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The 30-day Yoga Challenge wrap-up: Change is good

Mariellen — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:25:32 +0000

30 days of yoga classes in Toronto

Part 4 of a 4-part series

I finished my 30-day Yoga Challenge at Lila Yoga Studio, Toronto, on Monday, March 19 — finished as I started, with a class by owner and yoga teacher Shelly Rowen. I am proud to say that I never missed a day. There were days I didn’t want to go — the sun was shining or I was tired or I just didn’t want to face myself — but I went, and I did the yoga class with those thoughts and feelings. Yoga is not about being a specific way; it is not about being perfect, or looking like the cover of a magazine, or feeling calm and compassionate at all times. At the ashram I go to in India, there’s a sign that says, “All life is yoga.” And that’s what I experienced during my 30-day Yoga Challenge.

For part 1, read: My 30-day Yoga Challenge
For part 2, read: Travelling within
For part 3, read: Journey of acceptance

To read about my last 10 days, and what I learned and gained from the experience…

Day 21-23

I was feeling particularly stiff for my Day 21 Saturday morning Hatha class with Shelly, and she had us doing twists and seated forward bends early on in the class. I’m a died-in-the-wool Vinyasa yoga student, I guess, so I like to warm up before getting stretchy with Surya Namaskar (sun salutations). I know it’s a different philosophy, and also probably depends on your body, constitution, etc., but I like to warm up my muscles, especially in the morning. Instead of judging the class and being miserable, though, I came up with a mantra to get me through: “Don’t be right, be light.” It worked! I said it in my mind, and relaxed a lot. Day 22 was a close call. The weather was beautiful and I was happily at home when I noticed it was 4:01 p.m. — class started at 4 p.m. I grabbed my hairband and literally ran out the door — but thank goodness I live so close. I made it on time, believe it or not, to Sahara’s Flow Yoga Class — a class I hate to miss. Flow Yoga just rings all tension and crumminess of just about every kind out of me, and I always sleep like a baby on those nights. Monday night Hatha Restorative with Shelly is another class I look forward to. The Day 23 class was everything a restorative should be. I loved the long, intense leg stretching and snuggling under the blanket. Happy day.

Lila Yoga Studio, Toronto. Photo by Helen Lee.

Day 24-26

How do I love Flow Yoga, let me count the ways! Day 24 was perhaps my best class of the entire month. Janice did a great job with the flow, she’s a truly lovely teacher, and I even liked the modern music she played (seemed like she raided my collection!). But best of all, I moved, I flowed, I didn’t feel restricted. Great class. On Day 25 I enjoyed the class that Shelly “built” on a very intelligent series of postures that led deeper into the movements, into the body. When getting snuggled up for Savasana, I suddenly realized it was like nap time in kindergarten, which made me giggle. Very satisfying class. But of course every day is different and on Day 26 I didn’t want to go to yoga AT ALL. I felt fragile and vulnerable and didn’t want to do any standing poses, so I stayed on the floor for most of the class. Was thinking about whether rigid discipline is worth it…

Lila Yoga Studio, Toronto. Photo by Helen Lee.

Day 27-30

In the home stretch! Wasn’t going to go to class on Day 27, but I ran into Shelly in the Roncesvalles neighbourhood, and went with her to Jill’s restorative class — and was I ever glad I went! It was a very creative class, and all the postures stretched and relaxed the spine and hips. Yummy. And then I had a subtle but profound release in my diaphragm/stomach area — and I breathed in and really felt my stomach for the first time in years. It has been held by a knot of tension, apparently. Day 28 was Shelly’s classic Saturday morning Hatha class — and I think it was my favourite Shelly class ever as we did many rounds of slow-paced, delicious sun salutations, which really got everything moving. Day 29 was one of my favourite never-miss-classes, Sunday Flow with Sahara. I notice a nice community building up around this class. It was a great class and I was able to notice the progress I’ve made in a month: I moved into the flow immediately, without even noticing. Finally, Day 30, Restorative Hatha with Shelly. I was just so thrilled to have made it without missing a class to Day 30 that I don’t even remember the class! I remember the deep savasana, and holding up my arms in victory at the end, and then feeling mixed emotions as I left the studio … a sense of achievement, but also sadness that my daily routine was ending…

Lila Yoga Studio, Toronto. Photo by Helen Lee.

Summary and benefits

I’ve been thinking about the benefits I received from doing the Yoga Challenge and I think there are essentially three:

The most profound is that by moving every day in a yoga class, I really stirred up my energies, and the spillover effect was remarkable. Many things started to change in my life, and move in a very positive direction — too numerous to mention them all here, but I will point out that I announced a change in direction for this blog within the last month, which is going to materially affect my life!
The physical benefits are also profound. I was feeling very stiff, sore and stuck; unable to get moving; gaining weight; feeling sluggish. Yuck. The regular yoga got me moving — and how. It didn’t cure all of my aches and pains — my left hip is still funky — but it made me feel a WHOLE LOT BETTER, and much more positive about life in general.
It was a wonderful social experience. I loved being part of a new studio, and experiencing all of the classes, and seeing a lot of the same students week in and week out — right in my neighbourhood. Shelly has created a very special studio with sincerity and integrity, and a light touch. I feel blessed to have Lila Yoga Toronto in my life.

Thanks to everyone who supported me and followed me on this journey, and most of all thanks to Shelly, Helen and the teachers of Lila Yoga: Janice, Sarah, Sahara, Jill, Melissa and Amy. Namaste!

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The 5 spiritual ideas of social media

Mariellen — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 07:06:54 +0000

Social media is a spiritual discipline

Learning how to “do” social media effectively is a lot like learning a spiritual discipline. There are paradoxes involved, and you have to abandon the traditional western approach of applying ego-based will-power to get results. Here are five spiritual ideas and how social media exemplifies them.

1. The law of attraction

The more you try to “get” results — such as increased sales or traffic — using social media, the more likely you will fail. If you come across as too pushy or too self-promotional, you will be shunned. You can’t use traditional selling or marketing techniques that rely on pushing your message out. Instead, you have to be like a light, a beacon. You have to be attractive, to attract.

This is the paradoxical nature of the law of attraction. The more content, confident, happy you feel as you engage in social media, the more likely you will be to attract attention. Neediness and greediness will have the opposite effect.

2. Letting go of attachment to outcome

If you are concerned with the bottom line, and with the results of your efforts, you will miss opportunities for engagement, for community building, and for nurturing long-term customers and readers. Letting go of attachment to outcome also frees you up to discover what you enjoy, and to do more of that. Plus, it leads you to be in …

3. The moment

The gift of social media is ironic — given that it is done largely when people are alone in front of an electronic device, and their pixels are engaging with other people’s pixels in cyberspace. But if you are truly engaged in social media, having conversations, sharing interesting, important or entertaining information, you are in the moment. Social media gives you the opportunity to interact with others; to notice others, to get interested in who they are and what they have to say, or what they want to share. The more you are able to JUST BE, the more likely you will have satisfying exchanges. It also helps to accept that you have little or no control. Just like life.

4. To give is to get

One of the best uses of social media is curatorial: looking and finding things to share, plus adding your own take and embellishing. The social media net is like a matrix; in fact, it is a lot like the connectedness that spiritual masters teach is at the base of all reality. Movements take root, people inspire each other, they help each other to reach a wider audience, new connections are made, even friendships. The effects of sharing are instantaneous, unpredictable, creative; and the more you give, the more you benefit, both because sharing and being generous are highly valued in the social media world; and also because of the nature of social media and how it works.

5. Go with the flow

Yoga teaches that going with the flow of energy creates efficiency and harmony, and puts you in a more spiritual and creative frame of mind. For example, I am writing this in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep. I am going with the flow of my restless energy — and creating a blog post! Likewise, on social media, it is more harmonious and satisfying to go with the flow, and join in conversations, trends, organized chats. Once you accept that you cannot make things happen — you have to let them happen — you can relax and enjoy … and trust that social media will help sweep you and your business towards your destiny.

And like any spiritual discipline, you don’t just learn these ideas once. You continue to learn and practise, always getting a little more awareness, a little more mastery, until the knower and the knowing meld….

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What spirituality is

Mariellen — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 03:19:21 +0000

Scene from the Mahabharat: Krishna and Arjun at the battle of Kurukshetra

You don’t have to remove yourself from life to “be spiritual”

Yoga philosopher tells an ancient story to illustrate a universal truth

Yoga philosopher, Kirtan leader, Sanskrit teacher, Sitar artist and the writer / blogger behind Akshara Yoga blog: Ram Vakkalanka is accomplished in many things. He is also my friend, I am proud to say. Ram and I have bonded over our deep love and respect for the wisdom traditions and culture of India. We have many shared ideas and notions about yoga and spiritual philosophy, and feel that the essence of these teachings is largely lost, overlooked or misunderstood in the west (and sometimes even in India).

Some time back, I wrote a blog, What yoga is, after attending a workshop with internationally known yoga teacher Mark Whitwell at the Yoga Festival of Toronto. I was delighted to discover that Mark Whitwell really “gets” yoga; and I feel the same way about Ram. Over dosas at a Toronto South Indian restaurant, we discussed the essence of spirituality and Ram told me the story of Kaushika, which I loved. He said, “In the great epic Mahabharata, there is the story an aspiring yogi called Kaushika who meditates for many years but fails to attains self-awakening.” I feel the story expresses a truth about spirituality that many people don’t seem to understand. Here it is.

