Author: Edna

A Place named AnahatAnand

| Edna

The philosophy of yoga teaches that Bliss is our birthright – our innate state of being.  

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But Life is filled with the realities of aging, of not having what we need, not getting what we want and getting what we don’t want.  Even an enlightened person will experience these difficulties in life.  Things that bring hurt and pain will happen to you.  It is the way of Life from which we cannot free ourselves.

 
The problem comes when this experience spirals one into a seeking for the “fix” – the opposite to escape the misery of a situation.  This is when we seek a place or a person or a job or a situation that will promise us lasting security and happiness.  And we believe we can have this lasting security if only we do that one thing right!
 
This thought pattern and attitude towards pain and pleasure, takes us drifting into an ocean of habitual ways.  We get lost in samskara’s – the accumulation of past and present actions.  
 
Feelings of rejection, betrayal, depression,- any unwanted feelings, is important lessons on a spiritual path.  This is when real and lasting transformation can take place.
 
As long as we are caught up in “the taste of life” we will always be running after comfort, seeking the love of others, the security of a material world, avoiding disappointments and discomfort.  This weakens your Being.  
 
Sit with what is, without trying to make it go away.  Self-centeredness will start to evaporate.  The barrier between pain and pleasure will slowly fade.  A new intimacy with your inner being will come from where you will no longer seek love, approval, the truths or comfort through actions.  This intimacy will show that no matter what happens to us, it is only but our relative truth and that we have an absolute truth that is free from these experiences.  
 
Feel the sharpness of your discomfort in stillness, with patience.
Let it humble you.
Unconditional friendliness towards yourself means no judgement,
being intimate
and compassionate with the losses and unwanted experiences that happened to you.   
 
This awakening brings a new absolute – the awakening of compassion – of feeling with others.  Your mind becomes open and your heart free from pre-justice. 
You become direct and unedited.  
 
Still, this state of Being does not protect us from the things that happen to us. 
We deal with it now, is in patience.  In refraining from running after “a better taste” in life. 
It is our attitude towards pain that changes. 
We embrace the pain. 
As we would embrace the comfort. 
 
In this way, we can more often than not, visit our Birthplace, our Birthright – named Bliss.
 
Then, we will end limiting ourselves.  We will start to seek satvic places and experiences where we can grow spiritually.  We are here for a given time, between birth and death only.  To get lost in the obstacles would be a shame.  So, let each one of us start with ourselves, just as we are, here and now to realize we are on a spiritual path and make this moment one of lasting Transformation.  
 
It is your responsibility to seek Peace and places of Peace.  To seek the experiences that will take you further on your path of Enlightenment. 
To receive enlightenment and then to offer it back to the Ocean of Sufferings is Spiritual Self destruction.     

Welcome the Opposites, the highs and lows

| Edna

Our emotions and feelings comes from the Mind Body – the MANOMAYA KOSHA.

Our True Nature is to be Welcoming in the Presence of any situation, idea, belief, emotion or feeling.

However, Ego and Mind affords us to be defensive and reject or suppress many emotions, feelings, beliefs and ideas or a person we simply do not want to deal with, or to define and protect our separateness, our unique-ness, fears and failures, pain and heartfelt injuries and insecurities.  When these has an opposite – Oneness, Fearless, Successes, Pleasures, Heartfelt Compassion, Safety.  By avoiding the one, we are also suppressing the opposite.  In doing so, we loose our sense of Integration and feeling of Wholeness, of Harmony and Inner Peace.

Is there an emotion or feeling without an opposite or is it our ego-nature to dwell in one-sidedness when it comes to our emotions?  We love.  We suffer.  We have conflict.  But none of these emotions is possible without an opposite.  Darkness cannot exist without light.  Conflict without peace.  Love without ignorance and hate.  There is a high because there is a low.  The lie is there because there is a truth to be told.

In any situation, the opposite emotion is also present.  That is if we allow ourselves the insight into the experience and what it really is that we are repressing or unwilling to allow ourselves to feel.  What is it that we are suppressing that comes to the surface in a re-active or defensive way.

For every idea there is an opposite idea.  These opposites are complimentary polarities of our full and total awareness.  We refuse emotions and feelings because we don’t want to be with them.  It becomes suppressed and unresolved and pops up as “I should have” or “you should have”’s.  All of these emotions are natural movements that happens in the body and the mind and will pass.  However, they pervade our lives if not dealt with in its totality.  If you are rejecting the experience of pain, it is most probable that you are also fearful of experiencing or expressing your feelings of joy.

Our Ego separates us from the world, making the world a place of me against you.  It splits your world into Self and Other.  It makes it impossible for you to understand and accept the interdependence of all beings, and the interdependence of opposites.

The ego and mind wants you to avoid the opposites.  The mind holds deeply onto what the feeling is and brings defensive reactions, threats, unstable remarks and outburst, and holds on to the emotion like holding onto a pole.  This is how we fall into the sea of suffering.  The sea of pointing fingers, regrets and blame.

Every emotion has an opposite and if we welcome the entire spectrum of emotions and feelings, without any fear, we start to learn about our true underlying nature.  We learn and observe our actions and defensive strategies.  With this insight we can defeat Ego and Mind.  We can accept that we will also sometimes experience a fall, being confused, overwhelmed, threatened by emotions, ideas and beliefs.  We can welcome these confronting situations and emotions then with equal grace as we do the situations where we are experiencing harmony, love, respect and understanding.

And when we make this transformation to accept all behaviors towards us, hurtful, harming, disappointing or the opposite, understanding, enriching, pleasant, it is important not to let the Ego or Mind once again interfere and say “I”, it is me that is accepting”.  For when we make this welcoming of all emotions and feelings a shift in our consciousness, will we see that this is whom we really and truly are.  Our True Nature is a Welcoming Presence.  It is not another product of the Ego or Mind.

We become both the witness and witnessed, the subject and the object in the heat of the moment.

We act out when emotions has been suppressed.  Eventually they will bubble to the surface.

We are Soulfully ready to welcome and meet every challenge that comes our way.  Closing our hearts for one emotion will also lock out very opposite of this emotion.

We are One.  If we only feel halfway, for ourselves, with our Ego and Mind, we harm and hurt the very ones we love and honour most.  We are safe, even in the wake of the most intense heart injury, for just on the other side of this hurt, there is your innate true being of Compassion and Love.  Feel and explore the highs and lows of life.  Only by doing so, are we able to become integrated and whole.  Only by feeling this inner safety, that is not defendant on any situation, can we love fearlessly and be rejected fearlessly without counter actions of the ego’s and th “ I should have or you should’s”

So many opposite beliefs, opposite ideas.  All of it based in the Ego and Mind.

“Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing is a field.  I’ll meet you there.”  -RUMI

Welcome the good.  Welcome the hurt.  Listen and feel and accept without fear.  Being welcoming in presence is whom we truly are, as we are One and we are Whole.  We are Nothing and we are Infinite Possibility.

Most of all, we are safe in the wake of any situation.  Feel and listen.  Fearlessly.  This brings right action.  Suppressing and denial results in the opposite.

There is no time to Love when we judge. At the same time, it is wise to walk away from foolishness.

Ishvara Pramidhana, Last of the Niyamas – Surrender (to a Higher Force)

| Edna

Ishvara Pramidhana implies to live a life of dedication to your God or Creator.  This brings us to the big question of our modern times – is there a God?  What about non-believers on the path of yoga?

My personal insight to this question is, that no matter how we view creation, nature, our own coming to being and where we will go after this lifetime, no matter if we call our God by many names or by one only, or if we simply refer to the Unseen force that Creates and Takes us again, as Life Force, we are bound to this Prana.  It governs the universe, the cycles of life, it is the breath we fill our lungs with and we have no choice in this regards.

It doesn’t matter if we are willing to call God our Father, our Creator.  Just by the simple act of our breath, are we in surrendering to the governing of Nature.

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This allows everyone with some insight into the concept of Ishvara Pramidhana.  There are things we simply do and have no need to despair over.  Like breathing.  It is an ongoing exchange with an energy that gives our bodies life, that gives us the chance to do (good) in this world.  Acknowledge that every breath, just by being, is already an act of surrendering to a Higher Force.  There are so many paths and names and ways towards knowledge and self-realization.  It is not to judge anyone on the path they have chosen to explore this lifetime.

