Bram Levinson

Minding What Matters

I went into work today at Centre Luna Yoga to take advantage of the studio being closed till next week so I could close out the 2011 accounting year, and just being in the space, slugging away at the computer, brought me a sense of peace and clarity. When all the numbers were taken care of and I had turned off the computer, I found myself staring into the calm of the studio with a real sense of vision as to what I wanted to continue doing with my life and throughout the year ahead, and how to really go about that.

When the Smallest Truths Effect The Greatest Changes

This weekend I’m giving the teacher trainees a lecture on one of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Sutra 1.23 – Ishwara Pranidhanad Va. This sutra speaks to the ability to move closer to a place of truth, peace & light by putting our faith, and the fruits of our labours, towards a higher energy, towards what each and every one of us, in our own way, interprets God as being. Putting God/light/energy into the forefront. From my purely non-denominational point of view, that energy is exactly that – an energy that has taken shape in the form of light in my reality, an energy that is always within me and that I find myself tapping into and falling back on when I most need it. I’ve spoken before about God in yoga (God Talk), and how the practice is often mistaken as a religion, and I’ve also written about how I firmly understand that we all need to believe in something, we just need to figure out what that something is, and then believe in it, wholly and unapologetically (Up to You). Both these points are key in interpreting Sutra 1.23.

Up To You

I believe that there are messengers on earth, people whose mission it is to inspire and direct others towards truth and peace, using perception and certainty as building blocks as tools of inspiration. I believe that after 35 years of trying to find my way, I came to a place where I had no choice but to step up and understand that my future was possibly rooted in that role of messenger, and 3 years later, I am certain that I have stepped into my life’s mission. It is absolutely and totally due to this path of mine that I can clearly see the infinite possibilities that exist for each and every one of us, and this is why I feel so determined to convey those possibilities to everyone within reading and/or hearing distance. What reinforces my belief that I’m on the right path is the (sometimes) overwhelming number of people I counsel, encouraging them to lift their gaze up so they can see the endless options that are available to them, options that once chosen, could lead to a better, stronger, more meaningful existence. What comes so naturally to me apparently doesn’t for everyone else, and so I feel that obligation to guide people towards their own truths with that much more conviction.