Living the Wisdom of Yoga in Modern Times

Walking on The Razor's Edge

 

The spiritual path has
been called “walking on the razor’s edge.”
Walk carefully. The higher you go, the
more delicate your walking has to be-Swami Amar Jyoti

Being on the spiritualpath requires much diligence. It normally results in the aspirant living and thinking drastically different then those around them. The work of self inquiry results in changes in how the world is viewed that translate into actions. These actions are not often viewed positively.

Those who live their lives driven by ego, feel threatened in the presence of those who are breaking the chains of self limiting thought. You learn truly what it means to be " in the world but not of it" as Jesus states in The Bible.

Jesus, in he Bible, is a great example of living on the razors edge. It didn't matter how many people he healed, he still created enemies everywhere he went and was ultimately killed. In the end, he was resurrected, and received the ultimate fruits of walking this path and gifted it to others, but it didn't come without a certain degree of seemingly negative events.

At some point on the spiritual path, you learn about the connectedness and oneness of all mankind. There are other people walking on the edge with you and you are never alone.

 

 

 

Cure For Boredom and Recessions

Boredom is born out of complexities and having too many things. The more things we have—engagements, appointments, entertainments—the more the boredom. Have you ever asked yourself why this is so? In the old days, enjoyments came from people, animals, birds and nature, and they never complained of boredom. They didn’t have TV, movies, fast modes of communication or modern technology. The disease of boredom is more in civilized societies actually. The question is: are we using these things rightly or wrongly? Is our way of living healthy or unhealthy? Are we more civilized with complexities and busyness or would we be better off with simplicity, relaxation and peace? 
      We can have peace and joy in one day if we simplify our minds. Whether you get rid of your accumulated things or not is immaterial. The mind has to be simplified so that it does not trouble you. I think entertainment is escapism, avoiding the main issue. Or put it differently: entertainment is a pale reflection of the inner joy you are seeking. If your mind is on your ideal, I don’t think you need entertainment. This is a new perspective but contemplate it and you will see the truth of it. Focus on your Goal and see if you don’t get joy-Swami Amar Jyoti

 

 I agree with the above quote that we have lost our ability to be happy with simple things but I want to add to it.Inability to be content leads to more then just boredom. It also lead to this insatiable greed and materialism that has plunged our country into a recession. We want more, more, more. We feel we never have enough. We have to have the biggest, newest, baddest thing out there. Our economy is based on debt and legal tender that is not even backed up by gold. We want things so bad, we print words on pieces of paper, call it cash, and use it to buy these temporary baubles that can never bring us true happiness.

Printing more money so that we can have stimulus checks is a band aid. A global shift away from this need for acquiring more things and accumulating more money by any means necessary is what is needed.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Leave a comment.

Pain Body Attack

    

So lately, I have been having these pain body attacks. The pain body is a term coined by Eckhart Tolle in the book A New Earth and it is defined as

        Any negative emotion that is not fully faced and seen for what it is in the moment it arises does not completely dissolve. It leaves behind a remnant of pain. ... This energy field of old but still very-much-alive emotion that lives in almost every human being is the pain-body. (pp.141-142)

The pain body latches on to things that are impermanent and often arises when youtry to heighten your consciousness. Historically people have used images of the devil sitting on one shoulder and an angel sitting on the other. The pain body is that little devil on your shoulder. The voice that brings you down when you are so desperately wanting to move up.

It is often very deceptive though. The arguments being presented by the pain body often appears to be logical. It takes alertness and constant self study to recognize it.

Back to my pain body attacks. I noticed that I had a couple of nightmares where I woke up with this strong fear of death and sorrow over impermanence.  I rarely have nightmares so I started to think about what had been different over the past few days. I realized that the nightmares came each night after I would read The Instruction by Ainslie McLeod.  The book is about discovering your life's purpose and I will probably write about it at some point.

I realized it was my pain bodies reaction to reading the book. It was threatened by  the information being presented and I was having these nightmares that brought up these fears of my mortality. This is not the first time I have had this reaction while reading spiritually oriented books.

The key to progressing past these unfaced negative emotions is to acknowledge them for what they are. When you identify them, they began to lose their power and lose their hold on your psyche and everyday life. Resist the urge to fight them because what you resist persists.  You just recognize them, watch them and eventually they fade away. You dig deeper and find a purer place from which you act. One that is real and not  moved by the fluctuations of life around it.

