Aware Digest.COM

Walk Your Dream Part 1 (of 3)

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 07:41:18 -0400

Wishing that your dream would come true is like wishing upon a star. Good for children’s bedtime stories, but not dynamic enough to manifest them in your life. To truly make a dream come true, you need to fetch it out of the realm of imagination, and give it roots in the world of reality.
Case in point: In 1968 a young Parisian had a dream of walking among the clouds on a wire suspended 110 stories above New York City.
This was not a nocturnal dream of his subconscious mind, but a very wakeful conscious dream; one that was instantly infused with passion.
While waiting in a dentist’s office to have a tooth extracted, Philippe Petit opened a magazine and saw an artist’s sketch of the proposed twin towers of the World Trade Center in NYC that would ultimately become the tallest buildings in the world.
The young high-wire artist gasped. Immediately, he picked up a pencil and drew a line that connected the 100-meter gap between the twin towers and set a dream of a lifetime into motion.
Phillipe’s dream became a reality in 1974, when he walked across a wire suspended between the roofs of the Twin Towers. With that feat he mastered two amazing accomplishments: (One): Performing the greatest high wire act in human history, and (Two): Accomplishing an amazing coup of illegally sneaking himself and his team into both towers and rigging a steel cable in the dark of night so that he could perform his amazing feat shortly after the break of dawn the next morning.
If you haven’t seen the Academy Award documentary, Man On Wire, I recommend that you put it on the top of your queue on Netflix. If you like suspense, this film unreels like a Mission Impossible episode.
After seeing the film and reading Petit’s book, “To Reach the Clouds,”I began to see his high wire walk as a metaphor for my own life. I began to ask myself the following questions:
1) “What is my dream?”
2) “What are my twin towers?” (What amazing feat do I have to do to realize that dream?)
3) “What coup do I have to accomplish to pull it off?” What person, and or, force do I have to overcome ? (If it’s another person, it’s likely to be someone who has some control over you or doesn’t want you to break away and succeed. If it’s yourself, it likely to be your resistance— stemming from a story you made up about yourself, when you were about 2-4 years old (In Landmark Education, we call that a sentence: “I’m not worthy,” “I’m a sissy,” “I’m stupid,” etc.)
So to begin to make my dream come true, I first had to identify exactly what the dream was. I always had a tendency to not be specific enough and just wish for the final result, but that’s like wishing on a star.
Zig Zigler, the great motivational speaker, told his audience about a young man from Alabama, who was one of the world’s great archers. Zig said that he could kill a Bengal tiger with one shot from a bow and arrow and also do the same with a twenty foot shark ten feet under water.
Then Zig said he could take anyone from the audience and show them how they could get a better shot at a target than the Alabama fella.
“First, we’re going to to give you an advantage,”said Zig. “We’re going to blindfold him and spin him 50 times around. Then we’re going to spin him 50 times around in the other direction. Next we’ll have him shoot his arrowa and then have the person from the audience shoot his. I guarantee the person from the audience will shoot it closer to the bullseye.
“Now I know what you’re gonna say, ‘Hey, wait a minute Zig. How do you expect a man to hit a target he can’t see?’
“Well that’s a fair question. But before I answer it, I’m going to ask you another question, and I want you to think about it: ‘How do you expect to hit a target you don’t even have?’ ”
Zig used that little story to set up his whole seminar on goal-setting. To reach your goal, Zig said, you have to have one. You have to know exactly what you want. Not vagely, but specifically. And you have to to want to have it enough to put everything you can into getting it.”
In short, we need to develop want power. If Philippe did not want to accomplish the feat of walking the high wire as much as he did, he would not have been able to develop the will power to pull it off.
Turning Want Power to Will Power
In 1984, I attended a symposium with scientist/inventor Buckminster Fuller, est founder Werner Erhard, sociologists Masters & Johnson, Esalen founder George Leonard, actor Raul Julia, comedian Dick Gregory, and a young Austrian bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarznegger. Of all of these extraordinary people, Arnold inspired me the most.
The young bodybuilder told how he had made his dream come true. He said, (and I paraphrase): “To make your dream come true, you have to use will power. But in order to have the will power, you first have to develop want power. You have to want something so much that you are committed to applying your will to having it until it turns into a passion and consumes you.
“At the age of 17, I had a dream to become Mr. Universe. So I gave myself a five-year plan to achieve it. I planned my workouts every day and at the end of each day I would evaluate my efforts, my shortcomings, my goals, and my accomplishments. If I fell short, I would correct myself the very next day. I did this day after day, and in five years, almost to the day, I won the Mr. Universe title.”
Ask yourself this question: What’s your dream or wire?
And what’s the coup you have to pull off to accomplish it?

Some called what my mother had, “senile dementia.” I called it enlightenment.

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:45:04 -0400

“Angels can fly, because they they take themselves lightly.” And that’s how my mother, Claire took herself, and everything else around her— lightly. She recently passed away lightly too, at the age of 95, while she was a resident at the magnificent Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale.

Claire was diagnosed as having senile dementia, which resulted in her loss of short-term memory and other cognitive functions, but she was calm, unworried, unconcerned, and most often, whenever I came to visit her, blissful.

She lived totally in the present moment, but then again, with her condition (which was also her advantage), she had no place else to go.

The Hebrew Home is situated on a splendid expanse of land overlooking the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge and the New Jersey Palisades. When I would visit mom and take her outside in her wheelchair, she would often exclaim, “Oh my! It’s beautiful. We’ve never been here before, have we?”

Of course, we had been there before— more than a hundred times— and each time she asked the same question. Rather than be disturbed, I took it as my cue; I let go of all my thoughts and preconceptions and just took everything in. “No mom, we have never been here before,” I would reply. “This is the very first time.”

While most people would have gotten very upset with her memory loss, I took it as a blessing, and for the next hour or so, I would sit with her in the sunshine and take delight of the view as though we were there for the very first time (and, actually, indeed we were).

Claire had a great sense of humor. Fortunately, she hadn’t lost that and we spent a lot of time laughing together. She would say something like, “Victor, I wish I had enough money to put you in business,” and I would reply, “Mom, I wish you had enough money to take me out of business.” Then she would laugh so hard and say, “Stop. I’m going to pee in my pants.”

One afternoon, I visited her with my late Aunt Elaine, her younger sister. Elaine loved her very much and was very concerned about her memory. When she told her about the latest situations with husband and children, my mother couldn’t comprehend what she was talking about, since she had no frame of reference in her memory.

However, if my uncle Ezra, or my cousin, Adina, were actually sitting there, she would be very familiar with their essence and presence; it’s just that she couldn’t conjure up “thoughts” about them when they weren’t there.

So when mom wasn’t able to register whom or what she was talking about, Aunt Elaine expressed her concern by putting her hand up to her cheek and pronouncing the Yiddish phrase of woe: “Oy vey.”

My Mom, on the other hand, leaned over and whispered in my ear, “What is she talking about?’

Humoring her, I whispered back the Yiddish phrase, “Ver vis’n?” (who knows?)

It made her laugh out loud, infectiously, and I couldn’t help but join in. Neither could my aunt, who had a good sense of humor and realized that the joke was on her (as well as the rest of us who live in thought and memory rather than the here and now).

Another day, when I visited mom and complained about something, she said, “The problem is that you think too much.”

“Why, don’t you think about things?” I asked her. She replied: “What for? What am I going to think about, what I just ate for lunch?” She punctuated it with another infectious laugh, and kept us both going for a while.

Claire Zurbel was an extraordinary woman, who never visited a doctor except for an occasional general check up. At the age of 88, when she began having memory losses and was living alone, I became very concerned and thought it would be best for her (as well as for me) to live in a nursing home.

To qualify, I needed to take her for an examination. But she wasn’t ready to go. “What for?” she rebutted.
“Just to get your memory tested, mom”

“There’s nothing wrong with my memory! I think you need to have your head examined.”

My mom’s passing away was also an enlightening experience. At age 95, she was having some difficulty swallowing food, and was on a life support system. I was asked whether I chose to keep her on it and prolong her life, or take her off the life support and allow her to pass away with far less suffering.

I chose to take her off life support, and the process of her passing away took about four days. I came up to Riverdale several hours each day, and fortunately was with her for some heart-warming experiences. I had even composed a special playlist of music on my ipod with dual headphones to share with her.

The playlist was composed of: Frank Sinatra singing “The Way You Look Tonight,” Chet Baker singing, “There Will Never Be Another You,” Aselin Debison singing, “To Say Goodbye to You,” and a collection of classic music from her romance days with my father.

She smiled, tapped a rhythm on her stomach with the palm of her hand, dosed off a bit and woke up to the music and smiled again.

One poignant moment, she looked directly at me, shrugged her shoulders and gave me an expression that seemed to say “This is the way it is. What can you do?”

The last day, I came to visit early and she was sitting up in her wheelchair looking very frail, but calm. I sat with her and she looked at me a few times, briefly, then went inside into her silence. Her body was shaking gently throughout my visit, like a bright flame flickering before going out.

Later that day, I was called and informed that she passed away.

I felt no mournfulness. Quite the contrary, although I knew I would miss her, I felt a calm sense of bliss. I closed my eyes and went into meditation and merged with her energy.

Claire continues to live on, every time I bring her into my memory and my meditations.

As the the title of a Dylan Thomas poem said, “And death shall have no dominion.”

