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Money <> Love

I pay two people for advice: my guru and qigong teacher. They are the most insightful, intuitive people I know.

One told me that my “relationship with money isn’t grounded.”

That’s not hard to see. I’m generous to a fault – though not as much with money and things these days – and I tend to be high maintenance!

So how do I begin to ground my relationship with money? It helps to understood why, which is where self-reflection, or meditation comes in handy.

First, some background:

My grandfather (“Pops” – that’s him and his better half at our wedding in 1986) was the most influential person in my life. He set an incredibly high bar which I’ve never cleared – but that hasn’t stopped me from trying. He was generous to a fault too – but he could afford to be!!

His dad (above) was a wannabe robber baron. He ended up winning in terms of the wealth he accumulated. When Pops opened the old man’s safe deposit box and found a bunch of jewelry that people had pawned during the first Depression (along with the records), Pops simply gave all the stuff back. Yeah; the bar’s pretty high.

These early childhood memories floated up as I pondered my pecuniary weakness:

  • I stole some coins from my uncle’s collection and bought candy with them (I still feel guilty about it 52 years later!)
  • I stole some change from the kid who lived across the street. He had a job long before I did (I didn’t have to start working ‘til I was 15).
  • I stole a dollar bill off my father’s bureau – but I never got a chance to spend that one!

[Ask me about the time my old man tried to make me to eat a bar of soap!]

I also remembered my parents arguing about money – right before receiving a check from Pops that made them happy.

Message received: stealing money BAD; giving money GOOD.

 

As my qigong teacher says (repeatedly): it’s about balance!

What are the seven words George Carlin told us not to say in public?!?! LOL!!

Deepen your own self-awareness. Find your “why” and the “how” will come – along with renewed faith in yourself!

Meditate. Tap into the power within.

God bless us all, Skip

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Your Brain On Alzheimers

Source: Alzheimer’s Society [link below]

This blew me away. Thousands of years ago (pre-recorded history!) Patanjali outlined the science and practice of Raja Yoga (mind control or meditation) distinguishing between the conscious “thinking”, and sub-conscious “acting/memory” aspects of our mind.

Modern science has identified specific areas of our brain responsible for each: the Hippocampus (logic) and Amygdala (memories). Mic drop – almost:

The bookshelf model is as brilliant as it is sad: our more complex, “energetically denser” conscious mind (the aspect we’re generally aware of) is the first to go. The last things to go are the most subtle “physical” aspects of each of us: our oldest memories.

The aspect of each of us that doesn’t leave until our body/mind dies is our awareness.

 

Learn how your mind works before it’s too late! Just kidding – but wouldn’t it be useful to quiet the voice in your head when you want and need to? Say – to get to sleep at night?

Here’s the original [huge props to whomever came up with the analogy]: “The bookshelf model of memory storage”

Need help sleeping at night? Focusing during the day? Stressed? Anxious?

Meditate. Look deep inside yourself. You already have all the answers.

God bless, Skip

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MEDITATION TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

Dedicating this one to my newest student! No guns allowed in the studio Buddy! The very first rule of Raja Yoga is love – and it starts with your self.

After picking a spot where you’re going to sit for a few minutes every day to relax, your next homework assignment is to read this and the posts linked below.

PART I – HERE’S WHY

Your frame of mind as you sit to meditate is important. You have NO idea what will come up when you sit quietly with your thoughts, so make it fun!! It’s sort of like fishing: just be prepared and patient.

When trying to change habits, you need three things to sustain them: desire, resources and knowledge. You make the time. I’ll help you keep it fun and teach you how!

Is your stress level – your ability to cope – going to improve on its own? Not likely. Learn to control your thoughts so they don’t control you.

All it takes is practice!

 

Make meditating like brushing your teeth. You might let a lot of things slip, but you likely brush your teeth every day. It’s really that easy: practice, practice, practice. You’ll see the near term benefits soon enough. Practice for 20 years and you’ll be sharing it with others too.

How can you make it fun? Use your imagination! Visualization is a third of the practice of restorative, medical qigong as I’m learning it. This is no different.

As I sat down this morning in my favorite sunny spot and closed my eyes (almost!) I imagined that I was a kid again, hopping on and getting ready to ride a toboggan downhill. I was grinning from ear to ear!!

I grew up in Vermont, so a toboggan works for me. Ride your own toboggan in your mind and smile from your heart like a kid again!

