As you all know, I LOVE yoga. I have mostly just concentrated on the asana part of it, but now that it is becoming a bigger part of my life, other aspects are slowly becoming a part of my daily routine.
As part of my last weekend at teacher training, I had to develope a home practice. This is something that I have struggled with, mostly because I am a perfectionist. "If you can't do it right, then don't do it at all." But then I realized...what is right about a home practice?
So I put out my mat, put on Shiva Rae, and jumped on. I chose to do a lunar practice, which did wonders for what I needed that day. After the asana practice was over, I decided that I would meditate today.
But, I hate meditating. I really do. I get all jumpy and think about ten thousand things. But, I was determined that today was going to be the day that I just sit on my pillow and not judge anything. So, I decided to use my mala beads for help this time. I used the "Lokah samasta sukhino bavantu" mantra. For those of you that don't know what mala beads are, they are basically what rosary beads came from. You use them to guide your meditation. So I sat there and said my mantra 108 times. At the start all I kept wondering was when this was going to finish. But something strange happened toward the end. As I got lost in the words of the mantra, someone's face started to appear in front of me. He had the biggest smile I have ever seen; he made me smile. Then I felt as if that person was hugging me and saying "Don't worry. You are doing exactly what you need to do." And then he laughed. And as I sat there I wondered "Who is this man? Where do I know this face from? It is a face that is so familiar to me?" Then I realized...it was Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj-ji)! Of course he would come to me while I said this mantra!
It was such a powerful experience that I began to cry and cry and cry. They were not tears of sorrow, but they were not tears of joy either. It was just something that was pouring out of me. If you are unfamiliar with this mantra it means:
"May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and that freedom for all."
So...I will be meditating from now on and just maybe I will get a glimpse of that joyous face for just one more instant. Peace to all of you!
