COULD I(YOU) HAVE BEEN ANYONE OTHER THAN ME(YOU)? I once said "the music in heaven will be all Dave Matthews Band, all the time" ... at church ... to hundreds of people. I mention that to express how much I LOVE the band. Dave's music moves me so deeply I have a tattoo of his lyrics that speak a poignant Truth: "Could I have been anyone other than me?" I got this at a hard time in life to remind me trying to be anyone other than me only leads to suffering, and all my quirkiness is marvelous ... and the same is True for YOU!
This leads me to a real game-changer from Aristotle, the importance of accidentals versus essentials. These philosophical categories get at what's by chance or of secondary importance, as opposed to what's necessary and of greatest importance. For instance, I'm accidentally male, white, heterosexual, American, and tall, in that all these were by chance, and aren't the essence of Lang. I'd also say my disabilities, divorces, where I live, and occupation are accidentals, because they don't define me, and pale in comparison to what life is truly about. So, let me ask: What are the essentials?
While I can't give a definitive answer, and think there's some variation from uniquely magnificent person to person, my experience shows the fewer the essentials the bigger and more blissful and beautiful life becomes. I believe YOU, and everyone else, are essentially a masterpiece, perfect, a child of the Divine who is home to Spirit, part of the all-inclusive human family, and are a conduit for and expression of Love. Today, I invite us to practice living and loving more from the essentials, because not only does the movement from accidentals to essentials bring greater wholeness and contentment, it increases care, compassion, and unity, as we awaken to the Truth we're ALL essentially the same!
YOUR SUPERPOWER: BREATH!
One of the biggest gifts from yoga is breath, specifically, breathing mindfully. While most of our inhales/exhales are mindless (which is a good thing, since otherwise we'd die!), just a handful of purposeful ones can change the course of our days! I'm convinced BREATH IS EVERYONE'S SUPERPOWER, and here's why ... You know how our state of mind affects our breathing pattern? Stress, frustration, and anger bring shallow, sharp, and short inhales/exhales, while when we're calm, cool, and collected we tend to breathe smoothly and sweetly. The marvelous thing is the mind-body connection goes both ways! WHERE THE BREATH GOES, THE MIND WILL FOLLOW.
So, if you want to feel more stressed out and anxious ... :) Who wants THAT? If we want to experience more peace, it's never more than a few purposeful breaths away. Just breath slowly, sweetly, and fully in through the nose, and clear tension via open mouth sighs or sounds a few times.
Likewise, I find greater clarity comes when we take slow, sweeping inhales (4-5'ish seconds) and equal length exhales through the nose.
A technique I find helps bring energy and strength is to go even longer on the in breaths (while staying comfortable), while shortening the out breaths.
I find merely doing one of these for 30-60 seconds infuses my being with greater peace and play. Try it out! Let's get our "capes" on and channel our inner superhero!
#love #breath #breathe #breathing #yoga #mind #body #bodymind #stress #tension #calm #peace #play #energy #prana #breathcontrol #mindfulness #spirit ##upwardspiral #blissarmy #blissology #whitelotus_yoga_poulsbo #kitsaphotyoga
EMBRACE THE SUCK 💫🙏🏽🎉🚀✨🙌🏼💙 You know how sometimes life gives you whiplash? Well, last Friday the yoga class I teach was magical. The good vibes were flowing, people were grooving, the Love was tangible, the Spirit was sweet, and everyone left full of gratitude and with big smiles. YET, this week, both one of my classes and a class I subbed for, that have good groups of regulars, had ZERO students! 😞
This reminds me of when I was in the Air Force. I was fortunate enough to go to the Air Force Weapons School (like Top Gun, but longer and bigger) in 2004. Part of their process for transforming people into elite warfighters was to basically break you, so they can reshape you. Kind of like doing therapy ... if your therapist was mean to you, spent hours detailing all your mistakes, and yelled at you sometimes. I vividly remember sitting in the debriefing room after failing my first flight of the program. On the verge of tears, I sat alone in the room, silent, stunned, and deeply questioning myself for MANY minutes. Four months later, though, not only did I graduate, I was our unit's Distinguished Graduate.
I share these tales because we had a saying in the military that I find SUPER helpful for life: Embrace the suck! The more we smile during the messy middle, accept and learn from the gift of failure, laugh when we "fall down", etc., the brighter we shine. What is more, choosing to embrace the suck is a powerful way to remember neither our doings nor what happens to us defines us. Neither successes nor failures name us. Neither our physical/mental limitations (disabilities, illnesses, or injuries) nor strengths label us. We can embrace the suck because simply BEING means we're magical, marvelous miracles. To be human is to be a priceless, glorious masterpiece. Period. Here's to seeing and naming this Truth in both our selves and everyone else! Who's with me?
#love #light #human #being #miracle #magical #marvelous #priceless #masterpiece #truth #embrace #embracethesuck #failure #success #upwardspiral #bliss #blissarmy #blissology #yoga #magicman #kitsaphotyoga #whitelotus_yoga_poulsbo
SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE BIG BLISS, GIGANTIC GRATITUDE, & PROFOUND PEACE
My wife and I have this dance we do. Generally speaking, she cooks on the weekends and I do on weeknights, Lisa takes our dog Biscuits out in the morning and I handle the rest, I do the laundry and she cleans the floors, and so on. While our dance moves shift when the music of life changes, the flow of Love between us, a giving and receiving of tangible acts of care and kindness + many words of affirmation, encouragement, and gratitude, never ceases. Not only is this experience AMAZING, I'm convinced our perpetual giving of our energies for the wellbeing of one another is at the heart of Reality and is the very Flow of Life itself ... and I'm not alone.
A central pillar of my Christian tradition, for instance, is the Trinity, meaning we believe the one God is three persons; wherein the very nature of the Divine is life-giving, loving relationship, as the persons of God endlessly give of themselves for the benefit of the others. The juicy part is there's an open invitation for us to join this heavenly circle dance of giving and receiving Love. In my experience, whether you believe in God or not, you can join the Flow of selfless care and compassion. That said, I have to warn you, side effects may include big bliss, gigantic gratitude, and profound peace.
Julian of Norwich, a mystic from the 15th century, said we are ALL simultaneously enfolded in the goodness of Heaven and Divine Love is enclosed WITHIN us. My friend and teacher Eoin Finn believes Love is a cosmic force like gravity, and at least living like that's true makes things magically marvelous. With all this in mind, today I invite us to go with the Flow by joining the cosmic Dance of Kindness, where we'll find Love unbounded and Glory uncontained.
#love #life #flow #flowoflife #danceoflove #dance #kindness #care #compassion #giving #selfless #God #Divine #Trinity #joy #peace #gratitude #bliss #relationship #transformation #goodness #yoga #magicman #blissarmy #blissology #kitsaphotyoga #whitelotus_yoga_poulsbo
