Concentration Exercise: Mindfulness in Motion

Move between two simple yoga poses (poses 3 & 4 of the classic Sun Salutation sequence):

Urdhva Hastasana – standing with your arms extended overhead; palms touching; eyes forward

AND

Uttanasana – (standing forward bend pictured) keeping your feet stationary, lean forward from the hips; legs straight; opposite elbows clasped

BEGIN

Slowly, mindfully, relaxed, almost rhythmically move between the two poses without tension, strain or stress. Aim for a count of 24-36 going down and coming back up.

Moving from Urdhva Hastasana into Uttanasana, move and release tension as you exhale:

[pro tip: synchronize the physical, energetic and cerebral aspects of the experience: be mindful of what you’re doing, feeling and thinking]

1. Slowly, release your fingers, hands, forearms, and upper arms downward [hands pass in front of your face];

2. Keeping your legs straight, slowly curl down ONLY AS FAR AS IT’S COMFORTABLE: 😉

Drop the crown of your head / tuck your chin;
Release your neck;
Release your shoulders;
Release your upper back;
Release your mid-back;
Release your lower back;

3. Hold opposite elbows;

4. Relax and breathe!

ROLL BACK UP JUST AS MINDFULLY!!

Moving from Uttanasana back into Urdhva Hastasana:

1. Unclasp your elbows;

2. Bend your knees;

3. Tuck [drop] your tailbone as you press your feet into the floor and push down to stand up;

4. Keep tucking your tailbone! Feel the individual vertebrae in your spine move as you roll up;

5. Simultaneously, pull your navel to your spine with the same level of attention – lifting your center of gravity upward;

6. Once your torso is upright (arms hanging at your sides) extend your arms out to your sides and slowly raise them overhead – consciously lifting your ribcage off your stomach!

7. Lengthen the back of your neck as you visualize being lifted by the crown of your head;

8. Extend thru your fingertips; palms touching; eyes forward;

9. Soften and hold the pose – no impediments to energy flow – synch action, sensation, and visualization – AND SMILE!

Shake it off & repeat as desired!

When you’ve had enough, stand and twist slowly from side to side for a minute – allow the twist to gently swing your arms.

Tip: only move what needs to!

Blessings, Allan ❤️😊🕉

December 10, 2018

Trading Privilege for Faith

I used to have an insanely lucrative job – and I was miserable.

Three years later, at 61, I’m searching through online ads for yoga instructors, it’s far from obvious we’ll be able to keep the house, vacations are a distant memory, our cupboards and clothes reflect my long-term unemployed status – and I’m happy. [Though admittedly, my joy and bliss isn’t always shared by those I love.]

The greatest irony in all this is that I have something priceless – that for the life of me, I can’t give away let alone sell. No matter how hard I try, trying to get someone else to see through my eyes isn’t possible – says my TCM master. Wish he’d told me that three years ago!

It’s beyond frustrating. I literally see the same thing others do, but from an entirely different paradigm – through rose-colored glasses if you will – because I see the miracle behind what I’m looking at.

Aside from the fact that without consciousness we’d have no idea what our body and mind were doing (!), consider that literally everything that has ever happened since the beginning of time, had to happen EXACTLY as it did in order for this moment to manifest. Ask a statistician what those odds are!

Every dinosaur fart? Every musket shot? Every love letter? Every song? Every death? Yeah.

Life is miraculous. Appreciate the ride, because in your current form you only go around once. ❤️

What I have that can’t be gifted or sold is the realization of the world of difference between my thoughts (evidence of my mind), and my awareness OF those thoughts (evidence of my indomitable, divine consciousness – my awareness – my soul – my spirit – my essence). 🙏

Patanjali’s Raja Yoga is a path to faith….

….and FAITH engenders serenity, courage and wisdom to overcome our worst intangible desires and fears. 🕉

God bless, Allan❤️🙏🕉

November 26, 2018

Where does lasting happiness come from? From others?

Which resonates more with you: “No man is an island.” or “We’re all alone.”

