quote..

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

Padmasambhava

poem..

Something a little different......

The Invitation by Oriah


It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.


It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.


I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.


I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.


It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.


I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.


I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”


It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.


It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.


It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.


I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Sivaratri..

So tomorrow night is Sivaratri, one of my favorite times of the year. Usually I go to a retreat in the Bahamas but this year I'm going somewhat more local. Off on a road trip(6hrs) to an Ashram in the Laurentians to celebrate...So I'll be back on Sunday..Om Namah Sivaya..Happy Sivaratri


Shiva (Lord Shiva) and ratri (night), so Shivaratri means the night of Lord Shiva. Every lunar month on the 13th or 14th day of the dark half of the moon phase there is a Shivaratri but in the Vedic month of Phalgun (February-March) there is a Maha Shivaratri.. The ceremony takes place mainly at night. This festival observed in the honour of Lord Shiva, who was married to Parvati (Mother Durga/Mother Gauri) on this day.

Some dvevotees observe a strict fast on this day. Some really strict devotees perform a nirjal fast i.e. they do not even have a sip of water. They keep virgil the entire night. The Shiva lingam is worshipped throughout the night by washing it every three hours with milk, yogurt, ghee, honey and so forth, whilst chanting of the mantra “Om namah shivaya”, continues. Offering of bael leaves are made to the Lingam. Bael leaves are very sacred (as Tulsi to Lord Vishnu and dhar to Mother Durga are very pleasing to Them) and Lord Shiva becomes pleased with that offering. Many different hymns glorifying Lord Shiva are sung with intense fervour and devotion. Aspirants perform japa of the Panchakshara mantra “ Om namah Shivaya” (At the end of this article there is a very detail explanation of each syllable of this mantra.)

He who utters the names of Lord Shiva during Shivaratri with perfect devotion and concentration is freed from all sins that he/she have committed. He/she reaches the abode of Lord Shiva and resides very happily there.

Meaning of Asana

The Sanskrit word asana derives from the verbal root as, meaning “to sit” or “to be present,” and, in the context of the Yoga tradition, means “to be established in a particular posture.”

Historically the term refers to a wide range of bodily postures that have been transmitted by teachers.

However, the history of Asana is not a record of the possibilities of bodily contortion, nor simply a record of an ancient form of physical culture; rather, Asana evolved as an integral part of a comprehensive spiritual practice oriented toward purification, accomplishment, and realisation.

ASANA'S/POSTURES:
Inverted- Mental Strenght
Forward- Effects the brain
Backward- Exhilarating
Twisting- Cleansing
Balancing- Lightness
Standing- Vitality
Sitting- Calming

...happiness...

Happiness, people tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon us like fine weather if your fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the sonsequences of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometime even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings, And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maitaining it, you must make mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever.

quote

Create your inner world. Carry with you your own inner companions, viz., Santi
(peace), Santosha (contentment), enquiry and courage.

Sri Swami Sivananda

ego...

EGO is AHANKARA. It means the maker of "I". Ego is sattwic, Egoism is when the notion of "I am" becomes mixed . The idea of body and mind. Ego without egoism is atma. Egoism crystallized our consciousness into a seemingly separate existence.

Three types of Ego
*Sattvic-identify with total
*ego that deciphers the subtleties of soul
*Negative ego-assert consciousness of I, ME and Mine

Ego asserts identity
Sattva-asserts divine nature
Rajas-asserts identity with position and intelligence(position/possession, seeds of pride and vanity)
Tamasic-identity with body and mind

Yoga is to remove veil of ego, through purification
*jnani, through vichara
*karma, through sacrifice
*bhakti, through surrender

Anger is a negative vritti, born out of unfulfilled desire

Anger is born in thinking of objects, then attachment, then desire, then anger, then delusion, then memory is loss, loss of reason, perish.( this chain of emotional delusions is taken from the Gita)

Types of Anger:
*Displeasure
*Frustration
*Sarcasm
*Passive aggression
*Fury

reading....

I thought I would share my reading with you today, as I said this blog for me is a great help with my own sadhana, keeping up with it, but also it keeps reminding me..kinda of like when your parents would tell you not to act this way or to be nice etc...and I'm at an age where I can listen now..and I really like this message this morning, as I hope you do to.

