Imagine if you could purchase the tools needed to gain world peace for only $15? That sounds like a joke, doesn’t it? It is my belief that the book entitled What We Say Matters by Dr. Judith and Ike Lasater has the ability to do just that if everyone in the world followed their great suggestions. (That is the tricky part, isn’t it? lol….)
What We Say Matters is a very powerful book about the effect our everyday communications have on the world around us. With techniques drawn from their extensive work with NVC, or Nonviolent Communication, Dr. Judith and Ike Lasater bring us through simple techniques that we can use to retrain our communication towards making peace with the people we interact with on a daily basis – especially our intimate connections that we have with our family and friends.
I have been a proponent of conflict resolution communication techniques for much of my adult life but have never come across anything so simple and easy to implement as the techniques displayed within this book. If you find yourself challenged by your dealings with others (honestly, who hasn’t?) you should do yourself a favor and read this book.
Dr. Judith and Ike Lasater are well-known in the yoga community for founding both the Yoga Journal magazine and California Yoga Teacher’s Association. They have been leaders in the US yoga community for over 35 years.
Every once in a while, I come across something interesting that I feel is important for people to hear about. This is a great video by Waylon Lewis of http://www.elephantjournal.com, interviewing Dr. Jules Levinson, who has been trying to help Tibet preserve their language, culture and teachings. Cool stuff… Their website is www.berotsana.org.
This article made it to front page of StufftoTweet.com, a website devoted to giving us popular things to tweet about on Twitter. It most likely arrived there because of the video of Jon Kabat-Zinn but a good general article nonetheless for those wishing to develop more mindfulness.
If any of you struggle as I do to create the perfect gingerbread cookie each year, you will certainly appreciate the creativity of this cookie artist! I discovered these cookies from Cupcakes & Yoga, a site that blends the beauty of both cooking and yoga on one blog! Unique!
Everyone seems to be finally catching on the recycling craze, and this article helps us to find new and creative ways to reuse yoga mats, including some obvious ones and some not-so-obvious ones (like making them into flip-flops?) Wow. A fun read!
If Naked Yoga does not appeal, then perhaps you might be interested in Yoga for Equestrians, how to do yoga with your dog or any number of unique product approaches for yoga enthusiasts! This exhaustive list of fun and interesting yoga products is a must-see!
I thought this video was funny and perhaps you might enjoy a good laugh. Please note – there is swearing in this video so if you are sensitive to that, don’t play it.
January 28 – February 1, 2010 – Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco, CA
If you are going to be anywhere near San Francisco in late January, I would highly recommend checking out the 7th Annual Yoga Journal San Francisco Conference. The Yoga Journal really knows how to put on a conference, with five action-packed days of events for you to enjoy – it may be difficult to decide which specific workshops to attend with the wide variety of choices offered for each one!
This year, they are starting it all off by offering a two-day “Business of Yoga Workshop” which includes everything from dealing with legal issues to internet marketing! They also have two days set aside for a variety of full-day intensives scheduled with 19 instructors and a multitude of workshop topics to choose from. During the main San Francisco Yoga Conference, there are three full days of special events, workshops and trainings comprising over 100 classes for all levels of ability. Each day offers three 2-hour sessions with a blend of lecture and experiential style workshops with a large assortment of topics. On Saturday afternoon, you will get a chance to hear a Keynote by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait discussing Tantra as the New Frontier in Yoga. Of course, as always, there will be plenty to do between workshops as you peruse the Yoga Marketplace, which is free and open to the public on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Not in California? Check out these other Yoga Journal Conference dates:
As I am getting to know the yoga blogging community and reading all the hoopla about the “Yoga Wars” (usually involving something to do with Bikram), I am reminded of a very key principle on any spiritual path…
EVOLUTION.
In some way, we are all fake. The human condition cannot help but point out the obvious to us and the more that we practice and learn about our spiritual aspects, the more we recognise that this is true.
The question then becomes…
“What do you do with that information?”
The REAL you is an ever changing, constantly transforming being as you discover deeper and deeper aspects to yourself, or what you think is your SELF. So how do we deal with that part of ourselves that just wants to sit on the couch and eat bonbons?
What if the SUV loving yuppie yogini is just a person who has never had the good fortune that you have had to discover the finer aspects of a truly spiritual existence? Sad, really, but should we be angry? I would suggest that sympathy might be a different approach to try. We’ve all been there. Anyone on a spiritual path has at some point come across someone who is more evolved. How did the more evolved person treat you in your spiritual development? More importantly, how did you treat yourself when you met that person? My guess would be, if you are anything like me, you turned on yourself and felt significantly less than them even though your path was just in a different spot and even though, ultimately, we are all equal beings.
I guess my point is that we need to keep in mind that this yoga trend that is happening is really more about people wanting to wake up, as I see it. Yes, granted, it can be a bit annoying when the materialistic aspects seem to detract from our ultimate goals, but if we see the through the hype and look to the intention, we may be able to help them to see past the materialism and perhaps catch a glimpse of the divine.
Imagine if you could purchase the tools needed to gain world peace for only $15? That sounds like a joke, doesn’t it? It is my belief that the book entitled What We Say Matters by Dr. Judith and Ike Lasater has the ability to do just that if everyone in the world followed their great suggestions. (That is the tricky part, isn’t it? lol….)