How Dharana (one-pointed concentration) Works Together with Ahimsa (non-harming, Love).

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring how Dharana (one-pointed concentration) works together with Ahimsa (non-harming, Love).

When one is rising, standing, walking, doing something, stopping, one should constantly concentrate one's mind on the act and the doing of it, not on one's relation to the act, or its character or value. . . . One should simply practice concentration of the mind on the act itself.

                                                              – Ashvaghosha

There is a close connection between deep concentration and love, and with the practice of one-pointed attention we can greatly increase the precious capacity to remain loving and loyal no matter what the vicissitudes or circumstances we encounter.

We can practice this one-pointedness throughout the day by doing one thing at a time, and giving our full attention to whatever we are doing. While having breakfast, for example, we can give our complete attention to the food and not to the newspaper. If we are listening to a friend, even if a parrot flies down and perches on his head, we should not get excited, point to the parrot, and burst out, "Excuse me for interrupting, but there's a bird on your head." We should be able to concentrate so hard on what our friend is saying that we can tell this urge, "Don't distract me. Afterwards, I'll tell him about the parrot."

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to explore through your Yoga practices how Dharana (one-pointed concentration) works together with Ahimsa (non-harming, Love) to help cultivate Love and loyalty no matter what the situation.

    

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

Discriminative Knowledge (Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, II:26)

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring discriminative knowledge (Yoga Sutras of Patanjali II:26).

Loss of discrimination is the greatest source of danger.

                                                              – Sanskrit proverb

The greatest source of danger to a human being is loss of discrimination, and this is the main malady in our modern  civilization, where we have lost our capacity to differentiate between what is necessary and useful, and what is unnecessary and harmful.

How often do we stop and ask, "What is really important? What matters most to me?"

If every one of us starts asking this simple question, it will transform our daily lives and even the world in which we live. After all, we need clean air and water more than we need microwave ovens. Doing work that is meaningful and of service to others is more important than owning luxury cars. We need loving human relationships more than we need home entertainment systems.

Many modern conveniences make life more pleasant and can save time. We needn't live without them, but when we begin to think such things are not merely useful but prized possessions, we may gradually lose our discrimination.

In order to understand what is important in life, what our real priorities are, discrimination is essential.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to study Yoga sutra II:26, "The ceaseless flow of discriminative knowledge in thought, word and deed destroys ignorance, the source of pain."*  Patanjali suggests that developing discernment, the faculty of discrimination, and seeing clearly what is essential without any ambiguity leads to a lucid mind that perceives the world objectively and positively. Ask yourself how do the practices of Yoga help to cultivate discernment and discriminative knowledge?

 

References: *Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, BKS Iyengar and The Essence of Yoga, Bouanchaud

 

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

Dharana, or Concentration

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring Dharana, or concentration.

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one.

                                                              – George Bernard Shaw

All of us have tasted the freedom and happiness that self-forgetfulness brings. In watching a good game of tennis or becoming engrossed in a novel, the satisfaction comes not so much from what we are watching or reading as from the act of absorption itself. For that brief span, our burden of personal thoughts is forgotten. Then we find relief, for what lies beneath that burden is a still, clear state of awareness.

The scientist or the artist absorbed in creative work is happy because she has forgotten herself in what she is doing. But nowhere will you find personalities so joyous, so unabashedly lighthearted, as those who have lost themselves in love for all. That is the joy we glimpse in Saint Francis or Mahatma Gandhi. To look at the lives of men and women like these is to see what joy means.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to notice how the more you can concentrate (Dharana - the 6^th limb of Yoga) during your Yoga practice the more relaxed you feel afterwards. Then try and apply this process to your daily life and see what happens.

 

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

Becoming More Literate in Love

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring becoming more literate in Love.

Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment. I love because I love; I love in order that I may love.

                                                              – Saint Bernard

It takes a good deal of experience of life to see why some relationships last and others do not. But we do not have to wait for a crisis to get an idea of the future of a particular relationship. Our behavior in little everyday incidents tells us a great deal.

We only need to ask ourselves, "Am I ready to put the other person first?" If the answer is yes, that relationship is likely to grow deeper and more rewarding with the passage of time, whatever problems may come. If the answer is no, that relationship may not be able to withstand the testing that life is bound to bring.

