Yogafly2

Realize death's time is uncertain - Gehlek Rimpoche

From Gehlek Rimpoche's Odyssey to Freedom in 64 Steps (Summer Retreat 1997):

page 160:  Step 22 - Realize death's time is uncertain

"We not only have to convince ourselves that we are going to die, the question is when.  Remember death's time is uncertain.  If we really knew that answer, boy, it would be really great!  We could spend our time on something else and then finally, when the time came, we could really put our efforts in and be ready to do the next life.  Unfortunately, we don't know when the time will come.  Nobody knows, not even psychics.  Take it from me, they don't know it.  They may be able to talk to you about a lot of your future, but they won't know when they're going to die themselves.  We don't know when the time of death will come.  Nobody knows.  It is not necessary that a person who is chronically sick will die earlier than a youthful, happy, joyful, bright person.  That is true.

Look within Jewel Heart (http://www.jewelheart.org),  a few years ago we had Lex (Hixon) here, and nobody thought Lex was going to go.  Except, I had a doubt in my head, it popped up twice or three times.  Once I saw him so dark, and thought, "What's the matter, is he going to die?"  And once I saw him in Colorado, wo white, "What's the matter?"  Except for that sort of doubt, nobody ever thought he was going to go.

Also this is the first retreat without Allen (Ginsberg), after so many years.  He was there and nobody thought he was going to go and wouldn't be here for the next retreat. 

And then Gelongla who was sitting right there in this very room, listening to Mahamudra.  He wanted to sit on the little throne for Choedrak Tulku, beside me.  I said, "Go ahead and sit."  He sat on the throne, wearing old monk's robes, went to his room and died.  John Madison was sharing the room, but didnt' know he was dead!  Even the next morning, he didn't know.   We were talking in the men's room, and John said,  "I think Gelongla is trying to impress us on how to meditate, he's sitting like that."  And I said,  "Oh, he's dead."  That was a joke.  I think it was Steve Kronenberg who said,  "If you give him a good kick you will know."  Then John said, "No, he's a monk, I don't want to kick him, but (it was a winter retreat) I don't mind taking a bucket of water and pouring it over him!"  We were talking like that, and then I walked to the dining room.  Suddenly I saw John running without shoes in the snow,  "It's true, it's true!"  So that's it.  He was just sitting there, and forty-five minutes later he was gone.  These are vivid examples.  I think they are giving us a message.

The message is our life is extremely fragile.  Really, a split second can destroy it.  This is the situation we are all in.  That is why safety has become so important in our life.  There are a tremendous number of external conditions which can blow you off in a finger snap's time.  There are a tremendous number of internal conditions which can blow you out every second.  So it is very fortunate we are alive, extremely important and fortunate.  From that angle, you should also appreciate and embrace life.

The purpse of embracing life, the purpose of recognizing impermanence, which is vividly exhibited through death, is actually to cut down laziness.  Though you have such an important, such a valuable life, it is just like a burning candle put outside where the winds are blowing.  If that is the condition, what is the best I can get out of it?  What is the best I can achieve?  That is the main question.  What is my mission for my life?  What is the purpose?  I have this wonderful life, and opportunity and condition, what can I do with it?  This is what you have to ask.  Once you realize this point, then naturally this question should come up.

When that question naturally comes up, you begin to get an answer.  Whatever answer you give is fine.  "My mission is to be rich," fine.  Go and do whatever you need to make yourself rich.  If you find,  "My mission is to be healthy," eat brown rice, drink wheatgrass juice, or whatever you need to do.  And if you find, "My mission in my life is to eradicate suffering for me and others, to become a buddha," that's your mission, you are capable, it is possible.  People have done it, you have the opportunity, you could do it.  That's your mission, you can do it!  Why are you neglecting it?  Why are you letting yourself down?  Think, "There is no reason why I should let myself down and let my friends down.  Why should I do that?  I will not.  I will achieve my goal.  My mission  for my life is to eradicate the sufferings, to gain freedom, not only for me, for others too."

