Super powers?

Statue of Shiva at rest, Rishikesh, India

Arrive without traveling

The Vedic world view posits that there is only one thing. There are not two things. These statements may seem simplistic, and to the more intellectually accomplished of us, redundant. There is a subtle distinction between the two sentences.

There is only one thing. We are all part of creation itself and of the creator.

There are not two things. We are not separate from each other or from the creator.

This oneness means that to place oneself in opposition to others or to nature is counterproductive and misleading.
If we share identity with our creator, it follows that we can share our creator's characteristics. The characteristic of omnipresence indicates that it is possible in consciousness to be everywhere at once.

The Rishis of the Himalayas were said to close their eyes, and while in a meditative state, travel vast distances. We meditators in the West have only scratched the surface of what can be accomplished by removing the inner boundaries we cling to so fervently in our ego-driven identities. We are able to gain not by grasping but by releasing.

Daily meditation gently trains us to do this, again and again. It is a gift we can give ourselves. It only requires a steady intent and resolve to get to the chair as our teacher taught us when we first learned meditation.

Without going out of my door
I can know all things on Earth
Without looking out of my window
I could know the ways of Heaven

The farther one travels
The less one knows
The less one really knows

Arrive without traveling
See all without looking
Do all without doing

Excerpt from The Inner Light - George Harrison
©1968 Northern Songs

Clouds over LA basin

Expectation and perfectionism

Sunset panorama, Southern California

Gateway to resentment

I was at a social event where an elderly person stated that this life we were leading was hell. Her pronouncement sent shock waves through the dinner party. I felt a brief annoyance, which gave way to compassion. Her world view was such that she could justify to herself and others that we lived under a punishing God and that her eternal torture had already begun.

She, a professed devout Catholic, was surrounded by family. We had sat down at a delicious meal in a house with a huge picture window with a panoramic view of bucolic rolling hills. It was the feast celebrating the birth of her Savior, a time when people gather and good feelings abound, yet she chose suffering for herself.

Why do we do this? My initial judgement of her was not helpful. I needed to seek compassion and understanding.

She assesses herself a perfectionist. She likes to get "her way." Others sense this need and retaliate, withdrawing from her. Have I not myself been guilty of this behavior? Many times, as it turns out. This person's behavioral example was a great learning opportunity for me.

When we indulge in resentment due to dashed expectations, what is the payoff? We get to judge and separate ourselves from others and perhaps even treat them badly. That is cold comfort indeed. One trades the potential for love and unity with others for bitterness and isolation. These are the ultimate "booby" prizes, the door at the gameshow that reveals something no one wants, to a comic fanfare of trombone and tympani.

What can I do in this moment to escape such a fate?

I can accept. Expectation that others change their behavior for me dooms me to hell on earth.

I can accept her as she is and not judge her as someone who can't evolve. The truth is she can and will. Evolution is nature's way. I can show extra kindness when confronted with bad behavior, although it seems a difficult choice.

When I choose this way, I feel better. It's a "win-win."

When we meditate regularly we give ourselves the chance to feel unity with God, with nature, and with other beings. Our natural state and our birthright are bliss. Once we have this bliss, we can share it. This world, to some a living hell, can slowly evolve into heaven on earth.

Morning looking east, Los Angeles

What did Jesus teach?

Is the kingdom of heaven within us?

Regardless of their differences, most religions have a great deal in common. The idea that God has three main properties: Omnipotence (all powerful). Omnipresence (everywhere at once). Omniscience (all knowing).

If God has these qualities, it follows that we as individuals are part of his creation, too. We have it within us to exemplify the best version of ourselves, to embody the Christ's vision of God's will on earth.

Are there any of Jesus' actual words that say God favors one group of people over another? Or that it is permissible or desirable to act violently in judgement against others in his name? He does not say this. He does say to love thy enemy as thyself. He does say to "judge not, lest you yourself be judged."

He does not demand empty actions or gestures of us. He does not promise special favors in the afterlife for a chosen few.

In this season when Jesus's birth is celebrated, even those among us who do not formally follow the teachings of an established Christian sect can learn so much from his words, from his very spiritual presence in our own hearts. We need be careful not to conflate his teachings with other questionable intentions his professed followers have added posthumously. If we stick to what Jesus said, his message is in no way antithetical to the ancient Vedic principles we in the meditation community study.

