Mindfulness

Here's an excerpt from a chapter called "Stewards of Light" from a book in progress by our Mastery Faculty member Mark Nepo called "The Long Walk Through Time." Lucky us to be able to see an early version before it's published.

Chakra: in ancient Sanskrit, chakra means "wheel" and refers to energy centers in our bodies

I’m betting most of us tune up our cars every year or two. The same way we regularly tune up our bodies through meditation, massage, or some other somatic treatment. But how often do we recalibrate our emotions and nervous system?

"I have prayed for years for one good humiliation a day, and then, I must watch my reaction to it. I have no other way of spotting both my denied shadow self and my idealized persona."

"Imagine if you are older, like in your 60s. Could you climb a tree? Should you climb a tree?" Those were the first questions proposed to us students in my Sports Psychology class in college.

According to the Mayan tradition, the universe is a unified force where everything is related—you, me, animals, plants, minerals, everything. As the Mayans put it, "I am the other you. You are the other me." In other words, we belong to each other.

I don’t know about you, but I can get buried in my work, addicted to the everyday busyness of my life. If I’m not careful, my attention becomes scattered, and I soon forget to pay attention to what (and who) is in front of me. I don’t believe I’m alone.

This post title sums up the gravitas and levity I’ve learned from Christian mystic Richard Rohr (and, of course, it tumbled out of his mouth).

I remember the moment everything plunges into darkness. For the first few minutes, I am disoriented. Slowly, the family emerges, one by one, around the kitchen table. Candles are lit, a game is found, a cosy blanket covers two of us, a bag of chips gets passed around.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a mind-twisting film starring Brad Pitt featuring a man who ages backwards. One of my new friends in New Mexico, Doug Lynam, who wrote a terrific book "From Monk to Money Manager” feels he’s lived his life in the opposite direction of convention having started a career with contemplation and shifted to a financial career in his forties.