Shifting from Belief to Knowing

Do not believe what you have heard.

Do not believe in tradition because it is handed down many generations.

Do not believe in anything that has been spoken of many times.

Do not believe because the written statements come from some old sage.

Do not believe in conjecture.

Do not believe in authority or teachers or elders.

But after careful observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and it will benefit one and all, then accept it and live by it.

~Buddha

From Wayne Dyer's Wisdom of the Ages book:

All miracles come from shifting out of doubt and into knowing....  You cannot learn anything through the efforts of others.  The world's greatest teachers can teach you absolutely nothing unless you are willing to apply what they have to offer based on YOUR knowing.  Those great teachers only offer you choice on the menu of life.  They can make them sound very appealing, and ultimately they may help you to try those items on the menu.  They can even write the menu.  But the menu can never be the meal.

To understand what you know, rather than what you believe, Dr. Dyer suggests we:

* Inventory as many of your beliefs as you can think  of.  Include such things as your attitude toward religion, capital punishment, minority rights, reincarnation, young people, old people, nontraditional medicine, what happens at death, your cultural biases, the ability to perform miracles.

* From this inventory be honest about how many of your firmly held beliefs are the result of your own life experiences,  and how many have been handed to you.  Make an effort to open your mind to experiencing things directly before proclaiming them as true and living by them.

 Today was perfect - our time together joyful and precious..... I also leave you with the link to Govinda Kai's blog so you can read the entire posting of The Glory of Atman.

http://blog.lunaticmonk.com

Peace ~  Make an amazing day!

~Maureen

Tao de Ching - Verse 8

Verse 8 – Tao de Ching (Stephen Mitchell translation)
The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to.It is content with low places that people disdain.thus is it like the Tao.In dwelling, live close to the ground.In thinking, keep to the simple.In conflict, be fair and generous.In governing, don’t try to control.In work, do what you enjoy.In family life, be completely present.When you are content to be simply yourselfand don’t compare of compete,everybody will respect you.

Living in the Flow (excerpts from Wayne Dyer’s translation)
The Tao and water are synonymous according to the teachings of Lao-tzu. You are water; water is you.
Think about the mysterious magical nature of this liquid energy that we take for granted. Try to squeeze it, and it eludes us; relax our hands into it, and we experience it readily. If it stays stationary, it will become stagnant; if it is allowed to flow, it will stay pure……. Water does what it does – being what it is!
The Tao asks us to clearly see the parallels between us and this naturally flowing substance that allows life to sustain itself.
When we are free to flow as water, we are free to communicate naturally – information is exchanged, and knowledge advances in a way that benefits everyone.
Let your thoughts float freely.

DO THE TAO
Drink water silently today, while reminding yourself with each sip to nourish others in the same life-flourishing way that streams give to animals and rivers deliver to plants. Note how many places water is there for you – serving you by flowing naturally. Give gratitude for this life-sustaining, always-flowing substance.

On Monday we will read and discuss Verse 49 - Living Beyond Judgment.

Have a great weekend! Weather is calling for lots of water - RAIN, that is!!

Namaste,
Maureen

Do the Tao

Verse 2: Living the Paradoxial Unity
Do the Tao today by noticing an opportunity to defend or explain yourself and choosing not to. Instead, turn with in and sense the texture of misunderstanding, feeling it all the way through your physical system. Just be with what is, instead of opting, ease it by tranversing the outer-world path of explaing and defending. Don't get caught up in the apparent duality of being right or wrong. Congratulate yourself for making a choice to be in the paradoxical unity of oneness where all of the spectrum simply is silenty apprecaite the opportunity along with your willingness to practice your sageness.