Regardless of your spiritual orientation or your professed faith (or lack of faith), I wish you peace, and hope that your heaven becomes uncovered to you as it will to all beings in time.

Go with God. Jai Guru Deva.

If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love,
I have become sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
Corinthians 13:1-13

Choose what is good for me wherever it is, and make me pleased with it.
Prophet Muhammad - 7th century

May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be well.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be happy.
Ancient Tibetan buddhist meditation
 

When I despair,
I remember that all through history
the ways of truth and love have always won.
There have been tyrants, and murderers,
and for a time they can seem invincible,
but in the end they always fall.

Think of it - always.
Mahatma Gandhi - early 20th century

Tracking time

Scarlett, West Hills, California

The healing power of perceptive clarity

"Wishful thinking" has a negative connotation in the modern parlance. It implies that we are crippled by a perceptive disability. All thinking is, in fact, wishful thinking. Thinking is informed by our perceptive filters and the judgements we accept as absolute. This acceptance is erroneous. My perception changes with my emotional state (which depends on sleep, food, or arbitrary mood swings) or with my level of resistance to the world and my place in it.

My thoughts themselves are unreliable as a barometer of the flow of nature. My ego, that easily distracted identity that masquerades as the true self, is not to be trusted with a task as weighty as discerning the truth.

Good luck silencing the ego. It gets louder the more we try to squelch it. Perhaps ego control is a fool's errand. We might do better to silently witness this ego and its machinations. Once the ego becomes aware that it is being observed, it's power over us dissolves, and we can see the workings of nature and our place therein without a fight for control.

If we become more accepting of nature's part in our makeup and our part in her overall flow, we can become more right-sized.

Consistent meditation expands our sense of identity beyond the ego and its flighty concerns. We become more grounded, more calm, more stable.

If we become opened to the beautiful gifts nature gives us on a daily basis, we can relax and enjoy the world for what it is. Heaven on Earth.

Skyview, dusk, West Hills, California

Accidental openness

Bare locus branches, winter, Los Angeles

Call it a boon. Call it grace.

It only seems evident in retrospect. Before I found meditation, I only had the tools of self-will to power my life. Since I was only able to identify with my thoughts and feelings, I was acting only out of ego gratification. If my ego was displeased with any aspect of my life, I judged that situation to be untenable, unendurable. I was doomed to live a sad life, lonely, and angry with the universe and my fellow travelers in it.

But in spite of my warped world view, I made one or two decisions that turned out to be prescient and wise. Where was this guidance coming from? Certainly not from my ego. In spite of the negative bent of my view of the world and the culture I was born into, despite the prevalence of unhealthy examples around me, I made the choice to become vegetarian at around twenty years of age.

At age twenty five, I started practicing yoga. Los Angeles was not the overt marketplace of all things eastern that it later became, and I had to tape Richard Hittleman's yoga instruction programs off of KCET, a local PBS affiliate. I practiced alone, told no one, and managed to become more and more proficient. I later let the practice go, but I never forgot the asanas. When I resumed decades later, it all came back.

Then about ten years ago, I met the man who taught me to meditate. I knew that I did not know how to do it, and that he did. I paid him to teach me. Although it seemed like a large amount of money at that stage of my life, I know now that it was the bargain of a lifetime.

I don't feel like I made these choices. I feel these choices made me. No amount of money could dissuade me from continuing these habitual actions.

Where did I get the willingness to set aside my ego and take on these seemingly risky practices? The only answer that makes sense to me now is that I became open to a higher power's direction and ignored the pressures of the prevailing culture to conform.

In retrospect I can clearly see the guiding hand of a loving God.

This season, let's strive to not take our own emotional temperature too much. Let us look outward toward our fellows, put their happiness before our own. Let us be open to the joys of anonymous giving.

"Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life."

Francis Bernadone, (St. Francis) 1204, Italy.

Solstice. Time to get dark.

