Mantra of the Month for February - Guru Mantra

Guru Mantra

Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwaraha
Guru Saakshaat Para Brahma Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha

Guru is the Creator (Brahma), Guru is the Preserver(Vishnu), Guru Deva is Destroyer(Maheshwara). Guru is the absolute (singular) Lord himself, Salutations to that Sri Guru

Translation word by word:

• Guru: Dispeller of Darkness; Gu=Darkness, Ru=Remover

• Brahma: Creator; Personification of Creating Quality of God

• Vishnu: Preserver; Personification of Preserving quality of God

• Deva: God

• Maheshwara: Destroyer; Personification of Destroying Quality of God

• Saakshaat: Self/ Himself

• ParaBrahma: He who is the highest Lord; Consciousness

• Tasmai: To him/ To such

• Sri: Holy, splendorous

• Namaha: Salutations

Here is my favorite rendition of this mantra being chanted by Bhagavan Das.

This is Purna, That is Purna.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om poornamadah poornamidam Poornaat poornamudachyate Poornasya poornamaadaya Poornamevaa vashishyate.
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih

(Listen to the Ravi Shankar version here.)

Meaning:
Om, That (Outer World) is Purna (Full with Divine Consciousness); This (Inner World) is also Purna (Full with Divine Consciousness); From Purna comes Purna (From the Fullness of Divine Consciousness the World is manifested) ,
Taking Purna from Purna, Purna Indeed Remains (Because Divine Consciousness is Non-Dual and Infinite).
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

We are made from Divine Consciousness. We are made from the same stuff as the stars and planets. In yogic tantric literature, the Divine so wanted to experience itself in every possible incarnation that it manifested as you and me and everything else in our material world. This descent of how the “One” becomes the many is described as the 36 Tattvas. These describe the principles of existence and of consciousness becomes matter. Basically, it describes how we came to be.

It is one thing to learn about us all “being one”. It is quite another thing to experience it. We all have moments in our lives where we feel that we are connected; that we have the insight into a deeper part of ourselves and we perceive that oneness. More often, though, we feel separate and different. This experience of differentiation comes from a power called Maya, or illusion. Maya has three ways in which it operates; the three Malas. They are:

1. Anava Mala
Creating feelings of unworthiness, the source of incompleteness we experience. It gives rise to feelings of insecurity and sadness. Connected to the heart.

2. Mayiya Mala
Perception of difference, separateness between us and the world. Creates comparison to others. It gives rise to feelings of jealousy and anger. Connected to the mind.

3. Karma Mala
The capacity for limited activity, the feeling of inability to act, not doing enough. It gives rise to feelings of worry and fear. Connected to the body.

These Malas are part of our existence, part of the fabric of who we are. As such, there is no need to get upset about it or even trying to “rid” ourselves from these perceptions. Yoga can teach us to become observant when these Malas come up. We cultivate the power of discernment to help us see that even though we feel a certain way, it is not who we are. With this increased awareness, we work with the Malas and not against them and we will be able to see ourselves as we truly are: Pure Consciousness.

This mantra is meant to help us connect to that sense of “Oneness”.

Here is another beautiful recording of the mantra for your listening pleasure!

This reading from Louise Hay seems to go perfectly with this mantra:

In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect,
whole and complete and yet life is ever changing.
 There is no beginning and no end,
only a constant cycling and recycling
of substance and experiences.
Life is never stuck or static or stale,
for each moment is  ever new and fresh.
I am one with the very Power that created me and this Power
has given me the power to create my own circumstances.
I rejoice in the knowledge that I have the power
of my own mind to use in any way I choose.
Every moment of life is a new beginning point
as we move from the old.  This moment is a new point
of beginning for me right here and right now.
All is well with my world.

from You can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay.  You can download a pdf version of the book here.