How I Want To Live My Next Life By Woody Allen

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:34:58 -0400

In my next life I want to live my life backwards. You start out dead and get that out of the way. Then you wake up in an old people's home feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, and then when you start work, you get a gold watch and a party on your first day. You work for 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You party, drink alcohol, and are generally promiscuous, then you are ready for high school. You then go to primary school, you become a kid, you play. You have no responsibilities, you become a baby until you are born. And then you spend your last 9 months floating in luxurious spa-like conditions with central heating and room service on tap, larger quarters every day and then Voila! You finish off as an orgasm!

I rest my case.

Redefining Kosher

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:57:20 -0400

The word “kosher’ means a certain standard of purity in Jewish dietary law. It comes from the Hebrew word kashrut, which means fit and proper. These dietary laws are prescribed in the Torah, the holy scriptures of the Jewish people. While some of the kashrut laws have proven to have health benefits, others have no known connection to health, but are still followed traditionally and unquestionably, especially among the orthodox.

Aware Digest is not challenging the validity of kosher laws, but rather, we are raising the bar on them.

We believe there should be new kosher laws requiring food to be organic, unprocessed, sustainable, and mostly plant-based. There are many Jews who follow the traditional kosher laws very strictly, but are fat and have heart disease, diabetes, cancers, and other diseases, which can be directly attributed to their diet. Bagels, lox and cream cheese, pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, and frankfurters, although they may be certified as kosher, are not kosher as far as we are concerned.

Let’s take bagels, lox and cream cheese, for example. For one thing, bagels are made from refined, processed white flour. That means empty calories and high-glycemic carbohydrates and sugars.; guaranteed to cause an insulin rush, which will produce fat and can lead to diabetes. White flour, or even processed wheat flour, will also help to clog your colon and cause constipation.

Lox is smoked salmon, which has been treated with salt, which means excess sodium for anybody with high blood pressure or other form of heart disease. And then again, once you ignore the sodium warnings, better make sure it’s wild salmon and not farmed. (Pregnant women have been warned to eat no more than one serving of farmed salmon a month, kosher or not. That should tell you something.)

Then comes the main culprit: cream cheese. Firstly, it’s pure saturated fat and should be avoided by everyone, not only if you’re overweight. Saturated fat intake is linked to high cholesterol and increased risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, and we don’t need a Rabbi to tell us whether that’s kosher or not.

Kosher certifiers may be checking for kosher rennet in cheese, but what about antibiotics and growth hormones? There are no kosher laws that prohibit them, but there are organic laws that do. That’s why, to many people, “organic” is the new “kosher,” and we think the two should merge.

To us, if it’s not organic, it’s not kosher. However, organic meat and dairy is also not kosher by our standards. To be safe, it should be both organic and vegan, which will almost automatically make it kosher.

Also, from a global sustainability point of view, cattle bred for dairy or meat, are not ecologically sound. Hundreds of millions of people are going hungry all over the world because much of the arable land is being used to grow feed for animals rather than food for people. An acre of cereal grain produces five times more protein than an acre devoted to meat production; legumes produce ten times more protein, and leafy vegetables, 15 times more.

According to Jeremy Rifkin, best-selling author and president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, some 80% of the world's hungry children live in countries with actual food surpluses, much of which is in the form of feed fed to animals, which will be consumed by only the well-to-do consumers.
“The irony of the present system,” says Rifkin, “is that millions of wealthy consumers in the first world are dying from diseases of affluence (heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, cancer) brought on by gorging on fatty grain-fed meats, while the poor in the third world are dying of diseases of poverty brought on by the denial of access to land for growing food grain for their families. We are long overdue for a global discussion on how best to promote a diversified high-protein, vegetarian diet for the human race.”

Rifkin’s complaints about the beef industry include the clearing of the rain forest to enable cattle to graze, the desertification of once rich graze land, and the effects of the cattle on fresh water sources.

Rifkin also warns us that cattle are, in part, responsible for the global warming trend. Since methane is one of the gases responsible for global warming, and cattle emit methane, Mr. Rifkin calls for a decrease in cattle so as to decrease the amount of methane released into the atmosphere.

And since we’re on the subject of meat, let’s take a look at the other health risk factors in so-called kosher meats. Pastrami, corned beef and frankfurters, not only contain high amounts of saturated fat, sodium, antibiotics, and growth hormones, but may have nitrates as well, which is a known carcinogen.

The word “kosher” is used in various contexts these days. In the green industry, it means that the product should meet sustainable guidelines— organic, recycled, biodegradable, no animal testing, non-exploitive of farm or factory workers, and non-exploitive of the use of natural resources, etc.

In business and legal matters, the word kosher means being legal and/or morally correct, i.e., “Is it kosher?” Or, “It doesn’t sound kosher to me.”

But as far as what constitutes kosher food, we think the question should be, “How healthy, organic, pure, nutritionally rich, humane, and sustainable is it?” And ultimately, “How live, raw, and rich in life-promoting enzymes is it?

Raw, organic, vegan kosher is the gold standard. Strive to include more and more of it in your diet; it will feed your mind, body and spirit.

Transition to the New Kosher
Aware Digest does not tell you what’s bad for you without giving you the resources and recipes for what’s good for you. In our transition to New Kosher, we will offer you some delicious and super-nutritious alternatives to the traditional Jewish comfort food you have been habitually eating and noshing. Let’s start with:

Aware Bagels & Lox
We know that it is hard to escape the appeal of a hot, crunchy H&H Everything Bagel, but we’ve got a healthier alternative. Try Ezekiel bagels and English muffins. They are inspired by the Holy Scripture verse Ezekiel 4:9, "Take unto thee, wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it..."

You can find Ezekiel bread in the frozen bread section of Whole Foods, or other health food stores. For the lox, look for Wild Alaskan (not farm raised) smoked salmon; preferably a natural alder smoked brand, which can be found in Whole Foods and gourmet food stores. However, wild or farmed, smoked salmon is loaded with sodium, so try to use no more than 2 oz. per serving. A better choice would be to use chilled, left-over baked or poached wild salmon, which would be a far better choice. And that, you can literally use to your heart’s content.

As for the cream cheese, try substituting a smear of avocado and top it off with thin slices of tomato or cucumber and fresh dill.

Also, try eating it in the Swedish smorgas style, with one, or two, open slices of toasted Ezekiel muffin or bread, instead of a sandwich, and eat it with a knife and fork; it will support you to eat slower, more consciously, and to savor each bite. That’s how the Swedes stay slim.

We’ll be sharing many more Redefining Kosher recipes, in print and on video, so be sure to stay connected to Aware Digest by subscribing via e-mail or the RSS feed.

We will also be broadening the Redefining Kosher paradigm to include Rabbis and kosher nutritionists.

L’Chaim!

A Samurai’s Approach to Heaven and Hell

Sat, 5 Jul 2008 08:46:28 -0400

One of the greatest attributes of a warrior or a samurai, is the ability to restrain; to not allow emotions to get control of him.

Osho has told a wonderful parable of the samurai who came to a Zen master and asked, "Is there a heaven and hell, and if so, where are the gates? How can I avoid hell and choose heaven?"

The zen master said, "That is a stupid question! Who do you think you are!"

Anger began to arise in the samurai, and he emphatically replied, "I am a samurai!" The Zen master laughed and said, "You, a samurai? You look like a beggar!"

The samurai's pride was hurt. He took out his sword and was just about to kill the zen master, when the master laughed and said, "There is the gate of hell. With your anger and ego, you have opened the gate."

Immediately, the samurai understood and put his sword back in its sheath. And the zen master said, "And there opens the gate of heaven."

Hell and heaven are within us. When we act unconsciously, there is the gate of hell; when we become alert and conscious, there is the gate of heaven.

Suddenly, when the zen master said, "This is the gate of hell," it created awareness. The Samurai’s sword went back into its sheath. The anger had disappeared, and the energy that was moving in anger had suddenly become silence.

If you suddenly awake in the middle of anger, you will feel a great sense of peace and a state of awareness you may have never felt before.

The next time someone yells at you or insults you, think of the samurai and his sword. Visualize yourself drawing a sword to cut off your offenders head, and then say to yourself, “Here opens the gate to hell.”

If you can suddenly stop, and “place your sword back in its sheath,” you too, will have opened the gates of heaven.

A good way to enjoy life on this planet is to pretend you're from another. (And maybe you really are.)

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 22:21:39 -0400

Imagine that you are from another planet, far, far away. You don't have a body and the world you are from is not material. You are just pure consciousness and you can neither see, smell, touch, taste nor hear.

You are going to take an excursion to a wonderful planet called Earth. But in order to visit Earth and experience it, you will have to be put into something physical-- a human body.

And while you are in a body on the planet Earth, you are to observe everything. Watch people and see what they do, how they eat, how they walk, how they talk, etc. And also watch how you do those things inside your body.

Imagine that it is all happening for the first time: You have never tasted a cup of tea before. You have never smelled a flower or have seen a sunrise. You have never held another person's hand in yours and have never kissed another person’s lips. You have never laughed and you have never cried. And again, imagine that it’s all happening for the first time.

From time to time, you may forget that you are from another planet and how unique and miraculous it is to have a human body.

But always remember, you have the power to pretend.

You can pretend you belong here and take everything for granted, or you can pretend you are from another planet and take everything as a source of wonder -- as if it’s all happening for the first time.

And the truth is that it really is. You’ve just been pretending that it’s “same old, same old.”

Maybe, instead of searching for answers, we should learn to ask better questions.

