Awake in the World

Travelers, it is late. Life’s sun is going to set. During these brief days that you have strength, be quick and spare no effort of your wings. – Rumi

There is no way to make it happen, but sometimes with effort and grace, we’re moved completely into the moment and all mental chatter ceases. A sense of deep peace descends. As a way to skirt the edges of this peace, Zen Buddhist author, Natalie Goldberg teaches a form of walking meditation in her writing workshops. She instructs people to coordinate each step with a breath as a way to become more aware and present. The pace of walking slows significantly and becomes a moving meditation.

Meditation at its best and highest is conscious living in action where mind, body and spirit are in harmony. It brings awareness not only during moments of silent sitting, but also begins to permeate all aspects and areas of life. It’s a concentrated effort to tame and train the mind to be present, awake, alert to the possibilities.

When Tibetan Buddhist Lama, Sogyal Rinpoche taught meditation he often spoke of meditation as a training practice. At first the mind resists, but little by little it becomes accustomed to being here in the present. It’s a bit like training for a race. Like the body, the mind works up to longer periods of silent sitting. In an early period of practicing presence, I sat at the kitchen table looking out at the sea. As I ate one spoonful of tomato soup at a time, working hard to be in the moment and not read the newspaper, tears started to well up and pour down my cheeks, drop off of my nose and into my tomato soup. I wanted to ask my teacher then and there, “What’s so great about being in the moment?”

The quiet presence left space for all of the pain and suppressed hurts and fears to surface. At the time my heart was heavy with unconscious pain and I wanted to keep my mind occupied to avoid feeling it. But as the pain surfaced and tears flowed, I felt lighter and happier than I’d felt for a very long time. The grief of so many losses began to dissipate as they were released through tears, writing and allowing them to surface into the light of full consciousness.

For an instant today, if you will, be completely present to yourself, for yourself. Listen to what your heart’s calling you to do. Feel your emotions. Observe the mind. Be with yourself without judgment – in love with yourself and the precious moment.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and internationally. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years learning meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online athttp://www.awakeintheworld.com.

If you’re looking for a yoga-rock star with spiritual and environmental values, Michael Franti, singer, composer and lead of the group Michael Franti and Spearhead, sets the stage for an inspiring tale. In addition to being vegan, a Jivamukti yoga practionner and an environmentalist, Franti promotes oneness and joy. Franti, whose song, “Say Hey” (I Love You) reached number 18 on the U.S. charts and “The Sound of Sunshine” which is frequently on the radio airwaves, was born of a French-Irish-German mother and a Seminole Indian and African American father.

As he sat at the Jivamukti Yoga Charleston studio preparing to start the acoustic concert, he said that his dad left and his mom put him up for adoption because she feared the trials of raising a “brown baby” as he described himself. He ended up in a Finnish family with three white kids, and an African-American child. Franti speaks lovingly of his four foot eleven inch white mom who would scold him at the mall as a six foot six tall, dark-skinned teen. He says he sometimes used it to his advantage and pretended he didn’t know her. Franti laughs.

“She treated us all the same,” he says referring to his siblings. His mom, who he speaks of with affection, expected them to view others they met in the world this way. “Black, white, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, whatever,” he said. “We were expected to treat them all the same way too.”

Franti went on to describe the earth and how from outer space there are no borders or separation. It all looks like one big harmonious place surrounded by a very delicate and fragile atmosphere. Franti sang for Jivamukti Yoga as a way to raise funds for his annual Power to the Peaceful Festival in the San Francisco Bay area. A non-profit festival, the proceeds go to causes to prevent the death penalty and promote peace worldwide. It’s a chance to heart Franti play and practice yoga in the same weekend.

The medium for the message is music. “Music is sunshine,” says Michael Franti, one of the most positive and conscious artists in music today. “Like sunshine, music is a powerful force that can instantly and almost chemically change your entire mood. Music gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose.” 

Franti, with his background and upbringing seems to embody oneness. He’s like a one-person melting pot and he embraces it with grace and humor. Few people seem to exude such confidence and beauty and express their authentic self as well as Franti. After the acoustic session at the yoga studio, he settled in on a yoga mat with the rest of the crowd and moved into a down dog, like just another member of the crowd.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.

“There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hand.” – Richard Bach

Without problems life would be very dull. What if we invite in problems as ways to teach us to grow? Some problems we’d rather not have. Regina, a woman I met recently at a workshop, has multiple sclerosis. She walks with a cane. She’s young and attractive and her beaming smile revealed her attitude about life. I’m sure she has hard days, but instead of becoming bitter and angry and asking, “why me?” she has decided to use the challenge as a way to learn more about her spirit. Her courage is an inspiration and a reminder for me not to lament.

Allen Klein, author of The Healing Power of Humor, used loss of his wife as a way to learn and inspire others. He notes that a common theme among all people who deal well with loss and problems is that they perceive the difficulties as gifts. They look for the good, the God, even in the tough challenges. “When one door of happiness closes, another door opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us,” wrote Helen Keller. What doors are opening for you today? Will you cross the threshold and pass through?

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.debramoffitt.com and http://www.awakeintheworld.com.

Zero gains value when ONE precedes it. Moon is zero, sun is zero, world is zero. Only God is the Hero. Everything comes to naught in the absence of this Hero. A hero becomes zero if he forgets God. Have total faith in the Hero, God. Never give scope for any doubt. – Sathya Sai Baba

We make choices everyday to be a zero and make no effort or to become spiritual heroes to ourselves and those around us. Elevated souls like the Buddha, Jesus, Ramakrishna, Mohammad, Krishna and Guru Nanak were all spiritual superheroes. They approached life’s many challenges with love, compassion and Self-confidence. From the point of view of a spiritual superhero, they stood strong during the most terrible trials that life threw at them. Their lives tell stories of how attitude and divine inspiration buoyed them up. Buddha’s forbearance as he sought out enlightenment under the Bodhi tree reveals a solid, unshaking inner force. Despite demons, temptations and tempests, he remained unmoved until the light within rose and with it brought Self-realization.

Ramakrishna, an Indian saint who lived in the 1840’s held fast to a very simple life as a temple priest. As a worshiper of Kali, he also explored other ways including merging with Jesus. He became very sick with throat cancer. The suffering made his devotees cringe, but he continued to sing devotional songs to his beloved Kali and inspired many people for generations to come. Not once did he complain of the pain or lament of his physical suffering.

Women saints have also inspired. Mother Teresa is world-renowned for her compassionate service to thousands and thousands of India’s most sick and destitute. She fearlessly embraced the ill and shared her love with them equally. Her Nobel Peace Prize was the ultimate recognition of her spiritual superhero status.

We make choices everyday to be a zero and make no effort or to become spiritual heroes to ourselves and those around us. What kind of spiritual superhero would you like to be? What qualities will you need to develop? Go for it!

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.debramoffitt.com and http://www.awakeintheworld.com.