Everything is Amazing..........and nobody is happy!

The focus for Jivamukti yoga for December is on how everything in this world is sacred. I love this concept and am immediately reminded of a hilarious YouTube video that recently went viral.....you might have seen it. It is of when comedian Louis CK appeared on the Conan O’Brien show and talked about how “Everything’s Amazing, and Nobody’s Happy.”

Louis CK points out that we tend to take the miraculousness of our lives for granted and instead of appreciating it, we have resorted to complaining and always feeling displeased.  
Definitely watch it HERE.

"We live in an amazing, amazing world, and it's wasted on the crappiest generation of spoiled idiots that don't care!"

"You're sitting in a chair, IN THE SKY, and you're complaining that it won't RECLINE??"

Brilliant!

Just reaffirms to me that comedy is often the most accurate way to depict the rich absurdity of our reality.....

So, going back to the focus for Jivamukti, the basic idea is that if only we viewed our lives and situations with the correct perspective we would be much happier. Like see everything as actually being.........sacred.

Awakening Joy Course - November

The topic for this month is the Joy of Being. Up until now all the topics have been about doing—trying to cultivate specific wholesome states by performing specific actions, such as being generous, expressing gratitude, deepening our compassion or kindness, etc. When we switch to the mode of being, we stop all trying and let ourselves completely rest, simply receiving the moment. This being is available in any moment we remember to be present without any agenda or thoughts about past or future.

This state of being is not foreign to us. Neuroscience expert Rick Hanson has said that: “When you are not hungry or threatened or in pain, your brain’s natural state has these characteristics: It is conscious, calm, contented, caring, and creative.”

There are really three parts to this:

1. The Practice of Equanimity
In Buddhist teachings equanimity (upekkha) is one of four Divine Abodes. Equanimity is the balance of mind that allows things to be as they are. It has a quality of spaciousness and non-contention. In this spaciousness and balance we can rest in the simplicity of being.

There is a story about equanimity in the Zen tradition A fierce general was the scourge of the country, laying waste to everything in his path. When villagers heard he was coming they would flee in terror, which pleased him greatly. Coming to one village, everyone did the expected except for the wise, enlightened abbot of the monastery who stayed just where he was, calmly meditating. Upon hearing that someone was not afraid of him, the general furiously stormed the monastery brandishing his sword. As he approached the abbot he bellowed, “Don’t you know who I am? I’m someone who can run you through with this sword without batting an eye.” To which the abbot replied, “And I, sir, am someone who can be run through without batting an eye.” At that the general bowed and left.

2. Trust and Surrender
This kind of trust is not based on a belief that things will work out just the way we hope, but rather that our awareness will meet the moment when it comes.By learning to trust in the unfolding and in our ability to respond to it, we keep our minds from contracting and getting in the way. Then life becomes an adventure instead of something to fear.

3. The Real Breakthrough: Boredom
One obstacle to the peace of being that can be found in each moment is our inability to enjoy the absence of stimulation. My Tibetan teacher, Trungpa Rinpoche, reportedly once started a lecture with the enticing line, “Tonight I will talk about the real breakthrough in spiritual practice.” The huge crowd in the auditorium was abuzz with excitement, thinking that they would be the fortunate ones to receive the secret teachings. The master then proceeded to ramble on for the next two hours in a rather uninspired manner. As the crowd grew increasingly disappointed and restless, he suddenly stopped mid-sentence, leaned forward and whispered to us all, “The real breakthrough is boredom!” He then explained that as long as we are looking for the next experience to delight or entertain us, we miss the peace that is right under our noses, available right now.

“Happiness cannot be found through great effort and willpower, but is already here, in relaxation and letting go. Wanting to grasp the ungraspable, you exhaust yourself in vain. As soon as you relax this grasping, space is here—open, inviting, and comfortable.”