Visiting the dentist
M. Jakemen
I have to visit a dentist, and for some reason it is making me more
scared than usual, probably because of the place where he's going to
be drilling.
What yoga techniques can I use to counteract my fear and anxiety, both
before and during the treatment? Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Shanti
MJ
Chiaromondo
to hurt. And if you need more, you can take a dentist that gives you gas, so
you will be happy all the time, and you can even find a dentist that puts
you to sleep while it's done.
Mike Dubbeld
A very simple thing to do is rhythmic breathing. Breathe in the same
number of counts as out using OM to count with. Try 5 OM's in and
out for a few minutes and adust to more or less as you go along.
Count in the background/the count number is not very important/you
can lose count frequently and it doesn't really matter. For about the
first 30 minutes your mind will rebel and cause you to want to quit
but if you just keep doing it a point is reached such that when you
then attempt to give it up you will still find yourself counting :)
Do this for 2-3 hours prior to going to the dentist. Your tranquility
and composure is likely to surprise you. It is a bit intoxicating.
It may sound crazy but there is no time when I do not know what
my breathing and heart are doing even while sleeping. I breathe in
rhythm to my heart. Normally we breathe out longer than in, so with
an even count in and out you start building up a charge. Endorphins
are natures pain killer also. Pregnant women use breathing exercises
for natural child birth. Relax and take a deep breath is a common
expression. From rhythmic breathing comes a certain deliberation
and power you never knew you had also. You will find yourself
moving in time with your count as well as thinking in time to it.
Frantic thoughts and anxiety are overcome in your deliberation/will.
The hardest part is
the first 30 minutes getting used to it as a habit. I don't think its
a good idea to do more than say 4 hours especially the first day,
no matter how elevated you get. Normally I have practiced this
for long periods of time (months) 2-5 hours a day. I use this
method anytime I face stressful situations - like waiting for
an interview for a job for example.
Another thing closely related to rhythmic breathing is sensory
awareness. Observation is a key to awakening the superconscious.
Instead of wasting your time on anxious thoughts and becoming
impatient while standing in line in a store or at a traffic light
or anything else, become aware of the subtlties of your
surroundings. What is the redest red you have seen today? :)
I have included the parts that follow sensory awareness- dharana,
meditation and samadhi as they fit well.
From a previous post----
In 1974 I found a very nice little book called OM A
Guide to Meditation and Inner Tranquility. I still think highly
of this book by Frank J. Mac Hovec. I thought I would share
a few pages of it. One very peculiar thing about it is his
discussion on pratyahara. Pratyahara has nothing to do with
as he uses it in the book. Since I will be typing it exactly
as it appears - replace the word pratyahara with
'sensory awareness' wherever it appears.
My comments are in brackets [ ].
THE YOGA METHOD
'Pratyahara is sensory awareness. It means developing
your senses, sharpening them.'
[Before thye usual people that don't bother to read anything
else and see this line and complain - this is not correct it
is true - pratyahara is NOT sensory awarnenss I agree - but
these are the words of the author of this book and irregardless
what he choses to call it - it is good information for
cultivating sensory awareness/observation - which is what
I call it.]
'It means tuning in or focusing
in on only one sensory aspect of a thing to the exclusion of
all else, sensing it for what it is and not for what we think it is
or want it to be. It is letting the object exist of and by itself
and to experience it for its own sake.Pratyahara is unlearning,
unconditioning, overcoming your own fixed ideaof what you
see, hear or touch. It is looking at an object and "lettingit be,"
receiving its signals in an open and receptive attitude.'
'You can develop pratyahara by having a tea ceremony just
before yourmeditation. It should be a tiny cup of fragrant tea.
Jasmine or oolong isvery good. No sugar. But hot, and only
one tiny cup. Place it on your altar. Close your eyes and
concentrate on its aroma. If you can't smell it, lean closer.
Hold the cup in the fingers of both hands. Close your eyes.
Think on the cup's warmth. Place the cup to your lips but
before you drink smell the aroma again and think on it, sense
it thoroughly.Taste just a tiny sip. "Go with" the taste. How
delicate. Enjoy the pleasure of the immediate moment.
Sense the warmth on your tongue. Whenyou sip again,
sense how its warmth travels down your throat, even into
your stomach. Focus the taste on your tongue, how the
flavor is centered there.'
