Sunday sadhana

To me, sadhana is a daily spiritual practice allowing time and space for an individual to turn inward.

As Yogi Bhajan (of the Kundalini yoga tradition) says, "Sadhana is self-enrichment. It is not something which is done to please somebody or to gain something. Sadhana is a personal process in which you bring out your best."

Sadhana could be taking a walk in nature, doing breath work or yoga asanas on a mat, spending time meditating or chanting, reading and reflecting on a poem, journaling or simply watching the sun rise.

Please accept this post as a possible starting point for your own practice today.

Our ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death but a good life to the very end.

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— Atul Gawande, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

More books, more reading

I've not done a ton of book coverage on this here blog, but I don't really know why (I think about it often).

Reading is the most pleasurable and time-consuming hobby I have and, unless I'm talking about my pups, you're most likely to find me discussing books with friends and acquaintances (and even strangers!), and recommending titles.

I believe that the act of reading can deeply impact us. Whether reading for entertainment, escape, or education, it opens us to new worlds, and to perspectives different from our own.

It allows us as readers to challenge our biases and foster empathy — even when we're not expecting it.

I just finished audio-reading JoJo Moyes' Me Before You, and I will tell you — without any details so I don't spoil it — I had expected an escapist novel. It was so much more. (A really beautiful book, by the way. I highly recommend it.)

All this to say, I'm going to change the lack of books here. I want to share more of my reading world. Watch for more regular posts on recent reads, oldies but goodies, awesome audios, library love, and book news — I might even toss in an author interview every now and again.

Join me? (And let me know what you're reading down below in the comments!)

Sunday sadhana

To me, sadhana is a daily spiritual practice allowing time and space for an individual to turn inward.

As Yogi Bhajan (of the Kundalini yoga tradition) says, "Sadhana is self-enrichment. It is not something which is done to please somebody or to gain something. Sadhana is a personal process in which you bring out your best."

Sadhana could be taking a walk in nature, doing breath work or yoga asanas on a mat, spending time meditating or chanting, reading and reflecting on a poem, or simply watching the sun rise.

Please accept this post as a possible starting point for your own practice today.

Note: This past week, a dear friend's cat died. This post is in honor of him. May he be at peace.

“Beneath my eyes opens—a book; I see to the bottom; the heart—I see to the depths. I know what loves are trembling into fire; how jealousy shoots its green flashes hither and thither; how intricately love crosses love; love makes knots; love brutally tears them apart. I have been knotted; I have been torn apart.”

— Virginia Woolf, The Waves

My life, in books

For the past few weeks, I've been digging into friends' annual reports about their favorite books of 2016. And, of course, adding even more titles to my to-read list — which currently sits at 766.

For reference, at the rate I'm currently pacing, I would need approximately 10 years to read just those. On one hand, that feels daunting and frustrating. On the other hand, I know I won't read them all, and I'm OK with that because the list is much more than just a reminder of what I'll never get to. For almost 10 years now I've been tracking my reading through Goodreads. What I love about Goodreads is not only the ability to easily refer back to what I have read, keep that list of what I want to read (or think I want to read), and learn what my friends are choosing to spend their time with these days, but also to have the opportunity to review the years and see patterns in my reading choices and habits.

• Why did I go through a few months in 2014 of wanting to read (but not actually reading) every single book about moss I could? (Oh right! Elizabeth Gilbert inspired this through The Signature of All Things: A Novel ... and I was training to hike Pikes Peak that same summer, and began seeking out books about the flora and fauna around me as a way to connect more with the trails...)

I've never been a very good journaler. I envy those who can sit down every day or once a week, or with some sort of regularity, and put pen to paper about their days. I've tried numerous times to settle into this type of routine: from plain old self-motivation, to gratitude journals, to formalized Morning Pages. In the end, every time I've come to feel it was a forced process for me, and given up.

What I've realized about Goodreads: For me, it's so much more than a book tracking, rating and reviewing system.

It's a way of journaling through books.

One thousand, four hundred and eighteen titles. Three thousand, six hundred and fifty (ish) days.

Goals and aspirations. Travel near and travel far. Major depressive cycles. Obsessions and compulsions. Dreams and desires. Relationship ups and downs. Professional highs. Professional lows. Passions and practices.

It's all there.

The words of my life.

How are you tracking yours?

Sunday sadhana

To me, sadhana is a daily spiritual practice allowing time and space for an individual to turn inward.

As Yogi Bhajan (of the Kundalini yoga tradition) says, "Sadhana is self-enrichment. It is not something which is done to please somebody or to gain something. Sadhana is a personal process in which you bring out your best."

Sadhana could be taking a walk in nature, doing breath work or yoga asanas on a mat, spending time meditating or chanting, reading and reflecting on a poem, or simply watching the sun rise.

Please accept this post as a possible starting point for your own practice today, and as a basis for your new year.

Mantra:

Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu

Translated as:

May all beings, everywhere, be happy and free. And may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute, in some way, to that happiness and to that freedom for all.