south asheville yoga musings from the underground

Blog #16

“The only thing that wants to get rid of the ego is, the ego”- Ken Wilbur

In the yoga sutras, surrender refers to giving up the Self’s false identity with the body and mind. The Self identifying with what changes, passes away and is not eternal, as opposed to identifying with that which never dies or changes, is termed Ego.

The Ego is very strong and fights almost tirelessly to retain it’s identity. To be able to surrender and let go of one’s Ego, which veils the light within, is to wake up to what is considered the real jewel… Absolute Consciousness itself.

Giving up the struggle to remain separate and individuated, brings a sense of relief… of freedom. Surrendering in this way equals true freedom. The Truth will set you free.

This is not to imply that the body and the mind are not valuable or should be diminished in importance, for it is through the body and mind that one must pass in order to come into this remembrance of Self as Pure Being.

The body provides shelter and nourishment for the Spirit just as the Spirit nourishes and enlivens the body and mind. When the Spirit departs, where does that leave the body and the mind? When there is no body and mind, who is there to experience the Spirit?

It would seem, then, that the Spirit needs the body and mind as much as the body and mind need the Spirit. Who is to say that one is more important than the other? The Sutras convey that one without the other is like fire without heat or an ocean without waves.

Let us also not say that the Ego is bad or good. That individuality has no place or that the body and the mind are useless. Let us find balance and appreciation for all the koshas that make up the microcosm of each unique individual, and the macrocosm of the Universe.

Let us surrender to whatever it is that we can surrender to. It may be some notion of God or the idea of eating foods that give us vitality and health or we may surrender into the notion of practicing certain yoga techniques and then watching how those affect us.

We may decide to abstain from sexual intercourse for a certain period of time and pay attention to how that affects our energy levels or surrender a belief about something that we had been clinging to just to see if it was really that big of a deal after all.

Perhaps, if we all surrendered just a little bit, some of our preconceived ideas about who we think we are and who we think others are or what we think something represents or is conveying, we would have the experience of becoming more open, more spacious, and get a glimpse of something quite extraordinary. Maybe, then we would, even if just for a moment, truly wake up to what is right in front of us, and has always been right in front of us.

And, then again, perhaps we just need to surrender into the not knowing. Be with the questions. Be okay with being with the questions. Explore with a beginner’s mind. With a freshness, a curiosity. And, stop fighting for a concept, for it is just a concept after all.

What is the worst that can happen, if when you feel a certain concept challenges what you think is real, you actually allow space for that concept as opposed to resisting it? You surrender into the idea that some truth may therein be contained even if is not your truth. Can you look at it deeply? Really deeply. Can you sit with it… say, “Hello” and entertain it, just for awhile. What would happen, then?

“don’t say that you have seen the truth walking upon your path, say that you have seen a truth, for there are many truths and many paths.”

“Neti, Neti or Not This, Not This”

Blog #15

If I am a yogi, then I must practice yoga. If a vegetarian, I cannot eat meat. If I tout Christianity, what good am I when I judge and gossip? If I say to you that I am spiritual, what will you think of my spirituality when I become angry? If I drink a glass of champagne, am I somehow unhealthy? And, when I dislike something, does this mean I am too intolerant?

Hmm… I do not like these adjectives that bind and constrict. They too often lend themselves to condemnation and critical judgement.

I am stripping myself of all labels. So, do not call me a yogi or a spiritual person. Do not attempt to put me in the box of being a Christian or a lover of champagne or meat. Do not affix to me the qualifier of healthy or unhealthy.

When you see me and I you, let us just meet without the wrapping and ribbons and name tags.

Let us just keep it simple, and then I can be me and you can be you and we do not have to pretend to be anything at all.

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)

Blog #14

The above quote has recently come to my attention… again. I love that quote and use it quite frequently. I think it has streamlined yoga philosophy in one beautifully written sentence. Why read the sutras? This is it folks.

Hmm… I don’t know. For some reason, there is this nagging sensation that has arisen in me recently about this whole spiritual, material dichotomy and I am beginning to wonder if it really matters all that much, and if anyone really cares anyway.