That is how you think, meditate and analyze, and make your mind become oneness with that.  Your mind becomes oneness with it not by pushing this in and gluing it.  It's not like that.  You bring in that suggestion very often, and it is as if your mind gets soaked in it.  When you take a piece of paper and soak it in oil, the paper get completely soaked by the oil.  Then if you try to separate the paper and the oil, it's very hard.  Right?  All the paper absorbs the oil.  Like that, your consciousness absorbs the oil-like mind suggestion, and your paper-like consciousness absorbs that thought.  It's impossible to separate them, without destroying both.  If you destroy both, it's not separated, it's destroyed.  That is what is meant by becoming oneness, or union, or YOGA.

Then when death suddenly comes and I am not prepared, what do I do?  Take refuge.  If you are a little better thatn that, if you are at the medium level, get out of samsara.  If you are at the bodhisattva level, dedicate it to all beings.  And if you are at the Vajrayana level, transform it.   There are a zillion different things to do; learn them, practice them and make sure it works that way.

Again, Vajrayana is important here.  Without Vajrayana* (more below) we would not know what to do with our death, we would not know what to do with our bardo, we would not know what to do with our sleep, we would not know what to do with our dreams.  These are very important points in life.  We should be seeing death as a true reality, a natural phenomenon;  it is like sleep, like open space.  Bardo is just like a dream;  it has the same effect; the sufferings are real, the joys are real.  It is true, when you dream about suffering, you are suffering; when you are dreaming of pleasure, you are having pleasure, too.  To make death, bardo and rebirth, also the sleep period as well as the dreaming state, useful and helpful, we need Vajrayana.  That's the best vehicle available.

Vajra - the diamond vehicle - symbol of thunder and lightning

Step 57:

Celebrate the quality and rarity of Vajrayana

Vajrayana is extremely important.  Without Vajrayana, it is absolutely true that it is very difficult, or almost impossible, to become an enlightened being.  Well, you may be able to do it after some five hundred eaons, but Vajrayana gives us the opportunity to be able to achieve it within a short period.  That is the Vajrayana special quality.  We do have Vajrayana, so celebrate the quality and the rarity of Vajrayana.

Commitment to SHRI

Shri - is the ever-expanding life that wants to LIVE!

John Friend explained what it means to commit to SHRI:

1) Honor the past.

2) Serve the present.

3) Be responsible for the future.

Christ Wisdom

"'Theologians have misinterpreted Christ's words, 'Master said, 'in such passages such as 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life:  no man cometh unto the Father but by me (John 14:16) Jesus meant never that he was the sole Son of God but that no man can attain the unqualified Absolute, the transcendent Father beyond creation until he has first manifested the 'Son' or activating Christ Consciousness within creation.  Jesus, who had achieved entire oneness with that Christ Consciousness identified himself with it inasmuch as his own ego had long since been dissolved." 

- Paramahansa Yogananda quoting his teacher pictured here - Sri Yukteswar

Meditation for Freedom

"We are not compelled to meditate by some outside agent, by other people or by God.  Rather, just as we are responsible for our own suffering, so are we solely responsible for our own cure.  We have created the situation in which we find ourselves and it is up to us to create the circumstances for our release."

- Lama Thubten Yeshe

Wisdom Energy

January 6 - Rescheduled Kirtan Fundraiser

Due to the transit strike - we are re-scheduling the Winter Solstice Kirtan Fundraiser to Friday, January 6 at 8 pm!  -

Winter Solstice Kirtan Fundraiser & Raffle at Integral Yoga

"Moving Toward the Light" – a Celebration with Kamaniya & Damaru

Friday, January 6 - 8:00 pm

All Proceeds Benefit The Reciprocity Foundation ( www.reciprocityfoundation.org)

"Moving Toward the Light," a Winter Solstice Kirtan (call and response chanting) will be held to honor the great contribution of Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) founder, Swami Satchidananda, in spreading Yoga in the West.  On Friday, January 6 from 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm at Integral Yoga(r) Institute on 227 West 13th Street in Greenwich Village, celebrated kirtan leaders, Kamaniya & Damaru, will lead the group in heart-opening interfaith chants, songs and blessings in line with Swami Satchidananda’s famous creed:  “Truth is One, Paths are Many”.  Please note that doors will close at 9:30 pm.

