Welcome to the Yoga Church Sunday Sermons.

January 13, 2019

Have you noticed that we’re often in a hurry in January? I don’t mean the kind of rushing-from-thing-to-thing that can happen in December. I’m talking about an internal sense of hurriedness.

It’s the beginning of a New Year and we want to feel a sense of newness within ourselves. We want change in our lives and we want it quickly.

But transformation is a slow process. A slow becoming. As writer Christine Valters Paintner says:

“Transformation is a slow journey; in fact, conversion teaches us that it’s the journey of a lifetime. We are never done. We continue to unfold and grow and stretch and change.”

Back in September I offered you a sermon called “Transformation Begins with Deep Noticing.”

I love this title. It’s something I say A LOT. But I just re-read the sermon and was struck by a different idea…

The sermon could be called “Transformation Begins with an Inkling.”

But here’s why the first title is the right one: We have to pause long enough to NOTICE the inkling. We have to stop the rush toward “self-improvement” and listen to the yearning of our heart.

In the sermon I say:

“Everything is changing moment to moment to moment. But how is it changing? How are we changing? Whether you realize it or not, every moment of your life is taking you in one of two directions. You are either deepening your habit patterns or you are opening up to something new.”

Life is a series of small decisions and actions that accumulate over the course of our lives and create the shape of who we are always becoming.

So… as we move into the middle of January, I invite you to slow down. I invite you to remember that change takes time and that transformation is a lifelong journey. I invite you to re-watch this sermon and to contemplate:

• the yearning of your heart
• and the direction your current decisions and actions are taking you in.

Click here for the original sermon page, which includes audio, transcript, reflection questions, and community comments.

Did you know that years ago my Yoga for Transformation course started as a 12-hour workshop? We met Saturday mornings for 6-weeks.

But the longer I’ve studied the science of transformation, the more I’ve come to understand the slow, intentional nature of this work. Change takes time.

And so my course is now a year long, and every student gets lifetime access (because we never really finish this kind of deep work).

There’s no rushing in this course. There’s no goal to be achieved. There’s study and practice and community.

And, I hope there’s you!

Have you signed up yet?

LET’S TALK!

We all benefit from the wisdom of spiritual community. And community means more than one voice, so please add yours to the conversation.