As I started up my car the radio came on and I heard a voice on the radio say "Just try it." He paused and I wondered what he was encouraging people to try.  He continued, "Just try not being in debt. You can always go back to being in debt if you want to."  Most of us would probably respond in our heads with why would someone want to remain in debt? But acknowledging that old or "bad" habits are tough to break, I can understand that fear would be the next emotion to rise. But what caught my attention was the last part; the part where he reassured that one could always go back to the habit if they wanted. It seemed...comforting.

I also thought it was clever because that made the idea of change sound more interesting, like a challenge.  We all know debt is bad for us, smoking is bad for us, fast food is bad for us...the list is probably endless.  We experience fear in knowing we cannot have what we want or what we are used to. But the permission to go back to the old way if the new way is not acceptable seems somehow to make the initial attempt at change easier.


It's like variations given in yoga.  I will offer a pose and say this is option A. If you would like to add on to the pose, here is option B.  If you aren't sure option B is for you, you can always try it and, if it doesn't feel right, go back to option A.  Without adding that last part, here's what I anticipate occurring.  People afraid of change, trying new things or questioning their abilities will stay with Option A. People who feel they have to go bigger and harder will take option B...and they will stay there even if it isn't okay with their body. Ah, but if you give permission to sample a taste of option B and go back to A if it doesn't meet their culinary standards of the day, they are more likely to do what is best for them. And we experience ahimsa on the mat.

We all know we can try new things but somehow permission to try and retreat is more palatable.

I found this quote online this morning that I taped to my computer, "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic." -Unknown

Here's the thing- don't wait for someone randomly speaking on the radio to give you permission to try change.  We can gift ourselves that all by ourselves.

Gina Greenlee wrote, “What would happen if you gave yourself permission to do something you’ve never done before? There’s only one way to find out.” 

The root form of Tara comes from tri meaning to cross; Tara helps people cross the "Ocean of Existence and Suffering. " She is depicted in 21 different colorful forms but she is most often recognized as White Tara and Green Tara.  "There are innumerable manifestations of Tara, as many as beings require" (abuddhistlibrary.com)


'Some have a vision of you (Tara) as red as the sun with rays
more brilliant and red than the lac and the vermilion. Others see you blue like the sapphire. Some again see you whiter than the milk churned out of the milky ocean. Still others see you golden.  Your visva-rupa is like a crystal which changes its color with  the change of the things around it.'"  -- Arya-Tara-sragdhara-stotra
 
Like most mythological stories, there are many tales regarding her existence.  The first one portrays Tara as a princess who compassionately offers prayers to the monks and nuns. Because of this, the monks tell her they will pray she is reborn a man so she can offer Buddha's teachings.

There is also the story that she was born of Avalokitesvara's tears. When he saw the suffering in the world his compassionate tears rolled down both sides of his face. One tear turned into White Tara and the other, Green Tara. Another version of this story is that Tara first appeared in a lotus in the lake created by Avalokitesvara's tears.  She is again offered the idea of changing to a man's human form to which she replies:

(Translation by David Templeman of the "Origin of the Tara Tantra" by Jo-Nan Taranatha (b. 1575))