So, when we understand we are in surrendering, we also understand that for the yogi, it means to be in constant exchange of this energy and this gives liberation from despair.  We do our part, staying enthusiastic and then surrender our deeds to the Higher Force.  It is so comforting, in a way, to have this letting go after the action was done.  It also brings a spiritual disposition of serve and makes selfish actions less.  Life becomes less and less about gratification and satisfaction.  We are depended on Nature (God) and interdependent on one another.

Ishvara Pramidhana helps to calm desires.  We are given everything we need and whatever else we are chasing after is a personal choice.  How wonderful is the out breath?  It allows for the steady sip of the next inhalation.

No matter what your beliefs, culture or tradition, or by what name you call Life Force.  It IS.  It is within every cell of your being.  Surrender and celebrate.  Serve and protect.  Love and Respect.  Let go of what separates you, embrace what brings together.  Let go of distrust and despair.  We are taken care off in the most minuteness of our cellular being.  Surrender and feel the lightness of being.

Once we see the Oneness we share, no matter how different we may seem to the eye, are we ready to surrender to a Higher Consciousness, to a Higher Love, a life of devotion towards Self, others and the Good and Preservation of all living beings that shares our world.
Once we see the Oneness we share, no matter how different we may seem to the eye, are we ready to surrender to a Higher Consciousness, to a Higher Love, a life of devotion towards Self, others and the Good and Preservation of all living beings that shares our world.

Fourth Niyama – Svadhyaya, moving away from ignorance

| Edna

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Svadhyaya places the responsibility of learning on the shoulder of the individual.  Yoga is known as a “living philosophy” and the sadhaka (practitioner) sits at the feet of a guru (teacher).

Svadhyaya – or self-study – asks of a yogi to become a compassionate observer of Self.  To have devotion in aligning all of ones actions and non-actions to become balanced, of highest awareness and from this state of being, having a constant willingness to grow and learn and adjust to become more and more whole, more and more united from the inside out. This brings inner harmony and harmony with life and all of its experiences and difficulties.  It brings a higher understanding and a level of absorbing what is, without unnecessary illusions.  A quick and intelligent grasp of what is and what isn’t.    This process of reflection opens a gateway to living a life of divinity.  Constant reflection sharpens the intuition.  It brings a stability and fluidity of spirit.

Furthermore, Svadhyaya implies a continued effort towards self-education.  To seek the knowledge from sacred texts, from your guru, from reflecting on experiences to move away from ignorance and to gain more and more knowledge.  Experience and knowledge become the essence of your personal liberation from whatever it is that bonds or ties you down.  Svadhyaya is a never ending process with ongoing shifts in consciousness.  There is a beginning to this journey but no ending.

Learn, apply, adjust, grow.  Become more and more aware of every breath that you take, every motion you make, become completely contained and unscattered.  The asana practise is an undeniable tool in growing, with self-love as the basis, in self-awareness.  Off the mat, read with an eagerness and steadiness uplifting poetry and sacred texts.  Seek people that enhance your learning, a guru.  Love and Respect the experiences of life, even the difficult ones, Love and Respect the ones that give of their knowledge.  Honour the Ones before us, for the precious gifts of lessons learned and to be learned.

Third Niyama: Tapas – The white flame of purification

| Edna

Tapas is a Sanskrit word meaning to burn, shine, suffer pain or to be consumed by heat.  Tapas can be applied on all levels of our existence, physically – the asana practice, completing a marathon or a tedious physical task.  It can also be the determination of a student over many years, to single pointedly become an expert on his/her topic.  It can also be applied to the Visuddha or purifying of speech and thought.

All of the above processes involves a certain amount of pain and suffering.  It is when the practitioner has a burning effort to achieve his/her goal, that this element of suffering turns from a red blazing flame, to a white purifying flame. Tapas is the basis of character building and turning your own life into a life of Love and dedication with purpose and a goal.  It is the vehicle to Self Realization and then taking the current down to Manifestation again.

A burning commitment is needed to find harmony and balance in both joy and sorrows, this in itself is a practise of Tapas, until the inner flame disappears into a white light.

Tapas gives one the characteristics of being straightforward, courageous, being exquisite in simplicity, having integrity, being trustworthy and wise.

