Pranksters Pounding on My Door?

I just watched the taped delay broadcast of Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray in the Australian Open. Unfortunately for Murray he played quite poorly up until the very end of the match. Federer won. I learned recently that Andy Murray does yoga and he believes it helps his game a lot. I was wondering how much more improved Federer’s game would be if he also did yoga.

Anyway, the live broadcast of the match aired at 2am here. In hindsight I realized I could have watched most of the match live this morning but I was busy with something else and didn’t think of it.

At 2:30 am I was awakened from a very restful sleep by pounding on my door. BAM! BAM! BAM! I came fully awake in literally three seconds and immediately entered the middle of a scary movie.

I have seen so many scary movies where I think to myself, “Why do they do that? I would never do that! I would hide right away and call 9-1-1.”  For me the scariest movie of all time is “The Strangers” (2008). Based on a true story it’s about a young couple who stays at somebody’s house overnight and for some unknown reason they get seriously harassed by three unknown strangers. It does not end well.

In the movie the strangers pound on the door, peer in the windows, stare at them from the yard, eventually break into the house… for me it’s seriously horrifying because of the similarity to recurring scary dreams I had when I was young. The movie still scares me but over the years I worked through the dreams and don’t get them anymore.

So anyway, I hear the three BAM! BAM! BAM!’s on the door at 2:30am and in three seconds I’m wide awake standing in the hallway that connects the front and back doors and from which you can see most of the windows of the downstairs part of the house.

It was very bright full moon night, and even though cloudy I could still see quite well through the cracks in the blinds to outside the house. I stood there holding my breath, looking for movement and listening for sounds.

Nothing.

Then I made the rounds of all the doors and windows, peeking through the blinds to see if I could see anybody.

Nothing.

After a few minutes I realized, as one naturally realizes first thing every morning, that nature called and I had to go to the bathroom. Bad timing! I abandoned my searching and walked back to the bathroom. Just as I got there BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

This time five pounding fists and I realized it had to be coming from the front door. So I ran to the front door and peeking through the blinds again I saw nothing.

Maybe it’s a blessing to see nothing, but I can tell you I was really scared.

I formulated a plan at this point. Get the phone in my hand. Make rounds of the doors and windows. Wait to wake the kids and call 9-1-1 unless it happens again. Listen to see if they enter the gate to the backyard. How can the dog be sleeping through this?

I kept up my rounds for 30 minutes. Complete adrenaline rush. Trying to forget the movie. Eventually as I had time to think I realized whoever it was must have gone because the temperature was in the low 30’s last night and very very cold – no one would just stand out there in the cold. If they wanted in, they’d come in or do something else.

I also began to think of who, and why. It also occurred to me that some classmates of my younger daughter have harassed us before (although at reasonable hours) playing ding-dong-ditch with the doorbell, and other stupid things. Think of 6 year olds in mens’ bodies. I thought it was a good chance it could be them although I had no way of knowing for sure.

Finally I went back to bed. It took a long time to fall asleep.

Eventually this morning I woke up and started my usual routine. While I was doing asanas I reflected on the whole situation. I was thinking it’s kind of normal to be afraid and have the adrenaline rush if someone bangs on your door at 2:30am. However, I wondered why is this? Why is fear the first feeling?

I had the power position – I was inside behind locked doors, I had 6 phone/handsets to call for help, I could see outside much better than they could ever have seen inside, I had a dog (not sure how much help that would have been …

But still the first thing you feel is fear. I guess fear of ultimately losing your life.

In yoga they call this feeling of clinging to life Abhinivesa. Like all things there’s tons of details to define it all, and I forget exactly everything, but they break these fears down into things like fear of: wild animals, insects, disease, losing loved ones, losing things, getting your body maimed, losing your life, etc.

One time Swami Sivananda was sitting in a satsang in Rishikesh and somebody who didn’t like him came in and axed him in the head. The ax bounced off and nothing happened to Swami Sivananda. I think the story goes that he then treated the man as his best friend with total forgiveness and the man eventually repented because of how well he was treated even though he tried to kill Swami Sivananda. Throughout the whole thing Swami Sivananda never flinched. He had total belief that the body is transient and unreal, and therefore, there’s nothing to lose if you die.

Lots to think about.

The Power of Words

I found the following story at http://networkedblogs.com/p24843237 which, through a story about frogs, describes the importance of the affect of your words on other people. In yoga it is part of practicing the austerities of speech, or learning control over the organ of speech or vak indriya.

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A number of frogs were travelling through the woods. Two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.

Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?” The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story teaches two great lessons:

There is the power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.

A destructive word to someone who is down can be the push over the edge. Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. Anyone can speak words that can rob another of the spirit to push forward in difficult times.

Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another. So my wonderful friends, always be kind and encourage others.

Swami Satyananda Quotes = Copyright Violation?

