reflecting the light

Breathing in, I feel my body. Breathing out I smile. Breathing in, I look into my heart. Breathing out, I spread the light that exists and is ever present sitting bright and abundant from this space in the heart. How do we reflect the light that is inside of us? We discussed this last week during yoga class. The sanskrit term "samskara" means "some scars", literally translated. To put it another way, it means habits, or patterns of behavior(good and bad) we have developed over time. Sometimes, a habit can be healthy, helping us progress, like a daily meditation habit. But what happens when that habit is interrupted? How do react when we don't get our morning coffee, or our regular routine gets out of whack? It is also interesting to notice how we behave in situations where we don't think before acting. Where we may use a "tone" of voice, when we react, instead of reflecting, and then responding. These truly are "some scars" that have embedded themselves in our brain, and help us to behave in our old, habitual ways. I often shine the light of awareness on myself when I feel myself closing off, shutting down. I ask myself "why" this reaction? A lot of times this reaction is fear based, where maybe I feel insecure, attacked, or unimportant. Today, as I was cleaning out the kids rooms, I realized that love is the only way. It is an amazingly simple answer, but often difficult to carry through. How do we love when someone is rude? How do we love when we feel attacked? Love has many faces, and many actions. Love may mean loving yourself, rather than reaching out. Love may mean reaching out when you feel like you want to shut down. Love may mean turning the other cheek. Love may mean that you choose to not respond in the face of rudeness. Love may mean a compliment when someone feels down. As we all continue down our path of transformation and evolution, may we continue to rub into our "scars", so that we may know them, know the root cause of them, and then to be able to penetrate them, so that soon enough, we are forging ahead, with the brightest and purist heart. The heart that is full of love.

filling ourselves with light

Sammy and I were looking down at the ground beneath us, talking. We discussed the plants, and how they were withering away, the rocks, and how far we could throw them, and how warm it was for November! I then drifted off in my own thoughts about the upcoming holidays. Sometimes it's easy to get swept up in the rush and push of gifting and parties. I realized that really, what Christ has to share with us is "light". On Christmas day a bright light filled the sky, illuminating the manger. Jesus said: "I am the light of the world". So how do we fill ourselves with light? Close your eyes and visualize for a moment the purest love and bliss you can imagine. Imagine this feeling is directly in the heart center. Now as you identify with this love, feel this light spread out, like a wave reaching all facets of your being. If we meditate on filling ourselves with light daily, especially during the Holiday season, our love and compassion grow exponentially. As we continue on with our lives, with our hardships and pain, with our joy and growth, reflect on how you can be a light to yourself and others. Does this affect your daily chores? Can a simple thought, like "being filled with light" really make a difference? I am reminded of the folk song..."This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine"