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EU
· CA · TAS · TRO · PHE
The Hidden Gift in
Catastrophe
By Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev)
Eucatastrophe
is a word coined around 1937 by J. R. R. Tolkien, author of "Lord
of the Rings." The term refers to a sudden and apparently
disastrous turn of events which, despite initial appearances, results
in the hero's well-being. Best of all, this stunningly positive
resolution comes not from some outside intervention, but from within
the existing elements of the disaster! Tolkien formed the word by
adding the Greek prefix eu, meaning good, to catastrophe,
meaning momentous misfortune. The implications are profound and
practical and in perfect harmony with the teaching of Yoga Science
that instructs us to include all and exclude none.
Tolkien has given a name to a perennial, and yet perennially doubted,
truth: even events that seem unacceptable always hold the potential
for benefit. Realizing this can embolden us to let go of and transform
the negativity of our perceptions. It can free us to employ
detachment, discrimination and clarity to see nurturing and
health-affirming possibilities.
Welcoming and examining the unpleasant, however, is not without its
challenges. The ego becomes extremely defensive when confronted with
this practice because it recognizes a threat to its authority and
"wisdom". To avoid the issue, the ego usually employs one of
two favorite techniques. It may dwell on the pain and worry
excessively, or, in concert with the senses and unconscious mind, the
ego may project the memory or imagination of pleasure into the
conscious mind. When we have no philosophy of life to guide us, the
temptation of pleasure is usually attractive enough to catapult our
consciousness into the future or back into the past where our
consternation is masked for a brief time. The ego might also suggest a
little self-medication--food, sex, sleep, drugs or anger--just enough
to keep us from investigating a higher Truth that undercuts the ego's
influence.
To let the ego's prejudices go unchallenged, however, keeps us
enslaved to the personality's physical, mental and emotional
addictions to pleasure and its aversion to pain. In that quagmire of
likes and dislikes, the personality fears losing the comfort of the
familiar. So we stay where we are and we suffer.
But that need not be the case.
In his "Commentary on 'Trustful Surrender to Divine
Providence'," Swami Nijananda teaches that when something
injurious or unpleasant comes to us, we can choose to remember what
the yogic sages knew: every circumstance--no matter how disturbing at
the time--is a manifestation of the Supreme Reality (a.k.a. God), and
provides us the perfect opportunity to let go of some limiting
attachment so that we might fulfill the unforeseen purpose of our
lives. "In that case," Swami Nijananda reminds us, "We
must look at our circumstance from the perspective that it has to be
good." No matter what we are dealing with--a thought, an emotion,
a person, an illness, old age or any other "catastrophic
problem", every situation contains the seed of some
special blessing.
One of the most challenging aspects of dealing with unwanted events is
the fact that the ego and unconscious mind immediately give us an
opinionated color commentary based on their limited perspectives.
"I was walking down the street and he pushed me," they say,
"therefore, he must have intended to hurt me. He's never liked
me, and besides, he's a bully." Rather than simply responding to
the act, we find ourselves responding to the mind's limited
conceptions and perceptions of the act. We forsake discrimination and
reinforce our ignorance.
Through the practice of meditation, however, we develop skills that
enable us to see that (in this particular case) B does not follow A
and C does not follow B, in spite of what we are programmed to
believe. In fact, with the skills of detachment and discrimination,
you might actually come to another realization altogether: that the
man did not push you out of malice at all, but rather only to move you
out of the path of an out-of-control automobile veering over the curb
and onto the sidewalk.
Eucatastrophes take many forms but always carry great gifts, not only
for their heros, but for others as well. One familiar eucatastrophe is
recounted in the Biblical story of Joseph. As you might remember,
Joseph's jealous brothers sold him into slavery. Years later, after
Joseph had become governor of Egypt, the brothers came petitioning for
grain during a time of widespread famine. Upon discovering that the
governor of Egypt was actually their long-lost brother, they began to
cry and beg for Joseph's forgiveness. Joseph's response was not
vengeful. Rather, it reflected a profound understanding of the yogic
philosophy of trustful surrender to Divine Providence. In modern
vernacular, Joseph told them, "There is no need to forgive you,
my brothers, for it was not you who sold me into slavery. It was the
Lord who sold me into slavery--using you as instruments--so that I
could be here today to feed you and all who are hungry."