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:02:30 -0400

The main questions we should ask ourself are: (1)“What am I truly committed to having, achieving, and being in my life?”...and: (2) “What actions do I have to take to make progress toward fulfilling that goal?”

However, we at Aware Digest must first admit that by raising these questions, we have inadvertently brought up an interesting paradox. Because, in one of our previous blogs, The Art of Allowing, we promoted the idea of non-doing, or taking the oar out of the stream and allowing the Stream to take us to that which we desire. And now, here we are talking about taking actions.

“So, Aware Digest, make up your mind! Which is the right course to take: allowing or acting?”

That is the question we asked ourselves. So we turned to the book, The Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks. It informed us that, as we learn to apply deliberate intent and the Law of Attraction, we become more capable of manifesting on a more subtle, vibrational level, and less physical actions are needed. But for now, until we develop that meta-physical ability, physical actions will still be required.

Nevertheless, we can change the way we put our actions into play. Before we take an action, for example, we can align our thoughts with what we want to manifest in our lives, rather than aligning ourself with contradictory thoughts of what we do not want.

Thus, by applying the Law of Attraction, the actions we take will tend to be joyful ones that lead to good results rather than taking actions that are hard work, unsatisfying, and do not yield good results.

In business parlance, this approach is called “outcome thinking.” David Allen, in his best-selling book, Getting Things Done, says, “Thinking in a concentrated manner to define desired outcomes is something few people do. But in truth, outcome thinking is one of the most effective means available for making your wishes a reality.”

Mr. Allen then goes on to say that once you have clarified what the intended outcome is, the next big question to ask is: “What is the very next physical action step required to move this forward?”

“Often, the simplest things are stuck because we haven’t made that decision yet about the next action,” Allen says. For instance, we might put on our list, “Get new tires for the car.” But that’s not an action; nor is: “Take car to auto mechanic,” because we don’t know if they can take it without an appointment. So perhaps the action is: “Call the mechanic and make an appointment.” But what if you forgot their name and number? Then you might remember to call your friend, Fred, who recommended the garage to you.

Therefore, the next action step really is: “Call Fred for the number of the garage.” And that’s what should go on your action list.

This little inquiry sounds easy, but as Allen points out, what often happens is that when we glance at a project on our list, some part of us knows that we don’t quite have all the pieces between here and there. We know something is missing, but we’re not sure exactly what it is, so we quit, by default, or A.D.D. kicks in, and we put it off to the next day’s list.

Even before our current information overload days, Mark Twain said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

Allen also adds that asking yourself, “What’s the next action?” is an assumed affirmation, which builds a more positive self-image a thousand times over than by repeating to yourself one of those affirmation mantras, such as, “I am a powerful, effective person, making things happen in my life!”

So learn to ask better questions. Asking better, more powerful questions will transform the quality of your life.

Ask yourself, “How can I?”

Ask yourself, “Who can teach me or help me?”

Ask yourself, “What are my most important values, priorities and goals and how can I reach them?”

And last, but not least, ask yourself: “What is the maximum potential that is available to me in this moment?”

When you focus on great questions like these the answers will come on their own and pull you forward.

To Thine Own Self Be True

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:26:20 -0400

In 1964, at the age of 24, I, Victor Zurbel, had a marvelous encounter with one of the greatest actors of that, or any other, era— the one and only, Richard Burton.

At the time, I was an Art Director for a small, upcoming New York advertising agency and was developing a campaign for a British watch company.

I wanted to use a famous British actor as a voice-over for the TV commercials and was considering Alec Guinness and Lawrence Olivier. But when I heard Richard Burton read Dylan Thomas’ poetry, I fell in love with his lyrical Welch-accented English voice and immediately knew that he would be perfect. (Listen to the sample at the end of this column).

Burton was performing Hamlet on Broadway at the time, and during the negotiation process with his agent, I was invited to attend the show and meet the actor backstage. (Talk about ad agency perks!)

After his stellar performance, I went backstage, and there was Burton, talking to the Director, John Gielgud. His eyes caught mine and as I walked over to introduce myself, a big fellow in a derby briskly cut in front of me.

Under normal circumstances I would have been taken aback, but this was no normal circumstance, and the fellow who cut in front of me was no average Joe. It was none other than Winston Churchill, himself.

With a sweeping Churchillian gesture, he took off his hat, bowed to Burton and said, “My good Lord Hamlet, may I use your bathroom?”

Burton bowed back to him, gracefully gestured his arm in the direction of the bathroom, and as Churchill departed to the loo, Burton looked up at me and said, “If you came to use the bathroom too, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait.”

Unfortunately, the ad campaign never materialized, but it was a great honor to meet Burton and to see him perform.

As for Shakespeare, one of my favorite works of The Bard, is Sonnet 29. It tells of a man who, in great despair, thinks of his beloved, and how the very thought of her lifts him out of darkness into light.

Sonnet XXIX- William Shakespeare

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

This sonnet can also be interpreted as a tribute to spiritual love, by simply changing the words thee and thy from lower case to upper case. And in any case...

To thine own self be true
and it must follow, as the night the day,
thou canst not then be false to any man.

How I Became a Born Again Deadhead

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:04:42 -0400

I’m sure we all have memories of certain songs and music that are linked to deep emotional experiences. I have had many, such as hearing Earth Angel by the Penguins when I was a teenager and had just fallen in love for the first time.

Or when I heard Buffalo Springfield sing For What It’s Worth on the car radio as I drove into San Francisco in 1967 and discovered the Summer of Love.

Or, on the same trip, while staying on a house-boat in Sausalito with Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete, and hearing him sing Morning of the Carnival from Black Orpheus as the sun rose on San Francisco Bay.

Or hearing Bob Dylan and Joan Baez sing at the Newport Folk Festival. Or Jimi Hendrix sing Hey Joe at Woodstock.

But the deepest experience I have had with a song came in 1987. I was in a state of deep depression, bordering on despair. One: I thought I had gotten AIDS from a blood transfusion I received two years earlier. Two: I had just gotten a divorce and moved out of my house in Montclair to a four-floor walk-up railroad apartment on the Upper East Side. And, three: The man who had the investors lined up for my new magazine, had suddenly died of a heart attack.

So there I was, in the early morning, walking down to the East River (no, not thinking of jumping in, but still pretty miserable). I opened my new Grateful Dead cassette, put it into my Walkman, and heard the song, Black Muddy River for the first time.

The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter, and it was the combination of his lyrics with Jerry Garcia’s soulful voice that carried me through that “dark night of my soul.”

Jerry’s voice, especially when expressed in slow ballads, such as Morning Dew, Stellar Blue, or Standing on the Moon, has a deep, emotional, soulful sound that can be likened to Billy Holiday and other great blues singers.

Hunter’s lyrics could be compared to the 23rd Psalm. Only in this case, it did not “leadeth me beside still waters,” but along the Black Muddy River— a part of me (some call it the “shadow side”) that I needed to pass through before I could arrive at the still waters. And the lyrics did that most enchantedly, as you will see when you read them below.

Hunter was asked in an interview some time after he wrote the song, what he had meant by the lyrics. He said they came from some deep part within him and they were a mystery and should be left as such.

I was very inspired by what Hunter said, as it was not only a great statement about the art of poetry, but also about the value of myth and metaphor, as related to spiritual and religious teachings.

In addition to writing profound lyrics for the best Grateful Dead songs, Hunter has also translated a volume of poetry from the German by Rilke. Of these he said, “it takes more than to translate the words of a poem; you need to capture its resonance as well.”

And resonance is what the lyrics of Robert Hunter, the voice and guitar of Jerry Garcia, and the back-up of musicians Weir, Lesh, Kreutsmann and Hart, is all about.

It’s all about the resonance, man.

Black Muddy River
Lyrics by Robert Hunter, music by Jerry Garcia

When the last rose of summer pricks my finger,
And the hot sun chills me to the bone,
When I can’t hear the song for the singer,
And I can’t tell my pillow from a stone,
I will walk alone by the black muddy river,
And sing me a song of my own,
I will walk alone by the black muddy river,
And sing me a song of my own.

When the last bolt of sunshine hits the mountain,
And the stars start to splatter in the sky,
When the moon hits the southwest horizon,
With the scream of an eagle on the fly,
I will walk alone by the black muddy river,
And listen to the ripples as they moan,
I will walk alone by the black muddy river,
And sing me a song of my own.

Black muddy river, roll on forever,
I don’t care how deep or wide, if you’ve got another side,
Roll muddy river, roll muddy river, black muddy river, roll.

When it seems like the night will last forever,
And there’s nothing left to do but count the years,
When the strings of my heart start to sever,
And stones fall from my eyes instead of tears,
I will walk alone, by the black muddy river,
And dream me a dream of my own,
I will walk alone, by the black muddy river,
And sing me a song of my own, sing me a song of my own.

From narrow mindlessness to narrow mindfulness.

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:39:32 -0400

Our mind is an incessant thinking machine. And, in today’s high-tech information age, it is constantly stimulated, and in a perpetual state of beta-wave activity.

Therefore, trying not to think is practically impossible, and ironically, will actually cause more thinking.

Case in point: a zen master gave one of his students a simple exercise; he told him not to think about monkeys for an entire day. The disciple did not think that would be a problem, but the next day when he saw the master he said, “I never thought about monkeys before, but last night I couldn’t stop thinking about them!”

Therefore, instead of trying not to think, the process here is to narrow your thinking; confine it to your immediate environment.

