ozlem narman @yogaville - Tumblr Blog

Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind.

Henry Miller (via lazyyogi)

lazyyogi

People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.

Joseph Campbell (via lazyyogi)

lazyyogi

Your mood and your devotion are one and the same.

Your mood reveals that to which you are devoted.

And that to which you are devoted becomes your mood.

ashramof1-deactivated20201019

Field Notes on the Ego

Great teachers, past and present, have said that the ego is a fiction, a ghost, that it does not exist. For a non-existent entity, the ego has left a long trail of blood and tears across the pages of our history. As someone once famously said, if the entire history of humankind was condensed into the life of one human being, you would have to say that he or she was a deeply disturbed psychopath with occasional moments of lucidity.

What is the ego? The ego is who we think we are. It is who we become as our conditioning soaks in. It places the “I” at the centre of the universe. It layers another world on top of the one in which there are birds and rivers and mountains. Today, we mostly live in the world the ego has built and occasionally visit the one in which there are birds and rivers and mountains. It was the ego George Harrison was writing about when he sang: I-me-me-mine.

The ego, this hungry ghost, thrives on four types of ‘food’:

Time Narrative Resistance Judgment

Time

The ego needs a context. It needs the past to unearth its raw material. It needs a future to project its fantasies. The ego has no interest in the present: this-here-now makes it restless and fidgety. Memory provides the fodder from the past, and imagination paints pictures of the future, for the ego to recoil from or to embrace.

Narrative

The human species worships at the altar of the story. Quite literally. From the creation myths of the past to the stories about our messiahs and prophets to today’s Big Bang theory, we love a good story. We are made of stories. It is an essential part of who we are. The ego hijacks this deep seated love. And places itself in the middle of the story. Either as a victim, the one who has been wronged or as the victor, the one who can’t wait to deal out come-uppances and take its rightful place at the top of the hill. Stories are the ego’s staple diet. Stories are also the bait the ego uses to grab your attention.

Judgement

The ego is the master of judgement. It is always on call to make a quick check. Am I doing better than him? Is she prettier than me ? Is he making more money than me ? And is she more spiritual than me ? Is he enlightened and why I am not? Even ( or especially ) in matters of the spirit, the ego is out there with its scales, checking exactly where you stand on the Ladder of Enlightened Beings.

Resistance

Resistance to What Is is dessert for the ego. If it sniffs the aroma of resistance, it will swivel and come at you invigorated and resolute. It is a glutton when resistance is served.

Once we see the feeding habits of the ego we can easily see how different teachers are inspired to leverage each of these habits to help free ourselves from the grip of the beast:

Eckhart Tolle tackles time and focuses on the Now.

Byron Katie dismantles the power of narrative by questioning its foundations.

Jeff Foster, Rupert Spira and others focus on acceptance to overcome resistance.

The Christian mystics, the Sufis, the Bhakti sages all recommend surrender to the Divine to defang the ego.

The Advaita masters - from Ramana Maharshi and Nisrgadatta Maharaja, and Papaji to Mooji - use the process of self-enquiry to dethrone the ego and reveal it for the fraud that it is.

The Dzogchen School of Tibetan Buddhism encourages you to see and rest as the Pristine Mind - that is unborn and eternal, which you truly are and always have been - out of which arise the forms that we call our inner and outer worlds. This includes the primary illusion of the ego.

There are vast tracts of literature on the ego - in religious, spiritual, mythological, as well as scientific traditions. All reveal the size of the monster we have been battling.

And you have to admit: it is pretty scary for something that does not exist.

lazyyogi

Reading this made my day.

Thank you, my friend.

yogaville

🤗🤗🤗

lazyyogi

To put is still more plainly: the desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing. To hold your breath is to lose your breath.

Alan Watts (via lazyyogi)

lazyyogi

No one can create negativity or stress within you. Only you can do that by virtue of how you process your world.