Chanting AUM

AUM: The Best Praise or Prayer

The Latin word Omne and the Sanskrit word Aum are both derived from the same root meaning all and both words convey the concept of omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. Another word for Aum is pranava , which is derived from the root nu meaning to praise, to which is added the prefix pra, denoting superiority. The word, therefore, means the best praise or the best prayer.

The symbol Aum is comprised of three syllables, namely the letters A, U, M and when written has a crescent and dot on its top. A few instances of the various interpretations given to it may be mentioned here to convey its meaning.

The letter A represents the deepest sound in the body that can be made. It is a sound that comes from the throat. The U represents the sound in the middle of the palate. The M represents the sound at the furthest extent that the human voice can create, at the end of the lips. Thus A, U, M represents the sounds of creation represented by the power of speech. As it says in Genesis: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God. Aum represents the power to create through speech.

The letter A symbolizes the conscious or waking state, the letter U the dream state, and the letter M the dreamless sleep state of the mind and spirit. The entire symbol, together with the crescent and the dot, stands for the fourth state, which combines all of these states and transcends them. This is the state of Samadhi (a state in which the aspirant is one with the object of his meditation, the Supreme Spirit pervading the universe, where there is a feeling of unutterable joy and peace).

The letters A, U, M symbolize respectively speech, the mind and the breath of life, while the entire symbol stands for the living spirit, which is but a portion of the divine spirit.

The three letters also represent the dimensions of length, breadth and depth, while the entire symbol represents Divinity, which is beyond the limitation of shape and form.

The three letters A, U and M, symbolize the absence of desire, fear and anger, while the whole symbol stands for the perfect man, one whose wisdom is perfectly established in the divine.

They represent the three genders, masculine, feminine and neuter, while the entire symbol represents all creation together with the Creator.
They stand for the three gunas or qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas, while the whole symbol represents a gunatita, one who has transcended and gone beyond the pull of the gunas.

The three letters correspond to the three tenses – past, present and future – while the entire symbol stands for the Creator, who transcends the limitations of time.

They also stand for the teaching imparted by the mother, father and Guru respectively. The entire symbol represents Brahma Vidya, the knowledge of the Self, the teaching of which is imperishable.

The three letters depict the three stages of yoga discipline: asana, pranayama and pratyhara, The entre symbol represents Samadhi the goal for which the three stages are the steps.

They represent the triad of Divinity, namely Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer and Shiva the destroyer of the universe. The whole symbol is said to represent Brahman from which the universe emanates, has its growth and fruition and into which it emerges in the end. It does not grow or change. Many change and pass, but Brahman is the One that remains unchanged.

The letters A, U, M also stand for the mantra “Tat Twam Asi” (That Thou Art), the realization of man’s divinity within himself. The entire symbol stands for this realization, which liberates the human spirit from the confines of his body, mind, intellect and ego.

After realizing the importance of AUM, the yogi focuses his attention on his beloved Deity adding AUM to the name of the Lord. The word Aum being too vast and abstract, he unifies his senses, will, intellect, mind and reason by focusing on the name of the Lord and adding the word AUm with one-pointed devotion and so experiences the feeling and meaning of the mantra.

The yogi recalls the verses of the Mandukopanisad: Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanisad, one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation. Stretching it with a though directed to the essence of That, penetrate the Imperishable as the mark, my friend. The mystic symbol AUM is the bow. The arrow is the self. Brahman is the target. By the undistracted man is It penetrated. One should come to be in It, as the arrow in the mark.

Most of this is taken from Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar

Doing it Right

Doing It RIght

In the book, “How Yoga Works,” Miss Friday is working with her student, the Captain.  The Captain comes to yoga as a lot of us do, to help us get out of pain; in this case back pain. He has been working with his teacher for a little while and he is pleased with the progress he is making.  But, as he practices Miss Friday sees that he is cheating in Pascimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend).  He is feeling a little pride in his practice because he can already touch his head to his knees in this seated forward bend.  But Miss Friday stops him.  He doesn’t understand why she stops him. But she tells him that he is cheating because he is bending his knees and rounding his spine in order to get his head to touch his head to his knees. (a common cheat)  She warns him that his both his back and legs are supposed to be straight.  She describes the correct bio-mechanics of hinging from the hips and not folding at the waist.  She tells him that they are doing the practice to make his back healthy again, not to make sure that he can touch his head to his knees.