A special day of many blessings, Solstice represents the longest nights of the year, and December 22, the first day of the Winter Solstice or “moving toward the light,” was Swami Satchidananda's birthday.  Because of his selfless service to the Yoga community worldwide, all proceeds from the kirtan will be donated in Swami Satchidananda's name to The Reciprocity Foundation - a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering homeless youth to design their futures.  Tickets for the Winter Solstice Kirtan are $20 prior to the event and $25 at the door. 

To further raise funds for The Reciprocity Foundation's mentorship programs, raffle tickets will be on sale at $5 each or 5 for $20 at IYI Bookstore and The Appreciate Network’s Columbus Circle Market.  Those who cannot attend the Winter Solstice Kirtan are encouraged to purchase raffle tickets.  Winners can expect:

·         Beautiful Gift Baskets from The Appreciate Network with socially-responsible products

·         $50 Gift Certificates from each of the IYI Bookstore, IY Natural Foods, IY Natural Apothecary, and an IY 5-class card

·         A weekend stay for two at idyllic Ananda Ashram ($300 Value)

·         30-Minute Lotus Palm Thai Massage with Jyothi Watanabe

·         One-Hour Reiki Healing session with Dayna Rittenberg

·         One-Hour Private Anusara-style Yoga with Kristina Lanuza (Yogafly)

·         Lovely books and CDs including Seasons of Thanks by Taz Tagore

About Integral Yoga ( www.iyiny.org)

Integral Yoga(r) Institute, founded by H.H. Sri Swami Satchidananda, is a beacon of peace in New York's Greenwich Village. IYI offers more than 120 Hatha Yoga classes weekly, all levels, including Prenatal/Postpartum, HIV, and Gentle, as well as teacher training and practical programs for growth and inspiration.

About The Reciprocity Foundation ( www.reciprocityfoundation.org)

The Reciprocity Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization created in response to chronic impoverishment in America-particularly amongst youth. The organization's first program is called Proof of Concept-a national mentorship program that matches artistic homeless youth (17-23 years old) with design, fashion and media professionals. The organization also helps program participants secure an internship, a full-time job, college placement and life-skills (personal, social & spiritual).  To learn more, visit www.reciprocityfoundation.org and to shop for a socially responsible gift, visit www.appreciate.org.

Warming, Protein-Rich Meals for the Winter

At the Yogafly Urban Yoga Retreat on January 13-15, we will be having 2 delicious, warming lunches served by Om Factory NYC's holistic health counselors - Kimberlee Elder and Marika.

Health Supportive Cuisine Sample Cookbook:

From Kimberlee Elder:

The winter months tend to be a time of quiet reflection and creativity. The longer nights and cold days tend to keep us inside and away from the blustery, dry wind. In order to nourish and moisturize our bodies, we look to a diet rich in protein and fat. Nature’s antidote comes in the form of warm, protein packed, oil rich foods.

Millet, Squash, Adzuki Bean Stew

1 cup adzuki beans
1 ½ cups millet, dry-roasted in a skillet
4 cups water
1 piece kombu seaweed
1 small butternut or acorn squash seeded and chopped
Tamari to taste
1 piece kombu seaweed
1 small butternut or acorn squash seeded and chopped
Tamari to taste

Place beans, millet, water and kombu in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Arrange squash chunks on top of the millet and beans. Simmer 30 minutes longer. Season with tamari. Serves 6.

Arugula and Pine nut Salad

1 bunch arugula, washed and trimmed
½ cup pine nuts
¼ olive oil or more to taste
1 lemon
dash of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Toss arugula and pine nuts in a bowl. In a separate bowl whisk the juice of one lemon, dash of cayenne pepper, and olive oil to taste. Coat salad and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste. Optional: Garnish with freshly sliced parmesan cheese. Serves 6.