Now, don’t get me wrong. It is a brilliant insight. And, if lived and put into practice, I dare say it could potentially make this world a better place. But, let me be a thorn in the side, a buster-upper of this notion that somehow spirit is superior to body (because that is what is implied in the quote). And, tout, as well, that I feel this ’spirit-trumps-body’ idea is becoming more and more of a precluder of that very thing it is trying to not preclude… that there is a subtle essence that is found in all things, call it spirit, soul, energy that is metamorphosed into matter, whatever.

I like to think of it like Thich Nhat Hanh, “walking on water is not the miracle… walking on the earth is.” This seems to validate and lend value to our earthly experience and makes the above quote moot or at least invalidates spirit as superior to body or at the very least gently urges one to find awe and wonder in the act of embodiment and the fact that there is an earth to walk on. It requests that we re-think our desire to look elsewhere for miracles. It asks us to for God’s sake to take leave of God (or, do I have it all wrong… if so, sorry Guru Hanh.

What difference does it make if we are spiritual beings having a human experience, or human beings having a spiritual experience (especially when it comes to day to day living, like doing dishes, having conversation, buying groceries, etc.)? The Taoist’s say to just peel the potatoes as opposed to those who say think of God while peeling the potatoes. Why? Because knowing God requires no thinking. It requires experiencing. When we are thinking about God, we have lost our experience of God. And, we can experience God only when we are experiencing… like when we are peeling potatoes with a total awareness of the act of peeling potatoes for instance.

Perhaps we should spend more of our time just being present in our day to day moments so that each moment is sacred and valuable, and stop worrying so much about chasing after some sort of enlightenment whereby we miss the trees for the forest.

The Buddhists also have a quote, that if you see someone climbing toward heaven, grab her foot. I believe this is meant to warn us that seeking, chasing, climbing after some ideal that isn’t already present is, well… a waste of one’s time. It takes us out of the present moment and invites us to mistakenly rush toward the future as if it were somehow better. This just seem so wrong… so like we are missing the point.

When will we stop denigrating relative reality? This is where we reside, and to me the trick is just to go ahead and reside here with mindfulness, love, tolerance, compassion, and fully.

This is the joy. This is where the spirit is. Why else manifest? The spirit seems to be in just as much need of a body as the body is in need of a spirit. If we have such high regard for spirit, then why not trust it’s need, desire, intelligence in placing itself in a body.

What if instead of seeing the spirit in everyone, we just saw the whole person body, mind and spirit? What if instead of trying to get out of the world, we tried to get more fully into it? What if this body represents the true miracle and is in fact so precious that even spirit feels compelled to cloak itself in it’s myriad form?

What if spirit was bored to tears and just wanted to literally get all dressed up? Well, I don’t know about you, but I am not gonna be the one to tell spirit that it made a mistake.

Perhaps, being human beings having a spiritual experience is a really nice perspective… a better perspective.

Think about it. Then, try not to think about it and just experience what you are experiencing. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Peace you wonderful spiritual human or human spiritual beings or, ah shoot… who cares anyway?

“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you- don’t go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want- don’t go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the doors where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open- don’t go back to sleep”- Rumi

blog #12

How does the Infinite become finite? Can the Absolute ever be known? This is the great mystery. The conundrum that has faced those who have attempted to unravel it since, well… since forever.

Trying to grasp what is noumenal (the thing in itself) in the phenomenal (relative reality of duality) is quite a trick. I mean, we cannot know the Absolute with our mind because what we call knowledge comes from a mind that is limited by time and space. What we know of the Absolute, where there is no time and space, is no longer the Absolute because we know it from a mind that is limited by time and space.

A God known by the mind, then, is no more God for God is the Unknowable One and inexplicable.

The finite world is only a superimposition on the Absolute. Owing to ignorance we think the finite world is the only or truest reality. When the light of illumination (enlightenment) is brought to bear, the veil of illusion (termed Maya in Vedanta Philosophy) is removed and the knowledge of oneness dawns. The objective/phenomenal/finite world disappears as an object of experience, and only the Absolute/noumenal exists.

The experience of the Absolute is possible only when all divergence disappears. It lies in the undifferentiated mass of the experiencer/knower, the experience/knowledge, and the experienced/object known.

So here is the conundrum, when we can no longer differentiate the knower from the knowledge and the object to be known, where is the knowledge and of what?

Does this implies that the Absolute is unknowable? Hmm…

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

(is this like the shortest blog in my one year blogging history… ? i must be learning… remember the first blog?)

