I am passionate about yoga and ayurveda. I learn from these ancient sciences what I recognize as the deep truth already existed within me. I've always love to read and when motivated was an accomplished student. But nothing I learned during my school years through countless textbooks helped me navigated through my life challenges of endless emotional turmoils and physical discomfort.
Until yoga and ayurveda came to my life I was living in the haze, confused and misinformed. I was relying solely on my mental education and societal values and norms. I was pretending to be O.K. and did not know it. I was perpetually discontent and did not know why. So, I did my best to change my circumstances through the use of my intellect. Alas, the mind proved to be very limited in navigating through emotional as well as physical journey.
The first time I received an emotional education was when I bought a certain music CD from the local Indian grocery store. I was looking for something authentic to listen to and wanted a classical Indian music. I went home with a CD called the Bhagavad Gita. It came equipped with a little booklet containing the content of the words in the music and their translation. The CD and the booklet ended up being the transformational tool for me to survive an emotional hardship I was going through during that period of my life.
I later came to learn more about the Bhagavad Gita. It's an epic story filled with the vedic and yogic teachings. I learned about the true meaning of life. The words of the Bhagavad Gita lighted the fire of my deep longing for spiritual connection. I then understood that there was nothing outside of me that could improve my emotional discomfort and give me a sense of fulfillment and contentment. From then on my quest for change became internal and heart oriented. My search has led me to many more books which contain similar messages. The messages that would speak to my heart and give me emotional wisdom.
Followings are the list of books and my brief heartfelt review about them. These books are a huge part of my ongoing emotional education. They are vital tools to both my learning and teaching. They have helped strengthen me emotionally and physically. They also clear away mental blockages for real wisdom to shine through. I hope that you too will find their unveiling power helpful to your quest toward inner peace, joy and unconditional love.
The Path of Practice by Maya Tiwari:
An ayurvedic book for women but any man who are in touch with their femininity will also find it inspiring. It teaches me to understand the deeper meaning of illness and healing. In particular, the book offers an insight on cancer, the cause and the cure from Tiwari's own experience as a terminal cancer survivor. The book contains many ayurvedic practices and cooking rituals. It raises my awareness about my femininity and gave me insight about my ancestral, maternal and paternal connections.
The Woman's Power to Heal by Maya Tiwari:
Another ayurvedic book for women and especially for mothers. This book is a treasure for me. It gives several ancient female rituals and practices. I regularly practice some of the healing treatments given and find them essential to my health. If there is one book for your female health regime this one is it. Just by reading it your feminine healing power will increase exponentially.
Yoga and the Quest for the True Self by Stephen Cope:
Cope teaches that the only story that is authentic and true is your own. We can try to emulate others but we can never live their stories. Until we begin to live our authentic story we continue to suffer. He gives us his stories from the heart. I enjoyed reading this personal book from cover to cover. And along the way the pages reveal my very own story that I too can live authentically through the wisdom of yoga.
The Secret Power of Yoga by Nichala Joy Devi:
There are hundreds of books translating the Yoga Sutras written by Patanjali. This book is the only translation that speaks directly to the heart. Frankly, I find other translations mechanical and philosophical and can not bring myself to finish reading them. This book is written by a woman and imbued with heart wisdom from the beginning to the end.
Ordinary Women, Extra Ordinary Wisdom by Rita Marie Robinson:
Being awake or enlightened is something I used to think as beyond my grasp. The more I mature the more I come to know that it is not a choice. I cannot rest until I am. The stories about various women living their ordinary/extraordinary life truly affirm the notion. The wonder is that we could live in our dramas for so long -lifetimes. The stories illustrate that being awake is nothing special. It's our birthright.
The Presence Process by Micheal Brown:
This book thoroughly explains our emotional body. It is a real gem for emotional education. The simple, gentle process Brown shares is valuable to anyone ready to explore and move through emotional dis-ease accumulated during the childhood years and beyond. Through reading the book I receive the clarity about my conditioned life.
Why Walk when You can Fly by Isha:
Like the Presence Process this little book provides tools to break through our conditioning. It is heart-centered and it shows how to cultivate love-consciousness which is the ultimate unity. The method Isha shares is easy and simple for the body and the mind. The heart does not require complication but the ego does. Our drama is our complicated mental construction. Focus on the heart and let our mental sand castles get washed away by our emotional tides.
These books will make great stocking stuffers for your holiday reading and beyond. As Micheal Brown puts it -In Joy!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thank You
Early in the morning the sun calls me to rise
Late in the evening the moon calls me to rest
In all of my days the earth gives me strength and steadiness
And the air gives me ease and freedom
The water, the plants and the animals serve me and feed me
And the people nourish and love me
How can I ever thank you enough?
I am the daughter of the moon and the stars
The earth is my home and all things are my friends and my lovers
How can I ever thank you enough?
In life I live to love you and serve you
In death I return to my mother and father to serve and love you
Thank you
Monday, November 23, 2009
Giving and Receiving
It's the Thanksgiving season. As a yoga teacher I have a pleasure of using the Thanksgiving theme to express my feelings about gratitude, giving and receiving with those who show up to my classes all the time and especially at this time of year.
"In giving we received." -Mother Theresa
Giving and Receiving are the two sides of the same coin. We can't get one without having the other. In every moment of our life we constantly give and receive through our breathing. We inhale to receive the breath. We exhale to give it up and away. This constant exchange carries our life and allows us to experience our connection to all things.
It is in our true nature to give and receive.
However, giving can turn into bribing and receiving can turn into guilt. When we give with an expectation and receive with a need to return a favor we go against our nature. Life and living become a task and our experience is one of lacking, half empty and devoid of contentment.
Let go of expectation for a better future and the guilt for the past shortcomings. Give this breath and this moment our full attention and share them with others wholeheartedly. They are the only real gift we can give to ourselves and each other. And as we give so do we receive.
Thanksgiving is the time to express our gratitude. We can only give thanks when we are content, joyful and grateful. So, go ahead and take a deep breath in then empty it all out. Allow your holiday season to carry and express the message of your breath, your moment and your life.
"In giving we received." -Mother Theresa
Giving and Receiving are the two sides of the same coin. We can't get one without having the other. In every moment of our life we constantly give and receive through our breathing. We inhale to receive the breath. We exhale to give it up and away. This constant exchange carries our life and allows us to experience our connection to all things.
It is in our true nature to give and receive.
However, giving can turn into bribing and receiving can turn into guilt. When we give with an expectation and receive with a need to return a favor we go against our nature. Life and living become a task and our experience is one of lacking, half empty and devoid of contentment.
Let go of expectation for a better future and the guilt for the past shortcomings. Give this breath and this moment our full attention and share them with others wholeheartedly. They are the only real gift we can give to ourselves and each other. And as we give so do we receive.
Thanksgiving is the time to express our gratitude. We can only give thanks when we are content, joyful and grateful. So, go ahead and take a deep breath in then empty it all out. Allow your holiday season to carry and express the message of your breath, your moment and your life.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Unconditional Love
Lately what has been on my mind is how we treat our body reflects how we treat each other and vice versa. The biggest illusion is that we can be healthy, safe and happy if we reject, destruct and eliminate what appear to be dangerous and life threatening. The natural cycle contains birth, life and death. Our fear of death results in a life full of suffering and the excessive need to produce more and consume more in order to maintain life and birth.
I appreciate the fact that allopathic medicine helps treat symptoms and conditions which need an immediate relief. I also appreciate organized, well functioned public safety services. But when they become the protocol, the right and preferred way to live safely and healthily we are stuck in the paradigm of fear and defensiveness.
We do not see a message of peace on the mainstream medias, we see the message of fear. Our leaders prescripe military actions. Our doctors prescripe drugs and invasive procedures. The reaction to fear is to remove what is being feared. Rejecting what is being feared is hatred. Hate and rejection are the cause of diseases, cancers, poverty, criminals and terrorists. Using violence and destruction to end suffering is ineffective because it's dealing with the effects and not the cause.
Love is both the prevention and the cure.
When we live in a paradigm of fear we perceive sickness and diseases, criminals and terrorists as separate from who we are. This logic causes us to sedate, destruct and eliminate those which are parts of us. The way we treat cancer is the same way we treat criminals and terrorists. We use drugs, chemotherapy and radiation to kill bad cells. We use guns, ammunitions, lethal injection and nuclear weapons to kill bad people. Yet we continue to face more cancers and terrorism as we continue to come up with ever more powerful medical and military weapons.
On the other hand, the love paradigm sees bad health and bad people as an integral part of our lives. They allow the cultivation of strength, creativity, spiritual maturity, compassion and unconditional love. In fact, there is no such thing as good or bad because we need to experience contrasts in order to live an expansive and fulfilling life. I look at nature and I conclude that nature is at time volatile and violence. But all the time all is well and there is an unending stream of life even as death continues to happen.
Living in love and unity does not mean that we do not act. It means that we act responsibly rather than re-actively. Instead of spending most of our resources in defensive weapons and medical machinery we should at least spend half of that amount on promoting healthy eating, natural medicine, abundant energy and fuels, less spending, more family time, uniting religious forces...and so many more positive, responsive action that cultivate a shift of the mainstream consciousness from segregation to unity.
Whether we live in the fear paradigm or love paradigm we will experience birth, old age and death. The only difference is that our life experience is one of bitter suffering or one of sweet appreciation. We can continue to suffer and many of us do. Or we can embrace all of our experience pleasurable or painful as grace. We can build our life and community with love and acceptance rather than destroy with hate and rejection.
