Posts In: live fully

by Olivia Hughes

The Sun Does Shine

by Anthony Ray Hinton

Summary: This equally powerful and gut-wrenching true story is about Anthony Hinton who was falsely convicted (through mistaken identity) of a murder he did not commit. He lived on death row for almost 30 years before being released in 2015.

Hinton is an amazing storyteller and his book is hard to put down; it made me laugh and cry all at once. Similar to Nelson Mandela, Hinton even with his adverse circumstances found true peace and forgiveness. Hinton could have focused only on himself, but he was able to help 54 men find their own peace before being executed. Hinton’s inner transformation that then rippled through out the jail is an incredible testimony to the resiliency of the human spirit.

Hinton emerged from this experience more inspired and purposeful then ever. He now travels the United States promoting prison reform and visiting inmates to discuss the power of forgiveness.

Why I Love It: In addition to being emotionally impactful, The Sun Does Shine also exposes the failings of our justice system and advocates for prison reform –  something, as a society, I believe we should talk more and do more about. We need to be held accountable for how we treat one another. I’m inspired every time I hear a story where justice and truth prevail. Stories like Hinton’s, someone who had every reason to be bitter about life but chose the opposite, remind me how I want to live my own life.

The theme of forgiveness also struck a chord with me because practicing forgiveness, specifically self-forgiveness, has been the single greatest tool I have used in my personal healing and development. I now offer forgiveness workshops where we employ these powerful words, “I forgive myself for…” Try it! I hope it serves you.

Recommended For: Anyone who wants to be inspired to live fully right now, no matter their life circumstances. There is so much we can learn from those who have suffered yet still participate whole-heartedly in life. We are all one – and the more we can believe it, act like it, and share it, the better. In this book, the underdog rises to the top, love leads the way, and justice wins. This book will give you all the feels! It doesn’t get any better than that.

“An urgent, emotional memoir from one of the longest-serving condemned death row inmates to be found innocent in America… A heart-wrenching yet ultimately hopeful story about truth, justice, and the need for criminal justice reform.” – Kirkus, starred review

Olivia Hughes
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.

by Monique Minahan

At yoga recently the teacher suggested this intention for our practice:

I will not take things personally.

This didn’t really resonate with me, so I chose an intention that rang more true to me:

I will take things personally.

As in, I will get up close and personal with my dreams, my loves, my life and my fears. I will smell their sweat and place their sticky cheek next to mine and breathe in their outbreath. I will inhabit every ounce of this human body as I rest in the hammock of being and awareness that holds it up.

I sometimes get the sense in the yoga world we’re all trying to detach and be perfectly balanced, enlightened beings. I’m all for enlightenment, but in striving for that perfect state we can miss a lot of wonderful imperfection along the way because we consider it “in the way.”

For a long time I approached my practice and my life as if it were in the way of where I was going. I wanted to get “there” because getting there seemed to mean I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. I envisioned a state of being where stress wouldn’t sway me, family wouldn’t bother me, loss wouldn’t shake me, and life wouldn’t hurt me.

What I was doing was detaching from my reality and skipping out on my own life. I was missing the point Peter Rhodes makes when he says:

“We make a mistake when we wait for heaven, wait for enlightenment, wait for change. It is not going to happen in the future. It is happening. It is within our experience. Now is the time.”

Yoga and meditation are tools that help us distinguish the two and bring a quality of awareness to our lives so that we don’t suffer unnecessarily. It is just so easy to use these valuable tools to bypass what’s happening right now, what’s living and thriving in our bones and bodies and lives right now; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Life is not always love and light. Sometimes it’s pain and darkness. They are the two poles of life that together light up our lives as the full experience it is.

It’s easy to fall into a practice of seeking enlightenment on a mountain top while the everyday enlightenment passes us by. Lorin Roche reminds us of this in The Radiance Sutras:

Wherever, whenever you feel carried away,
Rejoicing in every breath,
There, there is your meditation hall.
Cherish those times of absorption—
Rocking the baby in the silence of the night
Pouring water into a crystal glass
Tending the logs in the crackling fire
Sharing a meal with a circle of friends.
Embrace these pleasures and know,
This is my true body.
Nowhere is more holy than this.
Right here is the sacred pilgrimage.

I’m so grateful to that yoga teacher for her offering and for sharing an intention that was relevant in her life. It helped shed light on my own process and revealed to me an intention that has been marinating in me all year.

I will take things personally. I will live life fully. I will love more than ever before.

Monique Minahan
Contributing Writer

Mo is a writer and yoga teacher who believes in peace over happiness and love over fear. She likes to set her sights high and then take small steps to get there. You’ll find her walking the dirt path behind her house with her little fluffy dog, practicing walking her talk by keeping her head high and her heart open. 

Read more from Monique on her blog, mindfulmo.com