The two seemingly contradicting yogic expressions are essentially two sides of a coin.

Experience both:

“No man is an island.”

Don’t want to feel like an island? Contemplate your surroundings. Let’s assume you’re sitting in a cafe waiting for a friend. How many people have contributed to this moment in your life?

The answer is millions. Doubtful? Start by contemplating the people involved in the manufacturing, distribution and sale of the clothes you’re wearing, whatever you’re sitting on, and whatever you’re reading this on – add the planning and construction of whatever building or transportation you’re in. You get the idea.

If literally everything that’s ever happened since the dawn of time hadn’t happened exactly as it did, you wouldn’t be reading this.

That’s collective karma: the breath-by-breath, second-by-second explanation of evolution: infinite cause & effect.

Bottom line: our actions affect the lives of countless others.

“We’re all alone.”

Yet, as Amma says, “We’re all alone.”

I really dislike that expression, but it’s true in the sense that no one in all of eternity will ever know our deepest most personal thoughts and emotions – even if we write them all down like it was our job!!

Consider your most intimate relationships. You can pour your heart out to your partner for days – and all they’ll ever experience is a reflection of what’s between your ears and in your heart.

True happiness? Bliss?

So where does true lasting internal peace come from?

1. From the inside-out:

Peaceful, quiet, calm, silent, inner stillness is a gift we give ourselves.

While we can’t live blissfully in a semi- or un-conscious state of mind indefinitely, we each have the ability [arguably, the responsibility] to take our bodies and minds “offline” – to rest, restore and recharge – to take care of ourselves.

2. From the outside-in:

Each of us is part of a miraculous, perpetually-evolving, living mosaic – which is playing out on a revolving, molten rock hurtling through space! Everything other than our awareness changes every second!!

Recognizing that nothing tangible can be intangibly fulfilling, and that nothing temporal is ever-lasting – and realizing our every action has perpetual consequences (ripples if you will), we guard our thoughts which form words, which precipitate actions – in hopes of mitigating negative karmic consequences for ourselves and others.

It’s ironic

It’s counterintuitive, but Rotary and BNI got it right: “Service above self” and “Givers gain”, respectively. Helping others is all the reward we need.

As Saint Francis of Assisi said, “It’s in giving that we receive.”

Want to experience lasting bliss? Go deep inside. Tap into your own consciousness. Observe, contemplate and meditate on the nature of your own awareness. [Hints: It never changes. Yours is exactly like mine. Without it, you have zero awareness of your thoughts, feelings or actions. Consciousness <> conscience; the latter is a sub-conscious mental function. Consciousness doesn’t “do” anything; it just “is”. It’s essentially divine.]❤️😊🕉

November 14, 2018

A REBEL NOTION IN REDRESSING ADDICTION

I’m enthusiastic about drug prevention because I’ve been an addict my entire adult life.

Personal discipline is what keeps me alive.

Here’s a rebel proposal: maybe it’s time to raise the level of our national (global?) consciousness – for everyone’s sake.

Spirituality vs. Religion

There’s a difference between spirituality (the science of self-discovery) and religion.

Religion tends to be cultural and naturally divisive to the extent different groups of people hold different views of an external divinity.

Spirituality is universally applicable yet individually practiced; it’s a deeply personal, internal quest for true self-acceptance and bliss.

Getting the message out

Like Rotary with its broad, flexible local footprint, our national school system is ideally positioned to efficiently get the word out. Perhaps some version of the notes below could be included in school curriculums nationally.

How and by whom the information is communicated isn’t important. The important part is constant practice – which both requires and fosters personal discipline.

There’s no prohibition on government support of Yoga, QiGong and/or Tai Chi, as there is with religion. These Asian disciplines are experiential: arguing we’re not aware of our own thoughts would be pretty silly.

The Message

This is the short version of the science behind the ancient practice of meditation or mind-control. This is “Classical”, “Raja”, or “Patanjalian” yoga.