Wayne Dyer (via lazyyogi)

unconditionedconsciousness

Fall in love with the mess of your life ~ the shattered dreams, the broken promises, the unexpected sorrows and joys, all those hoped for tomorrows that never arrived, those beautiful plans that never came to fruition. Sanctify the mess of your life, this wild, uncontrollable, unplanned, unexpected moment of existence. Dignify it with your loving attention, your gratitude. Become a mess-iah.

Jeff Foster (via unconditionedconsciousness)

lazyyogi

Nourishing Yourself with Mindfulness

So far we have been putting a lot of time and effort into becoming aware of our limiting aspects. How do we try to escape the moment? When do we rush? What are the tricks of our ego?

These are important things to be aware of but it is also equally important not to dwell on them. Simply to be able to recognize them when they are happening is enough.

Today try practicing Thich Nhat Hanh’s concept of nourishing yourself with mindfulness.

The Technique

There are a lot of things we withhold from ourselves until we meet our own mental standards. The biggest of these things that we hold back is self love. We are unwilling to love ourselves until that person in the mirror is more attractive, until we have a dreamy boyfriend/girlfriend, until we have more money or a better job, or until we have some hot new threads.

But nothing changes inwardly when those things happen. The joy and relief we feel when we get what we desire is nothing more than the release we haven’t been permitting ourselves to have.

Nourishing yourself with mindfulness is the technique for allowing yourself to feel as much peace and joy and love as possible in this moment. Mindfulness fosters an appreciation for wholeness and aliveness as opposed to focusing on specific forms.

The practice

Take time to sit somewhere you love. It could be beneath a tree, by the ocean, or in your bedroom.

When we have a pain, for example, in our foot then we want that pain to leave. When it leaves, we feel relief. But if there were no pain in the first place, no relief is appreciated. We do not appreciate the time that we do not feel these things.

Having two working eyes, ears that aren’t clogged, nostrils that aren’t congested, lungs that breathe easily, so many things are here to be appreciated.

Sit comfortably and rest your attention on your breath.

Mentally repeat inwardly with each inhale/exhale:

“Breathing in, I am aware of [body part],

Breathing out, I smile to [body part].”

Do this with whatever parts of your body you wish. Or start with your feet and work your way up. Give yourself some love.

Then switch to:

“Breathing in, I am aware of my body.

Breathing out, I smile to my body.”

And do that for another few minutes. When your body feels full, relaxed, and happy, move onto this final part.

“Breathing in, I feel joyful.

Breathing out, I feel joyful.”

Go slowly with this technique and relish it. Savor the moments of mindfulness in which you permit yourself unrestrained love and peace without any judgement.

Feel free to substitute or alter any of these for words or things that you feel in touch with. Joyful can easily be changed to happiness, peace, or love.

Namaste, sangha. :)

#açıklayabilemedim 😅 shiva zombi olup yiyecek beyinlerimizi😁 @dodathing @basakozoz @cakilome #funtimes #yogaville (Yogaville)

#funtimes #yogaville #açıklayabilemedim

dukkani zombiler basmis! #zombiepressheadstand #zombiepressup #yogaeverydamnday #yoga #yogapractice #yogajunkie #yogaville #yogafun @basakozoz @abdulcanbz (Yogaville)

#zombiepressup #yoga #zombiepressheadstand #yogaville #yogapractice #yogaeverydamnday #yogafun #yogajunkie

Aksama funkykakule😐 #funkyekapadabakasana #yoga #asana #yogaville #bakasana #flow #fun #powervinyasa #yogaeverydamnday #yogalove #yogatime (Yogaville)

#fun #yoga #yogaeverydamnday #powervinyasa #flow #yogaville #bakasana #asana #funkyekapadabakasana #yogatime #yogalove