Whole Wheat Crustini

1 whole wheat baguette
Flax oil
goat cheese
Slice the baguette horizontally into small rounds. Light toast. Remove and garnish with flax oil or thin layer of goat cheese.

Place beans, millet, water and kombu in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Arrange squash chunks on top of the millet and beans. Simmer 30 minutes longer. Season with tamari. Serves 6.

Yoga Can Heal Chronic Back Pain

I read an article about yoga being able to heal chronic back pain on CNN - fabulous - good.  Having myself seen, understood and experienced that so much  pain in the back and body can  healed by yoga - it's fun to see mass media finally catch up!

The article link is here:  http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/12/20/yoga.back.reut/index.html.

I've found that my practice of Anusara Yoga has been incredibly back- curing life-changing. 

As John Friend explained - all biomechanical issues, or pain that stems from biomechanical misalignments can be helped by the Universal Principles of Alignment of Anusara Yoga. 

Conscious Giving & Solstice Kirtan Fundraisers

It's the holiday season and there's a lot of getting and spending and giving going on. We're in a beautiful flurry of expectation, wanting, fulfillment, disappointment, sorrow and joy.

It's so wonderful to give and receive. But I also believe that when people feel pressured to give what they cannot - or feel the guilt of not being able to give to all the needy people in the world - that this can feel very weighty and difficult. So let's all lighten up a bit.

On the subway the other day, there was a wonderful man - who was limping - but had this tremendous smile in his heart. He was asking for food and money for the homeless. He mentioned that if you couldn't give anything then please give him a hug instead. And so I stood up and gave him one. I'll have to say the hug was very fulfilling for me. I got so much light from this beautiful stranger. Another passenger looked at me and smiled. So I asked him if he wanted one and he said yes. So there I met another new friend, Bertram, who works in the fashion industry.

Caroline Myss, a wonderful teacher, explains that as we evolve the human consciousness that we will give more gifts of energy and "shakti" (my yoga words) - to heal and bring blessings to our own hearts and those around us. Simultaneously, our world runs on funds and money. I like to say that ConEdison and my landlord don't want me to send them healing vibrations and blessings, they want checks for the amount of money they deem electricity and housing are worth. That doesn't mean that I don't pray for them (and pray for funds in my bank!) but I am clear as to what types of energy exchange is necessary. All of us grapple with understanding "worth & value" - through finances, money, through service exchanges - and there is no one answer. But as David Harshada Wagner (see information below) said "Money is another form of Shri."

On December 21, 2005, I'm hosting a fundraiser kirtan - the ticket prices may be construed by some in the Kirtan community as high for Kirtan - but the cause is so worthy - and powerful. $20 and $25 are suggested donation prices, no one will be turned away on this night if the cannot afford the kirtan - but we hope that people can give a bit more than they think they can - because there a lot of talented, smart, homeless youth out there that are not on drugs - but just came from circumstances that many of us cannot imagine. Let's mentor them and give them a bigger voice in the world.

www.iyiny.org - December 21, 2005
You can see more information on the Yogafly Blog thread below. We hope you can make it - if not, please provide a donation to The Reciprocity Foundation. www.reciprocityfoundation.org.

Simultaneously, a wonderful friend - David Harshada Wagner - whom I just met through Dr. Siddharth Shah - he recently started PAWB - Psychosocial Action Without Borders - to provide psychotherapy, meditation and guidance outreach to activists and those who work in some of the most difficult and poorest parts of the world ---- is hosting a fundraiser kirtan on the same night. Come to both Kirtans and see how increasing the joy through chanting makes all the work we do in the world so much easier and full of grace!

Here's the information on Harshada's Kirtan:

Wednesday, December 21st

The Culture Project
49 East Bleecker St. (at Lafayette) 4th Floor
Directions- http://www.45bleecker.com/mapdine.html

7:00 pm

Kirtan(keer-tun): Devotional call-and-response chant,

usually accompanied by musical instruments

Fundraiser (fund-raze-er):Wonderful event

designed to collect money for a worthy cause.