“It is one thing to recognize and acknowledge the presence of our darker emotions, it is quite another thing to let them take up permanent residence.”-

Blog #11

So, My dark side says to my light side, “Hey gorgeous, wanna make out”? And, before my light side knew what hit her, she was embracing my dark side, which led to kissing, which led to… well, you know. Now she has little dark sides all over the place, and is barefoot and in the kitchen most of the time.

Suffice it to say, she is not very happy. She does like being in her bare feet, however, but the kitchen… well, not so much. In fact, she is unhappy to the point of extreme frustration and anger (which just so happen to be the names of her oldest two little dark sides).

She has decided, though she believes she is probably addicted to my dark side, and that it won’t be easy efforting to not give in to that exceedingly slimy trickster, that she needs to start resisting those dark fiery passions and re-assert herself.

Why, she remembers how she used to bring happiness, and love and laughter and light to me and how brilliant she was able to shine through me. And, she also recalls that her light was so bright, those around me were able to see it and bask in it. She was very attractive… back in the day.

Now she feels ugly and alone and she has all these little dark sides constantly making her pitch a fit and get all red-faced and mean. She has let her light become very dim.

How did it get to this she wonders. She does recall offering my dark side a cup of tea. The dark side can be so alluring, so mysterious, so… dark. The thought of it made her shiver. She remembers the cup turned into a pot and then she got all mixed up, didn’t think she had a choice. Who was she to rebuff my dark side. So much power and excitement and energy. It had literally dug a deep groove into her, and she had actually forgotten how to be… light.

She had decided that the next time my dark side came home, she would be loving, and even an embrace would not be out of line, but clearly a pot of tea was out of order. She had been practicing choosing to be her truest, deepest, purest Self of Light, and it showed. Her brilliance was beyond the beyond.

She actually did not see my dark side for quite some time, but one day while she wasn’t paying attention, my dark side tried to come home again. Since she had been practicing being her true Self, she was ready.

She shown so brilliantly as she said “hello” that my dark side not only left immediately, but she also sent for her
things. She was afraid of my light side.

On occasion she does try to come back. My light side is so gracious. She always invites her in for just a single cup of tea, but my dark side cannot remain dark in the brilliance of my light side and, so, she always declines.

“If you do not want to know God, never look within or stare at a blank wall, and certainly do not let them revoke your ticket to ride.”- j. senor

I have been riding on the biggest roller coaster (read my previous blogs to get a better idea of what I am referring to here) in the history of creation, and certainly it has been inundated with peaks and valleys (more like Mt. Everest and Death Valley, but that is “beside” the point- “laterally” speaking, ha… that is funny, in a very subtle way, but funny nevertheless, right?).

Anyway, I had this laminated ticket (mind) that allowed me access to the relative reality of the manifest world, or what I call the biggest roller coaster ride in the history of creation, and I have had it revoked.

Now, just so you know, I did not always enjoy having the ticket- the ride can make you sick sometimes and just when you feel like puking and want to get off, you find that the controller of the ride (Supreme Consciousness) has gone out for a double shot of espresso, but having it seemed, well, it just seemed like what you were supposed to have. That is, if you want to experience. And, isn’t that the point? I mean, the point of Supreme Consciousness manifesting a mind. You know, in order to experience itself in myriad form?

So, imagine my chagrin at having my ticket revoked. And, after all the trouble I went to of having it laminated. I didn’t want the ticket to get destroyed by the intensity and duration of the ride. Thought I was protecting the ticket… ensuring that it would always be there. After all, even in lieu of occasionally losing the contents of my innards, the roller coaster ride (manifest universe) is very exciting and worth riding, and riding several times. Plus, I have grown quite attached to it.

The thing is, ya gotta have a ticket. No ticket means no ride. Can’t hardly have a universe manifest (ride on a roller coaster) without something, call it mind (ticket), to manifest it. And, I don’t think you can sneak onto (or off of, for that matter) this particular ride. Simply got to have that ticket (mind).

Now, you’re probably wondering who the “they” are that revoked my ticket and how it was revoked. Me too.

