the power of the choices we make.
Photo Credit: Tony the Misfit
Read More By Guest Blogger on May 26, 2010
By Kino MacGregor
The experience of your first yoga class feels like embarking on a mysterious adventure in a whole new terrain. As you curiously peer into the incense-filled hallways lined with Ganesh and Shiva, the open-hearted calm beckons you to travel into your own sacred inner realm. The seductive power of yoga is an addictive calling to go deeper into yourself. Once you experience firsthand how magical yoga is, all resistance becomes futile.
Regardless of your intention when you plant the first seeds of your lotus flower, the transformative power of this ancient spiritual science works on a deep level of your being. Many people start yoga for fitness reasons, only to find that yoga changes their lives in ways far beyond the physical. Even if you are not a true believer and only wish to receive the physical health benefits of yoga, merely attending a yoga class regularly will have a lasting impact on your life.
The beauty of physical yoga postures is that you do not actually need to believe in them for the healing power of yoga to work. Hatha yoga approaches the transformation of the human spirit from the body first and then works its way subtly through the mind and soul. The body itself is an avenue to the spiritual that works from the inside out. As you water the seeds of padmasana (yoga pose), the full blooming lotus opens in your mind and soul.
Entering the new world of yoga is the first conscious step to live a more peaceful life. The initiatory phase of yoga is your chance to powerfully create your life, moment to moment, and live your highest potential everyday. As a neophyte, remember that it is natural to feel overwhelmed when you realize just how demanding spiritual discipline really is. Rather than a recreational activity that you can keep separate from your life, yoga asks you to transform your whole life to abide by yogic principles.
If at first you find yourself drawn to the physical display of power in advanced asana, you quickly see that the heart of yoga reaches far deeper than the postures themselves. Indeed the asanas are only used to purify the body, practice meditative states of unified consciousness and prepare the physical form to be a home for divinity in the world of mind and matter. The more advanced asanas are not ends in and of themselves. Instead, the real work of yoga occurs in the inner body and is actually the seed of your own enlightenment beginning to flower.
Like an open invitation to the spiritual path, yoga never places commandments on practitioners from above. When you start practicing yoga the body itself becomes more sensitive and then asks you to live a purer lifestyle. While the moral and ethic codes of a yogic lifestyle ask practitioners to be an instrument of kindness, compassion and healing in the world, the choice to live peacefully is meant to be a sincere feeling that each practitioner feels for themselves before acting upon it. Practicing asana makes the body more sensitive so that you feel more clearly the impact that unhealthy behavior, negative thoughts and destructive emotions have on you. Yoga never tells you what you can and cannot do. It is a path of liberation, not bondage. It is a path of direct knowingness rather than rules and edicts.
The practice of yoga itself opens your body and mind to desire wholly a new way of being, living and interacting with yourself and others. It is the heightening of your own awareness that facilitates the transformation. You change not because your teacher tells you to, but because yoga opens the door to a new way of being that you choose to walk through with joy, ease and grace. The journey into the lotus heart of yoga is a lifelong spiritual practice that bears flowers in this life and beyond.
Faced with the seemingly insurmountable goal of ultimate enlightenment, many new students doubt their ability to ever progress along the arduous path of yoga. They look at their teachers or other accomplished practitioners and wonder how they will ever get from their relative feeling of confusion to the clarity, grace and precision they see in the masterful art form of yoga. Yet small seeds do not doubt whether they will become trees. They trust the natural process of evolution and growth that takes them from seeds to sprouting seedlings to flowering, fruitful trees. With proper nutrients, care and love the flower of your inner lotus is sure to grow to maturity in the fertile soil of your own consciousness.
Every accomplished yogi today has benefitted from the guidance of their teachers and has been nurtured by the yoga community. Every yoga teacher today has also nourished their journey with their own dedication and devotion. If you are a new student of yoga remember that you hold the key to the power of yoga. It is in your own heart that the seed of spiritual investigation must take root, watered by the flow of your own consciousness. Small treasures abound when you attempt challenging postures that at first seem impossible but with time, dedication and guidance, evolve into possibility. When you embark on your own operation lotus, know that this journey is a timeless one that never ends, only deepens.
Kino MacGregor is one of a handful of people around the world to receive the Certification to teach Ashtanga Yoga by its late founder, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, in Mysore, India. She shares the healing power of yoga with as many people as possible everywhere she travels and on her website. The creator of a series of Ashtanga Yoga DVDs, Kino lives in beautiful Miami Beach where she and her husband co-own Miami Life Center, a space for yoga and holistic living.
Read More By Guest Blogger on October 28, 2009
Fran Harris
I just finished yoga and I’m pumped. I know that sounds contradictory, but work with me. Yoga energizes me because it challenges me to let all those silly distractions fall away. I forget about who’s emailed or texted me in the last 30 seconds. I don’t wonder if my tweets are going out as scheduled. I’m just able to be. For those 45, okay, 35 minutes, I’m just being. I’m just me.