Kaushika’s story as told by Ram Vakkalanka

There was a young man called Kaushika, who practiced meditation and yogic austerities for a long time in a forest near a city called Mithila in northeastern part of India. One day, while Kaushika was resting under a tree after a long stretch of meditation, a crane landed on top of the branch directly above Kaushika and defecated. The bird’s excretion fell on Kaushika’s head. Kaushika felt uncontrollable wrath at this and looked at the bird severely. As if Kaushika’s angry looks were a deadly arrow, the crane fell down dead. Seeing this, Kaushika thought to himself that be due to his austerities, he attained some kind of extraordinary powers and was proud of himself.

Scene from the Mahabharat: Krishna and Arjun at the battle of Kurukshetra

People practising spiritual austerities in those days were enjoined not to spend time on any worldly activities such as earning money, having possessions and cooking, but devote their time entirely to meditation and other spiritual practices. During this time, it was incumbent upon the householders in the community to support the spiritual seekers with life’s necessities such as food and clothing. This practice served two-fold purpose: the spiritual seeker has to practice control of senses and eating whatever was donated by others rather than entertaining desires for specific, tasty food, helped in that; and, it forced householders to practice charity, communal sharing and promoted a spirit of service. This process of collecting food is called Madhukara.

Poster for the TV version of the Mahabharat

Just as a honey-bee collects honey little by little from many flowers, the spiritual aspirant has to collect his food little by little from different households, without being a burden on any family. The aspirants are allowed only one meal a day and they can ask for food only three times. As per the tradition, Kaushika went into the city to get some food later that day. As luck would have it, Kaushika didn’t get any food from the first two houses he chose that day. Kaushika stood in front of the third and last house for the day, hungry and tired, and asked for food. The lady of the house was busy serving a meal to her family at that time and didn’t respond promptly to Kaushika. Having asked for food three times and not getting any response, Kaushika was about to move on with a little disappointment, when he saw the lady of the house hastily coming out with some food to donate. Starving and impatient, Kaushika looked at her angrily for the inordinate delay in serving him food.

The lady, sensing Kaushika’s anger, looked at him quietly and said, “I was busy serving my family and hence the delay. Besides, I am not a crane to be killed by your angry looks.” Kaushika’s consternation knew no bounds! How did this lady know about the morning’s incident, to which there were only two witnesses: himself and the crane! The lady, as if reading Kaushika’s thoughts said to him, “Yoga is not just about sitting under a tree and meditating. You can attain enlightenment by discharging your responsibilities perfectly and being detached. If you have further doubts, please see the town butcher Dharmavyadha and he will give you all answers.”

Kaushika, quite humbled, silently walked away from there looking for Dharmavyadha, the butcher. As soon as Dharmavyadha saw Kaushika, he smiled, addressed Kaushika by name and remarked about the latter’s encounter with the lady as if he were a direct witness to the incident. This was the second shock for the day to Kaushika. Reduced to dust by the so-called commoners, Kaushika humbly asked Dharmavyadha what kind of yogic practices he practiced to obtain such miraculous spiritual powers. Dharmavyadha said to Kaushika, “I never practiced any spiritual austerities, meditation or yoga like you. All I know is how to do my duty well. I serve my parents and elders, take care of my family, fulfill my obligations to the society and I practice detachment from all this knowing that I am the eternal self and always free.” Kaushika received Dharmavyadha’s teachings with utmost reverence, realized his folly in talking the life of an innocent bird and left with a perfect idea of yoga philosophy.

Yoga philosophy from the masters

Ram Vakkalanka

Adi Shankaracharya, one of the most renowned yoga philosophers, said: Svasvakarmanushthanameva Bhagavataha Puja - fulfilling one’s duties and obligations constitutes highest spiritual austerity and leads to spiritual liberation. Bhagavadgita, one of the most authoritative works on yoga, offers an interesting definition of yoga: Yogaha Karmasu Kaushalam – yoga is perfect fulfillment of one’s duties. In other words, a plumber who does a great job is practicing yoga, an athlete who brings medals to his country is a yogi, a mother who raises a healthy family is a yogi, a leader who leads his community towards progress is a yogi. Yoga is the birthright of everyone; no country, no culture, no color, no race has an exclusive right to it. The housewife, the musician, the mechanic…anyone can (and should) be a yogi.

In fact, one of the most sublime teachings of Bhagavadgita is: Yogasthaha Kuru Karmani - being established in a state of yoga, fulfill your role in the world. If you are a teacher, strive to be the best teacher you can be; if you are an electrician, be the best electrician you can be, if you are a soldier, be the best soldier you can be. Balance your head and heart, realize that you are not simply a name and a form, but the Divine itself and approach everything and everyone in life from a love-based higher view point. Then you will find imperturbable peace and harmony inside and outside. This is the quintessential teaching of yoga philosophy. In the great epic Mahabharata, the story about Kaushika illustrates this point perfectly.

