With Awareness Comes Choice

Saucha (contentment) is the next of the Yamas/Niyamas , the restraints and observances of The Eightfold Path, that I have chosen for my most recent inquiry practice. This is just one of the many assignments we have been asked to do in order to better prepare us for our India immersion experience.  For four weeks we are to practice any Yama or Niyama, picking a new one each week and then writing a reflection of the experience.  If you have been following, you know that I began the inquiry with Aparigraha (non-attachment) and then moved on to Tapas (discipline).  Let's just say that they were indeed inquiries and leave it at that.  If you are a glutton for punishment OR don't have a clue what I'm referring to, you can find this info in my archived posts.  I am content either way, I think. Contemplate " to consider thoroughly; think fully or deeply about: to contemplate a difficult problem,"  Contentment " peace of mind; mental or emotion...

Hi all, Just like I consider myself a baby warrior, I also consider myself a baby blogger. Since August, I have been going old school and sending out individual e-mails to those folks who said they wanted to follow me or posting on FB. A bit tedious and not all that effective.  I have seen other blogs and knew there had to be a way to let people decide for themselves and get automatic notices, but I was WAY TOO BUSY to figure out how to do it...... Having had breakfast with a good friend this morning who said he would love to read it if he knew when there were new posts, I was inspired to come home and tackle it. It took me 2.5 minutes.  And another 3.5 to write this piece and I would say it was 6 minutes well spent.   Check it out under Baby Warrior on the right hand side and come enjoy the journey with me. Jai, Pam

I thought of the title long before I had any idea what I might write about, so as always, prepare yourself for the unknown...I have.   My mom's real name was Bernadette but she went by Debby, with a Y.  She departed this earth nine years ago this past Saturday, Jan 21st.  Truly un-fuc*ing believable.  I picked up my friend Debbie, with an IE, from the airport this past Saturday morning, Jan 21st.  She actually came to visit, truly un-fuc*ing believable.  Just kidding, but it flowed so well, I had to stick it in there.  Debb(ie) was named after my mom. Pretty cool since we aren't even related, except by the bonds of "Wuv, True Wuv." Oh, I am on a roll now.  You see, our parents met when they were very young and as best as we can recall, only knew each other somewhere between  4-8 months before Marly and Larry Cracraft moved to Michigan.  But it had already happened; Debby and Marly were the best of friends.  And as best friend...

I'm not setting my alarm tonight.  I am, however, still practicing Tapas and being fairly successful, if I do say so myself.  I was unable to accomplish my intention of being on the mat by 7 a.m. and it only took me two days to forgive myself; now that is a discipline worth practicing.  As I finish day eleven of my fifteen day personal practice, I am reminded of the discipline I have demonstrated during this time. Most importantly, and delving even deeper into the meaning of tapas, this discipline has inspired and motivated me, igniting a new passion for my practice.  After just eleven days, I don't feel as if I need to discipline myself to be on the mat for an hour.  It just kind of feels like that is what I want and need to do.  It is that simple.  Maybe that's the point of discipline, of Tapas.   Now, if it was just that simple to wake up early.........

I set my alarm last night.  It was a different alarm and it didn't go off.  Well, that isn't exactly true.  It actually went off about an hour ago, 7:00 pm.  Not much help for a 7 a.m. wake up call.  It was probably for the best though because when I rolled over and looked at the clock at 8:00 a.m, I had a wicked headache.  It was accompanied by a wicked neck ache.  I'm no doctor (though I do play one on TV) but I'm pretty certain that the combination of painting, painting, painting and yoga created a lil' muscular stress in those areas.  I slowly got up and staggered to the kitchen.  I had only taken about ten steps but was already deep into the dialogue of how I seemingly failed to get up on time and contemplating if I was actually going to go downstairs for an a.m. practice.  As I swallowed a Naprosyn and prepared the French press, I managed to think about the deeper meaning of Tapas; not an easy task when your brain is doing its own ...

I set my alarm last night.  That was the first phase of increasing the probability of me getting up at 7:00 a.m.  Years ago, after taking my first sabbatical (so to speak), I remember telling folks that I thought I would have a difficult time working from home.  I imagined sleeping in, working in my pajamas and only showering when absolutely necessary, as defined by me!  I knew people who worked from home and most of them exhibited at least one of the above characteristics.  OK, before you state the obvious, I KNOW that I'm not working, at least in the conventional sense of the word.  However, in my daily endeavors to find meaning and purpose (now THAT is work!) I resemble the aforementioned remark.  The good news is that I have saved on my water bills as laundry and showering seem to occur much less:)  This is where Tapas (self-discipline) comes in....so I got up this morning, had coffee, and was on my mat by 8:00 a.m.  That is 2.5 hours ear...

Now for those of you who were like "Right on, Pam is finally talking about something I'm interested in--- food! I love Tapas. In fact, just last night I went to this Tapas restaurant and....." Stop right there .  That's not the kind of Tapas I'm talking about.  Although, make no bones about it, I love Tapas.  Add in a nice Sangria or beverage of choice and YUM.  However, in Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, Tapas refers to self-discipline/ patience/the disciplined use of our energy; the opposite of what I usually demonstrate when 17 mini-plates of food and delicious beverages are placed in front of me.  But this isn't about food, or is it?  I can probably make it about food.  When I get on a roll,  I can connect anything.  I am like one really, really, long run-on sentence.  Ever noticed?  Discipline-hmm.  Where to start?  Oh yes, today begins my second week of inquiry practice with regards to the Yamas/Niyamas; the...

Looking back on my Kripalu journal from teacher training 17 months ago, I realized that my first exposure to truly understanding The Eightfold Path or Eight Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga, occurred  the first week in an evening session led by one of my favorite Yogi's, Danny Arguetty.  For those of you new to Yoga, the asanas or postures that most people associate with Yoga, are actually the third limb as outlined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras.  The first two limbs are The Yamas and Niyamas , otherwise referred to as restraints and observances.   They are outlined very simply in the above link if you are interested, and will probably resemble, in some small way, the principles you already apply or try to apply to living well.   Anyhow, the night we were exposed to these principles, we were led in several different exercises of reflection and sharing. When we got to Aparigraha or non-attachment, the exercise was to consider "what no longer serves me?"  For me, at ...

I have been inspired by two things; seeing so many other cool designs in folks Blogs and doing a house purge and several new paint jobs in the next days and weeks to come!  New Year and new look.  Very, very excited for both.  If you have a favorite color, theme or design that you think the "spiritual-warrior-in-training" should consider, just let me know. Jai! P.S.  Happy Birthday Mom! I love you and miss you more than I could ever express.

I just returned home from Kripalu after spending five glorious days there, including ringing in the New Year "yogi style."  Having spent the last two New Year's Eve in similar environments, I must admit that I can't imagine doing it any other way.  To my surprise, well not really because I often miss the fine print, I had signed up for a four day program, not just a celebration on New Year's Eve.  From Thursday-Sunday I attended "Bhakti Bliss."  For those of you unfamiliar with Bhakti or Bhakti Yoga, it loosely means spiritual devotion or love for God and is often practiced via Kirtan or chants.  Whether participating in the traditional call and response chants or being part of the drum circle, dancing in the aisles or listening to stories told to music, I was completely absorbed in the experience......but not from the start. As my last one-sentence post indicated, I have been going through some holiday transitions. When I landed at Kripalu on that T...