Today I received a request from the Satyananda organization to remove all quotes of Swami Satyananda from my blog. They said it is a copyright violation and I may not use them. I have removed them.

Sorry fellow yogis for having to take away these inspiring quotes from an enlightened soul.

Meanwhile, I can only guess that the Satyananda organization does not understand the teachings themselves. Our lineage, from Swami Sivananda who was Swami Satyananda’s guru, exists in part because of Swami Sivananda’s firm belief that the teachings should be spread to the world. For everyone. And in spite of his poverty he gave the teachings away for free.

Apparently the Satyananda organization would like to keep Swami Satyananda’s inspiring words to themselves. I am certain Swami Satyananda would have felt the teachings should be shared. Much as the Satyananda organization tries they cannot keep silent the Truth. What will they do? Sue everyone who tries to spread the teachings if they don’t comply with their maya? Good luck to them.

Many oms.

RIP Raja

My beautiful kitty Raja died today from complications after a surgery he had a couple weeks ago.

Many Om Tryambakams to you Raja on your journey…

Ultimate Yogi Christmas

This is a copy of a poem I wrote back in 2005 that was first published on Swami Atma’s blog. It’s a take-off on Clement C. Moore’s “Twas the Night Before Christmas”… dedicated to all yogi’s everywhere – Merry Christmas.

ULTIMATE YOGI CHRISTMAS

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas, the whole ashram asleep,
Not a yogi was stirring or making a peep;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that Sri Lakshmi soon would be there;

The swamis were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of satsangs danced in their heads;
Karma yogis exhausted from cleaning the brass
Had just settled down for a long nap, at last.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from our bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window we flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But a small, strange ascetic, and a bull very near.

The little old man, it seemed hard to believe!
Still, I knew in a flash – it must be Lord Siva.
More rapid than Garuda, towards us he came,
And he whistled, and shouted out loud with acclaim:

“Now, Svapna! now, Sakshi! Akarta and Lila!
Viveka, Vairagya, Vidya, Mudita!
Ganesha and Vishnu, Lakshmi and Guru,
Rama and Krishna and Saraswati bless you!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
Up to the house-top with Nandi he flew,
With the trident in hand, Lord Siva came too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of the bull Nandi’s hoofs.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney Lord Siva came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bag full of snakes he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a sadhu just opening his pack.

His eyes were half-lidded – no dimples of merry,
His cheeks red like roses, made us feel wary,
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the blue of his throat gave a poisonous glow.

The Ganga flowed from his hair underneath,
And the snakes encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face, a complexion of blue,
The crescent in his hair a silvery hue.

His appearance was frightful, a scary old elf,
Still, I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
His third eye turned with a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And blessed all the yogis; then turned with a jerk,
With his hand in a gesture of peace he then chose
To give us a nod, and up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his bull, gave to Nandi a whistle,
And away they both flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he flew out of sight,
“Moksha, Moksha, to all, and to all a good-night. “

Sugar Addiction

On October 12 I stopped eating all refined sugar and flour. I went cold turkey, which for me is usually pretty easy. I just set my mind and say ‘from this day forward’… and then I do it. But I was not prepared for how difficult this would be.

What precipitated my decision was the evening of October 11 I ate 4 cookes while reading a book. Within 5 minutes and while sitting up I took a mini-nap and woke up 10 or 15 minutes later feeling totally wired. Like almost a buzzing sensation. Besides that I noticed for awhile I could easily take 10 naps a day. If I sat down, or laid down to watch TV, I could take a power nap no problem. At least I thought they were power naps. Also for many years I thought I was hypo-glycemic. If I got hungry I would soon feel sweaty and shaky and feel my blood sugar plummet until I ate something.

Anyway, it seemed to me falling asleep immediately after eating sugar was not normal. My internet searches confirmed this, in fact many people with diabetes have this problem. Like mini-diabetic comas.

inside a sugar processing plant in Lousiana

So I made the goal to quit sugar and refined flour for a week and see what happened. But then I began having some pretty major sugar withdrawal symptoms – nausea, night sweats, tiredness, tingling hands, flu-ish symptoms, and worst of all really bad sugar cravings. This all lasted about 2 weeks, with the sugar cravings lasting another 2 or so weeks after that. Also I noticed these last couple weeks some mood swings as my body rid itself of the sugar and got back to normal. I know for sure I have lost some weight, which was definitely not one of my goals.

The withdrawal symptoms were so apparent I decided to keep going with the new diet plan for much longer than a week.

Since I began this I read someplace on the internet that sugar should be considered a drug. It is manufactured, you get addicted to it, when you try to quit you have withdrawal symptoms, and it takes more and more of it to feel the sugar buzz. Eventually it can kill you if you develop diabetes and leave it untreated. They say the withdrawal symptoms are exactly the same as someone withdrawing from a drug addiction, although to a much less degree.

