www.americanmeditation.org 

May - June 2005 Vol. 8 No. 4 

The Heart and Science of Yoga ™


 

"Rothko's Lilacs," oil painting on mahogany panel, © Jenness Cortez Perlmutter

Meditation • Easy-Gentle Yoga • Retreats • Calendar


YOGA SCIENCE   IN BRIEF


Ideas for Holistic Living

Here are a few inspiring thoughts for your spiritual practice from Body + Soul magazine. 1. Happiness is a choice--one you can make today and every day. 2. Stay connected to the natural world. It will feed your soul. 3. Good health isn't a gift; it's a habit you can cultivate. 4. Think more about what you should eat, and less about what you shouldn't. 5. What you pay attention to will thrive. 6. A healthy, fit body is not enough--true fitness engages mind and body. 7. Listen to your intuition; it's rarely wrong. 8. Laugh at yourself. You're funny. 9. Nurture your spirit. It's the real source of your strength. 10. It's never too late to take the first step toward your aspirations.

 

Yoga and Meditation in Iraq

The Art of Living Foundation is bringing yoga, meditation and breathing exercises to Iraq--to soothe a people rattled by war and violence. About 15 volunteers, including doctors, are currently offering Ayurvedic medicine, meditation and yoga techniques to ease the strain on Iraqis.

The Effects of Influenza

The Washington Post reports that religious, business and political leaders are avoiding the traditional handshake. Heightened awareness of health issues--like the spread of influenza--has transformed the formerly friendly gesture of shaking hands into a potentially life-imperiling event to be avoided. But if people are no longer shaking hands, what will replace the standard greeting? One alternative already being used is the Hindu and yogic namaste greeting: a slight bow with hands in a prayer position near the heart. It's simple, elegant and touchless. In Sanskrit, the word namaste means "I pray to the Divinity in you."

 

Harvard Medical School est. 1972

New Harvard Study

According to WebMD, research (conducted by Dr. David Eisenberg and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School) has recently concluded that meditation is the most beneficial of therapeutic alternatives. And it's no wonder, when you consider the growing body of medical evidence. Focusing the mind continuously on one thought, phrase or prayer for a period of time naturally leads to a "relaxation response," changes in the body that are deeply restorative and which accelerate the healing process. These beneficial changes include reductions in heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption, perspiration and muscle tension, as well as an improvement in immune function.

Science and Spirituality

Dr. Charles Townes, the physicist who co-invented the laser, has been named this year's recipient of the Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities. According to Dr. Townes, "Science and religion are both universal, and basically very similar. In fact, their differences are largely superficial. If we look at the real nature of each, the two become almost indistinguishable."

 

The Pope Writes Like a Yogi

In 1960, Cardinal Wojtyla (Pope John Paul the Great) wrote a book entitled Love and Responsibility--some of which reads like a primer on tantra, the aspect of yoga science that describes the sacred nature of human sexual relationships. The future Pope's analysis of lovemaking claims that the sexual urge can become a profound medium for union with the Divine. In the final chapter of the book, Wojtyla writes that selfless lovemaking, which leads to sexual climax, facilitates the experience of Christ-consciousness. "I will have no prudery," the Pope has said, "I'm dealing with God's creation."

Cornell Dean Guided by Ahimsa

Ahimsa is the highest principle of yoga science. It is the same as the Golden  Rule. Although he never uses the Sanskrit word ahimsa (meaning non-injury, non-harming), W. Kent Fuchs, Dean of Cornell University College of Engineering, is clearly a proponent of the yogic principle. In the current issue of Science & Theology News, Dean Fuchs admits that he "works to evaluate all engineering decisions in light of how they will impact people--'love your neighbor as yourself'--and how they conform to the moral code in the Bible--to 'love the Lord.'"

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Desire Determines Destiny

Increase your reserves of
energy, will power and creativity
by sacrificing habitual desires

by Leonard and Jenness Perlmutter

The Upanishads have been called the oldest and purest source of spiritual wisdom known to humanity. These ancient scriptures share profound revelations on the nature of the eternal Supreme Reality--wisdom that the great sages realized in the depths of their meditation. These same sages promise that when an earnest spiritual seeker manifests this wisdom in his or her own life, peace, happiness, creativity and freedom from fear become constant companions.

