Tag: Life

The Experimental Warrior

The Experimental Warrior

Jessica Magnin

Jessica Magnin

I preface this piece with a HUGE heartfelt thank you for your words of love and support. By sharing bits of my intimate path with you, there have been, in response, countless stories of your hardships that have profoundly touched me. Thank you for opening your hearts with courage and sharing your personal stories and feelings with me. Without knowing it, we have created a ”human connection of sensitive souls. ” I am grateful for your authentic self-disclosure and hope that this is just the beginning.

I aspire to inspire. This has been my calling since I was a little girl.  From the age of eleven and with the help of my mom who left a pencil and paper by my bed,  I began recording my dreams which soon became inspirations for my poems. I used my daily experiences and feelings as context to colour my writings and much later, the juice to infuse my teachings. Each life experience went in, was digested, sometimes giving me a belly ache and indigestion and then, came out in the form of words. I’ve never doubted that there would be a shortage of things to write about because life is always happening. This was the beginning of my journey. I became fascinated by human behaviour, the ways in which life unfolds and most of all, curious about how I participate in this dance. Finally, it became an invitation to LOOK attentively at my life rather than bury my head in the sand, especially when things knocked me off my centre. 

Within a lifetime, you will experience hardship. These ‘’challenges’’ are part of what makes up this thing called LIFE and contribute to your evolution.  I once read that it is not WHAT happens to you that causes your dissatisfaction or unhappiness but how you let your hardships affect you. Here’s the lowdown.  Life is either happening TO you or FOR you. If you choose to see life as something that happens to you you will helplessly be hit, one wave after another until life becomes one big tsunami. If you choose, and again it is a choice, to see life as happening for you hardships become offerings. It takes great humility to witness life as a precious gift and believe that each experience is unfolding FOR your evolution, interpreting it for what it is, a miraculous, ever-evolving journey.  From this perspective, you can make the changes that are within your power, learn to accept what is beyond, and apply your innate wisdom and humbleness to recognise the difference. 

Although they do not define us, our stories and hardships shape and forge who we have become. They become our guides, our faithful teachers, our life messengers from above that point us exactly where we need to be for our necessary growth. My stories and challenges are the precious gems that have granted me the foundation and the material to fulfil my calling, inspiring me to teach, share and continue to grow.  I don’t pretend to hold the key to ”your path” or have the ability to tell you what direction you must take for your optimal transformation, but I do know that your stories can be transcended into golden opportunities for your soul’s evolution. With that said, there is one thing that you must know. The only way for healing transformation to occur is by walking THROUGH, not around, your hardships. Walking through means leaning into those very awkward, uncomfortable feelings that normally send you running for cover.  

Your hardships ask you to step into the eye of the storm and witness without judgement how they make you feel and where your blind-spots are located. They ask you to see your resistance and your go-to for instant gratification intended to appease the discomfort. They ask you to face your fears with kindness. They ask you to forgive and make amends. They ask you to listen and extend loving attention and understanding for yourself. They ask you to be patient and stay put. They ask you to trust that the treasures will be revealed.

 Deep in the trenches of those places that make you feel out of sorts, you meet a very different you. The raw authentic one that has been waiting to have a voice. Sometimes you need to stay put a little longer than comfortable, and sometimes that feels like an eternity. You might notice how eager you are to rush the process of healing and return to normalcy but growth takes time. In waiting, you might be gifted -and yes, it is a gift to see your ways of numbing and deflecting- the urge to throw in the towel and grab the quick-fix-instant-gratification-thing (we all have our own) that makes everything rosy again; but remember, it doesn’t work that way. 

There are two paths- the path of comfort and the path of growth.  Both paths are intertwined with seeing life happening TO you or FOR you and ultimately the choice is in your hands. 

When I see life happening TO me I feel small, fragile, victimised and angry at life. Disconnected from my centre, fear fogs my mind and I spiral. I shut down, my heart and body contract, and I numb which creates more fear inside. I lose confidence in life and myself and feel very alone like I am the only person on this planet living this challenge. Severed from my soul, I want to dig a deep hole and disappear. 