From Susie:
I had a situation at my job where my Dept. was emailed and asked to "volunteer" to cover the Front Reception Desk for our satellite office on Monday afternoon. My first "reaction" to this email was annoyed and frustration for what appears to be lack of management on my Boss' part. I wanted to scream at my Boss. "What are you crazy?, asking us to cover that office", "What is wrong with you?", "Don't you know how to manage the office and say "NO" to the person that asked for time off when we are short staffed".. and on and on and on...I took this very personal knowing that the other 3 people in my Dept would never "volunteer". THEN... The "Do the Tao" poppped into my head... I then sat on the email and didn't respond. I tossed around the Tao te Ching (2nd verse) and thought on how to not defend myself and try to not explain why I felt that we should not have to cover the other office. I truely felt I was right and she was wrong however I really wanted to "Do the Tao" and not get caught up in the "right and wrong" of the situation. Over the afternoon this became increasing harder to do, I started to steam and think of a way to "nicely" respond with out saying I would do it. I felt I was caught in the middle. I am always they one to "give in" and cover, but this time I wanted to stick to my guns and "show my boss" that she had made a mistake by allowing someone to have time off when there was no one else to cover the position. Again, showing I was right and she was wrong.
The long and short of the story is, I was NOT able to "Do the Tao" in this situation. In fact I did just the opposite I started to "vent" to co-workers and today at work I was very short tempered with many insurance company collection calls I was making. Normally I am very even tempered and try to understand they are doing "their job". Not today, I was very sarcastic and frustrated and down right rude to them..(knowing I could be as they were some faceless/nameless person on the other end of the phone, somewhere across the country). It seemed the harder I tried to "Do the Tao" the ruder I became. I carried this over from Tues into Wed. Is this awareness???? I feel that I give and give and give to my Boss, always "filling in" everytime and this time I wanted by co-workers to step up... I find that 2 days after we discussed this verse that I was not even close to "doing it"....

I'm going to keep "practicing" the "Do the Tao" this week and see if by Monday I can come up with a situation that I was able to "just be" and let it go and feel this sense and then congratulate myself...

Mudra set for Balancing Energy

Alternately touch the tip of the thumb to the tip of each finger. Do both hands at the same time. Keep each connected for a few seconds or longer and do for a few minutes total.

Thumb touching tip of index finger - calmness, more concentrated
Thumb touching tip of middle finger - fosters patience
Thumb touching tip of ring finger - energy, stability and self-confidence
Thumb touching tip of pinky finger - intuition

An Ordinary Life Transformed - posting about Gunas from Jenn C

Personal reflection from Chapter 14 of, ‘An Ordinary Life Transformed’.
‘In your own words, how is the process of meditation related to recognizing and understanding how the gunas influence your experience?’

“The gunas are the very essence of prakriti (nature) and it is they, not the Knower, who are responsible for all the changes arising in the field from moment to moment. Understanding the gunas helps us to see the origin of all action and to keep us from becoming entangled.” (page 173)

What a relief! The gunas, not me, are responsible for life’s ups and downs. That’s a load off! The constant cycle of good, bad and in between is, in general, beyond me. So what I can change instead is how I react to those things. Everybody is going to have good and bad days. Meditation is the tool that allows us to avoid the suffering associated with this cycle. I’m always reminded of the saying, ‘In life, we cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.’ Meditation is our course in sailing. We learn to direct our sails to make the most of the wind we have. We watch our thoughts in our meditation practice and start to learn that they don’t really belong to us. As our practice progresses, we gain experience observing our thoughts and their origins, and are capable of recognizing the patterns/habits we’ve developed. Through recognition of these cycles we are able to apply this to our daily life. By seeing the root of our actions we are able to choose whether we repeat the cycle, or rise above.

~Jenn 5/12/08

Pratyahara Blog from Beth

Pratyahara in practice
Extension and expansion always stay firmly rooted in one’s center. They originate in the core of one’s being. When most people stretch, they simply stretch to the point that they are trying to reach, but they forget to extend and expand from where they are. When you extend & expand, you are not only stretching to, you are also stretching from.
Overstretching occurs when one looses contact with one’s center. If the stretch extends from the core and the foundation of the asana, it creates space within the body and the stretch is even throughout the whole body, there is no strain at all. This does not mean that there is no exertion. There is exertion, but this exertion is exhilaration. When one stops straining the brain is passive.
When one ceases grasping outward with the mind, with the eyes and with the extremities, one cultivates a knowledge and awareness of the deeper parts of the body and the deeper parts of the consciousness. This becomes spiritual yoga.