One of the more difficult aspects was figuring out what to eat. I used to eat a lot of granola bars (candy bars in disguise), and even things like sweetened yogurt are loaded with sugar. Then there’s chocolate milk, sweetened soy milk, and ice cream – all of these have a ton of sugar. So besides all the withdrawal symptoms you have to retrain your food choices. This also is pretty tough.

Now that I’m through the whole process there are many benefits. When I’m hungry I’m just hungry. I can be hungry for quite awhile and I have no hypoglycemic effects. My energy level stays constant throughout the day. I don’t need naps anymore. I awake feeling more refreshed. Normal food has a lot more flavor and sweetness all to itself – did you know lettuce is sweet? I think way back somebody knew this which is why the French (and probably other countries) eat their salads at the end of the meal.

Anyway, this was a really tough journey. So much harder than I thought it would be. But I feel so much better now I am going to continue to limit my sugar and refined flour intake.

Yogic Limiting Adjuncts – Upadhis

In yoga, a limiting adjunct is something that limits the mind. In sanskrit it is called an Upadhi.

In Swami Sivananda’s Yoga Vedanta Dictionary he defines it as:

A superimposed thing or attribute that veils and gives a coloured view of the substance beneath it; limiting adjunct; instrument; vehicle; body; a technical term used in Vedanta philosophy for any superimposition that gives a limited view of the Absolute and makes It appear as the relative. Jiva’s Upadhi is Avidya; Isvara’s Upadhi is Maya.

He seems to suggest that an Upadhi is a concept of limitation, that anything that limits the Jiva, or mind can be considered a limiting adjunct.

During the SYVC Teacher Training Course, we are taught that there are three Upadhis – time, space and causation. Admittedly, these would seem to be the “first” limiting adjuncts because a mind can exist only within these dimensions.

First, would arise the concept of space, here vs. there, me taking up space over here, you taking up space over there. Next would be time, if something is here and not there it has to get from here to there and can’t be in both places at once, therefore, it takes time to travel from one place to another. Finally causation, in space and time one thing seems to be the cause of another.

In the relative sense all this is real. In the absolute sense none of it is real.

However, I think the concept of limiting adjunct is more broad than simply time, space and causation. In the book Self-knowledge, Swami Sivananda goes on to explain:

Sense-organs, physical body, mind, Pranas, intellect, etc., are the products of Avidya (nescience). They are Upadhis (limiting adjuncts). Negate them, sublimate them or eliminate them through Vedantic doctrine Neti-Neti (not this, not this). What remains behind, the balance or residue left is Atman or Brahman only.

And also:

Atman is one and the same in all beings. It appears different in different persons on account of the Upadhi or limiting adjunct, Antahkarana (mind). Akasa is one and the same. On account of Upadhis of pot, cloud, room, etc., it is differentiated as Ghata-Akasha (pot-ether), Megha-Akasha (cloud-ether), Mat-Akasha (room-ether), etc. When the Upadhi-pot is destroyed, when the pot is broken, the pot-ether becomes identical with the universal ether. When the Upadhi-Antahkarana is annihilated by Sadhana, the individual becomes identical with the all-pervading consciousness.

I’m pretty sure I also read in another book by Swami Sivananda that the Upadhis of the mind are time, space and causation, and the Upadhis of the Jiva are body, mind and senses. This quote I cannot find. If I find it someday I will post it here – if anybody is familiar with this quote please let me know where it is.

In the meantime if this is an incorrect interpretation based on these quotes, maybe someone who has more knowledge than me can enlighten me to the proper understanding. It seems like depending on your stage of personal evolution you would have more or less limiting adjuncts, and within a person they can vary from day to day depending on your mind set.

I don’t know, seeking answers…

Picasso’s Ma Jolie – creating limiting adjuncts or trying to break through them?

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

This recipe has graced the table at many AYA events. It is super simple and we use fresh ingredients as much as possible. Hope you like it as much as we do:

1 lb cheese tortellinis, cooked and cooled

2 cups artichoke hearts

1 tblsp lemon juice

1 cup pitted olives, chopped, sliced or whole

1/2 cup parsley

5-6 roma tomatoes chopped (or any other variety, total about 1 lb)

1 cup radicchio chopped

3 tblsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves chopped

Prepare everything and stir it together. It is best to let it sit for a little while before serving so it flavors through. It is still good if you increase or decrease amounts of the things you like or don’t like. Enjoy!

Best Tie Dye Tshirts

My daughter started her own tie dye tshirt business on Etsy.com.They are the best tie-dye shirts ever, not kidding. She does each one by hand with professional dye with the original method of actually tying the shirt.

The web address is

DyeAndGoToHeaven.etsy.com

Here’s some examples, but you can see them all at her website:

Development of Awareness

Here is a quote from “Yoga and Kriya” by Swami Satyananda on the yogic meaning of awareness:

Quote removed per request from Satyananda organization – copyright violation