For example, when walking down a country road, narrow your thinking to what you see on the country road, rather than thinking about situations at work. Think about the path you are walking on and what you see: the trees, the grass, the flowers, the rocks, the birds, etc. The more you can narrow your thinking to just where you are, the more you will be there.

When you go on a vacation, apply the same tactic. If you need to contact your office or family while you’re away, plan to call them at specific times and make a commitment to stick to that schedule, except for an emergency.

And then, for the rest of your vacation, confine your thinking to your immediate surroundings. When thoughts about your work intrude, tell those thoughts that you’re on vacation and to come back at the scheduled time.

Narrow thinking, at times like this, may very well be the most intelligent type of thinking you can do. And not so narrow, after all.

How to Handle Your “Back Seat Driver”

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:33:21 -0400

How can you enjoy the scenery of life, when you have a
constantly chattering “back-seat driver”?

We all have a mental back-seat driver; an inner voice that comments about everything we do. For example, if we were to see a friend and say, “Hi Sally, you look great today; nice dress,” our mental back-seat driver might make an inner comment like, “Boy, is she getting fat.”

We’ve all got these rude back seat drivers and here’s a way to deal with them: (A) Pretend you’re a chauffeur driving your body and mind around. When you hear your back-seat driver talking too much, visualize closing a partition window between you and that voice. (B) Focus on the scenery and keep on cruising. If the back-seat driver comments again, it means the partition has re-opened. So once again, visualize closing it up, or just order your back-seat driver to keep his or her yap shut.

Then, the next time you meet someone you know, and your back-seat driver starts to comment, zip up the partition and be gracious with the person you meet, seeing the best in him or her.

We all have our faults, whether it’s in physical appearance or personality. Focus instead on the humanity and inner light of that person and serve them as a chauffeur would serve his master.

This is the secret formula that will allow you to drive your mind-body-spirit vehicle as though it was a Rolls Royce limousine.

THE ART OF ALLOWING

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:33:24 -0400

Each one of us, like a sorcerer or magician, has a remarkable ability to draw unto ourself that which we think about, desire or want, or that which we hold in our emotional vibration field.

Hence, we are all creators, who manifest into the physical realm all that we give our attention to in the thought and emotional realms.

This is The Law of Attraction, and like the laws of gravity and magnetism, it works in a similar way, but we, for the most part, are unaware of it.

The book, The Law of Attraction, by Esther and Jerry Hicks (which presents the teachings of Abraham), has been a recent NY Times best seller and its premise has been the major part of the phenomenally successful video, The Secret.

According to The Law of Attraction, nothing merely shows up in your experience. You attract it— all of it.

The Law of Attraction responds to the thoughts that you hold at all times, and consequently, you are creating your own reality. The thought you are focused on has activated a vibration within you— and, The Law of Attraction, is responding to it. Thereby, you get the essence of what you are thinking about, whether it is something you want or something you don’t want.

In fact, by focusing on what you don’t want, you have created it by default and have invited unwanted things or situations into your experience through your attention to them. (Think of yourself as a magnet that is attracting unto you the essence of that which you are thinking and feeling.)

According to the teachings of Abraham, it is extremely helpful to understand that your emotions are letting you know whether you are in the process of creating something you do or do not want. Rather than trying to monitor your thoughts, Abraham encourages you to simply pay attention to how you are feeling, and to consciously guide your thoughts in the direction of what you desire.

The image Abraham offers is to visualize yourself as a canoe in a stream and to identify whether the thoughts you are generating and the actions you are taking are “upstream” or “downstream.” If they are going with the flow of your well-being, they are, obviously, downstream thoughts.

Abraham tells us, “Feel for a moment the sensation of relief that you would experience if you had been paddling against the current in an upstream direction and suddenly just stopped paddling, in an attitude of giving in to the Stream and letting it just turn and take you downstream.”

In a previous entry, we used the nursery rhyme Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream as a mantra or device to carry us downstream in the divine flow. Here, it is being suggested that you don’t even row; that you take your oars out of the water and let the boat gently turn and drift downstream by itself. This is the Art of Allowing.

“Let this image of a canoe in the Stream soothe you even further as you try now to remember that this Stream is benevolent and wise, and is actually taking you toward the things that you truly want,” says Abraham. “In your mind’s eye, lie back in your boat, feel it turn naturally downstream, and relax into the idea that this Stream will carry you to your inevitable Well-Being and the fulfillment of your desires.”

The Art of Allowing begins with yourself. But once you have gotten the knack of it, the way to expand that experience is to practice the Art of Allowing with others in your life. Begin to allow them to have whatever experience they are choosing (in whatever way they are choosing it) for themselves.

True Allowing is maintaining your own balance, your own joy, no matter what they are doing. As Abraham informs us, “you remain in balance, connected to your own Inner Being, aligned with the wonderful life-giving resources of the Universe, and the more you allow yourself to feel good as you hold others as your object of attention, the greater the power of your positive influence will be.

When you are an Allower, you are feeling peace as you are observing the experience of it all.”

Werner Erhardt, founder of Est, put it another way, with his definition of love. He said, “Love is allowing others to be who they are and who they are not.”

This is the essence of the latest book by Esther and Jerry Hicks. The Astonishing Power of Emotions: Let Your Feelings Be Your Guide. The book is full of great examples of how people find themselves out of alignment with their own desires, and Abraham’s wonderful guidance of how, in situations such as these, to turn your canoe from upstream to downstream.

Aware Digest recommends the audio tape of the book, available on CD through Amazon or downloadable from Audible.com. It’s much more penetrating to hear Jerry Hicks’ crisp, dynamic voice speaking the words of Abraham on your ipod while you work out on the treadmill, commute to work, or engage in any other activity.

By the time I got to Woodstock... with Swami Satchidananda.

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:02:49 -0400

On July 14, 1969, I found myself in a chauffeured limousine, escorting Swami Satchidananda to the Woodstock Music Festival to deliver his historic opening address to a gathering of 400,000 people.

I was sitting in the center front seat. On my left, was the limo chauffeur, and on my right, riding “shotgun” (passenger front), was the Swami. Sitting in the back, was folk singer Tim Harden (“If I were a Carpenter”), and two other musicians.

The limo was provided by Woodstock producer Michael Lang, to ensure the Swami got there on time. But despite our all-access VIP status, we were up against the biggest traffic jam to ever hit New York State. Eventually the traffic would be backed up for twenty miles.

We were on a two-lane country road several miles from the site and weren’t moving. The driver’s walkie-talkie signaled and he was told to do whatever it took to get us there. He turned to us and emphatically said two words: “Seat belts!”

The country road had a shoulder, although not a very level one, but to the driver, who was that period’s version of Jason Stathum (The Transporter), it was all he needed. We were suddenly doing 60 and hitting a lot of rough bumps along the way.

He saw a gap in the traffic, cut in and pulled out into the opposite oncoming traffic lane. For the next few miles, we were up to 80 mph until a farm tractor appeared on the road, forcing us to the opposite shoulder, for which we had to slow down to a cruising speed of 60. Once we passed the tractor, we slipped back for another 80 mph run for another mile or so and then hit total traffic chaos. At that point, everything was piled up and there was no way to get through— with or without a VIP limousine.

The driver pulled out into a cow pasture and came to a dead stop. I let out my breath, which I was holding the whole time, and uncurled my toes, which were almost cramped from the tension. I was OK, but very concerned about Swamiji and the ordeal he must have been going through.

I looked over to him to see if he was all right. Excited, he enthusiastically exclaimed, “Ahhh, that was great! Just like ‘Bullitt’ with Steve McQueen!” (Bullitt was the ultimate car chase movie of the ‘60s).

He saw my pale face and laughed out loud and blood quickly rushed back to my face as I joined him in uproarious laughter. Then I turned around, to see how the passengers in the back were doing, and Tim Hardin, who had been drinking from his flask of whiskey, had passed out.

We got him outside and Swamiji had him rest his head in his lap and generated some energy from his palm onto his forehead. In a few minutes, Tim’s eyes opened and he came around.

Just then, the driver, who was back on the walkie-talkie, walked over to us and said, “Get ready, they’re sending in a helicopter.”

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a helicopter landed in the pasture, and Swamiji and I, along with Tim Hardin and his two band members, were ushered aboard. We ascended and followed a long trail of cars for a couple of miles, flew over a hilltop and the sight of all those people still lingers in my imagination four decades later.

Swamiji was also impressed but not as blown away as I was, as he had been to several Kumbh Mela gatherings in India— pilgrimages of millions of Hindus.

We descended into the crowd and landed backstage, where we were greeted by the producer, Mike Lang, who gave us his big trademark grin. We then joined the backstage group, which consisted of Richie Havens, Ravi Shankar, Melanie, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Sweetwater and The Incredible String Band.

Richie Havens went on first to get everyone into the music groove before Swami Satchidananda gave his opening address. But when he did, it set the pace for a historic three days of peace & music.

The following is an edited version of Swamiji’s address:

“I am overwhelmed with joy to see the youth of America gathered here in the name of the fine art of music. Music is a celestial sound. Sound energy is much, much greater than any other power in this world. So I am very happy to see that we are all here gathered to create some sounds—to find that peace and joy through the celestial music.

America leads the whole world in several ways, but the time has come for America to also help the whole world with spirituality.

So, let all our actions, and all our arts, express Yoga. Through that sacred art of music, let us find peace that will pervade all over the globe.

The future of the whole world is in your hands. There is a dynamic manpower here. The hearts are meeting. The entire world is going to watch this. The entire world is going to know what the American youth can do for humanity. So, every one of us is responsible for the success of this Festival.”

