Solve the Mystery, Win Enlightenment

What Do You Call _____?

Spirit. The Universe. Creator. I Am. God. Krishna. The Divine. Yahweh. Allah. Prime mover. King of Kings. Lord. Father/Mother. Absolute Being. One.

I know someone who believes in God but doesn't like to use that name because of negative experiences with religion from childhood. This is what the quote above alludes to.

As you can see, I found quite a few more names...

100th Post - The Rules for Being Human (from ancient Sanskrit)

Much to meditate on...

Let It Go

Has Your Mud Settled?

I find myself using this phrase a lot here: "It's easier with yoga and meditation." 

Perhaps I should trademark it. (I jest, of course.)

Or maybe I should use the acronym IEWYAM. 

A bit awkward and unwieldy.

End of digression. 

"Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?"

After reading this, I'm sure we'll all do a lot better at it now.

Fear = False Evidence Appearing Real

 

Watch this guru's video (96 seconds) to learn how we are gripped by fear... and how we can dispel it.

Hint: our overactive imagination tends to create negative future possibilities that don't exist, or we will mis-remember something from our past, shackling us to a negatively dominating interpretation of an event that already occurred.

Here are some more helpful fear acronyms:

F.E.A.R. = Forget Everything and Run
F.E.A.R. = Fighting Ego Against Reality
F.E.A.R. = Forgetting Everything's All Right
F.E.A.R. = For Everything A Reason
F.E.A.R. = Frustration, Ego, Anxiety, Resentment
F.E.A.R. = Fearing Everything's Awful Real
F.E.A.R. = Finding Excuses And Reasons
F.E.A.R. = Frantic Effort to Avoid Reality
F.E.A.R. = Forever Escaping And Retreating*
F.E.A.R. = Fools Every Alcoholic Repeatedly*

*Popular with A.A.

So the good news is if we're loving in the moment, we're not fearing. All we have to do is be in charge of our thoughts (made easier with yoga and meditation) and keep love alive inside of us.

What's in between Meditation and Yoga? Pranayama

For the best night's sleep, do pranayama (breathing exercises).

According to B.K.S. Iyengar, “Pranayama is a conscious prolongation of inhalation, retention and exhalation.”

Pranayama night at our ashram always draws the biggest crowd. We start by sitting in a circle and chanting OM three times. Then we go through a series of breathing exercises that have multiple and immediate effects on the body.

Liz McCollum Ford puts it like this: "To understand pranayama it’s helpful to understand prana. Yogi Bhajan said “Praana is the most powerful and most creative thing God ever created, because out of praana came life.” So what is prana? Classical yogic texts describe prana as the energy of the universe. This energy is the creator, sustainer, and destroyer, and because it permeates everything in the universe it is considered the breath of life."

For those who are new to this, I recommend trying it the next time you see it offered at your nearby yoga studio, ashram or community center. Out of the many health benefits, you'll definitely sleep better that very night.

Give A Listen, Not a Lesson

An amazing three-minute video of Oprah interviewing Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, who discusses the idea of "compassionate listening."

He suggests that deep listening goes a lot further with people than giving advice.

It's the kind of idea that could eliminate most of the suffering in the world. I invite you to give it a listen.

Use the Illusion... For Now

That's Yoga?

Do You Make Time to Breathe?

Be Kind to Yourself, Always

The Light of Awareness

A Good Reminder - The Four Agreements

As readers of this blog have heard, yoga and meditation make many spiritual principles easier to live moment to moment. It just comes with the territory.

I enjoy being a part of an ashram that does not adhere to one belief - a good idea can come from anywhere - and ultimately we are all after the same things (I don't need to tell you, smart reader, what those things are).

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is one of those wonderful books that distills how to live a good life to a few practical principles.

They can help us detect where there's friction in our life that needs attention. They may prompt questions, like:

• Am I not doing my best, and if not, why?
• Have I lied about something, or am I lying on a consistent basis?
• Does someone consistently irritate me? Am I taking it personally because their behavior is something I don't like inside myself?
• Am I constantly assuming negative things? What do I get out of engaging in gossip or drama instead of just loving people without judgement?