Our physical limitation and suffering do not have to cause or equate mental, emotional and spiritual suffering which escalate human demise. Nature always smile at us with compassion as it looks upon us through our own construction and destruction. Nature gives birth then destroy our body. Nature is here to serve and heal us at every juncture of our life from birth to death if we allow its natural rhythm to take course. Let’s not suffer unnecessary and beyond what nature has intended. Let’s make a shift from fear to love and embrace all parts of ourselves and each other as natural - not good or bad.
Nature and our true nature are unconditional love.
I appreciate the fact that allopathic medicine helps treat symptoms and conditions which need an immediate relief. I also appreciate organized, well functioned public safety services. But when they become the protocol, the right and preferred way to live safely and healthily we are stuck in the paradigm of fear and defensiveness.
We do not see a message of peace on the mainstream medias, we see the message of fear. Our leaders prescripe military actions. Our doctors prescripe drugs and invasive procedures. The reaction to fear is to remove what is being feared. Rejecting what is being feared is hatred. Hate and rejection are the cause of diseases, cancers, poverty, criminals and terrorists. Using violence and destruction to end suffering is ineffective because it's dealing with the effects and not the cause.
Love is both the prevention and the cure.
When we live in a paradigm of fear we perceive sickness and diseases, criminals and terrorists as separate from who we are. This logic causes us to sedate, destruct and eliminate those which are parts of us. The way we treat cancer is the same way we treat criminals and terrorists. We use drugs, chemotherapy and radiation to kill bad cells. We use guns, ammunitions, lethal injection and nuclear weapons to kill bad people. Yet we continue to face more cancers and terrorism as we continue to come up with ever more powerful medical and military weapons.
On the other hand, the love paradigm sees bad health and bad people as an integral part of our lives. They allow the cultivation of strength, creativity, spiritual maturity, compassion and unconditional love. In fact, there is no such thing as good or bad because we need to experience contrasts in order to live an expansive and fulfilling life. I look at nature and I conclude that nature is at time volatile and violence. But all the time all is well and there is an unending stream of life even as death continues to happen.
Living in love and unity does not mean that we do not act. It means that we act responsibly rather than re-actively. Instead of spending most of our resources in defensive weapons and medical machinery we should at least spend half of that amount on promoting healthy eating, natural medicine, abundant energy and fuels, less spending, more family time, uniting religious forces...and so many more positive, responsive action that cultivate a shift of the mainstream consciousness from segregation to unity.
Whether we live in the fear paradigm or love paradigm we will experience birth, old age and death. The only difference is that our life experience is one of bitter suffering or one of sweet appreciation. We can continue to suffer and many of us do. Or we can embrace all of our experience pleasurable or painful as grace. We can build our life and community with love and acceptance rather than destroy with hate and rejection.
Our physical limitation and suffering do not have to cause or equate mental, emotional and spiritual suffering which escalate human demise. Nature always smile at us with compassion as it looks upon us through our own construction and destruction. Nature gives birth then destroy our body. Nature is here to serve and heal us at every juncture of our life from birth to death if we allow its natural rhythm to take course. Let’s not suffer unnecessary and beyond what nature has intended. Let’s make a shift from fear to love and embrace all parts of ourselves and each other as natural - not good or bad.
Nature and our true nature are unconditional love.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Moving into the Fall Season
In my recent workshop on Ayurvedic cleanse eight out of nine participants had Vata imbalance. As we move toward the fall season you will notice increased wind, dryness and cold. These attributes are of Vata nature as it is made up of air and ether.
Air & ether being two lightest of the five elements they are easily aggravated. Vata is especially heighten during the fall season as well as during the transition between seasons. The other 3 elements are fire, water and earth. Fire is heighten during summer. Water is heighten during spring. Earth is heighten in winter.
Because Vata is most unstable it is not surprising that there are more people affected by Vata imbalance than Pitta (fire & water) or Kapha (water & earth). In order to regulate Vata you need to regulate your physical rhythm. It goes without saying that once you do your mental and emotional rhythm are also regulated. It is a wonderful side effect for the fast pace, high stress world we are living in.
Our body, as complex and intelligence as it is has simple demands. You need to give it the nourishment it needs and allow the natural metabolism and waste removal to take place. It is easier said than done for most of us because we have been hypnotized into thinking that there is something out there that can fix us.
Ayurveda teaches us to simply connect to ourselves. The only real problem we have is that we are disconnected to our body, to our heart (emotion & feeling) and to our soul (faith in self and Self). I am saying this because I have seen it in myself and in all the clients I have an honor to work with.
Do not rely solely on drugs, herbs or body therapies conventional or holistic. They are helpful and sometime life saving. I do not under estimate their values and personally use specific herbs and body therapies to enhance my well being at certain time. They can treat symptoms effectively but you are not your symptoms.
Things cannot change you. Your doctor, massage therapist, holistic practitioner and even yoga teacher can not change you. Nobody can take this special responsibility and nobody can take a credit for improving your health. You are the only one who has the power to change and heal yourself.
So, please snap out of it(as I often remind myself) and follow the following simple guidelines. You should observe these guidelines throughout the year and especially during the fall season.
1. Eat regular meals daily. Allow yourself time to sit down and eat without distraction.
2. Have lunch as your biggest meal. The sun is strongest around noon and so is your internal digestive fire.
3. Drink a glass of warm water after morning rise then allow yourself time in the morning to eliminate.
4. Go to bed by 10 pm and rise during dawn or sunrise daily.
To counter the cold, light and dry qualities of the fall season you should eat warm, moist and moderately spiced foods such as soup and porridge.
Nothing above is beyond your common sense but how many of us are truly following our natural rhythm? It is so much easier to pop a pill or get a massage but nothing changes unless you change. The key is to move beyond pathology and see what is really causing you to sabotage yourself.
When the body is healthy and functioning well you can fully concentrate on your unique gift rather than your sickness. Nature is always in balance. Sickness allows you to stop going where you are going and return back to balance. Like the seasons, allow yourself to dance with nature, to ebb and to flow and to give your body the best it deserves. Your awareness.
Air & ether being two lightest of the five elements they are easily aggravated. Vata is especially heighten during the fall season as well as during the transition between seasons. The other 3 elements are fire, water and earth. Fire is heighten during summer. Water is heighten during spring. Earth is heighten in winter.
Because Vata is most unstable it is not surprising that there are more people affected by Vata imbalance than Pitta (fire & water) or Kapha (water & earth). In order to regulate Vata you need to regulate your physical rhythm. It goes without saying that once you do your mental and emotional rhythm are also regulated. It is a wonderful side effect for the fast pace, high stress world we are living in.
Our body, as complex and intelligence as it is has simple demands. You need to give it the nourishment it needs and allow the natural metabolism and waste removal to take place. It is easier said than done for most of us because we have been hypnotized into thinking that there is something out there that can fix us.
Ayurveda teaches us to simply connect to ourselves. The only real problem we have is that we are disconnected to our body, to our heart (emotion & feeling) and to our soul (faith in self and Self). I am saying this because I have seen it in myself and in all the clients I have an honor to work with.
Do not rely solely on drugs, herbs or body therapies conventional or holistic. They are helpful and sometime life saving. I do not under estimate their values and personally use specific herbs and body therapies to enhance my well being at certain time. They can treat symptoms effectively but you are not your symptoms.
Things cannot change you. Your doctor, massage therapist, holistic practitioner and even yoga teacher can not change you. Nobody can take this special responsibility and nobody can take a credit for improving your health. You are the only one who has the power to change and heal yourself.
So, please snap out of it(as I often remind myself) and follow the following simple guidelines. You should observe these guidelines throughout the year and especially during the fall season.
1. Eat regular meals daily. Allow yourself time to sit down and eat without distraction.
2. Have lunch as your biggest meal. The sun is strongest around noon and so is your internal digestive fire.
3. Drink a glass of warm water after morning rise then allow yourself time in the morning to eliminate.
4. Go to bed by 10 pm and rise during dawn or sunrise daily.
To counter the cold, light and dry qualities of the fall season you should eat warm, moist and moderately spiced foods such as soup and porridge.
Nothing above is beyond your common sense but how many of us are truly following our natural rhythm? It is so much easier to pop a pill or get a massage but nothing changes unless you change. The key is to move beyond pathology and see what is really causing you to sabotage yourself.
When the body is healthy and functioning well you can fully concentrate on your unique gift rather than your sickness. Nature is always in balance. Sickness allows you to stop going where you are going and return back to balance. Like the seasons, allow yourself to dance with nature, to ebb and to flow and to give your body the best it deserves. Your awareness.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Summer Updates
Greetings! It has been a while since I last blogged. The last two blogs were so effective. Hence, I have cut down on my time spending in the world wide web and more in the world.
I am enjoying teaching yoga and giving Ayurvedic consultations more than ever. Sometime I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for having found my dharma or righteous duty. For some of us it takes a while to feel our way through many roads and turns. All of them affect our physical and spiritual growth. The dharmic path finds us when we are ready for it.
I am reading a book called "How to be an Adult". The title sounds condescending but I think it's just plain honest. I have a long way to go in letting go of all neurotic responses (learned and used as childhood protections) and unleashing natural responses. Behavioral patterns are fascinating and Ayurveda explains them so well through the observance of Doshic imbalances.
Yoga is a great tool for transforming neurotic patterns into authentic ones. So, grab a mat, head to a yoga studio, get a book on Ayurveda or even better an ayurvedic consultation and get into yourself. Summer is the best time to enjoy you!
Well, here are the news. I am hosting an Ayurvedic cleanse workshop once a month at Downtown Yoga Shala in San Jose. The info is on my website as well as the Shala's. I did my cleanse a week ago, felt and still feel great and am looking forward to the next one.
