Art of Living Newsletter &n= bsp; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; April 29, 2009

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Series on Yoga- The Science of Being:

Practices to be in Yoga

To have the mastery of mind, all one has to do is to be a "detached witness&quo= t; of ones thoughts.

3D"http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5750/meditation2= However, as someone rightly pointed out that being a "detached witness" is easier = said than done.

Patanjali has already thought about this and that is why, he prescribes practices a= nd procedures for achieving this state.

The heart of Patanjali's teachings are Eight fold path to Yoga.

Procedure: "Eight = Fold Path to Yoga"

1. Yama: Yama is soc= ial behavior including the practice of Non-violence, truth and honesty (satya), non-stealing, non-lust and non-possessiveness. Incorporating these in our daily lives is t= he first step.

2. Niyama: Niyama is i= nner discipline and responsibility, how we treat ourselves. There are five niyamas:

Purity, Contentment, Austerity, Study of the sacred text, and Living with an awareness of the Divine. <= span style=3D'font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-fareast= -font-family: "Times New Roman";color:#7F7F7F;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA'>

3. Asana: Patanjali s= aid, "Posture is mastered by freeing the body and mind from tension a= nd restlessness and meditating on the infinite."   As we = have learnt earlier that body and mind are not separate entities: su= btle form of the body is mind and the gross form of mind is the body. Asanas (postures) harmonizes the two.
4. Pranayama: Prana is the life force or energy that exists everywhere and flows through each of= us through the breath. Pranayama is the of control prana through t= he control of breath. The practice of pranayama purifies and removes distractions from the mind making it easier to concentrate and meditate.
5. Pratyahara: Pratyahara = is withdrawal of the senses. Pratyahara occurs during meditation, breath= ing exercises, or the practice of yoga postures - any time when you are directing your attention inward.
6. Dharana: Concentrati= on or dharana involves teaching the mind to focus on one point or image. "Concentration is binding thought in one place," says Patanjali. The goal is to still the mind - gently pushing away superfluous thoughts - by fixing your mind on some object such as a candle flame, a flower, or a mantra. In dharana, concentration is effortless. You know the mind is concentrating when there is no sense= of time passing.
7. Dhyana: Uninterrupt= ed meditation without an object is called dhyana. Concentration (dharana) leads to the state of meditation. The goal of meditation is not unconsciousness or nothingness. It is heightened awareness and oneness with the universe.
8. Samadhi: The ultima= te goal of the eightfold path to yoga is samadhi or absolute bliss. This= is pure contemplation, superconsciousness, in which you and the universe= are one. Those who have achieved samadhi are enlightened.

The eight limbs work together: The first five steps - yama, ni= yama asana, pranayama, and pratyahara - are the preliminaries of yoga and build the foundation for spiritual life. They are concerned with the = body and the brain. The last three, which would not be possible without the previous steps, are concerned with reconditioning the mind. &nbs= p;

3D"http://origin.ih.constantcontact.com/fs061/1101954670699/img/4= Se= ries On Knowledge & Inspiration

Authentic Thinking

  &q= uot; There is a Divine Love, which is the very source, the very center, of= all other types of love.Every cell of our being reverberates with that essence of Love, that Love which can transcend all the limitations and still grow.

Offer your desire to the Divine. Challenge the Divine - "Why did you give this desir= e to me in the first place? Better if you take care of it." At that v= ery moment that pain, restlessness, or desire transforms into an infinite state of clear awareness or Love. An immense Love wells fort= h in you. This is called surrender. "             &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp;       ---Sri Sri Ravi Shankar <= o:p>

When we feel low or dishearte= ned, we try to boost our energy levels by applying positive thoughts to ma= sk it. We begin to recite positive slogans like "I am born to win,I= am the Best". We try various self motivation techniques and jargons= to phantom our mind with positive thoughts. Have you observed that by ju= st brushing our minds with positive thoughts we do get temporary relief = but negative emotions arise back in our after a while, may be after a few hours or days, but it shows up again. What we resist, persists.

Let me explain this scenario by giving an analogy.There is very funky smell in your house and you understand that it is the smell of a dead rat. Now instead of putting in efforts to find the rat and disposing it of= f, the easiest thing you can do is to cover it with good fragrance. You light an incense stick and the bad odor is gone and there is very beautiful fragrance in your house. But remember this would exists as = long as the incense stick is burning, but afterwards you again get that sa= me funky smell. The best idea would be to dispose the animal and then li= ght the incense stick.

So instead of reinforcing positive thoughts, when we have deep negative emotions embedded within us, we need to develop Authentic thinking.

What is authentic thinking? W= hen you are in distress and pain or over whelmed with joy, instead of resisting those emotions and having a great battle inside you between= joy and sorrow , take a deeper insight of the problem.  Ju= st sit in a calm and quite place. Go deep into those thoughts,= observe it and acknowledge the way you feel.Acknowledge that you have this thought, Feel the pain or joy it is causing to you, go deeper further and experience it. Never be judgmental about the emotions and label them as good or bad. Just embrace it and slowly let it = go. You would be amazed at what happens to you. When you accept something and embrace it, you are gradually becoming aware of it. When awareness dawns in you, you transcend these dualities and you are perfect. With this awareness in you, surrender to the Almighty. Feel how insignificant your worries are and how much love the Divine showers on you through its beautiful creation.Feel how well you are taken care of by Nature, the sun rises for you, the sky showers rain for = you so that you can have food to eat . There are countless ways in w= hich we can experience Divine Love. Feel the Divine love and slowly y= ou will find yourself relaxed.

When you understand these basic laws of truth, then your inner perfec= tion becomes so stable that nothing on this planet can shake your inner perfection. Nothing can shake you.

So develop the power of Authentic thinking, which is

1.= obeserve your thoughts without judgement, acknowledge it, embrace it and let g= o.
2. Improve the awareness in you, transcend to a higher level and ultimately Surrender to the Divine.

Surrender and rejoice in Divine Love...........