THE PATH REVEALS ITSELF
A Warm Dharma Flow Series

Mantra for the Class:
“As I walk in trust—the way appears.”

Topic 1 – The First Step: When the Way is Hidden

Reflection:
There’s a moment before we begin—where everything in us hesitates. We crave certainty. We want a guarantee. But the truth is, the path doesn’t reveal itself until we commit to it. Growth doesn’t come with a full itinerary. It comes with a willingness to begin anyway. On the mat and in life, sometimes all we get is this breath, this pose, this step. That’s enough. The universe meets you in motion—not in waiting.

Metaphor:
Imagine standing before a rope bridge in a jungle. Mist wraps around the trees. You can only see the first few planks stretching forward. The rest of the bridge vanishes into fog. But something—anchored and unseen—is holding the other end. That’s what faith feels like. You don’t wait for the fog to clear. You walk—and with each step, the next part of the bridge appears. That’s how the journey unfolds.

Quotes:

“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” – Rumi

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

“Don’t wait for the fog to lift—be willing to walk into it.” – David Scott

“Sometimes we don’t find the path—we create it by walking.” – Unknown

Topic 2 – Walking with Doubt, Arriving in Truth
Reflection:
Doubt has a bad reputation. But in Buddhist thought, it’s actually sacred—because doubt sparks inquiry. It opens the door to deeper understanding. When we doubt with mindfulness, we become seekers, not skeptics. And it’s through the act of seeking that truth begins to clarify. You don’t need to banish doubt to move forward. You need to walk with it, like a companion on the path. It teaches you to ask better questions—and those questions guide your evolution.

Metaphor:
Imagine walking through a dark cave with only a lantern. The light only reaches a few feet in front of you. You can’t see the end—but the lantern moves with you. Doubt is that light. It doesn’t eliminate all uncertainty, but it illuminates the step you’re ready to take. And with each step, the unknown becomes a little more familiar.

Quotes:

“To end in certainty, we must begin with doubt.” – David Scott

“Doubt everything. Find your own light.” – The Buddha

“Faith is not the absence of doubt, but the courage to walk anyway.” – Unknown

“Your doubt is not a wall. It is a doorway.” – David Whyte

Topic 3 – Trust the Unseen: What Holds You Up

Reflection:
You don’t have to know where you’re going to begin. You don’t need a perfect plan. What you need is trust. Trust in your practice. Trust that your breath will guide you. Trust that something greater than your current understanding is quietly supporting you. Life doesn’t ask you to be fearless—it asks you to keep going even when you’re not. Sometimes, the greatest leap is not into the air—it’s into letting go.

Metaphor:
Picture a hot air balloon rising slowly at dawn. As it lifts, you can’t see where the wind will carry you. But you trust the flame, the fabric, the basket beneath your feet. You’re held—not by your own control, but by your surrender. It’s not about steering perfectly. It’s about rising into the unknown with grace.

Quotes:

“Let go and trust the unfolding.” – Jack Kornfield

“Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark.” – Rabindranath Tagore

“There is a support you cannot see that becomes visible only when you walk.” – David Scott

“You were never meant to carry it all in your mind. Trust the path.” – Unknown

Topic 4 – The Map Inside: Intuition as Guidance

Reflection:
The mind craves instructions. The soul craves alignment. When you stop racing for external answers, you start tuning into internal wisdom. Intuition isn’t mystical—it’s practical. It shows up in the body’s soft whispers, in the breath that deepens, in the moment that feels unmistakably true. You already carry the map—you just have to listen. And the best way to hear it? Stillness.

Metaphor:
Imagine you’re navigating across the desert at night, not with a GPS, but by starlight. Locating Polaris is easy on any clear night. Just find the Big Dipper. The two stars on the end of the Dipper’s “cup” point the way to Polaris, which is the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper. For thousands of years, travelers and sailors have used that star for navigation. Why? Because it doesn’t move. While the whole sky seems to turn, the North Star stays still.

Metaphorically, that North Star is your inner knowing. It’s your sense of hope, your quiet faith, your tiny bit of certainty in an uncertain world. When everything else spins, that star—your intuition—remains steady. And even if the path winds, as long as you keep aligning with that star, you will not be lost.

Quotes:

“Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction.” – Rumi

“Stillness is the place where true direction arises.” – Tara Brach

“The mind is a fine servant but a poor master. Let the heart lead.” – David Scott

“Sometimes the most important journey is the one inward.” – Unknown

Topic 5 – Looking Back: The Path That Appeared

Reflection:
So often, we don’t realize how far we’ve come until we pause. The fog that once blinded you? It’s behind you now. The doubts that once stopped you? They were steppingstones. Clarity doesn’t always come before action—it comes because of it. The journey might not have looked how you imagined, but in hindsight, it was exactly what was needed. You didn’t just walk a path—you made one.

