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Energy

Intuitively, you know that your body is energetic since it requires energy to move, but it also requires energy (albeit subtler) to think; specifically, to change your mind and go in a different direction!

How does it work? The three-horse chariot is a classic Raja Yoga metaphor of your energetic self:

3 HORSES – represent the three functions of your subconscious mind: 1) sensory receipt & processing (i.e., bodily functioning), 2) memory storage, and 3) your sense of “I-am”

REINS – represent the subtle subconscious mental energy that powers your three subconscious mental functions; this subconscious mental energy or mind can be controlled by your conscious mind

CHARIOTEER – represents the conscious mental energy that you’re aware of: your thoughts! This is the part of your mind that you make decisions with and that you hear. Your conscious mind should remain vigilant (THAT is the real practice of Raja Yoga!) and direct your subconscious mind regarding what to pursue and avoid – rather than letting it run amuck!

CHARIOT – represents your body; the energetically dense part that sustains, propels and protects you; its up to you to keep your chariot in good working order to more effectively fulfill your responsibilities. Obviously, the physical demands on a soldier are different than a grade school teacher – but a broken chariot is going to distract any charioteer!

In short, we are literally pulled about by the natural functioning of our subconscious mind: an energetic mix of sensations, memories and need, BUT thankfully we can use our conscious mind to reign in and direct our subconscious mind’s natural tendencies.

Raja Yoga is a dual practice in self-awareness and self-control for which I thank God and the divinely inspired Patanjali, every day.

Allan

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Raja Yoga group classes – June

Consciousness = awareness OF your mind’s thoughts

Meditation = quest to transcend one’s mind to experience consciousness

Raja Yoga = science of meditation or mind control

RAJA YOGA group classes:

211 Essex Street, Swampscott – across from the high school

  • Increase – strength, flexibility, balance, stability, energy, endurance, stamina, concentration and focus
  • Decrease – stress, destructive desires and anxiety

www.rajamarblehead.com

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Desire

Desire binds you and makes you restless. Even by desiring enlightenment, you bind yourself. To know Truth, you must be without desire.

Ironically, you’d die without desire! Your subconscious mind by its very nature desires to keep you alive! So what does it mean to be “without desire” practically speaking? To desire and act selflessly.

Selfless action or serving others doesn’t trigger in you another infinite cycle of merciless cause and effect (karma) – because pure, selfless desire and action have no expectation whatsoever – thus you can’t be disappointed, regardless of the result. But even better, you ARE rewarded: when you make someone happy, you see it in their face and you feel happy too.

“The more you serve, the more happiness you enjoy. Such a person knows the secret of life.” – Sri Swami Satchidananda

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Classes start again this week

Patanjali said that peace comes when we think and act:

WISELY – understanding the nature and distinction between mind (the source of our thoughts), and consciousness (the awareness of our thoughts);

COURAGEOUSLY – never giving up; practicing selflessness; being physically disciplined; and

SERENELY – always letting go; practicing non-attachment and mindfulness; being mentally disciplined.

Peace and blessings, Allan (“Skip”)

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WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT KARMA?

Karma is unavoidable; it’s the natural law of cause & effect: every action has consequences. A few things to remember about actions:

  • Actions are simply expended energy, which can neither be created nor destroyed.
  • When we act selflessly, or expend energy on behalf of others without expectation of anything in return – we gain because we aren’t expecting to; our expended energy is naturally replenished, if only as an internal sense of fulfillment.
  • When we act selfishly, or expend energy with the expectation of personal reward – we lose because of our expectations; at best we’re energetically treading water since energy spent = energy replaced.

Raja Yoga is an effort to control our minds, and to the limited extent we can, our karma through thought and action, according to time and circumstance:

  • PAST ACTIONS – we can’t control past acts; we can’t somehow “undo” them; all we can do is control how we re-act to their consequences; practicing physical self-control/restraint (postures, breathing) is particularly helpful in this regard.
  • PRESENT ACTIONS – we have some control over how we act in the present moment, though it’s difficult to think correctly and without emotion in the heat of battle; practicing mental self-control (concentration) is particularly helpful in this regard.
  • FUTURE ACTIONS – we have the most control over our future actions, and thus our lives (the sum of our karmic-generating actions), when we take time to contemplate our actions (or inactions). In this regard, introspection or meditation can be tremendously helpful.

