Mindful Poetry about Tapas and Finding the Real Teacher

Yes I do a lot of doing but it is always more enjoyable when it comes from a place of just being…..
Here’s a poem inspired by a quote that popped into my morning “sit, be and have a cup of tea” meditation for a little longer than usual this morning after delivering 12 hour days of Level 1 Yoga Teacher Training
“The intensity of the longing does all the work” by Kabir
Below is a poem by Robert Bly who encompasses the value of living life fully right now.  Along with a little reflection of my own on Tapas and the “hard work” it can sometimes take because of our conditioning to realise “just being” wakes us up to this feeling alive right now!
What are we chasing anyway?……
Friend, hope for the Guest while you are alive.
Jump into experience while you are alive!
Think… and think… while you are alive.
What you call “salvation” belongs to the time
before death.
If you don’t break your ropes while you’re alive,
do you think
ghosts will do it after?
The idea that the soul will rejoin with the ecstatic
just because the body is rotten–
that is all fantasy.
What is found now is found then.
If you find nothing now,
you will simply end up with an apartment in the
City of Death.
If you make love with the divine now, in the next life you will have the face of satisfied desire.
So plunge into the truth, find out who the Teacher is,
Believe in the Great Sound!
Kabir says this: When the Guest is being searched for,
it is the intensity of the longing for the Guest that
does all the work.
Look at me, and you will see a slave of that intensity.
By Robert Bly .
The Yogis talk about tapas which can be considered putting a consistent effort over time toward Self Realisation.                       This can be revealed through many ways and methods: Asana (being steady and easy in body and mind / or more commonly referred to as Yoga Poses) Pranayama (working with the breath to ‘let go of control’ of it) Pratyahara (sense withdrawal)
The Pillars of Mindfulness such as “Beginners Mind” “Non Judgement” and “Trust” can also help orientate us to an attitude within our hearts that help us along the path.
I related to tapas (putting in the hard work- thanks to my upbringing and support along the way)
“Head down bum up, stand on your own two feet” I can recall my Mum say.
But at times I didn’t hear when she said  ……”stop slow down just sit” so I can enjoy today.
Perhaps all this work has just lead me to this
To stop sit and breathe in the nectar of pure “being” pure bliss
But this sitting and just being
For me has taken lots of “doing” effort over time
But this just sitting and “being” is what connects me to the divine
The discipline for me is to be in this space first thing when I “wake up”
Open my eyes smile at all I’ve got and take a sip of gratitude from my tea cup
Invite the nectar into my lungs as I sense my inner being
It has a centre yet far and wide
A sense of stillness and just hearing
My ears sense sound
As I take another sip
Blissfully dumbfound
At “just this, just this”
Who would have thought “head down bum up” can take on another view
Sit still long enough to feel, the light in me acknowledges the light in you
Namaste
Tammy xox
A Mindful Meditation practice for you…..
I AM GRATEFUL for…….
Remember to fill in the gap
But at the same time leave enough SPACE
Stop “doing” this and that
Making a gratitude list is a helpful tool
But without the space to actually LIVE the gratitude you only become a fool
Celebrate how great you are now
And all you have around
If you forget just sit, be, and sip tea
Listen to sound just as sound
Ironically enough as you empty your tea cup in this way of being
You fill up your inner cup which helps you feel good, give more and capable of clear seeing
Sit down sip tea
Take a deep breath in
Breathe out
Feel free
Then get up move and stretch your body to thank it for all it’s done
Remember your purpose , now go contribute and a new day has begun.
?Long Slow Deep Teacher Training is over half full already and fills up every year
so Apply Early ! Click here
(Available for not only yoga teachers for hours toward Level 2 / 500 hours , also to anyone who wants to learn to integrate a more Mindfulness Based Yin style of Yoga as personal development )

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