Today I Made a Modest Life Change

I would say that my entire life has been spent living in the mindset that seedless watermelon is better than seed-ed watermelon.  The way I've seen it (as passed to me by those who I've eaten watermelon with all these years), a seed is a nuisance that gets in the way of fully enjoying the juicy flesh of the watermelon.  Having to pick through and de-seed has seemed an annoying part of the process.

Today after yoga, I ate watermelon with Francis.  I was picking through the pieces (not touching them, don't worry) to find the ones with the fewest seeds and I noticed that she was just plopping the pieces into her mouth without spitting any seeds out.  I asked her about it, and she told me that she eats the watermelon with the seeds and that she likes it because it gives it a little bit of a nutty flavor.  So I tried it, and I was taken back a little when I realized that it took the stress (small as it may have been) out of eating a piece of watermelon.  When I viewed the seeds as a treat, something nutty and crunchy in my watermelon (much like crunchy peanut butter), the seeds weren't seen as a nuisance.  I could eat watermelon without thought and effort.  I liked it!

It made me think about how our perception so often really is JUST our perception.  Our perception is often built on experiences that have created a false sense of reality.  Thankfully, we can examine our perceptions and check in to see if they are working for us ... and if not, we can change the way we think about things and it can actually benefit us.  For me, being on a yogic path has really been one big process of breaking down false perceptions and opening up to higher truth.  I look at things differently as a result of learning yoga philosophy and connecting with my inner knowing.  Yoga has enhanced my prior understanding of myself, life, the universe, existence, Divinity, and so on.  I now live from what feels like an expanding perception, always open to consider that other way of thinking that could transform things for my good ... for instance, how I eat watermelon.

Learn a little yoga and the philosophy behind it (which often comes as nuggets of truth shared in passing by a teacher during class).

Join us on the path of awakening at Bodhi Yoga. http://gobodhiyoga.com/provoyogaclassesutah.shtml