TARA'S VOW
Long ago in an age before which
there was nothing else,
the Victorious One, the Tathagata Dundubhisvara
came into existence and was known as the Light
of the Various Worlds.
The Princess "Moon of Wisdom"
had the highest respect for his teaching,
and for ten million, one hundred thousand years,
made offerings to this Enlightened One,
to his attendant Sravakas,
and to countless members of the Sangha of Bodhisattvas.
The offerings she prepared each day
were in value comparable to all the precious things
which filled a distance of twelve yojanas
in each of the ten directions,
leaving no intermediate spaces unfilled.
Finally after all this
she awoke to the first concepts of Bodhi-Mind.
At that time some monks said to her:
"It is as a result of these,
your roots of virtuous actions,
that you have come into being in this female form.
If you pray that your deeds accord with the teachings,
then indeed on that account you will change your form
to that of a man, as is befitting."
After much discourse she finally replied,
"In this life there is no such distinction
as "male" and "female,"
neither of "self-identity,"
a "person"
nor any perception,
and therefore attachment to ideas
of "male" and "female"
is quite worthless.
The weak-minded are always deluded by this."
And so she vowed:
"There are many who wish to gain enlightenment
in a man's form,
and there are but few who wish to work
for the welfare of living beings
in a female form.
Therefore may I, in a female body,
work for the welfare of beings
right until Samsara has been emptied."
White Tara promotes peace while Green Tara is protective of the earth. Green Tara, a protectress, sits with her right leg extended, a symbol she is always ready to jump into action for those who need her. She helps overcome obstacles. White Tara has 7 eyes, two on her face, a third eye, and one on each hand and foot so she can better see psychically all of the suffering in the world for she is a deity of compassion.

Tara is also referred to as "Tara of the Turned Face".  The story is as follows:
"An elderly woman who was a sculptor worked in a city where there was a large Buddhist temple called the Mahabodhi (Great Wisdom). She sculpted a statue of the goddess Tara and built a shrine to house it. Upon completing the project she was filled with regret when she realized that she had not considered the placement of the shrine. "Oh no," she thought, "Tara has her back to the Mahabodhi and that isn't right!"
Then she heard the sculpture speak to her, saying "If you are unhappy, I will look toward the Mahabodhi." As the woman watched in amazement, the door of the shrine and the image of the goddess Tara both turned to face the Temple."  (story from Taranatha's "Golden Rosary")


 
Tibetan Homage to the Innumerable Manifestations of Tara from the Peking Tangyur

I bow to the Body of Tara who saves from the eight fears.
I bow to the Body of Tara of infinite fame.
I bow to the Body of Tara, the world's benefactor.
I bow to the Body of Tara, sure curer of sorrow.
I bow to the Body of Tara
of a thousand hands and eyes.
I bow to the Body of Tara
infinite as space.
I bow to the Body of Tara
adorned with the Marks and the Signs.
I bow to the Body of Tara
whose limbs are like the moon.
I bow to the Body of Tara
who is as bright as the sun.
I bow to the Body of Tara
unchanging in the three times.
I bow to the Body of Tara supporting like earth.
I bow to the Body of Tara cohering like water.
I bow to the Body of Tara ripening like fire.
I bow to the Body of Tara expanding like air.
I bow to the Body of Tara
who is the Sovereign of Doctors.
I bow to the Body of Tara
subduing disease like medicine.
I bow to the Body of Tara
the river of compassion.
I bow to the Body of Tara
skilled in means like taming.
I bow to the Body of Tara
lovely yet free of desire
I bow to the Body of Tara
who teaches the Way of Freedom.

 
Tara's mantra is Om tare tuttare ture svaha.   Hail to Tara!

 There was a large German Shepherd chasing the 12 year old boy down the street or maybe there were two growling beasts.  There really were as many dogs as the boy wanted to say.  Regardless, I found him sitting in the grass by the street holding his bleeding leg while his friend stood by.  I asked my husband to pull the car over so I could get out and see if the boy was okay.  He had a large area under his knee where skin had been replaced by blood and he was holding his foot where each toe had been skinned and was bleeding too. His flip flop lay in the street and I went to set it beside us in the grass. His bike also lay in the street and I pulled that to safety as well. As I sat down beside him to assess wounds and offer comforting words, I called his mom to come.  I made casual conversation with the boys to distract the one on the ground from his war wounds.  We talked about school and going to the pool and how girls love hearing a sad story, and how he came to be all scratched up.  It felt like some ten minutes we sat there, my hand resting on his back for some motherly comfort. We had never met before and he sat bravely. I could sense my husband and son's faces occasionally peering from the car window...
 
You may have heard of Paul Harvey, a radio talk show broadcaster from the 1950's-1990's.  He would purposely weave his stories with important names and facts missing so that he could draw you in and build you up to hear the conclusion. Before he would get to his point, he would famously utter, "And now for the rest of the story".
 
