WEEK 24.1 Earthrise
Welcome to today’s yoga class. Before we begin, I’d like to share a story that carries a profound lesson, one that beautifully aligns with our practice of yoga.
On June 7, 2024, the world lost William Anders, a remarkable individual who, as an astronaut on the Apollo 8 mission, captured the iconic “Earthrise” photo in 1968. This photograph showed our planet as a shadowed blue marble suspended in the vastness of space. It was a moment that changed how humanity viewed itself and our place in the universe.
When you look at the Earth from space, there are no boundaries or borders. The lines that divide nations and people are invisible. These fences and divisions are created by us, by our beliefs and perceptions. Anders once reflected on this, saying, “The reality of life is that your perceptions – right or wrong – influence everything else you do. When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place.”
As we settle into our practice today, let’s take a moment to reflect on our own perceptions. What boundaries have we set for ourselves? What divisions do we believe in that may not truly exist? Just as the Earth has no borders from space, we too can strive to see beyond our self-imposed limitations and divisions.
Why struggle to open a door between us when the whole wall is an illusion? – Rumi
In yoga, we often talk about the importance of perspective—of seeing things as they truly are, without judgment or preconceived notions. Today, let’s work on getting a proper perspective of our perceptions. Let’s open our hearts and minds, and perhaps, like Anders’ view from space, we’ll find that many things fall into place.
So, as we move through our practice, let’s hold onto this thought: our perceptions shape our reality. By shifting our perspective, we have the power to change our experience and find unity within ourselves and with the world around us.
Let’s begin.
In the United States 18.1% of the population suffer from Anxiety and 9% suffer from depression. Science is finding that one of the two main causes for their mental illnesses is News and Social Media.
An Israeli study in Gaza found that those who increased their normal viewing of TV news were 1.6x more likely to develop anxiety.
Inside the chaos, build a temple of peace and calm tonight where you can amplify the good and positive in your life and turn off the negative.
“From the fog of despair, hope emerges ridding on the back of fear.” – David Scott
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” ― Joseph Campbell
“Enlightenment is when a wave realizes it is the ocean.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Try to hold on and enjoy this ride…. Smooth seas never made a skilled sailor. It takes the storms of life to cultivate our inner strength and willpower. The harder you work, the “luckier” you become. Do the work and all is coming.
“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.”
“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” ― William Faulkner
“Your feelings aren’t random, they are messengers. And if you want to get anywhere, you need to be able to let them speak to you, and tell you what you really need.” ~Brianna West
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” ― Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them” – Thomas Merton
“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” ― Pablo Neruda
Just because you are right, does not mean, I am wrong. You just haven’t seen life from my side.” Anonymous
“When spiders unite, they can tie down a lion.”- Ethiopian Proverb
Stop allowing media to divide us. “Unity is strength, division is weakness.” – Swahili Proverb
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” – Martin Luther
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.” – Jonas Salk
“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” -TOM BODETT
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important things is not to stop questioning.” – ALBERT EINSTEIN
“Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment.” – NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anais Nin
“The reality of life is that your perceptions – right or wrong – influence everything else you do. When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place.”
“Why struggle to open a door between us when the whole wall is an illusion?” -Rumi
“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite and limitless.”
“Our relationships are a reflection of the relationship we have with ourselves.” – Iyanla Vanzant
Getting your heartbroken is scary. Getting dumped is scary. Getting rejected is scary. But nothing is scarier than the knowledge that you could have had great love and you chose the absence of pain instead.”
“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
Just because the war is lost, it does not mean that you must be conquered.
Mistakes are often the best teachers. When we listen to them, we grow.
“I’ve learned more from pain than I could’ve ever learned from pleasure.”
The harder you work, the luckier you will become.
What is your trajectory. If you don’t change direction, you will end up where you are going. “You must not allow your long term goals and dreams to be derailed off track by short term defeats. A stumble can often prevent a fall.” – David Scott
“Success is often just after your next attempt, People often don’t fail, they just quit trying.” – David Scott
“Happy the person that gets up every morning with enthusiasm and falls asleep with satisfaction in their heart.” David Scott
“You could have grown cold, but you grew courageous instead. You could have given up, but you kept on going. You could have seen obstacles, but you called them adventures. You could have called them weeds, but instead you called them wildflower. You could have died a caterpillar, but you fought on to be a butterfly. You could have denied yourself goodness, but instead you chose to show yourself some self-love. You could have defined yourself by the dark days, but instead through them you realized your light.” – S.C. Lourie