Keeping an Untroubled Spirit

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The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.

– Marcus Aurelius

I love this quote because it so simply sums up the philosophy of yoga. First, we must calm the mind, then we can reflect clearly on what really is, seperate from the illusion and ignorance of avidya. But, as always, easier said, than done.

Two things that help me to keep an "untroubled spirit" when I find myself getting caught up in the illusionary drama of a situation.

1. I sit down and breathe a 5/5 ratio 5x (5 breath cycles of an inhale with a count of five and an exhale with a count of five.) If that doesn't work, I do five more rounds...and then another...another, and so on.

2. I think of 5 things that I am grateful for right now at this moment in my life and I think of  five things that are going right. (These could be big or small. Sometimes it might be just being grateful that I am not out of milk for my morning coffee, or happiness that I am doing a better job flossing my teeth at night. I am not being cute here. When the chips are down it is important to remember that there are always some small, wonderful things going right and to be grateful for. We need to start there.

Please leave some comments and share some ways that you keep an "untroubled spirit" and a clear view of things as they are.

Don't be concerned about being disloyal to your pain by being joyous.

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Don't be concerned about being disloyal to your pain by being joyous.
– Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Alchemical Wisdom

It's hard to let go of pain when your heart is breaking. Hard to see through grief and loss to a time when you can feel something other then the sharp edges of hurt, or the cold dullness that lingers when you can't hurt any more.

But, what about the day when there is a clear thin line of light on the horizon? When someone makes you laugh, really laugh, for the first time in forever? Or, the first time you find yourself enjoying a moment? Finding relief from the crushing weight of sadness is a relief, but it can also bring anxiety and guilt. Do I have the right to feel happy again? Who am I to enjoy this? What will I be when I am no longer defined by this grief, this depression?

Don't be concerned about being disloyal to your pain, wherever you are in the grieving process. Whatever loss you have suffered, remember that you deserve to be happy and free from suffering. Suffering is a normal and unavoidable part of life, but that does not mean that we need to prolong it, or use it as penance or punishment against ourselves.

Gratitude can create a window, an opening to the world outside of grief.

Embrace a moment of mindfulness now.
Take a deep breath and look around you for one small thing that you can feel gratitude for. Take another breath, and breath in that thing, pull it deep inside you and let it fill the empty recesses with the grace and beauty of that one true thing.