Admit it: at times, we all can be a bit like the Princess and the Pea. Life can offer us so much goodness, but all we can do is get irritated by the few small things that don’t go smoothly. Frustrating, right? But there is an approach that we see reflected in nature that can help us. Here’s one way you may be able to turn your irritation into a pearl of wisdom.
We’ve all been there. We find ourselves so bothered by some experience in our day. Like when...
Oh, fire, what would we do without you?
On farms, crops do better after a fire has licked at the earth and burned off the top layer of old growth in the fields. In the forest, pinecone seeds only reveal themselves for fruition after fires transform the land to burnt ash and smoke, killing the parent trees and turning the shells of the cones to cinder. Somehow, all that survives is the seed, the potential of rebirth inherent in the plant, which had slept in the...
Though it seems a familiar formula for those on a spiritual path to rebuke money and keep things simple (many holy people have taken vows of poverty), I now wonder if it isn’t time for light workers, those doing the most healing work on the planet, to be unafraid to be the next billionaires.
It begs the question: Is it more “spiritual” to be poor? Should people who truly desire to serve the world take a vow of poverty? Or can being wealthy offer us its own...
I bent over, lifted my left leg, and tried to quickly slide my foot into the thick black rubber fin with as much grace as I could muster. My right foot toed the small sheath of my flip flop, which teetered on a precarious patch of jagged black lava. I had an awkward gait, like that of a monk seal on land, ready at the slightest provocation to plop over onto my belly, grunting. Then I wiggled into the right fin with the same hurried action, the rubber pulling the hairs from my...
When we think about the specifics of what we would like to manifest in our lives, our visions should feel absolutely yummy: I mean an “ooh-that-feels-so-wonderful” kind of feeling. Each idea we project for our future—the perfect mate, the ideal scenario at work, perfect health and wellness—should excite us from our toes to our noses and beyond. Our visions should make us come alive. Those who “sort of” want happiness only “sort of” get it.
Yet this wonderful...
You know when you feel stuck? I mean really stuck? Maybe you’re stuck in a bad marriage, or a really crappy job. Or you’re stuck with a body that is causing you grief (for whatever reason). Or perhaps you feel stuck and need to let out more of your creative light, say, write a book or start drawing or painting (again), or reinvigorate your vitality at work.
Whatever it is, this feeling of being stuck seems to reside deep in our gut, and it is surrounded by fear: fear of the unknown,...
When I first started “coming out” as a spiritual guy, so to speak, I was living in sunny San Diego, California. The West Coast seemed to be the birthplace of so much personal growth, and from this Midwesterner’s point of view, it always seemed they were about a decade ahead of the rest of the country on so many social issues and trends. As a kid, I had longed to live a bigger life, so I stocked my meager wallet, packed my bags, and talked my little brother, Michael, into driving to...
The rains have returned to my home on the Big Island of Hawaii, and with them, a memory. About a year ago, I had an experience that exposed my darker self. Granted, I was still coming out of a very dark period of grief. But I gained so much from this dramatic moment that I wanted to share it with you, and to remind you of how challenging experiences can make us stronger. During the ordeal, I stayed true to my yogic values of simply being an observer of what was happening through me and...
The New Year is fast approaching, and with it the opportunity to reflect on how we did this past year. It’s an important time to focus on what we’d like to create in the coming year. But this is no ordinary year, as the Mayan calendar officially ends on December 21, 2012, and astrologically speaking, we enter into the Aquarian Age. According to mystics, it’s a time when peace prevails on Earth. Really? I know, I know; you’re saying to yourself: “Think of all the rancor of the past election...
About a year ago, I was leading a creative writing class and I gave the students this prompt: “If you could be a superhero with one power, what would that power be?” Instantly, snickers and giggles rippled around the table of six writers. We had 15 minutes to complete this task. Then I added: “And say why.” A creative writing group can be a lot like an improv group in that anything can and does happen at the spur of the moment. I was fortunate to be in an improv group in Los Angeles for...