Starting on the first Sunday of September'09 I will be teaching two morning yoga classes back to back at the popular Avalon Yoga in Palo Alto. I will lose my one and only whole day off but I will be enjoying and treasuring every moment.
Besides work, I am happy to report that my house is growing green. My partner Eric and I have been working hard on the yard and are enjoying the fruits of our effort. It's amazing what little it takes for the plants to thrive. So, get down and dirty, plant, breath and eat the Prana or vital life force that is nature. Merry summer to you all.
I am enjoying teaching yoga and giving Ayurvedic consultations more than ever. Sometime I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for having found my dharma or righteous duty. For some of us it takes a while to feel our way through many roads and turns. All of them affect our physical and spiritual growth. The dharmic path finds us when we are ready for it.
I am reading a book called "How to be an Adult". The title sounds condescending but I think it's just plain honest. I have a long way to go in letting go of all neurotic responses (learned and used as childhood protections) and unleashing natural responses. Behavioral patterns are fascinating and Ayurveda explains them so well through the observance of Doshic imbalances.
Yoga is a great tool for transforming neurotic patterns into authentic ones. So, grab a mat, head to a yoga studio, get a book on Ayurveda or even better an ayurvedic consultation and get into yourself. Summer is the best time to enjoy you!
Well, here are the news. I am hosting an Ayurvedic cleanse workshop once a month at Downtown Yoga Shala in San Jose. The info is on my website as well as the Shala's. I did my cleanse a week ago, felt and still feel great and am looking forward to the next one.
Starting on the first Sunday of September'09 I will be teaching two morning yoga classes back to back at the popular Avalon Yoga in Palo Alto. I will lose my one and only whole day off but I will be enjoying and treasuring every moment.
Besides work, I am happy to report that my house is growing green. My partner Eric and I have been working hard on the yard and are enjoying the fruits of our effort. It's amazing what little it takes for the plants to thrive. So, get down and dirty, plant, breath and eat the Prana or vital life force that is nature. Merry summer to you all.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Calling : Purifying the Heart and Mind with 5 Sense Therapy
What is the tune of your vibration?
Your sense of hearing is the finest sense of all the five senses. It connects to the ether or space element. Your sense of seeing connects to the fire element and allow you to digest what you see culminating into your outer and inner vision or intellectual and spiritual outlook. In a similar fashion, your sense of hearing needs space or stillness in order to express and receive the sound and connect you to your inner calling or your vibration.
I think one of the greatest contribution to today's human and societal malaise is the over-exposed sense of hearing. As I said this I am hearing a loud sound of a garbage pick-up truck in front of my house. It is disconcerting to the nervous system. But we endure this and feed our ears with even more jarring sounds by choice on a regular basis. In order to bring balance to your tune and hear your true calling you have to create appropriate tonal vibration for yourself. Here are some steps you can take.
1. Get quiet.
Your sense of hearing needs space. If you have been exposing yourself constantly with sounds, take a break. Take at least a day off from talking or listening to music, movies, speech, conversations and any other man-made sounds.
2. Listen to nature.
Give yourself a gift of sound healing and immerse yourself in the sound of nature. Listen to ocean waves, waterfall, bird singing, animal roaring, wind blowing leaves...
3. Listen to the music of the heart.
Music that contains no words connect to emotional vibration. Music that contains words connects to mental vibration. Words can connect you to your emotion but it goes through the mental process and trap you to the physical world. It crowds your mind and block your calling. In contrast, listening to classical music, traditional drumming or any other soothing, rhythmic instrumentals connects you directly to your heart and feeling. Scott Blossom, my yoga teacher said "Prana flows to life when you are not thinking." Let the right music feeds and nourish you.
4. Listen to the higher vibration.
The sound of Om, Bija Mantras (Sanskrit seed sounds) and Mantras are the pathway I use to tune up to the higher vibration. In the eastern spiritual tradition, a mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of creating transformation. The equivalence in the western tradition is a prayer. Before and during a session of Ayurvedic body therapy I was taught to chant a certain mantra appropriate to the individual receiving the treatment. The chanting can be done out loud or silently repeated in the mind. I also practice Japa meditation by repeating the mantra mentally while using 108 Mala beads to keep the mind focus.
5. Express your true vibration.
What comes out of your mouth go back in your ears and affect your sense of hearing. The vibration you share through your own sound either uplift or lower your and collective vibration. Harmful words are said in reaction to your feeling of fear, anger and grief. They show up as a gossip, a lie, a polite avoidance or an unmeaningful chat. Take a moment to be with, process and accept your inner experience before communicating it to others. You suppress your inner experience and manipulate your outer experience when you try to impress others through your words positively or negatively. Say what your heart wants to say in order to express your true vibration.
6. Receive your calling.
You can either live your drama or your Dharma. Dharma means truth and it connects you to your life purpose or your calling. Drama is an elaborate mental work. It separates you from the truth. Do you like listening to other people's stories? Do you like telling your stories? Are you or perhaps many of your friends are drama queen/king? Drama makes your life complicated. In this environment it is impossible for you to notice and hear your inner voice. Create space in your mind through a quiet practice of yoga and meditation. Your life will become simple and spacious. The tune of your vibration will no longer attract drama beings into your life. Within this simplicity and spaciousness you will find your life purpose and true calling.
These steps are helpful in cultivating a balance vibrational tune for your life's song. It doesn't mean that you have to stop enjoying a little story telling or some rock music. But after practicing the steps you may find that you no longer are attracted to them. Your sense of hearing is balance when you can be with all kind of vibrational expression without grasping or averting. And no matter what tune you are hearing at the moment you are always listening to your inner song.
Your sense of hearing is the finest sense of all the five senses. It connects to the ether or space element. Your sense of seeing connects to the fire element and allow you to digest what you see culminating into your outer and inner vision or intellectual and spiritual outlook. In a similar fashion, your sense of hearing needs space or stillness in order to express and receive the sound and connect you to your inner calling or your vibration.
I think one of the greatest contribution to today's human and societal malaise is the over-exposed sense of hearing. As I said this I am hearing a loud sound of a garbage pick-up truck in front of my house. It is disconcerting to the nervous system. But we endure this and feed our ears with even more jarring sounds by choice on a regular basis. In order to bring balance to your tune and hear your true calling you have to create appropriate tonal vibration for yourself. Here are some steps you can take.
1. Get quiet.
Your sense of hearing needs space. If you have been exposing yourself constantly with sounds, take a break. Take at least a day off from talking or listening to music, movies, speech, conversations and any other man-made sounds.
2. Listen to nature.
Give yourself a gift of sound healing and immerse yourself in the sound of nature. Listen to ocean waves, waterfall, bird singing, animal roaring, wind blowing leaves...
3. Listen to the music of the heart.
Music that contains no words connect to emotional vibration. Music that contains words connects to mental vibration. Words can connect you to your emotion but it goes through the mental process and trap you to the physical world. It crowds your mind and block your calling. In contrast, listening to classical music, traditional drumming or any other soothing, rhythmic instrumentals connects you directly to your heart and feeling. Scott Blossom, my yoga teacher said "Prana flows to life when you are not thinking." Let the right music feeds and nourish you.
4. Listen to the higher vibration.
The sound of Om, Bija Mantras (Sanskrit seed sounds) and Mantras are the pathway I use to tune up to the higher vibration. In the eastern spiritual tradition, a mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of creating transformation. The equivalence in the western tradition is a prayer. Before and during a session of Ayurvedic body therapy I was taught to chant a certain mantra appropriate to the individual receiving the treatment. The chanting can be done out loud or silently repeated in the mind. I also practice Japa meditation by repeating the mantra mentally while using 108 Mala beads to keep the mind focus.
5. Express your true vibration.
What comes out of your mouth go back in your ears and affect your sense of hearing. The vibration you share through your own sound either uplift or lower your and collective vibration. Harmful words are said in reaction to your feeling of fear, anger and grief. They show up as a gossip, a lie, a polite avoidance or an unmeaningful chat. Take a moment to be with, process and accept your inner experience before communicating it to others. You suppress your inner experience and manipulate your outer experience when you try to impress others through your words positively or negatively. Say what your heart wants to say in order to express your true vibration.
6. Receive your calling.
You can either live your drama or your Dharma. Dharma means truth and it connects you to your life purpose or your calling. Drama is an elaborate mental work. It separates you from the truth. Do you like listening to other people's stories? Do you like telling your stories? Are you or perhaps many of your friends are drama queen/king? Drama makes your life complicated. In this environment it is impossible for you to notice and hear your inner voice. Create space in your mind through a quiet practice of yoga and meditation. Your life will become simple and spacious. The tune of your vibration will no longer attract drama beings into your life. Within this simplicity and spaciousness you will find your life purpose and true calling.
These steps are helpful in cultivating a balance vibrational tune for your life's song. It doesn't mean that you have to stop enjoying a little story telling or some rock music. But after practicing the steps you may find that you no longer are attracted to them. Your sense of hearing is balance when you can be with all kind of vibrational expression without grasping or averting. And no matter what tune you are hearing at the moment you are always listening to your inner song.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Vision : Purifying the Heart and Mind with 5 Sense Therapy
Whenever I mention the ayurvedic 5 sense therapy to clients I see their eyes lit up. It sounds like some feel good spa treatment nobody wants to miss. In truth, 5 sense therapy is an active practice and YOU are the practitioner. Your sense of seeing connects to the fire element and allow you to digest what you see culminating into your outer and inner vision or intellectual and spiritual outlook.
