“Through fearlessness and dedication, we leave behind the everyday impediments and enter the realm of pure energy, pure spirit, unerring right action. All of us have the capacity to live from this place if we practice.” - Rolf Gates The 8 Limbs of Yoga teach progression. A progression that identifies the gaps within the illusion of separation. There’s a space out there calling for us, a realm of eternity and infinity called Samadhi, the 8th limb. In this realm there is no self-consciousness, there is no identity, no ego, no perception of one’s own capacity, just simply being unified with any object of concentration. For example, I am actively supplying the proper “fearlessness and dedication” into these words that are stained on the device you're reading this from. Outside of you there was a space, a pocket of time where I was solely just existing to write these very words. Here I am, here I was, entering what is my version of “the zone,” the realm of eternity and infinity where I am that I am: a writer trying to convey a message. This is where I find that space or realm that is Samadhi, along with a few other areas of my life. I reckon that with practice that space will continuously become more and more abundant. Now imagine what that space, or pocket of time is for you, the moment where you find you are not separate from the tool, as it is merely just an extension of you, the bridge that merges you with your craft. How are you actively participating in fearlessness and dedication to become one with yourself, your craft, and/or your self-expression?

“In all ranks of life the human heart yearns for the beautiful; and the beautiful things that God makes are His gift to all alike.” -Harriet Beecher Stowe No matter who you are, no matter where you are, or what you do… you yearn. We are all in a constant state of longing for the quality or qualities that give us pleasure to the senses or to the mind. If we take the physicality out of the nature of beauty or what is commonly deemed as beautiful, what are we left with? How do you perceive what isn’t physical, or better yet, how can we claim something's beauty without the ability to perceive it? Questions worth exploring on your yoga journey to keep unfolding the path of the full integration of self with what's outside of self. At the end of every practice, there’s space, a pocket of time, an ultimate dimension, where the body is prepared to advance, to elevate past where it's been or where it currently is, a full withdrawal from the senses to focus on what truly matters: The beauty of focused attention on the now, on what is present! Keep practicing to return to that space of beauty, the space that is presence.

“The real, hard as a diamond, was to happen in the indefinable future, and everything seemed only a sign of what was to come… Now I know inattention is an unforgivable sin. And each particle of time has an ultimate dimension.” -Janusz Szuber My whole existence is a foreshadow. The preparation for anything in need of being revealed. If everything is a sign of what's to come and each particle of time has an ultimate dimension… Why can’t we trust it? Our worlds are mapped out right before our eyes and yet we so adamantly claim to have no sense of direction. Presence requires attentiveness and your capacity to hold yourself right here, right now. Only existing for what is happening, not what has happened, can be very rewarding. Lean into the trust, lean into the knowing that you already have everything you need to walk through presence with awareness and attention, for clarity in hindsight is always eagerly longing to gloat about its 20/20 vision.

“Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desire of thine heart.” -Psalm 37:4 Lord, God, Jesus, Holy Spirit… All symbolic for the magic we possess within. It’s easy getting lost in what we think we’re grasping for but the repulsion to our own internal world is what separates our tangible understanding to what it is we are seeking, what it is we desire. Not only should we be “delighted” by our external world, the way our life’s look, what we’re doing, where we’re going, but we should also be “delighted” by our inner existence, the inverted consciousness, the one reading and listening to these words you’re digesting now. Being delighted by your purity (purity being your existential truth) opens the door to be blessed with the wholeness and acceptance that the peace I hold for myself out shines the war I have with the world. Being totally okay with yourself grants the fulfillment and justification of everything that is you! Our desires are only revealed to us through the active search of self! Delight yourself in the pursuit of you and your truth will be made known and accessible. Please share your reflections below :)

“Life is a splendid gift—there is nothing small about it.” -Florence Nightingale My first reaction to this quote was a sigh. One of those breathy ones that come as a physical manifestation of feeling relieved. Like everything is gonna be okay… actually. Currently, the theme I’m exploring in my life is chaos and order, and its ability to create an intricate choreography of polarity, a dance of push and pull, shaping and molding any given situation however it sees fit. Everything has a perfect opposite and chaos and order are the ultimate complementary force, eagerly gravitating towards its direct adjacent, its perfect reflection, a paradox that’s hard to escape because a thing cannot exist without something to prove it does and that leads me to question: In moments of pure chaos, how do we train ourselves to see how perfect the order of the system is? Directly adjacent from chaos, on the opposite end of the parabola is order, but at times, and understandably so, it's hard to see. Life is indeed splendid, a lovely gift grand enough for us to make it feel small. When the presents are tucked away in the most minuscule of details, the most ordinary of moments, how can the untrained eye see how grand existing truly is, how for us life can be? I find this topic a little tedious to discuss because there're too many versions, or manifestations of how “chaos” can actually present itself and there’s too many different measures of how “order” could reveal itself. Totally unique for the individual journey. I wonder though, if life is just organizing itself in such a way that forces us, uniquely and individualistically, to solidify who we are in this battle of opposites trying to become whole, to take part in the universe’s reconstruction… Who are you today? How are you choosing to perceive the chaos and order of your life?