Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering the topic “Uniting Thought and Action.”
During the day do not do one thing while thinking of another. Thought and action must be unified - no thought be permitted without reference to actions or intended action; and no action performed without intention. By this practice all day long the mind and body are taught to act together, without any waste of physical or mental energy.
- Ernest Wood
The homework is to practice unifying the mind and body through your asana practice. Learn to be economical in your movements and actions and to be present by recognizing when your mind wanders from your practice. Apply this practice to your daily life off of the mat.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Meditation and Freedom
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering the topic “Meditation and Freedom.”
Thought is not the way to the new. Only meditation opens the door to that which is everlasting new. Meditation is not a trick of thought. It is the seeing of the futility of thought and the ways of the intellect. Intellect and thought are necessary in the operation of anything mechanical, but the intellect is a fragmentary perception of the whole. Intellect can operate only in the field of the known and that is why life becomes a monotonous routine from which we try to escape through revolts and revolutions - merely to fall back once again into another field of the known. This change is no change at all as it is the product of thought which is always old. Meditation is the flight from the known. There is only one freedom; it is, from the known. And beauty and love lie in this freedom.
- Jiddu Krishnamurti
The homework is to observe your thoughts throughout the day. Start to notice how the intellect operates through this observation. Try to be a witness to this process. The practice of witnessing can be the start of a contemplative practice like prayer or meditation.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
This week in class we are considering the topic “Meditation and Freedom.”
Thought is not the way to the new. Only meditation opens the door to that which is everlasting new. Meditation is not a trick of thought. It is the seeing of the futility of thought and the ways of the intellect. Intellect and thought are necessary in the operation of anything mechanical, but the intellect is a fragmentary perception of the whole. Intellect can operate only in the field of the known and that is why life becomes a monotonous routine from which we try to escape through revolts and revolutions - merely to fall back once again into another field of the known. This change is no change at all as it is the product of thought which is always old. Meditation is the flight from the known. There is only one freedom; it is, from the known. And beauty and love lie in this freedom.
- Jiddu Krishnamurti
The homework is to observe your thoughts throughout the day. Start to notice how the intellect operates through this observation. Try to be a witness to this process. The practice of witnessing can be the start of a contemplative practice like prayer or meditation.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Meditation is Drilling
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering the topic “Meditation is Drilling.”
After a lot of sustained, systematic effort in meditation, we may finally succeed in breaking through the surface crust of consciousness. What lies below is the unconscious, which has many layers - strata on strata deposited by habits of thinking and acting, little by little, every day of our life. Drilling through these strata in meditation means overcoming limitations, all the obstacles created by self-will: the fierce, driving compulsion to have our own way, get what we want, stamp ourselves separate from the rest of life. The biggest leap in meditation comes when we run headlong and throw ourselves over the rim of all duality to land in the unitive state, where nothing is separate. This state is shanti, perfect peace.
- Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to notice when you have thoughts or behaviors that create the feeling of being separate from the rest of the world. Noticing when your self-will encourages you to entertain these ideas or actions is the first step towards taking the big leap towards unity.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
This week in class we are considering the topic “Meditation is Drilling.”
After a lot of sustained, systematic effort in meditation, we may finally succeed in breaking through the surface crust of consciousness. What lies below is the unconscious, which has many layers - strata on strata deposited by habits of thinking and acting, little by little, every day of our life. Drilling through these strata in meditation means overcoming limitations, all the obstacles created by self-will: the fierce, driving compulsion to have our own way, get what we want, stamp ourselves separate from the rest of life. The biggest leap in meditation comes when we run headlong and throw ourselves over the rim of all duality to land in the unitive state, where nothing is separate. This state is shanti, perfect peace.
- Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to notice when you have thoughts or behaviors that create the feeling of being separate from the rest of the world. Noticing when your self-will encourages you to entertain these ideas or actions is the first step towards taking the big leap towards unity.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Monday, September 6, 2010
Watching the Watcher
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering the topic “Watching the Watcher.”
Although we cannot really stop the presence of I-making, we can disengage a certain part of ourselves from it and observe it. And when we observe our thought patterns, we find that the conscious mind begins to change. A different sense of ahamkara comes into being - a different sense of "I" is watching, witnessing, dispassionately observing. Just as there are various levels of consciousness, so there are different varieties of I-ness, and now we realize that in addition to the "I" who is being the typical me, there is another "I" who is watching it all.
- Rudolph M. Ballentine
The homework is to pay close attention to all of your "I" oriented patterns of thought. Observe this I-making process so you can disengage yourself from it. Do not try to stop it, because who would be stopping it? The more we try to control "I" making, the more we reinforce the sense of "I" and the more we lock ourselves into the very process we are trying to disengage ourselves from. Disengaging can be part of the process of observing it. Then ask yourself who is watching the watcher.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
This week in class we are considering the topic “Watching the Watcher.”
Although we cannot really stop the presence of I-making, we can disengage a certain part of ourselves from it and observe it. And when we observe our thought patterns, we find that the conscious mind begins to change. A different sense of ahamkara comes into being - a different sense of "I" is watching, witnessing, dispassionately observing. Just as there are various levels of consciousness, so there are different varieties of I-ness, and now we realize that in addition to the "I" who is being the typical me, there is another "I" who is watching it all.
- Rudolph M. Ballentine
The homework is to pay close attention to all of your "I" oriented patterns of thought. Observe this I-making process so you can disengage yourself from it. Do not try to stop it, because who would be stopping it? The more we try to control "I" making, the more we reinforce the sense of "I" and the more we lock ourselves into the very process we are trying to disengage ourselves from. Disengaging can be part of the process of observing it. Then ask yourself who is watching the watcher.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
The BKS Iyengar Yoga School of Southwest Washington
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
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