We are in an extremely visual time in our culture. You can see your friends thousands of miles away from you and all the scenes which the medias find worthwhile to capture on screen. You can create and share your images for the world to see through YouTube. This blog allows me to communicate my thoughts to you. Everybody (except me) seems to have a phone equipped with camera and internet so you can always fill your vision with images and words of your own or of others.
Your reality is shaped by your perception. Your choice of visual input influences your perception and creates your world. It's impossible to see an alternative reality if you live your life surrounding by the same scenes and expose yourself to the same point of view. With the technology and the precipitous choices you have, how do you bring balance to your sense of seeing or your vision?
The more I study yoga and ayurveda the more I realize that nothing happens for no reason and there is no such thing as accidents. I used to get in tiny accidents all the time - a bruise here and there, dropping things and so on. They don't happen so often now. I contribute it to my mindfulness of the five senses. If I happen to fall and hurt my foot or have a headache I take a moment pause. I look back and connect the result which is how I feel to the cause which is what I was doing before the condition occurs - eating, watching, hearing, touching or smelling.
Observing your use of the five senses cultivates reasoning strategy. It allows you to fully live your experience, to be here and to witness. Eventually, you become adept to listening to your inner needs and feeding your body properly through the five senses at any given moment. You become intuit(ive). Your intuition allows you to live with ease in an unbroken flow. If an accident occurs it too is a part of that flow and you can appreciate its gift and grow from its lesson.
Slowing down and having a period of fasting is crucial if you have been over-exposing your sense of seeing. Stop watching TV, texting, facebooking, twittering and entertainment reading for a day or more. Purifying the heart and mind requires that you cleanse both. You make space then afterward fill the space with what feed and nourish both your heart and mind the most. What you choose to watch, read, write and share through words and pictures should give you and others intellectual and spiritual wisdom which uplift the collective vision.
There are certain qualities which purify your heart and mind. Your chosen visual fares should support the health of your body, mind and spirit. The followings are the main ingredients which bring balance to your sense of seeing and support your inner and outer vision.
1. Sadhana
Does your surrounding, what you read and watch provides you a means to connect to your spiritual life? I am assuming that if you are reading this blog you are somewhat open to the idea that spiritual life uplifts you and material life brings suffering. When you are stuck in the material perception your vision is limited by shapes, forms and words. You are possessed by comparison to others' look and material achievement. Sadhana means spiritual practice. When you practice Sadhana you associate with subjects and objects that would inspire spiritual living. What you see cultivate gratitude, love and kindness as opposed to desires, clinging and aversion. Your awareness is internal and your vision is expansive.
2. Sattva
Does your surrounding, what you read and watch bring spaciousness, ease and calm to your emotional mind? Are the contents and colors soothing or irritating? Do they influence your mental faculty toward purity and spiritual enlightenment or toward material obsession? For more on Sattva please read my past blog "Cultivating Sattva." Exposing yourself to Sattvic material sooth, clear, and calm your heart and mind.
3. Dharma
Does what you choose to see communicate truth or perpetuate dramatic illusion? Dharma is the ultimate reality or truth which operates nature. When you live your Dharma you live a life of purpose. Notice your surrounding at home or at work. Are you surrounding yourself with natural objects such as plants, flowers, rocks, wood, water or man-made objects? Do you read or watch subjects which communicate truth or perpetuate dramas? Do they instill anxiety, fear, cynicism and hatred which separate you from the rest of the world? Nature functions as interconnected parts. Exposing yourself to nature and its universal law cultivates truthful perception of the natural cycle - birth, life and death. There is no ending nor separation. There is nothing to fear when you know your true nature as spirit intertwined with matters.
As you can see all the three ingredients direct you toward spiritual realization. Yet you are not just a spirit because if you are then there is no need to balance your sense of seeing. Purifying the heart and mind is not about denying the worldly reality in order to pursuit the spiritual reality. You feed both intellectual and spiritual- heart and mind. By understanding and balancing all aspect of yourself you are the artist of your five senses. You can create a masterpiece of your life and live its full potential.
I have just realized that I am reading three books simultaneously. I read The Dhamapada:Verses on The Way by Glenn Wallis after the morning meditation, Dancing with Life by Phillip Mofitt whenever I have time during the day and The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra before I go to bed. I normally read one book at a time so, this new pattern is fascinating to me. It is no accident. I am overcompensating the use of my sense of seeing. Yes, I have been blogging, facebooking, news reading and movie watching. I live in the world and I appreciate worldly activities and vision that connect me to my fellow beings.
I draw my balance through reading spiritual books. Those that would support my highest vision and cultivate within me Dharma, Sattva and Sadhana. So that I can connect to myself as pure awareness or spiritual being while living in this body, seeing from these eyes, processing the worldly information and keeping it all real.
We are in an extremely visual time in our culture. You can see your friends thousands of miles away from you and all the scenes which the medias find worthwhile to capture on screen. You can create and share your images for the world to see through YouTube. This blog allows me to communicate my thoughts to you. Everybody (except me) seems to have a phone equipped with camera and internet so you can always fill your vision with images and words of your own or of others.
Your reality is shaped by your perception. Your choice of visual input influences your perception and creates your world. It's impossible to see an alternative reality if you live your life surrounding by the same scenes and expose yourself to the same point of view. With the technology and the precipitous choices you have, how do you bring balance to your sense of seeing or your vision?
The more I study yoga and ayurveda the more I realize that nothing happens for no reason and there is no such thing as accidents. I used to get in tiny accidents all the time - a bruise here and there, dropping things and so on. They don't happen so often now. I contribute it to my mindfulness of the five senses. If I happen to fall and hurt my foot or have a headache I take a moment pause. I look back and connect the result which is how I feel to the cause which is what I was doing before the condition occurs - eating, watching, hearing, touching or smelling.
Observing your use of the five senses cultivates reasoning strategy. It allows you to fully live your experience, to be here and to witness. Eventually, you become adept to listening to your inner needs and feeding your body properly through the five senses at any given moment. You become intuit(ive). Your intuition allows you to live with ease in an unbroken flow. If an accident occurs it too is a part of that flow and you can appreciate its gift and grow from its lesson.
Slowing down and having a period of fasting is crucial if you have been over-exposing your sense of seeing. Stop watching TV, texting, facebooking, twittering and entertainment reading for a day or more. Purifying the heart and mind requires that you cleanse both. You make space then afterward fill the space with what feed and nourish both your heart and mind the most. What you choose to watch, read, write and share through words and pictures should give you and others intellectual and spiritual wisdom which uplift the collective vision.
There are certain qualities which purify your heart and mind. Your chosen visual fares should support the health of your body, mind and spirit. The followings are the main ingredients which bring balance to your sense of seeing and support your inner and outer vision.
1. Sadhana
Does your surrounding, what you read and watch provides you a means to connect to your spiritual life? I am assuming that if you are reading this blog you are somewhat open to the idea that spiritual life uplifts you and material life brings suffering. When you are stuck in the material perception your vision is limited by shapes, forms and words. You are possessed by comparison to others' look and material achievement. Sadhana means spiritual practice. When you practice Sadhana you associate with subjects and objects that would inspire spiritual living. What you see cultivate gratitude, love and kindness as opposed to desires, clinging and aversion. Your awareness is internal and your vision is expansive.
2. Sattva
Does your surrounding, what you read and watch bring spaciousness, ease and calm to your emotional mind? Are the contents and colors soothing or irritating? Do they influence your mental faculty toward purity and spiritual enlightenment or toward material obsession? For more on Sattva please read my past blog "Cultivating Sattva." Exposing yourself to Sattvic material sooth, clear, and calm your heart and mind.
3. Dharma
Does what you choose to see communicate truth or perpetuate dramatic illusion? Dharma is the ultimate reality or truth which operates nature. When you live your Dharma you live a life of purpose. Notice your surrounding at home or at work. Are you surrounding yourself with natural objects such as plants, flowers, rocks, wood, water or man-made objects? Do you read or watch subjects which communicate truth or perpetuate dramas? Do they instill anxiety, fear, cynicism and hatred which separate you from the rest of the world? Nature functions as interconnected parts. Exposing yourself to nature and its universal law cultivates truthful perception of the natural cycle - birth, life and death. There is no ending nor separation. There is nothing to fear when you know your true nature as spirit intertwined with matters.
As you can see all the three ingredients direct you toward spiritual realization. Yet you are not just a spirit because if you are then there is no need to balance your sense of seeing. Purifying the heart and mind is not about denying the worldly reality in order to pursuit the spiritual reality. You feed both intellectual and spiritual- heart and mind. By understanding and balancing all aspect of yourself you are the artist of your five senses. You can create a masterpiece of your life and live its full potential.
I have just realized that I am reading three books simultaneously. I read The Dhamapada:Verses on The Way by Glenn Wallis after the morning meditation, Dancing with Life by Phillip Mofitt whenever I have time during the day and The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra before I go to bed. I normally read one book at a time so, this new pattern is fascinating to me. It is no accident. I am overcompensating the use of my sense of seeing. Yes, I have been blogging, facebooking, news reading and movie watching. I live in the world and I appreciate worldly activities and vision that connect me to my fellow beings.
I draw my balance through reading spiritual books. Those that would support my highest vision and cultivate within me Dharma, Sattva and Sadhana. So that I can connect to myself as pure awareness or spiritual being while living in this body, seeing from these eyes, processing the worldly information and keeping it all real.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Clinging (love) vs. LOVE
To cling is to desire a different past and a certain outcome for the future.
I had a conversation with a dear friend of mine a few days back. We discussed how one could let go of clinging or desires. I know I have to be present. It is missing when I dwell in the past and the future. But how? How can I experience ease and joy of the present moment when I can't pull away from my desire for the past and future?