Banyan Education is throwing a fundraiser to bring
people togetherfor the holidays and to raise moneyfor a Banyan
humanitarian project in Sri Lanka.

We’ll come together to chant, meditate, and learn more about the project.

$20 Suggested Donation at door

Formore information or to RSVP email meditate@banyaneducation.com

if you’d like todonate but are unable to attend, please send a check payable to David Harshada Wagner
to
1391 Madison Ave 1-B
New York 10029

All proceedswill go toward Seenigama Meditation Project

To learan more about the project, see the events page
http://banyaneducation.com/events.html

Let's Increase More Joy in the World

From Kamaniya's e-newsletter.

Mohandas K. Gandhi understood that in order to transform any kind of injustice or oppression, our lives & hearts have to change first. When asked for a general guideline for living, Gandhi said: . . . “Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest & weakest man whom you may have seen, & ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? In other words, will it lead to freedom for the hungry & spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts & your self melt away.” The Reciprocity Foundation’s programs & activities embody the spirit of Gandhi’s belief in self-transformation as the key to broader change.

Subscribe to Kamaniya's e-newsletter by e-mailing her at kamaniyasings@gmail.com

Wednesday December 21 Magical Solstice

Join us on Wednesday December 21 at Integral Yoga on 13th Street from 8 pm to 10:30 pm for Moving Toward the Light! A kirtan with Kamaniya & Damaru that will raise funds for homeless youth. The Reciprocity Foundation - an organization that I am intimately connected with - works to empower and mentor homeless youth across the U.S.

www.reciprocityfoundation.org

There will be Birthday cake to honor Swami Satchidananda's Birthday - He's the founder of Integral Yoga and an incredible light. I met him in 1998 before he left his body in 2002 - and the moment of being in his presence will never ever die in my heart. Enough to light up a thousand dark nights. His presence, grace and spirit saturate Integral Yoga and I always feel that he gives me a little push of grace to back up my chanting :-) Om Jai Satchidananda.

Also Kirtan leader goddess Kamaniya's birthday!

Tickets are $20 prior - www.iyiny.org
or $25 at the door!

There's also a wonderful raffle going on!!!! You can buy a $5 raffle ticket and win some pretty amazing prizes!

Let's chant together. It's bound to raise the warmth of your inner body through the winter.

Yoga and the Portuguese Man of War

So this has been one of my BIG lessons in having FAITH in something bigger than FEAR. In the tantric practice - we take the challenges of life to provide some of the greatest revelations of joy. And last week, in my ecstatic play with John Friend and the Anusara yogis in Miami Florida for teacher training, I happened to have a run-in with a Portuguese Man of War.

Elias, Luis, Sarah and I were having such a raucous time dancing on the edge of the ocean. The sun was sparkling and the ocean was a luscious blue green. I mean, gorgeous, with all sorts of dazzling light and color. And I'm a big ocean fan. I'm at once intimidated and awed and in love with her. I love riding her waves on a surf board - with Paul Rappaport, my surfing teacher - watching to make sure I come back to shore :-)

So I can't help but want to kiss Mother Ocean over and over again. And sometimes her sea creatures kiss back - and just as some loves and relationships can STING, the Portuguese Man of War blistered and stung me all over my face and throughout my arms and parts of my chest. When I looked in the mirror, I was pretty horror stricken at the countenance that stared back. But that wasn't even what got me - what got me was the hot, stinging, buzzing sensation all over my face and arms. I just wanted it to wash off! It felt like a thousand habanero peppers were rubbed all over me.

This is where the grace of the Anusara community really came into play. It was incredible. Lovely John, a nurse, with the most incredible light blue sky-lights of eyes - came to the rescue with $28 worth of Benadryl, hydrocortisone and the works. Christine from Australia and Leslie sat with me as I gulped down the antihistamines. Charly, lovely Charly going to find my things that I left by the ocean.

