Yoga Rocks is JUNE STUDIO of the Month at Lululemon Athletica Store in Manhasset on Long Island! We are thrilled to be a part of this exciting opportunity.
Every Sunday Lululemon offers FREE YOGA CLASSES to the general public. Registration is necessary.
Come join us every Sunday in June!
June 21 "Dads Rock" Family Yoga with the Yoga Rocks Kids Staff
June 28 "Baby Yoga Rocks" - Yoga for parents and babies with Founder of Yoga Rocks and Yoga Rocks Kids, Jeannine K. Smolinsky.
See you there!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Summer of Yoga at Yoga Rocks in Oyster Bay!
The Summer of Yoga is here at Yoga Rocks in Oyster Bay!
We are ready for a fresh, rockin' summer!
SUMMER OFFERS:
2 Weeks for $30! - New Students.
And
$5 FRIDAYS!!! 5:15 pm Happy Hour Yoga!
We are ready for a fresh, rockin' summer!
SUMMER OFFERS:
2 Weeks for $30! - New Students.
And
$5 FRIDAYS!!! 5:15 pm Happy Hour Yoga!
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Loners & Lovers: One Man's Reflections on Relationship
Despite rumors that men and women might originate from different planets, it’s hard to know which of the differences between us are gender-related and what’s unique to a person, a culture, or a given era. With this month’s Valentine’s Day celebration of love, we wanted to hear a man’s views on the elusive mystery of couplehood. In this essay, writer and teacher Jeff Davis shares his personal reflections, honest opinions, and real-life experiences in the world of relationship.
In college, I ogled over a smoky black-and-white photograph of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. In their book-flooded study, Jean-Paul sits at his desk on one end of the room, and on the other side Simone sits at hers. The photo of the French philosophical duo—however pent-up their appearance and however strained their marriage—promised that I could find a partner who would arouse my intellect as well as my body and vice versa. Our tongues would rap about mortality and the human condition, we would make riotous love, and then we would each pursue our respective endeavors.
Ah, youth. I viewed myself a loner doomed to romance. I relished being alone for hours or days on end, immersed in writing and in the woods. But I also savored the idea of being absorbed with and by a beloved—I say the idea of since, truth is, I did not have many, if any, lovers. I wanted it all: time to myself and an adoring and adorable partner. I remain an idealist.
“You are in relationship,” the Indian thinker J. Krishnamurti says. Who you are, in essence, manifests and emerges through how you relate to others. Those words, read several years ago, tore at what I had grown up believing: that I am I, and I am most “I” when alone! A good relationship would be accessory, a tweed vest to a suit otherwise fine on its own but admittedly much richer with the vest. That Thoreau-inspired staunch individualist had numerous rude awakenings in his thirties and is happy to report—after growing up about six times since he was 19 years old through a few relationships and a divorce—that Krishnamurti was spot on.
At 43, I adore my wife. I clean the house; she cooks. We practice yoga together most mornings these days. When she comes home from work, I ask her how her day went. Sheesh, I even like to talk about how our relationship is going.
I am in relationship to my wife, Hillary. I can be moody and curmudgeonly, petty and judgmental, if I do not dose up on spiritual and creative solitude. And as my first wife would tell you, I am far from being a relationship expert. Oh, I could advise men on how to be lovers, not brothers or fathers, in relationships, but I’ll save that for another essay. I would like to say a few things, however, to the various lovers in the world—the immersed lovers and saturated lovers, the aspiring lovers, the broken lovers. My years of experience and hindsight have, I hope, borne a few worthy bits of advice regarding how to negotiate our ideals of love, the need for solitude in relationship, and mutual support for creative passions when we, as psychologist Rollo May wrote, “stand in love.”
On Love and Spirituality
Several years ago, my girlfriend at the time, a yoga teacher, said, “I fear you have expectations of me that I can never live up to.” What expectations? That you’re the perfect goddess? That you complete me and make me whole? Within a few years, that relationship dissolved.
