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.”

Awakening Joy Course - October

The topic for this month is the Joy of Compassionate Action. By now, it’s probably clear that happiness and joy are not primarily determined by external circumstances. In Authentic Happiness, Martin Seligman mentions a study of 22 people who won the lottery, and found that over time they reverted to their baseline of happiness, winding up no happier than 22 people from a matched control group. On the other side of the equation, 84% of people with extreme quadriplegia consider their life to be average or above average.

If external circumstances aren’t the major determinant, what is?

Both Seligman and Foster and Hicks in How We Choose to Be Happy have found in their research that we bring happiness to ourselves by making a contribution to others, offering them our caring and generosity. Buddhist teachings have been pointing this out for centuries: the key to a fulfilling life is compassionate action.

However, the sublime state of compassion, sometimes defined as “the quivering of the heart in response to suffering,” requires suffering. Suffering is not sublime, of course. But the caring it evokes in us is. The near enemy of compassion is pity, which disguises as compassion, but is actually a contracted state containing aversion. With true compassion the heart remains open. Of course, keeping our hearts open in the face of suffering or when things don’t go as we would like takes patience and practice.

While we can cultivate compassion over time, it turns out that we’re actually wired up for empathy. Modern neuroscience has discovered what are called “mirror neurons” in our brain. The same brain cells that light up when your finger is jabbed with a pin also light up when you observe someone else’s finger being jabbed. The joy that comes with expressing our compassion and caring has a physiological basis. For example, the Vagus nerve filled with oxytocin receptors, the feel-good hormone, is activated when we perform or even see acts of kindness.

It is also a bold act of courage to be compassionate because it hurts to care. Choosing to love in the face of pain IS courage. Being willing to keep the heart open in the face of fear, grief, rage, and overwhelm builds muscles of courage. It’s understandable to be angry at the injustices and ignorance that cause so much suffering. We can become angry because we care. It breaks the heart. The question is do we act out of anger or love? How can I put love into action? Cynicism is a defense against the fact that the heart cares so much. We can choose which place to act from, and come from fierce compassion.

“I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones

among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to

serve.”

Albert Schweitzer

Awakening Joy Course - September

The topic for this month is Connection with Others. Last month we focused on developing a healthy connection with ourselves, the most important relationship of all. This month we turn towards how to connect meaningfully with others - this includes not only people close to us, but everyone we encounter in our lives. Some specific practices that enhance this include:

1. Extending loving-kindness or metta towards others
2. Forgiveness
3. Cultivating a spirit of playfulness

Here is the basic loving-kindness practice. You can do this internally as a meditative exercise or silently, when you are with others during your daily activities.
1. Formulate an image of the person to whom you wish to send metta and reflect on their good qualities.
2. Send them these kinds of thoughts: May you be happy. May you be peaceful. May you be free.
3. Pay attention to how it feels in your body or mind to wish them well.

The Power of Forgiveness: The Doorway to an Open Heart
Even with those closest to us—sometimes especially with those closest to us—frustration and anger can be triggered in a moment, when our expectations aren’t met. When this happens, one practice that supports greater connection is forgiveness.

True forgiveness is based on understanding why people act unskillfully. Although someone’s actions may seem bizarre to us, they make sense to that person. According to the Dalai Lama, an essential component of compassion is realizing that the other person’s words and actions are not about you, but about their internal reality, which has intersected with yours.

• Dr. Fred Luskin, Director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project, says that the person who benefits most from our forgiveness is ourselves. We are the ones who suffer when our hearts are closed in anger. It is said that holding a grudge is like drinking poison and hoping that the other person will get sick.
• It sometimes helps to see that person as a small child doing the best they can and being caught up in his/her own habits of fear or confusion. A key to forgiveness is empathic understanding. Realizing how conditioning makes people to do hurtful things, we can forgive the confusion that led to an unskillful response and begin to replace anger with compassion. Try saying phrases like, “I forgive your confusion.”

Connection through Playfulness, Fun and Laughter
We experience a powerful connection with others when we’re having fun and letting ourselves be playful. Besides feeling close to them, it is one of the most important ways to reduce stress and get out of our heads. Playfulness and humor are crucial elements of our nature; we can enjoy life by lightening up.

• Laughter triggers catecholamines in the brain that heighten alertness. Laughter releases endorphins, the body's natural pain killer. Laughter cleanses the body of the stress hormone cortisol, lowering blood pressure, reducing stress and increasing pain tolerance. Laughter's alternating contraction-relaxation of the diaphragm releases tension in the body, bringing our autonomic nervous system into balance. (The physiological effects of a good session of laughter can last up to 45 minutes.)
• Laughter increases the flow of blood and oxygen through our coronary arteries, reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Laughter staves off the anxiety and depression that can severely impact heart functioning. Laughter mitigates the damaging effects of inflammation, reducing the pain of arthritis. Laughter strengthens the immune system, helping the body fight off viruses and cancer. Laughter helps stabilize blood sugar levels in diabetics. Laughter improves respiratory functioning in patients with chronic lung disease. Laughter even burns calories.

