Feel your lips curl at the corners of your mouth forming a smile as you feel a Loving light surrounding and protecting you. Know that whatever problems that we are having at the moment, or whatever pressing matters that need attending, we are much more than the roles we play in life. We are all perfect, and this stillness within helps us remember our truth in Love. All those obstacles, and challenges are simply God trying to show us back home to Love. Life is the way to learn this truth in its entirety. Life is a chance to Love. Every breathe, word, conversation, action, interaction is a chance to Love more completely, bringing that inner bliss to our outer world. So lets all find at least a few moments to “Smile trusting, smile waiting, Persevere in life's under taking!” :-)
Why Do We Want to be Trusting, Patient, and Persevering?
The thing is, in real life, I have learned, there is no reward for those that do not act with true selflessness. I always wanted what I wanted, and not what I received from my actions, and as a result it seemed like I got nothing at all. I could not appreciate the wonderful Love of my family and friends simply because I had such a narrowed view of what should be. In the video games there were clear rewards for your actions of kindness, and it is never very different from quest or mission to mission. However, in the real world, little if anything can be predictable, especially how to win over peoples hearts and minds. Even winning your own heart and mind can be a daunting task if you never take time to truly listen to yourself, and your own needs. The truth is that the real you and I are not like those predictable scripts of mediated entertainment, our needs change throughout the course of life, day to day, moment to moment. No matter how many studies I have undergo, or shows, video games that I have played, none have given me a clear course to take for my own happiness and path to Love.
It has taken me 33 years to realize that there is no possible way for me to predict how things will go, and that the only thing I can do is trust that persevering in my best everyday is all I can do. Things might unfold in a way that I, my ego, likes or dislikes. However, there is no lasting happiness in self serving results. That path only lead me to boredom of predictable scripts, loneliness, and fear of losing a useless treasure. When I came to that emptiness, I realized that it was time to make a change.
In this short but inspiring article by Marlene Malik, “Why We Should Learn The Art of Non-Escape.” helps us gain perspective on just how we experience life. Either we are avoiding the circumstances of reality because they are not what we hoped for, and so we watch TV, play video games, over eating, etc. that allow us to live out the lives we wish we had, or we accept our lives as is, and enjoy these experiences for what they are.
http://www.doyouyoga.com/why-we-should-learn-the-art-of-non-escapism/
When we use video games, entertainment, etc. to try and replace the content of our own lives, they become destructive. As someone really addicted to video games in the past, I really identify with Mikey D's article, “Escapism: Leave Your Fantasy World And Live In Reality.” He is very thorough, and includes many of the effects of escapism and ways to recover your reality from the addiction.
http://feelhappiness.com/escapism-leave-fantasy-world-live-reality/
Distractions from reality can be dire. Ran Zilca, points out obvious consequences of distraction like car accidents that kill because of texting while driving and the more long term outcome of distraction, not being able to focus and achieve life goals, in his article, “The Risks of Distracted Living.” It is a quick read, but very eye opening.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/confessions-techie/201408/the-risks-distracted-living
How We are Like a Vessel on the River of Life?
Are you listening to yourself, and your own needs, or are you like I lived for so long, in a state of denial? Immediate gratification was a big part of my life, but it never let me see what I really needed to know since I was too busy jumping through its hoops. The tricky thing that I have learned about immediate gratification is that it is immediate, but the gratification part is only an illusion, and escape from what would lead to a sense of true worth. Things like video games that offered immediate gratification never offered me anything that could calm my inner storm when life began to change around me. These seemed out of my control, nothing like the made to order virtual realities where I could always win. There is no winning in life circumstance like getting into a car accident, and there is no quick and easy solution, there is simply doing your best to resolve it no mater what it takes.
