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Imagine for a moment that you're attending one of my workshops and I
ask you this question: "What is your deepest driving desire? Now,
before you continue reading any further, jot down your answer on a
piece of paper. Your answer can be one thing or a short list, but
whatever you decide, your response must reflect your most cherished
desire--that which you want to experience at every moment and in
every relationship--no matter what.
For inspiration, here are a few examples.
What is your
DEEPEST DRIVING
DESIRE?
Peace
Happiness
Unconditional Love
Health
Fearlessness
Creativity
Self-Realization
Oneness
Joy
Wisdom
Contentment
Freedom
Once you have determined your deepest driving desire, compile a list
of those obstacles in your life that inhibit you from realizing your
most dearly held desire.
Once again, here are a few examples.
What are the
OBSTACLES
to fulfilling your deepest desire?
Ego
Self Will
Fear
Anger
Negativity
Attachment
Negative Habits
Memories
Imagination
Judgments
Expectation
Impatience
Sadness
Shame
Guilt
Dis-ease
Lack of Trust
Lack of Faith
Resentment
Distractions
Culture
Multitasking
After identifying the obstacles, take careful note of one important
fact: all the obstacles are reflections of your own mind. The habits
you have developed over a lifetime are the only impediments between
you and complete fulfillment. The mind is your most powerful
instrument. It can be your best friend--or your worst enemy, and
only you can determine whether the mind will serve you for well or
ill.
The ancient sages of Yoga Science recognized the import of this
dichotomy and optimistically turned it into a profound teaching:
"Yes," they acknowledged, "you are the problem, but you are also the
solution."
Building upon this insight, Patanjali, the codifier of Yoga Science,
declared almost two thousand years ago that "All Yoga begins with an
understanding of and coordination of the mind." Patanjali, like the
great yogis before him, recognized that by observing the different
functions of the mind and directing your attention inward, you could
rewrite your mental software.
At the present time mental habits that obstruct your happiness are
stored in the dark basement of the unconscious mind. From that
hidden storehouse, these habits rudely enslave you to actions that
result in unintended consequences.
A regular meditation practice frees you from these nefarious,
unconscious forces and transforms their inherent debilitating power
into the requisite energy, will power and creativity that enable you
to fulfill your deepest driving desire. Here's how it happens.
During the waking state, your mind continuously employs the five
senses in search of pleasant experiences. In meditation, however,
your relationship with the senses changes. You sit quietly with your
head, neck and trunk straight. You gently close your eyes and mouth,
and willingly close off the senses--the normal avenues through which
information comes into your awareness. In meditation, you are not
looking, smelling, tasting, hearing or touching. Instead you are
focusing all your conscious attention on the mantra.
As you begin to sit in meditation, something very interesting
happens. Imagine for a moment that someone firmly grips your hand
and pulls you toward him with great strength. What happens? Because
the hand and body are connected, the body comes forward as your hand
is pulled--even though you intended to stay in your chair.
Similarly, the conscious and unconscious mind are also connected. As
you sit in meditation, you intend to give all your conscious,
one-pointed attention to your mantra. That works well for twenty or
thirty seconds, but since the mind is habituated to varied and
changing stimulation, it very quickly gets bored with only one
solitary thought to observe.
As you deliberately reduce sensory input from the external world,
many engaging and competitive thoughts begin to bubble up from the
unconscious mind into your conscious awareness. "Hey," the mind
might ask--interrupting your meditation--"how long have I been
meditating? Do I have enough money for my child's college education?
Why is my spouse so insensitive to my needs? Why haven't I seen any
flashing lights or had some mystical experience?"
Before you begin to meditate, however, you pledge to yourself that
for whatever length of time you sit (one minute, five minutes, ten
minutes or fifteen minutes), you are going to give your complete
attention to your personal mantra. No matter what other thought,
image or sound comes into your awareness, no matter what charm,
attraction or temptation begins to call your attention, you resolve
to give your undivided attention to your mantra. Through this
process you learn to assume the perspective of a witness. Meditation
teaches you how to observe your thoughts, desires and emotions in a
detached manner--without becoming involved with them. In meditation,
as your worrisome, fearful, angry, entertaining, frivolous and
desirous thoughts are bathed in the light of consciousness, you
learn how to willingly and consciously withdraw your attention from
them and how to skillfully redirect your awareness back to the
mantra.
Within a few days, your meditation practice will accomplish several
things. First, it will minimize your susceptibility to the
temptation of the competitive thoughts arising from the unconscious.
This skill helps you avoid being a reactionary. Second, as you
willingly return your attention to the mantra, it creates new,
healthy habits in the unconscious mind of love, fearlessness and
strength.
The entire practice of meditation teaches you how to be free from
the charms, attractions and temptations of unconscious habits. At
the same time it strengthens your will power to increasingly base
your thoughts, words and deeds on your inner intuitive wisdom-- the
perfect wisdom of the soul reflected into the conscious portion of
the mind by the conscience (known as buddhi in Yoga Science,
and Holy Spirit in Christianity).
To explore the deepest aspects of our internal being or to deal
successfully with the countless objects and relationships of the
external world, we must understand the four major faculties of the
mind. Understanding the total mind prepares us to establish inner
coordination of these faculties. Without inner coordination, serious
conflicts eventually arise in the mind, and since all reality flows
from the subtle to the gross, conflict within the mind inevitably
manifests as conflict and dis-ease in the external world.
Learning to become free of interior conflict, therefore, is one of
the major challenges facing the human being. The practice of seated
meditation and a practical understanding of the mind help us
transform the latent power of thoughts, desires and emotions, and
establish a relative calmness in the mind. When the mind becomes
still, there is no longer separation between the individual and the
Divine Reality. In that still awareness of our Essential Nature, we
realize freedom from conflict and pain.
In the daily practice of meditation in action, a yoga scientist
consciously evaluates the character and merit of thoughts as they
appear. Probing questions emerge. What is the purpose of this
thought? What will be its consequence? To whom is this thought
appearing? Who am I? Who is the thinker of the thought? All these
questions cultivate identification with the Inner Witness:
Sat-Chit-Ananda. Only from this perspective can we evaluate
fairly the worthiness of each thought.
Remember, the word responsibility is a compound of two words:
response and ability. This teaching helps you train the mind to
utilize its capacity to respond creatively, rather than to react
habitually. This is the key to freedom.
To begin this study, we draw upon the teachings of the Himalayan
masters. The following diagram illustrates a wheel comprised of
three basic components: the rim of the wheel, the spokes and the
hub. The spokes move, and then the rim of the wheel rolls forward.
The hub facilitates the turning of the spokes and the wheel rotates
as a result of that movement.
In this analogy, the wheel represents the human body. No movement
can occur in the body until there is movement in the four
modifications (functions) of the mind. These mental faculties are
like the spokes of the wheel. The mind always moves first and the
body follows.
The hub is the Eternal Witness or soul (Sat-Chit-Ananda).
This core itself never moves, but it is the cause and the power of
the mind, and the mind ultimately animates the body. Without the hub
there could be neither mind nor body.
The four spokes in our analogy represent the four major functions of
the mind: manas (active mind), ahamkara (ego or
I-maker), chitta (the unconscious, storehouse of impressions
or samskaras) and buddhi (intellect, discrimination).
Manas
The word manas comes from the Sanskrit root man. It means
mind. Manas operates both internally and externally; it is an
importer and exporter of information. In relating to each thought,
desire and emotion, we constantly face the decision of whether or
not to take an action. Toward that end, the manas collects
the various bits of pertinent information from the external world
and from the other functions of the mind, organizes the data and
presents it to our awareness (Chit).
In order to collect information from the external world, the
manas (function of the human mind) employs five senses and sense
organs. These are sight (eyes), smell (nose), hearing (ears), taste
(mouth) and touch (hands, feet and skin). These employees constantly
proceed into the material world and bring back information about the
multitude of objects with which there exists potential for a
relationship.
Ahamkara: Ego
Information from the ahamkara can be valid and useful, but
its inherent bias must be taken into account. The individual
consciousness of ego is born when an infant begins to view existence
exclusively in terms of subject and object. This limited "I"
ignorantly perceives every object or relationship as either pleasant
or unpleasant--something capable of bringing happiness or
eliminating pain. Left undisciplined, the unruly ahamkara
continually reinforces a human alienation
Chitta: Unconscious Hard Drive
As the manas debates whether or not to take an action,
information retrieved from the unconscious portion of the mind (chitta)
is added to the various suggestions of the ahamkara and
senses. The chitta is analogous to a computer's hard drive--a reservoir of all your samskaras and the storehouse
of information you believe useful in fulfilling your desires.
Manas Presents its Findings
When the manas has concluded its preliminary fact-finding, it
presents two possible choices for consideration. Addressing our
awareness, the manas begins by saying, "You have two basic
alternatives. There is alternative A, which will probably result in
consequences one, two, three and four, and there is alternative B,
which will probably result in other consequences one, two, three and
four. In support of which alternative will you take an action?"
After the manas concludes its monologue on alternatives and
consequences, it waits for our decision. If none is forthcoming, it
automatically begins again. "You have two basic choices: alternative
A and alternative B. Have you made a decision yet?"
Without a decision, manas repeats again and again, "You have
two choices: A or B. Will you do it or will you not do it? A or B? A
or B? A or B?
The relentless repetition becomes first annoying, then frustrating,
and eventually, exhausting. The doubt and indecision play on like a
broken record, and our inability or unwillingness to make a decision
based on the available information is a major cause of stress and
dis-ease in our lives.
The functioning of manas is analogous to the performance of
the computer. No matter how sophisticated and swift its operation,
the computer is always dealing with the solitary question: yes or
no? (one or zero?). The function of the manas is vital, but
like the computer, the manas has no capacity to discriminate
nor to judge responsibly the information it collects and presents.
Buddhi (Discrimination)
The buddhi is the only function of the mind that has the
competence to discriminate and decide. It has the potential for
great wisdom. However, without sufficient exercise and purification
through continuous practice, the buddhi may reflect the
limited perspective of the senses, ahamkara and chitta.
When employed regularly, however, the purified buddhi has the
reflective quality of a well-polished mirror. It is the instrument
through which the conscious mind can know the will of the Divine.
Through your meditation practice, the buddhi increasingly
reflects intuitive, superconscious knowledge. When the manas
presents us with choices that echo the calls of the senses,
ahamkara (ego), and chitta (unconscious mind), the
purified buddhi can unerringly define and endorse the
shreya--that choice that will lead us for our highest and
greatest good.
In many respects, the buddhi is similar to the Western
concept of conscience, but the powers of the buddhi are
potentially far greater than what we usually attribute to the
conscience. The buddhi honors, but also goes beyond,
situational ethics and conditioned morality. The purified buddhi
can instantaneously access the infinite creativity and wisdom of the
Divine intelligence at the center of consciousness.
This knowledge requires no verification. When knowledge from the
superconscious mind comes into your awareness through a purified
buddhi, you don't need a Ph.D.--or any other special
qualification--to know that the advice is correct. You intuitively
know that it's true. You just know that you know. This is the
knowledge that truly sets you free--if you can only muster the will
power to act on it.
Purifying the buddhi is essential. The more you cleanse and
clarify the buddhi--by the practice of seated meditation and
all forms of meditation in action--the greater will be your access
to the superconscious mind.
Your Soul is the Hub of the Wheel
The four major functions of the mind animate the body. But as
illustrated in the wheel analogy, it is, in truth, the hub that
empowers the wheel to turn. The hub of the human being is our
essential, eternal identity: the soul, or consciousness. In fact,
consciousness is all that really exists. It is both the cause and
the substance of the material universe.
The Signal and the Noise
If the buddhi is always directing us, why is it so difficult
to hear the message? The competing noise of the senses, the opinions
of the ego and the power of chitta's memories and
imaginations are so loud that they often drown out the quiet but
resolute signal of the buddhi. In order to hear the signal and to
heed its message, the yoga scientist must first be able to turn down
the noise of the manas (and senses), ego and chitta. This is
accomplished by learning to discipline and direct our attention at
will.
Coordinating the Mind Functions
Recognizing how the mind functions and training it properly
constitute the prime spiritual discipline of the yoga scientist.
When all the four major faculties of the mind are coordinated in
service to the wisdom of the soul, the human being can transcend the
limitations of the animal body and live in union with the Supreme Reality. Conscious
coordination of the functions of the mind makes it possible for us
to know the Divine within.
Once you acknowledge all the obstacles that inhibit your unbounded happiness, the
solution becomes clear. A daily meditation practice will teach you
how to consistently coordinate the functions of the mind so that all
your thoughts, words and deeds increasingly reflect the perfection
of your own inner intuitive wisdom. The more skilled you are in this
yogic practice, the more your life will become a beautiful symphony.
Top
I have the most hyper mind of anyone I
know," my friend Tom recently confided. "When I sit down to meditate,
I can't focus. I'll have a glimpse of stillness, then a million
thoughts come barging into my mind."
"I had a tough childhood so I'm always thinking negatively. I'm
constantly judging other people and myself. I'm angry about things
that happened in the past and I'm sick with worry about things that
might happen in the future. My mind never relaxes!"
It's bad enough that the world around us is in continual turmoil. But
when our inner world is equally agitated, there's no peace anywhere.
We become like the squirrel in my backyard that can't even enjoy a
short meal without constantly scanning its environment for predators
or for other squirrels that might try to steal the walnut he's gulping
down as fast as he can.
Tom's condition reminds me of a man in a really bad neighborhood.
Every time he steps out onto the street he's worried about getting
mugged. When he's inside he's worried about someone breaking down the
door or crawling in through the window and shooting him. As he's
driving, he's afraid of getting carjacked. Even when he's sleeping he
dreams of someone creeping up behind him with a knife. But here's the
really strange thing: the man doesn't live here. He's actually from a
comfortable upscale community miles away where crime is virtually
nonexistent. The question is, what is he doing wandering around this
neighborhood? Why not simply return to his own safe, beautiful home?
We all have a safe haven we can return to at any moment. It's the
creative, lucid stillness of our own soul. Yet most of the time we
ignore it, preferring to inhabit our fears and desires, hopes and
regrets instead. Like Tom, we may have experienced the heavenly
peacefulness and piercing insights of deep meditation states, yet we
quickly turn from these states to the purgatory of our harried lives.
Why is that?
If I'm sitting quietly in the living room and my husband turns on the
TV, in spite of myself my attention shifts towards the flickering
images on the television screen, even if the sound is turned off. Our
senses are designed to attend outward, to pay attention to what's
happening around us, not within us. Our minds instinctively go where
the action is. As a race we humans would never have survived if we
hadn't learned to constantly focus outward, like my friend the
squirrel who continually needs to watch for the neighborhood cats,
dogs and other squirrels. In order to meditate-in order to find any
lasting peace at all-we have to recondition our brain to attend
inwardly, to turn off our outward-pointed senses and relax into our
inner nature.
Most of our lives we only travel inward when we daydream. The outer
sense world is recreated in our mind, though usually in a vastly
improved version. We may have a much more thrilling romantic partner
in our fantasies, a more prestigious job, or exciting adventures we'd
never dare undertake in real life. When we meditate however, we not
only must release our tense grip on the external world, we also have
to let go of the inner visual field of our fantasy world. We even need
to tune out the inner broadcast of nonstop mental chatter that's
always blaring in our mind. Deep meditative states lie beyond words
and images, in the silent, formless experience of vivid inner clarity.
There's no action at all in that innermost realm, which is why many
beginners find meditation practice intensely boring. There's nothing
to entertain, engage or enrage them there. And yet this inner world is
the ultimate source of all our actions. The buddhi lies here, that
faculty we could call "the decider," which yoga masters called the
antakarana, the "inner doer." It evaluates our current circumstances
and determines how to respond.
