Tag: love

grace – the best motive

Words in Sentences

Thinking Back

by ErinLeave a Comment on Thinking Back

I was thinking back on some blogging I did in 2021 related to training the brother and sister dogs we adopted. Seemingly in the constant pursuit of “what I write about” or “what I share about”, I wondered back then whether or not dog training was going to end up being “my thing”.

It’s comical now, 4 years later, with dogs who absolutely go ape shit at the fence for a german shepherd (they looooove a german shepherd). The only thing that makes any of that noise easier to swallow is the fact the sister dog jumps and barks while the brother dog stands with paws on the fence. It is as comical as it is absolutely irritating to the bone.

I have been near obsessively working on my program that has, at this point, been received by over five hundred people over the course of its existence and acknowledged by many as having “changed their life”. Holy shit – I realize – my approach to dealing with my own human emotions in order to give my life some purpose and not think everything is in vain has supported other people’s ability to do the same?

“I should really do something with this”, I think, “…then I could hire a dog trainer.” lol

And the truth is – I am thinking about it. I am doing it. I am recording and I am writing and I am creating every single week – something new – something old repurposed. How does it all come together? How do I start? Oh I am already started. What do I do.

I have so much faith in all of this, honestly. But the belief in right timing is only as good as the dedication to practice and use of right energy.

To do the things you love to do. To be the places you love to be. To allow the way you love to feel. It’s nooooooot always easy when you are covered in news and buried in headlines. It’s not always the first thing you think of “I love today!I love my life” when there are so many people dying and drowning in fear. BUT. HOW will it get better if the artists don’t art?!?

How will culture evolve in the creators don’t create?!

How will justice reign if the makers don’t make and the builders don’t build and the – what else – shakers don’t shake?

lol Taylor Swift nod.

Sigh. So – here I am, with my new Buddha (that honestly looks like me and my siblings likeness), my cat and my geraniums here in the middle of October ready for everything that is next. Are you ready for what is next?

Tell me honestly. Please – are you excited about your life? Do you feel purpose in today? Why or why not. Lay it on me.

Give me something to think about. ✌🏽erin

woman cat and buddha and geraniums set out to change the world on a wednesday october morning
On Yoga Studio Ownership

A Defining Day

by ErinLeave a Comment on A Defining Day

It feels important to capture this moment in time.

It is amazing to me how hard it is to write what I am trying to write. I want to make some bold statement like “everybody is experiencing unhappiness and the elephant in the room is that it is my fault”. But in a way that clearly denotes it is actually my fault.

I think a lot about the story about how the owner of Starbucks’ father in law came to him when he was still in startup mode and told him he had to get a job. His wife was pregnant and he had not found investors yet. His wife told him “no way – keep at it” and, thanks to her, we have venti refreshers no berries.

I think about it a lot.

David and I blended families in 2020 and the past nearly 5 years have put some major wear and tear on the house…. There is dissatisfaction with the water heater, the need to fix nearly every bathroom, trim chewed up by puppies, a gap in the counter, a need for new paint and a new door and a new backyard and everything that was so beautiful and charming about my “art house” is now just kind of dingy, not that cute and in need of repair.

When you add to that the perspective that the grass is greener on the other side of all the streets and tracks, there is this thick sentiment that feels like sadness and I feel plain guilty straight up horrible that – while the past four years have been unfolding my life’s work and my life’s purpose, it’s not quite a corporate salary and great benefits situation.

Yet.

I mean – I know what I do. I know what I do well. I see the effects of my efforts. I am amazed at how quickly everything is moving and growing and changing yet it still seems so slow. In some ways, I feel like I can’t share my vision anymore because – well, it’s simply time to work.

And, even then I took a pause because I don’t want anybody reading this feeling like bad for me or like “sounds like things aren’t going well”. Things are thriving. Budding. Exciting. I am more motivated than ever. The studio turned a year old and we have 70 members and I have a ton to do to get ready to lead my inaugural training in St. Croix (which only has 3 spots left) and I understand what I do so clearly, that now it’s simply time to keep going. It’s happening.

You keep going and then, when you’ve spend too much time in flow, you stop for a day to take care of the laundry piles and vacuum and make a homemade meal to give people a break from (pretentious) hot dogs. So, there’s that… it’s definitely the marker of a chapter I am in. It’s why I want to capture this… it feels like a grab bag, an intersection, a messy bridge.

