“Close your eyes and inhale the intoxicating perfume of your essence.” David Scott

“The quality of our breath expresses our inner feelings.” - T.K.V. Desikachar

Retreat is easy when you have the option. Just over 500 years ago, in Feb of 1519 the Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortés fled Cuba with 11 ships, 500 men, and 15 horses to conquer the Aztecs in Mexico. The Cortez story teaches us a great lesson about burning our attachments and making commitments. Upon arriving in Vera Cruise Mexico, he ordered his men to burn and or sink their ships, to make sure they were committed and did not surrender and leave the fight. In class tonight think of what ships you have in your live, that are life lines to the past that may need to be burned in your life to force you to move forward and not cling to the past.

“If you want to take the island, then burn your boats. With absolute commitment come the insights that create real victory.”- Tony Robbins

“Get out of your head and get into your body. Think less and feel more.” - Osho

“Closed doors simply mean God is protecting us from returning to the source of our pain and reliving suffering that we are powerless to change change.” – David Scott

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” ~Lao Tzu “The first step is the most difficult.”

Today, I close the door to my past, open the door to my future, take a deep breath, step through, and start a new chapter in my life.

When we replace old patterns with new ones, we have to be conscious of our choices we need to make sure the new ways are healthy ways

“When one door closes another door opens. Usually a refrigerator.” - Bonnie McFarlane

“I used to think my dryer shank my close, but I think it is the refrigerator…

“Nothing is forever except change.” – Buddha

“Nothing has more strength than dire necessity.” – Euripides

“In Order to be effective, truth must penetrate like an arrow-and that is likely to hurt.” – Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois

“You can’t go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.” CS Lewis

“Silence isn’t empty. It’s full of answers.”

"To successfully open the door to heightened awareness, we must open it inward." - Wayne Dyer

Sometimes we can feel like we are going around in circles and getting nowhere, but life is like a spiral staircase, it is only when we get to the top and look down, that we realize just how high we have risen.

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” —Ghandi

"When we judge someone, it means we are just not willing to spend the time it takes to understand them with empathy."

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” - Mother Teresa

“Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.” Jack Kornfield

“Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves.” Pema Chodron

“May your daily choices be a reflection of your deepest values.” Coleen Patrick-Goudreau

“Open your hands if you want to be held.” - Rumi

"To the heart in you, don't be afraid to feel. To the sun in you, don't be afraid to shine. To the love in you, don't be afraid to heal. To the ocean in you, don't be afraid to rage. To the silence in you, don't be afraid to break." ~Najwa Zebian

“Determination is the wind in our sails, pushing us onward, over and through the waves of fear and doubt. Until our the storm has past and rainbow of a hopeful future appears.” David Scott

The Dalai Lama was asked what surprised him most, he said “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.” ~ Dalai Lama

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” ~ Buddha

“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 wildflowers. 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. LourieC. Lourie