Tweet, tweet,
Gloria

Having said that, here’s the beautiful poem I spoke of by Jelaluddin Rumi (translation by Coleman Barks). See what you think.

* * * * *

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

* * * * *

It’s a provocative way of looking at things, that there’s a wisdom there to guide us through life in each and every emotion that comes our way.

Honestly now, how open are you to your emotional experience? How willing are you to be in the presence of whatever may arrive in the moment? Or have you become expert at chasing emotion away? Here’s a few more questions: If you’ve become expert at chasing emotion away, does this bother you? If it does, then how? What have been the consequences to yourself or others as a result of chasing emotion away?

On this Easter weekend, a time of new beginnings, you might consider making yourself a promise to begin approaching your ‘guest house’ in a way that brings healing to your soul and life, by welcoming in whatever may present itself at your ‘door’.

If you’d like to talk about this further, you can do so in the space below. Or if you think you want a little help in learning how to welcome in emotion to your experience, feel free to drop me a line through the contact form at the left margin of the page. Going against your own energy is such a difficult way to live.

Have a Happy Easter!

In healing,

Gloria

I’m taking a break from my full life in Canada to vacation in the lush and very sunny, Costa Rica. Through my travels here, I’ve met many interesting and provocative people. A case in point is one lazy afternoon, I was sitting at a picnic table in the heart of Sabana Park, the largest urban park near San Jose. I was minding my own business and switching my attention back and forth between a lively game of men’s soccer, and admiring a school aged boy flying his kite, thoroughly enjoying them both.

The moment came when the attention switching was interrupted when 2 young people approached me gingerly at the table. They wanted to talk about a meditation course coming up in a few days. They suggested the technique being taught would help to heal depression, alcohol and drug addiction and psychological trauma. They said too it was being actively researched in America. My ears really perked up when I heard all of this. And why not? It was in line with the work I was already doing back home, teaching Yoga and practicing therapy with people struggling to overcome the effects of trauma and addiction. How perfect this moment was! “The Universe is so smart!”, I thought. A 3rd fellow joined us, and we continued our spirited conversation about the value of attending the upcoming course.

What was of particular interest was the 2 young men at the table were both former drug addicts, who said they used this technique to help them get off illicit drugs. Interesting. Before I could fully commit to the course however, there were a few things that needed to be worked out, like a translation service from Spanish to English, and transportation to another community in the San Jose area where the course was being held. As our conversation began to wind down, we agreed to keep in touch via e-mail about the possibiity that I would attend. As I worked through the logistical details, I also decided to check out online the organization the young people spoke of so highly. Through it all, I could feel myself getting more and more excited about the possibility of learning a new researched practice to support the alleviation of trauma and addiction.

As I researched the organization, I learned ‘The Art of Living’ was founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in 1982. It’s a global organization that teaches a meditation technique that came to the founder in a meditation. The Sudarshan Kriya was made up of 3 breathing practices, Ujayi, Bastrika, and Kaptabhati, all sequenced together and practiced in a cyclical rhythm. Frankly, it sounded quite intense to me. Wouldn’t it overwhelm someone who wasn’t yet stable themself? Hmm. But I put my wondering on hold in favor of continuing on with my online exploration. I learned too that in addition to teaching the technique, the organization did service work in struggling communities around the world. I was also able to confirm what I’d heard from my young friends, that the technique was being actively researched in America for psychological trauma.

As I continued with my research, I learned there were people who said they benefited from the technique. Tauma survivors reported feeling more relaxed, having a calmer mind, and no longer experiening nightmares as a result of practicing the technique. Some said the technique felt like hyperventilation and that this led to altered states of consciousness. Now, there’s nothing wrong with altering consciousness, but some claimed to have had a harmful adverse reactions in the course of altering consciousness through the practice. This news stopped me in my tracks. My ears perked up again. Yoga isn’t supposed to do us harm.

Yes, it’s going to change how we experience ourselves and how we see the world, but a shift in perception or experience isn’t necessarily the same thing as bringing on harm. Hmm. Others reported when they were part of the organization they felt as though they’d been indoctrinated into having to revere the guru. Hmm, again. There were people who left the organization saying they believed it was a cult, and I discovered undermining language to describe the founder himself. Of course, nasty things get said about founders all the time, but all of this gave me pause. It really saddened me and deflated my enthusiasm for the course. And the technique itself sounded so outside of the careful and gentle approach we take to meditation, and Yoga for that matter, here at psychologicalhealingandyoga.com. Besides, there’s no one here to revere, except for the Guru within. But I digress . . . Who to believe? What to do? What was my body telling me?

To make a long story short, in the end I listened to my body and stepped away from involving myself with a practice that sounded as intense as this one, when people reported to having been harmed by it, and when the founder was spoken of in disparaging terms. Better safe than sorry as ‘they’ say. I just didn’t want to take a chance with my mind in a new country, with a different language, and on reports that didn’t instill confidence in either the technique or the organization. Maybe I’m a big chicken? Maybe I have no sense of adventure? And maybe I value my stable mind, and am willing to protect it. Anyways, at the end of the day I decided to explore more of this beautiful country I’m visiting for just a few more days. Pura vida!

One last thing, as a side note it’s very interesting where our curiosity and open heart can take us as we travel through life. We need discernment to help us navigate our decisions, to stay safe and out of trouble. Furthermore, who can we trust with our precious mind? Eventhough there are many wonderful teachers out there, how do we know when we’ve found one? This is a great topic for a future post! If there’s a moral to this tale it would be something like – Explore, learn and grow, and be careful too from whom you learn and practice. We’re not supposed to loose our mind to a guru, we’re supposed to work with a guru as a mirror to our own Teacher within.

Until next time, take care.

In healing,

Gloria

PS In case you’re wondering what “pura vida” means, it has many meanings to the Ticos, or Costa Ricans. It can mean hello, awesome, goodbye, all is well, just to name a few.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Woman in the Ordinary
Marge Piercy

The woman in the ordinary pudgy downcast girl
is crouching with eyes and muscles clenched.
Round and pebble smooth she effaces herself
under ripples of conversation and debate.
The woman in the block of ivory soap
has massive thighs that neigh,
great breasts that blare and strong arms that trumpet.
The woman of the golden fleece
laughs uproariously from the belly
inside the girl who imitates
a Christmas card virgin with glued hands,
who fishes for herself in other’s eyes,
who stoops and creeps to make herself smaller.
In her bottled up is a woman peppery as curry,
a yam of a woman of butter and brass,
compounded of acid and sweet like a pineapple,
like a handgrenade set to explode,
like goldenrod ready to bloom.

In healing,
Gloria

If you’re thinking about doing some personal growth work, consider including your body in the healing process. It has alot of wisdom to offer that traditional talk therapies wouldn’t tap into. The two modalities together, for example talk therapies and a body centered practice like Yoga, would be potent agents for self-understanding, self-acceptance and personal change. It’s something to think about.