Y.S. I.14  Your practice must be done correctly, for then a firm foundation is laid.

Miss Friday tells the Captain: “You see, the point is not what the pose looks like in the end.  It’s the process of the pose as it goes on; it’s what it does inside of you, how it works to begin to straighten and open your channels.   These are the channels of how energy flows in the body.  (More about that in another post!) Miss Friday goes on to say:  “But if you don’t do the pose right, if you cheat, if you try to trick the pose and get around it just so you look good, then the pose doesn’t work on you the way it is supposed to.”

She asks him to do the pose, again, without bending his knees, which he does.  It’s a beautiful pose, his back is straight, his legs are straight and he is hinging at the hips.  But the Captain is unhappy because his head is about 2 feet from his knees!

We are often like the Captain, impatient in our progress and mistaking what it not important for what is important.  Often a student sees someone do a very advanced Pascimottanasana and sees that their head is touching their legs, so they think that is important, but what they don’t see is the straightness of the legs and the long, almost straight line of the back.  It can take a long time to get to that stage of practice with a lot of hard work and true understanding of what is going on in the body.

One of the things I love about the study of yoga and the stories and mythologies that it uses to teach us is that we are meant to see ourselves in every character of the story.  Can you see yourself as the Captain?  Can you see yourself as Miss Friday?  Sometimes it is hard for us to recognize ourselves as the Captain, especially if we don’t like what we see.  But, we are also meant to see ourselves from a different perspective.  That way we can see if we are cheating ourselves and examine why.  Pride?  Envy?  Impatience?  While Impatience is not one of the Seven Deadly Sins from Christianity, or the Six Enemies of the Heart from the Yoga Sutras, as are pride and envy, it still has a way of blocking the channels and stopping progress on the path.

In the Iyengar style of yoga that I study and teach, the focus is on doing the poses correctly, to open the channels of energy in the body to create an optimum flow of healing energy.  It's a method that has worked for me.

The Trouble Tree

The Trouble Tree - author unknown

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.

On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied." I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again."

He paused. "Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there ain't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

The story of The Trouble Tree reminds me of a sermon I remember from my childhood. The pastor of a parish in a small town was frustrated with his parishioners always complaining about their problems. He didn’t know how to help them. But, one day he had an idea. He asked everyone to write their problems out on a card and tie them to a tree. After everyone did this, he invited the townspeople to walk around the tree and pick any card off the tree that they wanted to. The idea was that they could trade their problems in for somebody else’s. I remember getting excited about this as a kid. I fantasized about trading in my imperfect world for the world of my dreams. I was dumbstruck when the priest said that after everyone walked around the tree and looked at everyone else’s problems, they realized that their lives were not so bad after all. Everyone had problems. This simple act made people remember to count their blessings and to be more compassionate with their neighbors, where before, they may have been envious of them.
This was a great lesson for a young girl and perhaps the beginnings of my life as seeker. What is your earliest memory of a great lesson you learned that has helped shape your life and who you have become?

Love yourself. Be compassionate with yourself on your journey. And always remember to be grateful that you have a journey to be travelling on.

Book Review – Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

Bood Review - Can’t Hurt Me by David Giggins

I have enjoyed listening to all 13 hours and 38 minutes of David Goggins’ story in his book Can’t Hurt Me.  It describes how he pulled himself out of what he calls the sewer and becomes a Navy Seal.  He describes what he did to acquire the mental toughness to overcome the abuse he suffered from his father, how he overcame poverty and racial prejudice to achieve the goals he set for himself.  How he did not accept the victim mentality and let his life be defined by others.  He refused to become a statistic.