PART II – HERE’S HOW

Once seated:

Lift up and drop down energetically from your heart-center.

Set an intention, either specific or general. Seek an answer. Acknowledge why you’re doing this: effectively praying. Express appreciation for the unique, miraculous manifestation of body, mind and consciousness that is you. Express gratitude for your blessings. Or just close your eyes and push off!

Sit upright, relatively still and quiet. Adjust and shift your weight as necessary; otherwise, be a tree – subject only to swaying in the breeze. Your mind, organs and systems are always in motion so don’t try to stop anything. We’re trying to get our various physical and mental systems to “idle” or run quietly, less stressfully, for whatever period of time we’ve set aside. The goal is to reach an ALMOST hypnotic state of sub-consciousness marked by calm, rhythmic breath, heart, and thought rates.

  • Thoughts – focus your attention on something benign but complex enough to hold your attention. I suggest starting with the alphabet; learn to recite it forward and backwards. It’ll take a little practice but eventually it won’t require as much attention – just beware not to let the recitation become rote. When our sub-conscious mind takes over and we learn to “do” it without “thinking” about it – it frees up our “thinking” mind to wander off to find something else to occupy itself! Right now, we’re practicing reducing the wandering for a little while.

Btw – when your thoughts do drift, gently smile because that’s the nature of our mind; let your breathing settle again, and re-focus. Practice makes perfect. The length of time you can comfortably sit in a sub- or semi-conscious state will lengthen and the state will deepen. 😉

  • Breaths – breathe naturally into your stomach like a child [navel away from your spine on the inhalation; toward your spine on the exhalation]. To begin, simply observe your body breathing [a recent post describes the mechanics of breathing; see if you can translate my post description into your experience].

The object here is to breathe in a settled, rhythmic, subtle, quiet, deep, comfortable, manner – facilitating and fostering a sub- or semi-conscious state of mind. Your breath will settle into a rhythm over time. It may help to play soft melodic music in the background.

  • Heartbeats – ironically, this is the hardest of the three to affect, partially because it can be difficult to sense our pulse without using our fingers. Sometimes it’s easier to sense it in the wrist or neck than in our chest. In order to find and focus attention on – thereby calming – our heartbeat, we quiet our breathing and thinking first.

There’s no right or wrong way to settle and sooth your self. Techniques are as vast and varied as we are. Patanjali’s Raja Yoga is a tested, tried and true method for slipping below the noise when you want and need to!

Ask questions!! I’m here to help.

Other recent posts for novice mind control enthusiasts:

  1. calming breathing exercises 
  2. meditate step 5
  3. sunday reflection 5/20/18 
  4. giving birth to faith
  5. take your mind offline
  6. take 2 asprin and call me in the morning
  7. breadcrumbs
  8. what does consciousness have to do with relaxing
  9. open letter to dan harris
  10. the poor me’s
  11. i see something
  12. find the real you. meditate
  13. spiritual guide for hire
  14. the mechanics of meditating 
  15. forget what you see in the mirror 
  16. battling addiction – insights from a 60 year old addict 
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Calming Breathing Exercises

Caveat: check with your physician before beginning ANY new exercise routine!

Abdominal Breathing

This post is about abdominal or “natural” breathing, in which we breathe into our stomach rather than our chest.

Voluntary Breathing

Overriding our involuntary breathing and consciously controlling the rate and depth of our breath (Pranayama) has both long-term and immediate benefits, reducing stress and deepening breathing capacity.

Diaphragm

Our diaphragm does most of the work. It’s a large, flat muscle that divides our abdominal cavity in two just below the ribcage.

Like our heart, it can be difficult to feel our diaphragm internally as it moves up and down – but trying is an excellent concentration exercise!

Our diaphragm is a fascinating muscle: akin to a flat rubber sheet, it’s the only muscle in our body that contracts in two directions!

When we inhale – the bottom of our diaphragm contracts initiating an inhalation, drawing the center of the muscle downward, pulling air into our lungs, pressing down on our lower abdominal contents pushing our stomach out.

When we exhale – the top of our diaphragm contracts initiating an exhalation, pulling the center of the muscle upward, expelling air from our lungs, releasing pressure on our lower abdominal contents pulling our stomach in.

Phases of Breath

Our diaphragm doesn’t want to remain contracted; it wants to return to its neutral, non-contracted state.