Compassion Towards Others Makes us Feel Good
Dacher Keltner, UC Professor of Psychology, who runs the UC Greater Good Science Center and is also the author of Born to Be Good, a wonderful user-friendly book with loads of interesting research on the science of well-being. He believes that humans are biologically wired for goodness and compassion.

To support this, he points out the Vagus nerve which runs from the brain stem to the abdomen and has many physiological effects on well-being including triggering the Parasympathetic Nervous System. It is activated by compassion. The Vagus nerve is loaded up with Oxytocin receptors and controls production of this “feel good” neuro-peptide. Oxytocin is released through touch, hugs and seeing others be kind to each other and is designed by evolution to make us take care of and trust others. These, along with mirror neurons, mentioned earlier, make the strong case that we are physiologically capable of spreading goodness to one another through our own behavior.

Awakening Joy Course - August

The topic for this month is Learning to Love Ourselves. This theme follows from last month’s “letting go” theme, because when you let go of the stories of who you think you are, you see that you are truly lovable and worthy of love. This is actually our greatest gift to the world. To the extent we learn to do this we aren’t preoccupied with wondering if or proving that we're all right. Then we can give ourselves to others in service more fully.

Someone once asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama for advice on working with unworthiness. It took some time for him to understand the concept, but when he finally did, he looked straight at the questioner and very emphatically said, "You're wrong! You're absolutely wrong!" He went on to point out that seeing yourself as unworthy is missing the point that you are a perfect expression of life and have the same True Nature as every other living being.

In order to love ourselves we need to accept ourselves just as we are with all of our imperfections. The 3rd Zen Patriarch of China explains this beautifully in his Verses on the Faith Mind when he states that the highest realization is "to be without anxiety about non-perfection." The Buddhist meditation of metta or loving-kindness can help cultivate this attitude. Repeat often the phrases:
May I be happy.
May I be peaceful.
May I be kind to myself.
May I love and accept myself just as I am.

Lastly, an importance practice is bringing a kind, compassionate voice to our self-talk. Often, awareness of the tone of our thoughts helps us discern between the voice of judgment and the voice of wisdom. If you hear a harsh tone, you know that is not the voice of wisdom. One way to get in touch with this wisdom that wants to take good care of yourself is to ask directly, "What do I need right now for my well-being?" or “What do I need right now to thrive?” Listen for the honest response that comes.

The Buddha, in a famous teaching, said we could search the whole world over and not find anyone more deserving of love than ourselves.

From Marianne Williamson
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who
are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing
enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of
us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the
same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

The Road to Moksha: (5) Satsang

sat-sangatve nissangatvam, nissangatve nirmohatvam, nirmohatve nishcala-tattvam, nischcala-tattve jivanmuktih


Translation by Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati:
"Good and virtuous company gives rise to non-attachment. From non-attachment comes freedom from delusion. With freedom from delusion, one feels the changeless reality. Experiencing this changeless reality, one attains liberation in this life. I-AM is the ocean of awareness. Realizing this, one feels, 'I am not the body and mind, although I have a body and mind.'"

Satsang defined by Sharon Gannon:

“The yoga scriptures tell us the most important sadhana or spiritual practice that we can be involved in during this time of global crisis and great shifts in consciousness is satsang.  It’s more important than anything else.  More important than meditation or asana or even chanting…when we do chant, if we do it in a Satsang with other people, then of course it is extremely powerful.  Satsang means that we hang out with like minded beings.  That we are in the company of the enlightened mind…You get together for the single purpose of raising consciousness in yourself and supporting others, like right there and then…not like after next week…that’s good too, but the satsang is about actually being with the enlightened mind right now.”

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Being around others who are on this path is very important because we cannot make it on our own. We are social beings and need reinforcement and support from one another. We must encourage and remind each other of what is truly important. Building a sense of spiritual community is the best way to help people stay motivated to take their practice off the mat and into both the world and their inner lives.

PRACTICES
1. Satsang mantra
2. Kirtan
3. Meditation

The Road to Moksha: (4) Battling Aggression and Greed

Although ignorance is the ultimate obstacle to our liberation, the other two that go hand-in-hand are aggression (or hatred) and greed (or desire).

When we are wrapped up in our own selves at the expense of others, we want more and more and we cling to what we have. This causes energetic knots to develop in our heart center and we become less and less sensitive and open to love. This causes suffering. When we are aggressive we are operating from the same mindset, but there is an added element of fear. By acting out on this fear, we perpetuate this falsity and close ourselves off once again to love.

A powerful antidote to break through those energetic knots are backbends. Even more powerful is vinyasa karma. Ultimately, this sacred asana practice is meant to teach us to detach from our likes and dislikes. By treating each pose equally and with a steady and calm mind (aided by our breath) we work towards conquering hatred and desire.