The rest is history. And I am proud, in some small way, to have been a part of it.
Victor Zurbel (aka Arjuna)

Don’t get caught in the “Pleasure Trap”

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:00:13 -0400

Junk foods and fast convenience foods are highly addictive— they hijack the brain’s pleasure pathways in the same manner as addictive drugs. They are seductive poisons, hyper-stimulating us while simultaneously destroying our health. It’s a devious trap, too subtle for many to recognize, but those willing to mount the proper degree of effort can out-maneuver these dangerous land mines.

This is the premise of an extraordinary book, The Pleasure Trap. The book informs us about the hidden temptations in modern life that can undermine our pursuit of health and happiness and how we can avoid and defeat them.

The authors, Drs. Lisle and Goldhamer construct a new paradigm for the psychology of health, by integrating the principles of evolutionary biology with proactive strategies for wellness.

They inform us that the modern American diet has excessive taste-stimulating capacities that are greater than whole, natural foods, and that is where their danger lies. This results in neuro-adaptation, wherein taste nerves become insensitive to the pleasure of what nature has to offer, and consistent consumption of artificial or refined taste-stimulating foods heightens the addiction to them.

We are highly susceptible, as our natural motivational mechanism seeks the most survival value for the least effort, and draws us toward foods of extreme caloric density. As a result, most people think that if they were to consume a diet of whole natural foods, they would NOT enjoy their food— or their lives— and suffer. Like those addicted to drugs, they cannot imagine a better life, free from the drug-like effects of magic food. And like frogs in boiling water, millions are being slowly killed.

The reason that people, who try to make dietary changes for the better, bounce back or revert to their unhealthy eating habits, is because the process of becoming re-sensitized to natural food usually needs 30 to 90 days of magic-food abstinence, and this requires more self-discipline than most people are willing to muster.

Hence we have yo-yo diets and people who wander from one fad diet to another. But without understanding and uprooting the causes for their compulsive eating addictions, they are helpless to overcome them.

Understanding how The Pleasure Trap works is important not only for the lay person who wants to attain a higher level of health and well-being, but also for health practitioners so they can understand what they are up against with their patients’ hidden food addictions.

In fact, the book was brought to my attention by my own nutritional doctor, Joel Fuhrman, M.D. He says: "I love this book; it is brilliant. The Pleasure Trap is a powerful, mind–altering health manifesto. Rather than recommend that my patients read this book, I insist they do."

The book’s chapters are neatly summed up and followed action plans. In the case of taste-addiction, the first weapon is the knowledge that taste buds re-adapt to whole natural foods within a few weeks, and can be done with minimal taste sacrifice.

The second weapon is a short-term mono-diet of a natural food, such as water melon, or a juice diet. Removing all fat and salt from the diet for a few days will help restore sensitivity to the nerves, which, in turn, can make for an easier transition to a total diet of whole, natural foods.

Then, strategies help us overcome our tendencies to follow the path of least resistance. All animals are designed by nature to conserve energy, and humans are no exception. Fast food, which requires little thought, expense and effort, is significantly more appealing to our energy-conservation programming than the prospect of preparing health-promoting foods.

The Pleasure Trap offers 5 strategies:
1. No junk food in the house. Period.
2. Planning a weekly menu.
3. Cooking in quantity (to store servings for several days).
4. Create a car pack— a lunchbox containing healthy snacks.
5. Getting help: hiring a cook, setting up delivery, etc.

Aware Digest will soon be offering our own strategies for success in Veggie Boot Camp— a program for surviving and winning a victory in the nutritional war zone. If you’re subscribed, we’ll inform you of it’s launch shortly.

In the meantime, don’t miss reading this book. It can be purchased on www.drfuhrman.com (link and scroll down) or on amazon.com

We also recommend Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink. It’s an enjoyable and informative read that will give you additional insight to unconscious food behaviors and how to overcome them.

This article has been excerpted, in part, from Drs. Lisle and Goldhamer’s’own words.

You’re a Star Just Being Who You Are.

Thu, 5 Jun 2008 10:12:51 -0400

Imagine that you’re in a private screening room, about to view a movie of your life. It could be your entire life story or any aspect of it: a relationship, career, or any incident that didn't work out the way you wanted it to.

When you have the scene or story in mind, visualize a large screen in front of you, upon which the movie will be projected. Think of yourself as an objective viewer: movie producer, editor, director, screenwriter. Then "rack up the film" and let it roll.

Watch yourself very carefully— your mannerisms, how you speak your lines, how you display your emotions, etc. Also observe the other "actors" in the scene and how they react to you, and you to them.

After reviewing the film detail by detail, to the best of your memory, think of whom you would like to play your part in order to improve the performance.

How would Humphrey Bogart have played it? Or Clark Gable, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood?

If you're a woman, think of how someone like Greta Garbo would have played your role. Or Lauren Bacall, Meryl Streep, Hilary Swank, Helen Mirren, etc.

After selecting the actor or actress that you would most like to play your role, re-enact the movie in your mind as if you were that star. Of course, you may find it necessary to make some changes in the script, rewrite the dialogue, change the action, etc.

Whatever you feel is going to improve the "movie", go right ahead and make the changes. (After all, you're the director, screenwriter and star, and you can have it turn out any way you want.)

Then, after recreating the scene and acting it out as your favorite movie star, go back to the beginning. Now play the part yourself and see how effectively you can improve on your own performance and portray yourself the way you would really like to be (perhaps with a little Gable or Garbo thrown in).

Just remember that at every moment of your life, you have the chance to direct and act the story of your life the way you really want it to be. You may not have total control over the plot, but you can change the script to accommodate the part you wish to play.

After all, you're not just an “extra”; you’re the writer, producer, and director. And, you’re the star.

Silly goose? Not so silly, after all.

Wed, 4 Jun 2008 15:03:17 -0400

Next fall, when you see geese heading south for the winter flying in “V” formation, you might be interested in knowing what science has discovered about why they fly that way.

It has been learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own

(People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.)

Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and quickly gets back in formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front.

(If we have as much sense as the goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are going.)

When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

(It pays to take turns doing hard jobs).

The geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

(What do we say when we honk from behind?)

Finally, (now get this), when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gun shot and falls out, two geese fall out of formation and follow him down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is dead, or no longer needs help, and then they launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with their group.

(If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that).

And we call them bird brains!

Note: This was sent to me via internet with no acknowledgment of authorship.
If anyone knows the source, please advise via e-mail. Thanks.

God is watching me? Says who?

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 22:50:41 -0400

As a young boy, growing up in Western culture, there was a prevailing notion in Judeo/Christian religions that God is a father figure that watches us, keeps a ledger of our good and bad deeds, and rewards or punishes us accordingly. I never bought it.

Then, in my late teens, Eastern religions and spiritual practices became popular in America, especially to the counter-culture youth movement, and fostered the concept of Karma, which suggests that all of our actions have appropriate reactions and that we sow what we reap.

In a sense this is true, but I believe that we brought our Western notion of reward and punishment into the concept of Karma and never quite grasped it. As Alan Watts put it, “Karma is not something that happens to us ; it is what we do.” In other words, it is not a law of retribution but a law of attraction.

So, here we have a meditation, Be Watched by God, by Osho. Which is a big twist, since no one was more critical of the notion that God is watching us than Osho. On occasion, he said that “God is an unnecessary hypothesis,” and dismissed the whole idea that there even is a God. And yet, here, in this exquisitely simple meditation, he implies just the opposite.

But that is the poetry of Osho. Like life itself, his teachings are sublimely paradoxical and contradictory. And this meditation has nothing to do with morality, but everything to do with consciousness and awareness, and that is the whole essence of Osho’s teaching.

On another occasion, Osho said, “I don’t believe in God; I believe in Godliness.” Which is similar to what Buckminster Fuller said, “God is a verb, not a noun.”

So you don’t have to believe that God is watching you to benefit from this process. You are simply choosing it as a technique for bringing about more awareness. Even the nuance of the title suggests that you are in charge: Be Watched by God.

Be Watched by God
from Pharmacy For The Soul by Osho

To imagine that God is observing you is one of the most ancient methods. It changes life altogether. Once this idea gets very deep rooted— that God is watching you— subtle changes start happening. Suddenly there are a few things you cannot do. They look so absurd and foolish if God is watching.

It is just a technique to create a new situation in your being. After seven days you will realize that subtle changes have begun; you are walking differently; there is more elegance, more grace, because God is watching. You are not alone; the presence of the divine is always following you.

This feeling that God is watching becomes part of your being and you will find a great awareness arising in you.

Just sitting silently, close your eyes and feel the divine watching you from everywhere. See a new awareness arising in you and feel that you are becoming a pillar of light.

Eating or talking, remember this, and you will see that you are not talking nonsense. You will see that your talk has become more significant, and more poetic; that there is a kind of music in it that has never been there before. You are loving a friend and you will find your love has the quality of prayer in it because God is watching. Then everything is an offering; all worthy of the divine.

When Osho speaks of God, he is speaking of the entire intelligence of the universe. I’ve heard him say, “When you have asked where God is, you have asked the wrong question. The question should be asked is, ‘Where is God not?’ ”

God is even in your cells watching you. Candice Pert, author of Molecules of Emotion, says that the cells of your body are eavesdropping on all your conversations.

Which means that if you are having a conversation (or thoughts) about wellness, your cells respond in kind, whereas if you are having negative thoughts and conversations, your cells are listening to that.