Here’s the thing. As a reality check, you rarely allow yourselves to FEEl this far because it’s counter-intuitive to feel yuckiness on this level. Before the feelings sets in, you are already numbing yourselves with your go-to, be it TV, sports, alcohol, yoga, food, drugs, telephone; the list is too long but anything that makes you feel good and forget the discomfort. But there is always the morning-after when you wake to a mental mess, take a quick look in the mirror and know that despite your attempts to make the pain go away, it’s still there beckoning your attention. Depressed by this thought, you get busy and try to forget until it shows up once again on your doorstep. Paradoxically, this is the path of comfort, that keeps you stuck in this cycle and eventually creates a groove and maybe your grave.  

 When hardships appear on my path and obstacles stop me in my tracks, I began by asking myself, ”Is this experience happening to me or for me?”  This question sets the stage for how this experience will affect me.  I ask, ”How can I fully welcome this experience- neither good nor bad- as just an experience? What’s coming up for me- resistance, fear, sadness, doubt, anger, a memory of the past?  Where do I feel this in my body?  How can I step fully into this discomfort with fear and resistance? What can I change? Where can I surrender and what can I accept? What can I integrate and what can I transcend? 

When I see life happening for me life becomes a magical playground, full of opportunities to dance with what is playing out and eventually evolve. I co-participate with what crosses my path and know that in each moment I can practice truth and transcendence. When life gives me lemons, I do my best to make lemonade. When I see my challenges happening for me, I call upon my inner strength and resilience that crack my heart wide open with tenderness and vulnerability. My hardships humble me and make me wiser. They empower me to be accountable and responsible for my life and my attitude. They strengthen my bond with the Universe and enhance my trust in life. Sometimes there are a lot of emotions yet they become my barometer and guide me to where my attention is needed. My self-confidence shines as I honour my souls’ desire for truth and transformation. There is a tender kinship for myself that seeds love and empathy for my heart and the heart of others. I am grateful to be alive and for these opportunities to meet my soul. I have noticed that my awareness and intuition are heightened and creative juices flow. These are the gifts and so many more that await you if you should choose the path of growth. This is the path of the experimental warrior, the one who steps into the flames, sees through the story and hardship for the gold. Fear and doubt may well co-exist on this path and this is part of the terrain.  

They say, the more personal the more universal. For those of who question which path I have taken, rest assured that I am all for the growth. My personal experiences when shared, become universal and are an invitation for you to look inside and witness how you can transform your hardships and stories into opportunities for greater understanding and growth rather than be burdened by their weight 

May my words touch you

awaken your sleepy heart

inspire you to look inside and Feel what is there without shutting your eyes.

May my words be an invitation

to step into your hardships with coeur-age

invite you to look through your stories and see the gold.

May they create a chain reaction of authentic sharing and community

and may my words remind you that you are 

a spiritual being living a very human experience and

ultimately, we are in this together. 

Ask and You will Receive

Jessica Magnin

Ask and You will Receive

Jessica Magnin

In the lull of life, transition running rampant, I find myself, head down, heart squeezed, aimlessly following the deserted path of the Mesa that cradles the Big Blue. I no longer trust my mind. It is playing tricks on me. It is closing in on my heart, suffocating the life out of me. Drops of tears form in the corners of my eyes clouding my view of the shimmering sparkles of Divinity that dance upon the oil- like canvas. I see nothing. I feel nothing. Maybe none of this ever existed.

My chest is tight. I am barely breathing. My lifeline feels as if it has been severed forever. I am empty, unguided, like a ship that has lost its wind that devotedly guides her home. The contrast of my inner and outer world is painfully before me. Silence prevails. At my deepest moment of misery, I humbly look up at the infinite heavens and surrender. ‘’I just can’t do this any more. I need a sign, a tangible sign, that I am still tethered, connected to my Soul, my Divine Source that has always been my deepest companion.’’

My bare feet feel the burning heat of the harsh pavement. I stop to put on my flip-flops. At my feet lay a printed brochure folded in three. Revealed, was an image of an opened winged angel. I can’t see the message but only the ‘’why’’ would someone litter in such a pristine place. I reach down with the intent to throw the brochure in the nearest bin but something catches my eye. A beautifully calligraphic inscription graces the image of the angel, ‘’ May the beholder receive endless joy.’’ I am startled. I look suspiciously around for its owner. ‘’Was this some kind of a prank, a candid camera farce that life was playing on me?’’ There was no one in sight. This was no prank, yet I was the fool.