Relationships break down, not because we are bad, but because we are illiterate in love.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to work to become more literate in Love. Work on cultivating unconditional love.  Start by putting others needs before your own without any thought of getting something in return.  Try to extend this love to those closest to you first and move out from there.

 

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

The first Yama: Ahimsa - love, non-harming.

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring the first Yama: Ahimsa - love, non-harming.

Ahimsa is the attribute of the soul, and therefore, to be practiced by everybody in all affairs of life. If it cannot be practiced in all departments, it has no practical value.

                                                   -Mahatma Gandhi

Ahimsa is usually translated as "nonviolence," but this is misleading and falls far short of the real significance of the word. When all violence has subsided in my heart, my native state is love. I would add that even avoiding a person we dislike can be a subtle form of himsa or violence. Therefore, in everyday terms, ahimsa often means bearing with difficult people.

In Kerala we have a giant, fierce-looking plant called elephant nettle. You have only to walk by for it to stretch out and sting you. By the time you get home, you have a blister that won't let you think about anything else. My grandmother used to say, "A self-willed person is like an elephant nettle."

That is why the moment we see somebody who is given to saying unkind things, we make a detour. We pretend we have suddenly remembered something that takes us in another direction, but the fact is that we just don't want to be stung. Whenever I complained of a classmate I did not like, my granny would say, "Here, you have to learn to grow. Go near him. Let yourself slowly get comfortable around him; then give him your sympathy and help take the sting out of his nettleness."

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to practice being more tolerant of people that irritate you.  Try to find common ground with these people.  Start with little things like we all need shelter and food.  Work from there to cultivate more understanding, more respect, more tolerance and more love.    

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

Pranayama and Dharana

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we will be exploring the breath and concentration as a way to choose thoughts that are supportive to you and those around you.

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.

                                      – Swami Vivekananda

The ancestor of every destructive action, every destructive decision, is a negative thought. We do not have to be afraid of negative thoughts as long as we do not welcome them. They are in the air, and they may knock at anyone's door; but if we do not embrace them, ask them in, and make them our own, they can have no power over us.

We can think of thoughts as hitchhikers. At the entrance to the freeway, we used to see a lot of hitchhikers carrying signs: "Vancouver," "Mexico," "L.A." One said in simple desperation, "Anywhere!" Thoughts are a lot like those hitchhikers. We can pick them up or pass them by. Negative thoughts carry signs, but usually we see only one side, the side with all the promises. The back of the sign tells us their true destination: sickness and sorrow.

Nobody is obliged to pick up these passengers. If we do not stop and let them in, they cannot go anywhere, because they are not real until we support them. There is sympathy in the world: pick it up. There is antipathy in the world: don't pick it up. Hatred destroys. Love heals.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to learn how you can use the breath (pranayama) as a way to interrupt the mind and slow it down.  Learn to use the concentration (dharana) you develop in your asana practice to direct the mind in ways that encourage the scrutiny of your thoughts.  Combine the use of both the breath and concentration to choose thoughts that are supportive to you and those around you. 

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

Pratyahara or the Withdrawal or Refinement of the Senses - the Fifth Limb of Yoga

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we will be exploring Pratyahara or the withdrawal or refinement of the senses - the fifth limb of Yoga.

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.

                                      – John Muir

When we see the world with new, spiritual eyes, we realize it is God's beach, God's ocean, God's world. We see ourselves as waves in the ocean of love that is God. We are not separate from one another, we realize, but we all exist as part of the sea, as a wave of the infinite ocean. This is seeing spiritually: seeing everything joined together - the waves of the sea, the light in the sky, the birds skimming along the whitecaps, the dogs running, the children playing, the warmth of the sand - everything together.

It is impossible to put this experience into words, but all those who try to do so describe it as a deep sense of fellowship with all creatures, from the little sandpipers to the mighty leviathans of the deep.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to refine your senses to really experience your environment. Learn to really notice, without intellectualizing or describing, your physical environment. This is practicing Pratyahara or the withdrawal or refinement of the senses - the fifth limb of Yoga. See if this practice encourages you to turn the senses inward towards the soul.

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com