David Goggins  states that most of us live very comfortable lives and operate at only about 40% of our capability.  He writes in detail about how he went from weighing 305 pounds working a dead end job setting rat traps and spraying for roaches at night in restaurants for an exterminating company to becoming one of the Navy’s most elite and fit fighters.  He also became an elite ultra marathon runner and is now working as a wildfire firefighter in Montana.

While Davis’ book is inspirational, he doesn’t want the reader to simply be inspired by him, he wants the reader to recognize that they are capable of so much more.  While his book is a memoir, it is also a self-help book.  In it he outlines 10 steps, or challenges, for the reader to take on.  One of the reasons I liked this book so much is that it really describes the yogic path.  I know that some folks think that the yogic path is supposed to be soft and gentle.  I have always felt that the path of yoga always asks us to do the harder thing and not to take the path of least resistance.

1. Get real with yourself: Name the enemy.

   1.  Satya, or truthfulness.  In this instance, with yourself.

2. Check in with your accountability mirror daily.

   1. This is the principle of svadhyaya, or self-study.  Are you really walking the talk?

3. Visualize success.

   1. You have to know what you want in order to work towards it.

4. Don’t skip out on the last rep when you are training. Finish when you are done, not when you are tired.

   1. This is the yogic practice of abhyasa which means consistent practice over a long period of time. whether you feel like it or not.

5. Apply progressive overload not just in your workouts, but in your life.

   1. Again, this is abhyasa.

6. Celebrate your success with work.

   1. Don't fall of the path to celebrate.  Celebrate by staying on the path.

7. Know why you are in the fight to stay in the fight.

   1. The power of setting an intention.

8. Use your past successes to create your own second winds.

   1. Again, this is part of svadhyaya, or self-study.

9. You will feel alone. You will feel insecure.  Get over it.

   1. Patthabi Jois used to say that yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.  Mostly it just consists of you, your mat and your life off of the mat.

10. The harder you try the harder your life becomes – to your benefit.

    1. This is the principle of tapas, which means to burn with zeal.  Medical intuitive and spiritual teacher Caroline Myss says that life is easier with your head in the sand.  Walking the spiritual path, with your eyes open is so much harder and so much more rewarding.

Men’s Health magazine did a book review on Can’t Hurt Me and wrote in different detail about these 10 steps.  You can read the fleshed out descriptions here and also see some stunning before and after pictures of David Goggins.  They also used some great posts from his Instagram account.  Of course, you can find David Goggins yourself on Facebook or Instagram yourself.

https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/a25429109/david-goggins-cant-hurt-me-book-review/

Note on adult language:  My mother couldn’t stand books or movies with curse words in them, maybe that is a different generation, but if that is you then don’t read this book.  Mr. Goggins curses like, well, a sailor and the text is filled with F bombs.  However, he writes the way that he speaks and he says that he is just keeping it real and raw, the way his life truly was.

Let me know how you enjoyed this book and what your best take away from it was by leaving a comment below.

Yoga Sutras 3.13 to 3.16 The Final Sutras on the Architecture of Change

Y.S. 3.13  Etena bhutendriyesu dharma laksana avastha parinamah vyakhyatah

Etena   By this
bhutendriyesu  the elements, body and sense organs
dharma propriety, law, duty, right, virtue, religion
laksana character, mark, sign, quality, description
avastha  condition, state, position
parinamah change, effect,transformation
vyakhyatah  visible, described, unfolded, enumerated

Through these three phases, cultured consciousness is transformed from its potential state (dharma) towards further refinement (laksana) and the zenith of refinement (avastha).  In this way, the transformation of elements, sense and mind takes place.

These three stages can be described using a clay pot as an analogy.  The dust that makes the clay is the potential state, the clay itself is the second stage of further refinement and the pot is the zenith of its refinement.  Everything has these same properties.  Can we learn to see these properties and know that everything is in one of these states and in the process of transitioning into the next state, as this process is cyclical.  

