"I AM"
Today is a holiday for me, Martin Luther King Day, and I am home. I started the day leisurely with a cup of coffee and my email. Interestingly enough I for once clicked on the "Oprah" email. I became curious when I saw the tagline "I am...". Oprah's guest on the program was Pastor Joel Osteen and he was discussing the positive benefits of starting your day with positive affirmations: I am strong, I am secure, I am beautiful, etc.
The power of this mantra is familiar to me. In Kundalini Teacher Training we discussed Yogi Bhajan's statement "vibrate the universe and it will vibrate back". There are many others who have put this message forward; Dr. Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay come to mind.
But back to the idea of "I am": this message is very important. We can all be a little more positive, the more that are
positive, the better the chance of change personally and in the world.
Oh wait!! That's what Ghandi said, "be the change you want to see in the
world". Yup, that's it.
I agree with this message; positive affirmations can lead to change within yourself or those who you are "vibrating" for. If you change your thoughts you can stop beating yourself up or at least decrease the frequency of it. It changes your energy. When I am in a "negative mood and down on myself" I feel it, I exude it and others around me pick up on it. The same goes for those around you; when they are down on themselves, you feel it. Do you really want to surround yourself with negative energy, bad juju? I sure don't.
There is a meditation in Kundalini Yoga Called Meditation Into Being: “I Am, I Am”.
There is also a wonderful song, "Bountiful, Blissful, Beautiful" if you
want something easy to remember. To me, these three words sum it up: I
am bountiful, blissful and beautiful". You can access the meditation at http://www.yogibhajan.org.
So I wonder how many people will have to tell us this before we take hold of this idea? Will Oprah's Lifeclass be the tipping point for such a change? What will it take for you to start each day with just one positive statement?
Just give it a chance, try it for a week and see how you feel. It will be difficult to stop the negative, destructive self-talk but it will be worth it.
Sat Nam
Showing posts with label meditation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditation. Show all posts
Monday, January 21, 2013
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sunday Yoga Sadhana
I am leading a new class at the Heart Center Yoga studio. It is called Sunday Yoga Sadhana. I have led 2 classes so far and I am easing into fuller class development. It is always so different when you are there, the teacher. It seems like whatever I think I want to practice evaporates and the class morphs into a totally different experience. Perhaps the only constant is the practice intention and closing passage.
I believe that it is important to have an intention or a meaningful passage to ponder during the invitational meditation. It sets the tome for the practice and helps to lead the participants into deeper meditation and self-discovery as they progress through the asanas. The practice of movement guided by the breath is, in and, of itself, beauty. If you close your eyes, go inward, and move with your breath, it is an incredible spiritual and meditative experience. Sometimes I feel that my practice is music in motion. For example, meditating in a seated position I find myself moving to music, absorbing the notes and the beat. I become the music, the meditation, the asana. It is like driving through the woods and absorbing the air, the colors, the sky, the horizon, directly through your skin. You can feel the energy penetrate your skin, bone and muscle, you become nature.
Recently I drove to West Virginia to visit my relatives. The home of my Uncle is on the Kanawha River. I would arise in the morning and sit outside on the patio watching the river, absorbing the energy, space, altitude, colors, grass, etc. It is incredibly rejuvenating; I just become one with nature. The energy surge and subsequent peace and fulfillment are incredible.
Next time you are outside absorb nature; become one with it. It does not take energy, just be and become one with energy's nature.
Namaste
I believe that it is important to have an intention or a meaningful passage to ponder during the invitational meditation. It sets the tome for the practice and helps to lead the participants into deeper meditation and self-discovery as they progress through the asanas. The practice of movement guided by the breath is, in and, of itself, beauty. If you close your eyes, go inward, and move with your breath, it is an incredible spiritual and meditative experience. Sometimes I feel that my practice is music in motion. For example, meditating in a seated position I find myself moving to music, absorbing the notes and the beat. I become the music, the meditation, the asana. It is like driving through the woods and absorbing the air, the colors, the sky, the horizon, directly through your skin. You can feel the energy penetrate your skin, bone and muscle, you become nature.
Recently I drove to West Virginia to visit my relatives. The home of my Uncle is on the Kanawha River. I would arise in the morning and sit outside on the patio watching the river, absorbing the energy, space, altitude, colors, grass, etc. It is incredibly rejuvenating; I just become one with nature. The energy surge and subsequent peace and fulfillment are incredible.
Next time you are outside absorb nature; become one with it. It does not take energy, just be and become one with energy's nature.
Namaste
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Loving Kindness Meditation | How to Meditate
Meditation is a great way to "get a grip" on your mind. Our thoughts have a way of carrying us off into distraction; we lose focus so quickly. Meditation helps to soothe the mind, calm the thoughts, and be at peace. There are numerous meditation techniques from simply focusing on the breath, the inhale and exhale, to the Loving Kindness Meditation found below. If you have an interest in meditation, visit this site. There is a wealth of information on meditation and it is easily understood.
This meditation is a reminder of ahimsa; non-harming, compassion and love of all creation. I have included the text so that you do not become distracted by viewing another website!