And while you're working on these, treat yourself to some yoga and watch all four get a LOT easier.

Peace and love!

Yoga Isn't Just Stretching

You Can Stop Serving and Start Loving

Remarkable Jesus

Did Jesus Teach Meditation?

Did Jesus teach meditation to his disciples, and therefore meditate himself? One American monk thinks so when he writes:

"What do you think Jesus did for 40 days while fasting in the desert?"

They say praying is one-way, and meditation allows you to hear Spirit/God speaking back (though not necessarily in words. Hey, if it was easy, you could do it in traffic and be told the quickest route. But your intuition can help...).

Because the bible only covers Jesus's childhood and the last three years of his life, many have speculated that Jesus spent his 20's traveling to countries like India and Tibet where he might have picked up a non-western idea or two.

Once, according to Matthew, Jesus refers to a meditation technique that is silent and interior (Matthew 6). "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words."

Jesus teaches us to pray not audibly but in the secret chamber of the heart, having shut the door of the senses. We do not need to use many words, but only one word, the Name of God. Indeed, according to the Philocalia, Christian Orthodoxy's definitive compendium of ascetic instruction, the purest form of meditation is monologisthos eucharistos: "one-word prayer." - Jai Guru Dev

Some point out that the bible is full of references to meditation:

Psalm 49:3

My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

Psalm 1:2

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 145:5

On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

Psalm 119:148

My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.

Genesis 24:63

And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.

Psalm 139:17

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

"Be still and know that I am God." "If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."

Something tells me the answer to this ultimately... is inside.

How to Explain Spirituality to an Atheist

Two Kinds of People in the World?

Yoga Makes Change Much Easier

Every day, little by little, you're becoming someone different, aren't you?

Whether you call it "growing up," maturing, deepening, or becoming enlightened, there are many little changes you notice, some little changes you create, and they're all adding up to something new.

Hopefully you're moving closer to your truest self, so you can live the most fulfilling life possible in alignment with your soul's aim.

Which is awesome... but...

You also have to deal with the consequences of these incremental changes. Transformation means you're making changes in your life, and changes can prick.

You changed X, and didn't realize Y would have to change as well. Changing Y now is a bit inconvenient, so you either roll with it or expend energy shoring it up.

For now. Until you accept the consequences of Y for Z, followed by the fundamental ABC changes that cause your friends and family to scratch their heads and even challenge you.

Unless they're transforming too, and then they get it.

If not, you weather the storm. It's your life after all.

Now, if there is something that promises to make all this easier to take, that promises to help you handle it with infinitely more grace, take it! Do it, grab it, squeeze it, cherish it...

And tell others about it.

Lose These Things

What If?

Thinking vs Meditation

The Thinker never looks like he's having an easy time of it. The harsh, ravaged lines of his calves and back, the tight bulging muscles and even the hard, harsh stump he sits upon says this is not going to be an easy "think."

A much more relaxed and serene scene invites us with meditation sculptures. 

 

Meditation is mind-training, whereas thinking is not usually done according to any guidelines, and frequently with no conscious goal in mind.

Unconscious goals abound, however, particularly around the areas of seeking pleasure, avoiding pain, and their extremes, like addiction. 

 

Scientifically, thinking produces mostly beta waves, whereas meditation produces alpha waves. Too much beta and you have anxiety, producing "alpha-blocking." 

 

Alpha waves bridge the gap between our conscious thinking and our unconscious mind, promoting feelings of deep relaxation.

 

Which do you think gives you the best sleep?

 

As always, Deepak Chopra has a wonderful illumination on the topic of meditation and prayer:

 

 

Yoga and/or Meditation Will Help #1

Outdoor Meditation Sculptures

 

I find these statues to be particularly peaceful, serene, and all-round wonderful.

Even the humorous ones.