John found Kate McNeely and Tara from Alabama who hosted me in their hotel room - the stoned girl on Benadryl who would've passed out in her wet clothes if Kate hadn't given me her Anusara Yoga T. Kate being the loveliest mother goddess - so sweet. And Patrick from Miami checking in. All this sweetness and I got up a few hours later and the redness, blistering, stinging was ALL GONE. Washed away by the grace. Truly. The 4 days of practicing Anusara yoga with 140 or so teachers from all over the world. All wishing one thing - to expand more goodness and beauty in the world. John told me that people have died from such things - or gone to the emergency room - thankfully, he told me after the fact.

Pretty remarkable. The burning, many, many sensations. And then the clearing. Not one sign of Sting anywhere.

Lesson learned.

I've just got to get back into the ocean more often so that I don't get too excited when I see her blue green waves beckoning. And to get to know what all the sea creatures look like so I don't disturb them. I would rather co-habitate the ocean with them. I saw that this type of circumstance - is where trust is built, that in the presence of fabulous, helpful people who smile and support you, that anyone can jump into what makes us tremble with awe and step into the delight, knowing that even if we fall or have some challenges along the way, that we'll get up all healed and stronger in the end.

Whale riding, here I come....

The Guru - The "G" Word

One of my meditation teachers, Gehlek Rinpoche, calls Guru the "G" word. The word is intense in its meaning - we say it a lot in yoga. We even start the Anusara Yoga invocation with a derivation of "Guru" - "Gurave." Om Namah Shivaya Gurave. But what does it mean?

The true teacher within. The true grace of God within. The Gurus in yoga are each one of us - lighting the way of truth within our own hearts. John Friend explains that the Anusara yoga invocation lights us up to the fact that we are each Shiva - God itself. But many of us can feel lost - uncertain at times- so how do we learn to trust the infinite within us? Through the guidance of an outer Guru.

Gehlek Rinpoche explains: "To acknowledge the spiritual master is to acknowledge the big-G word. The word "Guru" in traditional Indian language means 'heavy.' Loaded with quality, that's really what it means. Loaded with quality. The guru is your guide, so if the guru has no quality where is he or she going to lead you? The quality to be shared is guiding you on the path. That is the guru's job, not guiding you by means of a book or a prepared statement, nor guiding you by a well-researched paper, but guiding you on the basis of personal experience."

Lovely guides are so important. Those that are clear, direct, honest and available. Guides on the big adventure of the infinite world within and all around us. It is easy to get lost in the world. There are so many IMPORTANT things that call us away from practice - but I've found that when instead of rushing off to take care of a very IMPORTANT issue that is calling me or if I react quickly to whatever arises in a moment- that if I meditate on it for a few moments - sit with all the emotions, feelings, thoughts the pummel me - voila - simple, viable solutions arise. And the next moment is even more ripe and full of delight.

This one from Swami Satchidananda - "Often the role of the Guru is misunderstood in the spiritual life, and the students think that the the teacher will carry them to the goal. The guru can only guide, only point the way. You yourself must decide to proceed and do it. It's something like seeing a signpost: "Boston - 200 miles." Do you prostrate before the signpost, deck it with garlands and pray, 'Please take me to Boston?' No. Forty years from now, you will still be there. The signpost points the direction and indicates the distance. But you must walk there.

The guru is like that He has gone the route. He knows the journey and is able to guide others on the trip. That is the duty of the teacher. But you have to follow the teaching, and there is no short-cut on this road."

And from Shri Brahmananda Saraswati: The person who is in search of a Guru should first seek the Guru within. If one sees a Guru outside only without seeking the Guru within oneself, then one is consciously or unconsciously deceiving oneself. Those who have no faith and no confidence in their own inner Guru and are trying to have faith and confidence in an outer Guru - they may enjoy their illusions for a while, but ultimately they are forced to be disillusioned. It is said that one cannot live without a Guru. But it is sure that the search for a Guru begins first within, then continues with the outer Guru, and then ends in God. Ultimately, the soul of the individual and that of the external Guru and God become one."