The word Upanishad comes from the Sanskrit, "to sit down near" the feet of the Guru in order to receive an important teaching. One of the most well known and practical Upanishads (Brihadaranyaka) states, "You are your deepest driving desire. As your deepest
driving desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny."

When we reflect on these straightforward words, we marvel at the genius behind them. Modern science has produced many tools that enhance the quality of life, but even the most brilliant scientists have not suspected this subtle law of physics: real creative power comes from desire.

The sages of the Upanishads explain that if we can find a way to harness the most powerful desires in the depths of our consciousness, we will live a life that is an inspiring and rewarding work of art--one that far surpasses our present capacity to imagine. Mahatma Gandhi, for instance, always claimed to be just an average man of less than average ability, yet he attained greatness. Furthermore, there was no doubt in his mind that any person could achieve the equal of what he did--if only he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same determination. "Strength," Gandhi insisted, "does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."

When we look at our modern culture with the detachment and objectivity of a scientist, we can see just the opposite belief at work. There's an unspoken, pervasive assumption that cultivating many desires for objects and relationships will bring us the happiness and the fulfillment we seek in life.

Process for Transforming the Power of Desire

1. Center yourself in the Eternal Witness within and welcome, acknowledge and honor the thought, desire or emotion.
2. Consult the buddhi (conscience) to determine whether the thought, desire, or emotion represents the perennial joy of shreya or passing pleasure of preya.
3. If the thought, desire or emotion is shreya, serve it in thought, word or deed.
4. If the thought, desire or emotion is preya, after acknowledging, welcoming and honoring it, willingly and consciously surrender it back to the Origin from which it has come. Do this in whatever way is natural and comfortable for you.

          By the willing and conscious removal of your attention from the preya, the inherent contractive and debilitating power of the preya is automatically transformed into strategic reserves of energy, will power and consciousness that can be used to fulfill any other desire or relationship.

The spiritual life requires gentle, conscious opposition to this modern conditioning. In the practice of meditation and yoga science we learn to unify the power of our many, various desires so that they serve our deepest driving desire. By recognizing that desire is the fuel for all human action, the sages conceived a scientific formula that might well be called the spiritual equivalent of Einstein's E=MC2. The formula they discerned was: D = E + W + C.

Every DESIRE is composed of three basic components: Energy, Will power and Creativity (consciousness). When you follow your intuitive wisdom and willingly surrender your attachment to habit, you really give up nothing of value. The intrinsic power of the particular desire is not lost. Instead, your voluntary act of renunciation and sacrifice automatically transforms the power of that desire into strategic reserves of energy, will and creativity. Conversely, when you go against the advice of your intuitive wisdom, your energy, will power and creativity are diminished.

As the modern day sage Eknath Easwaran insightfully observed, the major crisis of our culture today is not one of IQ--intelligence quotient. Rather, the problem we face individually and collectively is one of WQ--will quotient. In twenty-first century America countless people possess the intellectual capacity to make brilliant decisions, but because they are habituated to serving a vast array of desires, their reserves of will power have become bankrupt. Without sufficient will power to exercise discrimination, their reserves of energy and creativity are similarly diminished. The more these reserves are depleted, the more pervasive and severe the tension, stress, anxiety and pain become.

As in banking, our personal balance sheet always reflects whether deposits or withdrawals have been made. The choice of solvency or bankruptcy is up to each individual.

During the early days of our sadhana, Jenness had lingering doubts about the mechanism that transforms the power of desire into creativity, will power and energy. Could it really be so simple? As a yoga scientist, she decided to set up an experiment to determine if, by consciously giving up some small habitual indulgence, the energy of that habit could be transmuted into a creative resource in her life.

Jenness had developed the pleasant habit of enjoying a cup of hot tea with sugar and milk every morning. After consulting the buddhi regarding the effects of the sugar, caffeine and irritating tannins, she chose this as her test of the yogic formula D = E + W + C. She renounced her attachment to the gratifying tea ritual, began substituting the shreya of plain hot water and patiently watched for evidence of transformation.

