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Qigong and Patanjali

I had my mind blown today by Qigong Master Michael J. Leone.

Wow.

The parallels between Qigong and Raja Yoga are uncanny. Master Leone mentioned that the source of the Chinese discipline of Qigong was probably Hindi Sanskrit. Guess what language Patanjali codified the Yoga Sutras in? 😉

Like Raja Yoga, Qigong is an individual, holistic discipline intended to personally restore one’s own physical and mental imbalances. Qigong exercises include moving, breathing, and visualizing.

While the similarities in theory, practice and origin are mind blowing, there seem to be HUGE differences between the Chinese and Indian practices, including:

#1 Consciousness is the Holy Grail of Raja Yoga

Consciousness is awareness; without it we wouldn’t realize we were alive. In the Qigong tradition, consciousness is referred to as Shen.

Raja Yoga reverentially attributes some sort of holistic, energetic, visceral, mind-bending, life-transforming reaction to witnessing consciousness – not just the realization that we literally exist in three dimensions: body, mind, and consciousness – which alone can be paradigm-shifting in a “A THIRD DIMENSION?! WTF?!” kinda-way – but literally stilling the mind and body to the point of feigning death, so that without anything else to be aware of, our permanent, immutable consciousness becomes self-aware, after which apparently we’re never the same.

We are all conscious, but ironically, we’re not innately aware of that distinct aspect of ourselves or it’s permanence – at least as far as THIS body and mind are concerned! – while all the rest of our self (our energetic body and mind) is constantly changing (or more dramatically, “dying”, as Master Leone all too accurately points out!)

Shen is obviously an aspect of each of us because we realize we’re reading this – but it’s an aspect you won’t find described in ANY anatomy book – because it’s literally of a different dimension! It never changes! It literally isn’t affected by time and space. Our thoughts change constantly; however, our awareness OF those thoughts as they pass by, never does.

Coincidently (not!), another teacher of mine – from a completely different background – has been trying to get me to see consciousness or Shen the same way: without the reverence. She agrees that we should NOT think MORE of our ethereal, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, immutable consciousness than we do our miraculous, albeit dying energetic body/mind.

Sorry, but I chose to see consciousness as I was taught recently by Amma: as essentially divine.

#2 Qigong seems MORE universal – if that’s possible!

While the intent behind the two disciplines’ exercises may be similar: enhanced physical control, strength, flexibility and range of motion, the physical methodologies are very different: Raja Yoga advocates poses (emphasizing stability), while Qigong advocates slow, rhythmic, choreographed movements (emphasizing mobility).

Raja Yoga’s posture practice is intended to facilitate lengthy seated meditation. While there’s no question that practicing postures fosters strength and flexibility, and makes it easier to sit very still for long periods of time, unfortunately, without modification, not everyone can do them. However, Qigong’s “small-frame” rhythmic movements can be done to some extent by virtually everyone.

The entire premise of Master Leone’s Restorative Medical Qigong protocol is to bring one’s energetic body/mind back into balance. Sounds an awful lot like you-know-what!

#3 There’s less original evidence of the practice of Raja Yoga, simply because it predates an alphabet!

Qigong honors every teacher in its lineage, referring to “the line”: teacher to one side, student to the other – dating back to the origin of the practice.

Not surprisingly, the Indian lineage is a bit more clouded. No explanation of the practice of Raja Yoga remains from prior to Patanjali “codifying” it in his Yoga Sutras some 3,000 years ago. Patanjali is a legendary figure; there’s no specific remaining evidence of who he was, when or where he lived – because he lived before an alphabet had been invented! He constructed – in his mind – not with pen and paper – a 200-line poem that was passed from teacher to student verbally for centuries before the Sanskrit alphabet was developed. His poem is one of two universally recognized authoritative works on Raja Yoga; the other is the Bhagavad Gita.

#4 Qigong doesn’t seem to distinguish between our conscious and sub-conscious mind, whereas Raja Yoga makes the following distinctions:

Conscious mind is our thinking mind: the aspect we’re aware of; we either use it to make decisions or we listen to it: it’s the narrator or “monkey mind”. Interestingly, this aspect of our mind can literally only do one thing at a time (try counting and reciting the alphabet simultaneously!)