Beyond this lies the purusha or witnessing awareness that calmly
observes the universe around us. People sometimes experience the inner
witness particularly vividly during an emergency. I remember the
afternoon my Buick skidded on ice and drove off a winding mountain
road into a tree. It all happened so fast there was no time to panic.
I found myself calmly observing the entire event, knowing full well I
might be killed yet experiencing no pain or fear. Time passed in slow
motion and everything-including the windshield in front of me as it
splintered into hundreds of pieces-seemed perfect and beautiful.
That serene inner witness is always within us, at the very root of our
waking, dreaming and even deep sleep states. According to the yoga
tradition, it's not merely a brain state; in fact it's not even a
mental state. This concentrated point of pure consciousness is our
actual immortal soul, the part of us that transcends death and travels
from one incarnation to another over the centuries. Paradoxically, it
doesn't exist in time and space as the mind does, but abides in the
eternal present and never really travels anywhere at all.
When we shift our awareness back inward to the source of our
consciousness, we experience this inner Self intensely vividly. Though
it never "does" anything-it just is what it is-in some sense
everything happens from it, as if our entire experience of the inner
and outer worlds pours out of it. Many of us meditators have noticed
that while sitting silently focused on this inner dweller, out of the
blue we suddenly experience startling and profound insights. Answers
to problems we've pondered for years flash in the field of our
awareness. Songs, poems, scientific revelations, and personal
breakthroughs all blink into existence spontaneously and fully-formed.
Doing nothing, the inner Self does everything. It is the eternal
fountain of creative, intuitive, and healing power.
According to yoga philosophy, our true home is this realm of spirit,
lying beyond space, time and causation. Yet we turn our backs on this
dimensionless dimension to re-engage in the drama of material
existence. Our senses and desires and unfinished business pull us back
to the physical world. It's as if we had a telescope that could focus
to infinity, but we use it to spy on our neighbors instead.
Some people find their way to this inner haven after a personal
crisis, or when they get older and feel the stealthy approach of
death. They develop an intense interest in inner life, and want to
become more familiar with the part of them that doesn't pass away with
the death of the body. Others begin to meditate because they've heard
about the many psychological and physiological benefits of spiritual
practice. As they spend more time in meditation they develop a taste
for the formless portion of their being. Yet all but the most advanced
adepts eventually leave that state to once again interact with the
physical world. The time they've spent bathing in pure consciousness,
connecting with the infinite resources of spirit, helps them to face
life with confidence and gives them access to intuitive guidance.
But what about people like Tom, who understand the value of meditative
states but can't resist the pull of the senses, emotions, and
intellect? At some level many people enjoy their disturbed or
turbulent feelings just as children enjoy frightening rides in an
amusement park. A lot of us are intensely identified with our mental
dramas-we believe they're not only what we experience but what we are.
How can a person like Tom gain stability in a calm meditative state
beyond the soap opera of his mental life?
The yogis of the Himalayas have offered humanity a plethora of
techniques called pratyahara to help us pull back from our senses,
feelings and thoughts into the interior castle of our souls. I
honestly thought my teacher Swami Rama was joking when he first taught
us very simple practices like diaphragmatic breathing and alternate
nostril breathing. He called them the very foundation of yoga
practice, but I couldn't believe something so easy and so overtly
physical could help carry us to higher states of consciousness. But
the yogis understand how to use the breath as a bridge between the
voluntary and involuntary nervous systems. By gently directing our
breath into a tranquil rhythm, we can nearly effortlessly calm both
body and mind, allowing the pure light of spirit to shine forth in our
awareness. Once I started applying these techniques I was astonished
at how effective they are. It was like turning off a noisy television
by hitting the remote control switch.
I advised Tom to take advantage of the tools yoga offers by mastering
these basic breathing techniques. He called me a few days ago to
report he can now stay focused during meditation for much longer
periods, and that he feels less anxious. Tom's finally spending less
time in the bad neighborhoods in his mind, and moving back toward his
true spiritual center. "It's like magic," he said.