Hopefully , I will not have these dreams anymore, but since I have identified the source, I will not allow myself to get overtaken by the feelings of fear that follow these dreams. I can began to see them as the illusion that they really are.

 

 

Light of Consciousness

There is a great magazine I have discovered called Light of Consciousness. It has uplifting articles designed to expand consciousness. Great resources for yoga teachers looking for sutras to share with their students and for people who can't get enough of studying spiritual texts such as myself. Unfortunately the website does not feature any of the articles from the magazine but there are a few satsangs I will share with you. I bought the magazine at a bookstore. It was either Barnes and Nobles or Books A Million.

I am not saying I agree with everything there, but I do welcome spiritual diversity and am open to learning about different beliefs and view points.

The link below will take you to a list of satsangs or spiritual teachings. The magazine is packed full of stuff like this. it is not one of those magazines you can read in an hour or two. The articles require some introspection. Good thing it is only released 4 times a year or it would be overwhelming. On that same page, you will see a button for subscribing. This page should keep you busy for awhile enjoy.

http://light-of-consciousness.org/lightofconsciousness/LOC_Satsangs.html

Yoga Grandma

This article has been circulating around about this 83 year old yogi who still does arm balances. It is so amazing what good living can do for you.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1172810/The-yoga-supergran-bend-backwards-age-83.html

Stop Looking

I have wrote in the past about living in the present moment and non-grasping. Below are some videos that touch on this subject by teacher Gangaji.

Marketing Yoga

I just wanted to share a great article from Yoga Journal about Marketing yoga. Let me know what you think. Do you have any yoga marketing tips?

http://www.yogajournal.com/for_teachers/2615

Adyashanti

I wanted to share some videos with you from spiritual teacher Adyashanti. I really resonate with his views on spirituality.

This video talks about the concept of happiness unattached to events or circumstances which he calls causeless happiness.

In the second video, he talks about the inner Guru, defines the term "awakening" and talks about the impermanence of all life experiences.

The third video is about how we should stop striving for enlightenment because it is inevitable that we will get it.

Are Your Friends Hindering Your Growth?

"If you're the smartest person in your group....you need a new group"-Steve Harvey

This wonderful quote was sent to me today by my lovely friend Erica and it went hand and hand with the concept of sauca that I was reading about in the sutras. Sauca, defined as cleanliness and purity, includes not just your body but also your mind and environment.

In grade school, I used to laugh when adults talked about peer pressure. They would use dramatic examples of friends offering you cigarettes, drugs and sex. I thought it was fabricated to further control how I lived and what I did with my life.

The problems with after school specials and marijuana commercials is that real life situations are usually not so blatant. It was really never about your friends offering the marijuana. The simple act of being in their presence normalized the behavior and left the kids saying "well, it must not be that bad."

Fast forwarding to my adult years, I realize that I am still a victim of peer pressure and it is even more subtle then I thought. Simply being in the energy of others can greatly effect your spiritual growth. Everyone has that friend, relative or co-worker that leaves you feeling drained after even a five minute conversation. You know, that aunt you dread calling because she is going to spend 30 minutes talking about her awful bunions and the bills she cannot pay on her crappy fixed income. That friend who has been with the same sorry guy for 2 years and calls you every few days to yet again complain about the same stupid things. The boss who hates their life and are so desperately trying to make you hate yours.

To live a clean life, you have to surround yourself with those who seek to uplift you and spend less time with those who don't. There are only a few people on the planet whose energy is strong enough to be in the presence of negativity for long periods of time. Maybe Eckhart Tolle, Amma or Mooji. I am sure that even they don't want to be around it.

I like Steve Harvey's quote because it reminds me that I should be constantly learning and growing. By hanging with people with a different point of view and knowledge on subjects that are foreign to me, I myself will grow and foster a clean environment.

Bhakti Fest

 

 

BHAKTI  FEST 2009

                                         September  11-13, 2009       

                        Joshua Tree, California

 

3 Days of Kirtan - Yoga - Meditation

    Bodywork - Celebration & Fire Ceremonies

With Spiritual Friends, Teachers, Yogis

   Healers, Musicians and Artists

It would be awesome if I could go to this  but maybe I can live vicariously through you. Some of my favorite kirtan singers like Jai Uttal and Sean Johnson are going to be there. They will also have popular spiritual leaders like Deepak Chopra and yoga teachers like Shiva Rea.

For more information: go to http://www.westcoastkirtanyogafestival.com/