Another story, closer to home, also underscores the Truth that even
tragedy can be the vehicle for grace.
On September 10, 2001, one of our meditation students was working as
an elementary school bus driver. That afternoon, as Roger drove
through the winding streets of a suburban neighborhood, a small
terrier darted under the wheels of the bus and was killed instantly.
As you can imagine, pandemonium ensued. The dog had belonged to one of
the boys on the bus. When the child realized what had happened, he
began to wail inconsolably. His mother, who had been waiting with the
family dog at the bus stop, became hysterical as she tried
unsuccessfully to comfort her distraught son. In an emotional exchange
with Roger, she was angry and abusive. Roger tried to explain that it
had been impossible to avoid hitting the dog, but the woman could not
hear him. "Look at all the pain and misery you've caused,"
the woman shrieked. "You killed our dog! My son is hysterical,
and my husband's away. Now he'll have to cancel the rest of his
business trip and come home."
A few days later Roger received a visit from the child's father. The
man told Roger that because the dog was killed, he did indeed have to
cancel his business meeting, which was scheduled for 9AM at the World
Trade Center on September 11th. Had he not been called home, he would
have been inside one of the Towers destroyed on the morning of the
infamous terrorist attack. With gratitude, the man apologized to Roger
for the family's insensitivity and thanked him for being part of the
divine plan that had saved his life.
When we can trust that everything comes to lead us for our highest and
greatest good, we still may experience the personality's likes and
dislikes (raga/dveshas), anger and resentments, but we no
longer have to be enslaved to those restrictive forces. Instead, in
the midst of would-be catastrophes we can choose to remain free, calm,
content and centered in knowing that the challenging relationship at
hand is not beyond our means to creatively deal with, and that it is
providing us exactly what we need.
Our inability to trust the intrinsic value of a eucatastrophe rests in
the fact that we are thoroughly identified with the body and the
limited perspective of the mind. We habitually invest our
consciousness in the sense of lack. The notion that "I lack
something" is our basic problem, and the more we act on that
non-truth, the more insecure and unhappy we feel and the more
desperately we seek objects and relationships we hope will make us
secure and happy.
Of course those imagined solutions will not work--in part because
whenever we fulfill a desire we immediately fear we might lose what we
have. We expend our energy chasing rainbows and we inevitably wind up
where we started: insecure and unhappy.
Swallowed up again by the sense of lack, we seek compensation. Food,
sex, sleep, shopping, the internet, television, gossip, travel,
alcohol, drugs, depression, overwork and worry are all employed to
hold reality at bay. Is it any wonder that in addition to feeling
insecure and unhappy, we're also exhausted?
To understand what led to our present condition and to begin reversing
that process, imagine for a moment that you and I are sitting in your
living room watching "Gone with the Wind" on television.
Once the movie begins, we get caught up in the action and before we
know it, we're lost in the imagery, romance and horror of the Civil
War. We're so involved in the movie that we identify with Rhett Butler
and Scarlet O'Hara completely. We feel their emotions and react
physiologically to the circumstances portrayed on the screen.
When a commercial breaks the imagery, we recall immediately that it
was all just a movie. Now, not only is the imagery of the movie
broken, so too is the emotional bond that held us. The power of the
imagery fades away into nothing.
Similarly, when you identify with the mind's habitual loop of thoughts
and emotions, you can see nothing but the movie that's projected
through the lenses of fear, anger and self-willed desire. As a result,
you reimagine the same "catastrophe" again and again. Your
thoughts and desires sweep you into one "tragedy" after
another--keeping you confused, weak and dependent. As Shakespeare
observed, "Thinking makes it so."
But through the practice of Yoga Science as mind-body medicine, you
purify the lenses through which you view the world. Slowly, slowly you
realize that even though you have a body and mind, you are not the
body and you are not the mind. In the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna (our
higher Self) reassures Arjuna (the human personality) that "There
has never been a time when you and I have not existed, nor will there
be a time when we will cease to exist. The same person inhabits the
body through childhood, youth and old age. The wise are not deluded by
these changes."