My best guess is that the “they” are the techniques, the scientific methodology that the 8-limbed path of Ashtanga Yoga espouses that can take one from the illusory notion that we are only our mind and its contents to the Truth that we are at our essential nature not just the mind and its contents, but what is beyond the mind… Pure Consciousness itself.

The techniques are the culprits. They have revoked my ticket. They have taken me beyond the mind and into Pure Being itself.

Voila.

They work.

Oh, happy day.

Chagrin gone.

Revoke away.

That darn beautiful ticket (mind) had allowed me to continue riding the ride with its pleasures and pains and constant creative motion for a long, long time. And, I had embraced it and my attachments fully… that ride can be so much fun. (And, just so you know, I do find that laminated ticket sometimes… it hasn’t been hidden very well, and when I find it, how I do ride away).

But, the lamination may have been a bit much. I mean, this mind-manifested world of things (the roller coaster ride) is great, but so is what lies beyond it… the no-thing. And, in fact, isn’t that why we do our practice, i.e., to be in this world of manifestation, but not disturbed by it? To know the stillness and peace of Unity Consciousness while in manifestation? To know, no-mind?

Let us all, then, do the practice. Moving beyond the mind. Supported by Grace. Into Pure Being where tickets are, well… they are mute.

Shanti, shanti, shantihi, Aum.

Blog #9

A disciple once came to a teacher to learn to meditate on God. The teacher gave him instructions, but the disciple soon returned and said that he could not carry them out; every time he tried to meditate, he found himself thinking about his pet buffalo. “Well, then,” said the teacher, you meditate on that buffalo you’re so fond of.” The disciple shut himself up in a room and began to concentrate on the buffalo. After some days, the teacher knocked at his door and the disciple answered: “Sir, I am sorry I can’t come out to greet you. This door is too small. My horns will be in the way.” Then the teacher smiled and said: “Splendid! You have become identified with the object of your concentration. Now fix that concentration upon God and you will easily succeed.”- How to Know God, Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood

Okay, this is part 2 and I am going to try and keep this fairly short and sweet (you know that I am lying, right?)

We live in a prison. It is the prison of the Ego. It is such a good prison that it keeps our Self (Atman in yoga philosophy), which is our indwelling, individuated manifestation of Supreme Consciousness, in ignorance of it’s own truest nature.

Go figure. This world of manifestation is so attractive (Gotta get the number of the prison’s interior designer. Oh yea, it’s that cunning Shakti… what a vibrant perpetrator of “stuff” is she. And, now she sleeps peacefully at the base of our spines as if she had no-where to go, nothing to say or do, and patiently waits to be re-awakened. Hmm… friend or foe? I have yet to decide… ), veiled in such a wondrously beautiful fabric, it even fooled our innermost piece of Supreme Intelligence- that by which all else is known (kinda makes one wonder how smart Divine Reality really is. Of course, who can blame the One Reality for wanting to experience the pleasures of myriad form? I guess, desire and otherness are an inherent part of the whole. And, with all of this terrific creating and pretending to be that which it is not, it would be really easy to forget that which it is… sometimes that mask is super glued on. Sigh, I digress.)

Our Self, mistakenly identifies with the mind and it’s contents (Ego). This identification, in essence, takes away our freedom, is binding and limiting. We are so much more than mere thoughts and emotions.

Why limit ourselves to the ever-changing nature of thoughts? I mean let’s face it, those slippery, one minute I think I am special, the next I think I am stupid, ugly and unimportant, rascals never stick to the same story. They cannot be trusted, so why do we put so much faith in them? Why do we believe their little fairy tales? Good grief, they will tell us anything… and, they do.

The Absolute Truth, on the contrary, is constant, unchanging. It does not shift just because you got a new haircut or moved to a new location or broke up with your boyfriend or have cancer, etc.

As out thoughts fluctuate, so our emotions go. If we think we are not worthy of such and such, we may get angry or depressed. If we are angry, we may hit our hand up against the car (you know who you are), kick the dog, yell at the kids, start a war… you get my drift.

In order to be free, unlimited, it would seem, then, that bringing the thought-waves under control, stilling them in order to re-awaken to our deepest truest nature (that Absolute, unchanging Reality) would behoove us.

Coming into Unity Consciousness brings with it a deep sense of peace and joy that is lasting. It does not change with the changing of the seasons. We can then abide in that all knowing, all powerful, unchanging, all pervasive essence which contains everything and which is also contained within everything.