Y.S. 3.14  Santa udita avyapadesya dharma anupati dharmi

Santa  Appeased, allayed clamed, quietened, pacified
udita  rise, ascended, manifested
avyapadesya   not defined, latent, lying in potential form
dharma  propriety, usage, law, duty, religion, virtue
anupati  closely followed, common to
dharmi  virtuous, just, religious, characterized

The substrata is that which continues to exist and maintain its characteristic quality in all states whether manifest, latent or subdued.

Using the refinement of our yoga practice, we can train ourselves to perceive this.

Y.S. 3.15  Krama anyatvam parinama anyatve hetuh

Krama  Going, proceeding, advancing, regular course, method, order of sequence, succession
anyatvam  different, distinct
parinama   change, transformation, effect
anyatve  different, distinct, variant
hetuh  cause, reason

Successive sequential changes cause the distinctive changes in the consciousness.

Y.S. 3.16  Parinama matraya samyamat atita anagatajnanam

Parinama change, transformation, effect
traya  threefold
samyamat  integration, control
atita  past
anagata  future
jnanam  knowledge

By mastery of the three transformation of nature (dharma), quality (laksana) and condition (avastha), through samyama on the nirodha, samadhi and ekagrata states of consciousness, the yogi acquires knowledge of the past and future.

Know one thing and you can know everything.

Through the process of yoga and meditation we learn to still the mind and focus on one thing; this is called ekagrata, or one-pointed consciousness.  This is the direct opposite of multi-tasking which we are often engaged in.  Multi-tasking is not very productive and can often lead to mistakes or lapses of attention on one thing as attention is diverted to something else.  Yoga asks us to focus, laser-like on what we are doing.  The idea being that we can know everything by learning all we can about one thing.

It is similar to the analogy of digging one 100 foot deep hole rather than 100 one foot deep holes.  Sure, in the beginning you might want to look around for a bit to see which area you want to focus on but once you do, then dive in completely.  The analogy often given in the Yoga Sutras is that of being a potter and making clay pots.  If you put in the requisite 10,000 hours for mastery of your material, then you know the properties of the clay inside and out.  You are able to recognize the potential of the material to become a pot and to also recognize that eventually the pot will one day return to the dust from which the clay was made. This skill involves knowing the properties of the material and the effects of time and place on it.

The importance of these sutras can be demonstrated by the practice of asana, pranayama and meditation.  If we imagine the scattered dust cells of the body and scattered thoughts of the mind and we charge them so that they cohere like a lump of clay, we can feel their inner unity and transform body, breath and consciousness into the shapes of the various asanas as a potter turns a lump of clay into a pot.

In asana, if the energy of the body is harmonized into a single point while in a state of tension, we reach precision.  This single pointed attention indicates the point of balance and harmony at which we can unlock and liberate the knotty confusion of matter and emotion.  It also conveys the importance of finding the exact center of the meeting points of vertical extension and horizontal expansion in body, breath and consciousness.    This is yoga in action.

Chapter 3 verses 9 to 12 The First Four Sutras on the Architecture of Change

 Y.S. 3.9  Vyutthana nirodha samskarayoh abhibhava pradurbhavau nirodhaksana cittanvayo nirodha parinamah

Vyutthana  outgoing, emerging
nirodha   control, restraint
samskarayoh  conscious imprints
abhibhava  overpowering
pradurbhavau to manifest, appear
nirodha control, restraint
ksana instant, moment
cittanvayo  connected with consciousness
nirodha control, mastery
parinamah   development

Study of the silent moments between rising and restraining subliminal impressions is the transformation of consciousness towards restraint.

Y.S. 3.10  Tasya prasanta vahita samskarat

Tasya   Its
prasanta   peaceful
vahita  flow
samskarat  subliminal impressions

The restraint of rising impressions brings about an undisturbed flow of tranquility.