The teachings found in yoga are unafraid to address the notion of death. In fact, understanding and acceptance of the inevitability of death is seen as something that paradoxically frees one to be more fully alive in this moment. As a teacher, I thought I had fairly clear ideas on it. That is, until someone very close to me died. More than two years ago, Jeff, my life partner of 11 years, died after an 18-month struggle with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). It was a harrowing experience for...
“You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink” - Proverb Recently I was at a marketplace in the old sugar plantation town of Hilo, on the east side of the Big Island of Hawaii, about an hour from where I now live. It’s a once-bustling sugar cane industry town that now finds itself facing severe economic challenges. Hilo has had its share of hard times, and I’m pretty sure it never fully recovered from the great tsunami of 1960, a setback that took 61 lives and left the town...
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - Theodore Roosevelt I just completed leading a yoga retreat in Hawaii, and as we concluded, students asked how to keep their practice, and the wonderful feeling of inspiration associated with it, going once they returned to the mainland. I am asked this question toward the end of each retreat, and my answer is always the same: Take your practice home with you, and start with just a few minutes each day. Though the notion of starting...
If I had a nickle for every person who said to me “I can’t meditate,” I’d be rich. But for the multitudes of people who have busy, focused lives yet say they cannot meditate, there is an irony to their words. If you can focus, you can meditate. Let me share with you in more detail what I mean.
I live on the Big Island of Hawaii, an island filled with fantastical scenery. In fact, it has 13 of the world’s 14 ecosystems. Where I now live, I am surrounded by black, jagged,...
What is a guru, and does this concept have anything to do with your yoga practice? The idea of a guru is a fairly common concept in India, the birthplace of yoga. In the 1960’s, The Beatles brought this idea of “finding a guru” to the popular culture, as the group set off to India and began meditating with a well-known teacher/guru, all in the hope of finding enlightenment. When most of us think of a guru, we might conjure up an image of a person with a long beard in a flowing robe. In...
Does having a physically fit, flexible body mean that a yoga student is better at the practice than someone who is not as flexible or in shape? On the surface, our Western mind seems to shout the answer to this question with a resounding “Of course”. But if we look just beneath the surface, the answer may surprise you.
As Westerners, we are notoriously goal-oriented. We want results, and the right results make us happy. As yoga has made its way into the hearts and minds...
I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, celebrating my 7th birthday and coming into the age of reason during the summer of the Detroit riots. There was this unspoken fear and concern in most adults’ eyes, but little was said about what was happening. Given this tension, my first career attempt, which didn’t pan out so well, was to be a comedian for my family. I would repeat over and over again to anyone who would listen and laugh: “Who wants to head downtown? It’s an absolute riot!” But the...
“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few." - Shunryu Suzuki, Zen monk Many years ago, as a yoga student, I envisioned how wonderful it would be to teach yoga. As a beginner, my mind was always open: I had begun a love affair with the practice of yoga, and I absorbed it like sunlight to a flower. My teachers always seemed so centered and strong. They offered powerful insights in class, helping me gain greater insight into the challenges I...
As a yoga teacher, over the years I've had many people ask me whether yoga is the real deal: Does it really help, or is it just another fad? Do you have to be an acrobat to feel good about your practice or can anyone do it? Is it just an exercise program, or something more?
And as a teacher of Practical Yoga, I have to ask: Is yoga really a practical practice? And if so, what makes it "practical"? First of all, in its simplest form, yoga is the process of coordinating your body and...
Editors' note: We are honored to welcome Will Donnelly to our team of bloggers at SpiritualityHealth.com. Trained at the renowned Golden Bridge Yoga Studio in Los Angeles, Will is a pioneer in the field of yoga, having developed a style of practice called Practical Yoga and co-creating a yoga–reality series for fitTV. Will currently lives and works at Kalani, a yoga and wellness retreat center on the Big Island of Hawaii. He will be blogging regularly here about the ideas behind Practical...