Thus, it doesn’t take energy to return our diaphragm to its flat neutral state from either its highest or lowest position. However, while the initial phase of every breath is energetically passive, moving the diaphragm up or down past neutral (e.g., to inhale or exhale deeply) requires energy.

Exercise

I suggest softly playing a four beat meditative soundtrack, something like Jason Campbell’s Five Element Music – free on Amazon.

  • Settle yourself physically.
  • Sit upright comfortably.
  • Relax; let go of resistance and tension.
  • Close your eyes – almost.

Tune 100% of your attention to the mechanics of breathing.

Using the four-count music as a guide,

  • Spend a few minutes allowing your inhalations and exhalations to equalize at approximately a 4-beat count;
  • Spend a few more minutes lengthening your inhalations and exhalations to equalize at approximate an 8-beat count;
  • Eventually add a 4-beat pause in between, so every breath consists of an 8-beat inhalation, 4-beat pause, and 8-beat exhalation.
  • Eventually work up to an 8-8-8 count.

The goal is quiet, subtle, rhythmic breathing.

The trick is to keep your attention on the physical sensations and mechanics: feel the air flowing into your lungs on the inhalation; sense the subtle distinction between the passive, active and pause phases of each breath.

Your mind WILL drift. When it does, start again from the beginning: sit upright, relax.

Want help?

Skip Dowds

781-639-9057

 

Meditate. It’s what’s good for you!

 

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MEDITATE – STEP #5 [CHECK PREVIOUS POST FOR STEPS #1-4: PREPARING FOR THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME]

To see yourself from the inside out:

  • SIT STILL & UPRIGHT
  • RELAX
  • CLOSE YOUR EYES ALMOST ALL THE WAY [LET LIGHT IN]
  • BREATHE CALMLY, DEEPLY, RHYTHMICALLY
  • FOCUS
  • FOCUS
  • FOCUS
  • FOCUS

You get the idea: it’s simple, not easy.

At the beginning, focus all of your attention on a physical aspect of your body (e.g., breath, heart beat, physical sensation). If that doesn’t work, silently and slowly recite the alphabet forward and backwards.

Your thoughts WILL drift away from the object of your attention. When you realize it’s happened, smile and gently bring your attention back to the object as if you’re lovingly leading a child home.

Like EVERYTHING, you WILL get better at it the longer you do it. How long have you been working at your profession? I assume you’re better at it today than your first day on the job. Same idea.

Eventually your intuition deepens as you access the more subtle, generally sub-conscious regions of your own mind.

Trust me, you WANT to be motivated by intuition. It saves SO MUCH TIME & TROUBLE!! 

 

 

Just start. Like ANY new healthy habit chose one a) you’ll enjoy and thus want to make time for, and b) one you KNOW you’ll be grateful for twenty years from now – to stoke that motivation. Because I’m lazy, I picked two simple, relatively easy ones a long time ago: walking and meditating.

It’s your body/mind. Take loving care of it because – sadly – no one else ever will. It took a long time for my teacher’s expression “we’re all alone” to sink in. THAT PART SUCKS!!

If you’re religious or spiritual, I encourage you to think of your body/mind as a gift from God.❤

If you’re not (and 16 years ago I wasn’t), I encourage you to recognize the scientific miraculousness of your body/mind – and to meditate!!

When you realize the nature of your own awareness, the world around you takes on an entirely new, miraculous perspective. I wish it for everyone.

Seeing life as miraculous, if not divine, is a happier way of living! That paradigm relieves fear, reducing blood pressure, stress and anxiety!

 

It inspires us to take better care of our self.

My job description: stimulating self-awareness in others.

Wishing you insights galore and lasting peace of mind.

Blessings, Skip ❤😊🕉

Steps #1-4 😉

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BEWARE OF IMITATIONS

WHAT IS RAJA YOGA?

I’m a Raja Yogi, a devotee of Patanjali.

Patanjali was the legendary author of the Yoga Sutras, a 200-line poem universally recognized as the authoritative source on the science and practice of Raja Yoga.

Raja Yoga is a personal proof of the scientific hypothesis that consciousness (our awareness) isn’t like anything else in the known universe. This practice has withstood the test of time for good reason:

Mind control (generically, “meditation”) is a gateway “TO THE OTHER SIDE!!”

 

That’s not marketing hype; that’s fact.