At that auspicious moment I realize that it was always there, Life, that Divine Connection. It was just me who was blinded and chose to remain in my grey tainted world of disconnect. They say that we are always connected, supported and guided. As spiritual beings at our essence, our presence makes up the grandeur of that of the Universe. In fact, we are the sum total of the Divine Universe and the Divine Universe is the sum total of each and every one of us. There is nothing to disconnect from because it is impossible to separate from what we already are. Disconnect can only exist within the limiting confines of the mind. The more we surrender to the subtitle yet profound certitude that connection is who we are at our core, even when the skies are at their grayest, the briefer the span needed to realign with her; until one day, this forgetting of our unshakable connection will become obsolete and we will know, truly know, connection in every breath we breathe.

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Thank you for your comments. Sending you all love !

The wandering Yogini and the humble Monk

Jessica Magnin

547130_105420336275096_954104557_nLife can be complicated and so can human beings. Maybe it is us that makes life so complicated. Maybe the hidden secret is that life is quite simple.

Sensitive and intuitive opened me up to a world of vulnerability and emotional instability synonymous to being tossed and turned on the cusp of violent waves. I was easily affected by the humours of others, even those that I had little affinity with but especially with those that I loved dearly. And thus, at a very young age I journeyed on an outward quest to find the missing link to a life of serenity where I could remain unaffected by the ups and downs of others so as to no longer lose my ground and question my worth. It was fatiguing to be at odds with the violent crashing of the relentless waves. Between you and I, I suffered.

All great explorers keep their eyes glued to their ultimate destination but often like the eye of the seer, they are swayed, tempted and often blinded by there own inner landscape of illusionary clouds. I was no exception. I was determined to find the answer, that missing link, maybe some kind of genetic or anatomical mishap at birth that forgot to add this essential component to my DNA makeup. I threw myself into libraries of self- help books, courses on personal development and psychology. I submersed myself in vision quests, hours with therapists and gurus, as well as retreats only to move farther and father from my truth. Yoga offered me many analogies, epiphanies and ah ha moments, Tantra and Buddhism too. As I continued to take part in the game of ‘’am I getting warmer’’, I ended up getting colder and colder.

I travelled to faraway destinations in hopes that the answer lay like the Holy Grail waiting to be uncovered. Then, on one random day there was an encounter, a life transforming one that began a colossal shift in my way of being. It was just a beginning, a Big beginning to my journey to the truth. I had been misreading my compass all along. An exchange of email addresses and then endless questions about life became the turning point and then, the tipping point that shattered what I thought was my reality.

How does a monastic monk weather the storms of life? With unwavering grace and constant non-reactivity. I wanted this to be my reply more than anything in the world. I believed at that moment, or at least I thought I did, that a monastic lifestyle was the answer that I yearned for and that my life long quest could finally come to an end. I wanted to believe, I needed to. I just had to figure out how a modern day mother and wife could manifest an unnumbered day refuge in a faraway monastery.

Some of our most profound life lessons present themselves when we are least expecting. Life’s lessons don’t always show up exactly how we might imagine and are often disguised. Within less than a week, my monk, the seer and the keeper of unwavering quietude showed up with quite a different face. His perfectly imperfect humanness revealed itself through grasping, worry, guilt and despair. Although you might think that his display of contradictory truth would send me into a breakdown of depression and despair, it became the breakthrough that I could never have predicted.

For true perception, one needs a good dose of clarity and perspective. Witnessing from a higher ground, I came to realise how I constantly disempowered myself by aligning my humour with the humours of others. My quota of happiness was tossed about and definitely defined by others. I once read a quote that hit home but in a sweet yet sour kind of way. ‘’When you stop aligning yourself with the vibrational frequencies of others you begin to really live’’. I full circled back home, the home of my heart.

No matter who we are, an untouchable guru, a housewife, a wandering Yogini or a monastic monk, we are all doing our best to weather life’s ups and downs with as much humility and serenity that we can muster. Some days we do better, some days we find ourselves thrown about but we always resurface and just try again and again, making happiness our birthright. This is the path. Simply put, we are there showing up in our naked human humbleness every Nano second. We are humanly living our humanness the best we can. It is as simple as that.

The Eye of the Beholder

Jessica Magnin

The Eye of the Beholder, beauty in the Heart

Jessica Magnin

Returning home from one of my countless pilgrimagesImage to Laos, I am often asked about the tattered greyish white strings, others of yellow and orange that adorn my wrists. The story behind their origins is long and I will reserve their recount for another time and place. The curious and conditioned mind wonders why anyone would consciously choose to wear such worthless trinkets day in and day out whether dressed for yoga or for an evening party with heels.