Subconscious mind is the aspect that controls bodily function and memory storage (the things we’re generally not conscious of). This aspect of our mind performs countless functions simultaneously, and can be trained to do more through repetition!

Consciousness, or Shen is the awareness OF our thoughts, or what registers between our ears, including how we feel, what we see, hear, taste, and smell.

Exercise:

Remember, conscious mind can only do one thing at a time, and we’re literally unaware of the functioning or commands of our sub-conscious mind. Do a math problem in your head. Two things just happened simultaneously: (i) your conscious mind performed the math problem, while (ii) your consciousness was aware OF your conscious mind doing the math problem – while your sub-conscious mind was otherwise occupied circulating your blood, holding you upright, breathing, and so on.

Personal notes

The above observations are based on only a few hours of moving, breathing and visualizing under the direction of Master Leone – but I’m hooked. Qigong and Raja Yoga in NO WAY contradict one another (remember: there’s only one Truth!), and compliment each other wonderfully! I’d gin up something about the similarities between the disciplines, but that would be a MUCH longer blog, and I have class in the morning!

Namaste! (Not one of Master Leone’s favorite expressions!) ;-)!

September class schedule

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I have a problem.

I have a very short fuse for perceived injustices.

It’s part of the reason I teach Raja Yoga, or mind control. It levels the field. There are no winners, no losers, no sheep, no wolves, no givers, no takers – just:

“Two oppositionally-charged, and thus perpetually-interacting, states of matter realized by consciousness.”

That crude description of Raja Yoga’s paradigm plays out in every microcosm of our universe: within our selves, our schools, businesses, communities, countries – in every subset of our universe, because it’s the very nature OF our universe!

Think oil and vinegar: divine when perfectly balanced yet no pour is exactly 50/50!

In my case, handsome devil that I am, I’m obviously not perfectly balanced!

  • Physically, my left ankle is much weaker than my right because I’ve broken the left one three times – and my right shoulder has a bit of a constant ache and less range of motion due to a self-inflicted motorcycle accident a few years back.
  • Mentally, my sub-conscious mind seems to be dragging around a lot more unpleasant memories than pleasant ones (thus I sub-consciously frown a lot) – many triggering a particular desire or determination to “settle things” – having felt aggrieved at a point or two along my journey.

We are ALL human. We ALL carry around a circus in our head of which we’re the ringleader. Some just do a better job at keeping the clowns and tigers in line!

I embarrassed myself pretty well this past week by following my heart instead of my head. Striking a balance between those two is my journey.

I made a public appeal on behalf of someone I perceived to be in distress – or, as my teacher pointed out this morning – I dawned my cape and did my thing! For ENTIRELY selfish reasons! Something in my sub-conscious mind drives me to “right the wrongs” I perceive around me.

On one hand, Raja Yoga gives me the strength and power to do it, but I need to remember that’s NOT the point. The point is to relieve OTHER people’s suffering! Raja Yoga addresses our human plight from a universal perspective. Its code of conduct, and physical and mental exercises are intended to reduce EVERYONE’S suffering. The very first “rule” of Raja Yoga is nonviolence!

I spoke with a nine year old boy last night who’s looking for a way to relieve his “anxiety”. I didn’t even know what the word meant when I was nine, though in hindsight, I was CLEARLY an anxious (and in my case, angry) kid.

Raja Yoga is about finding our own INDIVIDUAL sense of purpose and balance. Clearly, I’m still working on finding mine!

My new 9 year old friend – who was being taught how to meditate in school – says that we should each try to find our “center”. He didn’t realize it, but he was referring to the source of our awareness: our consciousness. The poor thing was stressed out because he couldn’t find his!

Ironically, we’re born unaware of this non-dimensional aspect of our own self – the aspect without which we wouldn’t realize we’re alive!

As one of my teachers says, “Consciousness infills everything, pervades everywhere, and impels all.” The trick to living a truly balanced life is recognizing the difference between our functioning mind and our immutable consciousness.

Tapping into consciousness by meditating isn’t easy – but it beats the hell out of suffering. I can take you to the trailhead of your own journey – but as in my own case, the actual work is up to each of us individually.