In spiritual terms, humans have the capacity to virtually experience our own essence. To do that, yogis meditate or train our minds. Obviously, there are practical physical and mental benefits achieved en route! As we’re fond of saying, “It’s about the journey.”

We’re each born with three invisible parts: our conscious mind, sub-conscious mind, and consciousness.

1. Conscious mind:

Our conscious mind is evidenced by our thoughts, including the voice in our head; thus, it’s the aspect of our mind we’re most familiar with.

Understanding how we think is critical to balancing or adjusting our thoughts.

Unlike our sub-conscious “doing” mind that naturally multitasks; our conscious “thinking” mind can only perform one task at a time. Skeptical? Try simultaneously counting and reciting the alphabet.

Our conscious mind thinks a perpetual stream of individual thoughts (e.g., the alphabet is a string of 26 sequential thoughts). While this aspect of our mind never stops thinking or recalling thoughts, we can pause it like putting a running car engine in neutral (i.e., to de-stress it)!

There are three types of original thought: correct, incorrect, and imaginary (i.e., we see something as it is, we see but misinterpret it, or we make it up).

There are five things that affect our thoughts. The most significant in terms of de-stressing is not realizing the distinction between our conscious mind and consciousness. Once the nature of the latter dawns, SO many then-seemingly irrelevant thoughts, fears, and desires fade away.

The other four things that directly affect our thoughts are ego, attachments, aversions, and fears.

2. Sub-conscious mind:

Our sub-conscious mind is evidenced by the things our body does without conscious input: primarily sense perception and physical movement. Anything an alligator can do, this aspect of our mind can orchestrate flawlessly – as long as our conscious mind doesn’t get in the way!

Our sub-conscious mind is task-oriented, trainable, and habitual. It “runs the ship”, and it’s where our memories are stored (“below decks”).

3. Consciousness:

Consciousness is the awareness OF what we’re thinking. The awareness OF our thoughts is as distinct from those thoughts, as our toes are from toothpaste. [If you’re holding a hammer, you’re not the hammer!]

Consciousness is a very real (yet entirely immutable and intangible) aspect of each of us. What we’re aware of changes constantly, but our awareness OF those constantly changing mental images remains static: it’s essentially eternal.

Balancing body, mind and energy

Ancient Asian disciplines like India’s yoga (where the above science comes from) and China’s medical qigong, and tai chi are personal practices which develop the body and mind in harmony with our energetic, temporal nature and universe – while recognizing and honoring our immutable, intangible essence.

Traditional Chinese martial disciplines (including qigong and tai chi) were developed and used to sustain the health and readiness of battle-weary field troops. How wonderfully ironic it would be if the same practices were used to prepare for peace rather than war thousands of years later! 😉

Spirituality

With steady practice over an extended period, the nature of one’s own consciousness dawns – fostering faith in the existence of God.

While faith doesn’t change us psychologically or physiologically, it emboldens us, providing strength, tenacity, and determination – arguably, prerequisites for success in any endeavor.

May you find something herein helpful in the battle against abusive, destructive, addictive behaviors, including drug addiction.

God bless, Allan Skip Dowds

November 2, 2018

A TCM Yogi’s 15-Minute Morning Meditation

Kneeling yoga-style (butt on my heels) on a hardwood floor – to keep my mind from drifting. 😉

My intention is to “listen to God” [atheists can substitute “deepen my intuition”].

1^st 5 mins. – focus on my “Jing” (the part of my body you could see if you were watching): my eyes are almost closed; I’m sitting upright, relaxed and still; breathing abdominally: rhythmically extending and retracting my stomach as I inhale and exhale.

2^nd 5 mins. – ADD my “Chi” (my internal energy systems; specifically, what I’m “doing” to regulate the flow of energy within): as I inhale I lift my tongue to the roof of my mouth just behind my front teeth, closing an energetic circuit. As I exhale I drop my tongue, and lift my pelvic floor (subtly, with no more physical effort than it takes to wink).