But it's not magic. It's Yoga.
Linda Johnsen, M.S., is author of eight books on the yoga
tradition including "Lost Masters: Sages of Ancient Greece," and is
Contributing Editor to Yoga Plus magazine
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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 wellbeing.
AMI Home Center, 60 Garner Road, Averill Park
By appointment only.
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Top
PARIS--I arrived at Paris Charles de
Gaulle Airport the other night and was met by a driver sent by a
French friend. The driver was carrying a sign with my name on it,
but as I approached him I noticed that he was talking to himself
very animatedly. As I got closer, I realized he had one of those
Bluetooth wireless phones clipped to his ear and was deep in
conversation. I pointed at myself as the person he was supposed to
meet. He nodded and went on talking to whomever was on the other end
of his phone.
When my luggage arrived, I grabbed it and I followed, as he kept
talking on his phone. When we got into the car, I said, "Do you know
my hotel?" He said, "No." I showed him the address, and he went back
to talking on the phone.
After the car started to roll, I saw he had a movie playing on the
screen in the dashboard--on the flat panel that usually displays the
GPS road map. I noticed this because between his talking on the
phone and the movie, I could barely concentrate. I, alas, was in the
back seat trying to finish a column on my laptop. When I wrote all
that I could, I got out my iPod and listened to a Stevie Nicks
album, while he went on talking, driving and watching the movie.
After I arrived at my hotel, I reflected on our trip: The driver and
I had been together for an hour, and between the two of us we had
been doing six different things. He was driving, talking on his
phone and watching a video. I was riding, working on my laptop and
listening to my iPod.
There was only one thing we never did: talk to each other.
It's a pity. He probably had a lot to tell me. When I related all
this to my friend Alain Frachon, and editor at Le Monde, he quipped:
"I guess the era of foreign correspondents quoting taxi drivers is
over. The taxi driver is now too busy to give you a quote!"
Alain is right. You know the old story, "As my Parisian taxi driver
said to me about the French electionsŠ."Well you can forget about
reading columns starting what way anymore. My driver was too busy to
say hello, let alone opine on politics.
I relate all this because it illustrates something I've been feeling
more and more lately--that technology is dividing us as much as
uniting us. Yes, technology can make the far feel near. But it can
also make the near feel very far. For all I know my driver was
talking to his parents. How wonderful! But that meant the two of us
wouldn't talk at all. And we were sitting two feet from each other.
When I shared this story with Linda Stone, the technologist who once
labeled the disease of the Internet age "continuous partial
attention"--two people doing six things, devoting only partial
attention to each one--she remarked: "We're so accessible, we're
inaccessible. We can't find the off switch on our devices or
ourselves". We want to wear an iPod as much to listen to our own
playlists as to block out the rest of the world and protect
ourselves from all that noise. We are everywhere - except where we
actually are physically."
A month ago, I was in San Francisco and went for a walk. I was
standing at an intersection waiting to cross the street when a man
jogging and wearing his iPod came up next to me. As soon as the
light turned green he sprinted into the crosswalk. But a female
driver running a yellow light almost hit him before she hit the
brakes. The woman was holding a cellphone to her right ear and
driving with her left hand. I thought to myself, I've just witnessed
the first post-modern local news story, and I crafted the lead in my
head: "A woman driving her car while speaking on her cellphone ran
over a man jogging across the street while listening to his iPod.
See page 6."
Hey, I love having lots of contacts and easy connectivity, but in an
age when so many people you know--and even more you don 't know--can
contact you by e-mail or cellphone, I'm finding this age of
interruption overwhelming. I was much smarter when I could do only
one thing at a time. I know I'm not alone.
A few weeks ago, I was trying to find my friend Yaron Ezrahi in
Jerusalem. I kept calling his cellphone and got no answer. I
eventually found him at home. "Yaron, what's wrong with your
cellphone?" I asked.
"It was stolen a few months ago," he answered. He decided not to
replace it because its ringing was constantly breaking his
concentration. "Since then, the first thing I do every morning is
thank the thief and wish him a long life."