'You are surrounded in your home with hundreds of
opportunities to develop pratyahara. There are sounds:
clocks, washers, dryers, furnaces,creaky floors, lawn
mowers, dishwashers, garbage disposals, running water,
closing doors, to name a few. There are "people sounds"
all around you. Listen not only to what they say but how
they say it, their tone of voice, the speed at which they talk,
the pauses, what they do while talking. And "nature sounds"
such as birds, rustling leaves, brooks, rain, wind. Listen.
Really listen.'
'Develop your sense of sight by "seeing as if for the first
time." If a sunrise, sunset, or blue sky with clouds, is not
available to you, look a some of your clothing, the colors
of your walls, carpets, furniture. Have you really see them
before? Visit an art gallery or museum. What a feast of
images and colors.'
'Touch things more. Feel different textures, tree bark,
glass, cement,leather, wool, metal, skin, hair. There is
magic in touch. Johnson and Masters have a sequential
program for married couples to teach how to sense each
other. Humanistic psychologists recommend a paired
exercisewhere one partner closes his eyes and the other
partner leads him around the room, having him touch
things and try to guess what they are. Most people who
try it learn a great deal about trust, the feel of familiar
things and how wonderful it is to be able to see.'
'And what of taste ? We wolf our food. You can develop
your sense of taste by trying foods seasoned differently.
Here again, the Hindus for centuries have been preparing
curries and chutneys. Enjoy your food. Savor it. Make it
a kind of ceremony. Linger on the taste awhile longer.
Slow down. "Turn on" to the taste.'
'There is a whole world of sensory awareness. Is it
really possible to bebored surrounded by such
excitement every day? The everyday world is full of
sensory explosions we can experience simply by
being receptive to them, simply by being an interested
spectator. Achieving pratyahara is becoming a finely
tuned receiver, studying and enjoying everything
that enters the senses, What the Buddhists
call "windows of the mind." '
'Practicing pratyahara means overcoming distractions.
After all, if youtune into total sensory input, you'll have
trouble sorting them out, there are so many signals
received. It would be relatively easy to be confused by
"sensory overload." But then, you've been meditating
long enough to take care of that. Tune out all but one
thought or object.Become a gardener of the soul,
turning over the soft, rich, rich soil with an imaginary
spade, gently, easily. Focus on the spadeful, not the
whole garden. We sense fully only what we select.
We thoroughly sense only specific features of the
object.'
'Begin to sharpen your sense every day, on the job, at
home, on vacation.You can do this even at meetings, in
waiting rooms, driving to and from work. Do you ever
really look a traffic light right in the eyes? Sense the red.
Polish the senses. See, hear, smell, taste, touch!
There is a whole new world out there, waiting for you to
explore it. It is truly a great adventure, for all who have
eyes to see, ears to hear, fingers to touch. Pratyahara
is to have a third eye, a third ear and a third hand.'
[This leads to what I have phrased 'heaven on earth.' The
meek shall inherit the earth! Also, when we go on vacation
we break out of our subconscious habit mind and look at
things again as if for the first time - because it IS the first
time. Even when we return from vacation, the subconscious
being re-programmed in this way provides a benefit.
Sharpening the senses causes the mind to become
radically tranquil and peaceful also. Instead of losing
patience standing in line in the store or in traffic - practice
this sensory awareness on all that you see - the biggest
building, the brightest red, the biggest tree, Bluest house,
etc]
'Dharana is knowing, fully knowing. Dharana is one-pointed
concentration. It is undistracted, intense involvement with
something, putting it in extremely fine focus, being totally
occupied with it. It differs from pratyahara in that dharana
uses all the senses and embraces a whole object or idea.
It doesn't sort out the senses and embraces a whole
object or idea. It isn't merely sensing the colors of a sunset.
It seeks to "know" the sunset, the totality of it, the identity
of it. Pratyahara means seeing, touching, feeling, smelling,
perhaps tasting, a rose (in the Middle East roses are used
for flavoring). It is appreciating the rose for specific attributes
in terms of the senses. But dharana concentrates on the rose,
all of it. It focuses on total "roseness." '
'You can practice dharana using your meditation candle.
