Fall Newsletter – JOY is a state of Being
Dear Friends,
A friend sent me a card a while back saying that the picture reminded her of me, more specifically of how she feels when we are together, alive, joyful, flowing, happy! I am grateful for those thoughts and I must admit, that I do feel this way much of the time.
So many of us experienced these states of being as children. Joy was not dependent on outer circumstances. I have seen children in Cambodia playing joyfully who literally had nothing to wear, and only sticks and mud as toys to play with. Gradually, however, there is a tendency to build up preferences, judgments, and guilt about those judgments in our minds. They create layers of dross over the natural joy that is ever present.
Joy is a state of BEING not an emotion like happiness or sadness. Emotions are reactions to thoughts or circumstances that are temporary, although we are free to hold onto them for as long as we like.
BKS Iyengar’s translation in Light on the Yoga Sutra’s of Patanjali Book II. Sutra 41 states that joyful awareness is needed for Self Realization. I would add that joyful awareness in its full expression IS Self Realization because the Self IS Joyful. A favorite recent quote that I have taken as a mantra is,
“To lead an effortless life, abandon resistance to what Love requires in the moment.”
It all comes down to the choice we make in our minds’ moment to moment. Is it easy? Uh, NO! Is it worth the effort? Only if we want to truly be the change we want to see in the world. We have to change OUR minds first. What is Present in us is Present in Every One. If we are waiting for THEM to change first, well, good luck with that. Our judgment may be the very resistance that keeps THEM from changing. However, when we make the choice for Love, for peace, for joy, others feel it and want to play too. If you can’t imagine a world like this, may I suggest, in some small way, begin to abandon resistance to the thought of such a world. What Love requires of you will be revealed along with the effortless effort to do it.
FALL CLASS OFFERINGS ON ZOOM
SESSION I : SEPTEMBER 12- OCTOBER 12
~TWO WEEK BREAK~
SESSION II: OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 30
Monday and Wednesday 10-11:30 AM PST (9-10:30 AM ALASKA TIME)
Monday is Gentle yoga
Wednesday is Beginner/Advanced beginner with more standing postures and basic inversion options
COST: $12 drop in, $10 each for 3 or more classes
Pay on Paypal via lynneminton@gmail.co, or mail a check to me at 5961 Everson Goshen Road, Bellingham, WA 98226
I hope to see you on Zoom soon!
Warmly,
Lynne