Adapted from Light on Life, B.K.S. Iyengar

An Ordinary Life Transformed - Readings Ch 5&6

Chapter 5: Renounce and Be Free: renounce all that is fleeting to realize the eternal
How to know joy in the midst of sorrow: It is only through dis-identifying with that which causes pain and identifying with that which cannot know suffering that this is possible. This is renunciation.
On Monday - let's discuss times when you were able to do this and examples of times when it just did not or would not feel possible.

Chapter 6: The Inner Sanctuary: discipline and refine the mind through meditation
For the all day - let's discuss our meditation experiences and/or any topic or personal reflection related to Section I.

These two chapters complete Section I- Karma Yoga, The Path of Action. We'll begin Section II next session - March/April.

See you Monday or sooner.
Sat.Chit.Ananda.
Love/truth. Knowingness.Bliss.
~Maureen

from Carol

Hi everyone & Happy New Year, I wanted to say hello to everyone and welcome the new members/students/yogis to the teacher training group. Its truly an awesome group of people to learn with and learn from as we explore yoga.

Also, the following is a website that has the Ashtanga invocation chant. It has a call and response chant version to practice with as well as a version of them chanting it from start to finish. I'm finding it a helpful tool for learning. Interestingly a little different style than Living Yoga or Patabi Jois, but its all good. http://www.paulfoxashtanga.co.uk/asana/mantra.htm

Just wanted to share that with everyone,
Be well,
Carol

Yoga for Householders (grihasta)

According to Krishnamacharya's biography, the Yoga Korunta contained not only the vinyasa system but also the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali and its commentary, Yoga Bhasya. These were bound together in one volume. This means that, in ancient times, what today is regarded as two systems that only share the same name--the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali and the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga of the Rishi Vamana--were in fact one.

Vinyasa Yoga is one of the authentic representations of Patanjali's sutras that is still alive. This system is significant and relevant today because it was conceived by the ancient seer Vamana, the author of the Yoga Korunta, especially for householders. The Vinyasa Yoga described in the Korunta text was thought to be the ideal form of Patanjali Yoga for householders, since it required only around two hours of practice per day. Essentially, nearly all of us contemporary yogis are householders, somebody who has a job and family, and lives and works in society as opposed to a monk, hermit of ascetic. Some forms of yoga are designed for hermits who have no social responsibility and can be engaged with meditation techniques all day long.

The eight limbs of yoga are interwoven into the vinyasa practice, in the moving meditation, in the constant change of form, which we never hold on to. It is itself a meditation on impermanence. As with the other limbs of yoga, the 7th limb meditation, dhyana, occurs in all stages of vinyasa practice. First we meditate on the position of the body in space, which is asana. Then we meditate on the life force moving in the body, which is pranayama. Moving through each stage, to meditating on the senses through drishti and listening to the breath, pratyahara, ultimately meditating on the binding together of all aspects of the practice, we find concentration, dharana. Through this practice the mind becomes like a clear jewel, reflects faithfully what it is directed at and does not just produce another simulation of reality. The highest state of Samadhi arises when the inner breath, prana enters the central channel and truth or deep reality suddenly flashes forth.

The Bhagavad Gita explains, "One who outwardly performs his/her social duties but inwardly stays free is a yogi." If everybody ceased performing their social responsibilities, the Gita tells us, this world would be ruined, for obvious reasons. So we need not be disturbed if responsibilities keep us from devoting more time to our practice, since fulfilling one's duty is also practice. But what is important is how we practice. How do we spend the precious time we can allocate to practicing?

Adapted from Gregor Maehle, Ashtanga Yoga Pratice & Philosophy