Tapas brings an unshakable will and faith in the Unseen.

Celebrate your mind body and spirit with continued effort towards turning the flame white, from the inside out.photo 5

The Second Niyama – Santosa, Contentment

| Edna

Contentment.  A difficult topic to write on when one stands at the foot of the mountain.  There are saints, special ones, that can find contentment even in the wake of illness, poverty or what ever difficulties they may face.  For an ordinary man or woman, such as myself it is an ongoing process when you still have to put many right actions into place in order to reach contentment.  As a yogi, one should not feel the lack of anything and be naturally content.

Contentment is not only a state of the mind but also a soul without yearnings and distracting conflicts.

Personally, I see contentment in direct relation to right action.  We have joy and peace when we do right and should also have it when wrong has been done towards us.

It is an ongoing process.  Without contentment, it is difficult to tap into the cosmic energies and higher thoughts.

We need a certain extent of freedom from sufferings to grow spiritually.

For one, knowing the truth about your own body and life, brings tranquility.

Therefore, I would also say, contentment is closely related to truth.

Contentment lies where the mind and heart unites and your own truth and path unfolds.
Contentment lies where the mind and heart unite and your own truth and path unfolds.

Niyamas – Living from The Soul – Saucha, becoming beautiful

| Edna

Saucha is the first of the Niyamas, a set of concepts on the inner relationship with oneself and how we cultivate our personal and spiritual development.

Saucha is a Sanskrit word meaning Purity, Cleanliness and also includes the concept of “this. not that”, of knowing what you are to bring into your life to vibrate and progress to a higher consciousness, and what needs to be eliminated or moved away from.  To the untrained mind this might bring the conclusion home of depriving when it implies the opposite.  Once one makes finer choices in all walks of life, experiences becomes heightened and pure.  For example, inviting gentleness and gentle people into your life brings possibilities for finer  soul-sharing experiences.  Choosing not to consume fast foods, meat, food that is prepared without love and care, refines the palette and nourishes both the body and soul and intellect.  The smell and taste of a fruit becomes exquisite and appreciated.

We also choose our thoughts and keep what we think positive and clean, non-harmful towards ourselves and others, as we realize the power of thoughts and how it affects Self and Others.  We choose to stimulate the intellect with positive knowledge and learning that moves us forward in all aspects of our being – in thought, conversation, health, art, freedom of movement to be who we truly are – manifesting a beauty from the inside out.

Saucha is a complete philosophy and no longer the ignorant perception of washing the physical body.  Once we vibrate in purity, we extend this consciousness to our personal surroundings.  Our homes become fresh, uncluttered and filled with Light.  We contribute this to our environment, in our interactions with others.

Purity is beauty.  Real beauty.  It is for everyone to have and to share.  Start in manifesting “this and not that” in your body, mind, people in your life, environment.  Experience the essence of  whole food, whole relationships, a whole body, whole soul and all things beautiful and simplistic!

Bliss in Simplicity

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Aparigraha – Last of The Yamas

| Edna

Anyone that turns serious about Yoga, will at some stage become knowledgeable about the Yamas and Niyamas, as this is the first step for a yogi.  Being a Yogi in no means implies living separate from the world.  Therefore, refining whom we are towards others, from the inside out, with a consciousness to purify and care, comes as the very first step in yoga.

The last of the Yamas – Aparigraha – means non-hoarding, – living free from a type of greed where one’s own material gain or happiness inflicts hurt, loss or injury to any other human being, life form or nature.

It also touches on the art of giving and receiving. Now, this in itself is a huge topic.  Only once one has been in the situation of needing charity, can one fully grasps what it means to give and to receive.

Aparigraha can also be applied to emotional wellness – the ability to let go, freeing oneself from longings, wanting and emotional dependency.

Aparigraha thus implicates, once again, self-restraint – not to hurt anyone with greed and secondly, letting go (not holding on), and also the art of becoming a giver and receiver, with fine wisdom and insight.

Our needs are different at various stages of our life’s.   How we will use money and material belongings changes as we advance in life.

Someone that take what’s not his – filled with greed to accumulate at the price of another’s well-being – is causing direct and indirect harm, as hoarding or with-holding wealth has a detrimental impact on the lives of others.  Once conscious of the extend of harm greed inflicts,  will one also realize that it is greed that turns a man into a thief.