If everything is quick and easy to get, shouldn't that be the case with everything, including Love, happiness, worth, a feeling of success, and contentedness. I also heard the phrase that “money can't buy happiness” many times, and that would seem to be the case from what I have learned in my own life. Besides the lessons that I have learned, there are also countless examples of Americans committing suicide, popping pills, over eating, under eating, cutting themselves, shooting each other, acting in verbal and physical abuse, and many other acts of violence and harm. There are plenty of perceived troubles in life like having enough to live happily, but when worrying about “having enough to live happily” causes so much pain, I have to reexamine what happiness is in the first place at every moment and in every situation that lacks Love. This takes trust that Love is the answer, patience in spending time to treat the occasion with gentle thoughtfulness, and persistence in my own efforts to keep with the practice. Much like Noah in the bible, we are called to build an ark. The difference is that our ark contains our soul. Life can be seen as the violent cleansing storm that God created to wash away all the evil that had occupied the earth, though the earth is our world and the way that we see in our hearts. If we allow ourselves to trust God's guidance, like the faithful Noah, even the storms of life will seem like a gift, or a guide post on the journey back home to Love.
Maria Popova in “The Wisdom of No Escape: Pema Chodron on Gentleness, The Art of Letting Go, and How to Befriend Your Inner Life” writes about Pema Chodron's teachings on meditation. She teaches meditation as a way for people to learn how to sit with themselves in a gentle way, accepting everything they like and dislike about themselves. By letting go of all distraction from the outside world with patience, persistence, and trust in the practice, one can learn to let go of feelings that that they should be someone that they are not.
https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/01/19/pema-chodron-the-wisdom-of-no-escape/
How Paripurna Navasana can Help Us to Trust, have Patience, and Persevere!
Paripurna Navasana or boat pose is great way to strengthen your physical core and inner emotional and mental core. B.K.S. Iyengar, a world renown Yogi Guru, indicates that yoga takes us on a journey from our outer body into our inner world, where the core of your being resides. Marla Apt, a senior intermediate level certified Iyengar yoga teacher, tells us that “...yoga practice penetrates beyond your postural muscles, nerves, bones and organs to your inner most Self, ultimate Truth. The integration of all of your body parts leaves you feeling strong and supple as well as mentally and emotionally steady, connected to your inner stable core (end of second paragraph in article “Navasana”). ...The dynamics of Navasana will help with the practice of your standing poses, inversions, forward bends, and balancing poses. Even when you are standing in Tadasana (Mountain pose), firm legs and a long strong abdomen form the foundation to support your lifted chest. Navasana also makes you balance on the buttocks and helps to build strength in sitting postures (end of third paragraph in article “Navasana”).” Because Paripura Navasana has such universal applications to strengthening one's ability to perform so many other yoga postures, which each have their own mental and physical enrichment effects, it is a very beneficial to practice this particular posture.
Marla Apt goes into much more detail about the practice of Paripurna Navasana in her article, “Navasana.” She includes more background about yoga and how it ties to Paripurna Navasana, modifications for various limitations and ability levels, benefits, and cautions.
http://spiritualityhealth.com/blog/jc-peters/unpacking-warrior-poses
I thought it would be good to talk about the difficulty of staying in this pose from my ability level. I think it is a very trying pose, which requires much “Trust, Patience, and Persistence” from me. It is a posture where you balance on your butt (CAUTION: Sitting on your spine hurts! And causes damage to your tailbone.), hold your torso upright at a 60 degree angle, flex both the abs and lower back, and straighten your legs upright at a 60 degree angle. As the burning sensation crawls into my abs, I am also feeling the burn in my legs, while trying to maintain stillness in my bottom, which if my upper or lower half becomes unevenly balanced from one another, the difficult increases. When I even think about doing this pose, the phrase “suffering for the Lord” comes to mind, as well as monks that meditate in bone chilling cold or excruciating heat while staying perfectly still.
Why would anyone put themselves through this kind of experience intentionally? Are there times in our lives when we go through other painful experiences? Getting into a car accident, losing a loved one, breaking a leg, getting rejected from a college, not knowing if there is going to be a job for us to come back to tomorrow, cancer, depression, etc. Could it be that this sort of activity prepares us for other causes of suffering from the tiniest inconvenience of waiting in line to the greatest pain of dying. I think it deserves some personal reflection. If there is a way to get to know suffering as something that promises hope to an end or lessening of suffering, doesn't it deserve some investigation? The yoga poses are not only meant to strengthen our body, but our mind as well. They are not meant to hurt or frustrate, but to heal and enlighten.