Here is what she told me. Instead of reasoning my way out of it, I need to experience my clinging and desire fully. The past and the future is only in my head - in thoughts. So, explore it all the way using thoughts and visualization. Take "thinking it through" to another level. Watch the whole story unfolds. Go with it from the beginning to the end. Don't stop yourself. Don't tell yourself these are trouble thoughts. Allow yourself to experience the thoughts fully.
And so, I did. I have been talking in my yoga classes about being open to experience all the emotions whether you label them positive or negative. Because once you experience them fully you then have no need for them anymore and you can truly move on. They may come back again but you are more comfortable in your body and mind while experiencing them.I am now using this knowledge to skillfully work with clinging as well.
After just one session I felt spaciousness enveloped me. It was like I broke a spell. Instead of thinking about my object of desire (which can be a situation, person or object) I began to see the world around me. People who I have not thought much about because I was so focus on my desired object began to surface in my thoughts. And so are all the precious gifts I have which support my life. I felt a sense of ease and gratitude for everything that I have and everyone that I know. I felt a sense of connectedness. I felt LOVE.
The most effective way to get out of your head is to get in it. Observe everything that comes to pass. Afterward you may get the result I got. "Do I REALLY want that?" was my response to the outcome of what I have observed. It's no fun being stuck in the ego. You reduce your chance of joy by achieving the one object of your desire. That's extremely limited considering what you have out there. Get out of your head, let go of the small love and feel the LOVE.
I had a conversation with a dear friend of mine a few days back. We discussed how one could let go of clinging or desires. I know I have to be present. It is missing when I dwell in the past and the future. But how? How can I experience ease and joy of the present moment when I can't pull away from my desire for the past and future?
Here is what she told me. Instead of reasoning my way out of it, I need to experience my clinging and desire fully. The past and the future is only in my head - in thoughts. So, explore it all the way using thoughts and visualization. Take "thinking it through" to another level. Watch the whole story unfolds. Go with it from the beginning to the end. Don't stop yourself. Don't tell yourself these are trouble thoughts. Allow yourself to experience the thoughts fully.
And so, I did. I have been talking in my yoga classes about being open to experience all the emotions whether you label them positive or negative. Because once you experience them fully you then have no need for them anymore and you can truly move on. They may come back again but you are more comfortable in your body and mind while experiencing them.I am now using this knowledge to skillfully work with clinging as well.
After just one session I felt spaciousness enveloped me. It was like I broke a spell. Instead of thinking about my object of desire (which can be a situation, person or object) I began to see the world around me. People who I have not thought much about because I was so focus on my desired object began to surface in my thoughts. And so are all the precious gifts I have which support my life. I felt a sense of ease and gratitude for everything that I have and everyone that I know. I felt a sense of connectedness. I felt LOVE.
The most effective way to get out of your head is to get in it. Observe everything that comes to pass. Afterward you may get the result I got. "Do I REALLY want that?" was my response to the outcome of what I have observed. It's no fun being stuck in the ego. You reduce your chance of joy by achieving the one object of your desire. That's extremely limited considering what you have out there. Get out of your head, let go of the small love and feel the LOVE.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Work to Live or Live to Work?
My teaching schedule has (extremely) expanded. I now teach yoga everyday. When I tell people this I get sympathetic comments. Most of us identify work as that which we should not invest more than 8 hours a day 5 days a week on. We need weekends and vacations to bring us back to balance because work is not play nor rest.
Fortunately for me, my work is as much a play and rest as it is work. I teach one to four classes a day. There is a lot of commuting involved either driving my car or riding my bike. But I also have plenty of time in between classes. I do not miss weekends nor a full day off. Though, I do plan to take some time off to learn (guess what?) more about yoga.
I realize that my path of practicing yoga is to teach yoga. I read somewhere a long time ago that if you want to learn, you read; if you want to understand, you write; if you want to master, you teach. Or something like that. So, I took it to heart and from the beginning I told myself that I would teach in order to learn and master yoga. And yes, I do read and write about yoga.
According to ayurveda, your work, job or career is vital to your well being. Especially, if you are of Pitta age which is the productive stage in the human life cycle from age 20's to 40's. Often when people are unhappy with their life or career situation they begin to look for something else to fulfill them. For me it was traveling. Back in my corporate job, I would dream up exotic destinations and incessantly planed my future vacations. I would also play sick. In fact I was truly ill at ease mentally and emotionally and it did manifest physically.
During the productive age it is vitally important that you do produce. Either you procreate or co-create. If your career or personal life does not allow you to express your full potential the repression turns into symptomatic conditions. Left untreated your life would spiral into what we now call mid-life crisis but it can happen anytime during the productive age (a different crisis at a different stage of life may also manifest). At one point your lid would blow open and you would do something extraordinary (weird, you may say). This is utterly necessary and normal!
I had my crisis at the age of thirty (and look forward for more to come). All of a sudden my life transformed. I did something totally out of character (weird or even sinful, you may say). And five years later I found the work which allowed me to express my full potential. It continues to grow with me. When your career uplifts you your service feeds others as much as it feeds you. You do not feel tired and depressed. You feel alive and vital. Your work is your nourishment.
Not all of us need a mid-life crisis. But all of us need to live life with purpose. Your career and your work is the reason why you are needed here on earth. And I don't mean that it has to be a job. You can be a mother, a monk or a beggar. Whatever your chosen contribution is it must nourish you and others. Is your work junk food or whole food? Are you working to live your daily existence or are you living to work your full potential?
Fortunately for me, my work is as much a play and rest as it is work. I teach one to four classes a day. There is a lot of commuting involved either driving my car or riding my bike. But I also have plenty of time in between classes. I do not miss weekends nor a full day off. Though, I do plan to take some time off to learn (guess what?) more about yoga.
I realize that my path of practicing yoga is to teach yoga. I read somewhere a long time ago that if you want to learn, you read; if you want to understand, you write; if you want to master, you teach. Or something like that. So, I took it to heart and from the beginning I told myself that I would teach in order to learn and master yoga. And yes, I do read and write about yoga.
According to ayurveda, your work, job or career is vital to your well being. Especially, if you are of Pitta age which is the productive stage in the human life cycle from age 20's to 40's. Often when people are unhappy with their life or career situation they begin to look for something else to fulfill them. For me it was traveling. Back in my corporate job, I would dream up exotic destinations and incessantly planed my future vacations. I would also play sick. In fact I was truly ill at ease mentally and emotionally and it did manifest physically.
During the productive age it is vitally important that you do produce. Either you procreate or co-create. If your career or personal life does not allow you to express your full potential the repression turns into symptomatic conditions. Left untreated your life would spiral into what we now call mid-life crisis but it can happen anytime during the productive age (a different crisis at a different stage of life may also manifest). At one point your lid would blow open and you would do something extraordinary (weird, you may say). This is utterly necessary and normal!
I had my crisis at the age of thirty (and look forward for more to come). All of a sudden my life transformed. I did something totally out of character (weird or even sinful, you may say). And five years later I found the work which allowed me to express my full potential. It continues to grow with me. When your career uplifts you your service feeds others as much as it feeds you. You do not feel tired and depressed. You feel alive and vital. Your work is your nourishment.
Not all of us need a mid-life crisis. But all of us need to live life with purpose. Your career and your work is the reason why you are needed here on earth. And I don't mean that it has to be a job. You can be a mother, a monk or a beggar. Whatever your chosen contribution is it must nourish you and others. Is your work junk food or whole food? Are you working to live your daily existence or are you living to work your full potential?
Monday, March 2, 2009
Cultivating Sattva
Yesterday I bought a magazine called Tathaastu meaning "so be it". It contains the subjects I am fascinating with - ayurveda, herbs, vedic astrology and health spa. In it, an article on ayurveda focuses on the Five elements. Sattva is the quality which accompanies the ether or space element. Ether is the container of all the other four elements - air, fire, water and earth. Everything which exists is made up of all five elements in different and unique combinations.
My focus in life is to have a spiritual understanding in order to live a simple, joyful life. Spiritual life cannot be maintained without the cultivation of sattva or ether element. Sattva is clear, calm, pure, still and spacious. It is unconditional love as opposed to personal love. It does not cling to anything yet it allows everything to co-exist.
A person of sattvic nature possesses spaciousness in the body and mind and naturally gravitate toward cleanliness and non-clutter. The body is supple and at ease rather than hard and stiff. The mind is open to all possibilities rather than limited to a certain point of view. In order to cultivate sattva and live your most authentic self you can bring in ether element to your life.
1. Your foods should be light and not overly spiced. Fresh fruits and vegetables are the staples. Raw milk and sattvic herbs should be taken. Organic foods are sattvic. Frozen, canned and processed foods are tamasic which is the opposite of sattva. Only eat after you have fully digested your last meal. Eat a small portion at a time.
3. Your body should be cleansed regularly using only natural products that are sattvic such as plant-based products rather than animal by-products. The use of make up and perfumes covers you up. Let your natural beauty emanates. Regular exercises cleanse you of daily toxin and strengthen your bodily tissues. But competitions bring in stressful, rajasic qualities which reduces sattva.
3. Your living space should be clean and clear of clutters. It should have plenty of natural light. Its colors should be light and clear rather than muddy and opaque. Again, use natural products that are non-harmful to you and the environment.
4. Your relationship needs space. Cultivate acceptance and spaciousness in all of your relations especially the ones which you face daily. Trying to change another person is a good indication that you are lacking space. If you have determined that the relationship is toxic make a change within yourself. Either move on or embrace the person while creating a lot of space in between. Your life will not be better if the other person change his or her habits.
