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THE MAKING OF SUPERMAN (a bedtime story)

Once upon a time…..

A Prince was born to the King and Queen of an ancient magical kingdom.

As a child, the Prince wanted for nothing – except love.

It was the one thing the magic kingdom was virtually devoid of.

 

The adorable, gifted Prince grew up believing he was an ugly duckling that didn’t fit-in. He was sad.

The Prince coped with his emptiness and dis-ease by burying his natural uniqueness (his “Inborn Voice”) in the deepest recesses of his sub-conscious mind where nothing could reach it…not even his own conscious mind!

After burying his natural, clever, artistic, creative, sensitive, giving essence (that of a “poet”), the Prince covered his tracks to keep his oldest sub-conscious secret: he became something he wasn’t naturally meant to be: strong, independent, and confident (a “samurai”!): a sheep in wolf’s clothing!

As a boy, the Prince hid his true nature behind an impenetrable energetic shield: he channeled his considerable talents and energy into being an indestructible champion of underdogs (sub-consciously protecting his Inborn Voice): Superman, the Green Hornet, Batman, Kung Fu (the guy could become invisible and walk thru a pit of snakes – and he had dragon and tiger tattoos!!), and the best guy with a gun, the Rifleman!

In addition to growing up cultivating some serious Green Hornet energy, the Prince was convinced that his first childhood hero, the Queen’s father, was correct: all he had to do was “Be the best at whatever you do, and you won’t go hungry.”

“Won’t go hungry” sub-consciously resonated with the young Prince as an end to his perpetual internal sense of emptiness and longing. He was committed.

How many things did the Prince undertake and become “the best” at? A lot. At what cost? Right: also a lot. Garbage in equals garbage out; the Prince’s motivations were fundamentally flawed: they were selfish.

Nothing provided the Prince with lasting relief until at the age of 58, after thirteen years of obsessing over Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, something occurred to him.

Something “stupid simple” yet so well hidden in plain sight it can’t readily be seen.

 

The Prince’s life changed in that moment.

But let’s back up a bit…….

From red capes and plastic guns to business suits, a wife and two children, the Prince remained unwavering in his quest for relief.

 

The beginning of the end of the Prince’s suffering came when he met an enchantress in 2003.

It’s no coincidence she appeared before him as a loving, caring, sensitive, attractive young mother.

She lit a fire in the Prince that fueled his initial enthusiasm for what became his faith: the one thing in which he’d found not just relief but meaningful peace.

The enchantress told the Prince fantastical stories about a great teacher, Patanjali, who’d written the Yoga Sutras, an ancient “magic” 200-line poem which contained the essence of humanity: the good, bad and ugly – and outlined a means to find faith within one’s self and live peacefully.

The Yoga What? Patanjali Who?

 

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras are a precursor to the Ten Commandments and the source of the universal Serenity Prayer. Those two aspects make up most of the “Preparation” section of Patanjali’s poem; the rest of the poem sheds light on the science and discipline of mindfulness, and enumerates superhuman affects experienced by Patanjali’s predecessors.

So what’s the bottom line? How do YOU find mind-blowing, life-altering and lasting peace, and experience the incomprehensible?

Always let go.

Follow the Golden Rule.

Practice “cleanliness is next to godliness” and

“proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance”.

Never surrender.

Meditate. Meditate. Meditate.

 

NEVER stop being mindful and thankful for the ability to be so [for being alive!!] When that does happen naturally, ALWAYS pick the torch back up and carry on!

Faith fuels strength. Meditate; tap into yours.

And what became of the Prince? He lost his silver spoon but found something priceless: his “Inborn Voice”.

Dedicated to Jessica Badonsky and Milena Origgi 🙏

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WHO I AM

I spent the first 58 years of my life searching for fulfillment and acceptance.

“If I could just excel at something [games, projects, school, art, hobbies, sex, drugs, alcohol, karate, work, bicycling, skiing, motorcycling] MAYBE I’d be worthy of love.”

 

Notice there are no group sports or activities on that list. I don’t play well with others. I spent most of my life searching for self-validation – and failing that, some sort of immediate gratification.