God bless us everyone, Allan

September ’17 class schedule

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No Worries

THE FIRST 500 PEOPLE TO READ THIS WILL RECEIVE $1!

Send me the time it takes you to read this blog along with your mailing address, and I’ll mail you $1 – even if you ask NOT to hear from me again!

 

Would you like to brighten your mood, have FEWER worries, increase your energy level, keep your emotions in check when you want to, and be happier and healthier in general for the rest of your life?

Learn mind control – it’s literally as easy as “A,B,C”.

Index:

  • Raja Yoga, or Mind Control
  • Identifying Conscious Mind
  • Identifying Sub-Conscious Mind
  • Experiencing Both
  • Identifying Consciousness
  • Meditating

Raja Yoga, or Mind Control

Raja Yoga is the science of mind control or meditation. It enhances one’s sense of wellbeing and intuition, and fosters one’s faith in the existence of God. The practice entails:

  • Thinking and acting in accordance with the Serenity Prayer;
  • Following the Golden Rule;
  • Physical exercise (stretching and breathing); and
  • Mental exercise (focusing and concentrating – our mind has to “sit” before it can “stay”!)

Raja Yoga is the original holistic practice. It addresses our health and wellbeing from outside-in and inside-out. The practice or discipline begins with a code of conduct, and physical and mental exercises for our outer, densest physical aspects, and concludes with meditation for our inner, subtlest, non-physical aspect: the mental energy that stimulates and colors our thoughts: our emotions!

The purpose of Raja Yoga is to reduce human suffering so that we literally smile more than we frown!

Understanding how our mind works and learning to control it is essential to living a happy and healthy life since our mind constantly generates thoughts, which precipitate our actions, which cause of most of our distress!

Raja Yoga is primarily a discipline in remaining aware of the difference between conscious mind, sub-conscious mind, and consciousness.

Identifying Conscious Mind

We’re aware of our conscious mind

This is the aspect of our mind evidenced by our thoughts.

We make decisions with it

This is our control mechanism; it’s the part of our mind that we use to decide what to wear, what to eat, how to do our job – all day long.

We recall memories with it

This part of our mind can recall memories that are stored in our sub-conscious mind.

We listen to it

Because it’s our “conscious” mind, we “hear” it. Thus, it’s also evidenced by the voice in our head that some people call their “monkey mind”; a friend refers to hers as her “crazy roommate”!

Our conscious mind communicates with words

We interact directly with this part of our mind. This is the part of our mind that we use when we talk to ourselves, whether out-loud or silently.

Our conscious mind can only do one thing at a time!

Try simultaneously counting and reciting the alphabet. Right; this part of our mind functions the same way our heart beats and our lungs breathe: single, consecutive, and hopefully constant beats, breaths and thoughts! So please don’t text and drive because we can’t CONSCIOUSLY do both simultaneously!!!

Our conscious mind has a neutral gear

Our conscious mind has a pause, observation, meditation or mindfulness “mode” or “gear” in which this part of our mind quietly (though often impatiently!) observes or witnesses – rather than “speaks over” – our sub-conscious mind. When we hear words in our head, we’re not in neutral! When there are no words and we’re ONLY aware of sensations and images, we’re in the realm of our sub-conscious mind.

Our conscious mind thinks 3 types of original thought

There are only three types of original thought: correct, incorrect and imagined.

Our thoughts are affected by 4 “emotions”

Aside from “ignorance” – which in this context means not realizing the distinction between mind and consciousness – our thoughts may be influenced by up to four types of mental stimulation, energy or “emotion”; specifically, ego, attraction, aversion and fear. Those four energetic emotions range from virtually non-existent to very strong.

Identifying Sub-Conscious Mind

While our conscious mind controls our thoughts or what we “think”, our sub-conscious mind controls our actions or what we “do”.

We’re unaware of our sub-conscious mind – other than by watching it in action

This is the aspect of our mind we’re generally unaware of; it’s only evidenced by our senses, movement and memory storage. We don’t hear the internal commands issued by our sub-conscious mind to move our fingers, walk, talk or chew – and thankfully, we’re not conscious of ALL of our memories ALL the time!!

We don’t hear our sub-conscious mind – we feel it!