5. Your activities should be carefully chosen. Are you watching, reading, listening to subjects which promote sattva and spiritual life? Do they promote stillness and calmness or do they make you fearful, anxious or angry? Do they promote simplicity or do they make you want more material life?
Even though, we are born with a certain makeup of the five elements we can increase the ether element through our lifestyle and food choices. Of course, too much ether can also make you spacey. Balance is sattva. It is an art not a formula. You need clarity and space in order to create a well balanced inner and outer life.
My focus in life is to have a spiritual understanding in order to live a simple, joyful life. Spiritual life cannot be maintained without the cultivation of sattva or ether element. Sattva is clear, calm, pure, still and spacious. It is unconditional love as opposed to personal love. It does not cling to anything yet it allows everything to co-exist.
A person of sattvic nature possesses spaciousness in the body and mind and naturally gravitate toward cleanliness and non-clutter. The body is supple and at ease rather than hard and stiff. The mind is open to all possibilities rather than limited to a certain point of view. In order to cultivate sattva and live your most authentic self you can bring in ether element to your life.
1. Your foods should be light and not overly spiced. Fresh fruits and vegetables are the staples. Raw milk and sattvic herbs should be taken. Organic foods are sattvic. Frozen, canned and processed foods are tamasic which is the opposite of sattva. Only eat after you have fully digested your last meal. Eat a small portion at a time.
3. Your body should be cleansed regularly using only natural products that are sattvic such as plant-based products rather than animal by-products. The use of make up and perfumes covers you up. Let your natural beauty emanates. Regular exercises cleanse you of daily toxin and strengthen your bodily tissues. But competitions bring in stressful, rajasic qualities which reduces sattva.
3. Your living space should be clean and clear of clutters. It should have plenty of natural light. Its colors should be light and clear rather than muddy and opaque. Again, use natural products that are non-harmful to you and the environment.
4. Your relationship needs space. Cultivate acceptance and spaciousness in all of your relations especially the ones which you face daily. Trying to change another person is a good indication that you are lacking space. If you have determined that the relationship is toxic make a change within yourself. Either move on or embrace the person while creating a lot of space in between. Your life will not be better if the other person change his or her habits.
5. Your activities should be carefully chosen. Are you watching, reading, listening to subjects which promote sattva and spiritual life? Do they promote stillness and calmness or do they make you fearful, anxious or angry? Do they promote simplicity or do they make you want more material life?
Even though, we are born with a certain makeup of the five elements we can increase the ether element through our lifestyle and food choices. Of course, too much ether can also make you spacey. Balance is sattva. It is an art not a formula. You need clarity and space in order to create a well balanced inner and outer life.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Flowing with the Rhythm of Life
Perhaps the rhythm of the rain has inspired me. For the last week while we had non-stop rain, I have included drumming as part of my morning meditation. I have a tiny djembe that fits snugly in my lap. Its tones and rhythm created by the movement of my hands and fingers sooth my ears and mesmerize my soul.
The sound of rain is deeply ingrained in my consciousness. Growing up in Thailand I experienced three straight months of non-stop rain every year from July to September. I was born during the monsoon season. The rain was always welcomed after an extremely hot summer. The clear sky was always appreciated after the rain. You receive exactly just what you need at just the right place and the right time.
Yesterday the sky was cleared. I put a variety of baby vegetables in the big garden box inherited from the last homeowner. Digging through the dirt I saw many worms. They were dancing. I made my apology for having invaded their space and tried to shove the dirt gently. I have no training in gardening or drumming. Instead of reading books, googling about them or asking experts, I close my eyes and feel my way through the dirt and the drum. Not that this is the most efficient way but it is the way which life has presented to me.
Springtime is associated with the water element. Water provides nutrients and prana for all things to flourish and grow. This is the most supportive time to flow, co-create, pro-create, plant and grow. Is there something which prevents you from flowing and growing? Are you trying too hard? Life gives you the answer you need if you would allow yourself to see exactly how it is. Perhaps you can change your course and move downstream rather than upstream. Instead of fighting try dancing (or drumming, or gardening)! Flowing with the rhythm of life allows you to appreciate the ordinary gifts that you already have. You may have to close your eyes and go "inside" in order to feel the magic.
The sound of rain is deeply ingrained in my consciousness. Growing up in Thailand I experienced three straight months of non-stop rain every year from July to September. I was born during the monsoon season. The rain was always welcomed after an extremely hot summer. The clear sky was always appreciated after the rain. You receive exactly just what you need at just the right place and the right time.
Yesterday the sky was cleared. I put a variety of baby vegetables in the big garden box inherited from the last homeowner. Digging through the dirt I saw many worms. They were dancing. I made my apology for having invaded their space and tried to shove the dirt gently. I have no training in gardening or drumming. Instead of reading books, googling about them or asking experts, I close my eyes and feel my way through the dirt and the drum. Not that this is the most efficient way but it is the way which life has presented to me.
Springtime is associated with the water element. Water provides nutrients and prana for all things to flourish and grow. This is the most supportive time to flow, co-create, pro-create, plant and grow. Is there something which prevents you from flowing and growing? Are you trying too hard? Life gives you the answer you need if you would allow yourself to see exactly how it is. Perhaps you can change your course and move downstream rather than upstream. Instead of fighting try dancing (or drumming, or gardening)! Flowing with the rhythm of life allows you to appreciate the ordinary gifts that you already have. You may have to close your eyes and go "inside" in order to feel the magic.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Welcoming Spring
I have been harvesting oranges, avocados, rosemary and lavender from my backyard. It's truly amazing how many fruits a tree can bear. So, much to my delight I have been sharing them with neighbors, friends and students. After a session of weeding therapy this afternoon I thought a blog therapy was called for. Being a city dweller most of my life I have spent little time tending to the earth. Being close to nature is vital to our well being. In fact, I believe much of our idiocy, inauthenticity and imbalance can be cured by being with nature and working with the earth.
Mother Maya, the author of The Path of Practice, went away from New York City to live close to nature while suffering the last stage of cancer. Her doctor told her she had very little time left. Nature gave back her life. Or rather, she allowed herself to live her nature. Ayurveda stems from the knowledge of nature. I imagine the ancient sages and physicians must have spent a vast amount of time observing and meditating on nature's ebb and flow and its complete connectedness. Ayurveda means the science of life.
Nature is self sustaining and self recycling. I dreaded the cleaning up of all the leaves that fell during the fall. Yet, after coming home from a x'mas trip I found most of them have decayed and perished. It has been raining. A welcoming sign of spring. The junction between the end of winter and the beginning of spring is the time to clear space hence, my weeding. I checked many of the bushes and trees that still look like dry carcasses from the winter cold. I was especially nervous about the little persimmon tree that got put in during the fall. It produced two delicious full grown fruits by the winter. I had no cause to fear. All life wants to live including the ones in my yard. They have grown their tiny baby buds soon to be leaves and branches.
To welcome spring into your life first lighten up. Read my past blog called "Create Room for the New." Then, enliven yourself with activities that keep you close to the earth and nature. Go hiking, sitting by a lake or in a park, gardening, tap your feet/dancing, drumming outdoor by a fire pit by an ocean, visiting a hot spring, camping, etc. The idea is to get down and dirty. If you have a tight budget go for weeding. If you don't have a yard to weed create an indoor container garden. Sitting under a tree is the best way to spend your time contemplating, meditating or just relaxing. Get together with your friends and go for a picnic. Become a child, a new bud again. Enjoy!
Mother Maya, the author of The Path of Practice, went away from New York City to live close to nature while suffering the last stage of cancer. Her doctor told her she had very little time left. Nature gave back her life. Or rather, she allowed herself to live her nature. Ayurveda stems from the knowledge of nature. I imagine the ancient sages and physicians must have spent a vast amount of time observing and meditating on nature's ebb and flow and its complete connectedness. Ayurveda means the science of life.
Nature is self sustaining and self recycling. I dreaded the cleaning up of all the leaves that fell during the fall. Yet, after coming home from a x'mas trip I found most of them have decayed and perished. It has been raining. A welcoming sign of spring. The junction between the end of winter and the beginning of spring is the time to clear space hence, my weeding. I checked many of the bushes and trees that still look like dry carcasses from the winter cold. I was especially nervous about the little persimmon tree that got put in during the fall. It produced two delicious full grown fruits by the winter. I had no cause to fear. All life wants to live including the ones in my yard. They have grown their tiny baby buds soon to be leaves and branches.
To welcome spring into your life first lighten up. Read my past blog called "Create Room for the New." Then, enliven yourself with activities that keep you close to the earth and nature. Go hiking, sitting by a lake or in a park, gardening, tap your feet/dancing, drumming outdoor by a fire pit by an ocean, visiting a hot spring, camping, etc. The idea is to get down and dirty. If you have a tight budget go for weeding. If you don't have a yard to weed create an indoor container garden. Sitting under a tree is the best way to spend your time contemplating, meditating or just relaxing. Get together with your friends and go for a picnic. Become a child, a new bud again. Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Karma Yoga: Live Responsibly; Take Nothing Personally
Lately this title has been my mantra. As a yoga teacher I have had fear of causing catastrophic disharmony to many people who show up in my classes. People just like me who have many likes and dislikes. And God forbids that it should turn out they don't like me! So, I try to live responsibly. At the least I know I have done my best and there is no regret. Fortunately, yoga has laid out a path for a practitioner like me to follow. Specifically, the teaching of Bhagavad Gita gives you the answer to how to live your life responsibly. It is the path of karma yoga.