Loving Kindness Meditation | How to Meditate
This text, and a wealth of other meditation information can be found on the above link.
This meditation is a reminder of ahimsa; non-harming, compassion and love of all creation. I have included the text so that you do not become distracted by viewing another website!
Loving Kindness Meditation | How to Meditate
This text, and a wealth of other meditation information can be found on the above link.
namaste.
Loving Kindness Meditation
All living beings deserve to be cherished because of the tremendous kindness they have shown us.
The five stages of the meditation:
1. Preparation
2. Contemplation
3. Meditation
4. Dedication
5. Subsequent Practice
1. Preparation
We sit in the meditation posture as explained above and prepare our mind for meditation with breathing meditation. If we like we can also engage in the preparatory prayers.
2. Contemplation
All living beings deserve to be cherished because of the tremendous kindness they have shown us. All our temporary and ultimate happiness arises through their kindness. Even our body is the result of the kindness of others. We did not bring it with us from our previous life – it developed from the union of our father’s sperm and mother’s ovum. Once we had been conceived our mother kindly allowed us to stay in her womb, nourishing our body with her blood and warmth, putting up with great discomfort, and finally going through the painful ordeal of childbirth for our sake. We came into this world naked and empty-handed and were immediately given a home, food, clothes, and everything else we needed. While we were a helpless baby our mother protected us from danger, fed us, cleaned us, and loved us. Without her kindness we would not be alive today.
The mere fact that we are alive today is a testimony to the great kindness of others.
Through receiving a constant supply of food, drink, and care, our body gradually grew from that of a tiny helpless baby to the body we have now. All this nourishment was directly or indirectly provided by countless living beings. Every cell of our body is therefore the result of others’ kindness. Even those who have never known their mother have received nourishment and loving care from other people. The mere fact that we are alive today is a testimony to the great kindness of others.
It is because we have this present body with human faculties that we are able to enjoy all the pleasures and opportunities of human life. Even simple pleasures such as going for a walk or watching a beautiful sunset can be seen to be a result of the kindness of innumerable living beings. Our skills and abilities all come from the kindness of others; we had to be taught how to eat, how to walk, how to talk, and how to read and write. Even the language we speak is not our own invention but the product of many generations. Without it we could not communicate with others nor share their ideas. We could not read this book, learn Dharma, nor even think clearly. All the facilities we take for granted, such as houses, cars, roads, shops, schools, hospitals, and cinemas, are produced solely through others’ kindness. When we travel by bus or car we take the roads for granted, but many people worked very hard to build them and make them safe for us to use.
Everyone who contributes in any way towards our happiness and well-being is deserving of our gratitude.
The fact that some of the people who help us may have no intention of doing so is irrelevant. We receive benefit from their actions, so from our point of view this is a kindness. Rather than focusing on their motivation, which in any case we do not know, we should focus on the practical benefit we receive. Everyone who contributes in any way towards our happiness and well-being is deserving of our gratitude and respect. If we had to give back everything that others have given us, we would have nothing left at all.
We might argue that we are not given things freely but have to work for them. When we go shopping we have to pay, and when we eat in a restaurant we have to pay. We may have the use of a car, but we had to buy the car, and now we have to pay for petrol, tax, and insurance. No one gives us anything for free. But from where do we get this money? It is true that generally we have to work for our money, but it is others who employ us or buy our goods, and so indirectly it is they who provide us with money. Moreover, the reason we are able to do a particular job is that we have received the necessary training or education from other people. Wherever we look, we find only the kindness of others. We are all interconnected in a web of kindness from which it is impossible to separate ourself. Everything we have and everything we enjoy, including our very life, is due to the kindness of others. In fact, every happiness there is in the world arises as a result of others’ kindness.
Our spiritual development and the pure happiness of full enlightenment also depend upon the kindness of living beings.
Our spiritual development and the pure happiness of full enlightenment also depend upon the kindness of living beings. Buddhist centres, Dharma books, and meditation courses do not arise out of thin air but are the result of the hard work and dedication of many people. Our opportunity to read, contemplate, and meditate on Buddha’s teachings depends entirely upon the kindness of others. Moreover, as explained later, without living beings to give to, to test our patience, or to develop compassion for, we could never develop the virtuous qualities needed to attain enlightenment.
In short, we need others for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Without others we are nothing. Our sense that we are an island, an independent, self-sufficient individual, bears no relation to reality. It is closer to the truth to picture ourself as a cell in the vast body of life, distinct yet intimately bound up with all living beings. We cannot exist without others, and they in turn are affected by everything we do. The idea that it is possible to secure our own welfare whilst neglecting that of others, or even at the expense of others, is completely unrealistic.
3. Meditation
Contemplating the innumerable ways in which others help us, we should make a firm decision: `I must cherish all living beings because they are so kind to me.’ Based on this determination we develop a feeling of cherishing – a sense that all living beings are important and that their happiness matters. We try to mix our mind single-pointedly with this feeling and maintain it for as long as we can without forgetting it.
4. Dedication
We dedicate all the virtues we have created in this meditation practice to the welfare of all living beings by reciting the dedication prayers.