To underscore this Truth and to help us eliminate our ignorance, the
Compassionate Buddha presented us with the Five Remembrances.
Earnest contemplation of the Buddha's words can motivate us to
disassociate from the transitory nature of the body and mind, and can
prepare us to make discriminating choices that lead us to the summum
bonum of life. "Wake up!" the Buddha exhorts us. You lack
nothing. You are not insecure, nor are you unhappy. You are
essentially spirit having a human experience. You are eternal
consciousness, wisdom and bliss (Sat, Chit, Ananda). You do not
lack. You are fullness. You are not insecure. You are secure. You are
not unhappy. You are happiness Itself. Now, remaining centered in that
Truth, go forth and base your outer actions on your own inner
intuitive wisdom reflected by the buddhi (conscience). Then you
will become the Compassionate Buddha.
The Five Remembrances are:
1. The body is certain to become old. There is no way for it to escape
growing old.
2. The body is certain to become ill. There is no way for it to escape
ill health.
3. The body is certain to die. There is no way for it to escape
death.
4. Everything and everyone I love is subject to change and death.
There is no way to escape separation from them.
5. My actions are my only true belongings. I am the heir of my
actions. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions
are the ground upon which I stand and the reality which I experience.
Following the Five Remembrances, the Buddha concludes with
these words:
"Birth will end in death. Youth will end in old age. Wealth
will end in loss. Meetings will end in separation. All things in the
material world are impermanent. The Buddhas cannot wash our sins with
water. They cannot remove our suffering with their hands. They cannot
transfer their insights to us. All they can do is teach the Dharma. I
am my own protector."
If we can take these words of the Compassionate Buddha to heart, we'll
realize that we are the architects of our own lives and we determine
our destinies??--no one else has that power. If we choose to remain
coupled to the limited perspective of the personality there will
always be problems. But when we willingly forsake old, unreliable
habits and yoke ourselves to the perfect wisdom of the higher
Self--regardless of whether we call It Christ, Buddha, Allah, HaShem,
Atman, Ahura Mazda or Great Spirit--"problems" do not arise.
In the fullness and security of our new clarity, a catastrophe is
simply transformed into what it really always was: a eucatastrophe.
Sound too far fetched to believe? No problem. Don't believe.
Experiment--as a Yoga scientist. The next time the personality thinks
itself into a catastrophe, employ a little detachment and examine the
situation carefully. Then, base your outer actions on your intuitive
inner wisdom and see if you don't experience the trustworthy silver
lining of a eucatastrophe. I'm betting you will.
Leonard is a philosopher, educator, author and
founder of the American Meditation Institute.

"By practicing Yoga Science
as mind-body medicine,
you can purify the lenses through which you view the world.
With clarity of vision, you can see the blessing
contained in every moment ."
Leonard Perlmutter
(Ram Lev)
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The
Heart and Science of Yoga
Comprehensive
Training in
Holistic Mind/Body Medicine
LEONARD
PERLMUTTER
Weekend
Intensive · July 16-18, 2010
For
healthcare practitioners and the general public |

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The Heart and
Science of Yoga Physicians' Retreat, November 7-8, 2009
First Row: Mary
Helen Holloway, Leonard Perlmutter, Jenness Perlmutter, Dr.
Beth Netter.
Second Row: Dr. Susan Kreienberg, Dr. Theresa Sirico, Dr.
Debbie Kennedy, Crystal Cobert, Dr. Ellen Biggers, Dr. Lisa
Bevilacqua, Cathy Jordan, Negest Asamenew.
Third Row: Laura Chritton, Dr. Stewart Chritton, Dr. Garner
Johnson, Dr. Jennifer Baker-Porazinski, Mary Balsam, Martha
Pitkin, Jennifer Rizzo, Dr. Markos Asamenew. |

Looking for
the Whole Truth
By Linda Johnsen
Fired!
I kept staring at the pink slip as if my gaze could dissolve the
paper, as if Pam from Human Resources would walk back in and say,
"I'm so sorry, Linda, there was a mistake. Of course you're not
fired! We're delighted to have you here!"