3^rd 5 mins. – ADD my “Shen” (mind; what I’m “thinking” – note: for the last 10 minutes I’ve focused entirely on what I was “doing”); with my eyes still almost closed, I imagine I’m sitting on a beach on a warm sunny day looking out at the horizon [the line that splits your field of vision in half: top sky, bottom water].

End with a heartfelt recitation of the The Lord’s Prayer – acknowledging, beseeching, and praising God.

Students of TCM will recognize the “4 abilities” incorporated above. 😉

Blessings, Skip

October 30, 2018

HEROIN OVERDOSE AT MARBLEHEAD HIGH?! WTF?!

After that sinks in, consider this: virtually EVERY teen has ready access to heroin.

Regardless of where the blame lies, it’s on all of us to fix this. I’m proudly waving the Rotary International (“Rotary”) flag on this one: they’re battling drug addiction as an epidemic like polio – and putting money and resources into it.

Rotary consists of 30,000+ local clubs (01945 has two). It’s perfectly positioned to provide educational and support services at the community level.

Everyone recognizes there’s a HUGE cost difference between proactive and reactive approaches to the crisis – but we need both to a) effectively address prevention (a combination of education, sticks and carrots), and b) compassionately treat and support those already addicted.

Fraffy’s old breakfast club is forming a committee to assess how best to utilize and coordinate Rotary’s vast resources with OUR local resources and needs.

Interested? Please respond hereto – or reach out directly to any Rotarian and ask about it.

Want to know my story?

I’m 60. I’m an addict. Always have been.

I made a decision one morning as a teen that drastically altered the course of my life. At the time, I assumed it was because I was chicken. Today, I’m not so sure.

A little background: I was a momma’s boy: her first & arguably favorite – arguably, because she never expressed her feelings. No I love you. No hugs. But disappoint her…..

The only time I felt worse was when I had my heart torn out by a young thing named Joanne. In the end, yours truly was “too slow” for Joanne! I was 14.

I was inconsolable for days. I consciously decided THAT was never happening again.

It’s no coincidence that shortly after saying goodbye to Joanne I said hello to alcohol – my gateway drug. A few years later, one morning during the summer between high school and college, I sat across the kitchen table at my best friend’s house while he demonstrated how to ‘boot up’: syringe in hand, belt around the arm above the elbow, etc.

I couldn’t do it.

I’ve always assumed it was fear of pissing off my mother (the woman was uncannily perceptive) – or my fear of needles. In hindsight, it may have been much more. Clearly, my need to find “perfect peace” hasn’t let up!!

It’s led me to become self-realized, though admittedly I’m still light years from being self-actualized!! For the curious: therein lies the difference between yoga & qigong. 😉

Self-realization and actualization can’t be taught or gifted. Each of us has to slug it out personally – and while battles are won and lost along the way, the war never ends. Bleak? Perhaps, but the terrific news is that we each have the inborn (God-given!) capacity to experience true bliss – and I won’t ever stop trying to help others find it in themselves.

Self-awareness (meditation) leads to self-appreciation and love (first, for oneself, then for all). It’s the only thing I’ve found in a lifetime of searching that’s stronger than my psychological and/or physiological addictions. [Again, I can’t speak about heroin addiction, though if anything will get someone over the hump, it’s true self-awareness.]

Blessings, Skip❤️😊🕉

Join me and my fellow Rotarians in standing up against addiction and its lifelong consequences.

Come express your views, concerns and opinions and listen to those who previously haven’t been touched by addiction, those who live with it, and community leaders and advocates for our town’s youth.

Let’s get the life-ending stuff off our streets. Let’s do it for our children and theirs.

btw – Rotary (by policy) is nonpolitical ❤️

October 7, 2018October 11, 2018

Show the Universe what Ya got!!

[Sorry Jack; it’s another bait-n-switch, a holdover from my days working for the man.]

My grandfather used to say a man only needs two pairs of pants. It’s probably how he saved enough money to put his great-grandchildren through college.

How did I hear it (over & over) as a kid?

“Real men don’t own more than two pairs of pants.”

Part of me will always believe it.

