Sharon Moon will be teaching at Wanderlust Austin, November 6-9. Check out her schedule and buy tickets.
In the world we live in today, we are often inundated, assaulted, and overwhelmed by the various media, and at times, by our own personal lives and those of our families and friends. This includes everything from the heartbreaking to the horrific to the unbelievable.
The challenge is to learn to not just withstand but to stand within. This is what it is to be a spiritual warrior – to maintain our loving, forgiving, compassionate and generous hearts despite what we are faced with in our daily lives. In order to do this, we need to find and use tools that awaken us to the Love that we are, and empower us as to be rooted in that truth. Which tools we use is a personal choice. There are many: hatha yoga, meditation, pranayama, prayer, running, dance, martial arts, cycling, the list is long. We pick what works for us, and then practice daily, regularly, consistently.
Love is the answer. Love is all there is.
I ask you to look at the Love that resides in the deepest recesses of your heart. I ask you to use the tools that will aid you in remembering Love is the truth of who you are. Love that cannot be lost, stolen, swindled, cheated on, physically hurt. In other words, there is no external circumstance that can touch this Love. The trick is in remembering every second of every day, every day of the week, every week of the month, every month of the year and every year of our lives.
When we don’t remember who we are, we become human yoyos. When life is good, we are up. When life is difficult, we are down. We learn to live our lives from the story we tell ourselves. We have adapted to an ego-based life rather than a heart-based one. There will be no true peace and happiness in this. As we grow older with this pattern there is the danger of becoming angry, bitter, depressed, disappointed and disillusioned. By learning to become that spiritual warrior, we can transform ourselves and the world we live in. We can create a better world for our children, our families and friends, those we know and those we don’t know, those we like and those we don’t like, those who have been good to us and those who have not.
Meditation: Living in Love grounds us in our truth and the knowing that peace begins with us.
Try to spend a day with the thought: I am a living golden ball of Love. Repeat it silently to yourself, or write it down. As you experience the unpleasant that has occurred in your day and in the world somewhere, lean back on that place you know is within you and whisper those words: I am a living golden ball of Love. Then, marvel at the peace you feel; at the warmth in your heart. And watch the possibilities and miracles that unfold.
—
Sharon has been a student of yoga for over 40 years. She first learned Ashtanga Yoga 19 years ago from David Swenson. She then began to study with Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, his son Manju and grandson Sharath. She holds a first degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has studied Tai-Chi with Fang Xiang Liu of Mainland China and Shi Jen Liao of Taiwan. Teaching yoga and training teachers has taken Sharon around the world, including a year in Taiwan and recently a year in Kenya. Visit her website.