I’m not an authority on Raja Yoga but I am speaking from personal experience. I’ve led an incredibly blessed life:

I was a straight A post-graduate student [we won’t talk about my college grades!] I passed the CPA exam on my first try. I worked for a big eight accounting firm in Manhattan for several years before becoming the chief accounting officer for a pubic company. I ran the back office of a multi-billion dollar investment company for thirteen years – and quit that insanely lucrative job on principle.

I became a disciple of Patanjali’s 15 years ago; I became a devotee and started teaching others two years ago.

Mind control literally changes your paradigm – your perspective on EVERYTHING!

You want to see yourself as I see you – I promise.

 

Here are a couple keys to success (all the details are in this blog), constantly:

  • practice distinguishing between your thinking and doing mind;
  • practice distinguishing between your thoughts and your awareness OF them;
  • practice driving your thinking mind – not just while you’re sitting on a meditation cushion;
  • contemplate the nature of your awareness.

Happy trails.

God bless. Skip

10 minute video introducing Raja Yoga

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I’m Not Enlightened

I haven’t worked hard enough or long enough, but as the cliché goes, it’s all about the journey because the goal isn’t guaranteed.

What I DO have is a healthy respect for – and faith in – an aspect of each of us that we naturally take for granted: our consciousness.

Without consciousness we wouldn’t know we’re alive!

 

Yeah! What would be the point of living if you weren’t aware of what your body and mind we’re experiencing in realtime??!

While WHAT we’re conscious of changes constantly due to the bipolar energetic nature of our world, our awareness OF those constant changes never does. Consciousness alone is unaffected by time and space.

It never changes. Without it we don’t realize we’re alive. Yeah, it’s essentially divine.

 

Modern religion refers to our consciousness as our spirit or soul. Somehow it’s true nature got lost in translation, but the message is the same: “You’ve got serious potential! Live up to it! The power is INSIDE YOU!!”

How does that light of self-awareness go on in someone? I suspect it’s unique in each case, but there are commonalities, markers along the route if you will.

The type of epiphany I had two years ago was traditionally likened to seeing something’s shadow.

ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT’S CASTING THE SHADOW – ONLY THAT SOMETHING IS!

 

I suspect when someone truly devout witnesses whatever’s casting the shadow it evokes a permanent change in them on an order of magnitude I can’t image.

My personal favorite shadow-caster image comes from my all-time favorite movie: Mulan.

Of course, it’s Mushu the little red dragon! Mulan’s clever, devoted caretaker.

Let me help you find your own inner Mushu. It’s typically a long, arduous journey – though with magnificent and inspiring views along the way.

What’s the real benefit of finding faith through self-mastery?

“Yea though I walk through the valley of death Baby!”

Meditate; it’s what’s good for you!

God bless, Skip

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Sunday Reflection 05-20-18

Multiple choice – you may have one or the other:

  1. an unlimited source of income, or
  2. an unwavering belief in the existence of God

Which would be more valuable? Right. It’ll get you through the most painful times of your life when literally nothing else will.

Raja Yoga is PROOF that your consciousness is essentially divine!

 

Unfortunately, that truth must be experienced to be believed.

Raja Yoga is a personal discipline in self-awareness and control which leads the student to ultimately experience the truth of the underlying hypothesis:

An aspect of us is COMPLETELY UNAFFECTED BY TIME & SPACE (let alone spilled milk)!

 

It’ll freak you out when you realize the truly intangible, immutable, permanent nature of your own consciousness.

It begs questions like “WTF?! Where does THAT come from?!” It’ll either jump-start or turbo-charge your religious beliefs!!

 

Find absolute faith – not just in the EXISTENCE of God – but that God is ALWAYS WITH YOU(!) – and not JUST “with” you – but literally witnessing life THROUGH YOUR EYES!

Yeah – it’ll scramble the ‘ol gray matter at first, but when THAT new life paradigm “clicks” you’ll

Say goodbye to fear, anger, inaction, worry and sorrow!

 

Practice Raja Yoga, the science of mind control, and see if you don’t smile more often in the process of coming to the same conclusion!!

God Bless,

Skip, tour guide to peace of mind

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Excerpt from the Gita

“Work alone is our privilege, never the fruits thereof. Never let the fruits of action be your motive; and never cease to work. Work in the name of the Lord, abandoning selfish desires. Be not affected by success or failure. This equipoise is called Yoga.”

 

Shorthand:

“Living is our reward.”

❤😊🕉