Satya- truthfullness
"Can you feel truth as a physical reaction to the energy that is present, long before the mind has captured the words? Tears may fall spontaneously as your heart unfolds, ready to receive. With energy and words that dim truth, do you experience a tightening in the body that releases a wash of fear and anxiety? The heart rests when it is in Satya." - Nischala Joy Devi, The Secret Power of Yoga, p.184
Notice how you exaggerate, embellish, or even just change the truth slightly when you speak. The Buddha said enlightenment is freedom from residues. We can think of residue as what is left behind when our speech is not truthful. We worry about what we said, we wonder if our speech caused harm, we wonder if our lie will come back to bite us. If we say what we believe to be true and keep it at that, we are cultivating harmony in our life.
"Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?" -Sufi saying
"Most people will not remember what you said or what you did. But they will remember how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou
Notice the truthfulness of your own thoughts. Do you self-denigrate or self-aggrandize? Do you follow story lines that are not true, therefore creating problems for yourself and others?
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Ahimsa- compassion toward all beings
See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
Then you can care for all things.
- Tao te Ching #13
Treat yourself as you would treat a friend
Notice your internal dialogue. Do you say things about yourself you would never say about a friend?
Treat the world as if it is living and breathing. Treat the world with a knowledge of interconnection; harming something else harms you.
See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
Then you can care for all things.
- Tao te Ching #13
Treat yourself as you would treat a friend
Notice your internal dialogue. Do you say things about yourself you would never say about a friend?
Treat the world as if it is living and breathing. Treat the world with a knowledge of interconnection; harming something else harms you.
Yamas and Niyamas
10 ethical precepts that allow us to be at peace w ourselves, our families, and our communities
Are we moving toward greater kindness, patience, or tolerance toward others?
Are we able to remain calm and centered, even when others around us become agitated or angry?
How we speak, how we treat others, and how we live are [more] subjective qualities and attributes we need to learn to recognize in ourselves as a testament to our own progress and as gauges of authenticity in our potential teachers.
Am I becoming the kind of person I would like to have as a friend?
From Yoga Mind, Body, and Spirit by Donna Farhi
10 ethical precepts that allow us to be at peace w ourselves, our families, and our communities
Are we moving toward greater kindness, patience, or tolerance toward others?
Are we able to remain calm and centered, even when others around us become agitated or angry?
How we speak, how we treat others, and how we live are [more] subjective qualities and attributes we need to learn to recognize in ourselves as a testament to our own progress and as gauges of authenticity in our potential teachers.
Am I becoming the kind of person I would like to have as a friend?
From Yoga Mind, Body, and Spirit by Donna Farhi
Sunday, September 9, 2012
8th Limb of Yoga- Samadhi
(enlightenment, absorbtion, liberation, steady mind)
"As a tethered bird grows tired of flying
About in vain to find a place of rest
And settles down at last on its own perch,
So the mind, tired of wandering about
Hither and thither, settles down at last
In the Self, dear one, to which it is bound."
- Chandogya Upanishad, Eknath Easwaran translation
Ideally everything we do, every yoga pose, comes from a settled place.
There is a part of us that's always settled.
All of the yoga practices create a sense of settling and it builds over time.
Liberation is freedom from residues. -Buddha
Samadhi is complete absorption; it is knowing that we are part of the great ocean of consciousness and feeling no separateness from it.
It is a steady mind. A person with a steady mind is quiet inside.
In our yoga poses we establish steadiness first in our foundation- that part of us which is touching the ground. Root down through your heels, press out through the base of your index fingers and thumbs.
(enlightenment, absorbtion, liberation, steady mind)
"As a tethered bird grows tired of flying
About in vain to find a place of rest
And settles down at last on its own perch,
So the mind, tired of wandering about
Hither and thither, settles down at last
In the Self, dear one, to which it is bound."
- Chandogya Upanishad, Eknath Easwaran translation
Ideally everything we do, every yoga pose, comes from a settled place.
There is a part of us that's always settled.
All of the yoga practices create a sense of settling and it builds over time.
Liberation is freedom from residues. -Buddha
Samadhi is complete absorption; it is knowing that we are part of the great ocean of consciousness and feeling no separateness from it.
It is a steady mind. A person with a steady mind is quiet inside.
In our yoga poses we establish steadiness first in our foundation- that part of us which is touching the ground. Root down through your heels, press out through the base of your index fingers and thumbs.
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