The drama started several weeks earlier when my roommate suddenly
moved out. I was in my early 20s, fresh out of college, and couldn't
afford the rent payments alone on my present salary. I had to find a
better paying job-fast. An employment agency helped me find a new
position, so I regretfully quit my enjoyable but desperately low
paying job at the local high school.
When I showed up for the first day of work, Pam met me at the door as
I was hanging up my coat. "I have bad news," she said
directly. "When Andy hired you to be his new assistant, he didn't
realize he was about to be transferred to the St. Louis office. He
just got a promotion and he's home packing now. I'm afraid we won't be
needing you after all."
I was devastated. For a woman who prides herself on being an exemplary
employee, being fired was deeply humiliating. But worse, in one moment
I'd gone from not having enough income to pay the rent, to not having
any income at all. Panic surged through my body as if Pam had just
pumped ice water into my veins.
I called up the employment agency the moment I got home, but they had
absolutely no other prospects for me. I couldn't sleep that night.
Where do homeless people sleep, I wondered anxiously, since I might
soon become one of them. Even with a good blanket, it must get awfully
cold out on the street at night.
The next morning I sat by the phone, nervously weighing my options. A
friend stopped by to commiserate and suggested, "Why don't you
call the medical clinic at the yoga center? They might need
help."
"I'm over at the Himalayan Institute center in Glenview all the
time," I assured her. "If there were a position available at
their clinic, they would have posted a notice." But desperate
times call for desperate measures, so with some embarrassment I phoned
the Center for Holistic Medicine.
Pat Klein, then manager of the clinic, seemed impatient. "Where
have you been? Dr. Ballentine's been waiting for your call. Swami Rama
told him a week ago you were going to start working here, and he wants
to know when you're coming in!"
My new position at the Himalayan Institute's clinic quickly turned
into one of the most fun and fulfilling jobs of my life. Ours was the
first holistic medical facility in Midwestern America, and was
frequently featured on radio and television. Influential bestsellers,
like Dr. Ballentine's classic book Diet and Nutrition, grew out of our
work at that clinic.
But for me the most astonishing thing about that experience was that
Swami Rama, the spiritual director of the yoga center, knew I was
going to offer my services there a week before I did myself. It was
almost as if life had deliberately orchestrated my financial
crisis-and my firing-in order to push me toward a job I otherwise
would never have considered.
In retrospect, I wish I could send a telepathic message back to myself
that miserable, sleepless night. "Don't worry! Everything's going
to work out better than you can even imagine! You were supposed to get
fired! You are being guided to go exactly where you need to be!"
Instead I had a major crisis of faith, unable to trust that events
were unfolding according to plan.
Learning
from Life
All
of us have stories like this. There was the awful divorce that
shattered our faith in love, but ultimately taught us to stand on our
own two feet. There was the unwanted pregnancy that brought a child
who became the light of our lives.
Often the most difficult experiences we go through turn out to be the
most meaningful. I have always had a paralyzing fear of public
speaking. When my first book was published in 1995, I was sent on a
nationwide publicity tour. If I had known I was going to have to
lecture, I probably wouldn't have written the book! My comfort zone is
behind the scenes, supporting more dynamic personalities who, unlike
me, actually enjoy the limelight.
Fortunately, my public talks usually went well. But inwardly, I
continued to experience massive terror every time I had to step up to
the podium. I couldn't have been more frightened if I was being led
before a firing squad! Year after year I was sent out to speak, yet
the phobia never abated.
Then six years ago doctors discovered a malignant tumor in my jaw. I
received the diagnosis two days before I was scheduled to fly out to
lecture at the American Meditation Institute in Averill Park. As I
spoke at AMI that weekend, I was overcome with the poignant sense that
this was probably the last seminar I would ever give. Suddenly I
couldn't believe how foolish I had been, dreading programs like this
when I should have been thrilled to have the opportunity to travel
around the country talking about topics I loved. Now, if the initial
medical assessment was correct, I was unlikely to survive. If I did,
it looked like I would never be able to speak normally again, as the
surgeons planned to remove much of my upper jaw.