Sunset, Fryman, Los Angeles

The underlying message of the season

We are speeding toward the year's end. As the available sunlight wanes, we are evolutionarily programmed to seek the light of each other's company, to nest, to huddle with family and loved ones. Unfortunately we live in a consumerist culture where this natural cyclical instinct is diverted to a sense of lack. Perhaps we don't have access to the loved ones society says we should have. Maybe our families are less of an ideal "safe haven" and more of a showcase for frustration and dysfunction.

Advertising images feed on this sense of lack and promise an answer in exchange for money. With the right BMW as a gift, surely she will love me. If I just drink Canard-Duchêne with my friends, we can't fail to have fun. If I have a simple, frugal, and modest holiday season, it points to my failure as a human being.

We can ignore such self-defeating messages, and get down to the fundamental actions that increase happiness: giving. To give of the fulfillment that nature has already given me, but I have ignored. This does not mean a BMW, it means a smile. Rather than the spirits in a champagne bottle, I can share encouragement, comfort, and ease with my friends. Rather than spending five dollars on a peppermint latte, I can give a five dollar bill to the shivering homeless woman in the bank alcove next to Peet's Coffee.

I can ask the beleaguered checker at the market how his day is going. When he answers, I can listen. Then I can extend this generosity to my family, forgiving them their shortcomings, taking less, giving more. I can be more forgiving of myself, resolving to not beat myself up. We are all trying the best we can to evolve and be better humans, but some don't have resources to do so easily.

From this new vantage point, it becomes possible to enjoy the solstice, to revel in the temporary darkness, to become an ally of the returning light.

"The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us."
— Black Elk (1863-1950)

Day of gratitude

East view, Fryman Canyon, Los Angeles California

Unlocking eternal happiness

In the western world, we have a tendency to turn our holidays into occasions of stress, expectation, and worry. Each person seems compelled to magically convert what could be a personal sacrament into a measuring contest. How much do you have? Do you have a perfect loving family? Do you have as nice a home as Uncle Fred? Did you drive up in as nice a car as Mrs. Anderson? What does that say about you?

We could use this event to ask other questions. Have we been given these miraculous bodies that serve us faithfully and heal themselves if we listen to them? Have we been given another sunrise, another day on this amazing planet that will also heal itself if we don't block out its voice with our own selfish concerns? Have we been given the quiet, subtle voice of God to listen to if we can only become quiet enough?

The answers are always yes. The day is always this day. Throw away the measuring stick and serve someone. Happiness does not need to be sought, only uncovered.

"One should know as to how to live in the world and he will be happy. Your body and wealth is useful in the world and your mind is useful on the path to God. Do not apply too much mind in the world than necessary otherwise it would be a waste and a loss to both material and spiritual aspects of life. Just like putting more than necessary gum to paste the envelope. The gum will be wasted and the envelope will be spoiled."

Guru Dev
Shankaracharya Swami Brahmananda Saraswati

Inner peace

San Fernando Valley from Fryman Canyon trail, Los Angeles, California

What do I bring to the party?

At times, we choose to react to world events by mirroring the turmoil we see around us. We think that reacting with anger, violence, and vengeance will keep us safe. We tend to feel that such emotions are justified, and in some way, appropriate and helpful. Nothing could be further from the truth. Taking on the angst of the moment, while an all too human and understandable response, helps no one, least of all, ourselves.

The carnage in Paris and elsewhere in the world is an expression of the world view that we can kill our way to peace. This tactic has never worked. Every angry reaction, no matter how justified, has always proven to pour gasoline on the fire of more anger and bloodshed. How can we, as peace-loving citizens, help?

The answer is simple and clear. We need to react out of our own fulfillment. We need to share our inner peace generously with others, not by proselytizing or converting others to our own habits, but by contributing to the collective calm by showing ourselves to be reliably peaceful and stable.

How can we share something we haven't got? We can't. We can only contribute to our own inner peace by meditating, filling ourselves with precious adaptation energy, twice a day for twenty minutes. The dominant culture tells us there is no time for such endeavors, but there is time.

There is this twenty minutes. Starting right now.

The way of the world would have us believe we share nothing in common with our "enemies." Power-brokers and world leaders have always used this concept to divide and conquer. The way of the spirit is very different. Intuition states and experience confirms that our humanity bonds us, bridges divisions, and makes us whole. We serve no one by reacting out of fear, anger, and ignorance.