Copyright ©2006 by The New York Times
Co. Reprinted with permission.
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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. |
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The Heart
and Science of Yoga™
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QUESTION:
One of my most challenging issues in meditation is dealing with too
many thoughts. It seems as though my mind just can't slow down. Any
suggestions?
LEONARD: As you slowly, lovingly and attentively listen to the
sacred sound of the mantra, competitive thoughts may come forward from
the unconscious. If attractive enough, a single thought can give rise
to many successive thoughts--creating a veritable chain reaction. If
that occurs, do not try to reconstruct the chain of thoughts that
brought you to your most recent thought. Simply acknowledge that the
thought in your awareness right now is not the mantra. Remember, as
the highest precept of yoga science, ahimsa requires your response to
be non-injurious. Therefore, respectfully witness and honor the
thought. Then, gently and willingly withdraw your attention and offer
the distraction back to the Origin from which it has come--returning
your attention to the mantra. Do not resist any competing thought,
image or sound by pushing it away. Do not dismiss it in frustration.
Do not become angry and do not criticize yourself for being a poor
meditator. Such reactions are not kind and they are not in harmony
with ahimsa. Instead, remain patiently centered in the Eternal Witness
during meditation and you will increasingly exhibit vairagya
(detachment). When you discover that you're not listening to your
mantra, calmly acknowledge that it's simply not appropriate to give
attention to the contending thought. If the thought is important,
trust it to reappear later, when you can address it. Meanwhile, your
mind can and will slow down.
 
Quotes on: WAR and PEACE
Our task is not to fix the blame for the past, but to fix the course
for the future.
John F. Kennedy
There can never be peace between nations until there is first known
that true peace
which . . . is within the souls of men.
Black Elk
Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.
Compassionate Buddha
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong;
and multiplies, instead of indemnifying losses.
Thomas Jefferson
Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek,
but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
Martin Luther King
When non-violence in speech, thought and action is established,
one's aggressive nature is relinquished
and others abandon hostility in one's presence.
Patanjali
Everybody today seems to be in such a rush.
Children have very little time for their parents
and parents have very little time for each other.
In the home begins the disruption of the peace of the world.
Mother Teresa
The poor long for riches, the rich long for heaven,
but the wise long for a state of tranquility.
Swami Rama of the Himalayas
All human evil comes from this: a man's being unable to sit still in
a room.
Blaise Pascal
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing
himself.
Leo Tolstoy
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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 2007
DEC 11 - JAN 22:
EASY-GENTLE YOGA
Kathleen Fisk, Monday Nights, 6:30 - 8:00 PM, (6 weeks)
JAN 18:
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE
AMI Meditation: The Heart and Science of Yoga
Thurs. Night, 6:30 - 7:30 PM, Carl Patka & Mary Holloway
JAN 29 - MAR 5:
EASY-GENTLE YOGA
Kathleen Fisk, Monday Nights, 6:30 - 8:00 PM, (6 weeks)
JAN 30 - MAR 6:
AMI MEDITATION
"The Heart and Science of Yoga," 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Tuesday Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, (6 weeks)
with AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter
FEBRUARY 2007
FEB 5 - MAR 12:
BHAGAVAD
GITA STUDY
Monday Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, Chapters 9 and 10
with Leonard and Jenness Perlmutter (6 weeks)
FEB 7 - 28:
YOGA
DIET
Wednesday Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, (4 weeks)
FEB 9:
DINNER, MOVIE & SATSANG
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
Friday Night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM
FEB 22:
INTRODUCTORY
LECTURE
American Meditation: The Heart and Science of Yoga
Thurs. Night, 6:30 - 7:30 PM, Carl Patka & Mary Holloway
FEB 23:
DINNER, MOVIE & SATSANG
The Da Vinci Code - Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou
Friday Night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM
FEB 24:
BREATH IS LIFE
The Key to a Healthy Body and Mind
Saturday Afternoon, 1:00 - 4:00 PM, Leonard Perlmutter
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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 call us with 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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