Our sub-conscious mind communicates in sensations and images. We “feel” or sense – rather than “think” – when we’re anxious, nervous, hungry, tired, aroused, or have to go to the bathroom!

Our sub-conscious mind stores our memories

Our sub-conscious mind stores a mental image of EVERY thought and sensation we’ve ever had! In short, our sub-conscious mind is the source of the info that – under pressure – percolates up into our conscious mind as images and sensations, giving rise to our then-conscious fears and desires, consciously manifesting as the voice in our head.

Our sub-conscious mind is not the problem!

As long as our CONSCIOUS mind is free of emotion and thinking correctly, our SUB-CONSCIOUS mind performs it’s storage and execution functions optimally – regardless of what it knows. However, when sub-conscious mind becomes overworked, it vents its most immediate concerns to its counterpart, our conscious mind – which then becomes nervous, distracted, etc.

Our sub-conscious mind executes bodily functioning

This part of our mind processes information retrieved by internal and external sensations, and instructs corresponding body parts to perform their specific tasks (e.g., to process movements like walking, talking, chewing, gripping, waving).

Our sub-conscious mind houses our sense of “I am”

This part of our mind is the source of our deeply rooted, instinctive sense of self-preservation; it’s our uber-subtle sense of being, of wanting and needing; it’s the awareness that we are unique, living beings requiring sustenance and care.

Our sub-conscious mind is trainable!

Unlike our conscious mind which can literally only process one cognitive thought at a time, we can train our sub-conscious mind to perform multiple actions simultaneously by repeating those actions until they become habits that no longer require our conscious attention.

Experiencing Both

Since your conscious mind can only perform one function at a time, to get a sense of the distinction between your conscious and sub-conscious mind, the next time you’re showering, folding laundry, washing dishes, walking down the street, or any other routine task, try not to “think” while you’re doing it; specifically, try not to hear words in your head; rather, just watch your fingers, hands, arms, legs and feet move – seemingly on their own! Every move you make is evidence of your sub-conscious mind functioning.

Or try dancing (slowly!) while reading something aloud. Literally everything you’re doing in that moment other than reading is evidence of your sub-conscious mind directing your actions.

Discovering that you don’t directly control your own movements – realizing that there’s no direct connection between your conscious mind and actions – can be a bit unsettling at first, but in order to override the otherwise involuntary way your mind works you must first learn to recognize, and then re-train the aspect you CAN control directly: your conscious mind.

The next time you eat, be mindful and thankful(!) that there’s no voice in your head telling you to loosen and contract the four muscles in your face that move your lower jaw up and down!

Identifying Consciousness

Consciousness is the awareness OF our thoughts

Consciousness is intangible. We can’t physically or mentally experience it (and thus, we can’t adequately describe it!!); however, without it, we wouldn’t know we were alive, let alone reading this!

Consciousness is “ethereal”

  • This aspect of us is neither physical nor mental;
  • It’s literally of a different dimension than everything else! THAT is the scientific premise (“Sankya”) upon which the personal, experiential discipline of Raja Yoga (mind control) is based: that only two things exist: consciousness and everything else; further, consciousness doesn’t “do” anything per se; yet it somehow supports, nurtures and sustains everything else – simply by its nature.

Consciousness is “eternal”

  • It never changes; it’s literally immutable;
  • It’s not subject to the natural laws of time and space;
  • It isn’t born, and doesn’t exist or die in a material sense;
  • Our awareness OF our thoughts is exactly the same this moment as it was the first time we opened our eyes (though obviously, WHAT we’re aware of changes all the time).

Consciousness is “universal”

Yours is exactly like mine – and everyone else’s!

Consciousness also evidences itself as bliss & truth

Although intangible, consciousness clearly affects and influences us. As we draw closer to it in meditation – descending deeper into our sub-conscious mind –we experience a deepened sense of intuition and calm.

Meditating

Meditation settles our sub-conscious mind

Unlike concentration, a preparatory Raja Yoga exercise which focuses our conscious mind, meditation settles our sub-conscious mind.

Calm your inner child

Our sub-conscious mind acts like a demanding child, relentlessly pestering until it feels heard. By learning to control our CONSCIOUS mind, we can keep the monkey locked in our sub-conscious mind when we need to, as long as we let it have its say the next time we meditate – at a time and place of our choosing (the most practical benefit of meditation is learning to control our chattering mind)!