Locus tree at dusk, Fryman Canyon

Learning, then choosing action

Laurelhurst Park, Portland, Oregon

How to evolve by shifting priorities

A close friend once had to establish communication with a family member whose relationship had become difficult. He went to his mentor and asked for advice. The advice was simple: "Have the conversation you will be proud of when you are eighty."

Suddenly my friend was no longer so concerned about establishing his point of view, convincing anyone of a behavioral change, or "having his way." He was no longer after short term goals. He was now playing the long game.

When we realize the precious nature of our tenuous and temporary relationships with others, the tone we take when conversing with them will necessarily change. It becomes easier for us to see from a more loving vantage point. While it can seem very important to have a desired outcome in any given interaction (winning the other person over), it can cause long term damage to that relationship.

When we realize that everyone is evolving at their own pace, and that others are doing the best they can, given the tools and knowledge at their disposal, it becomes possible to have more compassion. By projecting myself forward in time to the age of eighty, I can see that short term concerns need not drive my present actions. I may do more listening and less talking. I may be more loving and less judgmental.

My friend's family encounter went much more smoothly than he had anticipated, and the relationship was strengthened. The poetic truth of his teacher's words has stayed with me also. 

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Corinthians 13:4-8New International Version (NIV)

"Correcting the intellect" means that I can open myself to input from sources other than my own thinking. Vedic readings, biblical teachings, inspiring words from teachers and mentors are all available to me, and are preferable to whatever fear-driven short term concerns I may have in this moment.

Vedic knowledge meetings and group meditations are also recommended and very useful.

Portland view from Hotel

Surrender to win

Statue by stream, Huntington Gardens, San Marino, California.

Gaining by letting go

Last week I spoke at a 12-step meeting that included meditation. I met several men who, for the most part, were not regular meditators. They sat for the required 20 minute period, and I have no idea what they were experiencing, but according to their shares afterward, it was not pleasant for them. Most of these men related experiencing a mounting anger and anxiousness, but they were committed to the idea of “meditating,” so they decided to sit there and tough it out.

When we are at the mercy of ego identification, we are terrified of learning an actual meditation practice. Learning something new might require that the ego cede control. For the ego, this is unacceptable, so it searches for reasons to reject any help. It's a torturous Catch-22 scenario. A person is miserable as they are, but they have an infinite number of reasons why they can't change.

When one resolves to ignore the “reasons” and accept help, real progress can begin. I can't tell you at what point I overcame my own reluctance and moved forward into meditation, but it taught me a valuable lesson about acceptance and surrender.

Acceptance of the world on its own terms was necessary. I had to let go of the habit of imagining things because of a childish idea of myself and the world around me.

Surrender was simply a letting go of the requirement to have control. What was happening? Don't know, don't care. What could I do about it? Probably nothing. I tried staying out of the effort to control, and the universe did not end, the ground didn't swallow me up, no lightning bolt from the heavens struck me.

What did happen was subtle. I gradually became aware that I was more than just my thoughts and feelings, much more than the endless stream of chatter and commentary coming from a fear-based source inside my head.

I realized that I actually contained a vast, healing silence. In this silence I found much needed rest. In this rest was the peace I had been searching for.

I let go and gained everything.

We are not proselytizers. We do not need to sell or convince anyone of the merits of our practice. We can share our experience with the interested, but if they argue or resist, we back off, always with love and good humor. Their own inner guide will direct them, if need be, in our direction.

Bee in old rose variety, Huntigton Gardens, San Marino, California

Frozen in Time

The Myth of Achievement

Our ego tells us that it is possible, through effort and determination, to achieve a state of safety. The problem with this idea is that it misjudges the nature of reality. It is akin to perceiving the world as a static, fixed place, not the dynamic, ever-changing dance of subtle energies that it is.

The truth is that we can be safe, but not by manipulating people, places, and things, as the ego would have us do. We surrender and let go, something we have been doing diligently by meditating twice daily . We can join the stream of life instead of trying to control and direct the flow. We become present to the moment, accepting all with an open heart, not with a demanding, clutching grip.