We must try to remember, that this cannot really be explained very well. Words can only point to it. One must come into the experience where no words are necessary or possible. We will never fully understand Unity Consciousness until we can have a direct experience of it, and that my friends is why we are here.

Thing is, we gotta get out of the stinkin’ prison. And, as absolutely pleasurable or comfortable or whatever the prison may seem, it ain’t the whole enchilada (pardon the expression, but it seems appropriate).

What a fix. Seems we are somehow or other afraid to break out of the prison. What would happen to me? How would I get along? Who would I be? Can I still desire, enjoy? I want that cherry pie, and that woman, and my house, and that yoga class over there, and if only I could… on and on it goes.

Our ego keeps us bound to what is changing, fluctuating, slippery. It keeps us in flux, wondering what the next pleasure will be. We chase after sensory experiences and, yes, for awhile it is “oh, so good”. But, then when the sensory experience is gone, we miss it. Want it back. Now, there is a void and that brings with it a deep sorrow for we yearn, desire to get it back. We have become attached.

Ah, now we are getting down to it. Attachment!

How do we just have experiences (moments) for the sake of having the experiences? Can we rest in the realization that they are just that… experiences? Moments that come and go.

How can we not attach to, cling to, be bound and fettered by the moments? Is there a way to surrender and just let the moments freely come and go? What would happen if we did not get all caught up in the drama of desire and attachment for whatever feeling-tone the moments brought? For the drama only serves to create a false identity. It is just a play that has frequent character, plot and audience changes?

Can we not just play full on, plugged in without trying to bottle the moments up? How about just tasting the bliss of the headstand (okay, so for some of you that would not be even remotely blissful, so you fill it in) with each moment and then just as blissfully, letting it go?

We can do that. And, we can do it right here, right now. We can practice Ashtanga Yoga as codified by Patanjali in his Sutras. The methodology of Yoga is available as a path toward present moment awareness, Unity Consciousness, Perfect Yoga.

One way to do that, is to practice concentration techniques that can help still the thought-waves of the mind. It is very difficult for us to just stop attaching to our thought-waves, so a first step is to attach to thought-waves that are non-painful.

In the Yoga Sutras, it describes painful thought-waves (those that increase ignorance, addiction and bondage) and non-painful thought-waves (those that impel us toward greater freedom and loose the bonds of ego… get us out of the darn prison).

This means that, when we practice our concentration technique, what we focus on (attach to) is really important. It is a first step toward surrender, non-attachment, and ultimately Unity Consciousness.

Focusing on a personal, chosen ideal of Supreme Consciousness like Christ, Buddha, Ramakrishna or the Divine Mother (call it what you will) is considered a non-painful thought-wave or attachment as these figures represent self-less service, loving-kindness and compassion. Qualities that liberate one from an undo focus on ego and it’s incessant need for constant gratification.

What I am saying here is that typically, devotion to an ideal figure that is enlightened, can help lead us in the right direction as the thought-waves of love, service and devotion that they symbolize are superior to thought-waves of hate, indifference and isolation. These qualities keep us in ignorance as they tend to feed our ego keeping us in bondage with its inherent suffering.

So, we are actually choosing to create attachments to non-painful thought-waves. This is because, for most of us, it is easier to attach to and replace the painful thought-waves with non-painful thought-waves, rather than give up all attachments at once.

Ultimately, however, all attachments (even attachments to non-painful thought-waves) have to go, if the final stage of Samadhi is to be realized.

Let’s do this. Let’s make an attempt to break out of our prison. I say, we start by eating massive amounts of yummy food, drinking tons of intoxicating beverages, gratifying our senses in every way possible. And, then, when our egos are feeling really good about themselves, we can seduce them into our cells by promising to stroke them until they burst.

Ha! Now, we make a mad dash for the door, go through it and cross to the other side. Off we blissfully go, embracing moments of Pure Being-ness (a little intoxicated, maybe, but blissful never-the-less). Now that’s what I call the “perfect escape”.

Are ya with me?

Blog #8

“Stop talking, stop thinking, and there is nothing you will not understand”- Seng-ts’an

Hmm… no talking, no thinking… radical.

Is it really that simple to come into a state whereby all things are understood? Can one can actually bust out, break free, loose the grip of ignorance simply by shutting up both externally and internally?