God is watching you. Says who? Says you.
(After all, You are watching God watching you.)

It’s as Arthur C. Clarke said, “Perhaps our whole purpose on Earth is not to worship God, but to create Him.”

The River of Life

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 22:40:28 -0400

Hericlitus said, “You cannot step in the same river twice.” It is always changing, always in a flow, but to most of us, it looks like the same river.

One day a zen master and his disciple were crossing the country on a long journey. They came upon a flowing river and drank their fill of pure, clear water. Several miles later, they unexpectedly found themselves at the edge of a large desert, which they had to cross. The zen master realized that they did not take the proper precautions and fill their water bags and now they would not be able to cross the dessert.

So he asked his disciple to take the water bags back to the river and fetch water. The disciple complied and returned to the river, but found a large caravan traveling across it with bullock carts and wagons. The water had gotten muddy, so he returned to the zen master and reported that the water was unfit to drink.

The zen master asked his disciple to go back again. The disciple thought it was a foolish idea, but did as his master bid. When he got back to the river, the crowd had dispersed but the water was still muddy, and so he returned once again with no water.

The zen master asked him to try again. Annoyed and frustrated, the disciple swallowed his pride and once again returned to the river. This time it had returned to its crystal clear purity. The mud had settled and the river had washed away all the debris. And so, the disciple returned to the master with fresh water.

Life is like that river. When disturbances come, if we wait patiently, the mud will settle and it will become clear again. So when the mind becomes disturbed, think of it as a river that has been stirred up and just allow it to settle.

How life can imitate art

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 14:50:29 -0400

In the movie, Trading Places, the character portrayed by Eddie Murphy suddenly becomes very rich as the result of a set-up and wager between two old multi-millionaires. After inheriting his new fortune, including a luxurious town house complete with butler, Murphy throws a party and invites all of his old friends— prostitutes, pimps, dope dealers and other dubious types.

After a long night of partying, Murphy wakes up the next morning with a hangover and finds all these bums sleeping it off in his house. The place is a mess, with beer cans, cigarette butts and debris all over. Murphy quickly sobers up, wakes them all up and throws them out. In rising to his new stature in life, Murphy quickly discovers that it doesn’t jive with his old acquaintances and his former lifestyle.

Similarly, we wake up each morning with an aspiration to rise higher and we keep getting pulled down by our “old acquaintances’. I’m not referring to the people in our lives, but to the voices in our head: the old, outmoded voices from our past that hang out and lay their heavy trips on us. It’s about time we kicked those “bums” out.

Here’s how to do it: The moment you wake up, imagine that you have a room full of bums that are hung over from yesterday’s party. They’ll be telling you how you should feel this morning. The dialogue will start on its own and you needn’t do anything about it. Whatever thought comes into your head, visualize it as coming from one of these vagrants. It could be a complaint about the weather, your boss, your ex-wife, your current wife, your ex-husband, your current husband, your mother, your father, your children, whatever and whomever.

Then imagine quickly and mercilessly picking up these vagrant thoughts by their collars and seats of their pants and chucking them out the door. You can even dramatize this process in movement and make it seem more real. After ten minutes, sit quietly. If any more thoughts intrude, get up quickly and make the gesture to toss them out. Then once again, sit in silence.

Then, in that state of silence, visualize yourself as a person who has inherited a great fortune and has chosen to rise to a new station in life. Say goodbye to the former bad associations or acquaintances in your head. Declare that it's time to move on to a higher state -- an upper class mental attitude.

“If my words did glow...”

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 10:14:36 -0400

Surprisingly, some of the best contemporary American poetry can be found in the lyrics of folk and rock music. For instance, to many of us, when considering the lyrics of Bob Dylan, all other poets pale by comparison.

One of America’s greatest unsung poets (paradoxically, since Jerry Garcia sung all of his poems) is Robert Hunter.

Hunter’s lyrics, often intensely felt during a live Grateful Dead show, contributed to what was far more than a music concert for thousands of Deadheads. The lyrics guided them on a shamanistic journey, often showing up at profound, magical moments.

The following lyrics are from the song, Ripple—written by the inimitable team of Garcia & Hunter.

RIPPLE

If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung
Would you hear my voice come through the music?
Would you hold it near as it were your own?

It’s a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they’re better left unsung
I don’t know, don’t really care
Let there be songs to fill the air.

Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow.

Reach out your hand, if your cup be empty
If your cup is full may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men.

There is a road, no simple highway.
Between the dawn and the dark of night.
And if you go, no one may follow
The path is for your steps alone.

Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow.

You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall, you fall alone
If you should stand, then who’s to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home.

La dee da da da, la da da da da, da da da da, da da,
La da da da, la da da da, la da da da, la da da da da.

And now for the music. Scroll back up and read the
lyrics again as you listen to the song.

“I have just awoken and dreamt that I was a butterfly.

Mon, 26 May 2008 13:19:24 -0400

The butterfly appeals to us not only because of its beauty; it is also the quintessential symbol of transformation.
Said Werner Erhardt, founder of est: “Two caterpillars were crawling along the branch of a tree and looked up as a large butterfly flew by overhead.
One caterpillar turned to the other and said: ‘You couldn’t get me up in one of those things for a million bucks!’ ”

Give a little whistle

Mon, 26 May 2008 11:20:19 -0400

One of the simplest devices for creating a state of ease and relaxation, we learned as a child— whistling.
When we pucker our lips and let out a tune, we are connecting with our breath and bringing ourselves into the present moment. It is difficult to whistle a happy tune while you are unhappy or thinking about the past or speculating about the future. When you whistle, your focus is on your breath in the moment and the tune you are whistling.
Melody wise, whistling is like playing a musical instrument. In fact it is a natural musical instrument you have with you at all times. Not all of us are able to whistle in tune, but with practice we can improve as with any other instrument. So keep practicing and whistle as often as you think of it. You can start by whistling the following nursery rhymes and songs:

• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
• Old McDonald Had a Farm
• Puff, The Magic Dragon
• Yankee Doodle
• If I Only Had a Heart
• We’re Off to See the Wizard

Or whistle the Jiminy Cricket song from Walt Disney’s Pinocchio. To get you started, click on the delightful YouTube video from the classic Disney film. And once you refresh yourself with the tune, here are the lyrics:

When you get in trouble and don't know right from wrong
Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!
When you meet temptation and the urge is very strong
Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!

Take the straight and narrow path
And if you start to slide
Give a little whistle! Give a little whistle!
And always let your conscience be your guide.

So go ahead, give a little whistle...
and always let your conscience be your guide.

You Are Not the Target

Sun, 25 May 2008 23:39:41 -0400

This simple, effective technique allows you to take your body’s primitive survival mechanism for fight or flight and use it to your advantage whenever negative or hostile energy is directed at you. It’s from the book, You Are Not the Target, by Laura Huxley, wife of Aldous Huxley. This pioneering gem of the self-help genre was written 45 years ago, and in it, Laura gives her “recipes for living and loving,” one of which is the title of the book.

As Laura says, “Although we would not consider ourselves the target of a hurricane or a tidal wave, we often feel we are the victims of meteorological disturbances in the minds of other people.

“Sometimes it is true; people are trying to hurt us. But most of the time they are merely exploding and we happen to be nearby as a convenient substitute for their real target.

“Stop and realize that their irritability, irrationality, lack of consideration—in other words, their disagreeable and wounding behavior— is not really aimed at you. You may feel as though it were, but in the majority of cases it is not. You are not the target. You just happen to be there.”

Laura then goes on to give you a “recipe” on how to take the body’s primitive survival mechanism for fight or flight and use it to your advantage. She asserts that whether hostile energy is actually directed at you or whether you think it is, your body gets ready for action: Your heart beats faster, your breathing accelerates, your blood pressure rises, vessels in your lungs open wider to supply more oxygen to your blood, your liver releases glucose— sugar fuel— into your blood, and your blood is diverted from the digestive organs and rushes to the muscles.

Under civilized circumstances, you are not likely to fight or run away, but nevertheless, your muscles are ready.

So what to do?

Laura’s recipe is to use your muscles to convert the unpleasant emotions into an action that strengthens and beautifies you. The essence of the recipe is to transform energy from a negative emotion into a specific muscular action to positively affect one or more parts of your body. It can be your thighs, calves, abdomen, chest, buttocks, biceps, or any part of the body which you can contract and relax unobtrusively.

“You will kill two birds with one stone,” says Laura. “Not only do you save yourself from the harmful effects of negative emotions, but you also gain remarkable benefits in health and appearance. A person contracting the abdominal muscles ten times a day for ten seconds each time can lose between one and two inches from the waistline in a month,” claims Laura. “This is the principle of isotonic exercise used by the American and Soviet Olympic teams.”

Before you begin to use this recipe, decide which part of your body you wish to strengthen or beautify. Let’s say you choose to strengthen your thighs. Practice this for a few minutes:
Tighten the muscles of your thighs.
Pull them stiff, stiff, stiff.
Hold it — hold it as long as you can.
And let go.

“Now, after you have done this several times,” says Laura, “go back in your mind to a time when someone was irritating, insulting, unpleasant or unfair to you. Relive a time when someone, by a word or a look, hurled a bolt of hostile energy at you.

“And now—put this recipe into action: grasp that bolt of energy! Direct it with your mind and thrust it into the muscles of your thighs—tighten—hold— and let go. And do it until you find a comfortable rhythm of contraction and relaxation.

