between the events of November 8th and the subsequent deluge of emotions and information stemming from them, I find myself frequently lost on how to express the things I want to express. writing has become difficult because there are so many things I want to say and do and be a part of with this extreme turn of events in our country, and every time I attempt to gather my thoughts, some distraction or new source of grief pops up and I find it a challenge to move forward.
as I'm working to move from my shell-shock and attempt a return to normalcy, I've been working with my classes this month on the latter 4 limbs of the 8-limb path of yoga: pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi. and what each of these limbs independently and conjunctively teach us is how to turn inward to find stability, ease, and eventually peace within ourselves.
at the end of October, I was invited to attend an event at the United Nations on how yoga can assist and help with the UN Culture of Peace. I invite you to read up on the UN Culture of Peace here: http://www.un.org/en/ga/62/plenary/peaceculture/bkg.shtml
after agreeing to attend, I was given an even bigger and pretty mind-blowing opportunity - the organizer of the event, Dr. Valdemar Prado, reached out to me and asked me to prepare a speech. having no idea what this meant except for an opportunity to speak at the UN, I naturally jumped at the chance. and what I spoke on is, I think, very much a reflection of how to utilize the latter 4 limbs of the 8-limb path of yoga. below is a link to that speech: jump to 1:17:25 for my intro, but please watch the entire video if you have the time - it's a pretty spectacular gathering.
with these thoughts in mind, I invite all of you to take some time this season, and with the changes ahead in the landscape, to do some soul-searching and find out how you can bring peace to your life, and in turn, to others.