Forget worship. That’s one thing I’ve learned about relationships and idealism. Rather than projecting some unattainable “soul mate” tag on my partner, I try to see my beloved as she is—delights and disgusts, integrity and insecurities, beauty and bafflements—as one complex, and divine, package. When we see our partner not as a singular god or goddess but as a veritable Hindu or Greek pantheon with conflicting passions and complex selves, we might more likely “stand in love” as our partner’s identity inevitably unfolds and changes. Granted, I don’t want Hillary to become a sword-wielding, head-severing Kali every day, but she must be allowed her Kali moments just as I should be allowed my lusty Pan moments.
Other advice? Beware demanding your partner “be spiritual” the way you might deem yourself spiritual. When Hillary and I first dated, she no longer practiced yoga regularly even though she had been certified as an Integral Yoga teacher years earlier. When I asked if she had a spiritual practice, she said, yes, the way she conducted her life. When I asked if she meditated, she said, yes, when she is in the woods sitting and observing plants and light, animals and elements. She respected my yoga and meditation practice, but I had to learn to curb my impulses to urge her to get thee to the mat every day. And yet she never demanded I get thee to the woods. I learned instead to relent and respect. Years later, we each practice yoga and meditate each morning, not always at the same time. And usually once a week, we each spend a day outdoors in our respective sit spots, making notes and maps of our natural surroundings. Her words and ways daily teach me about God.
Demand your man pray more, and he might only damn you under his breath. Insist your woman sit on a zafu cushion beside you, and she might tell you to sit on it. That my wife does deepen my spirituality is a fortunate outcome of a relationship built on mutual respect, adoration, passion, and support. When we establish a relationship on such tangible daily qualities through our words and actions, rather than on abstract ideals, a deepened spiritual partnership can follow.
On Love and Solitude
Nothing so wears down a relationship as feeling crowded and clung to. It helps to have common ideals regarding solitude, but partners with different needs can support one another. A previous girlfriend was my solitude and social opposite. She thrived on new friendships and gatherings in ways I thrived on being alone with my ideas and my writing. We worked it out: I often stayed home writing while she saw friends and attended social events, and she also hosted a few dinner parties. Years later, her butterfly ways have rubbed off. I’ve learned some social graces and can maintain satisfying friendships. And maybe she gained some of my solitary ways.
A few years ago, Hillary agreed to try a silent weekend. No phone. No Internet. And no verbal conversations with each other. We could signal one another in a sort of Charades-like way, but no spoken words. At one point during the weekend, I arose from my desk, found her in the garden, and asked with my fingers if she wished to take a walk. For over an hour, we wandered through a meadow and woods where we had never been, the vibration of the tall grass, the crows, the wind, and the two of us charged. No words. We took meals together with smiles and gazes. But no words. The experience of being alone together, Hillary agreed, magnified our intimacy.
So, a third thing I’d advise to lovers is to discuss each other’s needs for solitude. And if you do not require as much solitude as your lover, don’t take it personally unless you’re jealous of his or her relationship to God or the woods or art. Whether you two “cling” to one another or whether one or both of you has “too much” solitude, a silent weekend with natural daily activities together interwoven can reestablish trust and create healthy intimacy in ways no conversation can.
On Love, Creative Pursuits, and Sex
Each person pursues a passion, and each person supports the other’s passion. That’s a simple adage drawn from my experiences and observations of what works in a relationship. Each couple can figure out its own ideal. The idea of having a partner in my vicinity engrossed in her own passionate work while I likewise am immersed in mine still stirs many parts of me. It is as if each of our souls and imaginations has a reciprocal and tangible guardian angel somewhere in the not-too-distant background looking out for us. (Told you I’m still an idealist.)
Hillary’s passionate work is more attuned to the earth, gardening, and healing people than to the writing life—a happy separation of creative labor for us both. To be her lover in part means I take direct interest in her passions even though they are not immediately mine. When, while standing next to a vernal stream, she waxes philosophical about how, from a Chinese medicine point of view, streams course through our bodies and are part and parcel of the waters we swim in, I swoon. And what did she ask for for Christmas? A compost thermometer and a special knife to help her cut tough vegetable roots. I love that. On our happiest days, we have breakfast together, and then I retreat to my study and she to her garden. We take breaks for lunch and conversation and, yes, sometimes on-the-fly lovemaking indoors or outdoors.