Metaphor:
Imagine hiking a winding trail. At first, all you see are switchbacks, roots, and rocks. You just keep walking. But when you reach the summit and look back, you see the trail—a beautiful line through forest and field, winding precisely where it needed to go. That’s your life. That’s your practice. You might not see the pattern while living it, but from a higher view, it all connects.

Quotes:

“The path is made by walking.” – Antonio Machado

“Clarity comes in hindsight. Wisdom comes in motion.” – David Scott

“You will understand it all by and by.” – Rumi

“We live forward, but understand backward.” – Søren Kierkegaard

Mantra for the Class:
“I walk in trust—the way appears.”

“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” – Rumi

“On my wall I have a picture of a rope hanging bridge, across some sort of jungle. You can only see the beginning of the bridge as the end is hidden in the mist of fog. Something is holding the bridge up on the other side. Trust your path and your journey, start walking even if you don’t see exactly where you are going. You destination will only appear once you pierce the fog of ‘limited awareness’ and submit to your limited mind’s perception.” – David Scott

“The person who insists on seeing with perfect clarity before they decide, never decides. To end in certainty we must first begin with doubt.” – David Scott

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Change your perspective and change your world.”

When you plant a seed of love, it is you who blossoms.

Your soul is your best friend. Treat it with care, nurture it with growth, and feed it with love.

“Be kind to your soul and body today, the world is hard enough on you. There are very few people in this world that will do something kind for you unconditionally, expecting nothing back in return; so treat your self-tonight and feel grateful that you are doing something good and healing for your soul..” – David Scott

“There is no need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.” – Kathryn Budig

“Yoga is not about touching your toes, it is about what you learn about yourself while trying to touch your toes.”

“Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”

“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” – Rumi

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anais Nin

“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” William Blake

“Loss of sight is unfortunate but loss of perception is a calamity. Refusing to see from other’s point of view is an acute form of blindness.” – Vincent Okay Nwachukwu, African proverb

“We carry inside us the wonders we seek outside us.” – Rumi

“Yoga is the perfect opportunity to be curious about who you are. ” ~ Jason Crandell

What if you could change your thoughts and change your day? Well you can….

“Yoga uses the body to discipline the mind and to reach the soul.” ~ BKs Iyengar

“Yoga is a 401k for the body and mind. It is your investment in your future. You are only as young as your spine remains flexible and only as wise if you can master the chaos in the mind.” – David Scott

“A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror.” – Ken Keyes

“The study of asana is not about mastering posture. It’s about using posture to understand and transform yourself.” – B.K.S Iyengar

“There is a voice that doesn’t use words, listen.” – Rumi

Right now, with all of life’s uncertainties, who knows where we will be a year from now? “Sometimes the dreams that come true are the dreams you never thought you had. Learn to take risk… If you win you will be happy, if you lose you will be wise.” ”

“What is it you are so busy running from? You run through the world like your trying to outrun your shadow. We often run all the time just to avoid coming face to face with ourselves. Slow down; come back to the moment you are living and for once experience the richness of life. Just as the body needs exercise and movement, the mind needs stillness. Make time for both.” – David Scott

“How can we expect someone to make us happy, if we are not happy with ourselves?” – David Scott

Sthira sukham asanam Sthira‘ means steady or stable or grounded or strong and ‘Sukha’ means comfortable or easy (or ‘easeful’) or peaceful.

“If you surround yourself with people who are strong and positive, you are much more likely to see a world of opportunity and adventure.” – Jack Canfield

“The word happiness would not be understood if not balanced by the meaning of sadness.” David Scott

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.” – Rumi

“The answers you seek never come when the mind is busy, they come when the mind is still.” – David Scott

“It is so exhausting, trying to be perfect in an imperfect world. Striving for excellence motivates you, striving for perfection demoralizes you. The more perfect someone tries to appear, mean the more they are trying to hide. Think of yoga not as self-improvement, but in self-acceptance.” – David Scott

“We must not allow other people’s perceptions to define us.” Virginia Satir

“I stopped explaining myself when I realized other people only understand from their level of perception.”

“May you be firm, but never inflexible; may be you proud, but never boastful; may you be strong, but never forceful; may you be gentle but never weak; may you be truthful, but never unkind; may you be brave but never foolish; may you have more than enough, but never be greedy. – David Scott