Weeks later, she had a conversation with a close relative who possessed precise knowledge of how to push her emotional buttons and always enjoyed doing so. During this particular exchange, however, Jenness suddenly found herself relaxed and loving, skillfully evading the usual pitfalls and frustrations. The meeting was actually quite pleasant and enjoyable, despite the fact that many sensitive issues were discussed.

She quickly realized how the conversation had become so unexpectedly satisfying. Remembering her attachment to the tea ritual she had consciously renounced, Jenness experienced an epiphany. "Aha," she humbly mused to herself, "now I know the transformative power of sacrifice through my own experience."

Consciously releasing the power tied up within small desires increases your energy, will power and creativity--in the ways and at the times you most need help. The simple yet courageous act of letting go automatically activates a mechanism that transforms the mental energy of attachment.

Yoga science urges you to recognize that you always have choices, and that there are definite and specific consequences for each and every action. The sages advise you to serve your own intuitive wisdom moment by moment. Only then will life become truly meaningful, creative and fulfilling.

IN SERVICE -- WITH LOVE
LEONARD AND JENNESS PERLMUTTER

 

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Click here to read what others are saying about:
The Heart and Science of Yoga!

By philosopher, teacher and author Leonard Perlmutter
Publication date: September 2005

click here for more information

 

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July 21: Guru Purnima Celebration
Thursday evening, 8-10 PM

We cordially invite all seekers of truth on the path of fire and light to join us on the evening of the July 21st full moon to celebrate and rejoice in the wisdom and blessings of the sages. Guru Purnima is the occasion when students revisit their teachers to rejuvenate their sadhana (spiritual practice) and to receive inspiration and further instruction on their spiritual journey.


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Two Special Seminars

 

The Flowering of Consciousness

Eckhart Tolle Video Lecture


In this talk, the second of two called The Flowering of Consciousness, you will come face to face with Eckhart Tolle for a transformational meeting with this respected teacher and author. In clear, simple language, Tolle explains the process of entering a "miraculous" state of presence that is always available to us. (Part I was shown earlier this year)

AMI Home Center
60 Garner Road, Averill Park
June 9, Thursday Evening, 7:00 - 9:00pm

Registration Fee: $15

 

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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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Forward from The Heart and Science of Yoga

By Linda Johnsen

Linda resides in Sonoma, California

and is the author of:

 

A Thousand Suns

Meditation Is Boring?

The Living Goddess

It wasn't what I'd expected. I'd spoken at many yoga centers before; they were often large, empty rooms where students could unroll their hatha mats and launch into a series of stretches and twists imported from India. When I'd show up to lecture, folding chairs would materialize from hidden closets and an audience would listlessly filter in from the dirty city streets.

The American Meditation Institute, it turned out, was more like a beautiful estate than a yoga business. The grounds were magnificent, colored with an astonishing array of flowers and flowering shrubs. A sparkling pond brimming with minnows and a small, man-made waterfall interrupted the rolling green lawn. This oasis twenty minutes outside Albany, New York was a paradise of tranquility and fragrant blossoms.

The AMI building was friendly and clean, scented with the inviting aroma of vegetarian cooking and filled with co-founder Jenness Cortez Perlmutter's paintings of country landscapes, scenes from Indian mythology and especially--everywhere--horses. Jenness herself was tall and lean, exuding both warmth and intelligence. Her husband and fellow AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter had a thick beard that made him look like an Indian baba who'd just come down out of the Himalayas after years of meditation. He appeared very serious but the moment he began to speak, not only his vast knowledge of the world's mystical traditions but also his totally disarming sense of humor were immediately evident.

I didn't for a moment feel I was visiting a yoga "institute." Len and Jen made all of us at the seminar feel like family. Their emphasis on yoga as a preeminently practical form of spiritual discipline kept their teaching very real, grounded and relevant to their students' everyday lives.

The Perlmutters are students of Swami Rama of the Himalayas, the yogi who revolutionized our understanding of human physiology back in the 1970s. Before Swami Rama allowed researchers at the Menninger Institute in Topeka, Kansas to hook him up to their EEGs, EKGs and temperature monitors, Western scientists had never believed India's yogis could do what the Indians always claimed they could, controlling every component of their physical bodies to the extent that they could appear virtually lifeless according to the electronic printouts, yet remain fully conscious. The swami repeatedly demonstrated full mastery of his autonomic nervous system, which until then most Western doctors had assumed was impossible.