It is obvious that these tattered strings lack the luster of gold, the virtue of diamonds and the finesse of a salt water pearls. In fact these strings, worn for exactly 48 consecutive days have been unintentionally dipped into my dinner plate, mixed with lotions and creams and even once caught fire while lighting candles for evening meditation. Despite their daily washings, their physical appearance has taken a severe wear hence their added attraction of bewilderment.

Just between you and me, I don’t see them as tattered strings of ragged greyness but cherishable gifts of the heart from those who wish me goodness, love, happiness, prosperity and health. Tangled together on my wrists, I reminisce and reconnect with each individual heart, feeling their tender act of generosity and heartfelt beauty.

There is a saying that dates back to the 3rd century BC, ‘’beauty is in the eye of the beholder. “ We don’t necessarily see things as they are but as we choose to see them. Beauty is a concept of the mind; an illusion rooted in our own personal life experiences and conditioned beliefs. Only through right thinking and awareness do we unveil the truth that we have the choice to see beauty in everything, including all beings and in all moments. We can hastily view life through the eye of judgment increasing our likes and repulsions or we can mindfully choose to see though the eye of the heart. The eye of the heart recognizes the beauty in a wrinkled face, in a wilted flower, and on rainy day because the eye of this beholder inherently knows that everything is a gift from the spark of life, even worthless tattered strings from Laos.

 

WATCH this 1 minute video.

 The Most POWERFUL Wisdom You Will Ever Hear  

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Alice Herz-Sommer is 109 year old Holocaust survivor and is STILL LIVING, in London. When she’s asked about the secret to feeling good.

 “Optimism,” she said, “and looking for the good. Life is beautiful. You have to be thankful that we are living. Wherever you look is beauty.”

RULES of CONDUCT

Jessica Magnin

IMG_8691RULES OF CONDUCT

Jessica Magnin

“It is only when the mind is free from the old that it meets everything anew, and in that there is joy.” Krishnamurti

Everything has its place in time and in space and rules are no exception. Rules and codes of conduct keep us from falling into a state of anarchy, of total chaos. But then again, aren’t rules fabricated from the mind and perhaps rooted in fear? As much as we need rules and guidelines to live an orderly life, we might question, within reason, their potential of limiting our connection and heartfelt experience with others.

Here, in sleepy Luang Prabang a list of rules is publically displayed and posted around town. These rules are meant to be taken seriously and by all means, respected. With over 350 novices and monks living between the confines of the old town, one naturally abides by these guidelines but then, I suppose that depends upon the interpreter.

The second gong rings at 5h30 signalling the commencement of saibat, the giving of alms. In the faint darkness of the early morning, a thread of burnt orange robed novices, monks and abbots form what appears to be an endless stream of barefooted bodies with metal urns dangling from a woven strap resting on their bare shoulder.

I arrive at my habitual place, bow before my two elder Lao friends, take seat on a bamboo woven stool no more than 20 centimetres from the earth, place my flip flops neatly behind me, and tuck my sin, traditional Lao skirt, under my knees assuring that my legs are fully covered. A white “pha bien,’’or scarf, drapes over my left shoulder as I secure my hair neatly into a bun.

Behind me, the thick wall of Wat Sene separates me from 20 or so novices and monks making their final adjustments to their robes before stepping outside the confines of their monastery.  A wicker basket of freshly steamed “khao niow”, sticky rice, sits on my lap and I raise it to my forehead, bow in silence and bless these offerings with goodness and love. My dear Lao friends sit next to me. We exchange only a knowing smile of the eyes, nothing more. We allow the stillness of the early morning to bathe the present moment with sacredness.

The procession begins with a monastery’s dog or two guiding the way. Bare feet and bare heads gracefully pass at just arms reach, briefly pausing before me as I place a blessed clump of sticky rice into their urn careful not to make any physical contact, not even with their urn. One’s gaze should be soft, turned downward in humbleness and respect. These are the unspoken rules of conduct while offering.

Day after day, 94 in total, trip after trip, totally 6, rainy season or not, 3 to be exact, I am here with the same presence, the same intention and the same ritual of respect. But over time, things do shift and this is what is promised even by the teachings of Buddha himself. With habit and the passing of days, things do change, even the borders of set guidelines and rules.