Cancer was an amazing experience-though one I wouldn't wish on anyone
else-that taught me what I was still attached to in life, what I was
having difficulty letting go of in the face of imminent death. I
accelerated my spiritual practice to work on developing more authentic
equanimity and nonattachment. I did survive this brush with cancer,
obviously, and the doctors managed to create a prosthesis that allows
me to speak almost completely normally.
Amazingly, my fear of public speaking has vanished completely. I now
love lecturing! While going through cancer treatment was no picnic, I
appreciate the lessons that difficult experience taught me. It was a
pretty extreme way to cure a debilitating phobia, but it worked quite
well!
In the midst of a crisis, it's not always easy to see the gifts the
experience is bringing. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. I hear that
in the very last moment of life, many people see their entire life
flash before their eyes in an instant. Suddenly the overall purpose
becomes clear, the lessons are self-evident, and the richness of one's
life experience can finally be fully appreciated. As we expand our
awareness through yoga practice, we can develop that sense of
appreciation in the present moment, without having to wait for a
near-death experience to show us the whole truth, the greater good
behind the difficulty.
The
Purpose in the Pain
From
a human perspective, some outcomes truly are cataclysmic. I vividly
remember the day one of our doctors lost his little boy. He and his
wife found their son lying dead in his crib that terrible morning. The
one-year-old was fine when they put him to bed the night before. At
that time awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) was
negligible; physicians had no idea why some seemingly healthy babies
simply stopped breathing.
The heartbroken parents turned to one of my spiritual mentors, Pandit
Usharbudh Arya, to help them understand. "Why did this happen to
us? Why?"
Some people believe this world is an illusion, but one thing I know
for a fact is real: pain. Dr. Arya knew better than to use that moment
to tell bereaved parents good would come out of the death of their
child. I was struck by the wisdom, and the deep compassion, of his
reply: "Before the enormity of your grief, I have no
answer."
When people are in the throes of profound sorrow, they may hear your
words of reassurance as vain platitudes. Sometimes they just have to
sit with their pain, digesting the emotion, till they're finally ready
to look at the bigger picture. All you can do, as Dr. Arya did, is sit
with them in their loss and bewilderment.
This brave couple would go on to take an active role in the burgeoning
SIDS movement. Thanks to the efforts of people like them, new parents
today are far better educated in preventing potentially fatal
respiratory disorders.
In the face of overwhelming pain some traditions, such as early
Buddhism, advise us to run. Buddha recognized that as long as we're on
this Earth, suffering is inevitable. At first, he taught that the only
solution is to flee from life as if we were running from a burning
house.
Yoga texts like the Bhagavad Gita, take a different tack. They advise
us to see the play of personal, collective, and cosmic karma in the
events of our lives. Then mastering our thoughts and emotions with the
help of spiritual practice, we should take action in the world to
fulfill our duties responsibly, and help alleviate the suffering
around us to the best of our ability. In the Gita, Krishna advises us
to surrender to God, to love and trust him, and to sincerely try to
live in a way that pleases him.
Developing that level of confidence in God's care is fairly easy when
things are going our way, but far more challenging when terrible
disasters occur. Often we feel that if God really loved us, he would
exempt us from suffering. In India however, deities are usually
portrayed with multiple arms. Some of their hands are raised in
blessing. Others hold weapons like nooses and goads. This is because
when we veer off the track, they come after us like shepherds, and
drive us back to the spiritual path. (Krishna, you'll remember, is
often called Gopala, "cowherd.")
One of my dear friends is a paraplegic. Jay broke his back at age 18
and has spent his entire adult life in a wheelchair. It's hard to
imagine anyone with a more legitimate reason to be bitter. Yet his
horrible injury has allowed him to collect veteran's benefits all
these years. Unburdened by the need to support himself, he has instead
devoted himself entirely to spiritual practice. Today he is one of the
most wise and spiritually luminous human beings I've ever met.
When I asked Jay how he stays so tranquil in the midst of so much
suffering, he told me, "Whatever happens, I just say, 'Thank you,
God!'" When we see God's loving care both in the good events in
our lives and the bad, we are finally seeing through our life
experiences to the greater good just behind them.
We all get fired. I mean to say, at some point in our lives we all
walk through the fire. There's no other way to enter the light.