Which brings me to the last and perhaps most essential topic for lovers: sex. When I flow in my creative work and when my lover flows in hers, we are both highly aroused. Through our own creative endeavors, we connect deeply not only to our physical selves but also to our seed selves that swirl with the same basic earth-stuff that shoots shoots in spring.
Granted I could write another essay or book for that matter on sex alone, but perhaps the most salient advice I’d offer guys in love is their groins must have a direct line to their heart. Or else sex is mostly self-gratification and no relation. This morning over breakfast, Hillary talked about how excited she was to plant garlic this autumn. Sunlight hit her soft cheeks, and my eyes saw her face freshly yet again. I wanted to make love to her right there on the farm table. It’s as if a bell in my heart awakens my groins.
At this moment, while I am writing, I can see her outdoors, her hands in the dirt, her heart full.
Jean-Paul and Simone should be so lucky.
Jeff Davis is a writer, national workshop leader, yoga teacher, and author of The Journey from the Center to the Page. On faculty at Western Connecticut State University’s MFA Writing Program, Jeff coaches and teaches writers around the country. www.centertopage.com
Reprinted from Kripalu Online.
In college, I ogled over a smoky black-and-white photograph of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. In their book-flooded study, Jean-Paul sits at his desk on one end of the room, and on the other side Simone sits at hers. The photo of the French philosophical duo—however pent-up their appearance and however strained their marriage—promised that I could find a partner who would arouse my intellect as well as my body and vice versa. Our tongues would rap about mortality and the human condition, we would make riotous love, and then we would each pursue our respective endeavors.
Ah, youth. I viewed myself a loner doomed to romance. I relished being alone for hours or days on end, immersed in writing and in the woods. But I also savored the idea of being absorbed with and by a beloved—I say the idea of since, truth is, I did not have many, if any, lovers. I wanted it all: time to myself and an adoring and adorable partner. I remain an idealist.
“You are in relationship,” the Indian thinker J. Krishnamurti says. Who you are, in essence, manifests and emerges through how you relate to others. Those words, read several years ago, tore at what I had grown up believing: that I am I, and I am most “I” when alone! A good relationship would be accessory, a tweed vest to a suit otherwise fine on its own but admittedly much richer with the vest. That Thoreau-inspired staunch individualist had numerous rude awakenings in his thirties and is happy to report—after growing up about six times since he was 19 years old through a few relationships and a divorce—that Krishnamurti was spot on.
At 43, I adore my wife. I clean the house; she cooks. We practice yoga together most mornings these days. When she comes home from work, I ask her how her day went. Sheesh, I even like to talk about how our relationship is going.
I am in relationship to my wife, Hillary. I can be moody and curmudgeonly, petty and judgmental, if I do not dose up on spiritual and creative solitude. And as my first wife would tell you, I am far from being a relationship expert. Oh, I could advise men on how to be lovers, not brothers or fathers, in relationships, but I’ll save that for another essay. I would like to say a few things, however, to the various lovers in the world—the immersed lovers and saturated lovers, the aspiring lovers, the broken lovers. My years of experience and hindsight have, I hope, borne a few worthy bits of advice regarding how to negotiate our ideals of love, the need for solitude in relationship, and mutual support for creative passions when we, as psychologist Rollo May wrote, “stand in love.”
On Love and Spirituality
Several years ago, my girlfriend at the time, a yoga teacher, said, “I fear you have expectations of me that I can never live up to.” What expectations? That you’re the perfect goddess? That you complete me and make me whole? Within a few years, that relationship dissolved.
Forget worship. That’s one thing I’ve learned about relationships and idealism. Rather than projecting some unattainable “soul mate” tag on my partner, I try to see my beloved as she is—delights and disgusts, integrity and insecurities, beauty and bafflements—as one complex, and divine, package. When we see our partner not as a singular god or goddess but as a veritable Hindu or Greek pantheon with conflicting passions and complex selves, we might more likely “stand in love” as our partner’s identity inevitably unfolds and changes. Granted, I don’t want Hillary to become a sword-wielding, head-severing Kali every day, but she must be allowed her Kali moments just as I should be allowed my lusty Pan moments.