Think about what comes up later

Our sub-conscious mind communicates in images and sensations that we can consciously analyze after we meditate if the meanings aren’t readily intuited at the time they arise.

Meditation calms the source of our emotions

As we train and learn to hold our conscious mind in “observation mode” for longer periods (i.e., without hearing words in our head; simply experiencing the images and sensations that percolate up from our sub-conscious mind), we relieve the pressure on – and stress it causes – our conscious mind.

Meditation engenders compassion

The more we meditate the more we experience an oddly-subtle yet comforting sense of connectivity, union, inclusion, acceptance and belonging with – and compassion for – our self, others and the world in general: the state of yoga.

Listen to your inner voice

Your sub-conscious mind is a BIG part of who you are, and – particularly because it IS literally part of your mind – its understandably very concerned about you, and naturally wants to share its concerns – though it has a limited capacity to do so (via sensations and images) – with the one person who really cares and is in a position to do something about its concerns: YOU!

Off the mat

Like training our physical muscles at the gym, the affects of training our mind outlast the time we spend on the mat. Since meditation opens our sub-conscious mind, we literally begin to perceive things differently, somehow more intuitively, off the mat. We begin to sense the nature or essence of our self and the world around us – rather than taking things at face value – as we start to see things from our heart (our sub-conscious mind) instead of our head (our conscious mind).

Think correctly and without emotion and you will hear your inner voice. Consciousness reveals itself as awareness, intuition and bliss. If you meditate, you’ll experience all three.

 

Allan A. Dowds 9-5-17

September class schedule

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Complex Made Simple

yoga sutras

This morning’s lesson:  Sutras 3.50 to 3.52 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras

[Tip: keep in mind the context of the specific sutras being studied. Chapters 1 to 3 are about the science of mind control, preparing to meditate, and meditation, respectively.]

Sutras 3.50 – 3.52 are toward the end of chapter 3, which began with a description of the three progressively-subtle states of sub-consciousness experienced by adept meditators, and what’s revealed to them – and then listed some 30 mystical powers attained by advanced yogis (invisibility is my favorite) – and now toward the end of the chapter….[here’s the loose translation we discussed today:]

3.50 – Any or all of these [previously listed] mystical capabilities may manifest as side effects of meditating.

3.51 – Letting go of these super-human powers in the pursuit of consciousness leads to KAIVALYA (aka enlightenment) or liberation from the otherwise endless cycle of birth and death (i.e., eternal life – just not in our present form!)

3.52 – The biggest temptations to let go of in the pursuit of consciousness are “appeals from spirits” that exist in the dimensions BETWEEN our sub-conscious mind and consciousness!

Yikes!!

This is “classical”, “Sankya” or “Raja” yoga – a belief system and discipline that’s survived thousands of years and millions of determined devotees’, spiritual leaders’, and scientists’ rigorous debunking!

It’s crazy powerful and fascinating! It’s influenced virtually every modern religion – it’s the source of the Serenity Prayer!

While the practice lasts a lifetime, you WILL smile more often than you frown!! Patanjali and I promise! The only advice he gives in chapter 1: “never give up; always let go”.

May we all know KAIVALYA in this lifetime (sounds like the Viking’s “Valhalla”)!

Allan

September class schedule

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Mr. Consciousness

I’m the Johnny Appleseed of consciousness. I introduce people to an aspect of themselves they rarely pay attention to: the difference between their thoughts and the awareness OF their thoughts – the latter being their consciousness.

Consciousness is as distinct from our thoughts as our thoughts are from our bodies!

We have 4 Moving Parts…..

Three that perform a single function in sequence:

We all have four perpetually moving “parts”: two physical and two mental. The energetically densest three: our heartbeats, breaths, and thoughts all “function” similarly: singly, consecutively and hopefully constantly!

And one that does a myriad of things simultaneously:

Our second mental part is our sub-conscious mind: it runs silently in the background; it’s the part that runs the ship, and is responsible for sensory processing, bodily function, memory and the root or “I am” level of our ego. It takes care of the walking, talking, and chewing so that we don’t have to! Be thankful we can’t “hear” our sub-conscious mind because it’s doing countless things simultaneously – the cacophony of mental commands would literally dive us insane!