Linda Johnsen, M.S. is a regular contributor to Transformation,
author of "Lost Masters: The Sages of Ancient Greece"
and seven other books on spiritual life currently available at the AMI
bookstore.
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PASSAGES By
Bernie Siegel, M.D.
Life is a series of passages. It is
a circle of beginnings through which we will all pass more than
once. Life is a chance to obtain an education, like school,
hopefully not being left back--but advancing through the grades.
When you give a report in Heaven on how your life has gone, you
are instructed to conclude your report with the words, "The
Beginning" and not "The End." Why?? Because when
you graduate from school it's a commencement, not a termination,
and the Bible ends in a Revelation, not a conclusion. So life is
meant to be viewed as a series of beginnings or passages.
Whenever we learn something, experience a change or lose
something, we actually begin a new life.
We are all here to live and learn, to move up through the grades
of life, to acquire wisdom and to pass on what we have learned.
We must help to educate everyone and lift the level of
consciousness of all beings. So view every curse as a blessing,
and keep experiencing new beginnings as you live through life's
passages.
My life has been filled with many interesting passages. My very
first was my passage through the birth canal into the world. Due
to my mother's poor state of health, she was told not to become
pregnant because it would be a threat to her own life. Her
mother (my grandmother) decided otherwise, however, and had her
lie on the couch while she fed her constantly. When my mother
gained thirty pounds I was conceived. Next came a multitude of
complications of the pregnancy and then prolonged labor with no
child appearing. After the doctors told my mother she might not
survive a Cesarean Section, my mother tells me, "They
reached in and pulled you out."
So my first passage was very traumatic, and I was born an ugly
duckling. My mother recalled that "Your father and I
wrapped you in kerchiefs and put you in a covered carriage which
we hid behind the house so no one would see you and be
upset." When I asked my mom why I didn't turn out to be an
addict or alcoholic--which infants treated this way do
become--she said, "My mother took you, poured oil all over
your body and pushed everything back where it belonged."
Years later I learned that infants massaged this way gain weight
fifty percent faster than infants fed the same amount of food
but not touched.
I realize now that if we all had loving grandmothers there
wouldn't be any ugly ducklings who'd have to struggle to
discover their beauty. So when in doubt, act like a loving
grandparent to ease the passages of others. Let your eyes be the
mirrors to reflect love and beauty back to others. Remember,
when someone you love is present during labor or any other
painful situation, the pain experienced is dramatically reduced.
If you really want to help your children, prepare them for the
difficult passages which we all must confront. Use my mother's
advice: whenever someone you know runs into trouble say,
"It was meant to be. God is redirecting you. Something good
will come of this." It took me a while to buy that package
as a teenager, but I realized many curses did turn into
blessings because they redirected my life. This understanding
also changed my view of the future; I stopped visualizing the
worst when problems arose.
"He who seeks to save his life will lose it, while he who
is willing to lose his life will save it," speaks the
message of the Bible. "The son of man comes not to be
served, but to serve, and to ransom his life for the good of the
many." These words speak about the fact that many of us
lose our lives to please everyone else. We become what others
want, when we should really be choosing to serve and love the
world in a way that will make us happy. So once again I'll share
my mother's message. Whenever I had a decision to make and asked
my mom what to do she said, "Do what will make you happy.
But remember, by doing so, you are choosing the passages you
will experience in this lifetime."
Now let me conclude with how I know we pass through life more
than once. At age four, while sitting on my bed at home, I
almost choked to death on some toy parts I had put into my mouth
and then aspirated. I had a near death experience, and left my
body. I was free of the physical struggle to breathe and it was
a fantastic experience. It left me with no fear of death. Then
the boy on the bed (me) vomited and all the toys came flying out
of his mouth as he began to breathe again. Yes, I was back in my
body, mad as hell. I can remember yelling, "Who did
that?" and thinking there must be somebody else in charge
of the schedule of passages.
I have also had a past life experience spontaneously created
when a friend, who heard how busy my schedule and life were,
asked me the question, "Why are you living this life?"
To make a long story short I saw myself killing someone with a
sword when told to do so by my lord. I was acting out of fear
that if I did not follow the order, I myself would be killed.