John Piper, the founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, in his article, “Called to Suffer and Rejoice: That We Might Gain Christ” writes that the purpose of “suffering for the Lord” is to clear our vision of worldly attachments (to desire what God Loves), to united more intimately with God, and to receive His blessing.
http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/called-to-suffer-and-rejoice-that-we-might-gain-christ
Dan Mager, MSW and author, talks about suffering as a choice in his article, “Pain Is Inevitable; Suffering Is Optional.” We may feel pain, but the suffering that we feel is a response to an unpleasant event or sensation, and depends on what we think. If we are in pain whether mental or physical and this is a pain that we can not simply turn off, like a head ache or a neighbor that plays their music too loud for our liking, thinking negative thoughts like “Why is this happening to me?, I hate my neighbor,” etc. will only cause us more pain as a result in the form of emotional distress, increased risk of health issues, and lose of clarity.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/some-assembly-required/201401/pain-is-inevitable-suffering-is-optional
Let's play Paripurna Navasana in “Trust, Patience, and Perseverance! :-)”
- Regular practice of Paripurna Navasana will help us strengthen and align our core physical core, which includes the abdomen, back, and also benefits and shapes our legs, arms, and buttock. Our mental and emotional core will also be strengthen helping us to feel more stable throughout our day.
- As our core strength improves, we will find other yoga postures more stable, accessible, and improved. This holds true for new activities in life as well as enhancing our abilities in old activities.
- We will find relief from gastric issues like bloating and flatulence.
- Fat is reduced around the waistline as a result of practice.
- The kidneys are also toned.
Technique for Paripurna Navasana
Caution: Do not practice this pose if you are pregnant, are menstruating, or have diarrhea. Make sure that you never sit on your tail bone. This is very painful, and will cause injury.
- Starting seated on your mat with legs straight in front of you. Place the arms straight down at your sides with the palms of your hands face down on the mat, fingers pointing to the toes. The back is straight. This is called Dandasana or Staff pose. Inhale.
- Exhale. Lift your legs up and lower your trunk back simultaneously so that they are both about 60 degrees from the mat.
- Raise the the arms so that they are parallel to the floor. Palms should be facing one another, and wrist should be near the outsides of the knees or thighs depending on the length of the practitioner's limbs.
- Hold this pose for a 30 seconds to a minute.
- Recommended feel good practice: As you breath try thinking to yourself the following sentence with each breath. “Smile trusting” inhale. “1” exhale. “smile waiting” inhale. “2” exhale. “Persevere” inhale. “3” exhale. “in life's undertaking.” inhale. “4” exhale. I usually continue for about 12 breathes or as many as I feel I can do.
- Note: Sometimes I am lucky to focus on the counting alone, and sometime I find the counting alone more fitting. Remember these are only recommendations.
- However, if you would like to think a little more try reflecting on all those times when it is hard for you to sit still and wait, sometimes it is loud music, waiting at the store, waiting for the officer to come back with you ticket, etc. I am sure that you have your own difficult times in life which cause suffering. Remember though, that suffering is only to the degree, which we imagine it to be.
- Smiling will help relax your muscles, making the pose physically easier to perform.
- Also Remember that there is a grater promise of happiness and Love to those that are patient to help ease your mind.
- Recommended feel good practice: As you breath try thinking to yourself the following sentence with each breath. “Smile trusting” inhale. “1” exhale. “smile waiting” inhale. “2” exhale. “Persevere” inhale. “3” exhale. “in life's undertaking.” inhale. “4” exhale. I usually continue for about 12 breathes or as many as I feel I can do.
- Exhale. Lower body to the floor, and gratefully take a rest lying flat on your back.
If there is a topic you are passionate about or question that you would like answered about how to Love ourselves better, I would love to here it. Please write a comment about it here or on Face Book in the "For the Love of Self" discussion area.
Thank you so much for taking time to reflect on “Trust, Patience, and Perseverance” today! It was an amazing experience for me to write this article, which I hope can offer us both a better way. It can be very difficult for me to wait for what I know I need rather than what I want, but the longer I “Trust, have Patience, and Perseverance,” The more I can let go of suffering and only find the joy in life. My preoccupation with suffering was like the rain cloud on a sunny day. “Smile trusting, smile waiting, Persevere in life's undertaking!” Love and happiness to you my friend! Have an amazingly blessed day! Aaron Szczurek :-)