Gaze upon it as you did in earlier meditation. Observe the
flame, its reflection on the wax at the top, how the light is
diffused just below the surface. See the waxy texture of
the candle itself, how it fits into the holder.Close your eyes
and envision the candle. Hold the candle in your mind's
eye. Bring it to life in your mind. Make it real in your
imagination. Know the candle, really know it.'
'The ancients used flowers or fruits to develop dharana.
It's interesting to note that the world's artists do much the
same thing trying to bring to life flowers and fruits in still-life
painting. You can do the same with the oils and canvas of your
mind. An apple, an orange, banana, or pear will do nicely.
Concentrate on it. Touch it, study it closely. Use your
sharpened senses. Then close your eyes and duplicate the
fruit in yourmind as clearly as if your eyes were open and
you were looking at it. Make it equally real with or without
your eyes being focused on it. As a close to this part of
your meditation, further your pratyahara by
experiencing the fruit -- eat it. But slowly, savoring it.'
'A glass of water can be your dharana model. Through your
senses you canknow the shape and feel of the glass and the
water within it. There is the seemingly perfect circle of the
glass rim, the vertical lines of the sides, the reflection of
light from your candle. But you must graduate from sensing
to knowing. Concentrate on the total sensory input of the
glass so that you duplicate the glass in your mind. It is there
just as vividly as the glass you see when you open your eyes.
It is equally real. It is "knowing" the glass.'
'A freshly sharpened pencil is another good model for
dharana. Feel the eraser, the metal cap which holds it, the
smooth enameled sides, the rough texture of the wood
near the point, the sharp point itself. Does the bare wooden
section have an odor? The eraser? Study it, its parts,
the whole pencil. Know it in part and as a whole.
Concentrate on it. Eyes closed, picture it. Make it real.
Know it.'
'Seeing, even appreciating a sunrise or sunset for its own
sake is pratyahara. Being "into" it, getting with it, knowing it
is dharana. As your skills improve, it will won't seem like
concentration. Its more like absorption. Total absorption.
You can achieve dharana in nature by knowing mountains,
deserts, rivers, oceans, trees, flowers, soil, the moon, stars,
sky, clouds, and so on. And if indoors, paintings and pictures
can provide the means. You will know you have achieved
dharana when the thought so permeates your mind that
nothing else comes through, and it is so vivid that it is the
same whether your eyes are open, seeing the object, or
closed and imagining it.'
'Dhyana is at-oneness, total absorption, becoming. It is
transcendental consciousness, contemplation so deep
that it is impossible to separate the "you" from the "it," the
object being concentrated upon. It begins as dharana, firm,
strong, one-pointed concentration to the total exclusion of
everything but the one thought or image allowed to come
through. This involves both theintellect, conscious
concentration, and the senses, sensing what is there for its
own sake. It is factual and it is felt. It is thought
about and experienced. It thus involves total perception and
judgment, the mind and the senses. But doing this is but
the beginning stage of dhyana.'
'Gradually, the intellect fades. It is no longer needed. The
mind's eyesees the object without thinking. The mental
image exists by and of itself, focused immovably on target.
As the intellect fades so also the object and, a feeling of
well-being, of freedom, of rapture, flows. Everything flows
together. Some experience a floating feeling at this stage.
If this happens, do not be frightened by it. Go with the
feeling for it is part of the dhyanic process. It is a good sign.
Relax with it; let it come. Don't resist it, "do not push the river."
Finally, dhyana peaks in a feeling most experienced
meditators describe as "selflessness." The intellect is a
strong supporter of ego. Only the perceived, felt object
exists and you are one with it, transcending everything,
even you.'
'Dhyana is a mystic leap from the you to "it," the object of
contemplation. There is no knower, only the known. And the
knower and the known are one. You are the object; the object
is you. You are absorbed totally in it. It is as if you and it are
together in a single bubble of consciousness, aware and
vibrating with identity.'
'Dhyana is achieved naturally, easily, by following the
practices thus far described. All that has happened to you
up to this point has prepared you for this higher meditative
state, and the one to follow. If you have difficulty achieving
dhyana, total absorption, being one with the object, go
back and repeat all the exercises. It may be that you have
omitted something, missed something. Emphasize the
visualization of the white lotus blossom. Include
OM in your meditation. Relax. Don't strain, don't overdo.