I was introduced to Yoga over a decade ago but I didn’t start “practicing” until 5 years ago. And almost instantly my life, relationships and outlook changed. I had an amazing instructor who assured me that just because I couldn’t touch my toes that I was not going to be cast into the Yoga Hall of Shame.
Yoga was such a departure in philosophy for me. You see, I’m a competitive athlete. I’ve played basketball at the highest levels — WNBA Champion, NCAA Champion, USA National Team, Olympic Alternate and professional stints in Italy & Switzerland. We’re conditioned to be these elite machines that never show any vulnerability, lest the “enemy” swoop in and crush us. How funny that I’ve never really bought into that. Maybe if I had I would have been a better basketball player.
And perhaps that’s why Yoga was like a water fountain in the desert for me. Something inside me — ever since I was 5 or 6 year old — has always longed for something deeper. Something way beyond the outer. I believe Yoga nurtures that place inside all of us that craves stillness and acceptance. And for some reason, when I finish practicing Yoga, I actually feel like I could run a marathon.
I don’t, of course, I’ll never do that again (a story, I’ll share later) but for now, suffice it to say that finding my inner Yogi has been the most amazing part of my journey to date. I don’t know exactly why, but I do know that Yoga has facilitated an opening in me that’s made a difference in every area of my life.
And miraculously I’ve discovered that my outer achievement comes effortlessly when I go inward to my true, highest self. It’s incredible what happens when you don’t care who’s right, who gets the credit or who gets recognized. A philosophy not nurtured in competitive sports, believe me.
So, I moved from sports to another competitive arena: TV. And I have to say that nothing is funnier than the television business. The shouting matches between producers. The ego-centric rants of managers and agents. The morbid insecurity of on-air talent.
I used to wish that I’d done things differently in my TV career. That I’d started earlier or moved to New York or fired my first agent sooner. But I have to say that as I assess where I am and who I am today, that I’m glad I did exactly as I did.
Now, I can’t say that about everything in my life. But with regard to my TV career, I’m sure of it. I don’t get bothered by the same things. I don’t see the business the same. And that feels right for me. I now know that TV is my vehicle for service. All I have to do is “be who I am”, with the blessed assurance that as long as I sing MY song and stay in MY lane, the adventure, the excursion will be one helluva ride.
It already has been.
Fran Harris, America’s No Excuses Coach has been inspiring individuals, teams and companies to lead bigger lives since she was 12 years old. A life and business coach who’s appeared on CNBC, CNN, FOX Business & Oprah & friends, she’s also the host of a new lifestyle show on HGTV that premiers in 2010.
Read More By Amy Rachelle on October 22, 2009
Traveling the world while teaching about holistic living, based on raw food nutrition and cleansing, I have developed a bird’s eye view of the global movement for wellness – and ultimately a new way of living, relating, creating, and co-habitating. During my travels, I meet people impacted by the challenges we face in modern times. It is the people living simply, close to the Earth, and with low-stress lifestyles that have been able to adjust well to the ecological, economic, and personal demands we find ourselves facing today.
Same goes for myself! Although I love New York City and Amsterdam, where I work most often, I feel much personal relief when I land in sunny natural places where gardens are growing, gentleness pervades, and stars shine. It brings out the best in me to live without the hustle and bustle of the cities. So what to do for those of us committed to, and activated in the cities, and certainly not about to dismiss that call? What can we do in order to heed and honor the personal and professional demands of big city life while not neglecting your greater need to be aligned with the cycles of the moon, receive nourishment from the sun, and take in the trees greater oxygen? Ah, not to mention the oceanic ions that reduce stress levels!
Here are a few things I’ve found helpful in my journey…
Accept where you are at in this moment – and ask, what do I really want? What’s your ideal lifestyle? Do you believe it’s possible to have what you really want? Many of us who live in downtown NYC, rarely make it to Central Park. This place is a huge gift unto itself! Taking your shoes off and walking barefoot is sure to get you grounded. Not to mention lying in the grass (even if you are bundled up) or taking a good swift walk.
Regularity is key! When’s its cold and rainy, do you embrace this weather as part of nature and submerge yourself in that experience? It’s amazing what a 1/2 hour train ride to the beach or country just outside New York City offers. And if you’re in California, even better! Just outside LA and San Francisco is teaming wildlife and reserves.
In general, it seems that the more emotionally and intimately satisfied we are, the more it doesn’t matter where we are. Are your emotional/intimacy needs being meet? In the cities, besides the parks, one of our greatest resources for nature is one another. Try connecting with like minded people who are interested in self growth and being healthy! Eat of nature! Eating living foods will help keep you connected and keep your circulation moving, no matter how much concrete and cold there is!
Want to learn more about the science and spirit of living, thinking, and being healthy? Check out our debut program: 5 Day New You Intensive, Oct. 24th – 28th in NYC, and Nov. 13th – 18th in Amsterdam… coming online soon!
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