Welcome back to the show, and welcome to a brand-new week of reflection, presence, and practice. Today, Jeff takes a moment to revisit how My Daily Thread came to be—a project born not just from an idea, but from lived experience, spiritual curiosity, and a deep yearning for integration.
The story begins in 2003, on Jeff’s second trip to India. He travelled to Mysore, a city known worldwide as a hub for the physical practice of yoga, to study the Āṣṭāṅga Yoga posture system as taught by the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. At the time, Jeff was working as a critical care paramedic—a role that demanded everything: mind, body, and spirit. The stress of that job carved out a need, a yearning for healing, and the physical āsana practice became a sanctuary. It offered the complete package—a sense of union across all levels of being.
But while in India, Jeff noticed something striking. The locals didn’t equate yoga with elaborate posture sequences. Instead, they associated yoga more with dhyāna—meditation. This gap between Western and traditional Indian understandings of yoga sparked a deeper inquiry. Jeff was led to study with Dr. M.A. Jayashree, a scholar matriarch, and her cousin Narasimhan, a direct disciple of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Under their guidance, he began chanting the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali and diving into the philosophical richness that underpins the practice. The journey moved from the mat into the mind and heart, into the subtle realm of inner knowing.
This was the real beginning of the daily thread: the recognition that the teachings must be anchored into now. That yoga is not just something we do, but a way of being, moment by moment. As the Gnostic Gospel of St. Thomas reminds us, “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.” The heart of this teaching is yogic—it points us inward, urging us to live from the quiet depths of our own puruṣa, our inner Seer.
So here we are today, trying to live more fully and expansively in each moment. Bringing our awareness into the ratnamālā—the garland of moments strung together into a beautiful tapestry we call life. This is My Daily Thread: the practice of showing up with attention, presence, and intention.
When we do this—when we draw the light of awareness inward—we also begin to radiate that light outward. We find clarity, peace, and a sense of connectedness. And from that grounded place, we become a source of peace for others.
We hope this resonates with you, and that this week you too can pull your awareness inward, anchor yourself in the present, and begin threading your own daily moments into something beautiful.