After finding the golden ticket, Charlie experienced many magical things. He went from one extreme to the other. Living in a dull and ratty shack, his life was a gray blanket of grief and forever lost opportunities. It's funny, once you decide this is your reality, it's hard to see anything else. You get too comfortable, becoming blind to the holes that exist in the sheath- light trying to push through.
Deep down there is a little voice who is praying for you to have that epiphany, that life changing experience, or for Charlie's sake that stroke of luck.
Yoga is one of those experiences that can save your life from being sucked deeper and deeper in the wrong direction. Instead, through asana, meditation and pranayama, yoga takes you deeper and deeper to your dharma (your purpose and truth).
I remember my good friend Jodi describing her yoga haze after class. I was just getting into yoga at the time, and her stories infatuated me. Post yoga class feels kinda like this: You leave class feeling light as a feather, feeling nude and completely fine with it. Your eyes are no longer dusty, the blinders have been removed, and you're ready to make contact with anyone. You feel more like yourself, connected and completely morphed from when you first walked in. YOU SEE BEAUTY-ALL AROUND!!!!!
Think Pleasantville, when the black and white town discovers colour, or a good mushroom trip (so I've heard), or when Charlie steps into Wonka's magic land.
What I love about the movie, the lessons of yoga, and the tantric philosophy is that as you discover abundant beauty all around, you realize that what you had before is also beautiful.
Opening yourself up to the magic of every stage, experience, conversation, relationship, etc provides a lot of peace and self acceptance. As long as you are observant, and as long as you know when it's time to pull off those "beer goggles", you'll realize that it's all part of the bigger plan; Its all a contribution to your dharma.
Jodi always reminds me that Beauty attracts Beauty. I love that!
If you feel yourself slipping, look at something beautiful. Take in it's colour, its pattern, and energy. Notice the shift in yourself. Hit the mat and see if you can stay present to your sublime breath, shapes, body parts, colours in the room, and to the other beings in the room. I like to reflect on someone or something in my life that exudes loveliness. Use this as your intention, to find clarity, to re-discover life and the perfection in life itself. But who knows, maybe the hiccups are beautiful too!! ;)
The following words have inspired me to write this entry. Enjoy xo
"Yoga teaches that beauty is everywhere if one can learn to see it, and that complete concentration upon a beautiful thought, scene or object will result in relaxation of the mind and achievement of tranquility" ~ Nancy Phelan and Michael Volin
"Do what the Native Americans call seeing in Beauty. Beauty is fires and floods and scorching sun and the patterns on a rattlesnake's skin. To feel real Beauty on this earth-the struggles as well as the lovely surfaces and depths-is the most amazing thing"~Ana Forrest
P.S. 1st picture I took in Delhi, India
Rainbow was taken at my cottage in Ontario
Girl is my bestest Rachel!