Not that postures and meditation don’t constitute yoga, but that’s not all there is to yoga. Yoga can be practiced by everyone at every walk of life, any every moment of life, on and off the mat!

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Top 5 things I’ve learned after traveling a year in India

Mariellen — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:56:16 +0000

India is a teacher; travelers are students

People often ask me why I am so interested in India, why I like traveling there so much. There are lots of reasons, of course — from the warmth of the people, to the taste of the food; from the adventure of travel to the colourful festivals; from the flowing, feminine clothes to the sunny skies. The single most compelling reason, however, is probably the attitude towards god and spirituality — and how that attitude affects almost everything about the culture and atmosphere of India.

And what does that difference mean for me (and other spiritual seekers from the west)? It means that when I am in India, not only do I feel more alive than anywhere else (for the reasons listed above), but I learn a lot. I learn a lot about myself, about the world, and about spiritual truths. Travel in India is adventure travel in every sense of the word. Here are the top five things I’ve learned in India.

1. Don’t worry, be happy

Door at Roopanghar Fort, Rajasthan

I’ve traveled for well over a year in India, most of it by myself. I’ve had to deal with crowds, chaos, delays, unhygienic conditions, culture shock, large insects, small rodents, illness and unwanted attention. Among other things. What I’ve learned from all of this is that everything works out. Not only does everything work out, deviations from your original plan sometime turn out far better than anything you could have planned. In fact, letting things happen, instead of trying to control them all the time, is the best formula for magic.

And even if it appears that things are not working out AT ALL, sometimes, it’s just our perception and understanding that is off. In fact, the universe is unfolding exactly as it should. When viewed through a certain lens, everything is perfect, and the universe is 100% supporting us; gently (and sometimes not so gently), guiding us towards our destiny and the lessons we need to learn to grow and learn. And best of all, it is absolutely within our control to view the universe through this lens, which some will call rose-coloured. I don’t know if it’s rose-coloured or not, but I do know that it makes for a much less tense, anxious, unhappy experience of travel, and thus of life.

I wrote an entire article about our control over our perception for Brave New Traveler, called Travel is an exercise in perception. To summarize, “we do not see the world the way it is; we see the world the way we are.” But not only do we see the world through only our own little window — which completely influences the way we see things — we can control how we see the world. India is a particularly good teacher of this truth because India is a very soft, pliable and responsive place: whatever attitude you travel with will be reflected back to you. If you’re frightened, you will have scary experiences. If you’re suspicious, you will be ripped off and even robbed. There seems to be a kind of instant karma at work.

This is why I always advise people to go to India with an open and trusting attitude. I genuinely love India, and genuinely trust (most) Indians, and this is why I generally have very good experiences there. Of course there are times when instinct teaches us to be cautious — and I always listen and respond to these feelings. It also helps that I have learned to trust myself, and that is the root of trust. Traveling in India is one of the most challenging things I have done, and the degree of self-confidence I have built up because of it is incalculable.

2. People are good

Okay, yes, there are exceptions … but when you put yourself in a vulnerable position, and when you open your heart with trust and faith and a feeling of goodwill towards your fellow man/woman, you will largely be rewarded with kindness. Sometimes extraordinary kindness.

Men helping me replace my mobile phone in Mumbai

I have so many stories of people helping me, feeding me on a long train ride when I didn’t pack enough food; walking me to my destination when I didn’t know the way; inviting me into their homes and even families. And I’ve heard loads of other similar stories from people traveling in India, and elsewhere. When you travel, you open yourself up in a new way, and give people the opportunity to help you. It’s a lesson in the interconnectedness of life.

India is, unfortunately, known for con men, touts and other unscrupulous characters who try to rip people off by over-charging and other shady practises, but even many of these people would help you if you needed it. Many Indians are poor and this explains their behaviour to a large degree. I have seen people change in front of me when they realized I was treating them with respect, or when I needed their help. There are very few “bad” people, in my view. (And of course if you think you have come across one of them, you should be appropriately cautious.)

3. Yoga is not about putting your leg behind your head

Giving alms to sadhus in Rishikesh

I studied and practised yoga for close to 15 years, even gaining a certificate in yoga teacher training, before going to India for the first time. I discovered that I had been swimming in a yoga pond; in India, I discovered a yoga ocean. There is no way to communicate how vast the difference is between the way yoga is taught and understood in India, as compared to in the west, if you haven’t experienced it. My understanding of yoga completely transformed in India.

The point of yoga is to still the mind so that you can experience the truth of your being. And what is the truth of your being? That we are all part of one god-consciousness; that we are made of bliss; that love is the basic substance of the universe.