No regrets but no success either – until late in 2015 when I FOUND what I was looking for!!! I had an epiphany about the nature of our consciousness.

I’d been studying and practicing Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras for thirteen years.

Patanjali’s 200-line prehistoric poem codifies and outlines the practice of Raja Yoga, the science and practice of mindfulness, which inspired the Ten Commandments and the Serenity Prayer, and fuels my faith in the existence of something omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent: God.

 

The crazy thing is – once it clicks, it’s stupid simple.

Ironically and unfortunately, I can’t simply give it to you! Believe me, I’ve tried!!

YOU have to practice incessantly first to “see” it, and then to continue “seeing” it. Living in full awareness (without ignorance of the divine nature of our own consciousness) is a full-time discipline but as with everything we do, we get better at it and the rewards are cumulative. 😉

Once you see it – after a few head smacks and several “ARE YOU F@CKING KIDDING ME?!” moments you’ll smile a LOT more.

See the miracle of life from the inside out. Meditate!

 

Love, Skip

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For The Young Woman Who Waited On Me This Morning And The Old Friend I Had Lunch With

It’s simple. It just requires CONSTANT practice. Like everything else, it eventually becomes habitual; ironically, the only habit without ill affects!!

The good news is the benefits are almost immediate and cumulative. 😉

Here it is:

We have two main energetic mental operating frequencies:

Our conscious mind – is our natural mental state. Whatever we’re aware of in any given moment is what’s reflected on this aspect of our mind. It’s our “thinking” mind; it does the decision-making, the heavy calculating, and judgmental, analytical work. It’s evidenced by the “voice in our head” (i.e., words).

Our sub-conscious mind – naturally runs below our conscious mind’s radar. This part of us runs the ship; it’s our “doer”; it’s responsible for walking, talking, breathing and other bodily systems: anything we don’t literally have to consciously process to do. It’s evidenced by intuition, images, and sensations.

Guess which one’s the troublemaker.

Being mindful in any moment is a matter of consciously deciding where to direct our attention.

String enough mindful moments together and our go-to state of mind becomes the one we chose!

With every breath we have a choice to either allow our attention to stay where it settles naturally (on whatever is on our conscious mind),

OR

We can direct our attention where we want: on the conscious noisy decision-maker when we need to, and on the silent executioner when we don’t.

 

How? When you begin consciously controlling your attention (i.e., “concentrating”, “meditating”, or generically, “being mindful”), the easiest way to redirect your attention from your otherwise noisy conscious mind, is to purposefully focus (concentrate) on whatever you’re sub-conscious mind is up to (e.g., what your body is doing right now).

Specifically, HOW?

What are you doing RIGHT NOW (I know you’re multi-tasking)? Maybe you’re eating ice cream. With the next obscenely delicious mouthful, I invite you to dial-in 100% of your attention to the sensations generated by doing just that: eating the ice cream!!

What flavor is it? What does it look, feel, smell and taste like? Are you making any noise as you enjoy it? ARE you enjoying it? Without judgement simply observe. Don’t ask the questions; rather, let the information come to you.

Sensations, memories, and our sense of being are the realm of our sub-conscious mind. This is the aspect that tastes the ice cream and remembers it!

Sitting down? Want to go deeper? What’s beneath our functioning sub-conscious mind?

Consciousness: the uninterrupted awareness OF our constantly streaming thoughts.

 

Without consciousness (perhaps gratefully) you could still read this post – you just wouldn’t be aware that you were – let alone of any thoughts, emotions and sensations triggered by it!!

Consciousness is responsible for ALL pleasure and pain – even though consciousness itself never changes. Personal opinion: there’d be no point without it.

Deeper?

Ask yourself – consciously consider – the nature of your own consciousness: the awareness OF your thoughts. And then ask yourself where THAT part of you comes from! Couple hints:

it NEVER changes;

yours is EXACTLY like mine;

you can readily verify it’s existence (e.g., you realize you’re still reading this!).

 

That’s the crux of Patanjali’s Raja Yoga: part of you (yogis maintain the most miraculous part) never changes.

Fall in love again – from the inside out. Meditate.