The change began with the reception of an occasional yet discrete meet of the eyes, a faint humble smile, a whispered ‘’sabaidee’’ or “hello’’, a ‘’kop jai lai2”, a wrapped cookie, and even a brim-to-brim smile. Here, at this precise moment, beyond the rules of conduct, beyond what we call jit, or the mind, jai, the heart meets that of another and all differences, prejudices, conflicts, insecurities, superiority and even imposed rules drop, exposing one single thing, the art of being human and limitless potential of the heart.

“To be free of all authority, of your own and that of another, is to die to everything of yesterday, so that your mind is always fresh, always young, innocent, full of vigour and passion. It is only in that state that one learns and observes. And for this, a great deal of awareness is required, actual awareness of what is going on inside yourself, without correcting it or telling it what it should or should not be, because the moment you correct it you have established another authority, a censor.” Krishnamurti

Rules are necessary but they can harden us. We know this yet their implementation keeps us in tact. The mind is full of ideas about right and wrong, good and bad and packaged solutions to keep things from oscillating too far. Because the mind gravitates toward set boundaries, we create more. It is our mind’s way of making sense of the unpredictability of life and keeping chaos and fear at bay. Yet, our hearts yearn for more sacred moments of expression and connection and the humbleness of being human. Incapable of truly experiencing this humanness, the mind, limited in its limitlessness can only just begin to conceptualise what this softness might look like, feel like and be like. So within the confinements of suggested guidelines and rules of conduct, remember your heart. It is within the walls of the heart that love can be felt and expressed beyond measure.

Dare to fix what isn’t broken

Jessica Magnin

There is a common saying, ‘’don’t fix what isn’t broken.’’ This can literally be translated into, when something is working smoothly, leave it alone! But there is another quite provocative saying that goes something like this, ‘’the difference between a rut and a grave is only their size.’’

Entre Ciel & Terre had been running smoothly for close to 9 years to date. Peeking occasionally into the near future, we still envisioned Entre Ciel & Terre as we had always known it. The collectively cultivated energy through ongoing dedicated practices had provided a sacred space that had been the grounding force of transformation for many if not most of our students. We had all grown, including ourselves, after many years, very, very comfortable.

So why trade comfort for change and the unknown? Today, more than ever before the now must be marked with the imprint of change. Change is all around us and has always been yet now there is a certain gnawing feeling of acceleration. We no longer have idyll time to sink into deep comfort while wishing for things to be different. Those that have the courage to move toward the truth know all too well that their greatest obstacle is themselves and the choices that they make. Both contribute to a starving quota of transformation and in turn true happiness. As all sentiment beings evolve, we are no exception.

When the owner of our building announced that a potential move was in the very foreseeable future (less than 2 months away), we fearfully clung for comfort to what we already knew, Entre Ciel & Terre. This is the natural reaction in the face of change but it is also, as Pema Chödrön states, a true sign of moving closer to the truth.

Within less than 6 weeks, Entre Ciel & Terre as we knew it no longer existed. Day after day a door or a fixture would be missing, the lounge and its herbal tea disappeared until finally the electricity was cut off. We made the big move on July 10th, a paradox in itself, because we are literally just a handful of meters away.

Much soul searching had to be done before the painting and name change. We asked ourselves how we individually and collectively had evolved and where we desired to go? Had our teaching matured and where did we see it going? What would be the needs of our students in the world of now and how could we offer a space to foster those needs?

The answers revealed themselves effortlessly yet coupled with an incontestable message, ‘return to the essence of what is, life.’ This means letting go of what no longer serves- clutter, drama, procrastination, excuses, anything and everything that keeps us form moving into the fullness of our true identity.

Entre Ciel & Terre became O2 Yoga. The breath is the gift of life, In fact, without it life could no longer exist. With an average of 600 million breaths in a lifetime, we have become so busy that we cease to remember that one single breath contains the spark of life, the spark of spirit. Therefore, one might say that we have 600 million opportunities in a lifetime to remember with grace and infinite gratitude our essence, life. Barely breathing is synonymous with barely being, being alive. The breath mysteriously contains a well of wisdom; your unique blue print to live life to it’s fullest potential. You have the choice. You can choose between barely alive and miss out on life’s wonders or you can choose to breathe deeply into the cells of your being and inhale the sacredness of being fully Alive!

Join us at O2 yoga. Breathe life. Breathe love. Breathe peace. Breathe wisdom, Breathe gratitude. Breathe light. Breathe happiness. Breathe stillness. Breathe compassion. Breathe yoga. Breathe now. Breathe awareness, Breathe sacredness. Breathe.