Can you reach this understanding through the intense asana (physical) practise of yoga? Maybe. But that’s not the intention. Asana practise is intended to help you relax the body, and keep it fit and healthy, so it won’t distract you in your higher pursuits. It is a means, not an end. I wrote about this in What yoga is.

4. God is love

In India, I discovered a vision of spirituality that makes more sense to me than anything else I’ve come across — the advaita (or non-dual) idea that all life is part of one god-consciousness; that duality only exists in the field of time and space, and is illusory.

I agree with Mahatma Gandhi, who said, “I used to believe that god is truth; now I believe that truth is god.” I agree with Joseph Campbell who said, “People are not looking for meaning in life; they are looking for an experience of life.” I agree with Carl Jung who said that, “The purpose of human existence is to light a candle in the darkness of mere being.” And I understand why Buddha gave a teaching in which he simply held up a flower and said nothing.

My teacher, Swami Brahmdev of Aurovalley Ashram (who is a disciple of Sri Aurobindo), teaches something very similar: he teaches that the purpose of life as a sentient being is to increase our consciousness. We do this by having experiences, reacting, learning and growing. Life is basically a series of experiments, and, with the right attitude, you can see each one as an opportunity to learn.

5. Money does not buy happiness

Children at a Mumbai train station

In the consumer-oriented and materialistic west, we have come to equate money and happiness. However, in more traditional societies, like India, this link is not so resolutely forged (although that is changing with the rise of the urban middle class). It has been my experience that some of the happiest people I’ve met are also some of the least materially well-off. As long as people are getting their basic material needs met, they can be happy — with the right attitude.

The religious tradition in Indian teaches people to be content, to be grateful and to regularly thank and celebrate god for the gift of life and the beauty and abundance of nature. In traditional India, nature is considered sacred. And the society places a great value on family life and relationships. People know who they are, they are connected to their extended families, their communities and their roots. All of this makes for a base of people who are warm, generous and helpful, and who know what’s really important in life. And meeting people like this has been my experience traveling in India.

Every study on happiness shows these are the things that contribute far more to happiness than a big-screen TV, late-model car, huge house, fancy phone, designer shoes, wrinkle-free face and fat-free figure.

And for people who are afraid to travel to India because they don;t want to face the poverty, please read my Matador article India, poverty and the fear of traveling to poor places.

Summary

Seeing the universe as a loving, intelligent force that always has my best interests at heart — and learning to let go of the need to control, to let go of the need to “be” a certain way, and to surrender to the flow of life — has had an enormous impact on my experience of life. It’s made it much easier. And I am just a beginner on this path …

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How to meditate: The top story of 2010

Mariellen — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 23:36:49 +0000

Yoga, meditation and spirituality: The 2010 version

Photo courtesy of Dave Bouskill, PictureThePlanet.com

One of the top 10 Google searches in India in 2010 was “how to meditate.” While the debate in the west, especially in the USA, was raging over “who owns yoga,” Indians were using high-tech solutions — computers and advanced, online search algorithms — to reconnect with their spiritual heritage. I think this is one of the top stories of 2010. We humans are all about connection — hence Facebook’s popularity — and connecting with yourself at the deepest, or highest, level is the epitome.

Connecting with myself, in retrospect, was probably the main reason I went to India in the first place, back in 2005. Before I made that first six-month trip, India seemed like such a far-away place, such a mythical land, that I did not really believe you could actually get on a plane and fly there in a matter of mere hours. But now it feels like India and Canada — the east and the west — are coming closer together in so many ways. I’m not sure how I feel about this.

The east and west are each very powerful and effective in different ways. In the west, the power is externally focused. We are very good at so-called “material progress.” We are organized and efficient at creating wealth, technology, infrastructure. Consequently, we have a very high standard of living. But in the east, the emphasis is more on internal efficiency.

My hopes for 2011

Shiva meditating, Rishikesh, India

I hope that western culture does not triumph; that it will not evolve to its inevitable end: a planet completely covered by strip malls, completely given over to consumerism and materialism. I hope that optimistic, spiritual thinkers like Carl Jung and Sri Aurobindo are proved right — that people are evolving towards a higher state of consciousness. In this realm, Indians are masters. Deepak Chopra once called the ancient Indian rishis (sages) “Einsteins of consciousness.” I wrote about his passion — and mine — for Sharing India’s wisdom with the world.

I hope it augurs well that Indians are wanting to know “how to meditate” and that a yoga revival takes place in India. I hope that the Hindu American Foundation’s “take back yoga” campaign achieves its aim of seeing yoga acknowledged as stemming from the Hindu / Indian tradition. In fact, I have an even greater hope — that Hinduism is finally seen in the most idealistic light, for what it could be: a worldview rooted in pluralism, tolerance for all faiths, a respect for mystery and uncertainty, a steadfast belief in dharma (“pattern of noble living”) and the knowledge that, as Mahatma Gandhi put it, truth is god (and not the other way around).