Happy trails. Make every breath count: the good, bad and ugly.

I’m here to help. Skip

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SHARDS OF A MIRROR

My teacher reminded me that Truth is like a shattered mirror: finding one shard hardly reveals the entire story – and opinions are like assholes: everyone has one.

So why should anyone listen to my opinion? [grinning as I type this]

 

Here’s the thing, I would love the opportunity to introduce you to an aspect of YOURSELF that you’re naturally virtually unaware of:

YOUR consciousness

NEVER changes.

It’s eternal.

SEE FOR YOURSELF!!

 

It’s not a religious fairytale!! Find the essence of who and what YOU are and in the process, find the Fountain of Youth.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is a 200-line poem that captures the essence of life on earth. It’s an empirical proof – formulated as a personal challenge or discipline – of the underlying hypothesis that consciousness is different than everything else in the known universe: it alone is unaffected by the vagaries of time and space: it’s eternal.

The boy in me thinks of Patanjali’s poem as a treasure map to one of those old pirate treasures buried deep beneath a system of wood, water, and stone gates, traps and distractions…

…but this treasure wasn’t stolen from mankind, it was gifted TO us. It’s almost too clever, simple, accurate, insightful and provable to have been devised BY us!

It’s only 200 lines long, but outlines the science, practice, and benefits of a personal discipline for living in harmony with the world around us. Simple. Not easy.

When the puzzle begins to take shape for you, and I hope it does (I can help), I hope you’re sitting down and have a long life ahead of you – for everyone’s sake. This practice can be revolutionary.

 

See your life from the inside out; see the essence of who you are; it’ll blow your mind.

Meditate; it’s good for you.

Blessings, Skip

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What’s YOUR BFD?

Please don’t judge this post based on the picture alone – though feel free to comment on what constitutes a BFD to you!

Living in harmony, union or yoga with the world is simple – just not easy.

It only requires a LIFELONG succession of conscious or “mindful” choices.

Patanjali’s Raja Yoga [The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a 200-line prehistoric poem about uncovering our true nature] promises as difficult as it is, this is a unique case in which you’ll get out of something more than you put into it – eventually.

The benefits of practicing Raja Yoga’s disciplines are cumulative as well as holistic: body, mind, spirit (the latter two are literally invisible aspects of each of us).

HOW do we achieve this literally indescribable state of union or “being at one with” our universe?

WITH:

  • constant, prolonged practice (NEVER forgetting to see the distinction between your thoughts and your awareness OF them), and

  • non-attachment (ALWAYS letting go of things, eventually even of identification with your body and mind: your ego)

CONSCIOUSNESS

  • alone never changes
  • alone doesn’t “do” anything
  • alone simply “is”
  • alone is not subject to the vagaries of time and space (i.e., awareness or consciousness alone is not subject to karma: the infinite cause-and-affect nature of our energetically bi-polar tangible universe)
  • (i.e., it’s essentially divine!! and it’s in YOU!!)

Yet it’s existence is readily verifiable: without it we aren’t aware of our own thoughts!

Inevitably, with prolonged constant practice, you’ll realize that YOU aren’t your body and thoughts; rather, those things are YOUR’S in the same way that your hair and nails, the parts you regularly cut away, aren’t YOU, they are/were parts of YOU.

YOU – at your essence – are the awareness OF those temporal, tangible “things”, including your own functioning parts! ALL of which we each eventually HAVE to let go of (“all we have to do is die” – it’s the price of admission promised for entry to the game of life).

The “True” or essential YOU survives your body/mind. Yeah, it’s not a fairytale.

That aspect of YOU that witnesses your EVERY thought, word and deed – that part survives!

 

Don’t ask me where it goes, that’s what churches and temples are for.

Read any book on the human dying process; when death occurs naturally, we each come to this realization in the end. Raja Yogis say “DON’T WAIT!!”

Admittedly, at first this may require a small leap of faith: that you assume based on natural laws of probability if not faith in a higher power, that the awareness OF your thoughts (the aspect of YOU which has literally never changed – for 60 years in my case) remains unchanging after your body and mind cease to function. The laws of probability and poker players would call that a sure bet.

