"to lay all your actions at the feet of God."
Today our son graduated from combat basic training with the U.S. Army and tomorrow he heads to further training in San Antonio, Texas.
Riley is not our son by birth. He is not formally adopted either. He came to me after he graduated from high school and needed assistance navigating the unfamiliar waters of enrolling in college. I was his chosen person because of my job in a high school guidance department. Because he had no home, we invited him into ours and he has been with us for a year now.
We could barely afford the two sons we already had, but knew right away that Riley needed to be one of us. We instinctively knew that, by being willing to offer our home and parental guidance and love to him, God would help us provide for any needs that might seem beyond our financial resources.
My husband and I are often congratulated for our generosity and we are uncomfortable with those kinds of remarks. We have never had much but we've always known we would be okay and not starve or end up on the street. God has seen us through tough financial times over the course of our 28-year marriage. As long as we continue to do what seems to be right and good and honest, we know that our needs will be provided.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked about trusting God to supply all our needs. The passage Matthew 6:25-34 is about the lilies of the field and the birds of the air and how God cares for them. We are so much more to God than that. Verse 33 says:
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Now as this beloved son leaves for the next phase of his Army career, we say goodbye to him and send him with small tokens and expressions of our love. Riley told me today that he is coming to know God. We pray for him daily and one of the prayers we will offer for him is that he too, can know the abundant life God will give him as he learns to lay his actions at HIS feet.
Showing posts with label Isvarapranidhana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isvarapranidhana. Show all posts
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
isvarapranidhana & dhyana
Today I hit day 7 of my 40-day kundalini meditation self-challenge, and interesting things are starting to happen. (I inadvertently skipped a day when I had a kundalini class and then ran around all day and just plain forgot about it.)
1. The practice is kind of hit or miss in terms of how hard it is to maintain the postures. Sometimes it downright hurts, and other times it doesn't bother me much at all. And it also varies by segment: Sometimes the first 3 minutes can be the easiest, sometimes the second 3 minutes is the easiest. I have noticed each of the last 3 days that the last segment, however, is not too bad.
2. I'm starting to get outside of the physical sensations and am able to focus for short periods of time on my 6th chakra. This is kind of cool and a little disorienting, as well. It sort of makes you a little dizzy to roll your eyes up like that. Did I mention my eyes are closed? They are. I imagine it would be even more dizzying to have them open!
3. Yesterday as my arms were hurting and my left bicep was spasming, I found myself thinking about my kundalini teacher saying, "It's just sensation. Take notice and then let it go." That's fairly simple to do when you are in an asana or doing a kriya that is not as long or as physically taxing. But when you are sitting in this meditation and your arms are hurting and you have your eyes closed and are not really sure how much longer there is to go (I set a timer down behind my left hand so that I can just turn it off and then back on), it's a lot harder. What bubbled into my head was Jesus on the cross. His arms were hurting much worse than mine ever will. He had his hands nailed to the cross and he was hanging there, pushing himself by his legs (his feet also nailed) to help fill his lungs with air. And yet he was able to pray and talk to his father, speak to the people on the ground and to the two people who were on crosses on either side of him. (John 19:17-37) He was suffering more than anyone ever should and could have called the whole thing off. But he didn't. Just for us. So isn't it kind of a small token of our appreciation to give Him 9 minutes of minor physical discomfort. As my kundalini teacher said the other day, "It's only 9 minutes. We all have 9 minutes."
1. The practice is kind of hit or miss in terms of how hard it is to maintain the postures. Sometimes it downright hurts, and other times it doesn't bother me much at all. And it also varies by segment: Sometimes the first 3 minutes can be the easiest, sometimes the second 3 minutes is the easiest. I have noticed each of the last 3 days that the last segment, however, is not too bad.
2. I'm starting to get outside of the physical sensations and am able to focus for short periods of time on my 6th chakra. This is kind of cool and a little disorienting, as well. It sort of makes you a little dizzy to roll your eyes up like that. Did I mention my eyes are closed? They are. I imagine it would be even more dizzying to have them open!
3. Yesterday as my arms were hurting and my left bicep was spasming, I found myself thinking about my kundalini teacher saying, "It's just sensation. Take notice and then let it go." That's fairly simple to do when you are in an asana or doing a kriya that is not as long or as physically taxing. But when you are sitting in this meditation and your arms are hurting and you have your eyes closed and are not really sure how much longer there is to go (I set a timer down behind my left hand so that I can just turn it off and then back on), it's a lot harder. What bubbled into my head was Jesus on the cross. His arms were hurting much worse than mine ever will. He had his hands nailed to the cross and he was hanging there, pushing himself by his legs (his feet also nailed) to help fill his lungs with air. And yet he was able to pray and talk to his father, speak to the people on the ground and to the two people who were on crosses on either side of him. (John 19:17-37) He was suffering more than anyone ever should and could have called the whole thing off. But he didn't. Just for us. So isn't it kind of a small token of our appreciation to give Him 9 minutes of minor physical discomfort. As my kundalini teacher said the other day, "It's only 9 minutes. We all have 9 minutes."
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