Other advice? Beware demanding your partner “be spiritual” the way you might deem yourself spiritual. When Hillary and I first dated, she no longer practiced yoga regularly even though she had been certified as an Integral Yoga teacher years earlier. When I asked if she had a spiritual practice, she said, yes, the way she conducted her life. When I asked if she meditated, she said, yes, when she is in the woods sitting and observing plants and light, animals and elements. She respected my yoga and meditation practice, but I had to learn to curb my impulses to urge her to get thee to the mat every day. And yet she never demanded I get thee to the woods. I learned instead to relent and respect. Years later, we each practice yoga and meditate each morning, not always at the same time. And usually once a week, we each spend a day outdoors in our respective sit spots, making notes and maps of our natural surroundings. Her words and ways daily teach me about God.
Demand your man pray more, and he might only damn you under his breath. Insist your woman sit on a zafu cushion beside you, and she might tell you to sit on it. That my wife does deepen my spirituality is a fortunate outcome of a relationship built on mutual respect, adoration, passion, and support. When we establish a relationship on such tangible daily qualities through our words and actions, rather than on abstract ideals, a deepened spiritual partnership can follow.
On Love and Solitude
Nothing so wears down a relationship as feeling crowded and clung to. It helps to have common ideals regarding solitude, but partners with different needs can support one another. A previous girlfriend was my solitude and social opposite. She thrived on new friendships and gatherings in ways I thrived on being alone with my ideas and my writing. We worked it out: I often stayed home writing while she saw friends and attended social events, and she also hosted a few dinner parties. Years later, her butterfly ways have rubbed off. I’ve learned some social graces and can maintain satisfying friendships. And maybe she gained some of my solitary ways.
A few years ago, Hillary agreed to try a silent weekend. No phone. No Internet. And no verbal conversations with each other. We could signal one another in a sort of Charades-like way, but no spoken words. At one point during the weekend, I arose from my desk, found her in the garden, and asked with my fingers if she wished to take a walk. For over an hour, we wandered through a meadow and woods where we had never been, the vibration of the tall grass, the crows, the wind, and the two of us charged. No words. We took meals together with smiles and gazes. But no words. The experience of being alone together, Hillary agreed, magnified our intimacy.
So, a third thing I’d advise to lovers is to discuss each other’s needs for solitude. And if you do not require as much solitude as your lover, don’t take it personally unless you’re jealous of his or her relationship to God or the woods or art. Whether you two “cling” to one another or whether one or both of you has “too much” solitude, a silent weekend with natural daily activities together interwoven can reestablish trust and create healthy intimacy in ways no conversation can.
On Love, Creative Pursuits, and Sex
Each person pursues a passion, and each person supports the other’s passion. That’s a simple adage drawn from my experiences and observations of what works in a relationship. Each couple can figure out its own ideal. The idea of having a partner in my vicinity engrossed in her own passionate work while I likewise am immersed in mine still stirs many parts of me. It is as if each of our souls and imaginations has a reciprocal and tangible guardian angel somewhere in the not-too-distant background looking out for us. (Told you I’m still an idealist.)
Hillary’s passionate work is more attuned to the earth, gardening, and healing people than to the writing life—a happy separation of creative labor for us both. To be her lover in part means I take direct interest in her passions even though they are not immediately mine. When, while standing next to a vernal stream, she waxes philosophical about how, from a Chinese medicine point of view, streams course through our bodies and are part and parcel of the waters we swim in, I swoon. And what did she ask for for Christmas? A compost thermometer and a special knife to help her cut tough vegetable roots. I love that. On our happiest days, we have breakfast together, and then I retreat to my study and she to her garden. We take breaks for lunch and conversation and, yes, sometimes on-the-fly lovemaking indoors or outdoors.