Recognizing the difference between Conscious and Sub-Conscious mind:

The initial phase of practicing mindfulness or Raja Yoga is learning to recognize – and experience – conscious and sub-conscious mind separately. The former we interact with; the latter is only verifiable by its actions. In other words, everything other than the thought in our head is evidence of our sub-conscious mind functioning.

For example, we know our sub-conscious mind is functioning when we see our fingers move as we type: our conscious mind thinks a word, and our subconscious mind – the silent part responsible for bodily function – receives and relays the message to our fingers. That energetic communication and processing is generally done largely without our awareness!

….And One Intangible Part

Consciousness is the awareness OF what we’re thinking – period.

Consciousness NEVER changes, though obviously, WHAT we’re aware of changes constantly. For all intents and purposes our individual consciousness is eternal (it’s the origin of what’s commonly referred to as our spirit or soul; however, the existence of consciousness is readily verifiable: without it, you wouldn’t know that you’re alive, let alone reading this!)

Raja Yoga – an Alternative View of Sacrifice

Raja Yoga predates religion as we know it. It developed at a point in human history when it was common to sacrifice living things to appease a litany of gods. We eventually we figured out that such “external” sacrifice only works 50% of the time (think flipping a penny). However, true “internal” sacrifice or literally giving of ourselves: our time, effort, blood, sweat and tears – is rewarding in a deeply meaningful way 100% of the time. Selfless givers gain.

At the end of the day, the biggest benefit to practicing Raja Yoga – living mindfully or consciously – is that with time, we begin to see ourselves differently. Accepting the reality of the distinction between thoughts and the awareness OF thoughts literally changes our paradigm of life: we realize the existence of another dimension – and that it’s a part of us!! Life seems more miraculous and deeply spiritual. As we meditate, we draw closer to our immutable essence experiencing a deepened sense of contentment, understanding and acceptance.

A New Way of Seeing Ourselves

As consciousness becomes a bigger part of our self-image, the reflection in the mirror and voice in our head occupy less of our attention – dropping stress levels precipitously!

Perhaps most importantly, realizing the intangible nature of our own consciousness engenders faith its source, and faith begets serenity, courage and wisdom!

Meditating isn’t easy, but neither is suffering.

Blessings, Allan

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Mind Control – Step #1

In order to control your mind, you have to understand experientially how it functions!

Begin by verifying for yourself, that you can categorize each of your thoughts into one of five types:

1. Correct – these are verifiable by observation, inference or authentication

2. Incorrect – these are caused by misperception

3. Imagined – these have no basis in reality

4. Neutral – these are simply observations, or perceptions without judgment [your conscious mind is always on, but when its not interpreting, imagining or remembering, it idles like an engine in neutral: the state of mindfulness and meditation]

5. Remembered – these are impressions that remain of the other four.

August ’17 class schedule

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What Happens After Our Heart Stops Beating?

yoga

My undying gratitude, love, respect and admiration for the teacher who’s influenced my understanding of the science and philosophy of Raja Yoga the most: Edwyn F. Bryant, Rutgers University Professor, Religions of India.

For the past 14 years my personal practice has centered on the first half of The Yoga Sutras: the practice, and the science behind it; specifically, the attitude, conduct and exercises that facilitate meditation and produce a healthy body/mind.

It’s only recently – now that I am convinced beyond doubt that consciousness is NOT a mental function – that I’m drawn back to what attracted me to the practice in the first place: a search for answers.

The realization that consciousness is indeed “of a different dimension” begs ALL SORTS of other – literally unanswerable – questions.

The only way to verify the existence of consciousness is to realize that without it, you wouldn’t know that you were alive, let alone reading this! Beyond that – and the MANY inferences readily drawn therefrom! – we are each left to decide for ourselves – on faith – answers about the purpose, origin and end of this life, including the wicked-awesome intangible part without which we wouldn’t be aware of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch for starters!

Frankly, realizing the existence of consciousness begs the more pertinent question: What happens AFTER our heart stops beating?