Since all our senses are present and aware, not focused and tensely fixated on outcomes, we can take life as it comes. We are available to whatever changes come our way, because we are no longer being held prisoner by our own expectations.

If we take our cue from nature itself, we realize that true safety and security come from acceptance of what is; the ever-changing present is all we have. 

Twice-daily meditation and regular attendance at Vedic knowledge meetings are recommended to get the most out of one's practice. The sense of expansiveness that occurs in a group meditation setting is a welcome reinforcement of the resolve and dedication we need to continue growth as a meditator.

Lithia Creek in rain, Ashland, Oregon.

Meditation and sleep:

The value of unstressing.

Almost all my students have voiced concern over what to do if they fall asleep during meditation. I've kept my answers consistent. If we stay seated, with our back supported and our head and neck free, it is a rare occurrence to actually fall asleep, but it may happen, and it is never a cause for alarm.

The reason we do not lay prone to meditate is this: lying down signals to the body to release sleep chemistry. Sitting with the back supported signals to the practiced meditator that it is time to transcend. If sleep occurs, it might mean that everything is working as it should, and that the phenomenon of stress release is happening.

When stresses unwind that have been stored in the tissues of our bodies, whatever has built up comes out. Sometimes this is exhaustion or sleep deprivation. If I notice my head is cocked at a weird angle, or my mouth is dry, this is usually the explanation. If it happens, I don't fuss; I just add five or ten more minutes to my meditation. If I have run out of time and have to be somewhere, I take note of the fact that I'm currently unstressing sleep deprivation, and that I should allow myself nap time whenever possible.

Regardless of what is happening, I know that I can always call my instructor or attend a knowledge meeting for useful feedback from my teacher and members of the meditation community.

Knowledge meetings and group meditations are recommended to renew and reinvigorate your meditation practice. Please avail yourself of this resource. For my students, there is a knowledge meeting every Sunday at 10:00 am. I answer questions at a group level and privately, then we meditate as a group (an experience not to be missed). There is no charge. All are welcome; even non-meditators can get a benefit and will be given a free technique that will prove helpful. If you're in Los Angeles, let me know if you want to drop by.

chuck.bramlet@gmail.com

The (seemingly) Mundane

Morning light, living room.

What lens are you looking through?

Imagine yourself walking a city street. You have a simple errand to perform. Go here, get this thing, and return. Depending on your world view, it can be an enjoyable and adventurous task or a nightmare.

In scenario one, the adventurous task, you start off with simple gratitude that you can walk. You may even encounter a fellow human that is elderly, stooped over, barely crossing the light in time, having a relatively rough go of it. Or you may notice someone who has given up on the idea of walking, circling for an empty parking space in their car, frustrated and agitated.

You, on the other hand, have the energy and strength of limb to point yourself in a direction and get there. You may not always be so abled. Old age, disease, injury or other circumstances could to hamper your ability to be a city pedestrian. Do you feel smug in your blessings and move on? No, you start to notice that the old woman walking in the crosswalk is doing so in good humor, trying her best. You smile at her and assist her up on that difficult last curb step. She thanks you, and you have a short, pleasant exchange.

Both you and she have an excellent shot at having a good day because of the lens you have chosen to view the world through.

In scenario two, the nightmare, you are resentful, distracted, worrying about some aspect of your existence you find vexing. You expect others you encounter to understand your impatience, you sigh with resignation, grit your teeth and persevere. This light takes forever! You find yourself punching the walk button with more force than necessary. That woman turning out of the driveway doesn't see you, she almost runs you over. You notice with a certain perverse satisfaction that she is illegally talking on her cell phone. See? The world is going to hell in a hand basket. This city is annoying, and it is only going to get worse. When you are expected to wait your turn in a line, you roll your eyes and tap your foot. Don't they know you have better things to do than this?

You return exhausted, depleted. Your mission to wrest personal satisfaction from this world is a disaster. Perhaps you'll have better luck tomorrow.

Scenario one highlights a sense of oneness with humanity, with the flow of nature. Scenario two focuses on separation, on lack, on competition.

The choice of which lens to use is always yours to make.

