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Will Doran Yoga Newsletter - April, 2007 " The Yoga Coach" ~ Helping people find their place and direction in life.______________ <<< ☼ >>> ______________ Dear friends, Greetings and salutations! This month’s newsletter has come about a little later than usual as I have been focusing on a lot of life’s other conditions and responsibilities. I’ve been actively taking an inquisitive role in solving sever back pains and am please what the inquiry has been turning up. Family life and business too has taken up a lot of time. What I have come to learn is to embrace what is showing up and deal with it with diligence and grace. This effort has become the central theme of my articles below for we all are faced with the circumstances of life that demand our attention for a reason. I encourage you to open your hearts and minds to explore your realities and find what those reasons are. Be brave, go deep inside the experiences to seek the learning, listen for the quiet voice of the soul and find the stillness of God within. In this issue: Yoga Philosophy: Embracing the Human Experience Applied Yoga: Tools for Creating Learning and Inner Peace Notices:
____________________________________ Yoga Philosophy: Embracing the Human Experience One of life’s biggest questions revolve around the inquiry "who am I and what am I doing here?" Most of humanity’s religions and philosophies strive to make some sense out of these questions, and a study of them would reveal a great diversity of answers, all reflecting their understanding of the man/God relationship. The answers that have given me the most satisfaction have had their origin in Eastern, especially the Postclassical Yoga period in which Tantra immerged. It holds that all our existence is a part of the play of creative Consciousness, that by our nature we are part of the One that creates out of the desire to know itself. It is a belief system that embraces the here and now as we seek to find the unique expression of our divine nature as does even the Creator. The opportunity for us is to practice self observation and seek out ways in which all aspects of our being reflect the highest qualities of the Divine. From this effort towards self-awareness we come to know ourselves as not being separate from the Self, or Spirit, and from this we can create inner peace and balance knowing that we are an intimate aspect of the dance of creation and divine expression. So why do we have such distinct aspects to our being and why do they so often seem to be disparate parts out of harmony with each other? Why do we have human bodies and egos? Why do we have thoughts that sometimes cause such pain and at other times can move us to ecstasy and heights of clarity and understanding? Why is it that we frequently are left with far more questions than answers? I contend that it is our human nature to be driven to inquire about our place in the universe as part of a process of self discovery leading to Self discovery; by study and observation we come to know that we are an aspect of God itself. Our effort to seek the truth of who we are, to find love and companionship, is driven by this deeper force to know ourselves as our highest expression, whether we see our motivation this clearly or not. The path that seeks to make sense of this compelling force to know ourselves in the divine scheme of things is what the ancient seers call yoga. The Tantrics more specifically called it Hatha Yoga, where Ha is the element of sun - the path of transcendent knowledge of Life – and Ta is the element of the moon – the earth-bound path of grounding into material form. They held that we could use our humanity itself as a tool for cultivating higher consciousness which would then lead to the increased awareness of the grace of God within. Rather than rejecting the nature of our body, mind and emotions as a way to find our spirit we integrate them into the equation. This inclusive philosophy accepts "what is" as part of the Divine expression – the dance of life – that has meaning by nature of its existence. Our experience of life is the playground in which we come to know our creator aspect and our joy as physical beings all in one package. The role of our mind and ego have a place in the picture and are not something to be destroyed and transcended. Transcendence comes from accepting and integrating the present moment so that we can know our higher Self within the experience and comprehend that although the moment will pass the awareness gained will bring us into a deeper connection to the over-arching force that created and permeates all things. So how do we come to know ourselves in light of this higher Self? How do we create some form of union (yoga) and learn to recognize the presence of the Divine in our seemingly frail and limited human existence? We all too easily can recognize the finite and transitory nature of our physical incarnation and the transient nature of our thoughts and desires. How are they part of the equation to know our place in the divine order? The answer is to embrace them, even in their weakness and aspect that seems to be an obstacle to higher knowledge. There is a reason they exist and their denial serves more to create inner disquietude than to elevate our awareness of our spirituality. The old axiom of "what you resist, persists" hold true here. The journey to understanding our higher nature usually starts with the more visceral aspect of our being, our physical bodies, or what some would call our lower nature. We are born into male or female bodies, family groups and cultures, diverse races, creeds and colors. Each is an element of diversity that evolved from a natural progression of limitless possibilities. What distinguishes us from one another is our sense of identity as differentiated selves. The mind observes the physical separations and creates an ego-based identity that says "this is me, you are you." There is a deep inner knowledge that is hidden by our individualized awareness that knows