Gratitutde

The Beasties rap about it, and so do our teachers. So why is it so hard to remember? Today, remember one blessing for every negative thought that enters your mind. That's what I'm going to do. Gratitude is a practice, just like anything else!

Vedanta

At long last, I return. It's been a very busy few months, but I want to share with you my impressions of a recent Carlos Pomeda DVD I watched regarding Vedanta. The schools of thought characterized as Vedanta arose during a period of much prosperity in India. It was a great time for scholars and intellectuals of all stripes and was marked by spirited philosophical debate. While there were three main branches of Vedanta, Advaita, Ramanya, and Madhva, I will focus on Advaita, the "non-dual" system.

Advaita Vedanta asserts that everything is Brahman, the Absolute. There is no difference between us and them, us and a rock, us and "God." Doesn't sound so different from everyone having Buddha nature, right?

Advaita Vedanta is credited with dealing the death blow Buddhism in India, but it is interesting to note that the former borrows an important concept from the latter. Shankaracharya, the father of Advaita Vedanta, used maya, or illusion, to explain the apparent contradiction between the universe being all one and our perception of it as many. Maya has two powers, veiling and projecting, and with those powers, it supports the errroneous notion in our minds that we are separate, discrete beings.

So the implication for our practice, and for our sense of who we are, is that we already are that which we seek! We just have to learn to see through the illusion! Again, this doesn't sound so different from Buddhism!

Yoga Sutras

Check out Nischala Joy Devi's The Secret Power of Yoga for a woman-centered interpretation of the Yoga Sutras. Here are my thoughts on a couple of them.

Sutra 1.1: With humility (an open heart and mind), we embrace the sacred study of Yoga.

In the structure of the Sutras, Patanjali gives us the most important teaching first, and I think that you can get everything that you need to know if you unpack this sutra. First, we have to step onto our mats (or sit on our cushions) without the preconceived notions that we have about ourselves and what we think Yoga is. What's more, we have to let go of the emotional baggage attached to those thoughts. It is then, in this vulnerable place, that we can hug Yoga, and more importantly, allow Yoga to hug us back. In this process, we learn who really are and can begin to see othes as they truly are. Everything gets opened up! And that is DEFINITELY sacred!

Sutra 1.3: United in the heart, consciousness is steadied,then we abide in our true nature--joy.

This one has puzzled me. Being "united in the heart" seems to indicate the presence of at least two parties. Who, or what, are we uniting with? Here's my idea. Maybe we are uniting with ourselves in the deepest sense. All the disparate pieces of the little 's' self come together to become the big 's' Self. And what do we feel when we feel integrated and whole? Steadiness and joy. It's a beautiful thing. Nischala calls it "identification with the Divine Self." Steady, joyful, and divine? Why would anyone not want to practice Yoga?!?!

Carlos Pomeda rocks my world!

So here are the truths that I took from Carlos' teaching on the Upanishads. Number one: Attaining liberation is merely a process of apprehending a truth that is already in us. This is huge!!! We are already everything we dreamed of being. How revolutionary!!! Only the Self knows itself. I know that sounds circular and solypsistic, but in reality, it just means that we don't have to go anywhere to achieve transcendence.

Number two: even though all you need is the Self, having a good teacher is key for reflecting the truth within you. Upanishad translates as "sit down near," and Carlos speaks at length regarding the transmission of this wisdom from teacher to student. What's more, the Upanishads tell you how to learn from a teacher by employing sravana (listening), manana (contemplating), and niddidhyasana (meditation). We are to listen in the way that "a deer listens to music." We are to contemplate in the way that "a cow chews." We are to meditate in the way that "a swan separates milk from the water." That last one is a little confusing for me, but it seems that the phrase refers to the process of discerning what is best from a teaching and internalizing that.

So those are the main things. If you want to check out Carlos' DVD series titled The Wisdom of Yoga, visit http://www.pomeda.com/products.htm. Carlos' teaching is imbued with the kind of wisdom that only comes with practice, and he gives us the chance to practice the meditation of the time period under discussion at the end of each session. If you have an opportunity to hear one of his talks in person, don't miss it!

Like this.....

Our teacher, Shannon, recited the following Rumi poem during a pratice she lead recently. It bears repeating ( and memorizing, which is why I'm typing it here). I love it.

Like this.

If anyone asks you
how the perfect satisfaction
of all of our sexual wanting
will look, lift your face
and say, like this.

When someone mentions the gracefulness
of the night sky, climb up on the roof
and dance and say, "Like this?"

If anyone wants to know what "spirit" is,
or what God's fragrance means,
lean your head toward him or her.
Keep your face there close.
Like this.

When someone quotes the old poetic image
About clouds gradually uncovering the moon,
Slowly loosen knot by knot the strings
of your robe, like this?

If anyone wonders how Jesus raised the dead,
don't try to explain the miracle.
Kiss me on the lips.
Like this. Like this.

When someone asks what it means
to die for love point,
Here.

If someone asks how tall I am, frown
and measure with your fingers the space
between the creases on your forehead.
This tall.

The Soul sometimes leaves the body, then
returns.
When someone doesn't believe that,
walk back into my house.
Like this.

When lovers moan,
they're telling my story.
Like this.

I am a sky where spirits live.
Stare into this deepening blue,
while the breeze says a secret.
Like this.

When someone asks what there is to do,
light the candle in his hand.
Like this.

How did Joseph's scent come to Jacob?
Huuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

How did Jacob' sight return?
Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

A little wind cleans the eyes.
Like this.

When Shams comes back from Tabriz,
he'll put his head around the edge
of the door to surprise us.
Like this.

--Rumi

And we are surprised by grace in the same way.

We already have it!

Do you feel that your life is lacking? Have you despaired that you will never transcend the need for less than constructive habits? Well, Donna Farhi has encouragement. She tells us in her book, Yoga, Body Mind, and Spirit, that we have everything within us that we need to heal ourselves and embody our highest ideals. Thich Nhat Hanh says the same in his book, Understanding Our Mind. According to him, we have seeds, or bija, within us for any possibility. What we manifest is a result of the seeds we cultivate, the seeds we water and fertilize. So farm the good by eating well, practicing earnestly, and loving yourself. This is the best resolution you can make in the new year, along with reading up on these accomplished writers and practitioners. There is an obvious connection between Castle's ideas and those of Farhi's. No doubt the juxtaposition of these readings was by the design of our brilliant teachers. I have more to say about Farhi but will save it for another post. At this point, the thing that I really want to sink in is that we are ALL, each one of us, already perfect. We have only to apprehend it.

BTW, check out Victoria Castle's (of Trance of Scarcity fame) newsletter at http://www.tranceofscarcity.com/ .