Let if flow. It will come. Make your spirit a receptacle.
Let the hidden spring which is in each of us flow.'
'Samadhi is cosmic consciousness, Mystic Unity. It is
achieved suddenly, with a flash of insight. It has been
described like falling off an imaginary log. It is intuitive,
not intellectual. We left the intellect behind some time
ago. Samadhi can occur anywhere along the meditative
path, spontaneously. It is caught. Not taught.'
'Savitarka is the beginning of samadhi. It is a feeling of
"at-oneness," of deep and natural belonging. In this
state, there are no names, no identity, just belonging,
acceptance, part of something great and powerful.
It is a feeling as if something great is about to happen,
something good, something positive.'
'Gradually, you "plug in" to the total universe, to the All,
the One. There is no time anymore, no place, no cause or
effect, no concept of space except boundless infinity.
It's the biggest idea you've ever had; powerful, unifying,
uplifting, expansive. The ancients called it nirvitarka,
the peak of the meditative experience, the zenith.'
'In samadhi you are completely swallowed up in the process.
You are plugged into something truly great, to Creation itself.
It is more psychial than psychological. It is far too deep for
words to describe it. Those who have achieved it describe
it thus: "I belong to no one. No one belongs to me. I am free.
Part of something great. I am with oceans, continents,
mountains, rivers, rocks, drops of water, atoms. One in all,
all in one. One. All I am one; all is one. One with the object,
one with self, one with Self, one with nothing, one with
everything. There is no more me, no more it. There is no
knower, no known, no seer, no seen, no subject, no object,
no good, no evil. There is only Oneness, Unity, and
I am there, everywhere, nowhere." '
[End of OM The Yoga Method]
------------------------------------------------
[Above is what is really meant by the Buddhist Vacuum -
unknown to most so-called Buddhists]
[It is highly likely this little book is out of print/I have not
seen itsince 1974 and I have been to extensive bookstores
that have yoga stuff. But you never know a web search may
find something used even. I see The Peter Pauper Press
as the publisher. The whole book is 64 small pages
(half notebook size and about 8 inches high)]
[One of my favorite activities is to go down to 'The Mall' in
Washington DC which is a huge grass field lined with benches
with museums (Smithsonian) on each side. On one end is the
Lincoln Memorial and at the far end - about 2 miles is the
Capitol Building. People play soccer and Frisbee all day
every day there in between scheduled events. As well as
jogging and bicycle riding. I take my bike there from Arlington
National Cemetery (250,000 military graves - also where I
worked for 5 years as Security Night Manager partime).
I plop down on a bench for several hours with my bike and
water and popcorn from the vendors selling it. I practice
sensory awareness deliberately on everything going on.
Sometimes the Hari Krishna's chant all day long there. It is
amazing how tranquil and peaceful the mind becomes from
simply sitting in one spot for so long. And when it is time to
go, I find it hard also. Get a lot of nice sunshine also. But I
practice sensory awareness driving to work, and anytime
I move from one place toanother. Some days I look for the
bluest blue (Mondays along with water/glass/reflections)
Other days I study trees. At the end of a long day of
sensory awareness I sometimes do 'Recall Meditation'.
I try to recall backward (is easier) everything I did that day.
It takes you far doing this. It also is very effective at
developing ESP when combined with becoming consciously
conscious activities. It results in what I call 'Heaven on earth'
which is a condition of super tranquility of the mind.
Children are naturally studying everything because they do not
know yet what to 'watch out for' and proceed to dream of the
things we do as adults. They live closer to the Eternity of the
Moment and are farmore observant than us. This sensory
awareness greatly helps with concentration and meditation
and has great practical benefit instead of getting irritated by
waiting in line at a store I will study the sales posters say.
The floor - what color. What kind of ceiling? How many isles
are there? The time goes by much faster that way. Same
with being stuck in traffic - something very, very common
in the Washington area.]
Mike Dubbeld
"M. Jakemen" <har...@excite.com> wrote in message
news:3ef87b39...@news.cis.dfn.de...
Lawson English
"M. Jakemen" <har...@excite.com> wrote in message
news:3ef87b39...@news.cis.dfn.de...
I practice TM during the operation.