Which brings me to the last and perhaps most essential topic for lovers: sex. When I flow in my creative work and when my lover flows in hers, we are both highly aroused. Through our own creative endeavors, we connect deeply not only to our physical selves but also to our seed selves that swirl with the same basic earth-stuff that shoots shoots in spring.
Granted I could write another essay or book for that matter on sex alone, but perhaps the most salient advice I’d offer guys in love is their groins must have a direct line to their heart. Or else sex is mostly self-gratification and no relation. This morning over breakfast, Hillary talked about how excited she was to plant garlic this autumn. Sunlight hit her soft cheeks, and my eyes saw her face freshly yet again. I wanted to make love to her right there on the farm table. It’s as if a bell in my heart awakens my groins.
At this moment, while I am writing, I can see her outdoors, her hands in the dirt, her heart full.
Jean-Paul and Simone should be so lucky.
Jeff Davis is a writer, national workshop leader, yoga teacher, and author of The Journey from the Center to the Page. On faculty at Western Connecticut State University’s MFA Writing Program, Jeff coaches and teaches writers around the country. www.centertopage.com
Reprinted from Kripalu Online.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Peace, Light, and Freedom
Could anything be more beautiful than Martin Luther King Day and the inauguration of President Obama side by side in 2009?
My favorite MLK quote:
“Darkness cannot dispel darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot defeat hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Just thinking about how joyful the scene must be at the White House and in Washington DC, and surrounding the family and friends of President Obama today! The world can bask and enjoy this moment, and what better time could it be? To be present and enjoy a release from recent economic fears and sorrows. Let it all go for today, for this week, maybe forever, and allow hope and freedom to seep into you today. Dr. King and President Obama remind us that this can manifest at anytime for any one of us and for all of us collectively.
A Poem by Maya Angelou:
“Touched by an Angel”
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves it’s high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.
Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.
We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.
THEN, LISTEN TO THIS AWESOME TUNE AND DANCE YOUR HEART OUT!
Peace & Warm Light to you all today,
Jeannine
My favorite MLK quote:
“Darkness cannot dispel darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot defeat hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Just thinking about how joyful the scene must be at the White House and in Washington DC, and surrounding the family and friends of President Obama today! The world can bask and enjoy this moment, and what better time could it be? To be present and enjoy a release from recent economic fears and sorrows. Let it all go for today, for this week, maybe forever, and allow hope and freedom to seep into you today. Dr. King and President Obama remind us that this can manifest at anytime for any one of us and for all of us collectively.
A Poem by Maya Angelou:
“Touched by an Angel”
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves it’s high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.
Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.
We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.
THEN, LISTEN TO THIS AWESOME TUNE AND DANCE YOUR HEART OUT!
Peace & Warm Light to you all today,
Jeannine
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Newsday Comes to Yoga Rocks!
On Monday, December 8th, Newsday reporter, Anne Machalinski, came to Yoga Rocks to take a class and spread the news about Yoga Rocks!
Check us out in this exclusive Explore LI video shoot! Yoga Rocks Long Island!
Thank you to our amazing yoga community for supporting Yoga Rocks!
Check us out in this exclusive Explore LI video shoot! Yoga Rocks Long Island!
Thank you to our amazing yoga community for supporting Yoga Rocks!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
KIDS HALLOWEEN PARTY & FUNDRAISER FOR JDRF - A SUCCESS!
As a fundraising event for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Yoga Rocks held a special Halloween Party for kids and families on Friday, October 24th from 4:00 - 6:00 pm.
Kids and Yoga Rocks Kids yoga teachers dressed up as the kids participated in fun activities such as "Mummy Wrap Up", Spooky Crafts, Halloween healthy treats, stickers, games, and more!
The party was a huge success! Yoga Rocks is pleased to be a sponsor for JDRF, a Jeannine's cousin Nicholas, age 5, was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes at age 3.
Jeannine also works collaboratively with the Winthrop Hospital Juvenile Diabetes Wellness Program offering yoga to kids and their families as part of their program.
Yoga Rocks will now hold this wonderful party each year as a Annual Event.