Guru Satchidananda used the analogy of an archer’s arrows:

  • Our past actions are like arrows we’ve just let fly: they’ll land and have consequences that we’ll have to contend with [God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…];
  • Our present actions are like arrows we’ve notched, drawn back and about to let fly: we still have some control over their trajectory and target [courage to change the things I can….];
  • Our future actions are like arrows still in our quiver: we decide if, when and how to let them lose […and wisdom to know the difference].

Aim carefully, and act wisely.

Patanjali said, “never give up; always let go”, but most importantly emphasized never forgetting that consciousness (the uber-subtle, never-changing, awareness OF our thoughts) is the only thing not affected by karma (or time and space). It’s the aspect of each of us that our ancestors said was impervious to fire and water! So in a practical sense, our consciousness IS eternal! Draw contentment and courage (oppositional aspects of energetic matter) from that knowledge.

And never forget: you are a miracle!! You are a consequence of L-I-T-E-R-A-L-L-Y everything that’s ever happened since the inception of time and space – as are all the people and things in your life, so please act accordingly, starting by lovingly caring for the body and mind you are gifted with.

Namaste, Skip

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Courage

God grant me:

1)   Serenity – to accept the things I can not change,

2)   Courage – to change the things I can, and

3)   Wisdom – to know the difference.

The Serenity Prayer accounts for 50% of the practice of Raja Yoga.

Courage, “tapas” in Sanskrit, is described by Sri Swami Satchidananda in his 1978 “Integral Yoga: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali” as follows:

_____

The direct meaning of “tapas” is “to burn”. By the physical tapas of fasting, we burn our excess fat away along with the toxins our bodies have accumulated. By mental tapas, we burn all our old impressions. By verbal tapas, observing silence, we control speech. When we burn, we feel some heat and pain. We undergo suffering. So, tapas [courage] also means to accept suffering. If someone suffers, he or she is blessed, because by that suffering some impurities are purged out.

In order to make our minds clean and steady we must accept suffering, pain and poverty. It is even more beneficial if, at the same time that we accept pain, we bring happiness to others. So, accept the pain of others. [This is why therapists counsel depressed patients to volunteer: helping others feels good.] We never lose by accepting pain. We should never run from it.

In our lives there are hundreds of opportunities for tapas [to be courageous – in attitude AND in action]. Even a cloth must undergo tapas to become clean. What will the laundryman do with my cloth? Will he fold it, put some sandalwood paste and a flower on it and give it back to me? No. First, he’ll soak it in boiling water with soap. Then he’ll beat it every which way. Then he’ll tumble and roll and squeeze it in the washing machine. After that, he’ll dry it in a hot chamber and iron it. Only then does the cloth lose all its dirt and grime. It undergoes tapas to become pure. The laundryman has no hatred for the cloth when he does all those things to it. He only wants to make it pure. It is out of his love that he inflicts pain.

The mind too must be washed, squeezed, tossed, dried and ironed. Don’t think that if someone causes us pain they hate us, but rather that they are helping us to purify ourselves. If we can think like this, we are real Yogis. If anybody hurts our feelings, we should just smile at them….If we understand this point and accept it, we’ll never find fault with anybody who abuses, scolds or insults us. If flowery words make us happy but insults upset us, we know our minds are not yet strong. My teacher said, “Adapt, adjust, accommodate. Bear insult. Bear injury. That is the highest spiritual practice.” To go to a corner and pray is easy…but to be insulted and keep a serene mind requires tapas.

The power to control the body and senses comes from tapas [courage].

Once a man tried to anger a saint. He began insulting him, “You dirty rogue. See how many people you have ruined with your teachings?”

The saint remained quiet, smiling at his tormentor.

“Don’t you understand my language?” the man asked.

“Yes. Sure.”

“You mean, you’ve understood my insults?” The man was incredulous.

“I did.”

“Then how can you keep quiet?”

The saint answered, “Son, suppose you brought me some fruit and I refused it. What would you do?”

“I would have to take it back.”

“Yes,” continued the saint. “In the same way, I don’t enjoy all these things you have brought me. So you can just take them back.”

Handling things this way takes real strength and courage. A person who can only strike back physically may be physically strong but mentally weak. Mental strength comes from tapas.

A link to Satchidananda’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Sutras-Patanjali-Swami-Satchidananda/dp/1938477073

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Meditation and faith

Meditating can turbocharge your faith.  Understanding the difference between your mind and consciousness begs questions that only faith can answer.