Your consciousness is eternal.  🤯

 

We are consciousness in form. Not visa versa. I hope you see it eventually. I hope the day you see it, that you’re sitting down, and have a long life ahead of you.

God bless, Skip

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Chapter 1 – Mindfulness with Elementary-School-Age Children

For 15 years my pet peeve has been that the term “yoga” has become synonymous with hippie exercise rather than its scientific, faith-based origins.

Deep breaths.

“Aum. All yoga is good – except maybe that one with guns! Aum.”

 

I have a new one: the term “mindfulness” has become another mainstream spinoff of Patanjali’s Raja Yoga – again, without mentioning the author or the object of his faith.

According to Raja Yoga, we have THREE parts: body, mind, and consciousness. No one seems to want to be associated with the third one!! WTH?!

I shouldn’t care. Patanjali would be delighted that his prehistoric treasure map has survived in any form, regardless of name or attribution. Though he’d be mortified at what we’ve done to the Garden of Eden.

The intent of Patanjali’s discipline is to foster Love and Faith.

 

The Yoga Sutras are a personal, holistic (body, mind, spirit) discipline that can lead to realization of the existence of God.

Right. Game changer. As in, a way to find eternal peace while you’re still here!!

Once faith buds, love inevitably blossoms – and nothing is more powerful or transformative.

 

Every breath is scientifically (if not divinely) miraculous. Give thanks to the Source of Everything for this life opportunity and experience and get to know yourself better. Meditate, the original form of prayer!! 😉

Since actions speak louder than words, in addition to setting aside time to close your eyes and express appreciation for your life, give thanks and honor whatever you call the Source of Everything (which, btw doesn’t need anything) by serving those less fortunate than yourself.

These are my notes after a quick read of the first chapter of Willard & Saltzman’s “Teaching Mindfulness Skills to Kid and Teens”:

The first chapter of the book introduces “MBCT-C” as fundamental to their approach. What’s MBCT-C? “Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Children” [that’s a mouthful]

Here are MBCT-C’s “12 points of awareness for children”. It’s a 12-class course for elementary school kids [these aren’t MBCT’s titles; I’m just making the point that Patanjali is smiling!]:

THE KID VERSION:

  1. We naturally run on autopilot
  2. You can live with awareness instead
  3. We’re not our thoughts
  4. We’re the awareness OF our thoughts
  5. Emotions affect our thoughts
  6. Thoughts affect our actions
  7. Concentration
  8. Practicing concentration
  9. Karma
  10. Non-attachment
  11. Constant practice
  12. You get out of anything what you put into it

Can you spell,  “P A T A N A J A L I ‘ S   R A J A  Y O G A”?

WANT THE ADULT VERSION? Pick up a copy of any interpretation of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and reach out. It’s what I do.

God bless, Skip

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GET IN TOUCH WITH GOD 🤯

Evidence of the existence of God is in YOU.

Part of you isn’t described in ANY Western anatomy or psychology text – because it can’t be: it’s literally beyond description, your:

CONSCIOUSNESS.

 

The awareness OF your thoughts NEVER changes.

Without consciousness your mind would still function, you just wouldn’t realize it!

That part of YOU is eternal!!!!

Your “soul” isn’t a fairytale!!

Part of EVERYONE literally survives the death of our body/mind! 🤯

Consciousness is energetically subtler than our sub-conscious mind. Mind functions; Consciousness doesn’t; it simply “is”.

Consciousness It’s the only “thing” known to man that’s not subject to time & space (i.e., karma).

Observe. Contemplate. Meditate. You’ll see it too.

Raja Yogis meditate to “talk to God”. We practice Patanjali’s eight-limbed discipline to give thanks to and honor the Source of everything, including consciousness (God by any name).

When you “see” the universe inside out: yourself as consciousness in form, rather than visa versa (i.e., as a child of God, Who sees thru your eyes) – I hope you’re sitting down!

God bless, Skip

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MIND BLOWN 🤯

This book by Christopher Willard & Amy Saltzman practically jumped off the library shelf at me yesterday. ❤

THIS IS RAJA YOGA!! 🕉

Step 2 of 3 anyway!