The word "Guru" consists of two syllables, "gu" and "ru." Gu means darkness and ru means remover. He who removes the darkness from our understanding is the real Guru, and such a Guru and his office are always open in our heart. He is ageless, forever young and eternal, and his teachings are direct, without language. They are in the language of feeling and revealing. But if one cannot contact this inner Guru directly, then one must search for an outer Guru."

Fascinating & lovely this practice. Because in the play of life - this lovely LILA - there is a concealing and revealing that happens. The beauty of life can often be concealed by the challenges - but in the Tantric understanding - it is this very concealment that reveals the greatness of every second. How do we understand this everyday? Ommmmmm. The grace of the Guru. The sitting with this ocean of consciousness inside. Hatha Yoga practice. In my own life, I see everyone as Gurus - the sounds on the subway, the ripples of energy in a room full of people, the man behind the counter at the deli making my sandwich, my co-workers, my yoga students, my yoga teachers, my parents, the sun and the moon and the stars, my sister, my brother, my boyfriends, my lovers, my musician friends, the pigeons, the steps leading up to my apartment, everything, everything, everything. And in seeing all of this relate back to the center in my heart - ah! many blessings. and OMMMS and pranams in all directions.

Amba Parameshwari

Kamaniya and I chanted this with Tommy on drums at the last Kirtan at Integral Yoga.  It's still reverberating.  I first heard it from Heather Wertheimer when she came with husband Benjy to Jivamukti with Manorama.  It's on their CD Love Window.  Sublime.

A glorious chant to the mother goddess energy ---

Amba Parameshwari akhilandeshwari

Adhi Parashakti palayamam

Satchitananda rupini palayaman

Shri Bhuvaneshwari raja maheshwari

Shri Bhuvaneshwari raja maheshwari

Ma ma ma ma

Maaa maa maaa ma

Unfold Your Own Myth

From The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks

Who gets up early to discover the moment light begins?

Who finds us here circling, bewildered, like atoms?

Who comes to a spring thirsty and sees the moon reflected in it?

Who, like Jacob blind with grief and age, smells the shirt of his lost son and can see again?

Who lets the bucket down and brings up a flowing prophet?  Or like Moses goes for fire and finds what burns inside the sunrise?

Jesus slips into a house to escape enemies, and opens a door to the other world. 

Solomon cuts open a fish, and there's a gold ring.

Omar storms in to kill the prophet and leaves with blessings.

Chase a deer and end up everywhere!

An oyster opens his mouth to swallow one drop.  Now there's a pearl.

A vagrant wanders empty ruins.  Suddenly he's wealthy.

But don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others.  Unfold your own myth, without complicated explanation, so everyone will understand the passage,

We have opened you.

Start walking towards Shams.  Your legs will get heavy and tired. 

Then comes a moment

of feeling

the wings you've grown,

lifting.

Anusara Yoga Invocation

Om Namah Shivaya Gurave

Satchitananda Murtaye

Nishprapanchaya Shantaya

Niralambaya Tejase

Translation:
I honor the true teacher and grace within

Which takes the form of being-ness, consciousness, bliss

He is never, ever absent and full of peace

And shines with a divine light inconceivable

om shantih, shantih, shantih.

Amy Ippoliti has a CD of Anusara yogins chanting this beautiful invocation. You can get it by contacting her through www.wildspirityoga.com.

I was so enchanted to hear it as part of the Siddha Yoga and Shoshoni Yoga chants that lead up to the Guru Gita. Incredible to chant it with hundreds of yogis all at once. GRACE.

Anusara with John Friend

Anusara founder, John Friend, is so aptly named.  The gift of the practice of the Hatha yoga style of Anusara is in essence, John's grace.  I have been telling everyone that I'm on the lifetime teacher training program of Anusara yoga - and it's true.  What I've found with yoga teachers such as John and meditation teachers such as Gehlek Rimpoche, is that there is no end to diving in to the subtle energies that make up your body and your life.   And what I've found in Anusara practice is a true meeting of the physical form of the body with the spirit. 

