Coming Down the Mountain 25

So many of us want to help better the world, to do what we can to make it a better place for all peoples to be a part of.  One way to begin is to do what we can to better ourselves, to think about how we can become healthy, happy and holy by balancing out our stressful lives with healthful consumption, exercise, prayer and meditation.  The most obvious next step, and perhaps the most difficult, is to improve our relations with those closest to us, our partners, our children, our siblings, our parents, by listening-loving patience-kindness-generosity.  By saying what we mean, without saying it mean;  by holding a space for compassion while setting our boundaries.  By caring.  Then we can look out into our community and follow our heart outside of our homes and into action.  How can I be of service to my local school, homeless shelter, or library?  For many of us the call to activism is an important step towards change. Some ideas may include gathering petitions, campaigning for socially aware candidates, or cleaning up the park or the beach.  Wall Street has absorbed the funding for social services, complaining does not solve the problem, it takes action.  Bringing awareness through protest is only a beginning.  Reaching out a hand to a broken brother or sister, to a broken home, to a broken system, can make all of the difference in the world.

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Coming Down the Mountain 24

It is important for me to remember that although I am gathering a great number of wonderful tools, they are infinitesimal in comparison to the infinite number of spiritual tools that exist, have existed and will exist. I can barely pray.  My meditations are filled with thoughts of breakfast, lunch and dinner.  My body won’t stretch into full lotus, and these are the few methods of growth and awareness that I know to practice.  There is much to learn from each and every religion, movement and spiritual practice.  I know only a little.  I must watch for signs of bigotry and doubt regarding anyone else’s beliefs, or disbeliefs. Rather than shunning someone else’s stand, I must open my heart to the notion that before me stands my greatest teacher, if I but have ears to hear, eyes to see, and shut my mouth.

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Coming Down the Mountain 23

The first twelve step program that I attended was Al Anon, this was in 1999, and I was having an emotional breakdown.  I was drinking and using, in a bad relationship, the kids were becoming teenagers, and, in retrospect, I had no idea what I was doing.  As most life changing decisions that I make, I do not remember how I got to my first al anon meeting, I just know that it was conveniently located across the street from my office, it was ACA oriented, and it began my rocky journey into recovery.  It would be another 4 years before I got sober, but the seed was firmly planted. There are so many tools that I am given in that program, and because the work is subtle, I often forget their importance.  Al anon symptoms include a compulsive tendency to be controlling, while being a people pleaser.  This can get messy, sticky, and lead to a lot of passive aggressive behavior.  Learning to set boundaries, keep the focus on myself and not on someone else, and to state my truth while being kind, yet firm, and not easy lessons to learn; for many of us they require a whole new mind set.  Once I have heard what it is that I need to learn about myself and my behavior, I have to continually repeat the exercise so that it sinks deep into the subconscious and rewrites the script within me.  Reading the material, working one on one with our sponsors, talking it out in meetings, and working the steps are how we change and grow.

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Coming Down the Mountain 22

When I was to begin Teacher Training Level 1 in Kundalini Yoga and Meditation, I was feeling some major physical resistance in my stomach.  It was Friday evening, and there were knots in my gut.  Something inside of me was telling me that this was a bad idea and that I needed to just stay home and take care of myself.  This was beyond the nervousness of fear, this was physical pain.  The next two days, over the course of the weekend, I literally could not breathe through my nose, and that was all that we were to do all weekend, breathing exercises, and I could not get a clean breath through my nose to save my life.  All of this physical resistance was my body warning me that I did not want to go through the emotional hell that was about to be unleashed through me for the next year.  As I began to transform and become the me that I was meant to be, I had to let go of everything; everything that I thought that I wanted, needed and loved.  The grief was not constant, there were ups and downs, but it was monumental, earth shattering and life changing.  Today I see that I had to go through all of that to find the peace and tranquility of who I am today, and I am still changing, evolving, and not afraid, physically, mentally or emotionally, to move through it.

gregorysgardner.com

Coming Down the Mountain 21

Last weekend I began Teacher Training Level Two; Vitality and Stress in my ongoing Kundalini Yoga and Meditation studies.  Classes began on Saturday and Sunday at 7am, ended in the evening, and were filled with mind numbing  kriya (a yoga set) after kriya of asanas (postures) and meditations, some of which were somewhat excruciating. Why do we do yoga?  It isn’t always easy, and certainly not often comfortable. What is easy is how we feel when we are finished, when we are complete.  The sense of vitality and the reduction of stress only begins to describe where a wonderful yoga set can take us.  It truly can bring us closer to Spirit.  I was certainly tired leaving those workshops, but not spent; rather, I was filled to the brim, in fact, spilling out.  The hardest kriya for me was the Pittra Kriya, which has me seated, holding my arms straight out in front of me and crisscrossing them in the air for 11 minutes while chanting.  I have not been able to yet get through the 11 minutes without short breaks, but as we say, we are not trying to prove anything, we are trying to improve everything.  I have taken this particular kriya into my daily morning practice; because it is the most difficult, it is the most rewarding in reducing the stress that I am confronted with throughout the day.  I have been walking on clouds all week.  It is truly remarkable.  I take on spiritual disciplines because they bring me closer to God, and because they make me feel soooo good.

gregorysgardner.com

Coming Down the Mountain 20

How could God let this happen to me?  How could God have let this happen to her?  How could God have let this happen to his people?  There are many theories, but we don’t know.  We do know that there is love in the world, and that love seems to be the answer to most questions.  Perhaps we are built for love, and when love is not a part of the equation, things begin to go wrong, perhaps terribly wrong.  Sometimes it seems as if we can make the choice to choose love, other times it seems we have no choice but to feel the way that we do about a person, people or situations, but invariably, if we are to evolve, we have to find that willingness, the discipline, the strength to dwell in love.  It is possible, it is contagious, and it is inevitable.

gregorysgardner.com

Coming Down the Mountain 19

In the parable of the mustard seed, Christ was trying to describe the kingdom of God.  He did not say that the kingdom of God was like this great resort that you go to in Syria where you are catered to and lavished without a care in the world; where all of your friends are, big buffet, entertainment, the works.  No, it was described as a tiny seed that grows into a large, beautiful and powerful plant that provides shelter and nutrition for those that want it.  The kingdom of God is our faith, that is where it abides; our faith that we can provide for ourselves and for others, faith that we will grow mightily, and be nurtured with rich soil, water and sunlight, all of God’s blessings. Having faith knows where our blessings stem from. Seek first the kingdom of heaven, and everything else will be provided.  Find that tiny germ of faith within you, and nurture it into the mighty being that you are.  That is the kingdom of heaven.  You are the kingdom of heaven, it is not a place that you go, it is the being that you are.

Gregorysgardner.com