According the the Yoga Sutras, “Yes”.

Now, this may not be so simple experientially, but theoretically it sounds pretty clear cut. Be quiet (no speaky) and silence the thought-waves of the mind (no-thinky), and you get a pass to freedom… to ‘breaking out of the prison of ego’ or what the Sutras define as ignorance due to false identification of the Self with the mind and it’s contents (thoughts).

Well, okey dokey.

I am apparently, then, not my mind or it’s contents. And, as long as I mistakenly identify myself with my mind (and it’s noisy thought-waves), I will remain in darkness… ignorance. The Absolute Supreme Truth or knowledge of my deepest, truest Nature, will continue to elude me. Good grief, I will not be “In-The-Know”… ouch! By the way dear readers, this includes you… nice to know I am not alone in this sorry state of ignorance.

Those annoyingly loud thought-waves that clutter up our minds with all sorts of lies and distortions will continue to act as perfect and pesky distractors of True Knowledge as long as we let them. This veil of illusion (Self mistakenly believing that it is the mind and it’s thought-waves), is the only thing that keeps us from a complete and profound understanding of everything.

Let’s reiterate for the sake of clarity.

Mind and it’s contents too loud and distracting… silence them. Practice coming into a state of sustained thought cessation (meditation) and “Know” that by which all things are known. Experience Self as not mind and it’s contents, but as Supreme Consciousness, Pure Being.

Supreme Consciousness or Pure Being is defined here as the eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient one life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death, yet also contained within that myriad of form from mineral to plant to lower animal to human at it’s innermost, indestructible essence. Supreme Consciousness is our truest, unchanging Nature. It is what sets of free, liberates us, breaks us out of the prison of ego.

Whew! That is a lot of information to digest.

Let me take a turn here and get to some yoga history so that we can have a context for the philosophy I am espousing. I will be better prepared to validate the importance of yoga as an effective practice for attaining Supreme Consciousness if I can help you to understand its deep and ancient richness first.

This blog started out with a quote that infers we can understand everything there is to be understood by not talking and not thinking. I went on to back this inference up as viable, by referencing the Yoga Sutras. It would seem, then, that having a bit of information on the Yoga Sutras would be beneficial if I am to legitimize my reference.

What are the Yoga Sutras anyway?

What they are not, is an original philosophical system. The Sutras are a compilation, a reformulation of the Vedas into 196 threads (sutras) so that they can be more easily transmitted by memorization from Guru to disciple. They were compiled by a man named Patanjali a long, long time ago (no-one is really sure when, and not a whole lot is known about him). He restated the philosophy of yoga for his contemporaries as the yoga doctrine is believed to be as old as pre-history.

So now you ask, “What are the Vedas?” Good question. The Vedas are believed to be the authentic spiritual insights that were revealed to ancient Seers as they explored the inner realms of Consciousness. They are the oldest known religion of Self-knowledge that could be taught as a methodology.

Okay, so what is the methodology? It is an 8-limbed path called Ashtanga Yoga (as distinct from the Vinyasa Flow Style of Ashtanga Yoga founded by Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois). And, in the Yoga Sutra translation “How to Know God” by Isherwood and Prabhavananda, yoga is defined as a method, one of many, by which we may become united with Supreme Consciousness or the one true Reality that underlies the apparent, ephemeral universe of manifestation.

Yoga is, according to Patanjali, an EFFORT to separate the Absolute Reality from the apparent relative reality. A coming into union with that which we are… an individualized manifestation of Supreme Consciousness. It is an 8-limbed path comprised of various techniques that facilitate this Self-realization. The Yoga Sutras, then, are a means to liberation or re-membering our deepest, truest nature… Supreme Consciousness or Pure Being.

In essence, we do not practice the methodology to become spiritual or to become Supreme Consciousness, because we already are. We practice the methodology and use it as a path to facilitate stillness and purity of mind (because remember that it is the moving, noisy, impure thoughts in the mind that distract us from knowing) in order to re-awaken to, re-member and ultimately experience that one Truth that we already are which is beyond name and form.