--
The people who wrote these words are now running this country. Doesn't
anyone care?
'And advanced forms of biological warfare that can "target" specific
genotypes may
transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically
useful tool.'
-page 72, REBUILDING AMERICA'S DEFENSES
Strategy, Forces and Resources For a New Century
A Report of The Project for the New American Century
September 2000
http://www.newamericancentury.org
Stu
killers at the dentist. Instead I just do slow rhythmic breathing. I don't
do any counting. Just bring my awareness to my heart center, focus on the
breath and allow it to slow down naturally.
--
~Stu
in article bda932$8p9$1...@bob.news.rcn.net, Mike Dubbeld at mi...@erols.com
wrote on 6/24/03 12:28 PM:
alex
You say normally we breathe longer on the exhale than on the inhale.
If this is true, and I assume it is, then doesn't the practice of
anuloma viloma, which has you exhale twice as long as the inhale, make
this tendency even worse?
Also, to make things even more confusing, I've read in a few books
that we should accentuate / prolong the exhale.
Please shed some light on this.
alex
M. Jakemen
wrote:
Hi Mike,
Thank you for this tip. I tried to put it into practice, but kept
forgetting to keep up the pattern! Nevertheless, It's a useful tip, to
know about. I've been dreading this dentist visit for 6 months. But
now it's over and it was incredibly painless. I think my dentist's
sense of humour did more to relax me than anything. When he asked me
if I'd like something to numb the mouth, I said: "The more drugs you
can pump into me, the happier I'll be...". His reply: "Hmph.. Would
you like an injection as well?"
But on the topic of Pranayama, the greatest benefit I am getting from
it is counteracting early-morning groggyness, to which I am extremely
prone. In fact, it's the only thing I've ever found that helps.
Jake
Mike Dubbeld
"alex" <alex...@leoburnett.bg> wrote in message
news:f8c7dcf9.0306...@posting.google.com...
Hi Alex,
I believe it is in the ratio of 1:2. If you inhale 4 you normally exhale
8. This
is also what keeps Kundalini in check along with the granthis. Note that
one of your nostrils is always more normally closed than the other and
in
a healthy person it changes about once every 90 minutes. An indication
of illness is the breath flowing through on nostril for a long time and
the
longer the more serious the illness. However, practically speaking you
don't tend to notice this sort of thing prior to illness. (By the way, a
guru
once gave me an incredible cold cure that has never failed me or anyone
I know yet!)
If the left nostril
is blocked it means you are right nostril/left brain or hemisphere which
is
the pingala/male/aggressive side (red) - and also agrees with left
hemisphere
being the dominant hemisphere with language and logic and problem
solving skills using discursive reasoning. We like to discuss things and
debate. We like to do business. It is a 'heady' sort of feeling in
pingala.
When the right nostril is blocked,
you are left nostril/right brain which is the feminine ida current
(blue) and
is the emotional current where we like to move the body and exercise.
Mull things over in a moody sort of way. It is through the ida current
that
the superconscious mind/intuition operates. Women generally tend to be
in this current predominantly. The right brain is the creative/artistic
hemisphere and is also what used to be called the subconscious mind.
(The
conscious mind is the left hemisphere).
It is easy to change from one hemisphere to another by simply laying
down
on your side. If you lay on your left side, within a few minutes (for me
less
than 2-3 minutes) the right nostril opens and vice versa. Sivananda has
a
saying 'Ida all day, Pingala all night.' He recommends deliberately
stopping
up the right nostril so that you function in ida all day and then
blocking
the left nostril at night so you are pingala. This is fairly difficult
to do.
