15% of all your
purchases are donated
to the Grameen Foundation!
Institute of Serenity PMB 875, 713 W. Spruce, Deming, NM
Teaching Relaxation, Rest, and Renewal since 2002
Serenity Practice: Winter 2010/2011
Create
Space!
Are you in Holiday stress? Do
you want to meet everybody’s – and your own -expectation
for a perfect
Christmas?
Do you
experience the winter blues? Are the grey winter sky and the lack of
sunshine depressing you?
Regardless
of what stresses or depresses you, stress comes with the experience of
tightness and – to a higher or lesser degree - helplessness. Our
breathing becomes
shallow, our muscles tense up, and we feel as if we
had little choice or little wiggle
room to do or feel otherwise.
Interestingly, the Sanskrit word for “suffering” (dukha)
literally means
“obstructed space.” We suffer because we do not have
space in us and around us.
The
antidote is creating open space (or sukha).
This is
exactly what we do in yoga. Just the simple movement of standing upright
with the feet parallel and raising the arms out to the sides and then up
overhead
creates not only space between the vertebrae but also enlarges
the space around
us and broadens our boundaries.
Another
way to create inner space is to broaden our perspective and to get
the
“bigger picture.” Literally, look at space and become aware of the vast
expanse “out there”.
Meditating
on the following sequence of four images can help realizing
that -
however overwhelming our present difficulties seem to be - ultimately
they are just “peanuts.”
Save the photos on your hard
drive, print them
out and display them on a wall where you easily can see them during the
day!
There are
also many photos or footages available that provide you the bigger
picture by literally going up in space.
This
beautiful 7: 23 minute – long footage from the ESA (European Space
Agency) is just an example.
Watch it in full
screen.
Sit comfortably
on your chair.
Allow your breath
to flow freely.
Open up to
arising feelings.
Let the light,
the colors, and sounds have an impact on you.
Click anywhere on the picture below. The video opens in a new window.
Boredom because
you think you are all too familiar with the footage?
Loneliness
because of the vast empty space?
Sadness knowing
of all the suffering on earth?
Awe because of
the beauty of earth?
Love for our
planet and care for all the beings sharing it?
My
personal initial response was a sense of connectedness to all that is. I
felt connected to all the people in all the different countries,
struggling, fighting, laughing, hoping, loving, living, dying.
My own
challenges melt away and I feel held – in space, in the great mystery.
For the
next weeks, you may want to watch it regularly. Do so early in the
mornings before the demands of your day catch your attention and close
you up. Or watch it each night before you go to bed.