However, as yogis we are called to examine deeply the root of the issue. If we do so, we realize that both aggression and greed are caused by fundamentally misunderstanding the basic principle that all of creation is interconnected and interdependent. Both lead to an attitude of exploitation. To heal this foundational ignorance, one must radically change how one views life - and one's actions. This is why David and Sharon, and many others, believe that leading a vegan lifestyle - or working towards one - is a solution. This lifestyle paradigm is rooted in an inclusive understanding that all sentient beings, and our Earth, deserve our mercy and kindness. It also sees that being compassionate with other humans isn't enough - we must go to the root impulse of exploitation in order to heal. And that extends to all of life.

PRACTICES
1. Vinyasa Krama
2. Ethical Vegetarianism
3. Backbends

The Road to Moksha: (3) The Fundamental Misunderstanding

Yogash chitta-vritti-nirodhah. (YS I:2)
When you stop identifying with your thoughts, fluctuations of mind, then there is Yoga, identity with Self, which is Samadhi, happiness, bliss and ecstasy. --Translation by Sharon Gannon

Because we misperceive reality, we suffer. What we think about, who we are, how we believe the world works, is completely wrong. We are not separate entities but interdependent. The world isn’t out there, but we create it in here.

This is good news, but also scary. It makes you 100% responsible for everything. But its good news because it is fundamentally empowering; now you have the power to change. You can never change others or anything ‘out there,’ but knowing it comes from ‘in here’ means you can change it. It is in your hands.

How? Through cultivating wisdom. Through meditation. We train our minds by meditating to tame our thoughts that reflect our conceptual duality. The very nature of thought is to define and divide. This isn’t bad, but it must be brought under control. We work to transcend thought by not identifying with it. Once we begin to understand reality more, we begin to see more connections and feel the sacredness of all life.

The fundamental misunderstanding is the identification of spirit with matter; thinking that the eternal individual soul is the temporary manifestation of the gunas with which we have come to identify and which forms the basis for actions (karma) which bind us to samsara: we think we are these bodies, and what happens to these bodies happens to us. The state of the jivanmukta arises when we are realize that we not our bodies, we are not our minds - we are Spirit.

"You are either wise---or otherwise." –Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati

"Mind your own business……which is knowing who you are. That YOU ARE." 

–Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati

PRACTICES
1. “Who am I?” Meditation
2. Meditation
3. Inversions

The Road to Moksha: (2) The Guru

Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshvara, Guru Sakshat, Param Brahma, Tasmai Shri Guruvey Namaha
Tasmai Shri Guruvey Namaha

Once we’ve decided to embark on this path, we look to the guidance and the advice of someone ahead of us. We can find this in the teachings of those noble and enlightened souls who’ve progressed on the path of yoga, the ‘gurus’ or those who remove (ru) the mud (gu).

It is said that when we are ready, the guru appears. But we can’t be infantile in our understanding and expect a guru to be a small Indian man with a white beard. Gurus come in many forms – including fierce and unpleasant forms. In one way, you can say that everyone and everything that comes into your life has a lesson for  for you. We just have to be open to it. All the time.

PRACTICES
1. Guru Mantra
2. Read scriptures
3. Child’s pose

The Road to Moksha: (1) The Choice to Be Free

Do you want to be right….or do you want to be free? -Sharon Gannon

Before we start yoga, we must answer this question. By “right” Sharon means our identification with the EGO. (In truth we aren’t actually ‘right’ even though we think we are.) Usually we are faced with this question when undergoing tremendous suffering. Otherwise, we are quite content being ‘right.’ But until we are ready to choose to be free over being right, we can’t embark on the path of yoga. That is why it is said that yoga isn’t for everyone; some people aren’t ready or don’t want to be free. They just want to be right. (How’s that working out for you?)

If you have made the choice to be free, now what? You can’t really trust your mind because that is what got you here in the first place. But you can use your heart and set the intention to let go of the need to be right. Even if you don’t yet know how to become free, you can repeatedly remind yourself to surrender your steel-like grip on your EGO. At this point, it is all about surrender.

This involves humbleness and humility. This is a crucial prerequisite to embarking on the path of yoga. Remember that famous old saying about a student going to a teacher asking for teachings, but the guru says he can’t help him because his cup is already full? This practice is about emptying; recognizing you don’t know how to be free or happy and are lost.

And then work with what you have, your body. This is where the work of tapas, purification, comes in. We use asana and pranayama to start cleansing our ignorance.

But realize this is hard work! The spiritual path is not for the timid. But the point is to make us feel overwhelmed, to break us down, to make us ready for transformation. And you will change. Fundamentally. So commit, if you are ready. And find something to inspire you, to support you, to help you persevere on this arduous path. Find something transcendent. Maybe God, maybe a concept, maybe a person. But find something and let it help you on your journey.

“We don’t have time to live a mediocre life.” – David Life

“You get one life that is so precious it is like a diamond and if you are wasting it, you are selling it like coal.” -- Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati

PRACTICES
1. “Let Go” meditation
2. Set your intention, find your inspiration
3. Humble warrior