Responsible living is not only about doing your best but doing it with no personal interest and expect no personal gain. Karma yoga takes the concept of service to the greatest height. The practice of karma yoga may sound daunting but a deeper contemplation would result in the realization that it is simply the most effective way to live. What freedom and joy it is to be doing for the sake of doing. When you are genuinely curious and deeply interested in what you do, you do it impeccably. You simply savor the journey no matter where it takes you. On the other hand, what a drag it is to be dreading an imperfect result or anxiously hope for a perfect outcome. Your energy is dispersed in to the past and future. You fail to show up because you are too busy worrying about where you came from and what destination you will be arriving.
What prevents you from enjoying your journey is your own limiting beliefs. You feel ill at ease when you limit yourself to who you think you are- wife, husband, teacher, student, Asian, American, addict, famous, ordinary, beautiful, ugly, fat, skinny, intelligent, stupid, etc. Your story and other people's stories that have been feeding you are extremely convincing. But the more you limit yourself to what you are, the more you need fulfillment for what you are not. You convince yourself that you need him or her, a great career, a house, a vacation, children, pets, cup cakes, yoga classes, yoga teachers, whatever, to fill you up. Yet, after acquiring or experiencing them you still feel empty.
In journey to Ixtlan, Carlos Castaneda wrote about loosing self importance. When you feel ill at ease because of guilt, shame, anger, jealousy, etc., you are placing yourself above the rest. You are seeing and feeling from your own personal perspective. They are limited by your personal story. Can you tell yourself that who you think you are is not important; that you are not the center of attention? Not being enough or spiritually fulfilled produces an ongoing internal anxiety which at best creates discontentment and at worst a psychopath. You simply treat yourself and others (living or non-living) as "things". Yoga teaches that peace and happiness can only be found inside. No thing can give a permanent satisfaction because nothing is permanent.
Karma yoga teaches that all thing is divine and when you serve others you serve your highest self. When I get stressed out about teaching I tell myself that all I need to do is to show up and breath. And trust that my personal practice would see me through and serve others well. Whatever I experience in a class is a gift. Whatever the participants in the class experience is also a gift. Do I still get nervous? Sure. But the practice of karma yoga continues to strengthen my faith and fill me up with joy. Through living responsibly and taking nothing personally you orient yourself from the macrocosmic perspective. Your action has its cause and effect that ripples through the universe. The more you take the responsibility of your own action for the good of others the more it reflects back to you.
Responsible living is not only about doing your best but doing it with no personal interest and expect no personal gain. Karma yoga takes the concept of service to the greatest height. The practice of karma yoga may sound daunting but a deeper contemplation would result in the realization that it is simply the most effective way to live. What freedom and joy it is to be doing for the sake of doing. When you are genuinely curious and deeply interested in what you do, you do it impeccably. You simply savor the journey no matter where it takes you. On the other hand, what a drag it is to be dreading an imperfect result or anxiously hope for a perfect outcome. Your energy is dispersed in to the past and future. You fail to show up because you are too busy worrying about where you came from and what destination you will be arriving.
What prevents you from enjoying your journey is your own limiting beliefs. You feel ill at ease when you limit yourself to who you think you are- wife, husband, teacher, student, Asian, American, addict, famous, ordinary, beautiful, ugly, fat, skinny, intelligent, stupid, etc. Your story and other people's stories that have been feeding you are extremely convincing. But the more you limit yourself to what you are, the more you need fulfillment for what you are not. You convince yourself that you need him or her, a great career, a house, a vacation, children, pets, cup cakes, yoga classes, yoga teachers, whatever, to fill you up. Yet, after acquiring or experiencing them you still feel empty.
In journey to Ixtlan, Carlos Castaneda wrote about loosing self importance. When you feel ill at ease because of guilt, shame, anger, jealousy, etc., you are placing yourself above the rest. You are seeing and feeling from your own personal perspective. They are limited by your personal story. Can you tell yourself that who you think you are is not important; that you are not the center of attention? Not being enough or spiritually fulfilled produces an ongoing internal anxiety which at best creates discontentment and at worst a psychopath. You simply treat yourself and others (living or non-living) as "things". Yoga teaches that peace and happiness can only be found inside. No thing can give a permanent satisfaction because nothing is permanent.
Karma yoga teaches that all thing is divine and when you serve others you serve your highest self. When I get stressed out about teaching I tell myself that all I need to do is to show up and breath. And trust that my personal practice would see me through and serve others well. Whatever I experience in a class is a gift. Whatever the participants in the class experience is also a gift. Do I still get nervous? Sure. But the practice of karma yoga continues to strengthen my faith and fill me up with joy. Through living responsibly and taking nothing personally you orient yourself from the macrocosmic perspective. Your action has its cause and effect that ripples through the universe. The more you take the responsibility of your own action for the good of others the more it reflects back to you.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Treating Acne
A few of my yoga students have asked me what to do about their troubled skin. Before I learned about ayurveda I too thought that my pimples had nothing to do with my doing - what I ate or exposed my skin to. I blamed it on external factors like bacterial infection or God's punishment! It is true that if you are not taking good care of yourself bad luck easily happens and external invaders can force their way into your body because your immunity is weak. The external factors however, are not the root cause of your troubled skin.
Acne appears because of Ama or toxicity in your body due to poor diet, premenstrual hormone changes, emotional stress, exposure to chemicals (i.e. makeups and skincare) or too much sunlight. Ama is both physical and subtle. Inappropriate intake through your five senses causes physical toxicity. Inappropriate intake through your emotional mind causes subtle toxicity which affects your nervous system. To check the level of ama in your body observe your tongue first thing in the morning. The thicker coating on your tongue the more ama you have.
There are different types of acne. Vata (air & ether) causes small and dry pimples around the forehead and temples. Pitta (fire & water) causes red, inflamed, pus-filled acne around the nose and cheeks. Kapha (earth & water) causes deeper rooted white head around the chin and jaw. There can also be a combination of doshas. Pitta and Kapha together create cystic acne with deep rooted white head, pus-filled and inflamed pimples.
Firstly, work with your diet. Eat foods according to the imbalanced dosha. You can pick up an ayurveda book or contact an ayurvedic practitioner. Avoid dry foods if you have Vata acne. Avoid spicy, fermented, greasy foods if you have Pitta acne. Avoid rich, heavy foods if you have Kapha acne. Eat fresh, natural and organic foods as opposed to processed, canned and frozen foods. Eat mindfully (see my first blog - Cook Well; Eat Well) and eliminate regularly. Digestive disturbances such as gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea are sure signs that ama is present in your body. Clean your tongue with a tongue scraper in the morning and before bed regularly.
Secondly, use natural and healing remedies. Unless you are treating your acne at the root cause it will continue to reappear or worsen. Using strong medication such as anti biotic or chemical treatments may reduce the appearance of acne temporarily but their negative side effects can be harmful and long lasting. Instead, opt for natural, organic herbal remedies that contain neem, turmeric and sandalwood. You can find them at natural food stores. Try my dosha specific Ubvartan powder (ayurvedaritual.com) as a healing and cleansing paste for your skin.
Lastly, know and honor your unique self. When ama appears on your skin your ego wants to hide, cover, or get rid of it so, nobody can see your flaw. This can lead to bacterial infection and scars as well as low self confident. Instead, leave your skin alone. Let the ama express itself. It is part of you too. The more you fight or hide the more it needs to manifest. The less you worry about it the less it is your obstacle. Focus on your whole being and not just your face. Ultimately, the most harm you can do to yourself is to depress your soul. Choose activities that sooth your spirit and detox your body and mind like yoga and meditation. Cleanse from the inside out and let your beautiful self shine!
Acne appears because of Ama or toxicity in your body due to poor diet, premenstrual hormone changes, emotional stress, exposure to chemicals (i.e. makeups and skincare) or too much sunlight. Ama is both physical and subtle. Inappropriate intake through your five senses causes physical toxicity. Inappropriate intake through your emotional mind causes subtle toxicity which affects your nervous system. To check the level of ama in your body observe your tongue first thing in the morning. The thicker coating on your tongue the more ama you have.
There are different types of acne. Vata (air & ether) causes small and dry pimples around the forehead and temples. Pitta (fire & water) causes red, inflamed, pus-filled acne around the nose and cheeks. Kapha (earth & water) causes deeper rooted white head around the chin and jaw. There can also be a combination of doshas. Pitta and Kapha together create cystic acne with deep rooted white head, pus-filled and inflamed pimples.
Firstly, work with your diet. Eat foods according to the imbalanced dosha. You can pick up an ayurveda book or contact an ayurvedic practitioner. Avoid dry foods if you have Vata acne. Avoid spicy, fermented, greasy foods if you have Pitta acne. Avoid rich, heavy foods if you have Kapha acne. Eat fresh, natural and organic foods as opposed to processed, canned and frozen foods. Eat mindfully (see my first blog - Cook Well; Eat Well) and eliminate regularly. Digestive disturbances such as gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea are sure signs that ama is present in your body. Clean your tongue with a tongue scraper in the morning and before bed regularly.
Secondly, use natural and healing remedies. Unless you are treating your acne at the root cause it will continue to reappear or worsen. Using strong medication such as anti biotic or chemical treatments may reduce the appearance of acne temporarily but their negative side effects can be harmful and long lasting. Instead, opt for natural, organic herbal remedies that contain neem, turmeric and sandalwood. You can find them at natural food stores. Try my dosha specific Ubvartan powder (ayurvedaritual.com) as a healing and cleansing paste for your skin.