the connection between all things, yet it is obscured by the overwhelming sense of differentiation of individuals, objects, concepts, and the endless variations of nature. The mind tries to make sense of it all by creating a localized identity called the ego; it serves to give meaning to the individual self so that it can begin its unique journey towards Self discovery. It is paradoxical in that by having a sense of separation we can come to better know our unity. ____________________________________ Applied Yoga: Tools for Creating Learning and Inner Peace As a yoga practitioner and long-time meditator I have learned that it is not always easy to find peace and inner quietude. Even with committed effort and pure intention life has a way of creating conditions that impede our ability to still the mind and embrace what is showing up, let alone experience our higher nature. Nagging backaches, worries about relationships or how to pay the bills have a way of trumping our desire to live in perfect balance. One of the most profound lessons I have learned is to stop struggling with the moment and minimize the mental anguish by embracing all of who I am, body, mind and spirit. To do so requires patience and a willingness to suspend judgment over what is showing up and dominating my thoughts. By not rejecting "what is" we are more capable to transform it into what we want. This approach is facilitated by opening to Grace, that force of goodness and light that moves things toward an optimal outcome once the struggle is suspended. Resistance to what is showing up places the emphasis on "resistance" rather than creating what will help you to move beyond the obstacle towards what is actually desired. The expression "attitude is everything" is reflexive of this concept If you are experiencing hardships, and come to expect them, your chances of having more of the same increases. Part of the solution is exploring why they are there and what learning can be gained from them. This holds true for meditating as well as for most of life’s conditions. Once the struggle is diminished it can be mastered and put into perspective so the learning can be explored. It requires strengthening the mind by empowering the inner voice of wisdom – the higher mind – to take charge. In meditation I find that simply saying "not now" to an invasive thought can be very effective towards enhancing focus and concentration. Sometimes it requires taking control of an active mind by choosing what it is given permission to focus on. Rather than rambling around from thought to thought you can focus on counting the breath or concentrate on a chosen concept, affirmation or mantra to bring the mind under control. By taking charge you become more like a loving parent guiding a problematic child towards the action you desire; as most parents eventually learn you get into more trouble when you move into fighting rather than steering the course of action where you want it to go. In my day-to-day activities I sometimes catch myself slipping into old tapes of negative perceptions, and by recognizing the pattern, suspend those detrimental thoughts so as to let new insights surface. This action is part of understanding the Law of Attraction as one of the most powerful tools at our disposal for creating the realities we choose. It is tied directly to the immense power of our thoughts and what we project into the creative forces of the universe. These divine forces are designed to magnify what the mind creates and then bring it into reality. By asking for what we want, believing you can get it, and visualizing it coming into being we empower those forces to bring it about. Another tool for creating inner peace and balance is living with the knowledge of our multi-layered nature. This entails integrating our physical body, mind-ego, energy body, higher Self and awareness of our bliss body. Sometimes our body needs to be given full attention to experience itself. You may have known this thought when the desire for physical activity or pleasure is dominant or an ache or pain needs to be worked out. Sometimes the mind needs to explore intellectual stimulus in research or engaging conversation; sometimes it craves stillness and peace. You may also have had the experience, such as in a yoga class, where the body is being kept active and the mind quieted enough to observe the flow of pranic life force energy coursing through you. This may also be experience when viewing an awesome sight in nature where you feel the Divine flow fill your being. At times your senses may be still enough to simply feel the presence and merging with Spirit and its unbound joy. All these are part of the human condition and all can be perceived as gifts of God. The key is to accept it all. From a higher plane of existence we chose to be incarnated as humans to experience these vary things. Embrace them, hold them dear and look for the learning and gratitude in each unique experience. We are called to use all of life as an opportunity to be present in the now and apply our personal power to shape our reality to our heart’s desire. This may take a great deal of steadfastness and effort or it may become a simple way of being and perceiving. Regardless, it is a chance to integrate our multi-layered selves into an awareness of our interconnectedness to the higher Self that is Spirit. All aspects of who we are are ultimately designed to bring us closer to the understanding that God is within us as well as permeating all things. Beyond our roles and thoughts we are Light; recognizing it in ourselves and others is Grace. Acting upon that recognition is Love. ____________________________________ Notices:
May your days be filled with peace, joy and light. Namaste, Will PS. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends. Also, if you are interested reading inspirational material and seeing some of my art check out my web site: http://www.expressionsofspirit.com . I just added a new painting entitled "Sparks."
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