Weekly Newsletter

Halloween and Harv Eker

Happy Halloween,

Hello everyone. To those of you who celebrate Halloween, I hope you are having a fun filled evening and enjoying seeing the happy children’s faces as they receive their treats from door to door.

Others of you may be dressing up in costume yourself and dancing the night away.

This year I did not dress up or do anything to celebrate in the festivities this day brings. (Of course If I had children I would surely be dressing up. I had contemplated being superwoman this year.]

It was a riot to see people in stores dressed up today. I felt so terrible tonight when I had one batch of kids show up and knocked on my door and I had no candy to give them. I only got one set of kids. In the previous years no one knocked at my door. Boy, did I feel guilty when I had to turn them away with nothing. They looked extremely disappointed. Even their mom was dressed in costume and by her reaction to no candy I could tell she wasn’t very impressed. Reflecting on it now, I should of given them something but in the moment I was surprised anyone showed up at my door in the first place. Next year I will be sure to have something to give the kids.

It is on Holidays like these I miss being home with my family and nieces. Tonight I was remembering how significant certain holidays were when I was younger. As a child I remember looking forward to every holiday and counting down the days until it arrived. As a child these are some most fun and memorable times. I thought to myself how things change and we often forget how we once felt about something.

That magical, excited and anticipated feeling you get as a child for Holidays is such a fantastic feeling. Tonight I reminded myself that I can become an excited adult and reach for the continual newness that comes with changing seasons and yearly holidays.

Samtosha

How do we be content with what is and embrace this moment without expecting it to be something greater?

This week I have been thinking a lot about contentment and how different people find their own meaning of this word in their lives. Often at night before I rest my eyes to sleep, I will reflect upon the day events and say a prayer to God and being thankful for three to five things in my day.

Even if it has been more of a challenging day I will make sure I find moments or situations from the day that were simple but special. When I do this at the end of my day, I close my eyes with a light of thankfulness in my spirit.

A few days ago I came home and was not in the best of moods. I went to check my mailbox and there was a package from my mom.

Right now she is in Japan for two weeks. I am used to talking with her every few days so I have been missing our regular phone conversations. I got an e-mail saying that she is having a wonderful time and wished she did more traveling when she was younger. She hates to fly so I think it’s wonderful she went on this trip.

I was about to do my practice and thought I would wait to open the present. I usually cry when she sends me things and wanted to avoid any tears at that moment. But the child in my couldn’t hold back and was eager to see what she sent me. There was a beautiful necklace that she had made for me and a card with a loving message in it.

As soon as I started reading the card, the tears surfaced. At the end of the card she wrote: “Life is sure strange but beautiful. Think of yourself first. Your path is your own…no one else’s. I think of you every day. Love Mom. xo xo”

My mother has always been my best friend and the closest person to me. A mother’s words are so tender, so loving, so true. They always know just what to say.

I had no idea she sent this before she left but it came at exactly the right moment when I needed to hear a comforting whisper of her words.

This past week, I have been returning to being content with all that is in my life instead of what is not there. Like the path of yoga, contentment doesn’t just happen. It is a seed planted inside your emotional psyche and with time and your own consciousness, you let this seed produce more seeds in each area of your life.

Eventually all of these seeds begin to grow and flowers are produced from these baby seeds.

I like to think of these flowers as a symbol of contentment blossoming in many gardens of your life. You may not always be aware enough to see the new flower or your senses may not instantly inhale the sweet fragrance of the flower; but when you are ready to see and smell these flowers, a grace and loving openness arises to be with what is. Then I believe our natural state of bliss is enjoyment of this garden that is your life.

This was not at all what I was going to write about, but when I sit down to share with all of you, there are weeks where my fingers begin to type and they have their own agenda. If you get a moment, it would be great to hear your own celebration of contentment in your life right now in this moment. If you are inspired to share with all of us….Please do.

Harlan and I are off to Fort Lauderdale for the Omega yoga conference for 4 days. I am studying with some teachers that I have never studied with before so I will let you know what it is like.

Blessings to you all

Health, love and happiness

Sara

Harv Eker

Two years ago, Harv Eker hired me to get his book Secrets of A Millionaire Mind on the NY Times best seller list. In a well orchestrated campaign, we got his book to the top of the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Best Seller Lists (as well as Amazon and Barnes and Nobel too.)

In order to understand Harv's teachings better, I attended several of his trainings. One teaching of his stayed with me.

A lot of yoga teachers won't like this teaching. They will say it violates the yamas or the niyamas. But, as Alexander Pope once said, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread..."

A lot of yoga teachers aren't doing very well financially. They can't pay their bills. They have to hold down a "real job" in order to make ends meet so they can teach yoga - the job they really love.

But when I talk to them about making more money as a yoga teacher they answer, "Money isn't important."

Harv talks about this quite often. The following is an excerpt from one of Harv's talks:

Harv: They justify their situation by saying to someone, well, you know, money’s not that important. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever said that your husband or you wife or your boyfriend or girlfriend wasn’t that important? Would they be around for very long? I don’t think so and neither would what?

Audience: The money.

Harv: Neither would what? Neither would money. You know, it’s very interesting. People say that all the time, they come to me at my three-day seminar and they’ll go, Harv, money’s not that important.

I go, “You’re broke, aren’t you?”

And they go, well right now, I’m a little short. No, not right now. Always, you’ve always been broke. Yes or yes? And, they go babbling.

Of course they’re broke. If you didn’t think that having a motorcycle in your driveway was important, would you buy one, would you have one? Of course not. If you didn’t think having a pet parrot was important, would you buy one, would you have one? Of course not. If you don’t think money is real important, would you have any? Of course not.

Yoga teachers have to examine their beliefs about money. Because it is their beliefs that are keeping them where they are.

Incidentally, I notice the most popular yoga teachers are not struggling with money or paying their bills.

Does this mean they aren't spiritual or paying attention to their yamas or niyamas?

Or is spirituality just an excuse for immobility?

Our October Newsletter

We expect to ship our newsletter next week. Our interview with Karen Moss, a studio owner in Memphis, is just awesome. If you are even remotely considering opening a yoga studio, you need this newsletter.

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