Spiritual Guidance Blog
Watching Ourselves
by Robert Meagher on 03/11/15
“…how
blessed we would all be if we had the opportunity to ‘watch’ ourselves in our
daily lives.”
Last month I had the interesting experience of being photographed and videotaped as I went through my primary series Ashtanga yoga flow. Ashtanga yoga is a style of yoga codified and popularized by K. Pattabhi Jois and is often promoted as a modern-day form of classical Indian yoga. Ashtanga yoga is characterized by flowing sequences of movements that emphasize breathwork (called ‘ujjayi breathing’ by many) to provide the lifeforce to sustain you throughout your practice—this is fundamental and essential to the Ashtanga flow, given the strenuous and demanding nature of the Ashtanga practice (relative to other forms of yoga). Ashtanga yoga is generally thought to be comprised of three series, or flows—primary (yoga chikitsa: yoga for health), intermediate (nadi shodhana: the nerve purifier), and advanced (sthira bhaga: centering of strength).
I had been invited to participate in this photo and video
shoot as part of a friend’s longitudinal study and project to photograph and
videotape yoga students. I was pleased to be part of the project and help my
friend realize their goals with their project.
Before starting the photo and video session, I remember
going over in my mind how I thought I looked doing the Ashtanga primary
series—a sort of visualization exercise. My, how we create an image of ourselves
in our minds!...and, my owe my, how it so often is ‘not’ anything like
reality!!! So…away we went…I doing the yoga series and my friend snapping
photographs…all the time the video camera is rolling.
I remember feeling quite pleased with my practice and was
sheepishly curious what I actually looked like on video. I always knew there
was room for improvement, areas of my practice that needed work—afterall,
that’s why one practices, right? So I prepared myself for seeing, at times, a
graceful swam moving effortlessly with one’s breath, and, at other times,
seeing some areas for improvement. What I actually saw on video was something
‘quite’ different! (said with a raised brow!)
What I saw on video was more like watching a scene from
the Bugs Bunny show where Daffy Duck was attending his very first yoga class! I
couldn’t believe it was me!!! I remember asking my friend… “Is that me!?” To
which he responded, “Yah, that’s you. Looks pretty good, Rob.” “Good!!!???,” I
replied. “Are you kidding me!?...I look like Daffy Duck!!!” We both roared
laughing.
As I walked home from the photo/video shoot, I replayed
the experience in my head. Thoughts were running rampant. My ego was full of
all sorts of judgements and hatred about what I saw on video—to the point that
I actually thought, for one moment, of giving up my yoga practice. My ego had
me believing that I clearly was nowhere near where I thought I was and there
was no point in going on, given I had made so little progress in all the time I
had been practicing.
On the other shoulder was the calming and soothing
presence of the angel. This angel was inviting me to let go of my judgements
about myself and return to the basics of yoga and allow the pose to manifest
and express itself through me however my body allows it to.
My final revelation about the experience came with the
realization of how blessed we would all be if we had the opportunity to ‘watch’
ourselves in our daily lives. No doubt, there would be just a few occurrences
of thinking we were a graceful swam in action but noticing something quite
different when the video was played back.
And the realization continued when I realized that our
spiritual practice IS that opportunity to step outside ourselves and simply
observe ourselves. Whether its yoga, meditation, contemplative reading, or
study groups…our spiritual practice gives us the opportunity to stop and
observe ourselves. But furthermore, our spiritual practice invites us, first,
to step outside of ourselves and realize that person in action is not who we
really are. And, second, that the person ‘watching’ ourselves is someone we
would do well to cultivate a relationship with. For that person—the watchful
person—is our true selves, our divine essence. That person is God.
In love, gratitude, compassion and forgiveness…
Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,
Stop Trying and Notice What You Have Accomplished
by Robert Meagher on 02/18/15
“…for as long as
we strive, try, quest for accomplishment, we will never achieve what we are
after.”
I have made an interesting observation (for me) of late. For as long as I strive, try, quest for accomplishment in something, I will never achieve what I am striving for. It is only when I stop, become aware, that I realize what has happened…perhaps, what I have accomplished. My realization comes in ‘not doing.’ Let me explain.
When I began my daily meditation practice many years ago,
I can remember thinking and feeling like I was making quick progress. Then,
that progress seemed to slow down. I did not feel like I was getting the ‘buzz’
I once received after a meditation session. And then it got to the point where
it felt like I was not making any progress at all. Days, weeks, months would go
by and it just felt stagnant. But it was in the awareness of how I was living
my daily life (with more peace and tranquility) that I realized the daily
meditation practice was, in fact, continuing to have a remarkable and
transformative affect.