Coming soon....Yoga on Ice, a Winter Wonderland event for Kids!
Registration for the Winter-Spring Semester begins November 2oth.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Untethered Soul & The Yoga of Happiness
Dear Readers,
Here is an except from the new book, The Untethered Soul, by Michael A. Singer.
This is so important during times like these and I wanted to share this incredible piece with you.
Excerpt from Chapter 15:
The Path of Unconditional Happiness
The highest spiritual path is life itself. If you know how to live daily life, it all becomes a liberating experience. But first you have to approach life properly, or it can be very confusing. To begin with, you have to realize that you really only have one choice in this life, and it’s not about your career, whom you want to marry, or whether you want to seek God. People tend to burden themselves with so many choices. But, in the end, you can throw it all away and just make one basic, underlying decision: Do you want to be happy, or do you not want to be happy? It’s really that simple. Once you make that choice, your path through life becomes totally clear.
Most people don’t dare give themselves that choice because they think it’s not under their control. Someone might say, “Well, of course I want to be happy, but my wife left me.” In other words, they want to be happy, but not if their wife leaves them. But that wasn’t the question. The question was, very simply, “Do you want to be happy or not?” If you keep it that simple, you will see that it really is under your control. It’s just that you have a deep-seated set of preferences that gets in the way.
Let’s say you’ve been lost and without food for days, and you finally find your way to a house. You can hardly make it to the doorstep, but you manage to pull yourself up and knock on the door. Somebody opens the door, looks at you and says, “Oh my God! You poor thing! Do you want something to eat? What would you like?” Now the truth is, you really don’t care what they give you. You don’t even want to think about it. You just utter the word “food.” And because you really mean it when you say you need food, it no longer has anything to do with your mental preferences. The same goes for the question about happiness. The question is simply “Do you want to be happy?” If the answer is really yes, then say it without qualifying it. After all, what the question really means is “Do you want to be happy from this point forward for the rest of your life, regardless of what happens?”
Now, if you say yes, it might happen that your wife leaves you, or your husband dies, or the stock market crashes, or your car breaks down on an open highway at night. Those things might happen between now and the end of your life. But if you want to walk the highest spiritual path, then when you answer yes to that simple question, you must really mean it. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It’s not a question of whether your happiness is under your control. Of course it’s under your control. It’s just that you don’t really mean it when you say you’re willing to stay happy. You want to qualify it. You want to say that as long as this doesn’t happen, or as long as that does happen, then you’re willing to be happy. That’s why it seems like it is out of your control. Any condition you create will limit your happiness. You simply aren’t going to be able to control things and keep them the way you want them.
You have to give an unconditional answer. If you decide that you’re going to be happy from now on for the rest of your life, you will not only be happy, you will become enlightened. Unconditional happiness is the highest technique there is. You don’t have to learn Sanskrit or read any scriptures. You don’t have to renounce the world. You just have to really mean it when you say that you choose to be happy. And you have to mean it regardless of what happens. This is truly a spiritual path, and it is as direct and sure a path to Awakening as could possibly exist. Once you decide you want to be unconditionally happy, something inevitably will happen that challenges you. This test of your commitment is exactly what stimulates spiritual growth. In fact, it is the unconditional aspect of your commitment that makes this the highest path. It’s so simple. You just have to decide whether or not you will break your vow. When everything is going well, it’s easy to be happy. But the moment something difficult happens, it’s not so easy. You tend to find yourself saying, “But I didn’t know this was going to happen. I didn’t think I’d miss my flight. I didn’t think Sally would show up at the party wearing the same dress that I had on. I didn’t think that somebody would dent my brand-new car one hour after I got it.” Are you really willing to break your vow of happiness because these events took place?
Billions of things could happen that you haven’t even thought of yet. The question is not whether they will happen. Things are going to happen. The real question is whether you want to be happy regardless of what happens. The purpose of your life is to enjoy and learn from your experiences. You were not put on Earth to suffer.