Your attention span is a function of your breath. The longer you can
breath in and out normally the greater the capacity for your attention
to
remain on a subject. I have a saying also. 'Longer deeper.' The longer
the breathing cycle the deeper the 'burn' in concentration. Most people
run for the great health benefits it brings them and energy. It is not
necessary to run but you can not be in atrophy either. I look
specifically for eliminating waste from the blood for a clear mind
to concentrate and increasing the length of my lung capacity. Take a
look at people in general. Notice whether they are frowning or have
a calm relaxed look on their face. You will find that people that are
overweight generally have more serious looks on their faces. When
you can not think straight (less straight) problems in life bother you
more/you are more fearful of smaller problems. Being overweight
alone does not necessarily do this but it may
cause other problems that do. For example, being 50 pounds
overweight means more wear and tear on my knees. My knees become
more susceptible to injury. More susceptible to diabetes. You have
a higher chance of having some type of problem. Another reason
people have serious faces is from their confusion. Their aura is a
mess. Only concentration can remove this knotty mess. I guess I
should talk about the aura sometime. Gulping hard during BOF
or kapalabhati actually cause you to remove congestion in your
subconscious aura in the chest area. (as opposed to your normal
aura). Children far less time dreaming and scheming in the mind
and far more experiencing and laughing. Laughter is good for
the heart. At some point you will discover the 'cave in the heart.'
From increased
purity of ANB and increased lung capacity from exercise the situation
is reversed. Then concentration becomes easy. And if the mind gains
the habit of concentration - it carries this habit into your life such
that you focus your attention on Everything you do. All problems
seem to evaporate effortlessly. You handle them calmly and easily.
For years I called my concentration practice 'The Problem Solver.'
to remind myself of this great benefit. However, in all fairness,
due to the ego natures greed, you find yourself simply taking ON
more problems. Worse, if you stop pranayama and concentration
practice, your problems then see unsurmountable.
Alternate nostril breathing is for the purpose of removing impurities
from your nadis so energy can flow. As a result of it however it also
increases the length of your breath cycle. This is not usually noticed
because you do it every day. But if you stop for awhile you do notice.
Your life is not a function of how many years you live. It is a function
of how many breaths you take. How many heart beats you do. If for
instance I am 100 pounds overweight, I must work harder to drag that
extra weight around. As a result, my heart muscle must work harder
to pump blood to oxygenate an provide glucose for the muscles.
Entropy/wear and tear on the body. If you can slow down your
breathing and heart rate it is less wear and tear. When we concentrate
the breath is reduced to a crawl. Stop yourself in action unexpectedly
at various times during the day and notice what your breathing is
doing.
When your nadis become clear, you will notice it takes much less air
to breathe/you can extract more energy from the air. Kevela kumbaka
- the breathless state came to me from audibly chanting AUM in long
drones. Upon exhalation, you cease to feel the need to breathe any
longer. It does not last long and it does not make much sense. If it
made
sense, you would inhale and feel the need to not breathe any longer.
But this is not the case. When you exhale this state arises. At that
time
you will be grateful for knowing how to do Uddiyana bandha as well
as Jalandhara bandha and Mula bandha. You will feel the need to do
do them spontaneously along with the need to contort your body with
hatha yoga. You will be a very fortunate individual when that day
arrives. Mula bandha stops apana from flowing downward. Jalandhara
from flowing upward. This forces prana to strike sushumna - the
spiritual detachment current. If I am doing a high count nadi sudi
(ANB) and find myself having difficulty suspending my breath from
a minor discomfort, it is invariably that I am not properly contracting
the rectum for Mula Bandha. It is necessary and noticeable in the
higher counts and it requires skill and timing gained from long practice
at the lower counts.
So lengthing the time of breathing is ideal. It is a measure of how
well you are doing. Another example on exercise. If I add sprint
to my running, I dramatically increase my lung capacity. It is very
clear/noticible how slow my breathing becomes.
Sitting in a cross-legged posture with the spine straight short-circuits
a lot of ida current and sends it into sushumna. Breathing rhythmically
short circuits pingala current and forces energy into sushmna. So,
instead of the method of Sivananda stopping up your right nostril
during the day - rhythmical breathing accomplishes the same thing.
(This is Satguru Subramunia). Below is from out of Sivananda's
Kundalini Yoga ----
'Svara Sadhana, practice of breath, is the revealer of Satya, Brahman
and
bestower of the Supreme Knowledge and Bliss. [Svara Sadhana is breathing
spiritual exercise] Perform calm acts during the flow of Ida and harsh
acts
during the flow of Pingala. Do acts resulting in the attainment of
pshchic
powers, Yoga, meditation, etc., during the folw of Sushumna. If the
breath
rises by Ida (moon) at sunrise and flows throughout the day, and Pingala
(sun) rises at sunset and flows throughout the night it convers
considerable good results. *Let the breath flow through Ida the whole
day and through Pingala the whole night. He who practices this is verily
a great yogi.*'
'A knowledge more secret than the science of breath, a friend more true
than the science of breath, has never been see or heard of. Friends are
brought together by the power of breath. Wealth is obtained with
comfort and reputation through the power of breath. Knowedge of the
past, present and future and all other Siddhis are acquired and a man
reaches the highest state, by the power of breath.'