We use the methodology, we effort (it should be noted that a relaxed effort is best as trying too hard or clinging and attaching to an outcome can actually impede progress) to patiently and diligently practice the techniques in order to prepare ourselves for Spontaneous Awakening (your own magnetic power of attraction toward awakening to your inner divineness that requires no effort on your part). We may not be able to pick the time when this “Awakening” will occur, but we can have faith that with sustained effort, it will come, and it can come in this incarnation.

A caterpillar, in it’s ‘caterpillariness’ simply follows its dharma or instinctual, divine, self-determined path by efforting (a relaxed effort, I am sure as what else does the caterpillar have to do) to build a cocoon and then it simply waits for transformation- magnetic pull whereby no effort is required by the caterpillar- into a butterfly. The caterpillar does not worry that it will not turn into a butterfly for it just knows, call it faith, that it will indeed become a butterfly.

So just as the caterpillar attains Self-realization (it is not a caterpillar at all, but a butterfly), we too can experience Self-realization and be established in it. We sit still and study our own Consciousness, and then wait for Samadhi (direct knowledge). We can then abide in this as Self-Actualized beings knowing all that is to be known.

I like this, but that is mute. Let me continue.

The Yoga Sutras have 8 limbs: Yama- abstentions like non-lying, non-stealing, non-harming, chastity, non-greed; Niyama- observances like contentment, cleanliness, mortification, Self-study, devotion to god; Asana-
physical postures that are practiced with steadiness and ease and keep the body balanced; Pranayama-
breath regulation to control prana (universal enlivening force); Pratyahara- withdrawing the mind from sense objects; Dharana- concentrated focus; Dhyana- sustained, uninterrupted focus on a single object for 2 minutes and 24 seconds or meditation; Samadhi- direct knowledge, enlightenment (this has several stages).

The first 6 limbs can be practiced using that relaxed effort that I alluded to earlier, but the last 2 can only be “caught”. In other words, that is the part where you sit still and wait with alert attention for “spontaneous awakening” or the pull of your own magnetic power of attraction toward union with Supreme Consciousness which requires no efforting on your part… this is where the caterpillar (you) waits in it’s cocoon (gets still) until it naturally transforms (remember, it doesn’t have to do anything for this to occur nor can it make it occur) into a butterfly.

Easy peasy, right? Well, if it isn’t it should be. Perhaps, we make it too hard. I mean, you cannot get there by thinking. You have to feel it, experience it, live it. And, for some the methodology is not necessary. They do not need to practice the techniques. Some individuals experience spontaneous Self-realization… lucky so and so’s. And, others use the techniques until they no longer need them. Then there is me who seems to need every technique available and it looks like I will continue to need them right on through several more life times. But, I am okay with that… really, I am!?!

I am going to leave it at that for now for I am weary and my head hurts from so much thinking (see what I mean, several more lifetimes).

Next month, part two.

Your thoughts so far?

Go easy.

Lovingly, me

Blog #8

“whether or not it is clear to you no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should”- max ehrman

Your thoughts?

Yes folks, that is my blog for April.

“”As a man’s desire is, so is his destiny. For as his desire is, so is his will; and as his will is, so is his deed; and as his deed is so is his reward, whether good or bad. A man acteth according to the desires to which he clingeth.  After death he goeth to the next world bearing in his mind the subtle impressions of  his deeds; and, after reaping there the harvest of his deeds, he returneth again to this world of action. Thus he who hath desire continueth subject to rebirth.”- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

Blog #7

I don’t really know that much about death or what happens after, nor do I know a whole lot about the various religious philosophies surrounding it, but I was really drawn to and struck by the above Upanishadic creamy, dreamy morsels of wisdom. This isn’t the first time that Hindu philosophy has garnered my attention. Those Indus Valley folk are fairly sharp and I am often moved to pause by the insights that come from that “other” part of our world.

This whole idea of Self-regulating justice is like, “Wow”.  I mean, is this for real…  that I am gonna keep trippin’ on this ride until my desires somehow run out?  Hmm… me-thinks that I am in big trouble here. At least, if I have purchased the paradigm that this ride is not all that great, and there are times (not many) that I hold fast to that very idea.

My desire-produced karmic wheel of  birth and death is receiving lots of impressions, and I don’t see an end in sight anytime soon. Good grief, I am all over the friggin’ place with desire.  It oozes out of every single pore of my being and I was always certain that it would be the death of me, not the re-birth of me. Well, how about that for a beautifully wrapped paradox?