You’re not helping anybody by being miserable. Regardless of your philosophical beliefs, the fact remains that you were born and you are going to die. During the time in between, you get to choose whether or not you want to enjoy the experience. Events don’t determine whether or not you’re going to be happy. They’re just events. You determine whether or not you’re going to be happy. You can be happy just to be alive. You can be happy having all these things happen to you, and then be happy to die. If you can live this way, your heart will be so open and your Spirit will be so free, that you will soar up to the heavens.
This path leads you to absolute transcendence because any part of your being that would add a condition to your commitment to happiness has got to go. If you want to be happy, you have to let go of the part of you that wants to create melodrama. This is the part that thinks there’s a reason not to be happy. You have to transcend the personal, and as you do, you will naturally awaken to the higher aspects of your being. In the end, enjoying life’s experiences is the only rational thing to do. You’re sitting on a planet spinning around in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Go ahead, take a look at reality. You’re floating in empty space in a universe that goes on forever. If you have to be here, at least be happy and enjoy the experience. You’re going to die anyway. Things are going to happen anyway. Why shouldn’t you be happy? You gain nothing by being bothered by life’s events. It doesn’t change the world; you just suffer. There’s always going to be something that can bother you, if you let it.
This choice to enjoy life will lead you through your spiritual journey. In truth, it is itself a spiritual teacher. Committing yourself to unconditional happiness will teach you every single thing there is to learn about yourself, about others, and about the nature of life. You will learn all about your mind, your heart, and your will. But you have to mean it when you say that you’ll be happy for the rest of your life. Every time a part of you begins to get unhappy, let it go. Work with it. Use affirmations, or do whatever you need to do to stay open. If you are committed, nothing can stop you. No matter what happens, you can choose to enjoy the experience. If they starve you and put you in solitary confinement, just have fun being like Gandhi. No matter what happens, just enjoy the life that comes to you.
As difficult as that sounds, what’s the benefit of not doing it? If you’re totally innocent and they lock you up, you might as well have fun. What good does it do to not have fun? It doesn’t change anything. In the end, if you stay happy, you win. Make that your game, and just stay happy no matter what.
Copyright ©2007 by Michael A. Singer
I'd love for you to post a comment and let me know what you think of this!
Jeannie
Here is an except from the new book, The Untethered Soul, by Michael A. Singer.
This is so important during times like these and I wanted to share this incredible piece with you.
Excerpt from Chapter 15:
The Path of Unconditional Happiness
The highest spiritual path is life itself. If you know how to live daily life, it all becomes a liberating experience. But first you have to approach life properly, or it can be very confusing. To begin with, you have to realize that you really only have one choice in this life, and it’s not about your career, whom you want to marry, or whether you want to seek God. People tend to burden themselves with so many choices. But, in the end, you can throw it all away and just make one basic, underlying decision: Do you want to be happy, or do you not want to be happy? It’s really that simple. Once you make that choice, your path through life becomes totally clear.
Most people don’t dare give themselves that choice because they think it’s not under their control. Someone might say, “Well, of course I want to be happy, but my wife left me.” In other words, they want to be happy, but not if their wife leaves them. But that wasn’t the question. The question was, very simply, “Do you want to be happy or not?” If you keep it that simple, you will see that it really is under your control. It’s just that you have a deep-seated set of preferences that gets in the way.
Let’s say you’ve been lost and without food for days, and you finally find your way to a house. You can hardly make it to the doorstep, but you manage to pull yourself up and knock on the door. Somebody opens the door, looks at you and says, “Oh my God! You poor thing! Do you want something to eat? What would you like?” Now the truth is, you really don’t care what they give you. You don’t even want to think about it. You just utter the word “food.” And because you really mean it when you say you need food, it no longer has anything to do with your mental preferences. The same goes for the question about happiness. The question is simply “Do you want to be happy?” If the answer is really yes, then say it without qualifying it. After all, what the question really means is “Do you want to be happy from this point forward for the rest of your life, regardless of what happens?”