'I want you to practise every day Svara Sadhana systematically and
regularly, that is, to allow the flow of breath through the left nostril
throughout the day and through the right nostril throughout the night.
This will doubless, bestow on you wonderful benefits. Wrong svara
is the cause of a host of ailments. Observance of righ Svara as
described above leads to health and long life.'
'Verily, verily, I say this unto you, my dear children! Practice this.
Practice this from today. Shake off your habitual sloth, indloence
and intertia. Leave off your idle talk. Do something practical.
Before you begin the practice, pray to Lord Siva, who is the giver
of this wonderful science by uttering Om Namah Sivaya and Sri
Ganesha, the remover of obstacles.'
Kundalini Yoga p34 This book free is below.
http://www.thedivinelifesociety.org/download/kundalini.htm
It is nearly as difficult as scholarly works because it is full of
a lot of Indian words but it is authoritative on Kundalini. There
are unmistakable signs of an awakened Kundalini and it is the
purest childs play identifying the greatness of Sivananda by
what he says.
There can be no denying it takes a lot of patience and will to do
pranayama everyday twice a day. In the beginning you see no
rewards in the same way you sound awful when you start to learn
to play a musical instrument. But once you learn how to ride (play)
a bike it is much easier. And you are rewarded greatly. What if you
decide to quit yoga. You may not think it is worth this effort.
Then you will have waste a ton of time for nothing. WRONG!
Then you will be rewarded whether you quit or not. You will
gain great health from pranayama. But watching a tree grow
everyday makes it seem like nothing is happening. From the
benefits gained from pranayama it is an inspiration to press on.
While pranayama is fairly mechanical, concentration takes skill.
But the rewards of concentration are far greater than even
pranayama.
AUM is a measuring stick. When you feel a peculiar
joy upon having exhaled chanting this, and do not feel the need
to breathe, you know you are coming right along. Many other
things happen as well. It is likely from your success you start
looking harder and notice these other things that have been going
on for some time. Surrender of action to God is an enormous
help. Bhakti's can move tremendous energy from their spiritual
energy. If someone does not speak English and they come into
the church I sometimes go to in the back while the church is
singing Gospel songs, even without knowing the words they
will be spiritually uplifted. If for even the briefest instant worldly
people were able to experience the rewards of yoga, there would
be a stampeed. Darshan is also very real.
I love to talk about these things! There are many subtle things
in yoga that can be difficult to convey. Spiritual reading for
at least 10 minutes before going to bed is a big help.
For me this fulfills my minimum svadhyaya requirement
for the day. Usually I wind up doing more. Time to go run.
Mike Dubbeld
Mike Dubbeld
Ha Ha! One good thing about the dentist. There are all kinds of mean
nasty bugs in the world. But they do not have names/are undiagnosed.
When you have to do one of these deals where you take penicillin
every day for like a week - for say a root canal - it kills these
bacteria.
I take the injection and never had any great pain from work done on my
teeth. Never thought about not getting an injection. The craze in
Washington DC for awhile was the removing of metal fillings which
apparently poison you somehow. Dentists going around to alternative
health places extoling how you should have all your metal fillings
removed.
Mike Dubbeld
M. Jakemen
wrote:
>>The craze in
>>Washington DC for awhile was the removing of metal fillings which
>>apparently poison you somehow. Dentists going around to alternative
>>health places extoling how you should have all your metal fillings
>>removed.
I often wonder if there is any truth in that theory - or if it's just
another way for dentists to make more money out of scared people.
MJ
M. Jakemen
wrote:
>> (By the way, a guru once gave me an incredible cold cure that has never failed me or anyone
>>I know yet!)
That's interesting. I once cured myself of a cold almost instantly -
through meditation. I simply let the cold go and allowed the inner
peace to banish it - and I was literally cured by the end of the
meditation.
Jake