Similarly, when I began my daily yoga practice years ago,
it felt like I made quick progress. Then, the progress seemed to slow and
eventually seemed to stop. Yet, I continued on. I would be in a yoga class and
remember thinking… “Focus, Rob…focus! I need to get deeper in this pose. Try,
Rob…try!!!” As with the meditation practice, it dawned on me one day after I
had become tired of ‘trying’ that if I just focused on ‘being’ in my yoga
practice instead of ‘doing,’ I became aware that I was deeper into my poses
than I had ever been before. The yoga has shown me time and time again that for
as long as I focus on ‘doing’ I will get frustrated with my accomplishments.
But when I focus on ‘being,’ I surprise myself time and time again at how much
progress I have actually made.
This distinction between ‘doing’ and ‘being’ is an
important one for our times. We so easily become caught up in our own
self-importance and the busyness of our lives (the ‘doing’) that we rarely take
a moment to stop and just ‘be.’ For as
long as we ‘do’ we create the conditions that bring us out of awareness and
into an egoic state of never-ending-thought, illusion, and chaos. It is only by
‘stopping’ that we have a chance to bring awareness back into our lives.
I am not referring to taking a vacation here! That often
results in simply transferring our ‘doing’ to another activity; to busying our
lives and minds with other things to distract us from the stress and pressure
that we momentarily left behind in favor of going on the vacation in the first
place. I am referring here to stopping trying to get somewhere with our lives
and simply ‘being’ in our lives. To walk through every moment of our day in
complete awareness of all that is going on around us. When this truth reveals
itself to us, when we awaken to the perfection around us at every moment in our
lives, we become less affected by what is seemingly going on around us. We
become more calm and more at peace.
So…stop trying and notice what you have accomplished. It
may just surprise you.
In love, gratitude, compassion and forgiveness…
Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,
Learn, Don’t Pity
by Robert Meagher on 01/28/15
Several
years ago I visited a quadriplegic man.
His name was Tim. He was
interviewing me for a personal care attendant job. I had not performed personal care work of that
magnitude in some time, but when I saw Tim’s ad in the paper, I felt compelled
to follow up.
For many years I watched a dear friend go from being an accomplished athlete to being able to move only her head—as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) ravaged her body. Over the years I have seen what it is like to be around someone who is 100% dependent on other people to care for them.
Tim was a joyous soul. He was full of life and had a beautiful, peaceful demeanor about him. Several of Tim’s personal care workers had suddenly, and simultaneously, had to move out of town. Tim was left in a lurch and needed to find new personal care attendants, and fast. We talked about my background in caregiving for a quadriplegic and my availability to help Tim.
Tim was remarkably considerate of me and my personal situation that led me to his side. I mean…here is this man who on any normal day fights to even exist! He spends every waking hour trying to figure out how he will survive the day—and he was finding it within himself to see beyond his own personal situation to be compassionate, caring and considerate toward me. Tim was so polite and respectful. It brought a smile to my face. He was so grateful for my dropping by to visit and discuss his caregiving needs.
If there’s one thing my friend with MS taught me is that most people with injuries similar to Tim’s are not interested in your pity. They simply want you to help them have a moment, if ever so brief, of self-sufficiency, of dignity, of self-respect, and dare I say…love.
In that one short visit with Tim, I learned more about selflessness, compassion, caring, considerateness and love than it takes most people a lifetime to learn. I was the lucky one to be in his presence. I was the one blessed by his light, by his spirit.
In love, gratitude, compassion and forgiveness…
Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,
How To Shift Your Thoughts
by Robert Meagher on 01/07/15
“The
world is full of a lot of fear and a lot of negativity, and a lot of judgment.
I just think people need to start shifting into joy and happiness. As corny as
it sounds, we need to make a shift.”
We all know that we are 100% responsible for our thoughts, our actions, our life, our world. We all know that no one and no thing outside of us controls how we see the world. But we all know that sometimes our thoughts do take us to places we would rather not go. When this happens, how do we shift our thoughts back to a place of love?
I recently re-discovered a simple process that allows me
to shift my thoughts away from worry and fear to a place of peace, serenity,
joy and love. I want to share this process with you so that it may help you as
much as it has helped me. For those student and teachers of A Course in
Miracles, you may recognize this process from T-30.I – Rules for Decision.
This process I share with you begins with my first
conscious thoughts when I wake in the morning. Even before I reach for the
alarm clock to shut it off:
1. 1. Say out loud… “Thank you!” And mean it! If
you are not sure what you are saying thank you for, do not worry. In time, you
will understand what you are saying “Thank you!” for. As a little suggestion,
say the words with a smile on your face and notice how your day is that much
more peaceful.