"and what you begin to notice is that thoughts come and go. It seems to be the nature of thought. Just the nature of these waves, they appear and disappear. And what you are, somehow, doesn’t appear and disappear. What you are is the space in which waves, in which thoughts, are allowed to appear and disappear. What you are is the ocean in which all these waves are allowed to come and go. Not because you are allowing them, they’re naturally allowed. They’re naturally allowed to arise and dissolve" jeff foster (Yogaville)

var8

lazyyogi

I've have really tried to focus on my tonglen practice as of late due to the great amount of suffering that is enfolding in our world. I broke down and cried as I sat and felt the pain of those who are suffering overseas. What is your experience with tonglen and do you have any suggestions? The pain almost felt unbearable for me to handle. I felt so useless and vulnerable as I sent all my love and compassion to those around the world. But it didn't feel enough....

Too much Everything and not enough Emptiness. It is important to remember that Tonglen has two elements: Ultimate and Relative.

Ultimately there is no suffering, only openness and freedom. The basic nature of existence is that of stainless and radiant bliss. Daily meditation is an important practice that introduces you to this infinite and eternal aspect of your existence.

You cannot give others peace if you have none within yourself. Daily meditation helps you to recognize and meet your primordial and ultimate nature as that limitless space of peace.

This has nothing to do with the happenings of the world or even your own life. It is a rediscovery of the reality behind consciousness itself.

At the same time, as you say, there is much pain and suffering occurring all over the world. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to sit and meditate. Not only should that encourage us to persist in our daily meditation practices, but it should also encourage us to make room for others to do so as well.

The relative aspect of Tonglen recognizes that although our basic and changeless nature is perfect and free, others like ourselves still experience suffering and its causes. Therefore we can help others and even grow ourselves by embracing that suffering and transforming it.

The practice of Tonglen is simple: You inhale suffering and you exhale compassion. You inhale the fear, stuckness, and confusion, and you exhale spaciousness, love, and ease.

This is impossible to do if you are not in touch with your empty and limitless essence. That is why every Tonglen session begins and ends with emptiness meditation. A Tonglen session goes as follows:

1. Emptiness/Openness. You take a moment to forget the world and forget your personality. You sit in radiant open communion with existence. You meditate on emptiness, as emptiness.

Visualization can help you here. Sometimes I imagine the feeling I get when standing on a beach shore looking out at the ocean. It is expansive and open but loving and happy. Let this feeling become strong in you.

2. Tonglen Breathing. Start the inhaling/exhaling process. When you inhale, visualize suffering as best suits you. I visualize it as a tar-like and disease-ridden smog. I inhale it into myself, into that endless and infinite field of radiance. It dissipates into nothingness. Then I exhale the love, peace, and compassion of that ocean-like emptiness from within. I visualize this as silvery and soothing mist.

3. The Work. Once you’ve gotten the hang of remaining in touch with your boundless nature while inhaling suffering and exhaling compassion, you then actively visualize the subject of your Tonglen meditation. This can be a circumstance for yourself or for others. In your example, you can think on the attacks and atrocities committed out of ignorance around the world.

When you inhale, visualize yourself taking in some of their suffering. When you exhale, visualize your exhalation nourishing and caring for them.

As you grow more confident and capable in your Tonglen practice, you can extend this even to the murderers themselves. You will inhale their suffering and exhale your compassion. You will remember that if they too did not suffer from illusion, such acts would not have been committed.

4. Close. Once you have had enough of the session, return your breathing to normal and let go of your visualizations. Come back in touch with your essence as the empty and infinite field of peace. Sit and let everything else go.

All of this is very different from the type of breathing meditation taught in yoga classes in which we inhale happiness and exhale suffering. Tonglen is a very brave and difficult practice that challenges us to face the things that make us cringe and grow beyond them.

The point of Tonglen is for you to discover how much space you have within to take on and dissipate the suffering around you, as well as how much compassion and love you have to give. It also cultivates a more fearless form of compassion in which you are not directed by fear or sadness but awareness and love.

Take heart and keep at it, but don’t forget the balance between Ultimate and Relative.

Namaste :) Much love.