[Have you taken a yoga class in the past 20 years? You’ve taken Step #1.]

So many awesome quotes….

Kabat Zinn, 2011: “Mindfulness is paying attention without judgment in the present moment.” ❤

.…and exercises (from page 2):

Place one finger on the center of your forehead, close your eyes, and simply place your attention on the sensations.

  • Notice what your forehead feels like against your finger…..

  • Notice what your finger feels like against your forehead…..

  • Bring awareness to the sensations…..

  • Notice temperature…..

  • Texture…..

  • Pressure…..

  • Moisture…..

  • Can you feel your pulse?

  • Stay with this for a moment; when your mind wanders, just notice that and bring your attention gently back to the sensation of your finger on your forehead.

  • And then open your eyes and notice how you feel.

❤❤❤

 

They’ve adopted Patanjali’s concentration and meditation exercises to help children! The book has contributions and support from dozens of well-respected academic and mental health professionals!

link to first 50 pages

NOW – STEP #3 (YOU’RE SOOOO CLOSE!)

 

So what’s the point of learning physical and mental self-awareness and control at any age?

Ultimately? To find and develop faith in your Self [with a capital “S”]

How?

Patanjali’s advice? Never give up. Always let go.

 

The object is to identify with the aspect of you that sees through your eyes [rather than with your eyes]: your consciousness – the awareness OF your thoughts: the aspect of each of us that NEVER changes.

It requires a paradigm shift but when you “see” it for the first time it’ll blow your mind.

Part of us IS eternal.

It’s not a story.

THAT realization will change your life.

 

God bless.

Allan (Skip) Dowds, Raja Yogi

 

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FIND YOURSELF

True story: advice from my mother’s boyfriend (Fred ❤) in 1978 after I had a drug-induced nervous breakdown:

“It shouldn’t take long to find yourself. I find myself every time I urinate.”

[though Fred said it more colorfully – and loudly ❤; his point was “Suck it up Buttercup!”]

 

As a male of the species, I must confess that mentality runs deep in our DNA.

It took me almost 40 years but I eventually found myself – and in so doing discovered a depth and source of faith, strength, courage and wisdom I can only wish for others.

Do you want true lasting peace? To genuinely feel like the luckiest, most blessed person to ever breathe? To laugh at yourself sitting in a princess carriage in a public store? 😂

Meditate. Find confidence in yourself. If I can do it, so can you!!

 

Someone posted on my last FB ad: “You dumb F#ck; all you have to do is close your eyes!” Pretty much, but I can help with what comes next!

YOUR consciousness NEVER changes.  SO WHAT?!

 

Uhm….how many things can you name that NEVER change? Right. None.

Yet YOUR consciousness – YOUR awareness – is eternal. The aspect without which you could still read this  because your mind would still function – you just wouldn’t realize you were!

Yeah. Your awareness is eternal. Kind of a big deal since it’s an aspect of YOU!!!!!

Meditate. THAT blissful essence of YOU runs deep – but you’ll know it as you draw closer – like a scuba diver knows she’s descending even with her eyes closed. The affects of meditating (drawing closer to your own consciousness) are cumulative, profound and lasting.

God bless. ❤😊🕉

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DEATH CAME KNOCKING

The intent of a recent hospice training exercise was to better understand what happens as we die naturally.

 

  • The first part of the exercise was to list 24 things we love: people, places, things, foods, activities – anything – and then cut the list into 24 bits of paper. Obviously, everyone’s pieces were unique.

 

  • The narrator read a story written from the perspective of someone in the latter stages of dying (in our case, cancer was catching up with them).

 

  • There were several pauses during the story, one after each milestone: discovering the lump, the testing, the diagnosis, the prognosis, the treatments: a series of poignant experiences from which there is no recovery.

 

  • After each sad chapter, we were asked to give up one or more of the things we love [trying to comprehend never experiencing them again]. After awhile, we even lost the ability to choose and the narrator began arbitrarily taking them away.

 

EVERY breath is a gift. Don’t wait until the end of your life to realize it.

Blessings, Skip

Tap into the source. Meditate.❤😊🕉