From that life and circumstance I learned the importance of
faith and having the right Lord. I also now realize that my love
of animals and people stems from that past life. Now I try to
make up for my past unskillful action by using a knife in this
life to heal people.
I am now convinced that death, and leaving one's body, is not
the worst outcome or passage. During a conversation I once had
with Noah, I asked him why he didn't argue with God or bargain
to save more than just his family and some animals. Noah said
that he knew he was being given a raw deal, so to speak, because
he was being called upon to go on experiencing all of life's
difficulties while everyone else was allowed to begin again with
a clean slate and greater wisdom.
So please, enjoy every experience of life, as painful some may
be. Utilize your opportunities, burn your candle bright, and
don't let it go out before your time. If you want to avoid
passing on, remember that the only thing which is immortal and
of permanence is love. Love is the bridge between the land of
the living and the land of the dead.
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Individual Counseling
Yoga Self-Therapy
Leonard Perlmutter
AMI Founder and Director
Member: International Association of Yoga Therapists
Yoga Self-Therapy is
based on the perennial psychology of yoga science. Each
individual counseling session will teach you how to free
yourself from habits and expectations that cause stress and
give rise to illness. By observing and training your internal
processes, you can become creative in all relationships while
establishing a state of personal contentment. By learning to
rely on your own Divine inner wisdom you become free to make
choices in life that continually improve your physical, mental
and emotional well-being.
AMI Home Center, 60 Garner Road, Averill Park
By appointment only. $125/hour
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The Heart and Science of Yoga:
A Blueprint for Peace, Happiness and Freedom from Fear
Review by Gregg St. Clair, Healing Springs Journal
We live in
glorious times don't we? We have information available to us
today that we never transferred to only an inner circle of top
students. This usually involved years of dedication proving
your desire to learn, followed by years of practice in the
more external realms of knowledge, and only then would a
master be willing to share the deepest levels of their art,
most highly guarded secrets. But today every esoteric subject
matter is available through books or just a quick click away
on the world wide web.
Everything has pluses and minuses and this is no exception.
Yes, it is all right there for us, but so is fast food. So how
do we discriminate what is valuable or not for our total well
being? Trial and error is, of course, an option, and something
most people have to go through on their path--be it with diet,
exercise or meditation. But when you find the right thing you
know it. This is how I felt when I read The Heart and
Science of Yoga: A Blueprint for Peace, Happiness and Freedom
from Fear by Leonard Perlmutter. I keep wanting to call it
the "Art" instead of the "Heart," probably from being
conditioned by other book titles, but "Heart" definitely works
better. Why? Because you can tell that that is where the book
comes from and that is where it is aimed.
The Heart and Science of Yoga is a manual showing how
ancient wisdom can help us with life today in an increasingly
chaotic world. No longer does one need to travel to India to
learn the deepest secrets of yoga for it is all contained in
this one book. Some might claim that there is too much
information (and at 538 pages they may be right), but not me.
It is written in a style so easy to read and so relevant to
spiritual development today that its information will be
beneficial, almost crucial, for everyone, not just yoga
practitioners.
Leonard Perlmutter has something rare among yoga practitioners
and meditation instructors today, not only a blessing from his
famous teacher Swami Rama, but a direct request to pass on the
knowledge he transferred to him and to become a full time
teacher. Leonard and his wife Jenness have founded and operate
the American Meditation Institute in Averill Park, New York--a
short drive from the capital city of Albany. A tranquil oasis,
the Perlmutters are dedicating their lives to creating
positive change in the world based on the teachings of yoga
with meditation as the key.
The book covers in detail the eight limbs of yoga is of course
more than different contortionist postures and includes a
blueprint for spiritual growth including, proper disciplines,
proper conduct, proper exercise, proper breathing, proper
control of the senses, proper concentration, proper meditation
and finally self realization. I particularly like how they use
quotations and references from all of the worlds religions,
including literature and even current sources (did you know
Elvis was a guru?), making the book very accessible if not
down right enjoyable to read.