I wanted to capture it because I am headed full blast forward. We are at the beginning of a chapter that is going to be defined by my boundless creativity, love of storytelling and conversations with friends and my full faith in the practices my life has taught me that I am going to share with you. I mean – it’s already amazing, the way the studio feels is ripe and nourishing and joyful – why wouldn’t it get more so?

This post needs to exist so I can look back on this night that I made chicken in the new cast iron with a side of thai green lentil curry while reflecting on the podcast I recorded with my coach that made us both jaw drop – like, this conversation is real and good and powerful – this recording happened after cleaning the house which I completed after drafting an email to our 500+ person audience with 70% open rates which I wrote after responding to my team which I did after organizing my day which I took time to do after waking up and making a gut tonic and having a moment where I asked myself: what type of energy do I want to bring today?

The answer? Expansive.

faith

The Interesting Part About Faith

by ErinLeave a Comment on The Interesting Part About Faith

Over the past couple weeks of venturing into this new agreement with OM Old Orchard, the new boutique yoga studio in Webster Groves, I have found myself learning about a knee jerk reaction that exists in me.

This knee jerk reaction wants to share context, explain a little bit, walk you through why it makes sense – why it works for you, what is in it for others, introduce you to the inspiration behind it, share. Share. Share.

This knee jerk reaction comes up in response to fear. Fear related to whether or not the investment of time and money will work. I think THIS is why I am noticing the reaction and rising above it, actually.

Because my investment of time and money is rooted in love, I actually have zero doubt this “will work”. Will it be exactly what I envision? Probably not, but that is why I am practicing visioning for the day. Keep the baseline close, learn in real time, iterate accordingly.

Most of my friends, family and students / yoga community know that the Fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self control) are my guidepost for emotional navigation, interactions, meditations, etc. Even my book, Words that Rhyme and Lullabies, has a fruit of the Spirit that controlled each page. (I should share about that sometime….)

In my study of the Fruits of the Spirit through straight up referencing them in scripture, I will come across 1 Corinthians 13:13: “Abide in faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love”. That has been a bit of a study crux for me for awhile, because hope isn’t a Fruit of the Spirit. And faithfulness is, but Faith isn’t. Love is referenced in both.

My dad taught me the Spirit is active the moment you believe the Spirit is active. You always have the love you need, the peace you need, the patience you need – the moment you assume it. Love is warmth, connection, inclusion, trust.

When you learn what the soft animal of your body loves (RIP Mary Oliver), you do so because of the way what you love feels.

You feel connected, attracted, you include, you trust.

And this has to be why the greatest of Faith, Hope and Love is Love. Stick with me here…

Because if you are spending time energetically in your body and with the way your life feels in your body, then you are learning what you love, what love is, how love feels. When you have this imprint, you are now oriented. Energetically speaking, what you love guides your every action.

Is the love that orients you God’s love? Is it also safe for others? Is it also warm to others? Can others abide in it and thrive in the same love that orients you? Does everybody have a seat at your table of love? If so, your love is God’s love pouring out.

And when you’re acting and interacting from God’s love, you can have hope. Hope that the plans you commit to are not just the plans of your mind, but plans designed through co-creation with Siva (form) and Shakti (the formation) – Spirit energy – Truth of all Truth Energy. The success of your plans *big or small* can have hope like an anchor as they are inherently committed to divine will because they come from love. (Proverbs 16:3)

And we know “hope does not disappoint” because because BECAUSE “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5) FULL CIRCLE!

The Holy Spirit is the God in you. You are divine. Ong namo guru dev namo. (I honor the divine wisdom that exists, that exists in me)

Living true to your divine design, you act and interact from the place of love NOT just what comes out of you but what you give generously to yourself because you cannot believe that you are divine and truly embrace the Holy Spirit dwelling in you *without* recognition that your body is a temple. (1 Corinthians 16:19-20) Aaaaaand, how do we recognize our body as a temple?

We care for it. We spend time in it. We pay attention to what comes in through our eyes, our ears, as much as we pay attention to what comes in through our mouth, the air we breathe in, what we touch.

We notice what we love. What our bodies tell us to take in that make them feel safe. Supported.

And *that* is what gives us faith that moves mountains. Because the awareness and the freedom you start to feel through the practice of your yes and your no, your activation of Spirit and all of the fruits that come with it will shift your perceptions and calm your mind chatter (“citta” in yoga).

And the knee jerk reactions to fear become so easily recognizable because you know there is nothing to fear. Not even death. Because the power of Christ – the Holy Spirit – the divine co-creative ability will be so alive and so active and so powerful that to feel fear will only ground you in faith.

<deep breath in>

✌🏽