I love Shashi Tharoor‘s chapter on Hinduism in The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone: Reflections on India in the 21st Century (2007) and I highly recommend it for an idealistic and workable explanation of Hinduism. “Hinduism asserts that all ways of belief are equally valid. Hinduism, I assert, is a civilization, not a dogma,” Tharoor writes. I hope there is a “take back Hinduism” campaign that wrests it from both the stereotypes, judgments and biases of the west; and the fundamentalist strain that wants to reduce it to a clique, or worse.

I hope that by understanding what Hinduism really is, what it really represents, people will no longer question whether yoga is part of the Hindu tradition. (Of course yoga is part of the Hindu tradition. It is absurdly nit-picky at best, self-serving at worst, to say otherwise. It’s also absurd not to realize that traditions don’t exist in a vacuum; that they develop through many influences.)

I hope that western yoga practitioners begin to see and understand that the point of yoga is not exercise — it is to still your mind so that you can see the truth of your being and “yoke” yourself to a higher consciousness. One of my favourite quotes about yoga is: “If yoga’s not making you a better person, what are you doing it for?”

I also hope that Gross National Happiness or General Well-Being make it onto the mainstream political landscape in 2011. I hope that Jung and Aurobindo are right, and that we are all becoming more enlightened. And happier.

The power of intention

Photo of moi, courtesy of Christine Lynes

Rather than making a resolution this new year’s, try the power of intention. It’s a force that is much stronger and more effective than a resolution. Rather than imposing a rule on yourself, you align your energies to a wish, a goal, or a dream; or something you want to achieve or understand. It’s application is much broader and more subtle than a resolution. It also resists the failure/shame/remorse cycle that resolutions often provoke.

My intentions for 2011 include increasing my consciousness around certain specific issues — such as food, money and time — and to operate from an assumption of success and abundance. But I am open to outcome — and that’s one of the biggest differences between an intention and a resolution. Do your best and do it with joy — not with an eye to the reward. Pray for the mountain to be moved and push — and accept if it does not move. Accepting your destiny is the fastest route to happiness. As they say in India, “Ram knows best.”

Happy new year.

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Deepak Chopra and the happiness formula

Mariellen — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 12:50:50 +0000

Deepak Chopra at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto

Thanks to MyBindi, and about 25 Facebook friends, I won front-row tickets to see Deepak Chopra at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto — and I also won seats from Zoomer Media, which I gave to well-deserving friends. Almost two years ago, I wrote a blog post about why I admire Deepak Chopra, and how I feel we have the same mission, which is Sharing India’s wisdom with the world.

Deepak Chopra walked very simply on an almost-empty stage wearing jeans, thick-soled boots, a black jacket and jeweled glasses. With no fanfare whatsoever, he began speaking directly to the audience in a straightforward and down-to-earth manner. He spoke extemporaneously for about 90 minutes, with ease, intelligence and an absolute grasp of his material.

The happiness formula

From the outset, he began building his case for a spiritual understanding of life using largely scientific facts, medical research and quotes from famous scientists, mathematicians and physicists. In other words, he knows his audience – westerners – need a rational and scientific approach to convince them.

In my case, he was preaching to the choir. And though I was relieved and delighted to discover that science is finally catching up to the ancient wisdom of the rishis, yogis and sages of India, I personally don’t need the findings of a medical study or renowned astro-physicist to convince me of the truth of what Dr. Chopra was presenting.

In essence, he said:
- the mind is not in the brain, it is everywhere in the body
- there is a formula for happiness, and we can choose to be happy
- the two best ways to learn to become happy are through cognitive therapy (change your thinking patterns) and meditate
- you can change the structure of your brain, it is called neuroplasticity
- there’s much more to happiness than pure pleasure; to be truly happy you need to be on a spiritual journey – you need to discover your true identity, who you really are: this is the path to enlightenment
- the brain and the body are not structures, they are processes
- we are always in the process of becoming, the body is in the field of impermanence; suffering arises from addiction to permanence in the field of impermanence
- the only aspect of your being that is real is the part of you that is the listener; the part that is pure consciousness
- the universe arises from nothing and at the most fundamental level is a field of pure possibility
- definition of god: everything is created in consciousness
- your own consciousness is the vortex; you need to be a conscious observer to manifest the universe
- science’s biggest mystery – the hard problem – currently is perception (how do we experience the world?)
- best quote of the evening was about the science of perception: “Something unknown is doing we don’t know what”
- the upshot is: we are all part of the same consciousness and we’re all creating the universe – our reality – all the time

Deepak Chopra at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto

This is why yoga (meditation) and intentionality are so important: yoga says, and has always said, your body is made of light, you can change yourself; and the ultimate truth is that you are one with everything. You change your relationship with time by being present and you can change your biology through meditation.