Here’s the gist of Raja Yoga’s perspective:

For all intents and purposes – as far as our body/mind is concerned – consciousness, the awareness OF our thoughts, is immutable and eternal; it never changes – though obviously, what we’re aware of changes constantly.

Yogis believe that:

• Consciousness remains unaffected by anything – including the passing of our body/mind (i.e., consciousness IS eternal – period). It’s the only “thing” that’s truly intangible, or of a different dimension, and thus not subject to karma;

• The subtlest energetic aspect of our body/mind – the aspect of each of us that’s closest to consciousness itself (think, “unfilled memories” or “karmic triggers”, intuitively the least changeable aspect of our “tangible” selves) somehow survives the passing of our body/mind;

• Further, that somehow our über-subtle, energetic “bag-o-memories” a) remains intact; b) is absorbed back into the swirling energetic ether around us; and c) is reanimated in another life-form – simultaneously with its coming to life and becoming in-filled with consciousness. The time, place and circumstances of that happening is determined by the energetic nature of each unique “bag-o-memories”. [Remember the natural law of karma: EVERY cause has an effect; these “unfilled memories” represent the “cause” side of the equation!]

That’s a bit of a stretch for me; not that it makes ANY difference to THIS body/mind – but it seems logical if not inspiring and hopeful, and would explain the existence of child prodigies!

I will say that IF you truly begin to believe that there IS a part of you that survives the death of your body/mind, time takes on an entirely different perspective, and stress virtually fades away. 😉

Fortunately, each of us gets to decide what our purpose is while we’re here and what, if anything, happens to us after our heart stops beating. Raja Yoga (meditation) provides answers to YOUR questions. Practicing calms your mind and deepens your intuitive understanding of the world around you.

Namaste, AAD

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Meditation = Mind Control

Penny meditating ;-)

I told the members of Rotary that I taught mind control – their own, not others!

Well, I may have spoken too soon! According to the science behind mind control, a) your non-physical mind is energetically subtler than your body or anything physical – and b) your mind can be directed at anything physical with sufficient concentration that it can “pierce” the atomic nature of said object; thus, literally adding your own mental awareness to the object of your concentration! That’s some pretty Darth Vader stuff!

I could finally understand what Penny’s been trying to tell us for five years!

Hugs & smiles all!  Have an amazing weekend, Allan

June class schedule

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PATANJALI’S FRIENDS – PART II

Why make such a big deal about consciousness? Because it IS a BFD!!

First of all, life would be pointless without consciousness since we’d all be biological robots unaware of our own thoughts and actions! Right; so be thankful you have it!

Second, consider its nature: what it is and what it isn’t.

It’s the awareness OF your mind’s functioning.

It’s not a mental function per se. Consciousness or awareness OF what you’re thinking is immutable and universal. While your thoughts change constantly like your heartbeats and breaths, your awareness OF them never does. Your awareness OF your thoughts is exactly the same today as it was the day you were born; and yours, your neighbors’, and mine are all identical, though obviously our thoughts are unique to each of us.

According to Sankhya, the science upon which the practice of Raja Yoga is based, consciousness is the one thing that isn’t subject to the vagaries of time and space (karma). Consider the nature of something that isn’t affected by time and space – and that it’s an aspect of YOU!

Your consciousness OF your thoughts is clearly subtler than your thoughts themselves.

According to the Bhagavad Gita (“God’s Song”) which predates Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, consciousness is “autonomous, a spotless lotus, eternal, infinite, pure, unblemished, immovable, existent, indivisible, beyond decay and death, everlasting, immutable, and imperishable.”

The ancient texts say consciousness is the aspect of you that can’t be burned or drowned; today they’d say it was bulletproof.

By controlling and quieting your body and mind, you draw inward, closer to your essence, your true self: your consciousness.

But resolute faith in the existence of God?

When you realize that an aspect of you is literally bulletproof, THAT recognition begs ALL kinds of questions, starting with “What’s the source of THAT part of me – which btw isn’t described in any anatomy book ever published?!” Raja Yoga is a universal practice literally intended to end human suffering, yet it’s an entirely individual practice since only you have access to your mind!

Over time, the practice engenders absolute faith in the existence of something we literally aren’t capable of experiencing directly: God.