And, so for the rest of my story.
 
I found the boy, as I said, along the side of the road holding his leg and foot which were both bleeding. As we waited for his mom to arrive with towels and band-aids, I tried to distract him from his leg. I saw the fallen bike, the lone flip flop and a skateboard and asked what had happened. He said he fell off the skateboard. I said for all that blood you should make up a fabulous story when your friends ask what happened...like there was this huge German Shepherd chasing you down the street. He laughed. That's when I noticed one elbow was bleeding, his other arm and a shoulder. I said, "Wow, you really did a good job!  Forget one German Shepherd...I think there were two!!"
 
His mom drove up and I left them then to get back in the car where my husband and son were waiting to head out to dinner.  They said, "You're such a mom."  And I said, "Yep."
 
Marie Ray wrote, "“Begin doing what you want to do now. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand, and melting like a snowflake.”
 
Your life is the story you create; make it a great one! Omit the growling German Shepherds and write in fairy Godmothers and magic wands.  Live your life to the fullest day by day. Use a lot of adjectives.  Depict your sweet life as a homemade out-of-the-oven melt-in-your-mouth donut, its chocolate glaze disappearing over the edges.  Your sweetness, your story, your truth.  Occasionally, there is no harm in splurging by adding sprinkles.  My sprinkles were the German Shepherds.

Abundance checks touch upon the Law of  Abundance as well as a bit Feng Shui and Astrology.  They are similar to vision boards in that you are putting "out there" what it is you intend to manifest and receive.  Tomorrow, July 4, is a New Moon and it is on the New Moon dates that the energy of the moon is the strongest; that is when you want to plant new seeds, new ideas, and write those Abundance checks.

Ideally, within the next 24 hours, you need to write out your check and, with intention and gratitude, place that check somewhere special...I'll give you some ideas!  (Of course, you can write your check after the 24 period of the start of the New Moon, but you miss out on the time period when the energy is the strongest.)

Where do I get an Abundance Check?
            You can use a blank check from your own checkbook or simply Google "Abundance Check and go to images for quite an array of checks.

What do I do with the check?
Where it says "Pay to" write your name.
In the amount box, either write an amount to realistically can attain within the time period you set or write PAID IN FULL.
Where you write out the dollar amount write “paid in full”. Sign the checks with “The Law of Abundance” and include “thank you” under.
For the date, you can leave it blank, allow it to expire before the next New moon (August  2) or date it into the future.
You can leave the memo space blank or write in what the abundance relates to; for example, I might write "Yoga Teachings".
Sign the check "Law of Abundance" or "The Universe".  Make sure to write "Thank you" underneath the signature.

What do I do with my check once written?
There are some ranging schools of thought on this one but choose the one that resonates with you the most.  You can: put the check somewhere special, put it in plain sight, keep it in your wallet, put in the far left corner of the house (as you are looking in), put in uppermost far left corner, put on North side of house or put in Southeast corner (though this corner relates more to job/career).

Is there anything else I can or should do when I place my check somewhere?
You could add affirmations like "I am worthy to and open to receiving abundance".
Add crystals known for prosperity such as Aventurine, Tiger's Eye and Citrine.
Light a green candle symbolizing abundance.
Call upon Lakshmi, the Hindu deity of Abundance or even chant her mantra: Om shreem maha Lakshmie namaha.
Express gratitude daily.

What do I do with the check if I decide to write one for each New Moon?
You need to respectfully release the energy of the check when you are ready to do so, preferably, by burning or burying it. Do not tear or shred your check as this symbolizes shredding one's dreams. (Though I have seen websites site this as a possibility...up to you!)

The next New Moons for 2016 are:
July 4, August 2, Sept. 1, Oct. 1, Oct. 30, Nov. 29, Dec. 29

"Abundance is not a number or acquisition. It is the simple recognition of enoughness."          Alan Cohen

"Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."  Lao Tzu