Y.S. 3.11  sarvarthata ekagratayoh ksayodayau cittasya samadhi parinamah

sarvarthata  on all objects
ekagratayoh  single-pointed focus
ksaya  destruction
udaya  to rise
cittasya  of the mind
samadhi   absolute absorption
parinamah  transformation

The weakening of scattered attention and the rise of one-pointed attention in the citta is the transformation toward Samadhi.

Y.S. 3.12 Tatah punahsantauditau tulya pratyayau cittasya ekagrata parinamah

Tatah  Then
punah again
santa  subsiding state, quiescent state
uditau  rising state
tulya  similar
pratyayau cognitions, means of actions, cause
cittasya  ­of consciousness, mind
ekagrata  one-pointedness
parinamah  transformation

When rising and falling thought processes are in balance, one-pointed consciousness emerges.  Maintenance of awareness with keen intensity from one-pointed attention to no-pointed attentiveness is ekagrata parinama.

 Commentary

The mind is made up of samskaras (subliminal imprints).  There are two types of imprints: outgoing samskaras that propel the mind into any kind of activity and restraining samskaras which are activated in meditation and restrain the outgoing samskaras.

When we are too distracted by our sensory experience desire, frustration and anger can arise.  These bring disorientation, dissatisfaction and a sense of being ungrounded. Through the practices of  These are all external means of restraining consciousness or the samskaras, whether we focus on God, or the breath, or in asana by learning to direct and diffuse consciousness.

When the restraining samskaras are in effect, the outgoing samskaras lay dormant and vice versa.  In the process of turning inward for meditation, we need to be able to change the normal state of our consciousness from one which is outwardly focused to one that is more internally focused.  We begin this process by practicing the limbs of yoga: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama and pratyhara,  in order to learn to control the effects of external stimuli.

A meditation practice to help restrain the outgoing mind.

This takes tapas (effort).  We sit and make a commitment to stay still.  One practice that helps to turn the mind inward is the practice of following the breath.  In every breath there are four parts: inhalation, pause, exhalation, pause.  During meditation, one can practice by focusing on the easy rise and fall of the breath.  Without trying to change or shape the breath consciously, you simply begin to notice the length of each inhalation and exhalation and allow them to become even.  After a few breaths draw your attention to the slight pause between the breaths.  This pause is often termed “the gap”.  Without grasping for the gap, notice its presence between the breaths.  Sometimes it is possible to slip into that gap in meditation.  Then you are in the state of restraining the samskaras.  This is an early state of meditation and of the experience of Samadhi.  You may experience this pause for a fraction of a second.  And as soon as you notice you are in the gap, it disappears.  But it is a beautiful moment when the mind is still.  Often it is hard to tell how long you may have been in this gap; it could be seconds or minutes.  It is the experience of the present moment just as it is.  This is called ekagrata parinama.  You have succeeded in transforming the mind from being distracted into one-pointed concentration.

Follow this guided meditation for relaxing the body and getting into the gap between the inhalations and exhalations where the mind is still.

Bibliography for Sweet Surrender

This year’s theme for my 9th Annual Women's Yoga Retreat was “Sweet Surrender.” One of the hardest spiritual practices is letting go. Letting go of all the would haves, could haves and should haves. Letting go of having to have the universe act according to my own preferences. Letting go of irritations. Letting go of stuff!

