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Heart News

Align - Love - Thrive

Our heart team proudly curates a set of teachings, practices and information each month and season to help you live a life of balance, alignment and connection: Yoga! Click through regularly to explore, learn and grow on the path. 

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“Action is like an arrow. Once the arrow has left the bow, you cannot control where it will land. You can only do your best to aim well.” Shankaracharya 

 

Dear hearts,

 

Our sangha has been practicing together for over 7 years! We reap so much benefit every day and there’s truly no way of knowing just how many additional beings we have been able to impact along the way. The teachings remind us that as we each evolve, all sentient beings benefit. Growth from this perspective is very motivating. If inspired to check in, ask yourself these questions: “Am I living my life in a way that supports my spiritual growth? In what ways am I maturing? Where am I able to make choices? What virtue can I cultivate? What pain can I release? In what ways may I best live in accord with dharma (universal law, goodness, duty)? What do I really want on a soul level?”

 

The Vedanta (Hindu tradition) says that the nature of one’s life, its trajectory and journey, is shaped by the karma (actions) of the jīva/ traveler (one imbued with life force). It’s important to understand that while we can choose to do our best to aim the arrow, we do not choose where that arrow will land. This is why we get mixed results in life, as it’s a blend of past karmas: yours, mine, and the divine. While it might feel random, the Doctrine of Karma reminds us that all of manifestation is organized according to divine and intricate order. While intelligible, it’s not easy to understand as truly no one can see the full picture of karma and cosmic law at work. In this way, we use language like destiny, chance and free-will to communicate what is seen and unseen. Try as we may, we cannot always comprehend why things work out the way that they do. How often have you asked, "why is it that sometimes bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people?"

 

This isn’t an invitation to be passive! While we do not know exactly when goodness will fruit (phala), we can be assured that no action, nor its results, will be lost. Phala (fruit) of all action manifests as two results: one that is seeable, driṣṭha, and one that is unseeable, ardiṣṭha. Fruit can manifest as sweet (punya) or bitter (papa). Despite the control of outcomes, the great texts remind us that where there is free-will there is profound opportunity! Remember, we can still do our best to aim the arrow! The doctrine of karma includes what is called the four puruṣarthas (aims); a blueprint that can support our actions (and attitudes) to best live a life of fulfillment. Understanding and working with the puruṣarthas can help us to create a more satisfying, balanced and meaningful life that aligns at the most holistic level.

 

The first of the aims is dharma. Again, this includes our individual duty and that of the cosmos (no unnecessary harm). The second is called artha which points to our stability, security, safety, and all of the fundamentals of life, to include: nourishment, shelter, money, relationships and more. The third is kāma or, simply put, pleasure for pleasure’s sake. This is not our enjoyment in any one thing but the enjoyment that comes from our relationship to that thing. Finally, the fourth is mokṣa. Think of this as spiritual growth, freedom, space on all levels. In all that we do (literally every action), we may inquire, which aim does this satisfy and can I satisfy all four at once? When you live your Dharma, fully supported by artha and kama, moksha or the final liberation, dawns.

 

Let's keep in mind that karma isn’t limited to just you and your actions! In our interconnection, our intentions and actions create a web of karma that includes you, others and the divine. Touching our interconnection is like receiving an invitation to uphold what you’ve been given and to do your best with it. Where there is agency, there is opportunity to contextualize in accord with that greater Dharma. In our enthusiasm to take the responsibility that belongs to us, we can further recognize our influence of others and, where we do not have agency or responsibility, we can extend compassion. This is why we chant: Om śantiḥ, śantiḥ, śantiḥ We acknowledge and pray for the three origins of karma with an ask for peace, peace, peace.

 

May my actions (Adhyātma Karma) be in accord with dharma.

May other peoples actions (Adhibhūta Karma) be in accord with dharma.

May the divine intelligence (Adhidaiva Karma) be in accord with dharma.

May all sources of karma uphold the dharma!

 

Om śantiḥ, śantiḥ, śantiḥ!

 

With astounded heart,

Shastri Meg Lucks / Konchok Dzeden Zangmo

Past Newsies:

May 2023: Om Santih, Santih, Santih

April 2023: Om Gam Ganapatye Namaha

March 2023: Om Purnam Adah, Purnam Idam

February 2023: Om Namah Shivaya

January 2023: Sat Nam

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December 2022: Self-love as Dharma

November 2022: Practice is the Antidote

October 2022: Happiness is the Path

September 2022: Taking Your Seat

August 2022: A Crowded Mind Leaves no Space for a Peaceful Heart

July 2022: Yoga is the Journey of the Self...

June 2022: Practice and All is Coming

May 2022: The Altruistic Intention

April 2022: Being Mudra

March 2022: Receptive Listening

February 2022: There is No Enlightenment Outside of Daily Life

January 2022: The Source of a True Smile is an Awakened Mind

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December 2021: The Practice of Touching the Earth

November 2021: Rejuvenation: Nourish Your Entire Being

October 2021: Contemplative Interbeing

September 2021: The Nobility of Silence

August 2021: Dissolve Your Fixation with Self

July 2021: Let's Linger

June 2021: I am in the Flow of the Universe

May 2021: Lighten Up

April 2021: We Travel the Path in Good Company

March 2021: Om Mani Padme HumM

February 2021: Embodied Dharma

January 2021: "Everything can be a 'that'; everything can be a 'this' " 

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December 2020: I Am a Sanctuary

November 2020: In the One is The All

October 2020: Ready, Set, Rest

September 2020: Attract Beauty Today, Create Tomorrow 

August 2020: Refuge in One and blogging by the sangha

July 2020: Awaken Your Voice 

June 2020: The Spirit of Sangha 

May 2020: Just as You Are 

April 2020: The Next Buddha is Sangha

March 2020: You and I Are Essentially Infinite and blogging bits by Heather Kolvenbach

February 2020: Mudita: Taking Delight in the Happiness of Others and blogging bits by Amy Griebenow

January 2020: I am 

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December 2019: Give the Gift of Presence 

November 2019: We are All Royalty by Roy Grant

October 2019: Rekindle the Heart 

September 2019: Where Your Intention Goes, Energy Flows 

August 2019: Come Home & Be Anywhere 

July 2019: Paradise is Now 

June 2019: Let Peace Be Your Superpower 

May 2019: Play is our Pathway to Possibility 

April 2019: Give Yourself Room to Bloom 

March 2019: Living Your Highest Truth 

February 2019: Out of Love, Our Path Can Lead us to Serve

January 2019: True Belonging is the Spiritual Practice of believing in and belonging to yourself...

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