To give the audience a demonstration, he walked us through a guided meditation. The acoustically engineered hall was as quiet as a tomb while we all spent some minutes quietly meditating. It was a refreshing experience.

Consciousness is a singular, it has no plural

I was very gratified that Dr. Chopra gave the wisdom of India, yoga, the Vedantic tradition and teachers like J. Krishnamurti their due. He ended the talk be deviating away from science, medicine and physics to talk about following a yogic way of life, to present a concept of non-duality, to reiterate that the whole universe is in every object of our perception and that we are all part of a divine consciousness. There is no such thing as death; death is just “the offs between the ons.”

I love that he said, live the questions and life will move you into the answers. And I loved his presentation of yoga: the yoga of feeling is LOVE; the yoga of being is MEDITIATION, the yoga of thinking is CREATIVITY and the yoga of doing is SERVICE.

One of my favourite quotes of the evening was from Krishnamurti: “The highest form of human intelligence is to observe yourself without judging yourself.”

At the end of the talk Dr. Chopra introduced a woman from the Toronto-based office of his foundation, Wellworld.org and he signed books in the lobby. I asked him to sign the newspaper article that he wrote in the Times of India and that I keep on my fridge as inspiration (the article I mention in my blog post, Sharing India’s wisdom with the world).

Power to the people

It was a very satisfying evening. I wish I had taken a picture of the audience – the large, luxurious hall was full and though some may have come to see a celebrity, in the end, it was an evening of spiritual teachings.

Dr. Chopra has been in for his share of criticism, but I have never really understood. It seems he is criticized for making money and attaining celebrity, as if that somehow invalidates his teachings. To me, it is more important what he does with his fame and his money. He seems to use it to create foundations, to teach, to speak, to write books and arrange conferences, like his upcoming Sages and Scientists conference.

Perhaps he should be doing more to make his teachings accessible to people who can’t afford a ticket to Roy Thomson Hall, or can’t afford to buy his books. But that’s really none of my business. In my estimation, the good that Dr. Chopra has done by spreading messages of positivity and empowering spirituality in a language that westerners can understand and grasp far, far outweighs any judgments about his LA lifestyle, famous friends or expensive glasses. If he came onstage in a white robe and flowing beard, he would be labeled a nut and attract only a fringe audience. He has figured out how to teach the same thing that the yogis of India teach, but to a mass audience of educated westerners. More power to him.

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Collisions with karma

Mariellen — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 02:12:38 +0000

On the ghats in Varanasi, India

Capturing the concept of karma

Karm cola, karma chameleon, karma co-op, karma account, increase your good karma, it’s your karma baby … Karma has become an all-purpose word in the west that is used fairly indiscriminately without much understanding of what it really means. This is probably a pretty common phenomenon when words migrate from another language / culture. I can tell you that, as a serious student of yoga, Hinduism and Indian culture, I have been trying to wrap my mind around the word karma for years, and I have barely gleaned its meaning.

I’ve been thinking about karma for a couple of reasons lately. One, I just finished reading the book Karma Cola.

Karma Cola, written by Gita Mehta, was originally published in 1980. The author wrote it in response to the waves of hippies who washed up on India’s shores in the 60s and 70s, to avoid the American draft and the Vietnam War, to follow in the Beatles footsteps in Rishikesh, to find an alternative to the consumer-driven lifestyle of the west and to experience spiritual enlightenment — or at least spiritual understanding (which was — and is — largely absent in western culture, if you ask me).

Karma Cola by Gita Mehta

It’s an entertaining book, full of colourful stories, and she certainly has her own pop-culture-influenced writing style (a bit dated now), but I found her thesis depressing and mean-spirited. The stories in the book describe encounters either she has had, or that she has heard about, between western spiritual seekers and Indian gurus. She seems to think that westerners who travel to India to pursue a spiritual path are gullible at best, and dangerously deluded — to the point of having a fragile grasp on reality — at worst. She shows no compassion for her subjects, no understanding of what might have compelled them to become seekers, and generally no sympathy for the human condition. The book is judgmental and holds to one viewpoint from one end to the other. According to Mehta, people are either idiots (westerners) or charlatans (Indians).

She makes one point that I agree with: it’s very hard for most western minds to understand eastern concepts — they are so fundamentally different. I have seen this phenomenon many times: western yoga students and travelers to India overlaying the western world view with yogic or Hindu ideas. It’s not easy to undergo the fundamental paradigm shift from the dualistic thinking of the west (founded on the notion that you only live once, and therefore must strive to achieve everything you can in this lifetime; and the right-or-wrong view of morality-based religion) to non-dualistic Hindu thinking (based on the notion of reincarnation, the vastness of time and the oneness of the universe).