Pops spoke the same way Patanjali wrote: in mathematical extremes. While it’s literally impossible to be perfect, that was their mutual advice:

“BE YOUR BEST.”

The ultimate goal (they agreed) is to do so willingly & lovingly in service of something other than oneself. My first yoga teacher told me that about 15 years ago; it took 13 years more suffering to ‘click’ – and I was desperately trying to ‘get it’ the entire time! Yeah; it doesn’t come easy – and it can’t be gifted.

‘Getting it’ takes a combination of:

A.) a lot of beatings (mostly to the ego in my case; it’s taken me awhile just to see myself as the human equivalent of a rooster according to Traditional Chinese Medicine: a strutting, fancy-boy chicken with a big mouth! The EXACT opposite of what I want to be!! DAMN! I SOOOO want to be a hero: a dragon, maybe a black panther…

….and/or…..

B.) a leap of faith that no one can entice you into making – the odds are ludicrous. You make the bet because you HAVE to believe there’s something more – having no clue as to the reality of some mystical post-apocalyptic payoff.

Here’s the bet:

If you ALWAYS act as if you were setting the bar… to literally be the best, toughest, smartest – at whatever you do given whatever uniqueness God blessed you with – in honor of something other than yourself….

….at the end of the day you’ll be rewarded in a way you can’t currently comprehend.

Wanna roll the dice?

Be the person you were born to be: it’s the essence of who YOU are – uniquely, EVER. There will never be another you!!

Show the universe what ya got!!

Me, for one thing, I’m apparently a friggin’ rooster, so I crow a lot!

Shine a light for others – act in accordance with your own truth. Close your eyes. The answers are closer than you think.

Here’s today’s tip:

Remain aware of your three aspects:

the physical part the rest of the world literally sees (your chassis/hardware – pick your analogy);
the invisible, incredibly twisted, creative and clever part [or however yours functions] that ONLY you ‘see’ from the inside [which the rest of the world sees reflected in your words and actions](your engine/software); and
the energetic system that sustains and animates them (the gasoline/jet fuel/electricity).

And then there’s the Source of all this craziness:

YOU!

Want to meet yourself?

Close your eyes and contemplate the concept of infinity. Every day. Like your life depends on it.

God bless you, Skip

Happy to be of help if I may. Yoga & QiGong lessons. 😉

September 23, 2018

ARE YOU A ROOSTER OR A DRAGON?

You know those Chinese restaurant menus with the animal-years? There are 12 of them:

Cat
Dog
Dragon
Goat
Horse
Monkey
Ox
Pig
Rat
Rooster
Snake
Tiger

Here’s the totally bananas–crazy thing for this old white guy who was raised in Vermont:

it’s friggin’ REAL!

Does it change my life to “know” that?! Kinda – at least on one level: the fact that I am a readily identifiable “type” makes it easier/possible for traditional Chinese medical (TCM) doctors to help me – and more importantly, if I become a TCM “doctor” or Master, I can more readily and effectively help others. 😊

That’s a LOT more information than Patanjali’s outline of Raja Yoga covers. [I suspect much of the ancient Indian science has been lost over the millennia given TCM’s recognition of the significance of the contribution made by early Indian Masters.] 🙏

Almost three years ago I devoted whatever time I have left here to promoting and teaching Patanjali’s simple message: “part of you is divine – and you can prove it to yourself”.

It WILL change you.

While Patanjali documented a mental practice to achieve awareness of the world beyond the mundane, TCM took it to a place I can’t even see from where I am.

I’m truly humbled and awe-struck.

I will fulfill my commitment to Patanjali, but TCM, WOW.

Apparently, it takes about ten years (fewer with more devotion and commitment) to accumulate the experience to be a first degree “black belt” or Medical QiGong Master. I have a running start because I’ve devoted the last 15 years to Patanjali’s similar yet much simpler discipline.

Here’s one thing Patanjali didn’t tell me: according to TCM, which also looks at life on three levels (form, energy, mind):

I’m the human equivalent of a rooster: in form, energetically, and sub-consciously.