With the invention of the airplane, the telephone and now the
world wide web, it has become obvious that it is one world and
we must act together if there is going to be hope for the
future. Unfortunately people become so caught up in their own
realities that they fail to see the bigger picture. But we are
spiritual beings, and as we busy ourselves with the illusions
of the world it separates us from our spirit, creating a
source of suffering that is only going to continue. I take
comfort in the fact that yoga has an 8000 year old history and
though I am a scientist, I don't need another double blind
study to know that it works. The key is, we have to practice
something to take control of our mind & lives, or they will
take control of us. If you are looking for a tried and true
system that has helped millions of people, then The Heart
and Science of Yoga is the perfect companion. I recommend
it for everybody.
http://americanmeditation.org/Movie/movie.html |
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All events are held at the AMI Home Center in Averill Park unless
otherwise indicated.
SUNDAY MEDITATION & SATSANG, FREE
Every Sunday 9:30-11:00 AM. Love donations accepted.
JANUARY
2010
JANUARY 11 - MARCH 1:
MIND-BODY
PSYCHOLOGY
Chapter 4
Monday nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM (6 week Gita Study)
JANUARY 14:
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE
AMI Meditation: The Heart and Science of Yoga™
Thursday night, 6:30 - 7:30 PM, Mary Holloway & Doreen Howe
JANUARY 19 - MARCH 2:
AMI MEDITATION
The Heart and Science of Yoga™
Comprehensive training in holistic
mind-body medicine
Tuesday nights, 6:30 - 9:00 PM (6 wks)
with AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter
JANUARY 20: HEAL
YOUR HEART
Wednesday Night, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
with AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter
JANUARY 22:
DINNER,
MOVIE & SATSANG
"The Reader"
Friday night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM
FEBRUARY 2010
FEBRUARY 1 - MARCH 8:
EASY-GENTLE
YOGA
with Kathleen Fisk
Monday nights, 6:30 - 8:00 PM (6 wks)
FEBRUARY 18:
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE
AMI Meditation: The Heart and Science of Yoga™
Thursday night, 6:30 - 7:30 PM, Mary Holloway & Doreen Howe
FEBRUARY 20:
KITCHEN
YOGA: FOOD AS MEDICINE
One-day workshop
Saturday, 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
FEBRUARY 26:
DINNER,
MOVIE & SATSANG
"The Kid"
Friday night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM
MARCH
2010
MARCH 8 - APRIL 12:
MIND-BODY
PSYCHOLOGY
Chapter 5
Monday nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM (6 week Gita Study)
MARCH 9 - APRIL 13:
AMI MEDITATION
The Heart and Science of Yoga™
Comprehensive training in holistic
mind-body medicine
Tuesday nights, 6:30 - 9:00 PM (6 wks)
with AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter
MARCH 15 - APRIL 19:
EASY-GENTLE
YOGA
with Kathleen Fisk
Monday nights, 6:30 - 8:00 PM (6 wks)
MARCH 17 - 31:
BALANCING
THE CHAKRAS
Thursday night, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
with Leonard & Jenness Perlmutter
MARCH 18:
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE
AMI Meditation: The Heart and Science of Yoga™
Thursday night, 6:30 - 7:30 PM, Mary Holloway & Doreen Howe
MARCH 19:
DINNER,
MOVIE & SATSANG
"Doubt"
Friday night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM
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Tell
a Friend about AMI
If you know someone who might benefit from
our American Meditation class, let them know about the AMI
program,
or click
here to send us their name and address and we'll send them a
brochure with our current class schedule.
Karma Yoga --- the practice of selfless and skillful action
If, as part of your practice, you have a few extra hours during the week
and are interested in helping grow the American Meditation Institute, we need your
dedicated, volunteer energy. As a student of yoga science, you are already familiar with
the kinds of practical services the Institute provides. Each month we write, edit and
publish this newsletter, teach an average of thirty new meditation students and present
stress-reduction seminars to various businesses and organizations. We also invite visiting
speakers of interest to our area, organize seminars on yoga science and do continuing
personal counseling.
Our immediate needs include press relations, seminar management,
clerical assistance and general delivery work.
Remember, whatever time or talents you
possess will be put to meaningful, productive use.
If you have the time, please call the Institute at (518) 674-8714.
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American Meditation Institute for Yoga Science & Philosophy. All
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