And I am no exception. Here’s my understanding of karma.

Crowd at the Kumbh Mela, Har-ki-pauri, Haridwar, India

Karma east and west

Karma means action. It is not a reward-and-punishment system; neither is it a cause-and-effect phenomenon. According to the Bhagavad Gita, which is the bible of Hinduism, Krishna instructs Arjuna that he must take his action — his karma — based on his duty — his dharma. He is a prince in the house of Pandava and therefore he must wage war against his cousins, the Kauravas, who are trying to usurp the kingdom. He cannot know or control the fruit of his actions; that is not his responsibility.

Govinda Baba: Toronto-born sadhu at the Kumbh Mela

So Karma is, in a way, based on the actions we take, but not in the straightforward way we might think of it in the west. And your “karma” can be built up over lifetimes. So things happening to me now might be the result of past karma (past actions) taken in a previous lifetime.

I see the difference between east and west largely in the response to the idea of karma. Westerners think they can control karma, so it goads them into action: work out more, be nicer, get up earlier, pay bills on time, work harder, whatever. The ego mind of the westerner springs into action and tries to control the situation, to a desired outcome or effect.

I don’t see the same reaction in India. Indians tend to be more philosophical, more accepting, more resigned you could say. My teacher in India, Swami Brahmdev, would encourage us to increase our consciousness, in other words to learn from the situations we find ourselves in. Not to try and control or change the situations.

But I am still trying to learn this concept, so I am open to more insight — please comment!

Thank you for reading. Please visit Breathedreamgo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

Photo of the Week: Dave Bouskill

Mariellen — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:24:50 +0000

The Golden Temple, Amritsar

BreatheDreamGo is thrilled to welcome photographer Dave Bouskill and his glorious photograph of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India as Photo of the Week. The Golden Temple is the centre of the Sikh religion and one of the most sacred places in India.

Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Dave is one half of The Planet D – the other half being his wife Deb. Together they are Canada’s Adventure Couple and their travel blog is one of the best on the ‘net, if you ask me. Dave also has his own photography site, Picture the Planet, which you really have to see. The photos are truly gorgeous. It’s an honour to have one of Dave’s photos on BreatheDreamGo — thanks Dave!

Thank you for reading. Please visit Breathedreamgo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

A long walk on a hot day in India

Mariellen — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:34:52 +0000

Aarti (evening ceremony) during Kumbh Mela Festival in Haridwar, India, 2010

The Kumbh Mela Festival in India

“No,” said the khaki-clad policeman. “You don’t have the right pass.” It took me a moment to grasp that I was not going to be able to join my colleagues on the media platform. The spectacle of hundreds of naga sadhus parading into the centre of Haridwar, India was the pinnacle of the Kumbh Mela, the largest spiritual gathering on earth, and I wanted to see it

That morning, I rose before dawn and walked 13 kilometres into Haridwar with a group from the ashram to take a dip in the Ganges River. It was the most auspicious moment to bathe during the festival, and millions of devotees were streaming into the city to take part.

After bathing, I separating from my ashram group to join my journalism colleagues on the platform. When I was turned away, I was stunned. The sun was climbing in the sky, I didn’t know the route back and the city was completely closed and packed with pilgrims.

Buoyed by the intense devotional energy, I somehow found the winding route back to the ashram. Arriving, I felt exhilarated and realized I would never be the same.

That morning, I discovered the truth and power of ritual. It’s not about the achievement. It’s about how a peak experience can change our idea of who we are and what we are capable of. Which is a lot to get out of a long walk on a hot day in north India.

This post has been entered into the Grantourismo and HomeAway Holiday-Rentals travel blogging competition.

Thank you for reading. Please visit Breathedreamgo or stop by my Facebook page at Breathedreamgo.

Photo of the Week: Naga Sadhu

Mariellen — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:53:06 +0000

Photo of the Week

Naga Sadhu at the Kumbh Mela, Haridwar, India

Naga Sadhu (naked holy man) at Kumbh Mela, Haridwar, India

I took this photo in the Naga Sadhu’s camp during the Kumbh Mela in April 2010. I went into Haridwar for the day with two men who were also staying at Aurovalley Ashram — Lalit and Jean-Pierre. We spent an amazing day together, hanging out with the sadhus, swimming in the Ganges and having a lot of fun. I could never have had these experiences without the help of Lalit, who is a large, gregarious Punjabi man who speaks Hindi (and English and French). We spent a long time in this camp, where I bonded with this incredibly sweet young man (but I don’t remember his name!). I wrote about another Kumbh Mela day — the main bathing day — in Alone, and at home, at the Maha Kumbh Mela, the largest gathering on earth.

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Breathedreamgo » Spirituality

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