Lastly, know and honor your unique self. When ama appears on your skin your ego wants to hide, cover, or get rid of it so, nobody can see your flaw. This can lead to bacterial infection and scars as well as low self confident. Instead, leave your skin alone. Let the ama express itself. It is part of you too. The more you fight or hide the more it needs to manifest. The less you worry about it the less it is your obstacle. Focus on your whole being and not just your face. Ultimately, the most harm you can do to yourself is to depress your soul. Choose activities that sooth your spirit and detox your body and mind like yoga and meditation. Cleanse from the inside out and let your beautiful self shine!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Practicing Pause
I feel like I have been in a pause for the last three days. My body has made a strong request for me to pause. Last Saturday I awoke with a sore throat. I knew right away the events and actions I had taken that led me into the state I was. I told myself to stay cool, made a batch of turmeric tea and took off to teach two classes that morning. Afterward I came home with a chill. I went to bed straight away and covered myself with four thick blankets. I rested, sweated, fasted and drank a lot of turmeric tea. Again, the next day I told myself to stay cool, drank more tea and taught another class. I did the same thing the day after. However, after the Monday night class I lost my voice. I had no choice but to stop. The next day I scrambled to get most my classes for the rest of the week covered.
So, here I am sitting on a couch covered with the new bamboo chenille throw I gave to my partner as a x'mas gift. And pondering about the art of pausing. Another interesting event which has nothing to do with my sore throat was that a friend of mine sent me three emails in a row a few days back. Each subsequent note expressed greater emergency. Had I stopped teaching and rested the first day I felt ill would I still be suffering now or as much? Would my friend feel better if she had stopped and waited for my answer after sending her first email?
Often when I teach yoga, I invite participants to create space. Meaning to move slow and to gently expand and stretch physically, emotionally and mentally. This process is identical to pausing. Because when you pause you ease or completely remove yourself from an urgency mode. You actually slow down. This slowing down give you the creative space you need for right actions or no action. I have a feeling that half or more of what I have done in life were not necessary. Like the two extra emails my friend sent me, I have done the same many times. Living fast is opposite to living smart. You can either slow down now or you are forced to slow down later. One is savoring, the other is suffering. Pause and choose.
So, here I am sitting on a couch covered with the new bamboo chenille throw I gave to my partner as a x'mas gift. And pondering about the art of pausing. Another interesting event which has nothing to do with my sore throat was that a friend of mine sent me three emails in a row a few days back. Each subsequent note expressed greater emergency. Had I stopped teaching and rested the first day I felt ill would I still be suffering now or as much? Would my friend feel better if she had stopped and waited for my answer after sending her first email?
Often when I teach yoga, I invite participants to create space. Meaning to move slow and to gently expand and stretch physically, emotionally and mentally. This process is identical to pausing. Because when you pause you ease or completely remove yourself from an urgency mode. You actually slow down. This slowing down give you the creative space you need for right actions or no action. I have a feeling that half or more of what I have done in life were not necessary. Like the two extra emails my friend sent me, I have done the same many times. Living fast is opposite to living smart. You can either slow down now or you are forced to slow down later. One is savoring, the other is suffering. Pause and choose.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Follow Grace
It is the first day of 2009. Despite the late night New Year celebration I managed to wake up at the regular time and followed my usual morning routine. However, this morning I felt a definite sense of urgency to organize my life. It came with certain clarity and ease. Serendipitously, I bought a beautiful lunar date book yesterday. Written in it read "Cats are the sleepiest of all mammals. They spend sixteen hours of each day in dream-land." Well, last night went by like a dream and so was the whole 2008. Promptly, I awoke and wrote down my schedule for the month of January, checked my emails and managed my money accounts all before 10 am. Granted my little life does not need much management, still I am impressed.
I have not managed a preconceived idea of what to write so, the title for this blog is quite appropriate. I am just going to flow with the moment and follow what arise. First to mind, I am infinitely grateful for the teaching of yoga and ayurveda. I am now very much at ease in my body. After a long night dancing I woke up mentally clear and relatively pain-free. The Caraka Samhita, one of Ayurveda's classic texts refers to health as "The senses are fulfilled; hunger and thirst are assuaged; standing, sitting, lying down, walking, breathing, talking and laughing are effortless; food is digested easily by evening or morning." These words are so simple and true. When you follow grace your life too becomes simple and true.
Grace has many meanings but the one I choose for now is "the love and favor of God toward human beings." How do we follow God's love and recognize the favor we receive? The first and perhaps the only obstacle we have in realizing the love and favor of God is how we see love and favor. Yoga teaches oneness and being one with God is to see what God sees. All of yoga and ayurveda practices deem to support this union and heal our fragmented vision. The realization of oneness is the seeing of God.
It is helpful to determine whether you are a pessimist, optimist or rationalist. Because what you see is what you are conditioned to look at. If you are unhappy with life in general it is obvious you are a pessimist. If your life is a bad news and you always have bad news to share it is a good indication you are aversive to life. A pessimist has a hard time follow grace because their reality is reversed into self loathing. You are bogged down by the past pain. You can't seem to lift yourself up from the earth to experience the lightness and freedom of reality.
An optimist has the opposite challenge. I happily (being an optimist) admit that I fall in to this category. You perhaps have an easier time dealing with life and more willing to see truth. But alas life is not all bliss but a total ignorance can be. Yet, not seeing truth is a definite suffering. An optimist tends to reach toward self gratification. The reality of the moment gets lost in the anticipation of better things yet to come and are forever beyond your reach. These are dreamers and artists who fast forward through life and can't quite feel the earth underneath their feet.
Perhaps you are a rationalist and is thinking that surely you are seeing things exactly as they are. The truth is that truth is not so obvious. Yogis, sages and buddhas spent years inquiring into the truth. Looking at things and relating to them only as materials clench your vision. Material manifestation is known as maya in yoga. Maya simply put means illusion. To our senses maya is very real. But for the inquiring mind maya and all its manifestation is continuously changing. If you have a definite sense of how things are and how things should be you are twisting away from the subtlety of reality which is unchanged. This takes me back to the cat's dream-land. Interestingly cats are up 8 hours a day which is the amount of time we spend sleeping. I wonder if their dream-land is their reality not unlike our 16 hours a day we think is our reality?! Moving past your senses and seeing beyond the material world unravel the complication of life cycle and reveal the simplicity of truth.
Seeing truth and sensing beyond maya and your past condition require looking inward. Bringing balance and equanimity into your life through the practice of yoga and ayurveda help settle your mind and refine your questioning. Perhaps your 2009 can be the year of experimentation to follow grace. Embrace what you have as God's favor and love what is while questioning what is not. As I look down to my cup of tea, the tea bag's piece of advice read "The beauty of life is to experience yourself." I interpret that as Grace.
Happy New Year!
I have not managed a preconceived idea of what to write so, the title for this blog is quite appropriate. I am just going to flow with the moment and follow what arise. First to mind, I am infinitely grateful for the teaching of yoga and ayurveda. I am now very much at ease in my body. After a long night dancing I woke up mentally clear and relatively pain-free. The Caraka Samhita, one of Ayurveda's classic texts refers to health as "The senses are fulfilled; hunger and thirst are assuaged; standing, sitting, lying down, walking, breathing, talking and laughing are effortless; food is digested easily by evening or morning." These words are so simple and true. When you follow grace your life too becomes simple and true.
Grace has many meanings but the one I choose for now is "the love and favor of God toward human beings." How do we follow God's love and recognize the favor we receive? The first and perhaps the only obstacle we have in realizing the love and favor of God is how we see love and favor. Yoga teaches oneness and being one with God is to see what God sees. All of yoga and ayurveda practices deem to support this union and heal our fragmented vision. The realization of oneness is the seeing of God.
It is helpful to determine whether you are a pessimist, optimist or rationalist. Because what you see is what you are conditioned to look at. If you are unhappy with life in general it is obvious you are a pessimist. If your life is a bad news and you always have bad news to share it is a good indication you are aversive to life. A pessimist has a hard time follow grace because their reality is reversed into self loathing. You are bogged down by the past pain. You can't seem to lift yourself up from the earth to experience the lightness and freedom of reality.
An optimist has the opposite challenge. I happily (being an optimist) admit that I fall in to this category. You perhaps have an easier time dealing with life and more willing to see truth. But alas life is not all bliss but a total ignorance can be. Yet, not seeing truth is a definite suffering. An optimist tends to reach toward self gratification. The reality of the moment gets lost in the anticipation of better things yet to come and are forever beyond your reach. These are dreamers and artists who fast forward through life and can't quite feel the earth underneath their feet.
Perhaps you are a rationalist and is thinking that surely you are seeing things exactly as they are. The truth is that truth is not so obvious. Yogis, sages and buddhas spent years inquiring into the truth. Looking at things and relating to them only as materials clench your vision. Material manifestation is known as maya in yoga. Maya simply put means illusion. To our senses maya is very real. But for the inquiring mind maya and all its manifestation is continuously changing. If you have a definite sense of how things are and how things should be you are twisting away from the subtlety of reality which is unchanged. This takes me back to the cat's dream-land. Interestingly cats are up 8 hours a day which is the amount of time we spend sleeping. I wonder if their dream-land is their reality not unlike our 16 hours a day we think is our reality?! Moving past your senses and seeing beyond the material world unravel the complication of life cycle and reveal the simplicity of truth.
Seeing truth and sensing beyond maya and your past condition require looking inward. Bringing balance and equanimity into your life through the practice of yoga and ayurveda help settle your mind and refine your questioning. Perhaps your 2009 can be the year of experimentation to follow grace. Embrace what you have as God's favor and love what is while questioning what is not. As I look down to my cup of tea, the tea bag's piece of advice read "The beauty of life is to experience yourself." I interpret that as Grace.
Happy New Year!
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