This comes from Vishnudevananda Upadesa

Everything originates from energy. It is the cause of our physical body. Beauty is nothing but the energy inside. 'Avon calling' has nothing to do with it. Vibrations keep changing because it is impossible not to change. Then energy keeps moving from one wavelength to another. In the body this is called 'old age'. Somethimes we accelerate this wavelength and old age takes place very fast. For example, if I crush this flower in my hand it will decay in a few seconds. Your body's wavelength can change slowly or rapidly. When you do pranayama and asanas, bhandas and mudras or meditate you are changing your wavelenth, moving the energy to a higher chakra, a higher lever. You want to bring your energy to the highest center, OM.

sweet recipe

easy and quick..


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 eggs(or egg replacer)
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup powdered sugar (for decoration)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375. Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Combine the flour, 2/3 cup powdered sugar, and butter. Pat dough into prepared pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, until slightly golden. While the crust is baking, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and lemon juice until frothy. Pour this lemon mixture over the hot crust. Return to oven for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust the top with powdered sugar. Cut into squares.

what does it mean to be healthy...

What does it mean to be healthy?

It's when all the faculties of the body function harmoniously under the intelligent control of the mind.
(State of health does not only refer to the physical body but also the more subtle portions of our being. Means the mind is manipulated by prana and prana is manipulated by our will power. (definition between Hatha yoga and Raja yoga). Real health means when it spills out to every pore of our being, there are 3 stages. Health is a state that embodies Satva.

When we are healthy we have an abundant, almost inexhaustible amount of energy to carry out any type of work.
When we are unhealthy we feel ourselves depleted of any inspiration and or energy to accomplish any task.

Where is the energy/supply come from? This supply comes from within us/prana
Since will power is more subtle than prana, to consciously regulate the flow of prana, to bring about a state of mental equilibrium where the innate divinity is clearly reflected by the intellect. This is called Raja Yoga.

Hatha Yoga means utilizing the grosser portions of our being IE: body and breath, to regulate the flow of prana.

The physical and mental bodies are animated and replenished with prana

What is prana?
is verily the life of all beings therefore it is called the universal life energy. Prana is force on every plane of being, form the most gross to the most subtle.

Prana is found in food, water, air, sun taste(all senses)
However it is something separate from them, so the prana is the subtle portion animating potency that gives all these things life. (the different things being.....food, air etc....) which helps/supplies us with prana

So the storage center of this prana is the solar plexus
-grossest manifestation of prana is the lungs
-subtle manifestation is the thought

The aim of Yoga is to control one's mind!

So then how does the yogi use this pranic energy force to bring about the desired state.

The ocean has waves like the mind has thoughts. The waves in the ocean are generated by the movement of the wind, likewise the thoughts are generated in the mind by the flow of prana.
When the wind moves moves in one direction over the surface of the water the waves become rough, unmanageable. When that same wind changes it's direction blowing over the surface of the water, it becomes placid, wave less. Likewise our minds are subject to the same phenomenon, so if the prana is in an agitated state our mind/body an overall health will reflect this agitation. BUT through the practice of pranayama one learns to control the subtle prana, making it flow more smoothly throughout the nervous system. This harmonious flow of prana that is gain through the practice of pranayama reflects thus in the body as abundant energy and in
the mind as restfulness, contentment and concentration

quote

"Admit your faults and weaknesses. Then alone will you evolve."
Swami Sivananda

yoga..

There are 84,0000 body types, meaning there are 84,0000 species that the soul passes through(human birth is the zenith of creation) evolution.
72 can be practice
36 are beneficial
12 basic asanas make up the root(source) of all others
The top part of a tree flourishes because of the roots. The 12 basic asanas serve as a root to all other asanas that can be practice.
The order work from the more subtle portions first, to the more gross. Headstand activates the Pineal/Master control gland for the rest of the body making this gland more efficient, also activating the glandular system of the body to follow suit, where the body is running at a more efficient level. The prana when you put the body in different positions re-routes the prana, thus giving the body mind and nervous system a more abundant source of prana. When prana is flowing properly you feel relaxed and then the muscles work more efficiently and you have more energy, better digestion and the mind concentration becomes easy(thoughts)
All postures should be synchronized with the breath