I studied with Swami Rama for some years when he founded a graduate program in Eastern Studies here in the United States in the 1980s. Swamiji complained that the experiments the researchers conducted at Menninger were comparatively trivial. The real value of yoga lay not so much in stopping one's heartbeat or regulating the temperature in individual cells in his body (skills he actually demonstrated there) but in its deep and transforming effect on human consciousness. That, unfortunately, the scientists didn't know how to measure.

Swami Rama left his body permanently in November, 1996. He died like a yogi, having announced the exact moment of his departure earlier that day. He sat up in a yoga posture and, in full consciousness, vacated the body we'd come to love so well. He taught us how to live and, in his final moments, showed us how to die.

Swami Rama's work lives on through the efforts of his students. Swamiji strongly encouraged the Perlmutters to teach. His blessings have transformed their originally modest home into one of the finest yoga centers in North America. The  Heart and Science of Yoga is the story of yoga as they live it, in the vibrant tradition of Swami Rama of the Himalayas.

Linda Johnsen
 Sonoma, California

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The Heart
 and Science of Yoga™

 

QUESTION: Sometimes I feel as though I don't have the capacity to deal successfully with circumstances and relationships. Can my yoga practice offer any help?

LEONARD: In modern life you need energy, will power and creativity to fulfill your many duties and responsibilities, but where will these come from? Yoga science teaches that the creative energy you need is always available in the form of your thoughts, desires and emotions. A ready supply of power arises within you daily in the form of fear, anger and greed. If you do not expend this power kinetically in the present moment, you can consciously conserve and transform it for use at another time. Yoga science offers a systematic, practical method for conserving and transforming energy. It's very simple, and all it takes is knowing how to direct your attention appropriately, based on the intuitive wisdom you already possess.


QUESTION: That sounds almost too good to be true. Can my negative emotions really be made into a positive force?

LEONARD: Yes. Unequivocally. Your own attention--what you choose to give your attention to and what you choose to remove your attention from--is the engine of transformation. You already have all the necessary equipment. All you need is to be awake and to do what your conscience (buddhi) advises. If you're a person who worries a great deal, is often angered by situations and relationships, or is besieged by desires or expectations, it means that you are a very wealthy individual. Your fears, anger and self-centered desires represent a powerful natural resource. Their latent power can bring you the health, happiness, creativity, productivity and loving, nurturing relationships you seek--if you are willing to make use of your attention as an internal mechanism for transformation. Imagine for a moment that you've discovered a vast deposit of gold ore in your backyard. Without employing a mining operation and processing plant, you'd never benefit from your potential wealth. Similarly, without a philosophy of life that can turn your debilitating habits (preyas) into usable energy, will power and creativity, you will never realize your greatest potential.

QUESTION: But isn't it a form of repression to say no to desires?

LEONARD: Possibly, but in yoga science you're always asked to say yes, not no. Here's a simple practice to experience first-hand what I mean. Sit quietly in a chair with your eyes closed. Bring your attention into the center of your chest and silently repeat the word "yes" ten times, making mental note of your emotional response. Then, with your attention still centered in the chest, repeat the word "no" ten times and evaluate the difference between the two experiences. Most people find that giving attention to "yes" has an expansive, optimistic and liberating quality, while "no" feels heavy, contractive and burdensome. Whenever you have a choice to make between the passing pleasure of preya and the perennial joy of shreya, just say "yes" to the Divine counsel of your conscience (buddhi) and your thoughts, words and deeds will always lead you for your highest and greatest good. The ego is likely to suggest that if you say "no" to an appealing preya you'll be denying yourself a genuine treat. So, don't say "no." Rather, view your sacrifice of preya as saying "yes" to the will of the Divine Reality. Saying "yes" to both serving the shreya and to surrendering the preya means never being deprived of anything worthwhile as you're led for your highest and greatest good.

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MAY 2005

MAY 5: Dr. James Austin, "Zen and the Brain," $25
Thursday Night: 6:30-8:30 PM * AMI Home Center, Averill Park

May 13: dinner, movie, satsang $15 "Amadeus"
Friday Night: 5:30 - 10:00 PM. See page 6 for details.

