The Power of Perception

Hello All,

It is amazing how much energy we spend on arguing with what is. This means we experience a particular moment and then proceed to dialogue about that moment inside our minds. We take a stand against this moment in one way or another and sometimes from many different angles, then strong emotions are triggered based on the opinions we are formulating. Those emotions then trigger memories of past emotions of similar quality which triggers the thoughts related to those old emotions. PHEW! It is exhausting just describing the process. This is one explanation for arriving at work in your car with no idea how you got there. I know it's happened to you!

I call this the SPIRAL of INCREASING DRAMA. Consider that while we are spiraling into the rabbit whole of our fantasy world, life continues....the heart beats (faster due to drama), the body functions and the earth spins on its axis causing the sun to appear to move through the sky. The movement of the sun in the sky is a great support in illustrating the power of PERCEPTION. Everywhere in our language we talk about the sun moving across the sky because that is our visual perception. In fact, however, it is us (the earth) that is spinning and not the sun. This is the same in our lives. We are observing reality as though it is "objective" when, in fact, our perception of any given moment is made up entirely of our conditioned response (AKA reaction) to the information filtered by our senses. Still with me?

Consider the last person you saw....did you see them? Really? Or did you experience them as the sum total of your past conditioning (experiences, memories, fantasies). Look again, to look again is to RESPECT someone in the original Latin sense of the word. Look again at how you are perceiving the miracle of life spinning around you. At the end of the day, we are all spinning together on this glorious beach ball called earth. To practice meditation is to step to the center of your consciousness, of your life, at first everything is still moving but with practice and patience and the power of perception you may just discover what you didn't even know you were looking for.

Beloved Yoga & Meditation tonight at the Boathouse, hope to see you there. Then, I hope I re-member to look again and really SEE YOU.

Namaste,

Steve

Yogi Jayanta

Yama #2: Truthfulness

Hello All,

We continue our exploration of the grounding principles of yoga known as the YAMAS. These five disciplines can provide a powerful grounding influence in our daily lives. The second discipline that follows non-violence is truthfulness (satya). This word may also be translated to be genuine, real or honest. Like all aspects of yoga the more we are able to cultivate these principles within the more effective we can be in expressing them in our relationships with others.

Let's look to the paired opposite to deepen our exploration of truthfulness. In which ways are we not honest with ourselves? One of the things that has been coming up for me is a tendency to look for a distraction in a painful or uncomfortable moment. I can imagine these distractions taking many forms from as simple as changing the subject to having a drink to expressing anger. There are infinite possibilities but as we become more aware we can hesitate and hold that "uncomfortable space" and be honest with ourselves by allowing ourselves to feel what there is to be felt.

This is a practice of compassion, of honesty and most certainly of yoga. On the mat we get accustomed to being present with sensations in the body and this training is directly related to practicing this presence with our emotional nature. We are all carry conditioned reactions based on our past, family and society; to indulge in these conditioned reactions is to avoid reality. We all have the opportunity to experience and express, more fully, the principle of truthfulness in our lives. Become familiar with the triggers that "set you off" and start to infuse a little space between the trigger and the reaction. Be courageous in your truth and be forgiving in your reactions.

Truthfulness is about Getting Real and when we take steps to be present with ourselves and with one another there is a tremendous amount of energy released into your life. What we do not see is that holding onto these conditioned reactions consumes a tremendous amount of energy. The process of enlightenment is like small photons of light being released in our being each time with choose to act with compassion and awareness.

Our yoga class tonight at the Milo Boathouse (7pm) will center on developing the skills of truthfulness by learning to be more present with our bodies, our minds and our breath. Meditation (8pm) allows us to go even deeper into the process of releasing unconscious reactive tendencies. If you have never experienced our meditation group consider joining us for no other reason than to more fully experience your own nature.

I wish you all great courage in practicing truthfulness this day in every way.

Namaste,

Steve
Yogi Jayanta

Fire

Namaste All,

Today on this wet and windy day we will focus on the sacred element of FIRE. The very essence of fire is transformation. The fire of digestion transforms the food you eat into energy for your day. This is a critical process and with the work we do in yoga your digestive fire will benefit giving your body a better ability to transform food into energy. There is another digestive process that is fire-driven in the mind-body system. This is a little understood process in the West that is the digestion of psychic reactions or thought-forms. Begin to notice your reactions to stressful situations in your day, there is a residue left after those reactions. Bring that residue to class tonight and we will practice "burning" that residue and transforming it into emotional resilience and strength.

A third fire that I want to mention is that of compassion. I happened to view a video with my mother today who has worked with and fought for the rights of people living with intellectual and physical disabilities for as long as I can remember. I have always been inspired and proud of her. This video was produced by People First, an organization whose members are self-advocates for issues that are important to people living with disabilities. De-institutionalization is their primary goal. Many members of People First have lived in institutions and experienced, first-hand, the terrible abuses there. After watching this video I felt a fire activated in my body, a passion to fight for the rights of others and to protect those who need our protection from the indifference and neglect of a population often stuck in fear and ignorance. Mothers and Fathers feel this fire when there is a moment to protect your children. Through yoga we begin to understand that every human being is worthy of love, protection and compassion. Ignite the fire of awareness and so too will be lit the fire of unconditional love and that fire will bring warmth and comfort to all those with whom you connect.

Namaste,

Jayanta