Ocean Of Perspectives

I’m still doing my online Kabbalah classes, but along with the Kabbalah classes, I’ve started reading the book, Raja-Yoga by Swami Vivekananda. I’m finding the book quite interesting, though some of the terms require me to do more research in order to have a better understanding of what Swami Vivekananda is talking about. In case Raja-Yoga is something new to you, I will give an outline of what it is.

What is Raja-Yoga?

Raja-Yoga is a spiritual discipline that is divided into eight steps:

1. Yama

None killing

Truthfulness

None stealing

Continence (self restraint)

None receiving gifts

2. Niyam

Cleanliness

Contentment

Austerity

Study

Self surrender to God, the Creator of all, or whatever your beliefs are.

Yama and niyama is moral training in thoughts, words and deeds. This includes the whole world, not just other people.

3. Asana

Postures

Asana is a series of exercises, both physical and mental, that are practiced until certain higher states are reached. These are similar to Hatha Yoga, except Hatha Yoga is more concerned with keeping the body healthy and strong. Therefore, Hatha Yoga by itself doen’t progress a person towards spirituality or enlightenment.

4. Pranayam

Control of prana

Pranayama is practiced for the purpose of controlling prana. Prana is the life sustaining force which pervades all living organisms and the universe. Though pranayama is associated with the breath, the real purpose of pranayama is control of prana, with control of breath being usually the first practice towards this goal.

5. Pratyahara

Restraint of senses from their objects, i.e. detachment

6. Dharana

Fixing the mind on a spot

Pratyahara and dharana

The mind is a slave to physical objects

Pratyahara means the withdrawal of the senses from their objects. This practice has to do with perceptions. When an external object and internal body sensors and the mind join together, they attach themselves to the external object, then it is perceived. All actions, internal and external, occur when the mind joins itself to certain centers or sensors.

Swami Vivekananda states, Willingly or unwillingly people join their minds to the centers and that is why they do foolish deeds and feel miserable. If the mind is under control they would not do these things. When we control the mind, it will not join itself to the centers of perception.

Those who has succeeded in attaching or detaching their mind to or from the centers of the senses at will, has succeeded in pratyahara; checking the outgoing powers of the mind, freeing it from the enslavement of the senses. This is a giant step towards freedom.

Practicing pratyahara and dharana

To practice pratyahara, Swami Vivekananda suggests sitting for a period of time and let the mind run. Let it go where it will while you observe its activities. The purpose of this exercise is for you to become aware of the activity of your mind. Because you have to have knowledge of what your mind is doing before you can learn to control it.

After practicing pratyahara daily for some time, then move onto dharana, which means holding the mind to certain points, i.e. forcing the mind to feel certain parts of the body, excluding other parts. Focusing on the third eye, the area between the eyebrows, would be an aspect of this practice. But it could be any part of the body you choose, such as the tip of your nose, or a hand and so forth.

7. Dhytana

Meditation

8. Samadhi

The superconscious  experience

Dhytana and samadhi

Dhytana is a state of deep meditative absorption of the mind characterized by lucid awareness and achieved by focusing the mind on a single object.

Samadhi is when the kundalini energy becomes active and consists of four meditative stages associated with the movement of the kundalini force through the spine leading ultimately to the union with God without the need for bodily fixations or a deep trance.

Though I have and do use Yoga postures, this is my first study of Yoga as a method towards self discovery and mastery as part of my spiritual journey. I also experienced the movement of Kundalini energy through my spine before I left the US to go to India. But because it was accidental, I didn’t know what triggered its movement, how to manage it or how to move it beyond the chest region.  Without a proper understanding of this energy, eventually I got caught up with events that entered my life while in India, and this energy went dormant again. But I remember the experience and have been interested in acquiring more knowledge on this powerful energy force.

I’ve been meditating for a few years now, but I haven’t been experimenting much lately in my sessions. So for my meditation practice, I will bring back the experientations I have used in the past, as well as add disciplines mentioned in the book that I haven’t used before. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of results I get.

Tags: personal growth // 2 Comments »

Words vs Sticks and Stones

It’s rather insidious how a person’s self esteem and self worth can be torn down by words, one fragment at a time, without the person even being aware of what is happening until they have lost all their sense of worth.