May 26: INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION $15
Thursday Night: 6:30 - 7:30 PM, AMI Home Center, Averill Park

SUNDAY MORNING Meditation & Satsang
Join Leonard and Jenness every Sunday 9:30-11:00 AM. Love donations accepted

 

JUNE 2005

JUNE 6 - JULY 18: American Meditation $275 (6 weeks)
Monday Nights: 6:30-8:30 PM * Fallon Wellness Center, Latham

JUNE 9: ECKHART TOLLE Video Lecture $15
Thursday Night: 7:00-9:00 PM * AMI Home Center, Averill Park

JUNE 13 - JULY 25: Easy-Gentle Hatha Yoga $90 (6 weeks)
Monday Nights: 6:30-8:00 PM * Kathleen Fisk * AMI Home Center

JUNE 14 - JULY 19: American Meditation $275 (6 weeks)
Tuesday Nights: 6:30-8:30 PM * AMI Home Center, Averill Park

JUNE 17: Dinner, Movie, Satsang $15 "The Yogis of Tibet"
Friday Night: 5:30 - 10:00 PM. See page 6 for details.

JUNE 23: INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION $15
Thursday Night: 6:30 - 7:30 PM, AMI Home Center, Averill Park

 

click here to find out more!

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SAGES SPEAK


The more one yields to desire, the more insatiable it will become.
Mahabharata

Want is a growing giant whom the coat of have was never large enough to cover.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The lust for comfort is a stealthy thing that enters the house as a guest,
then becomes a host, and then a master.
Khalil Gibran

Desire blinds us like the pickpocket who can see only the saint's pockets.
Jack Kornfield

Our passions are like compulsive fits, which though they make us stronger for a time,
leave us weaker ever after.
Jonathan Swift

There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire.
And the other is to get it.
George Bernard Shaw

Every desire bears its death in its very gratification. Curiosity languishes under repeated stimulants, and novelties cease to excite surprise, until at length we do not even wonder at a miracle.
Washington Irving

Man is greater than all the objects of his desire.
Rabindranath Tagore

A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.
Thomas Merton

I have made it my habit to alter my desires rather than the order of the world.
Rene Descartes

The thirst of desire is never filled, nor fully satisfied.
Cicero

The soul--by reason of desire--had become the principal accomplice in her own captivity. Desires are only the suggestion that something is lacking. Those who have the greatest desires are in a worse condition than those who have none or very slight ones.
Plato

Desire grows in strength if you follow it, but dies if you turn from it and abstain. Desire is slavery. Renunciation is freedom.
Hermes

All suffering is born of desire. Give up selfish desire and you will not know pain. Only contentment can make you happy. Desires fulfilled breed more desires.
Nisargadatta Maharaj

A full investigation into truth will extinguish your self-willed desires at once, and the extinction of these desires will immediately restore your mind to rest
Yoga Vasishta

When all self-willed desires that surge in the heart are renounced, the mortal becomes immortal.
Upanishads

There is no calamity greater than lavish desires.
Lao-tzu

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Join us for Friday Night

Dinner
Movie
Satsang

5:30 - 10 PM

Yoga Science in the Movies

AMI will present a series of entertaining and thought-provoking films and documentaries reflecting the practical philosophy of yoga science. Each Friday night program will begin at 5:30 PM with a gourmet vegetarian dinner followed by a movie. After the video will be a discussion (satsang) on how yoga philosophy can help uncomplicate our lives. A group meditation will conclude the evening. $15 per person (dinner & complementary film).

Amadeus ·  May 13 · F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce

This is a sumptuous epic celebrating the life and music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Set in 17th-century Vienna, court composer Antonio Salieri is maddened with jealousy discovering that the musical talent he longs for has been given to obnoxious and inappropriate Mozart. Throughout the movie, he plots to destroy Mozart by any means necessary.

 

The Yogis of Tibet · June 17 · Independent Documentary Film

An enlightening portrait of how yoga science is practiced through the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Yogis discuss teachings passed down through the generations about meditation, controlling the mind, compassion and rising above the physical plane of existence.


$15 per person
(dinner & complementary film) Reservations are Required!

Reservations must be received no later than
the Thursday before the program you plan to attend.

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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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