Conscious mind

Your thoughts are evidence of this aspect of your mind; conscious thoughts are like breaths and heartbeats: single, consecutive and constant. Yes, your conscious or thinking mind can only handle one task at a time! If you need convincing, try simultaneously counting and reciting the alphabet. Right, so don’t text and drive! This is the aspect of your mind that you hear; it’s the part you interact with; you’re either engaging it to make a decision or it’s engaging you, acting like a monkey dredging up permutations of ego, memory and sensation from your sub-conscious mind. You CAN learn to control the conscious aspect of your mind and thus the clarity and nature of your thoughts.

Subconscious mind

You can’t hear this aspect of your mind nor can you control it; the only evidence of it is its functionality. This aspect of your mind is responsible for three things: (i) sensory receipt and processing, including seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, feeling, moving, talking, eliminating, and reproducing – things you don’t have to think to do; (ii) memory storage; you carry around a mental impression of every conscious thought (e.g., sight, sound) you’ve ever had; and (iii) the root of your ego: your sense of “I”.

Consciousness

When you tried counting and reciting the alphabet at the same time, two things did happen simultaneously: the thinking – and the awareness of your thoughts. The awareness OF your thoughts is your consciousness. Your thoughts change constantly, but your awareness OF them never does. The ancient texts say this part of you can’t be drowned or burned with fire – and yet you know it exists because without it you wouldn’t realize that you were reading this! Without it life would be pretty dull; imagine being unaware of being alive! What would be the point?!

Meditation

Think of your subconscious mind as a child bringing things to show you. To listen effectively to your subconscious mind, your conscious mind should be in neutral: observing without thinking. You know you’re simply observing if you don’t hear your inner voice analyzing, judging, or commenting. When your conscious mind is not obscured by thoughts, consciousness sees what your subconscious mind wants it to be aware of.  As your subconscious mind unburdens itself, you draw closer to the deepest, most subtle aspect of you, your essence: your immutable consciousness.

Understanding the nature of consciousness – and tapping into its quiet, calm, stillness though meditation – opens your mind to an entire universe of questions that only faith can answer!

Happy trails, Skip

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I’m a Raja Yogi

Technically, Raja Yoga is the pursuit of consciousness through meditation; practically, it’s about living in harmony with the world around us.

Several thousand years ago, before the advent of written language, someone named Patanjali concocted a 200-line poem, the Yoga Sutras, a recipe for living more joyfully and peacefully.

The practice is entirely personal; it’s intended to foster faith in YOURSELF (yes, though technically in your consciousness) because faith can be a source of strength, courage and wisdom. Sound familiar? Patanjali’s poem is the source of the Serenity Prayer.

Practicing Raja Yoga boils down to conducting yourself in a manner that will minimize your physical and mental distress, and practicing four types of exercise: two physical (inside-out & outside-in) and two mental (conscious & subconscious). All are intended to drive home something you already know intuitively: that there’s a difference between thinking and being aware of your thoughts. The latter is your consciousness.

Raja Yoga is an attempt to better understand and somehow tap into the subtlest aspect of yourself: your consciousness. The practice will either turbo-charge your existing religious or spiritual faith or engender it in you – as it did in me.

The spiritually deepening practice of Raja Yoga doesn’t require a leap of faith in something that you can’t readily verify. The holy grail of Raja Yoga is your own consciousness: the aspect without which you wouldn’t realize that you were reading this!

Here’s an excerpt from a letter to a new friend, a Buddhist:

“Since I set out on this quest, I’ve been under the apparent misconception that my teacher, Patanjali – and yours, the Buddha – were seeking and had found the same thing.

I’ve told people for years that Thich Nhat Hanh [a universally renowned and respected Buddhist teacher] does the best job of describing what I thought was our shared objective: to literally bear witness to consciousness. But your guest assured me that she’s seeking something BEYOND consciousness – which in my mind, makes your practice more of a religion than a purely objective quest or practice – in the sense that yours is a quest for something you literally CAN’T experience or witness with your tangible human body and mind: the source of the universe, “God”.

Raja Yoga doesn’t ask that we make THAT leap of faith; ours is a practice in self-awareness and control. You KNOW that your quiet, still, calm consciousness exists because YOU’RE AWARE THAT YOU’RE READING THIS!

Consciousness doesn’t function; it’s merely the awareness OF your thoughts. Without it, you’d be sitting there, reading this – completely unaware that you were doing so! So Raja Yoga celebrates THAT aspect of ourselves – and rewards us physically, mentally and spiritually (body – mind – consciousness) in our pursuit!