[Never mind the fact that I’ve always thought of myself as a dragon! Shucks!]

Getting our three discernable “parts” to act in unison – to resonate in harmony with our unique “inborn voice” – not only reduces suffering, it helps us become what we were always naturally meant to be!

Can you guess which of the three pictures above represents:

my physical form, and…
the energy that naturally links it to…
….my non-physical, sub-conscious mind

It gets better: there are at least five distinct sub-types of rooster [I’m a fire-rooster]!

[Which means – relative to other farm animal types – I’m relatively trustworthy, especially at work. And here I’ve always attributed that to my small business owner, grandfather beating it into me!! Love you Pops!!]

The supporting data comes from thousands of years of astrological charting. It’s scientific; mathematical – like Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras! <3 <3 <3

Intuitively, it makes sense: certain types of trees, fruits and flowers bloom at different times each year – there’s a natural cyclicality to life. Measure it closely enough, long enough and it turns out that the regular rotation of our planet, and it’s routine movement through our universe causes it/us to be exposed to a dozen different types of energy.

How do I “know” I’m channeling some serious natural “rooster” energy – simply based on the time and place I was born?

First of all, I’ve lived between these two ears for over 60 years, and right off the top of my head these jump to mind:

My ego is the size of this planet – always has been. I’ve always felt like “the cock of the walk”. I shrunk from it for most of my life, but a couple months ago, I offered to pose virtually naked in class so the teacher could draw the 12 TCM meridiens on my body! [Frankly, I just wanted to know where they are in me – damn the consequences!!] Ironically, on some deep sub-conscious level, I’ve also always known I’m a big chicken with an over-inflated ego. Can’t tell you how many real fights I’ve run away from, though it never seems to deminish that rooster energy!

I “cock-a-doodle-do” a LOT (almost daily). I’ve been posting insights into Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras for almost 16 years – and my job for over 20 years was generating quarterly reports for investors. Yeah; hard to get the damned rooster to shut up!

Speaking of which, crowing and strutting tend to alienate people – especially other guys, though thankfully it seems to have the opposite effect on the fairer sex. For my entire adult life I’ve blamed my inability to bond in any meaningful way with another male on my father. Guess what dad – you’re still a prick, but I forgive you a little. Apparently, part of that inability is literally in-born.

Oh yeah, and I “preen” a lot. Sue will tell you that for a guy I spend an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom [little does she know I’m in there doing yoga or qigong the entire time!]

Blessings & hugs, Skipper-doodle-do!

❤️😊🕉

September 9, 2018

HOLISTIC ADULT YOGA CLASSES

Want a physical, mental, energetic, spiritual, emotional boost?

Want to recharge, refresh – maybe relax?

Pamper yourself from the inside out!

Raja Yoga Classes

WHILE THE KIDS ARE AT SCHOOL – Mondays 10AM (for everyone)

DAD TIME (for those who identify primarily as masculine) – Thursdays 7:30PM

Learn how your body & mind work – and “drive” through life avoiding more potholes!

Beverly – #174 Cabot St. – The Village Oasis

private lessons by appointment

September 9, 2018

KNOCKED OUT

Pats fans just saw the immediate results of a concussion: a wobbly head and “woozy“ unsteady walk.

A commentator said, “[after a few minutes, you] get a little of your awareness back”.

Apparently, when you get a concussion from a whack on the noggin, the “outer”, “energetically densest”, “thinking”, conscious aspect of your invisible mind gets “knocked out of gear” or interrupted – knocking your otherwise sub-conscious mind into full awareness.

I’ve not had a concussion (might explain a lot), but it sounds like getting the wind knocked out of your lungs.

In that moment of instantaneous internal shock – an instant that feels suspended and more and more protracted – all you’re aware of is your inability to draw breath.

You slowly regain a clearer sense or state of awareness (i.e., your conscious, thinking mind “catches again”, or comes back into awareness) as the distress is either relieved – or literally renders you unconscious.

Tough way to experience your sub-conscious mind up close and personal. I prefer meditation.