For the basic idea of de-cluttering of your stuff, I recommend Marie Kondo’s book The Magical Art of Tidying Up. In it, she not only gives you tips and techniques for getting rid of your extra stuff, but she also tells you that by getting rid of your stuff, you will discover exactly what you need to do in your life. I find this very interesting, because the Yoga Sutras promise the same thing. In her translation of Aparigraha, Swami Nirmalananda says that “Becoming established in non-greediness gives you knowledge of the how and why of your birth.” Y.S. 2.39

For those of you who don’t think that having too much stuff is a problem. I recommend that you consider the correlation of weight/wait and stuff/time. Caroline Myss, a medical intuitive, talks about the psychic weight of having too much stuff and how the more weight you carry around as stuff, the longer it will take you to evolve, or or change. She says:
That constant irritating voice telling you to clean out the closet or organize photographs or any of those tasks that relate to cleansing “stored stuff” is actually a very sophisticated intuitive directive that is a prelude to change. All of your “stored stuff” should be considered psychic anchors that keep your world psychically heavy and slow moving. People always remark that they feel “lighter” after they have cleared out closets and basements – that is a psychic lightness, a cutting of ties to countless past times zones that have been hanging in your energy field literally like “psychic weight”, adding “waiting” time to everything in your life. Thus, your ideas feel more and more like unattainable fantasies because you do not have the energy required to transform an idea from “thought into form”. Even holding on to “stuff” that needs to be shed requires energy; never mind all the psychic energy that goes into to holding on to wounds. Combine all the many forms of psychic weight that a person holds on to and the end result is that a person ends up postponing more and more of his or her life because even the simplest task – like clearing out a closet – looks to be overwhelming. I’ve said so often to people, “How can you hope to pursue your highest potential when you are not even managing half your potential now?”
I also recommend her book: “Why People Don’t Heal and How They Can.” Where she talks more about our desire to change, but our inability to give certain things up. It is this inability to let go, or surrender, that keeps us stuck.

And finally, Michael Singer’s book, “The Untethered Soul,” is one of the best books for learning about letting go of your small “s” self and finding your capital “S” Self. I read from his book about removing your inner thorns. This was about how, when something catches us or irritates us, rather than letting go, we tend to hang onto the “thorn.” We tend to worry it, irritate it and build a protective apparatus around it rather than pulling it out and letting it go.

Chapter 3, Sutras 7 & 8 The Context of Internal and External

Y.S. 3.7 Tryam antargaram purvebbhyah
Tryam these three
antar internal
anga limbs
purvebhyah than the previous ones

These three practices, or limbs of yoga: dharana, dhyana and Samadhi, are more internal than the previous ones.

The border between what is internal and external is relative to the depth of our practice. To the novice, the external world is that which is outside their skin. The adept yogi will suggest that even your body is external. What’s more important than identifying a border is knowing the direction of internal. Morals are external. Actions are external. More inward than these is the pose we hold. The breath is more internal than the pose. Letting go is more internal than the breath. Focus, meditation and Samadhi are the most internal, but just for now. When you abandon the “I”, the “actor”, then we find ourselves at the beginning of a much deeper internal. Where even the act of completely dissolving the soul is an external reality, because the abandoned soul is some specific soul, and who you are is something far greater, far more pervasive than just this infinite soul. Even souls come and go. Think of what peace a falling leaf would hold if it knew it was the tree it fell from.

Y.S.3.8 Tadapi bahirangam nirbijasya
Tadapi that which also
bahir external
anga limb
nirbija seedless Samadhi

But even these eight limbs of yoga are external to seedless Samadhi
There are two faces to enlightenment. One is the one we see and celebrate like the Buddha’s image, the parables of Jesus, performing acts of charity and practicing together. The other is one we can’t see and will never fully understand because of the limitations of human perception. This is like the Zen koan that has no answer, or devotion without reason, or the absolute uncertainty of presence. These latter examples are seedless because there is no face to them. They exist just a fraction ahead of our ability to understand them. Love is the best example of these two sides. On one side, we see the object of our love and why we love them. But the seedless side of love is how true love is unconditional. Just like a mother doesn’t askher chid for anything in return. Just like the sun never says to the moon, “You owe me”. (Hafiz) Seedless love is more internal. It’s more primordial. The more internal the perception, the more universal it is to all things. The more available it has been and will be throughout time.