365 Inspirations—38: The Unknown (The Art of Uncertainty by Dennis Merritt Jones)

"Those stuck in the no-zone are held there in part by their habit energy and have not a clue of the unforetold opportunities that lie ahead in the mystery of that which is yet to be."—Dennis Merritt Jones

We are creatures of habit and tend to do the same things over and over again. Sometimes we don't even realize it. Why? Because it's safe and comfortable. Nothing wrong with that.

But if we never stretch out of the box of "what we already know," we don't grow.

Moving into the unknown is scary, but I believe even in our comfort zone, we cannot predict what will happen in the next moment, so why not make the unknown our new comfort zone.

I'm reading a book called The Art of Uncertainty: How to Live in the Mystery of Life and Love It  by Dennis Merritt Jones. I've gotten so much from this book. It made me realize that from very early on in our childhood we start to believe certain things about ourselves based on how we grew up and on our surroundings. Often we accept certain things about ourselves based on our history and never challenge these ideas or opinions.

Things like I've always been overweight, I'm not so smart or I'm not good at math are just some examples of beliefs we have about ourselves. Many people accept these labels or ideas about themselves and instead of challenging them, just keep reinforcing that these are true.

The mystery of life says that we can be and do anything we want. Do you believe it?

It takes so much courage to believe this and to step out into the vast, unchartered unknown and to create something new for ourselves.

Merritt takes the "comfort zone" a bit further claiming that much of society lives in what is called "the no-zone".

He says, "Those stuck in the no-zone are held there in part by their habit energy and have not a clue of the unforetold opportunities that lie ahead in the mystery of that which is yet to be."

He continues, "To transcend the no-zone-layer requires being fully awake and connected to life in the moment, thriving each new day, knowing who you are, and knowing that what you do with who you are matters to you and the world."

He also says that to transcend the no-zone requires three things: clarifying your intentions, getting your bearings and taking action.

It's easy to take our lives for granted and just expect everything to be as we expect it to be day after day. Superficially, it appears that we know what is going on. The truth is, things are changing every single second.

Our lives are unknown. This is the truth. Rather than being afraid of this, I'd like to embrace it and make the unknown my new comfort zone. I want to live in the mystery of life and love it just as the book's title reads. Every single day is a blessing and I can't wait to see what is around the corner! I want to try new things and stretch out of my box. How about you?

Are you afraid of the unknown? Do you believe you can do and be anything you want to do and be?

ON TOUR: Book Review in Shambhala Sun and a Yoga/Writing Retreat in Sedona

So I'm not technically ON TOUR anymore, but there are some tour stops coming up on the horizon. I think the next one may be Phoenix, Arizona in October, but I'll keep you posted on that. It's been a busy week, but somehow I got through it. I've got so many projects and ideas on all burners. I can't share yet, because they are sort of half-baked, but I will soon. I can share some other news though.

Yesterday I was feeling a bit tired after work and my husband suggested that we go take a 3-mile walk around Greenlake. When the weather is nice in Seattle, you really don't want to miss out. So after our walk, I wanted to stop by PCC, our local grocery store, to get a Kombucha, some red grapes and check if the latest issue of Shambhala Sun was on the magazine stand yet. Lo and behold, it was. I picked it up and began flipping through it. Mind Waves on Page 39 caught my eye. How curious that Shambhala had decided to reprint an excerpt from Shunryu Suzuki's book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. It was one of the first books I read about meditation and I mentioned it in my book, Lessons from the Monk I Married. I continued flipping through the pages and there is was!

A review of my book was on page 83 of the September 2012 issue of Shambhala Sun and it was a good one! Here's a little taste of the review:

"Lessons from the Monk I Married is travel writing at its best. It takes us deep into another culture while documenting a profound inner journey."

Well, I have to say, it was the perfect ending to my day!

In other news, we are gearing up for another yoga/writing retreat October 25-28 in Sedona, Arizona!

We had twenty participants on our last yoga/writing retreat at The Yoga Lodge on Whidbey Island, WA and excellent feedback, so we've decided to carry on with these. If you are interested in joining us on this retreat, please contact my husband Yoon at info@yoonsyogabliss.com. The retreat is filling up and we are offering 20% off if you register before August 15th (The poster says July 30th, but we've extended it). That date is fast approaching, so don't miss out on this great deal.

Yoga and writing are the perfect combination, in my opinion. Yoga helps one to go inward and often that is where we find our best writing.

Best writing has nothing to do with being perfect, it has to do with uncovering and discovering what we are meant to do and/or meant to write and share. On our last retreat, not everyone who attended was a yogi or a writer. That was not so important. But by the end of the retreat it was clear that everyone had gotten in touch with a deeper part of themselves. They had new clarity on the direction they wanted to take and yoga, writing and collaging were tools we used to get us there.

On this retreat coming up, we get the added beauty of Sedona, Arizona—red rocks, a labyrinth, a sky full of more stars than you knew existed, a full moon, beautiful fall weather, hikes to several vortexes, river wading, organic vegetarian meals, meditation....and of course yoga and writing! I can't wait and I hope to see you there!

I'm going to really try and post once a week! Read here for all my posts on yoga and here for posts on writing.