The Shelf Life of an Open Door

Jessica Magnin

The Shelf Life of an Open Door The shelf life of an open door is unknown to even the wisest of beings. It may be instantaneous, fleeting like your next breath or lasting more like a handful of days. The dilemma is that no one really ever knows. When there is a calling from the heart, from its deepest chambers, there is a reason, and when on the path these heart callings are the stepping-stones that pave its way.

When one hesitates, idle thoughts move in, obscuring clear vision and obstructing the reality of what is. These thoughts are founded mostly in “what ifs” and tainted by the emotion of fear, bahya in Sanskrit, the sheer discomfort of the unknown. Moving into unchartered waters can be frightening like stepping out on a huge limb or slipping through an open door into very new and possibly unstable grounds. But this is what the heart asks of us, to stay put and remain completely open to what is even when life squeezes us to close down and run for our lives.

An encounter in a far away land was the beginning of two profound relationships that were forged through loving kindness and pure joy. Through one simple email, one precise sentence on a very given day, a life changing door cracked opened for only a brief moment on a sunny afternoon and began a chain of events never to be forgotten. The call of my heart manifested louder than any obstacle and naturally things fell wonderfully into place. With the blessings of my family and friends and a round trip ticket to Laos in hand, I was more than ready to embark on what was to come.

Waiting is never easy for the human mind. It is always easier to be the first to jump into the icy cold spring waters or be the first to present one’s oral presentation at school. Waiting induces paralysis and this I know only too well. At the young age of 5, I remember our son would gently tap the crown of his head when we asked him where his patience had gone. He would intuitively reply with a small tap on his crown “it is in my head.’’ And thus my head became the center of my attention during the next four days in an attempt to “patiently’’ wait.

The wheels of my mind went round and round like a broken record playing again and again. With an average of 60,000 thoughts per day that occupy the mind of most, and knowing that 90% of those thoughts are repetitive it is no wonder why we get stuck.  FEAR in big capital letters was everywhere. The word would jump out at me from between the lines of my books on compassion, it would reveal itself as the theme of a song and even show its face in insurance advertisements. The interesting thing was this thing called FEAR was my own. Even the most conservative of my friends and acquaintances blessed and encouraged me to make this pilgrimage. I quickly realized that there was no one to blame and nowhere to hide. Fear had taken me into her grip and squeezed me so tightly that at moments I lost my breath and considered forgoing my ticket.

In my waking hours my mind resembled a ping-pong match batting back and forth with question and response. Had I gone mad? Was it really necessary to travel close to 30 hours across the big blue to some foreign land for an experience, an unknown one at that? Would these sacred relationships change, possibly even end? Of course they would change, but doesn’t everything? No one needs to meditate on the other side of the world. Meditation is “here and now” and not “there and then.” I know that! Do I really want to disrupt generations of gender tradition? Isn’t change inevitable?

Pema Chödrön says that strong emotions are like flags going up to say ‘’you’re stuck!’’ She continues by explaining that we have the choice and the opportunity to stay with the painful emotion and observe it with compassion and curiosity or shut down and run. It is naturally human to want to know what will happen next, to feel secure and to avoid uncertainty at all costs, but it is also the root cause of our suffering according to the teachings of Buddha. We trade precious moments and empowering opportunities of love and growth for our so-called security, which is constantly collapsing because there is no such thing. So, I ask myself as Pema asks us to do, ‘’ do I prefer to grow up and relate to life directly or do I choose to live and die in fear?’’

Those next couple of days were spent on my cushion watching the wax and wane of my thoughts and this big thing called Fear. Watching with curiosity and compassion gave way to greater insight. I breathed her into my heart with a huge welcome and exhaled space and softness around her again and again. Soon the thoughts of FEAR became just that, the thoughts of fear, until they became like occasional clouds passing through a sublime turquoise sky.

