No coming, No going

Here is a video of the song we sang for the month of November to help us look more deeply into the practice of Aparigraha (non-greed, non-possessiveness, non-attachment).  Read the blog two posts below this one for commentary on Aparigraha.

No Coming, No Going

No coming, no going
No after, no before
I hold you close to me
I release you to be so free
Because I am in you and you are in me
Because I am in you and you are in me

Aparigraha - The Fifth Yama

For the month of November, we have been contemplating Aparigraha which can be translated as non-greed, non-possessiveness, or non-attachment.  It is the fifth and final Yama in Patanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga from the Yoga Sutras and perhaps the most challenging.  Greed, possessiveness, and attachment stem from fear.  The fear of not having enough, not being enough, not recognizing the abundance in our lives, not recognizing our part and place in the flow of life.  In Buddhism, we learn about impermanence.  Things change, that is guaranteed.  The better we get at recognizing impermanence, the less we suffer.  Can we celebrate the people, possessions, and stations in our lives while they are there and recognize the growth that comes in us from dealing with transition, loss, change?  The autumn leaves are a poignant example of this concept as each year they show their utmost beauty just before they fall to the ground.  And, what happens next?  They compost to help fertilize the ground for the coming year's rebirth in spring.  Rumi reminds us in his poem, The Guest House, that loss makes room for some new delight. 

When we consider the Buddhist concept of interbeing, we can work more easily on non-possessiveness.  Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us in his book Peace Is Every Step that without the sun and cloud and rain there would be no trees, without trees and loggers there would be no paper, without food and water to nourish the logger, no logger, etc.  We inter-are with all people and all elements of nature.  When we realize that truth, we can see how when we lose someone, that person will always be a part of us.  We connected to each other in some way, learned something from them, taught something to them, were changed in our lives because of their presence.  This is true whether we consider a pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral person.  When we lose a possession, we can recognize the delight we enjoyed while we had it and realize it may bring the next person joy or some necessary comfort or growth.  Perhaps its loss allows us to grow in some way.  Remember Rumi?  The growth we realize from difficulty in our lives can be as painful and as amazing as the breaking free from the chrysalis to become the butterfly, our next iteration of self getting us closer to our true Self.  Also, when we remember out interbeing with all beings, we can feel compassion or joy for the person who may be blessed by something that has moved on from our lives.

Consider donating some unused items, making space in your home and in your mind from all the burdens of possessions.  Monks and nuns traditionally lived with one bowl and three robes counting on the kindness of the community to provide for their material needs and in return serving them with their spiritual practice.  How liberating would it be to only keep track of one bowl and three robes? 

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.


-- Jelaluddin Rumi,
    translation by Coleman Barks

How do you manage your energy? (Brahmacharya)

This month we are contemplating Brahmacharya, energy management or moderation, the fourth Yama in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.  In our culture, we can use this yama to pause and consider what gives us energy and what depletes our energy.  So far in yoga class this month we've had some nice insights about this.  Noting how food, sleep, movement, breath, people, and mindset, are some elements that help support our energy.  We also noted how these same elements can be depleting to our energy.  So let us consider:

• What kinds of food do we eat?  Are we using food as fuel or as entertainment, distraction, comfort? 
• Are we getting enough sleep?  good quality sleep?  in a comfortable place and position that our body can truly rest and restore itself?
• Do we take the time to move our bodies?  Even when we are tired and don't feel like moving it may benefit us to "get the juices flowing" by going for a walk in nature or doing some simple yoga stretches.  If we start out slow, follow the messages from our body, and gently invite it to "wake up" we may find we have the energy for some sun salutations and warrior poses.  Remember the flow of a yoga class: warm up gently (use the six directions of the spine - cat and cow, side stretches and twisting), heat up to ignite your prana (life force energy), enjoy the vibration and glow of your true nature, and cool down to a relaxation pose to let the subtle vibrations bring you the peace and healing you need.
• How often do we bring our attention to our breath?  Simple breath awareness can help balance our energy by calming the mind and delving more deeply into the signals of the body.  Movement and breath help each other.  The more breath we invite into the body, the more energy we may have for movement.  The more we move and energize our body, the deeper our breath goes to respond to the movement.  In yoga class, we practice pranayama, the expansion of our life force energy, with special breathing practices:  sitali breath, alternate nostril breathing, kapalabhati, etc.  Each breathing practice has its own sutble effects on our energy body (pranamaya kosha).
• Who are the people in our lives who contribute to our feeling good, feeling love, feeling peace, and feeling joy?  Do we make time to spend with those in our lives who raise our vibration to a higher level?  Can we set better boundaries (physical, mental, or emotional) around those people who contribute to depleting our energy?  Are we making good choices in our daily activities to arrive in places where we meet people who inspire us?
• What frame of mind do we filter our lives through most of the time?  If we have reinforced a negative mindset over the years, it can take time to slowly change it.  We do have the choice and the ability to do this.  At the brain level, we create new neural pathways that are more positive and ignite more compassion, love, and joy.  We form the connection in our brain over time that helps us to see the struggles we have in this life as our work to grow and learn - not as a punishment or a signal that the world is a bad place.  In yoga, we talk about this as a samskara or a groove.  These samskaras are created and we get stuck falling back into them until we create new ones.  So with all our habits of body, breath, and mind, we can make choices to create new samskaras that we fall into more positive grooves.

