Samskara: Unearthing the Scars that Limit Us

In a previous post, I proposed meditation as a living practice, one that may be embodied in every interaction we undertake with the world. Finding beauty, connection, and stillness in the busyness that can often feel inseparable from our existence. Meditative moments are essential in stepping back and assessing, with clarity, the stories we have written for ourselves. Such stories can consist of anything from five-year plans to grocery lists and, once written, have the potential to dictate our lives.

For instance, let’s say I decide to become a “vegetarian.” Like others on this path, I have personal reasons for making this decision. I have written the story of my vegetarian identity, which I can use to explain my dietary preference to others. However, it is when I lose the true essence of my intention that I allow this vegetarian script to run on autopilot: I might think, speak, and eat in ways no longer because I consciously choose to, but because I have let them become prerecorded. I use the example of dietary choice, in particular, because of a comment a friend once made about his own food identity: “I don’t drink or eat meat. It might change, but that’s where I’m thriving right now. I’m not straight-edge or a vegetarian – I’m just a human being.”

Ayurvedic Tips for a Restful Night’s Sleep

When having trouble sleeping, the number one culprit– at least for me – tends to be too much thinking. From an Ayurvedic perspective, mental activity is vitiated not only by mental stressors (e.g. major life changes or decisions, anxiety, emotional disturbances), but physical ones, too.

Think about it: when performing more active, moderate- to high-intensity exercise, your adrenaline-ridden body enters its natural “fight or flight” mode. As with most benefits of physical exercise, this rush is healthful in balanced amounts. However, when we fill our schedules with activities that keep the body in this sustained “fight or flight” mode, our physical and mental facilities are not given a chance to properly rest. Mirroring the over-active body, the mind will sense that it, too, must remain in an alert state.

A Walking Meditation for Any Life Current

Recently, I wrote about my experience in Chiang Mai, Thailand. For that month, it was as if time didn’t exist; I was always grounded in the present moment. Unsurprisingly, when I came back to the wide streets and sky-high towers of Chicago, life became structured by public transit schedules, deadlines, and all the “should dos” that can quickly flood the mind, if you let them. Suddenly, I had difficulty maintaining the vibrant physical and mental energy that carried me along, like a gentle current, in Chiang Mai.

Saying “Yes” in Chiang Mai

Last month, I lived in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The following is a window into the world I entered  – and will continue to explore upon my return just before the Chinese new year – while there.

If I had to use one phrase to sum up my November spent in Chiang Mai, it would have to be, “just say yes.” Saying “yes” became a daily practice as I was given the opportunity, all too rare in life, to go about my days without an agenda. Less than a week’s worth of clothes accompanied me across the globe, and I brought no laptop. My phone remained unused, except to jot down quick notes about the areas I visited and the people I met. Decisions about what to wear, where I needed to go, or what had to be achieved were, for the most part, erased from my mental sphere. I was free to experience each moment as something beautiful in itself, if I allowed it.