I grew up hearing the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you,” whenever I would complain to my mother about hurtful things said to me by other children, mostly at school. I’m here to tell you that old saying is a lie. Words are extremely powerful and can inflict as great, if not more, pain as sticks and stones. Without receiving positive reinforcement, the hurtful things said to me over the course of my youth made me feel ugly, unwanted, unworthy and had a negative affect on my perception of the world around me and my place in it.

Self Worth

I’ve learned to value myself for who I am inside and to not allow people or society to try to mold me into someone they think I should be. This wasn’t always the case and the lessons that taught me this were hard.  It’s been a long difficult struggle to get to the point I have so far. But now at least I can be comfortable with the knowledge that I think and do many things differently than other people and that I will never fit the images that society projects as being correct and what people should strive for.

History Repeating Itself

I now see my daughter going through this, especially with someone she felt was a friend. At first I wasn’t aware of what was going on. But recently an incident got my attention and I started watching more closely whenever this friend visited. It wasn’t long before I grew even more concerned and started warning my daughter about this so called friend.

Little by little, my daughter told me about some of this friend’s behavior towards her and other kids. The more I watched and the more she told me, I made the decision that this friend really was not a friend. This friend would disregard what my daughter told them about our house rules, would not leave if my daughter asked them to and was outright bullying my daughter in some cases. I think my daughter was relieved when I told her this friend would not be allowed in our home any more. But that alone was not enough. I had to help my daughter to deal with the negative residue of this kind of treatment from a peer.

I had noticed apathy in my daughter’s behavior from time to time. Whenever I would ask her what was wrong, she would say, “Nothing,” and no matter what I tried, she wouldn’t open up to me. The last time I noticed her acting like this and her reply was still, “Nothing,” I asked her if she was depressed. She shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know.” Then I asked her if she was having negative thoughts? She nodded and said, “yeah.”

I explained to her how persistent negative thoughts lead to depression and that whenever her thoughts become negative, she needs to correct them. I started to explain how this could be done and how I could help.

She started crying. I held her and let her cry her pain out. When she had finished her cleansing cry and regained her composure, we talked some more. I told her not to compare herself to other people and to not let others compare her either. I let her know that she will find her value inside herself and those are the qualities she can build on. If there are things she wants to change, then she can change them.

I saw an immediate improvement in her attitude. She faced the day with a positive attitude, confidence and enthusiasm. My daughter was her old self again.

Choices and Keeping Your Power

When someone says or does something that you find hurtful or incorrect towards you, you have a choice. Either accept it in silence and allow it to continue, losing your self respect and self esteem along the way, or you speak up and let them know that they have crossed the line. The line being your personal boundary line. Even if they try to make is seem like they were joking, don’t let it go by unchecked. Don’t ignore your inner voice saying, “I didn’t like that,” or “that hurt my feelings,” etc. Joking or not, it was disrespectful and hurtful.

No one can tell you what you really feel, but yourself. That is your guide. Standing up for yourself takes your power back from those who try to make you powerless.

Tags: personal growth // 6 Comments »

How much time do you spend out in nature? Mowing your lawn in the suburbs, playing baseball, soccer, football or shooting hoops outdoors isn’t what I mean. I’m talking about being in places that are absent of pavement or cement with few, if any, buildings and has more than grass or sand. I’m referring to true nature, with a variety of plants such as flowers, bushes and trees, maybe a pond, stream or river and so on.

Can you remember the last time you were really in a nature setting? How did you feel during your time in a truly natural part of our world and afterward? My daughter and I like going for walks and taking time to be aware of our natural surroundings where we live. The energy is so healing and positive, it’s wonderful to feel. It energizes us and though we are tired by the time we arrive back home, we feel terrific. Perhaps that’s why Stephan Harding’s perspectives on nature and our planet resonates with me. Stephan Harding shares his professional background and his perspectives on nature, and mankind’s influence on it, in the video below.

Can mankind change its perspectives in time to make the urgent changes that are needed for the sake of nature?

Stephan Harding, author of Animate Earth, with Gaia Theory

Animate Earth by Stephen Harding

Tags: beliefs // 7 Comments »

For decades scientists believed that only our genes regulated our health. If you were born with a physical condition, it was attributed to a bad gene and the same for health conditions later in life. Scientists are changing their statements now and are saying that our environment and how we perceive it, nurturing or hostile, is what affects our DNA thus affecting our health, good or bad, depending on whether your beliefs are positive or negative.