“The next time you encounter fear, consider yourself lucky. This is where the courage comes in. Usually we think that courageous people have no fear but the truth is that they are intimate with it.’’ (Pema Chödrön) Becoming intimate with our emotions, with life and with whatever keeps us from being free is liberating. It might be said that this humbling path is counterintuitive but it is the golden gateway to surrendering to life and its fragility as well as its awesomeness. It is the work of the peaceful warrior, the one who remains courageously open no matter what. Bravery doesn’t necessarily mean that we are fearless. Being brave is rather not letting her stop you in your tracks.  It is actually “a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.”(Pema Chödrön)

Doors open and close and so do opportunities, encounters and even life itself but if we are so busy counting our thoughts like sheep jumping over the moon on sleepless nights, we miss the moon all together.  There is a solution and resolution to whatever crosses your path. Allowing yourself to become familiar with whatever life generously offers you is the path. “Like all explorers, we are drawn to discover what’s out there without knowing yet if we have the courage to face it.”(Pema Chödrön) So soften and know that you are in good hands, the hands of whatever you are experiencing. Let her be your friend as she has many things to show you and many places to take you.

 

An Open Door

Jessica Magnin

An open doorDoors open and close a hundred times throughout the day. Such is life. Curious and receptive attention is needed to know when a door has opened inviting you into the kingdom of newness, potential change and connection. May it be an encounter, words of wisdom slipped in between mundane conversation, or even a dream. Each, in its own way may be that door, that message, that one that offers a fresh new perspective or a creative explosion of growth and freedom. There may be no logic or reason but your deepest gut tells you that it is right. In Sanskrit we call this clear seeing or inner wisdom, prajna.

It is just 6am when we returned to our modest guesthouse along the Nam River. Carrying empty bowls that were once filled with benevolent offerings that were humbly slipped into the urns of an endless silent thread of burnt orange robes. The sun had just begun its ascent above the lush emerald hillsides as we made our way down a narrow alley à la queue leu-leu sandwiched between a monastery and a strand of closely woven makeshift homes. Except for an occasional footstep, silence permeated the air. As I followed the steps in front of me, I wiped the remaining sleep from the corners of my eyes. For no apparent reason except that of the open door of destiny, my eyes gazed to the left and locked with those of one Buddhist monk among many. Time seemed to stand still, suspended like the full moon in the blackness of the night’s canvas. A large white brick wall separated us. Neither spoke, neither moved for what seemed like an eternity but I knew a door had just opened so I consciously stepped inside.

This encounter became the beginning of an endearing transformational relationship between a searching yogini and a peaceful Buddhist monk. We spoke for hours, mostly question and response, politely taking turns and making the most of this auspicious encounter.

Living a humble life in a monastery and following the teachings of the Buddha must have huge metamorphic consequences. I yearned to know the truth. Do we become immune to life’s ups and downs, to people’s moods and even to our own? Does the mind become forever tranquil, the heart light and joyous? Does happiness and compassion prevail? Do we bathe in the essential and do we drink the cup of loving kindness morning and night?

These quintessential qualities are what I aspire to and yearn to embody in every cell of my body. Some days it seems so simple but far too often I find myself affected by the unimportant, struggling with the swinging moods of others and my own incessant thoughts. Peace remains at bay until I am able to gently tether it back to the cave of my heart and the corners of my mind through deep meditation and conscious practice. It is a process, an infinite journey into mindfulness.

An open doorThe magic of modern technology has allowed the searching yogini and the Buddhist monk to transport our conversations from that auspicious day within the confines of his monastery, across the oceans and into the here and now. I am forever grateful for this open door, this leap of faith and for the simplicity of it all. I have come to realize through the gift of our encounter that whether we are a sage living in a cave, a householder raising 4 kids, a Buddhist monk dedicating his life to the Dharma or a searching yogini we all strive in some form or fashion to aspire to a place of serenity, of ease and of openness. Hopefully we all do our best with what we have at that moment and that is where we are.

Mindfulness, known as samma-sati in Pali and samyak smrti in Sanskrit, is the ability to pay close attention to what is. As the great Buddhist American nun Pema Chödrön says, “To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man’s-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh.’’

So sit back and relax but remain fully awake to what life brings your way. The next open door may be your invitation to peace, or resolution or even an occasion to let go. Aspire to embody compassion, tolerance, love and peace of mind and heart and know that they are attainable in small and sometimes grand doses depending on the moment. No matter where you are with it all, make that ok.

Pema Chödrön

“When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love and care about other people and your capacity to not be afraid. You’re able to keep your eyes open, your heart open, and your mind open. And you notice when you get caught up in prejudice, bias, and aggression. You develop an enthusiasm for no longer watering those negative seeds, from now until the day you die. And, you begin to think of your life as offering endless opportunities to start to do things differently.”