I am a light junkie. I am always cognizant of the quality of light nature provides and the wonderful way it plays with my mood. For all of its apparent faults, the city displays never ending subtly shifting light. When I notice this and honor this, even the most snarled up traffic situation or blighted urban surroundings have qualities that I can appreciate.

Boat on the Ganges, Vrindavan, India.

Creativity and Responsibility

Creation, Maintenance, and Destruction.

It appears that our purpose here is pretty simple, and can be expressed in a list of two:

1. Create.
2. Love ourselves and all others.

Actually, we can omit list entry one, because it is a subset of list entry two. Because of the way we are made, we seem happiest when we are creative. Maintenance does not make us happy; it just keeps the status quo going. It is based on fear: the fear of losing something we have, or of not getting something we want. 

Maintenance is the necessary act of carrying out the practical aspects of one’s life. It includes our jobs, our chores, our domestic duties. Neglect of these tasks can lead to great discomfort and eventually, suffering. But they are not our primary purpose and rarely reward us with joy.

Joy comes to us as a result of creativity. The act of planning and planting a garden, the preparation of opening a small business, writing the script for the movie we long to see, creating a song where there had been silence, preparing a sumptuous meal for family or friends, these are all creative pursuits. 

We can engage in destruction when it becomes necessary to clear space for new growth or to dismantle that which has lived on past its “use-by” date. This sort of occasionally appropriate action rarely results in happiness. If it becomes habitual, destruction can result in wreckage to ourselves and to others around us that will need to be dealt with later at great cost.

One of the keys to a happier existence is to engage the creative instinct in all aspects of daily life. 

If I have a maintenance task to do, say, balancing my checkbook, and I become fully present and aware while doing it, it is enjoyable. If I insist on “multitasking,” such as carrying on one task while planning another, I will perform both badly. 

If I engage in necessary destruction, I also need to give it my full attention and make sure the seductive aspects of it don’t hold my ego hostage. I need to maintain a compassionate and mindful stance in the presence of a destruction operator.

Our daily meditation practice makes all of this discernment possible.

Reliable discernment powers require that we not depend on the murky wishes of the ego. We want to see clearly and be prepared to act decisively and compassionately.

Who are you?

What changes and what does not change?

Meditation gives us a chance to observe our thoughts. Before we learned to meditate, we didn't realize that our perception of our daily existence was an endless stream of impulses, ideas, arbitrary language patterns, suggestions from media, and old stress-inducing messages reasserting themselves as new ones. 

After we learned to meditate, we had a newfound power of observing thoughts without identifying solely with them and became aware that there are three actors at play in our mind field during meditation: our thoughts (a seemingly endless stream of words or images that arise as if from a source unknown), our mantra (a sound vibration given and taught to us by our initiator), and an observer, who is called on to differentiate between the mantra and the random thoughts that arise. This observer is consciousness itself. Its presence is so subtle, so basic to our existence and our nature, yet it is eclipsed by louder, more persistent entities that usurp the position of "Self" within us.

Our actual "Self" is not the thoughts; it is the observer. The "Self" is in a position of neutrality in any given struggle the mind may place us in. When we cease fighting, cease the endless struggle for dominance, cease being constantly "on guard," we have a chance to rest at a profoundly deep level. The thoughts can come and go, and we don't need to grab them, control them, or reject them, because we are not invested in them as an identity. If there ever was a "secret" to meditation, this is it. We are reintroduced to what was there all along, but was drowned out by other louder, more frantic voices.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced a new generation of westerners to this ancient practice that was mostly limited to the Indian subcontinent until the nineteen sixties. For this, we in the Vedic Meditation community owe a debt of gratitude to him and his mentor, Guru Dev, and give thanks daily. Pictured below is a rounding chamber from the ruins of his ashram in Rishikesh.

Rounding is a technique combining meditation, yoga asanas, and breathing that facilitates a speeded up stress release process.  

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Rounding chamber from the ruins of Maharishi's Ashram, Rishikesh, India.

Yogastha Kuru Karmani

Siskiyous in silhouette.

Established in being, perform action.

In The Bhagavad Gita, the warrior Arjuna implores Krishna (God disguised as his charioteer) to tell him how to resolve his conflicted impulses over the best course of action.