Sorry to blather on – I thought you may be receptive. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Center and I’ll be back – where else can I meditate for half a day?! Certainly not at home! Susan would surely find something else for me to do. Which may be the biggest difference between our practices: my teacher reminded me just recently that Raja Yoga is for “householders” – those of us who for practical or other personal reasons don’t sit in meditation for extended periods of time – though joyfully look forward to the limited times we do. Accordingly, 75% of the practice of Raja Yoga is done BEFORE sitting to meditate to make the most of the experience.”

May you find some part of this post useful.

Skip Dowds
skip@rajamarblehead.com

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Raja Yoga – misconception #1: no time to practice!

Raja Yoga is a “householder’s” practice. In other words, it’s for those of us who don’t or can’t devote hours a day to living mindfully – but certainly want to know how!

Ninety percent of the practice of Raja Yoga takes place BEFORE we sit to meditate. We may not have time to sit still every day, but we can act in a manner that will make it easier and more rewarding when we do. Here’s how:

1). Follow the Golden Rule.

2) Treat yourself respectfully.

3) In thought and deed be faithful, courageous, strong & wise.

4) Practice controlling your body – so you can sit upright & comfortably when you do meditate.

5) Practice controlling your breathing – so you can breathe deeply & subtly when you do meditate.

6) Practice controlling your thoughts – so you can focus when you do meditate, and

7) Meditate when you want or need to draw closer to the subtlest aspect of yourself: your still, calm, quiet consciousness: the awareness OF your thoughts.

The physical, energetic and mental affects of meditation are similar to massage: almost blissful, though fading.

Raja Yoga is one path to realizing beyond any doubt what you already know intuitively: that your consciousness is different than your mind. That realization WILL change your life.

From my heart to yours, Skip

skip@rajamarblehead.com      www.rajamarblehead.com

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CONSCIOUSNESS

Consciousness is the subtlest aspect of each of us; it’s subtler than our subconscious mind.

Humans are three-dimensional: body, mind and consciousness. Ancient texts describe consciousness as the aspect of us that “can neither be wetted nor burned”. It’s the part of us that’s not subject to the laws of karma (i.e., it doesn’t age or change; it’s immutable). In the same way that matter and energy can’t be lost or destroyed, neither can consciousness.

Consciousness doesn’t operate or function in the same sense that our bodies and minds do; it’s so subtle, the only way to verify it’s existence is to recognize that without it, you wouldn’t be aware that you were reading this (your body & mind may still work, but without awareness you’d effectively be a biological, non-sentient robot).

Your consciousness is identical to mine, though obviously WHAT yours has witnessed – in essence, what you have witnessed – is entirely different than what I have. Collectively, our individual consciousness is referred to as Universal Consciousness.

The general nature of consciousness or awareness is: Calm – Still – Quiet – Observing – Witnessing – Non-judgmentally accepting – Unconditionally loving – and it’s at the center of each of us!

Your consciousness has witnessed EVERY thought you’ve EVER had, EVERY word you’ve EVER uttered, and EVERYTHING you’ve EVER done – without judging you.

Raja Yogis celebrate consciousness for what it is, but we also turn inward via meditation to “get me some o’ that”. We meditate to literally draw closer to, or better understand – and perhaps begin to experience – our own true nature, or at least allow it to have a greater affect on our body and mind!

The holy grail of this practice is to remove our physical and mental self as obstacles to our consciousness becoming Self-aware. In that sense, meditation is a form of self-sacrifice (self for Self). This practice grew out of a time in human history when we were literally sacrificing our animals and possessions in hopes of changing our fate; Raja Yoga piggybacked on the concept of sacrifice, though teaches us to find faith in ourselves!

BKS Iyengar [a universally revered, modern day yogi] said “Yoga isn’t a religion; it’s the study of religion.”

I’ve never met a Raja Yogi who wasn’t a spiritual person, though I’ve met several whose yoga practice has clearly turbocharged their religious practice!

As you practice this form of yoga, you begin to see yourself (and frankly, everything) as miraculous, and in the process develop a curiosity about your own intangible, immutable consciousness – which leads to even more fundamental questions about the source of THAT, which is why we go to church, synagogue, temple – places of prayer, study and devotion!

Studying various understandings of the source of the universe can only deepen and broaden our own spiritual and/or religious practice; however, developing faith in something BEYOND our readily verifiable individual consciousness is beyond the scope of Raja Yoga. This practice just expedites that process.

Meditation, the inward quest for answers to questions about THIS life, fosters faith and confidence in yourself (Self and self) and engenders in you – if you’re not already so blessed – reverence and devotion to something you can only imagine: the source of life itself.

Here’s the thing: your consciousness is not just the essence of who you are – it is who you are.

God bless, Skip