I'm happy to introduce you to Brian Leaf, author of the recently released "Misadventures of a Garden State Yogi." Here are his thoughts on cultivating abundance. Love the confidence/dating analogy! All the best from my creative oasis to yours, Jill
Cultivating Abundance
We’ve all experienced it. In our most pathetic, clingy,
desperate hour of need, the Universe delivers … absolutely nothing.
It seems a sick joke, but, in fact, whatever force or God
runs the show seems not to respond to disempowered displays of self-pity. She
seems, instead, to respond generously to empowered non-attachment (which
reminds me quite a bit of dating in my twenties – I always seemed to do best
when I was already feeling attractive and confident.)
So why? Why does God (and dating) reward confidence? Why is
it that when I am freaking out, feeling that I will just die if I don’t hear
from my agent, that I hear only crickets? But
that when I get to my cushion to meditate, and when I let go, releasing to
faith, that I return to my inbox with a fresh book deal awaiting me?
Here’s the answer. This place where we live is a gymnasium
where our souls do soul push-ups, and since self-pity does nothing to build
these spiritual muscles, it is discouraged. It is our path to find our true
selves while here on Earth. To drop into our hearts and souls. To experience
that we, ourselves, are each part of God. Claiming the opposite, that we are
helpless and alone, is incorrect and ineffective.
When we are lost in clinging and self-pity, we’re like
toddlers tantruming for chewing gum. And God, like a loving parent, won’t give
in to something that isn’t healthy or safe for us.
Nice idea, right? But how do you get confident and become
grounded in the seat of your true self? The answer: meditation, of course.
Meditation is the practice, over time, of switching from indentifying with our
thoughts and transient emotional states, to identifying instead with our deeper
selves. And when we are connected to our deeper selves, if even for only
moments, we can see more clearly and choose the path that works out our Karma
and brings us toward freedom.
When we get grounded, resting in the true seat of our
selves, in our authentic nature, seeing clearly and choosing that path of
vitality and freedom, energy flows unbidden, the world falls at our feet, and
God unlocks the arc.
Brian Leaf, M.A.
is the author of Misadventures of a
Garden State Yogi. He draws upon twenty-one years of intensive study,
practice, and teaching of yoga, meditation, and holistic health. Visit him
online at http://www.Misadventures-of-a-Yogi.com.
Based on the new book Misadventures
of a Garden State Yogi ©2012 by Brian Leaf. Published with permission of New World Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com
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| Glad to see Brian made it to the great state of Texas! |
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