The practice of abundance

Mt. Shasta from southbound I-5, ©2022 Nicole Bratt

Hello friends,

The interstate drive south from Washington into Northern California skirts along and through the Cascade Mountain Range. It’s full of breathtaking views and natural beauty. Notable for me is Mount Shasta. Sitting right along the I-5 corridor, when “the mountain is out”, it’s pretty much “in your face” for many miles. Many of you have probably seen this magnificent mountain on your own road trips.

There is something both utterly simple and awe-inspiring to see an enormous volcano protruding out of the landscape. To behold it puts my life into perspective and humbles me in the way that only Mother Nature can do. It feels a gift and a privilege that I get to see peaks like this regularly in my adult life. It occurs to me how my life is but a speck in a mountain’s lifetime! – that my time on this earth is brief and precious.

As we approach Thanksgiving week in the U.S., I’ve been thinking (yet again) about gratitude, humility, history, and time. I’ve also been studying the yamas and niyamas in my yoga therapy program in ways deeper and richer than ever before, so bear with me as I tie this together. :)

The yamas and the niyamas make up the first two of the eight limbs of yoga. The five yamas are the practices that allow us to shine our best selves out into the world; our loving presence from the inside out. The five niyamas are the practices we engage in to tend to our internal landscape and optimize our well-being; nurturing a loving relationship with ourselves. Of course, the yamas influence the niyamas, and vice versa.

The fifth yama, aparigraha, is often translated as non-attachment or non-covetousness. Recently, however, I’ve been studying a new (to me) translation of the yoga sutras which states that aparigraha can be understood as acknowledging abundance or being truly fulfilled.

“Acknowledging abundance (Aparigraha), we recognize the blessings in everything and gain insights into the purpose for our worldly existence.

Aparigraha gives us the secret to earthly life. Take a moment to feel gratitude for the great blessings that surround you: the home you live in, the service you do in the world, the availability and quantity of food you have to eat. The riches also include your friends, your health, and the opportunity to dedicate time to know your own heart. Even when you acknowledge the bounty, is there still a lingering apprehension that part or all of it may be taken away? That the well might run dry? Just thinking that a resource is limited initiates fear, thereby lessening the joy in the present moment.
…
If we are able to live within the material energy allotted us and generously use the word ‘enough,’ abundance cascades in our direction. We become free.”

~ Nischala Joy Devi, The Secret Power of Yoga

How timely for Thanksgiving week!

What would it feel like to wholly embrace the joy of the present moment?

How often do we acknowledge the gifts and resources ALREADY in abundance in our lives?

Can I find that same feeling of awe/humility/preciousness I get when starting at Mt Shasta – from the simple fact that I a living being, with a beating heart and lungs that function, in a body that can dance?

And could I keep sacred the fact that my life is a limited time deal… I don’t know how long I will have… but I know I have NOW. And so do you!

This feels liberating and uplifting.
Have I learned this before? Yep.
Nonetheless, here it all is again to be re-discovered and re-embed into my heart and bones.
A reminder that I am fortunate in so many ways that I take for granted all the time.

And this attitude of gratitude and plenty – aparigraha – is what I plan to carry into this coming week – and well beyond.

Thank you for being a part of my Now.

In abundance & gratitude,
Nicole

Mt. Shasta from NORTHBOUND I-5, ©2022 Nicole Bratt