Dear My Lovely Friends,
I’ve been a little quiet lately, and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. Life has been an up and down roller coaster of emotions, but on another note, so many amazing things are manifesting, and I can’t wait to tell you about it all!
I FINALLY found a new place to live… Hooray! It’s aggressive out there, but I’m SO happy and excited about my new place. I have so many fun stores and restaurants in walking distance, and I can walk to the farmers market. That makes my heart smile!
Today was a New Moon. Traditionally Ashtangi’s don’t practice on a new or full moon. The reason for this is because our bodies are mostly made up of water, so the moon effects us just like it does the tides. Yoga says that we’re more prone to injury on these days, so that we should take the day off for rest and meditating.
Whether this is true or not, I still observe moon days because I love the tradition, and it’s more of a lesson of non-attachment and observation of the mind.Why do I feel so attached that I need to practice? Who do I think I am to reject these traditions that have been around since the beginning of yoga? Plus, Ashtanga is such a rigorous practice that it’s nice to take these days to rest and just sit and breathe. Let the mind slow down a bit and let go.
I like to think of New Moons as New Beginnings. Every New Moon, I wake up and set a new intention to let go of suffering and open my heart for happiness to flow in.
Below are five intentions to start the process of new beginnings….
1. Let Go Of Negative People In Your Life: Everyone in this world is lovely, but if you find that there are people in your life that are always bringing you down, are never supportive of your successes, or are passive aggressive in their communication with you, then it’s time to move on. I strongly believe we all cross paths for a reason, and it’s okay if that person isn’t in your life forever. Love them from a distance, but don’t take on their pain or absorb their negative energy.
2. Minimize your life: The more you have, the more you have to worry about. Do some spring cleaning even if it’s not spring! Whenever you’re feeling anxious or scattered, I recommend decluttering and deep cleaning. You’ll be surprised how free you feel just cleaning out a closet or organizing the desktop on your computer. Creating space is the first step in clearing the mind for fresh ideas and new beginnings.
3. Make someone smile everyday: This is so easy. At least once a day tell someone you like their outfit, or that they have a pretty smile, buy a coffee for the person behind you in Starbucks, or send a text with a smile! Just the smallest act of kindness or compliment can make someones day. When you are the reason someone smiles, you can’t help but feel happy yourself. If everyone did this, the world would be a better place. Let’s all make the commitment to pay it forward. Go team!
4. Practice Yoga Sutra 1.33:
Maitri karuna mudita upekshanam sukha duhka punya apunya vishayanam bhavanatah chitta prasadanam: Clarity of mind is produced by meditating on friendliness toward the happy, compassion towards the miserable, joy towards the virtuous, and indifference towards the wicked.
Basically, Patanjali is saying that there are 4 types of people, and 4 attitudes to cultivate towards them:
A. Be happy for happy people
B. Be Compassionate towards unhappy people
C. Be delighted for the virtuous people
D. Be indifferent towards the wicked people: This is the hardest one for most people to cultivate. In Gregor Maehle’s commentary from Practice & Philosophy, he says,
“If we encounter what appears to be bad, or even evil people, we have the tendency to hate them. Often we react this way because they remind us of something within ourselves, only we manage to conceal it better. Rather than going into hatred, which is only a rejection of our own dark side, Patanjali suggests indifference towards those people.”
If you can cultivate these attitudes towards all people, then you’ll be able to eliminate the aggravations of the mind, and be more loving, happier, grateful, and compassionate.
5. Live Everyday Like It’s Your Last: This is one of the hardest practices because as humans we’re so attached to, I’ll be happy when…, and always feeling like we’re trying to get somewhere rather than being in the moment. We also spend a lot of time dwelling on the past to try to understand why we suffer, or why we are the way we are.
I’m guilty of all of that, but I have come to realize that if I spend less time on analyzing and holding onto the past, the answers come easier and life is more fruitful. We really don’t know when life will come to an end, so let go of the past, and don’t be attached to the results of your actions. When a moment is over, observe it, accept it, learn from it, and move on. You deserve to be happy all of the time.
I hope I gave you some great ideas for meditations on a New Moon to cultivate New Beginnings!
What are some other intentions for fresh starts?