5. Subsequent Practice
When we arise from meditation we try to maintain this mind of love, so that whenever we meet or remember someone we naturally think: `This person is important, this person’s happiness matters.’ In this way we can make cherishing living beings our main practice.
Loving Kindness Meditation
All living beings deserve to be cherished because of the tremendous kindness they have shown us.
The five stages of the meditation:
1. Preparation
2. Contemplation
3. Meditation
4. Dedication
5. Subsequent Practice
1. Preparation
We sit in the meditation posture as explained above and prepare our mind for meditation with breathing meditation. If we like we can also engage in the preparatory prayers.
2. Contemplation
All living beings deserve to be cherished because of the tremendous kindness they have shown us. All our temporary and ultimate happiness arises through their kindness. Even our body is the result of the kindness of others. We did not bring it with us from our previous life – it developed from the union of our father’s sperm and mother’s ovum. Once we had been conceived our mother kindly allowed us to stay in her womb, nourishing our body with her blood and warmth, putting up with great discomfort, and finally going through the painful ordeal of childbirth for our sake. We came into this world naked and empty-handed and were immediately given a home, food, clothes, and everything else we needed. While we were a helpless baby our mother protected us from danger, fed us, cleaned us, and loved us. Without her kindness we would not be alive today.
The mere fact that we are alive today is a testimony to the great kindness of others.
Through receiving a constant supply of food, drink, and care, our body gradually grew from that of a tiny helpless baby to the body we have now. All this nourishment was directly or indirectly provided by countless living beings. Every cell of our body is therefore the result of others’ kindness. Even those who have never known their mother have received nourishment and loving care from other people. The mere fact that we are alive today is a testimony to the great kindness of others.
It is because we have this present body with human faculties that we are able to enjoy all the pleasures and opportunities of human life. Even simple pleasures such as going for a walk or watching a beautiful sunset can be seen to be a result of the kindness of innumerable living beings. Our skills and abilities all come from the kindness of others; we had to be taught how to eat, how to walk, how to talk, and how to read and write. Even the language we speak is not our own invention but the product of many generations. Without it we could not communicate with others nor share their ideas. We could not read this book, learn Dharma, nor even think clearly. All the facilities we take for granted, such as houses, cars, roads, shops, schools, hospitals, and cinemas, are produced solely through others’ kindness. When we travel by bus or car we take the roads for granted, but many people worked very hard to build them and make them safe for us to use.
Everyone who contributes in any way towards our happiness and well-being is deserving of our gratitude.
The fact that some of the people who help us may have no intention of doing so is irrelevant. We receive benefit from their actions, so from our point of view this is a kindness. Rather than focusing on their motivation, which in any case we do not know, we should focus on the practical benefit we receive. Everyone who contributes in any way towards our happiness and well-being is deserving of our gratitude and respect. If we had to give back everything that others have given us, we would have nothing left at all.
We might argue that we are not given things freely but have to work for them. When we go shopping we have to pay, and when we eat in a restaurant we have to pay. We may have the use of a car, but we had to buy the car, and now we have to pay for petrol, tax, and insurance. No one gives us anything for free. But from where do we get this money? It is true that generally we have to work for our money, but it is others who employ us or buy our goods, and so indirectly it is they who provide us with money. Moreover, the reason we are able to do a particular job is that we have received the necessary training or education from other people. Wherever we look, we find only the kindness of others. We are all interconnected in a web of kindness from which it is impossible to separate ourself. Everything we have and everything we enjoy, including our very life, is due to the kindness of others. In fact, every happiness there is in the world arises as a result of others’ kindness.
Our spiritual development and the pure happiness of full enlightenment also depend upon the kindness of living beings.
Our spiritual development and the pure happiness of full enlightenment also depend upon the kindness of living beings. Buddhist centres, Dharma books, and meditation courses do not arise out of thin air but are the result of the hard work and dedication of many people. Our opportunity to read, contemplate, and meditate on Buddha’s teachings depends entirely upon the kindness of others. Moreover, as explained later, without living beings to give to, to test our patience, or to develop compassion for, we could never develop the virtuous qualities needed to attain enlightenment.
In short, we need others for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Without others we are nothing. Our sense that we are an island, an independent, self-sufficient individual, bears no relation to reality. It is closer to the truth to picture ourself as a cell in the vast body of life, distinct yet intimately bound up with all living beings. We cannot exist without others, and they in turn are affected by everything we do. The idea that it is possible to secure our own welfare whilst neglecting that of others, or even at the expense of others, is completely unrealistic.
3. Meditation
Contemplating the innumerable ways in which others help us, we should make a firm decision: `I must cherish all living beings because they are so kind to me.’ Based on this determination we develop a feeling of cherishing – a sense that all living beings are important and that their happiness matters. We try to mix our mind single-pointedly with this feeling and maintain it for as long as we can without forgetting it.
4. Dedication
We dedicate all the virtues we have created in this meditation practice to the welfare of all living beings by reciting the dedication prayers.
5. Subsequent Practice
When we arise from meditation we try to maintain this mind of love, so that whenever we meet or remember someone we naturally think: `This person is important, this person’s happiness matters.’ In this way we can make cherishing living beings our main practice.
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