“Doing this, in retrospect, can help relieve you of any feeling of hostility you may have carried with you since that unpleasant moment, while it also trains you to be ready to use it when you need it.”

This is only one of the many “recipes for living and loving,” given by Laura Huxley in her classic book, and we hope you find it a helpful “tool for transformation.”

And, this is only one of many tools for transformation that Aware Digest will be offering. These days, to overcome all the stresses and challenges of life, we practically have to be magicians of a sort. And as such magicians, it’s good to have a lot of tricks up our sleeves.

Like a spiritual Dr. Phil...

Tue, 20 May 2008 21:28:08 -0400

Being in the presence of a guru or yoga master is a very rare experience these days, as there are very few authentic yoga masters in America still around to guide us. Fortunately, Yogi Desa i is still with us, and Aware Digest will endeavor to help keep the yoga satsang experience alive on the internet.
Over the years, Yogi Desai, affectionately referred to as Gurudev (beloved guru), has conducted over a thousand satsangs, in which he has shared the yoga wisdom that has been passed on to him through a lineage of great masters. Gurudev has brought these profound teachings to bear on contemporary life situations, which we will share regularly in this column. Eventually, we hope to offer live, streaming satsangs with Gurudev.

On Relationships
Edited from a Satsang in the early 1990s.

Marjorie: Gurudev, I have a very painful situation, probably common between sisters, which I haven't been able to resolve. My sister seems angry with me most of the time. What can I do?

GURUDEV: The first step is to realize that your sister is not capable of making you feel something that doesn't already exist inside you.

So, when she gets angry, it is not her anger that confronts you; it is your own resistance to the anger hidden inside you, and the fear associated with it.

lf you can learn to let go of your resistance and accept that anger, you will discover that she is simply a catalyst bringing it forth, and her anger will lose its power over you.

Therefore, focus your attention on what is going on within yourself, rather than what you think she is doing to you.

Marjorie: What can I do to stop myself from reacting when she directs her anger at me?

GURUDEV: First, take a deep breath before you automatically react out of fear. This puts a little separation between you and your negative reaction. It calms the defensive energy that comes up and allows a chance to be fully present and open to the moment.

At that point, look beyond the anger to see who your sister really is and what she needs in the moment. Most likely she wants more love and empathy. Maybe you are triggering something in her. So, try to see the situation from her side and create space for her to have her fears, just as you are having yours.

View your sister with compassion instead of blame. Don't identify her with her anger and don’t take anything she says personally. Instead, consciously recall the love for each other that you have both expressed in the past.

Marjorie: But in the heat of the moment, that's not so easy to do.

GURUDEV: No one said it would be easy. But having the courage to do so will create an opportunity for the most open and loving dialogue between you and your sister that may not have been possible under ordinary circumstances.

So the thing to do is not cooperate with her anger or your reaction to it. In a non-blaming way, tell her what you are feeling when anger comes up. Tell her of your intention to have a loving relationship with her.

Think of what you can do that will encourage her to feel safe and open with you. Angry people often feel fearful and threatened underneath their angry expression.

By recognizing her needs and responding to them, you open the way to communication and resolution.

How a simple nursery rhyme can be your mantra

Mon, 19 May 2008 09:17:22 -0400

You don’t need to go to a guru to get a mantra. “Row, row, row your boat” will do just fine. In fact, Thich Nhat Hanh, the renowned Vietnamese Buddhist monk, likened the nursery rhyme to the Heart Sutra Mantra, and a charming inspirational book, Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Steven Lane Tyler has been dedicated to its spiritual meaning. ( See www.rowrowrow.com )

Most other nursery rhymes are not all that encouraging. Consider the dire lyrics in London Bridge is Falling Down, Rockabye Baby in the Tree Top, Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, etc.

“Row, Row, Row, Your Boat,” is not only optimistic, each word and phrase is ripe with meaning. For instance, the first line is not simply “row” your boat, but the three time repetition, “row, row, row.” It suggests that you be deliberately intentional in the act of moving your boat down the stream, rather than just unconsciously allowing it to drift.

“Gently down the stream,” indicates that you are going with the current and the flow of life; not up the stream and against the current.

As we journey down the stream of life, things continuously occur in the present moment. But we tend to take the thoughts of what has already happened downstream with us, and are no longer present to what’s happening right now.

A stream is an ever-changing flux. As Heraclitus says, “You cannot step in the same river twice.” While things may look the same, every moment is always fresh and new. And full of miracles. So continue to row, row, row, and stay in the “golden present.”

Thich Nhat Hanh, who likened the nursery rhyme to the Heart Sutra Mantra, says that your boat means your life, which you built with your karma (result of past actions), and “row, row, row,” means the continuous process of moving your life towards its final destination: enlightenment.

“Gently” suggests rowing your boat down your karmic stream of life without force or effort...just letting it flow. It also beckons one to undertake all thoughts and deeds with peace and ease.

“Down the stream” refers to the seemingly endless stream of life, death and rebirth. “Merrily” simply means being merry and free from worry. And “life is but a dream,” reminds us that our whole life is an illusory dream, called Maya in Sanskrit.

So whistle, hum, chant, sing, string or kazoo Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and discover how “merrily, merrily, merrily,” life can be a very pleasant dream.

For more about Row, Row, Row...see Wikipedia

Beyond Vegetarian: The Plant Power Diet

Sun, 18 May 2008 22:57:32 -0400

Living plants have amazing power that we are only beginning to fully appreciate. For example, a tiny seed that has gotten lodged in a crevice of a giant granite boulder can grow into an enormous pine or oak tree and expand with such tremendous pressure that it can eventually force apart the boulder.

Great power is also exerted when beans or grains imbibe water and expand. There are documented records of sailing ships loaded with rice,that have been literally split apart when water got into their cargo holds and was absorbed by the rice.

The greatest power of living plants for humans. however, is that they provide us with solar fuel. After all, we are essentially solar-powered beings, and live and breathe because plants absorb the energy of the sun and provide us with oxygen and sustenance.

Even those of us who eat meat are living on the power of plants, because we eat mainly plant-eating animals, herbivores, and not carnivores, so we’re still getting plant power, albeit second hand.

Also, scientists are now discovering what shamans and indigenous peoples have known for thousands of years— that certain plants not only have the power to sustain us with food to fill our bellies, but also have powerful healing and disease-fighting substances— nutrients from plants— which we call phytonutrients.

The Plant Power diet, the next step in vegetarianism, is not merely about finding plant substitutes for meat. It’s a powerful disease-fighting and health-building diet that maximizes plant-based foods that provide the greatest nutrient density.
Aware Digest will provide new, ground-breaking information and resources for living the Plant Power lifestyle, as well as delicious, easy-to-prepare recipes.
To offer you a fast jump start into the Plant Power lifestyle, we’ll soon be introducing Veggie Boot Camp. We’ll train you to be a Kitchen Commando and empower you to cook spontaneous, recipe-free nutritious meals in 20 minutes— without cookbooks or measuring cups.

How To Get Out of Your Own Way

Sun, 18 May 2008 15:54:56 -0400

“My life has been one big obstacle course,
with me as the main obstacle.”
This quote by former TV talk show host, Jack Paar, is more than a joke; it’s an astute observation. Most of us tend to see obstacles as existing outside of ourselves and blame others or circumstances if things don’t turn out the way we want them to. But in the final analysis, the only thing that really blocks us from living with joy and abundance is ourselves.
Getting out of your own way is life’s big conundrum. Because the “you” that wants to get out of your own way is the very thing that’s in it. As Yogi Amrit Desai says, “The reason your problems persist is because you are trying to use your conditioned mind to break the habits of your conditioned mind. The irony is, that you— the one who is trying to solve your problems— are the problem. “
And as Albert Einstein said, “You can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it.”
That’s why Aware Digest will continue to offer you new methods to help you get out of your own way, or else, like most of us, you’ll keep doing it.
So here’s one to get you started:
A Tibetan Lama once said that the best way to control cows and sheep is to give them a big field to graze in. Likewise, the best way to control your thoughts and emotions is to give them a big field to graze in— by creating spaciousness around them.
As you create space, you are shifting from being the content to being the context. In other words, instead of being the thoughts or the emotions, you become the space that holds them.
And allowing them to graze freely without interacting with them, is the key to all the meditations. It is becoming who you really are— the eternal witness.
From this vantage point, you can ask your God or The Universe to grant you the guidance and the courage to “let it be” (like in the Paul McCartney song). And when you can let it be, you wlll automatically get out of your own way and will empower yourself to solve your problem with a different mind that created it.
Above: Cartoon by Michael Parman

“Elementary, my dear Watson.”

Sat, 17 May 2008 10:14:34 -0400

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are on a camping trip, fast asleep under a starry sky. Holmes suddenly wakes up and shouts: “Watson, wake up!”
Alarmed, Watson bolts upright. “What is it Holmes?” he asks.
“Look up, Watson,” says Holmes, “and tell me, what do you see?”
Watson rubs his eyes from slumber and answers, “I see a sky full of stars, Holmes.”
“And what does that tell you, Watson?” asks Holmes.
Watson deduces: “Theologically it tells me there must be a God or
a higher intelligence, considering how the stars and planets are arranged in such perfect harmony.
“Astronomically, it tells me there are millions of stars and perhaps billions of planets.
“Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo, and meteorologically, it tells me that tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day. What does it tell you, Holmes?”
“What it tells me, Watson, you twit, is that someone has stolen our tent!”