Should you have been affected by a harmful act of greed, become grateful even for the sufferings that are calling you on and forward, in this way renewing yourself, filling your life with new experiences.  Nothing is ours, we are merely passing through.

Also, when one give it means giving.  The receiver is free to do as he pleases.   Giving implies the giver has no control or expectations in giving.  Otherwise, it is merely an extent of greed, to have control in the life of someone else.

To receive is humbling.  Be wise with what you receive.

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I will forever be grateful to Sri Seshadri, PAVY, Mysore that once gave me his class “to take”. “Take my class” was an opportunity that saved me in a way un- explainable.  I was deeply burdened, unable to see the way out. Sri Sheshadri has never given his class to anyone else before, not even to his son and Sri Sheshadri was equally surprised at his own words and the opportunity he gave me, not knowing it opened the moment for me to find my voice on the mat again.  The opportunity to teach a class filled with yogis from all over the world brought me back into my true being – remembering myself again.  I spread my wings and fly –  passing on the gift – the gift of yoga. The most insignificant act of kindness can change the circumstances of someone that is in a desperate situation.

This brings the posts on Yamas – the first steps towards social refinement and consciousness, to a close.

Refining our Sexual behaviour – Brahmacharya

| Edna

The fourth Yama is Brahmacharya and it means celibacy, self-restraint and studying.  In the Western world, we obtain a “Bachelors” Degree – it is clear that deep within our roots the concept of self-improvement goes hand in hand with self-restraint, especially in sexuality.

Life, every single aspect of life, is a play between the sexes, at work, home, going shopping, sitting on the sidewalk watching the girls/guys go by.  The play of energies between a man and a woman is the inspiration behind music, novels, movies, poetry and we are drawn to the opposite sex for reasons sometimes unexplained. This is why control of our energy – the energy that brings forth life, creative energy – is as relevant as ever.   We cannot step into the world without a personal refinement, a personal responsibility, a personal respect and sacredness towards our own sexuality.  The “play” between man and woman can easily become a tragedy, should we act outside of whom we are by nature. The roles of female/male are well defined and no matter how society wants to break it down and level the plains, subtle energies and needs are inherent in the sexes.

The interest we have in the opposite sex should not be to “mate” – but to be a “soul-mate”.  It takes time for a couple to harmonize the energies between them, it is a constant fine tune-ing and real, hard work and commitment. (Sometimes soul-mates outgrow each other and move on.  The reality of our times is that we will have several relationships in one lifetime.)

Wandering eyes, measuring the physical appearance of the opposite sex, is already violating the sexuality of someone that has no control over this violation taking place. See the other as a whole being.  Know that sexuality comes with responsibility.   Refine who you are in this world, also sexually.   With consciousness in life, sexuality – becomes an art.  Fine tune who you are.  Fine tune your interaction with the opposite sex, no matter the place or situation and act in line with consciousness and with respect.

Without exploring human love, the pleasures, pain and failures, it is impossible to move towards Divine Love.  By experiencing the fullness and brokenness of our personal creative energies, do we develop Compassion and Awareness of the Divine.

It is not to deny sexuality, rather remember your own Sacredness and Sweetness and Purity; to carry this scent in all walks of life.

When we are healthy in attitude with our sexuality, we have an increase in vitality and creativity.  The mind becomes filled with healthy courage and the intellect becomes sharp.  The opposite is also true.  The one that falls out of balance becomes weak and foolish.

Mahabharata Quotes:

“Repeated sin destroys the understanding And he whose reason is impaired repeats His sins. The constant practising of virtue Strengthens the mental faculties, and he Whose judgment stronger grows acts always right.“

“She is a wife who is notable in her house; she is a wife who beareth children; she is a wife whose husband is as her life; she is a wife who is obedient to her lord. The wife is half the man; a wife is man?s dearest friend; a wife is the source of his religion, his worldly profit, and his love. He who hath a wife maketh offerings in his house. Those who have wives are blest with good fortune. Wives are friends, who, by their kind and gentle speech, soothe you in your retirement. In your distresses they are as mothers, and they are refreshment to those who are travellers in the rugged paths of life.“17042011(009)