Arjuna was about to go to war against his cousins and friends. The conflict had long been brewing, and Arjuna's compatriots in the conflict had let many opportunities pass to resolve their issues. Their own reluctance to engage in confrontation had led to more and more aggression from the opposing side. Now, war was imminent.

Because of his great heart, and because he felt love for his enemies, Arjuna hesitated on the battlefield.

Krishna smilingly spoke. "Established in being, perform action."

The process of "being" Krishna points Arjuna toward is meditation itself. When we establish ourselves in being by engaging in the act of meditation, we have freed ourselves to act without the baggage of self protection and manipulation that our previously limited understanding required of us.

When we identify as the ego, we are constantly reacting to others from a place of fear and lack, expecting rejection and protecting the persona the ego has constructed for us.

This is not, in fact, reality. We are not actually this persona. Meditation opens the entirety of nature to us and lets us know that we are so much more.

This is why so many meditators report an experience of feeling lighter, less burdened by the weight of the world, more free to act on instinct.

We become free to perform action.

The Bhagavad Gita is the central excerpt from The Mahābhārata, believed to date back to 400 BCE. It is thought to be the central piece of literature of Hindu philosophy. Mahatma Gandhi used the text to help inspire the Indian independence movement and the principles of non-violence.

http://bit.ly/2lOfZ3L

Creating your virtual world.

Ceramic pumpkin.

What to download, what to upload.

The Veda originated in ancient times, in a world we can scarcely conceive of now. The Rishis (seers) of that time had a presciently appropriate take on the future, including concepts that came to define the atomic age, quantum physics, and the digital realm of personal computing.

The Rishis knew that meditation was a means of accessing the mind of the Creator and replacing our narrow-minded view with God's boundless vision. Rather than the random chaos and disorder that appeared to be the way of the world before we discovered meditation, we see that the universe has an underlying loving presence and an infinitely organizing intelligence.

It is as if our Creator asks us in each waking moment, "What kind of world do you wish to live in?"

If it is a world where love is a guiding principal, we choose love and give love to all. If it is a life where fear reigns supreme, we seek to inspire fear, we fear others, and as a result, we reap fear, again and again.

We have mistaken in the past that we are alone as a consciousness and that our actions in this world have no personal repercussions, no consequences, that our wishing others suffering brings no suffering back to us. The universe knows better. It patiently demonstrates, repeatedly, insistently, the simple structure of unifying reality. When we behave as if this is not so, it is ignorance.

Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence, it is the act of ignoring that which we know to be true. It is pretending.

We pretend that we do not know God. Why do we do this? Because, long ago, according to Vedic tradition, consciousness itself played the ultimate act of hide and seek, forgetting its own divinity. It is actually a simple dynamic driving all of existence. We are destined to first play at being divided so that true nature can be restored, and both Creator and created can become reunited again.

And we will.

The filter we apply to our own sight is what we project outward into the world. If we harbor a sense of apprehension toward others, we make others apprehensive. If we nurture compassion, friendliness, and the reserve of calmness we already possess, others feel better around us, friendlier, easier, more loving.

Try an experiment. Pick a random stranger on the street and choose to have a positive interaction with them. Chances are it will go well, better than if we wait for them to act. Risk the smile first. Observe the response.

Prayer flags and wind chimes.

Judgement or discernment

Backyard panorama, Ashland, Oregon.

Becoming tools of evolution

Being judgmental towards others and ourselves is a terrible burden that leads only to suffering for one who judges and the one who is judged. Yet the ego persists in this folly again and again. This time, it tells us, the crime is so heinous that we must be judge, jury, and executioner. We must protect ourselves from the evildoings of others and consequently deny sharing humanity with those we justly despise.

Yet every criminal shares in our humanity, and the experience of being human in this world means, by definition, that we learn from our environment by making mistakes and then correcting them. If I define Adolf Hitler as being the ultimate example of evil, and I judge him as being non-human, I may be missing the most valuable lesson I could learn from such a person.

What lesson could be learned?