Editorial Comment
This story makes us laugh because, like Watson, we think we know all the answers, but often, our so-called knowledge blinds us to the obvious. As Werner Erhardt, founder of est, said: “Understanding is the booby prize.” Which means, of course, that being aware of what is happening in this moment is the grand prize.

Laugh Your Way to God: Humor on the Spiritual Path

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:23:00 -0400

People are taking religion very seriously these days. And that’s the problem. It’s not seriousness that’s an attribute on the spiritual path, but sincerity, and people often confuse the two. Sincerity is a virtue that comes from the heart, whereas seriousness comes from the mind. Sincerity embraces tolerance, compassion, and humility, while seriousness breeds self-righteousness, zealotry, religious pride, bigotry, and in its extreme— fanaticism and terrorism.

To us, humor and wisdom go hand in hand. Laughing is one of the greatest gifts we have as human beings, especially when we have the ability to laugh at ourselves.

So at Aware Digest you can always count on getting a good laugh with a spiritual insight— with our conscious cartoons, jokes, anecdotes, and processes called “The Primal Giggle.”

Here’s a joke to get you started:

David Jacobson complained to his Rabbi, “My business is in the red, my rent has skyrocketed, I’m facing a corporate lawsuit and my wife is leaving me. I’m at my wit’s end. What can I do?”
The Rabbi replied, “Jacobson, the answer, as always, can be found in the scriptures. Go home, open the Torah, close your eyes and put your finger anywhere on the page. Then, open your eyes, look at what your finger is pointing to, and read what it says. The words will guide you.”
Jacobson thanked the Rabbi and told him he would follow his advice. A couple of months later, he pulled up to the temple in a new Jaguar convertible with a new blonde girlfriend sitting beside him.
”You look like a new man!“, declared the Rabbi. “What happened?”
”I took your advice”, replied Jacobson. “I closed my eyes, opened the Torah, and pointed to a page.”
“What did it say? What did it say?” inquired the Rabbi, with excited curiosity.
Jacobson smiled and answered, “Chapter 11.”

Don’t just do something. Lie there!

Thu, 15 May 2008 11:18:01 -0400

Do you find lately that many of the things you are doing are not working? Then maybe its time to stop “doing.” Yogi Amrit Desai’s method of Yoga Nidra can bring you into the most relaxed state of “non-doing,” where you can cause shifts in your life that you haven’t been able to do with hard work and struggle.

Yoga Nidra is a technique that doesn’t require the rigid disciplines of meditation and is readily available to beginners with no prior experience. Simply by lying down in a comfortable position for 30 minutes and following Yogi Desai’s guidance on the CD, the process activates the alpha and theta brainwave states and brings you to the deepest level of relaxation. Normally, these states are activated only in deep sleep, but this process makes it accessible in wakeful awareness, allowing for a shift in neurological pathways and a quantum crossover to what authors Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer have referred to as “the field of infinite potential.”

The best way to experience this process is under the direct guidance of Yogi Desai, at www.amrityoga.org. The second best way, as mentioned previously, is to put on a Yoga Nidra CD, lie down, and you’re ready to go. And, for those on the go, we recommend the Rapid Journey Yoga Nidra for a thirty minute experience, although the full hour version would give you a deeper and more profound experience. Try both. Order from...www.amrityoga.org

Relax, and have a cup of bancha

Wed, 14 May 2008 20:06:51 -0400

If you’re a coffee lover, and not many teas satisfy you, you will probably like bancha, which is the house tea served in macrobiotic restaurants. Its correct name is kukicha, which is actually roasted twigs and stems from the Japanese sencha green tea bush.

It’s lower in caffeine than tea brewed from the leaves,
it’s alkalizing, balancing, good for digestion, offers mild stimulation, and unless taken in large quantities, should not cause trouble with sleep.

Unfortunately, there are not many macrobiotic restaurants, and not all of them serve kukicha. Some health food stores and co-ops sell kukicha twigs in bulk, or you can buy it packaged by Mitoku (www.mitoku.com). If your health food market doesn’t have it, ask them to order it, or get it directly from Natural Import Company

Also try Genmai-kukicha, another very enjoyable tea, made with 50% bancha tea twigs and 50% roasted brown rice kernels.

How a pale, weak and neurotic carrot found health, strength, self- confidence and spiritual enlightenment

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The following account has been transcribed from a channeled interview with His Holiness, The Enlightened Carrot.
“Dear Ones, I will speak to you now about the circumstances that led me to my state of Supreme Knowledge.

Stories That Can Help Put Children To Sleep and Wake Adults Up

Mon, 12 May 2008 21:09:32 -0400

For more than 2,500 years, Aesop’s Fables have been enjoyed by millions of people worldwide. Within their simple stories are woven meaningful lessons of life that charm both children and philosophers.
Like those of Aesop, there are many such wonderful fables from India that have been passed down the ages by the spoken word. Virtually unknown in the West until the late 1960s, these fables, or stories, were first introduced to yoga students by Indian gurus, who had incorporated them into their discourses.
One of the most wonderful of these story tellers was Swami Satchidananda. He began giving discourses in 1968 at the Universalist Church on Central Park West and W. 76 St. and every Friday evening he would both wake up our spiritual presence and help calm and put to sleep our restless minds.
It is our great pleasure to share some of these stories with you. As charming as they are, putting them into the written word can hardly do justice to the experience of having heard them told by Swamiji in person. We’ve provided a link to a YouTube video of Swami Satchidananda, so you can get a sense of his presence.
The first story we are presenting is The Pumpkin and the Berry. Eventually, the stories will be illustrated and a book will be made available.

The Pumpkin and the Berry

One day, a man who had been walking in the hot sun for a long time, came upon a giant banyan tree, which cast a large shadow.
He sat down to take a rest in the shade of this large tree, and as he did, he looked up and observed tiny red berries growing high up on the tall branches.
Then, on the ground beside him, he found a berry which had fallen and he picked it up to examine it. As he was holding the tiny berry, he happened to glance at the field nearby and observed a crop of huge pumpkins growing along the ground on small vines, called creepers.
While holding the tiny berry and looking at the huge pumpkins, he began to wonder, "Isn’t it odd that here the smallest fruit is growing on the largest tree while over there, the largest fruit is growing on the smallest tree? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t the large pumpkins be growing on the large tree and the small berries growing on the small vine?”
Then he concluded, “Well, I guess it was a big world that God created, and even He could make mistakes. But, if He had asked me, I would have told Him: ‘Put the large pumpkins on the large tree and the small berries on the small vine.’ “
Proud of his observation, he laid down on the ground and stretched out to take a nap. After dozing off, he was suddenly awakened by a sharp sting on his lip. At first, he thought it was a bee sting, but then observed that it was a berry that had fallen from one of the top branches and hit him on the lip. He picked up the berry and looked at it. Although it was tiny, it had given him quite a sting, because it had fallen from such a great height.
As he rubbed his sore lip, his eyes glanced across the field and he again noticed the large pumpkins growing on the small vine. He now declared, "It's a good thing those large pumpkins weren't growing on this large tree!"
MORAL: There is a perfect order to everything in the universe. It is only through our unaware minds that we see imperfections. A small speck of dust may seem irregular to the naked eye, but put it under a microscope and you will see a perfect geometric pattern, a beautiful kaleidoscope.

Be like a hollow bamboo

Sat, 10 May 2008 11:38:51 -0400

Your breath, along with this simple visualization, can be your instant transportation to a state of calm and an inner source of well-being. Hollow Bamboo is a simple, easy access to meditation and its benefits can be felt even if only practiced for a few minutes each day. This is a version of a meditation technique offered by Osho, a master of many meditations. He had attributed its origin to Tilopa, one of the founders of Tibetan Buddhism.

1. Sit in a comfortable chair with your spine erect. Close your eyes and begin to visualize your body as a hollow bamboo, with the surface of your body as the outside shell, while inside you are completely hollow.
1. Watch your breath flowing in and out, without trying to control or regulate it, and all the while imagining it is flowing through you as if through a hollow bamboo.
2. Visualize the breath gently flowing from your hara (slightly below your navel) to the crown of your head and back again, in a smooth continuous loop. If thoughts occur, just bring your awareness back to your breath and allow them to also flow gently through you.

You can also practice this standing in line at a bank, supermarket, etc. In this case, visualize a hollow bamboo extending from your feet to the crown of your head, with your breath flowing back and forth between both ends of the bamboo.

Sitting or standing, if you practice this calming exercise on a regular basis, you will more easily be able to utilize it when stressful situations occur and you really need it.

Then, instead of becoming rigid and solid, you will remain open and let tensions and disturbances flow through you. Like a hollow bamboo.

And, periodically, do a juice fast for a day or two, allowing your colon to empty and cleanse, which will add to your overall sense of well being and give you an even greater experience of being like a hollow bamboo.

Make yourself
like a hollow bamboo
so the Whole can play
it’s music through.
Osho

God Is Like the Rain

Thu, 1 May 2008 19:06:09 -0400

God is Like the Rain is a parable that simply and elegantly conveys the interfaith principle that there are many religions but only one God. “The Paths are Many, but the Truth is One.”

This parable has been told by one of the greatest interfaith ministers of our era, Sri Swami Satchidananda, founder of the Integral Yoga Institute and Yogaville.

What began like a seed, has grown into a magnificent oak tree (to use another parable). Swamiji’s vision of interfaith understanding has grown into the magnificent LOTUS Temple in Buckingham, Virginia. The name, LOTUS, stands for Light Of Truth Universal Shrine.