It seems, then, that as long as I crave cheeseburgers and Snickers candy bars and martini’s and pretty dresses and traveling to far away lands and curling up with a good book and going to the movies and swimming in the ocean and looking at the mountains and dancing & giggling with my daughter Olivia and practicing and teaching yoga and on and on and on, that I get to live. I get to come back to this place that holds all of the sensory pleasures that I so crave. So, where does that leave me? Well, I guess that leaves me having a darn good time continuously manifesting in nature.

You have to understand that I am generally a “liver of life to the fullest”. You know the type… always smiling and deriving unbelievable amounts of pleasure from the simplest of things. The one that says “why not?” instead of “why?” If I desire something, I just do. It doesn’t matter if I shouldn’t desire it or if it is bad for me or if it somehow just isn’t the “correct” desire to have. Perhaps, I shouldn’t have that espresso and a slice of yummy cheesecake. Perhaps, standing on my head at the beach isn’t like way “cool” (yes it is!). Maybe, desiring to go a movie by myself appears “odd”. Should I not talk of loving-kindness and compassion because it is too “ooey-gooey”? Oh, yea… desiring another martini is totally out of the question because… well, it just is. And, shall I apologize for I desire NOT to have Botox injected into my 49 year old face (I mean, come on people, that is part of the problem not the solution… although, desiring youth is sooo tempting), how un-21st century of me. And, on it goes.

So, you see, I am torn. For the most part, I like it here. On the one hand, I don’t want to stop desiring. I have become addicted to my personal desires and they seem, like it or not, to somehow fill me up. Forget the fact, that they lead to even more desire and ultimately suffering (cause dang it, even the good things don’t last forever and then there is the craving and missing of that which you once had… ouch!). Now truly this is quite a pickle, because in the Yoga Sutras (one of the most respected works ever written on yoga by Patanjali a long, long time ago), the whole goal of practicing yoga techniques (which I do) is to ultimately surrender everything (desires included, and don’t get me started on aversions- like the Botox thing cause that needs to be surrendered as well… is there nothing sacred) in order to come into unity consciousness (samadhi, enlightenment, union). Go figure, cause I also deeply desire coming into unity consciousness. Hmm… another paradox, for The Yoga Sutras are quite clear… even the desire of unity consciousness must be given up. Whew, this is like totally making me sweat.

I desire, which is strictly taboo if unity consciousness is sought. Unity consciousness just so happens to be one of my desires. Unity consciousness requires that I become desireless. Desire-less-ness takes me out of the karmic cycle of birth and death. This would mean no more Hershey’s kisses or other seeming forbidden fruits. So, the conundrum continues because I really like chocolate. Argh… a little help here!

Perhaps I am making it way too complicated. I mean without desire there is no notion of desire-less-ness.
Where would yin be without yang. And, certainly Sita (in Hindu lore she was elevated to equal status with the gods because of her undying love for her husband Rama even in lieu of his rejecting her) would have not been able to follow her dharma (what you were born to do, your path) without Rama (Hindu god and husband of Sita), the earth without the sky is nothing. And no-thing without some-thing just doesn’t make sense.

So, having desires is, perhaps, not so preposterous. And, in fact, seems to be a necessary precursor to desire-less-ness. Maybe, it is the clinging to the desires (and aversions) that is to be perceived as the doer-of- evil here. That, my readers, is it. Watch the desires, even indulge, but beware not to get all gnarled up in them. No prime rib? Okay, give me eggplant instead. Now that is surrender.

Let’s go ahead and plunge head on into our desires. After all, until we experience all there is to experience, we are not able to be done. And, being done is the goal. So, it would seem, if we really want to finally be done (manifesting, that is), we need to indulge our desires. What an insanely ordered conundrum! Let’s attach to it… hahaha.

Well, it seems that I am not dead yet. And, I am certain that I will reincarnate several million-bajillion more times. Okay. I am good with that. Eventually, my desires will run out. And, until then, I can patiently watch them come and go. I can savor the notion that you cannot know and become that which you are in the absence of that which you are not. So, I am, at my deepest, innermost being, not my desires. But, without them, how can I ever really know what I truly am?

Did someone say pizza… count me in.

Desiring and lovingly,

me