Now, if you say yes, it might happen that your wife leaves you, or your husband dies, or the stock market crashes, or your car breaks down on an open highway at night. Those things might happen between now and the end of your life. But if you want to walk the highest spiritual path, then when you answer yes to that simple question, you must really mean it. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It’s not a question of whether your happiness is under your control. Of course it’s under your control. It’s just that you don’t really mean it when you say you’re willing to stay happy. You want to qualify it. You want to say that as long as this doesn’t happen, or as long as that does happen, then you’re willing to be happy. That’s why it seems like it is out of your control. Any condition you create will limit your happiness. You simply aren’t going to be able to control things and keep them the way you want them.
You have to give an unconditional answer. If you decide that you’re going to be happy from now on for the rest of your life, you will not only be happy, you will become enlightened. Unconditional happiness is the highest technique there is. You don’t have to learn Sanskrit or read any scriptures. You don’t have to renounce the world. You just have to really mean it when you say that you choose to be happy. And you have to mean it regardless of what happens. This is truly a spiritual path, and it is as direct and sure a path to Awakening as could possibly exist. Once you decide you want to be unconditionally happy, something inevitably will happen that challenges you. This test of your commitment is exactly what stimulates spiritual growth. In fact, it is the unconditional aspect of your commitment that makes this the highest path. It’s so simple. You just have to decide whether or not you will break your vow. When everything is going well, it’s easy to be happy. But the moment something difficult happens, it’s not so easy. You tend to find yourself saying, “But I didn’t know this was going to happen. I didn’t think I’d miss my flight. I didn’t think Sally would show up at the party wearing the same dress that I had on. I didn’t think that somebody would dent my brand-new car one hour after I got it.” Are you really willing to break your vow of happiness because these events took place?
Billions of things could happen that you haven’t even thought of yet. The question is not whether they will happen. Things are going to happen. The real question is whether you want to be happy regardless of what happens. The purpose of your life is to enjoy and learn from your experiences. You were not put on Earth to suffer.
You’re not helping anybody by being miserable. Regardless of your philosophical beliefs, the fact remains that you were born and you are going to die. During the time in between, you get to choose whether or not you want to enjoy the experience. Events don’t determine whether or not you’re going to be happy. They’re just events. You determine whether or not you’re going to be happy. You can be happy just to be alive. You can be happy having all these things happen to you, and then be happy to die. If you can live this way, your heart will be so open and your Spirit will be so free, that you will soar up to the heavens.
This path leads you to absolute transcendence because any part of your being that would add a condition to your commitment to happiness has got to go. If you want to be happy, you have to let go of the part of you that wants to create melodrama. This is the part that thinks there’s a reason not to be happy. You have to transcend the personal, and as you do, you will naturally awaken to the higher aspects of your being. In the end, enjoying life’s experiences is the only rational thing to do. You’re sitting on a planet spinning around in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Go ahead, take a look at reality. You’re floating in empty space in a universe that goes on forever. If you have to be here, at least be happy and enjoy the experience. You’re going to die anyway. Things are going to happen anyway. Why shouldn’t you be happy? You gain nothing by being bothered by life’s events. It doesn’t change the world; you just suffer. There’s always going to be something that can bother you, if you let it.
This choice to enjoy life will lead you through your spiritual journey. In truth, it is itself a spiritual teacher. Committing yourself to unconditional happiness will teach you every single thing there is to learn about yourself, about others, and about the nature of life. You will learn all about your mind, your heart, and your will. But you have to mean it when you say that you’ll be happy for the rest of your life. Every time a part of you begins to get unhappy, let it go. Work with it. Use affirmations, or do whatever you need to do to stay open. If you are committed, nothing can stop you. No matter what happens, you can choose to enjoy the experience. If they starve you and put you in solitary confinement, just have fun being like Gandhi. No matter what happens, just enjoy the life that comes to you.
As difficult as that sounds, what’s the benefit of not doing it? If you’re totally innocent and they lock you up, you might as well have fun. What good does it do to not have fun? It doesn’t change anything. In the end, if you stay happy, you win. Make that your game, and just stay happy no matter what.
Copyright ©2007 by Michael A. Singer
I'd love for you to post a comment and let me know what you think of this!
Jeannie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