Every time I practice with Anusara teachers, especially senior ones (not in age, but in practice), and then with John, my whole entire being-body shifts towards a more positive center.  And as I get grounded in this center - there's a corresponding radiance outward.  The heart-language of Anusara is truly a gift that came from the meeting of the minds of John Friend and Douglas Brooks and their work with the ever-expanding kula of Anusara teachers and practitioners.  The language of Anusara and it's teachings are so very playful and potent.  This way of teaching, that encourages without demanding, that gently places students in what they would consider "impossible" postures,  that has been helping to align my spine, that embraces all the asana practices of yoga,  that can be utilized in Ashtanga, Vinyasa and most forms of Hatha yoga, is something that can't be learned in one class or a workshop or even a 200-hour teacher training.  It takes what Amy Ippoliti created - immersion after immersion.

What does immersion mean?  At a meditation weekend at Chakrasambara center in New York City, the teacher spoke of why we keep going back to the sangha (the community or the kula) and the teachers, the gurus.   He explained that the meditative state of the mind is honed with practice and dedication to the seat.  What happens to most is that we find the meditative mind on the mat or or when we are in the sangha or in the presence of the teacher, but when we are "out in the world," and something doesn't quite go the way we expect it, or someone pisses us off, bam.  We're done for.  We're having what was termed by co-worker Cody Jones, a "shitshow."  And back we must go to the practice.  Otherwise the "shitshow" stays, and everything around you looks like a cesspool.  The idea of practice then becomes that as you keep doing it, the time between the states of meditative attention and awareness and the time without, lessens and lessens, and all of a sudden, grace is every moment.  Enlightenment sets in.

I honestly am not sure I will reach enlightenment in this lifetime.  And I have the realization that enlightenment can take an infinitude of lifetimes.  Which, at this point in my practice, no longer freaks me out.  What freaks me out is the state of not trying, the state of saying, well, since no one else seems to care about enlightenment or eternal peace or God around me, then I shouldn't pursue it.  That's the state that I run away from and into the grace of the practice.

This sense of enlightenment while in this body - is what I get glimpses of in my Anusara yoga practice.  And to be a great teacher of this - well, I need more time with the masters, from whom I can learn by example.  It's so intriguing, in our world, I've worked with CEOs, with people who have GREAT BIG TITLES, and who are FAMOUS, and I honestly have not learned as much from them as I have from those whom I consider truly masters of this life, body and spirit: John Friend, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Shri Brahmananda Saraswati, Chogyam Trungpa Rimpoche, Sogyal Rimpoche, Gehlek Rimpoche.  And the dearest Kunzang Dechen Lingpa Rimpoche - (from whom I experienced a Healing Chod) from Totalgoodness.org. 

It's just that these beings impact me upon my meeting them and studying with them, that stays with me through a lifetime.  Most people with GREAT BIG TITLES, have been some of the most difficult people to work with.  And although they serve as merciless avatars and are great gurus in themselves, my spirit tends not to hold them in high regard.  Although my upbringing wasn't all "peaches and ice cream," I did come from a family that values love and service to all human beings.  And so I became what is known as an IDEALIST,   a woman who couldn't figure out for the first two years of living in NYC why people didn't smile all the time in this great big urban mecca, the way they do in the Philippines and in Texas.

Ah!  not enough meditation. Got it.  Not enough hatha yoga.  Not enough time with the great teachers. 

In all seriousness, one of the teachings that has stuck with me since I read Franny & Zooey in junior high:

"Do not seek illumination unless you seek it like a man whose hair is on fire seeks a pond."

Shri Ramakrishna

My hair is on fire and I'm seeking this pond.  And the coolest thing is that when I'm with these great teachers,  they show me that this pond of illumination is in my own heart.  And guess, what? It's also in the hearts of everyone around me.  Every single being.