How do you practice non-stealing (asteya)?

We have been chanting OM HRIM SHRI LAKSHMI BHYO NAMAHA this month.  This video from you tube is a beautiful recording of it and inpsired me to use this chant.  I was looking for a chant with Lakshmi, the goddess of abundance since we are contemplating asteya this month.  Asteya is the third yama from Patanjali's eight limbs of yoga from the Yoga Sutras.  It is translated to mean non-stealing or generosity.  We invoke the energy of Lakshmi to recognize the abundance we have in our life that we may transform our habits of stealing our own happiness with our negative self-talk, stealing others peace with our unskillful reactions to our own anger, frustration, and irritability, and lessening our impact on the earth / living more in harmony with the earth by increasing our mindful consumption.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

When we create new habits of recognizing our talents and how amazing we are, we stop second guessing ourselves and criticizing others.  We stop internalizing other people's negativity as though it means something about us.  We give others the space to be themselves and deal with their own "stuff" while honoring our own boundaries.  We try to notice the blessings of each person we encounter, especially those with whom we have difficulties.  This can potentially lessen our suffering.

The more we get in touch with our truth (satya) through the lense of compassion (ahimsa) the more we are able to skillfully communicate our difficulties with others or decide it doesn't serve either party well to confront the matter.  This is not to say we will never communicate displeasure or confront someone.  (See previous post for excerpt on satya-truth)  Perhaps there are some occasions where not speaking up for oneself is in fact stealing our sense of our right to be here.  As in any endeavor we seek the middle path.

And, finally, how can we practice non-stealing with the earth?  Nothing will be a perfect practice in this human form.  Even if we are vegetarian to lessen the killing in the world, we still inadvertently harm insects when walking on the ground.  So we do the best we can with what we can in our lives to make an impact.  Perhaps we drive our cars less, eat less meat, recycle more, start composting, buy local produce, eat what is in season, etc.  

There are many things we can do and likely already do.  Let us acknowledge our efforts and continue to practice for the good of all beings.  Keeping in mind, we need to "put on our own oxygen mask first."  And, finally, I need to share again this wonderful sentiment of interbeing by Thich Nhat Hanh:

We are not better than the other.
We are not less than the other.
We are not even the same as the other.
We are the other.


PS  Please feel free to share your insights on non-stealing, abundance, generosity.  We learn and benefit so much from each others practice.

A Powerful Healing Mantra

Ra  Ma  Da  Sa  Sa  Say  So  Hung

"The sun, the moon, the earth, infinity.  Totality of experience, I am Thou."

Our chant for this month reminds us of the buddhist concept of interbeing.  Thich Nhat Hanh writes beautifully about this in his book, Peace is Every Step.  Could you exist without the sun, the moon, the earth?  What do you feel inside when you contemplate the awesomeness of the sun? the light of the moon? the support of the earth?  Do you know that you contain those qualities of the elements in nature?  Within us, we have the power and self-effulgence of the sun; we have the light and cooling quality of the moon, we have the regenerative power of the earth and the ability to transform difficulty (garbage) into wisdom and beauty (flowers).

As we contemplate the second yama, Satya - truth, we remember these universal truths to help us navigate our difficulties and to enjoy moments of delight.  We take the time to notice what is true for us in the body, with the breath, and in the mind.  We take care of our body with yoga, healthy food, water, and rest.  We take time to breathe fully, deeply, slowly, to help care for the body by oxygenating the blood and regularly releasing all the carbon dioxide in our lungs.  As we care for our body and breath, we are preparing the way for our mind to become calm and clear.  In those moments when the mind is clear and calm, we can see what is true in our "wisdom body" - our intuition - vijnamaya kosha.  This is where we tune in to find our truths, get clarity about our path in this life, and open up to the possibility for them to manifest.  When we align these layers of body, breath, mind, and wisdom, we easily feel the quality of interbeing, the sense of expansiveness and connection to all that is, the bliss body - anandamaya kosha.

Remember we are not alone.  Our sangha is all around us:  our yoga class, our family, our pets; the sun, the moon, the earth; the trees, the flowers, the birds; the rain, the snow, the wind; the streams, the lakes, the oceans.  Wow!  There is so much awesomeness around and within you!  Let us remember and take it all in.

Ra  Ma  Da  Sa  Sa  Say  So  Hung

"The sun, the moon, the earth, infinity.  Totality of experience, I am Thou."