2. 2. Next, say to yourself… “I will not judge
anything today.” What is implied with this intention is that no matter what
comes your way during the day, you will not get upset; because to get upset
means you have perceived and judged the circumstance as something unwanted.
Simply accept what comes to you throughout the day with no judgement.
3. 3. Next, say to yourself… “This is the day I
want.” And proceed to say out loud the kind of day you want. For me, I always
say “I want a day full of peace, serenity, joy and love.”
Then I proceed to shut off my alarm. My intention has been set for the day…before I even get out of bed.
As I go throughout my day, I will often be met with
circumstances that will challenge my invocation and intention above. When this
happens, the first sign I am not in alignment with my intention is that I am
feeling something that doesn’t feel good—anger, anxiety, frustration, fear,
etc. When I am aware of any devolving emotion:
1. 1. Say out loud or to yourself… “I forgot what
to decide.” Remember, I declared before I even got out of bed that I was (a)
not going to judge anything today, and (b) I was going to have a day full of
peace, serenity, joy and love. If I am feeling an emotion that is not aligned
with that intention, then I must have forgotten what I decided to start my day.
2. 2. Even if saying “I forgot what to decide”
doesn’t work for you, then simply admit to yourself that “At least I can
recognize I do not like how I am feeling.” This is your acknowledgement of your
desire to see the situation differently. This is the door you are opening to
change your mind about your situation and your opportunity to bring yourself
back to peace, serenity, joy and love.
3. 3. After one or both of the above two steps has been honored, simply declare “I want another way to look at this” and wait for your answer. It’s within you…you only need to want to see the situation differently in order to see it differently.
In In short, you begin your day with a 3-step process:
1. 1. Thank you.
2. 2. I choose not to judge anything today.
3. 3. This is the day I want [then state the day you want].
…and if you ‘go off the rails throughout the day’…your
3-step process to get you back on track:
1. 1. I forgot what to decide.
2. 2. At least I can recognize I do not like how I
am feeling.
3. 3. I want another way to look at this.
The above, simple process has helped me through some, seemingly, very dark times recently. Not only did the above process teach me that all I was dealing with was my thoughts about something, not the actual thing, but it also taught me what it means to be vigilant for God. Every time my thoughts would devolve, I would bring my thoughts back to peace, serenity, joy and love. On one day in particular, I must have repeated my 3-step process AT LEAST 100 times during the day! But I did it! I was vigilant. And my day ended as it began, in peace, serenity, joy and love.
Give the above 3-step process a try and let me know how
it works (or doesn’t) for you. But remember, whether it works for you or not,
it’s your choice. And don’t worry,..God still loves you, and so do I.
In love, gratitude, compassion and forgiveness…
Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,
Peace Is Your Litmus Test
by Robert Meagher on 12/17/14
“When the power of love overcomes the
love of power the world will know peace.”
Jimi Hendrix
How do you know if you are living from your ego, or if you are living from your higher power? How do you know if you have made the right decision in any situation? How do you know if you are living the life you were intended to live? These are just a few questions of this magnitude that most of us grapple with on a daily basis.
Recently, a wise student attended one of the discussion
groups I am blessed to facilitate. When another student in the room expressed
frustration that they did not know when they were living from their ego or from
their higher power, this wise student offered their litmus test for such
profundity.
“I
know I am living from my ego or from my higher power if I am at peace. If I am
not at peace in any moment, with any decision I make, I know I am living from
my ego. If I am at peace, then I know I am living from my higher power. Peace
is my litmus test that allows me to gauge where I am in my relationship with my
ego and my higher self. I extend this litmus test, as much as consciously
possible, to every aspect of my daily life and allow my peace-litmus-test to
guide me to live the life I was intended to live in this time and space.”
The simplicity of this teaching, the “peace-litmus-test,”
was a beautiful and profound offering. I don’t know about you, but as I grow
older (the jury’s out on if I am also growing wiser!) I gravitate toward
simplicity in my life. I look for the simple, the unequivocal indicators, the
clear signs to inform me what works, and what doesn’t work, in my life. This
“peace-litmus-test” is such a simple, unequivocal indicator.
I have since been asked about those situations when neither
decision I seem to be faced with leaves me with any peace. I know that when I
am in that situation, I am not being honest with myself. I know full well what
will bring me peace, I merely need to muster up the courage to choose
differently and choose for peace. There may be an initial, jolt of discomfort
required in shedding the ego, but peace awaits!
What is your litmus test that allows you to know if you
are living from your ego or from your higher power? How do you know if you have
made the right decision in any situation? How do you know if you are living the
life you were intended to live? Share your wisdom and bring peace to the world.
In love, gratitude, compassion and forgiveness…
Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,