A human that becomes capable of carrying out such cruel systematic acts against his fellows displays a capacity that we all carry inside us, that of separating others from ourselves by dehumanizing them. So we recoil from Hitler’s humanity, unwittingly falling into the same trap of misperception that he himself fell prey to. We punish the criminal by engaging in the criminal act ourselves. We have great teachers in this life, who both show us by positive attributes to be emulated and negative qualities to be avoided. Why not be open to learning valuable lessons from every example, from every interaction?

Judgement is not discernment. The fine level of feeling available to us as a result of meditation gives us the power to discern that which leads us to a more evolutionary path, a more enlightened direction in life. The hubris that is required to be sitting in judgement of others is impossible to indulge in once we become habituated to the subtleties of charm that the path of spirituality and humility affords us.

Yet we are still human and will slip from this path occasionally. Hopefully we will eschew self-punishment, and try again, correcting as we go. It is our dharma as evolutionary beings.

Resigning our position as judge of the universe frees up a lot of energy and time for more worthy pursuits. It is amazing how much better we feel when we lay down this monumental burden and become once more simply human.

Wildflower, North Mountain park.

The Body (part two)

Southern Oregon sunset.

Miracle on loan

Our ego tells us that we have the right to behave with impunity regarding the maintenance and treatment of our bodies in this life. We may smoke cigarettes, believing we have a right to make that choice, because we hurt only ourselves.

If we look again at the situation from the point of view of nature itself, our "ownership" of the body takes on a different aspect. We receive these bodies for a finite amount of time, and the mistreatment of this rental can cause a great deal of spiritual unrest and discomfort. As a result we "act out" in irritation or take a sour view of our fellow humans. The spiral of negativity feeds on itself, we suffer ourselves and cause the suffering of others.

If we treat this beautiful body as God's creation, ours for a while to use, but not to abuse, we become happier spiritually as well. Nature gave us this gift to experience all its joys, to be in the moment and to get our share of "heaven on earth."

Some believe the body is sinful or dirty, to be neglected and discounted. They are under the illusion that separation of the spirit and the body is possible, and the ways of the flesh are to be shunned in favor of some lofty idea of holiness. 

The Veda tells us there is only one thing. Our earthly temporary bodies are also a part of this one thing, therefore holy and good. The illusion of separateness is just that.

A mistake of perception.
 

Corporations manufacture and market chemically untested and unstable "foods" to Americans, compromising the consumer's health and well being to enhance their own bottom line. Part of learning to respect our bodies may entail re-thinking the status quo as regards nutrition as well.

Young peach tree, Ashland, Oregon.

The Body (part one)

Garden statue of Mary.

Miracle on loan

What grows our hair? How do we breathe without thoughts commanding the action to happen? How does our heart know to keep beating? Why do we die?

The Veda posits that there is only one thing. My body must also be part of that one thing. Like the movement of the stars and planets, like gravity, like hydrology, these mysterious forces of nature are impervious to the commands of the "small self" or the ego. The body I have to use in this lifetime is wise beyond measure. It knows to grow from an infant to an adult, to eat, to excrete, and to sleep when my ego's desires might express different preferences in all these matters.

My ego may prefer to remain sedentary rather than exercise, to dose itself heavily with alcohol or drugs, to eat sugary, fatty, or salty foods. My body, however, is aware that these things, while they seem temporarily pleasing, are detrimental in the long run. It sends out distress signals. It responds to sedentary lack of activity with restlessness, to drugs or alcohol with hangover symptoms, to bad food with skin breakouts or excess weight gain.

Many times the ego chooses to ignore these signals, to mask the painful effects of one bad choice with another. Some of us are lucky enough to heed the warning signals early and reverse the negative effects of early bouts of self-poisoning.

But even for those whose poor choices have led them to chronic disease, a reversal is possible. The body is amazingly forgiving and self-healing. It is never too late to change one's habits. The main ingredients of recovery are intention and willingness to accept the superior wisdom of the body and to heed its warnings.

Our ego deadens us to input that it finds displeasing or inconvenient. Meditation is a signal we send to nature that we are once again willing to accept its messages and to treat ourselves the way we deserve to be treated.

As a miracle.

Lifestyle modifications can be made. The power of intention's effectiveness can be demonstrated by making small positive changes, then observng the results. We need only heed the "still small voice" within us. Regular meditation gives us access to that voice.