I’m a big believer in and user of affirmations - positive present-tense statements that are repeated for self-development. They offer a form of neurological re-education that is completely self-paced and directed, and they can be extremely effective for reprogramming patterns of thought to make thoughts more empowering and uplifting. I have heard nay-sayers claim that affirmations are just a new age palliative or placebo, they only make you feel better temporarily, or they don’t do anything but make you feel good about being a messed up jerk. To these people, I offer the observation that the assumption that you’re a messed-up jerk is probably not a very useful one, especially if you’re looking to become a more loving and compassionate person. Messed-up jerks don’t become warm and caring people; sincerely dedicated people become warmer and more caring people. The best a messed-up jerk can hope for is to stop being messed-up, or stop being a jerk.

From my own experience, affirmations are not magic, they’re not an instant cure-all. They take a level of dedication, especially when they’re first employed, and a level of commitment that you must rise to, especially if you really need to be doing the affirmations you’re doing. They start out feeling awkward, bizarre, weird, disingenuous, and like you’re saying something you don’t really mean. I’ll even go so far as to say that if your affirmations don’t make you a little uncomfortable at first, you’re probably not using the right affirmations.

Some of the affirmations I use (in the car on my way to school, in the bathroom in the morning, in my bedroom when during my meditation time, whenever I can!) are:

• I trust myself completely.
• I embody wisdom.
• I embody compassion.
• I embody gentleness.

Why am I using these affirmations out of all of the possible ones I could be using? Why not “I have more than enough money to meet my needs”? I’m not using that one because attempting to manifest specific material goals seems useless to me; my material success will come in  the exact measure that I need. As I keep myself clear, growing, and open to life, I’ll have all of my needs met. I already believe all of that very deeply, so reminding myself that I have enough money strikes me almost like pointing out that John F. Kennedy was not a homosexual. Pointing it out raises the notion that there might be reason to believe he was a homosexual. Reminding myself that I have plenty of money reinforces for me the option of doubting that I do, when I already deeply believe it.

I’m using the affirmations that I’m using because I don’t believe them yet. Once I can say them with absolute conviction consistently and regularly, and it doesn’t feel like a big surprise that I believe what I’m saying, I’m done with that affirmation. It’s time for a new one. Otherwise, instead of reinforcing the new neurological pattern that the affirmation represents, it reinforces the possibility that what I’m saying is not really true, and I’m only telling myself to convince myself. Tricky tricky mind!

Of course, I periodically come back to my older affirmations and check to see how I feel about them now. It’s like a way of checking if the newer neurological pathways are still firing more powerfully than the older belief patterns that the affirmations were meant to replace. If I feel myself resisting or doubting what I’m saying, I’ll put that affirmation back on the list until the new belief really does dominate over the older, dysfunctional beliefs.

All of this is to say: if you’re doing affirmations regularly, and you’re doing the same ones you were doing 3 months ago, check in to these questions:

1. Do I believe this yet?
2. If so, why am I still repeating it to myself? What is the next step after this?
3. If not, why am I still repeating it to myself? What can I replace this affirmation with that I can believe in the next 3 months?
4. What am I really reinforcing with this affirmation? My belief that it’s true, or my doubt that it really can be?

I’d like to start by defining how I’ll be using the word “posture,” because my use will elaborate on the vernacular use somewhat. In every day use, “posture” is the degree to which a person is standing upright. Posture can be markedly “good” or noticeably “bad.” It goes beyond just upright-ness, and for the purpose of this article in particular will be used to refer to the entirety of how every part of a body is oriented in relation to the space around it, everything in that space, and in relation to every other part of the body. That means that when I’m talking about posture, I’m including the tilt of the hands as well as the tilt of the shoulders. Perhaps “embodiment” or “characterization” are more accurate terms, but they’re also less-widely used and understood outside of theatrical contexts.

We all rely on postural cues to tell us what’s happening with the people around us; from a sagging chin telling us someone may be tired or sad to  a  tilted head signifying curiosity, we read the emotions of the people around us constantly through the way their bodies move - and don’t move.

Try this: look in a mirror. Notice where your shoulders are, your head, your hips. Close your eyes for a breath or two, and recall a time when you felt a powerful sense of sadness or loss. See what you saw, feel what you felt, hear in your mind what you were hearing when you were feeling this sadness or loss, and then open your eyes and look in the mirror again. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to note that your posture has shifted to one that reflects sadness; slumped shoulders, collapsed ribcage, downward-facing eyes and chin. The change in your posture may have been pronounced, or it may have been subtle.

Now, try closing your eyes and imagining yourself in a time or place where you were having the most fun you can remember having, or even the most fun you can imagine anyone having. Wait until you can really feel, see, and hear what you’re doing in your mind’s eye, then open your eyes. When you look in the mirror again, note how your chest has probably risen, your abdomen may have widened. Your neck is probably longer.

Now, try this: standing in front of a mirror, softly widen your chest, let your arms hang gently from your shoulders, square your hips softly, raise your head. Did you happen to notice, as you were doing this, that you felt more powerful? Proud? Aloof? Centered? Or perhaps you felt like you were standing more the way someone who was feeling one of those things might stand?

Many people in the healing arts, from massage to energy work to chiropractic, refer to emotions being stored in the body. Three models we might use to describe this idea are:

1. Since postures reflect emotions (as seen above!), if subtle postural features get “stuck” in our physiology, our bodies store the emotional content of that posture. When we receive some form of healing work that releases the structural holding pattern (which was brought about by excessive force entering the body), then we “re-experience” the emotional content of whatever trauma caused the posture to get stuck in the first place.
2. Since emotions are reflected by postural sets, if emotional habits become entrenched in our psyches, our posture will unconsciously express the emotional state that we’re habitually in. Thus, when we receive effective psycho-emotional work (therapy, coaching, energy work, whatever!) that allows us to break old emotional habits, our posture will change (i.e., the formerly anxious person who, upon making a significant breakthrough in therapy, walks taller, moves more easily, and feels less worn out).
3. Emotions are really just the way the conscious mind perceives the status of the physical body. If we’re standing upright with ease and soft focus, the conscious mind interprets that as “I feel content.” If we’re feeling sad, slow, depressed, and melancholy, that’s just the conscious mind’s interpretation of literal physical discomfort brought on postural habits, which may in turn reflect nutritional deficiencies, reactions to consumed drugs, or a host of other stimuli that trigger a response in the body that the conscious mind interprets as “I am sad.”

A combination of the three, emphasizing the third model, is what I’ve been working with most recently. Here is the best way I’ve found so far to explain what I mean:

Imagine someone with chronically misaligned vertebrae in their neck (perhaps they were in a car accident years ago). The nerves there are constantly sending low-level pain signals to the brain about their predicament. The brain has, for whatever reason, been unable to do anything about the misalignment and pain so far, and so has relegated those pain signals to “background noise.” We filter out almost any repetitive stimulus after a while. Now imagine that person standing in front of a group of people and do a speaking engagement. Doesn’t it stand to reason that bringing that extra bit of attention to their vocal apparatus would very subtly heighten the awareness they would have of the pain signals coming from their neck? Then of course, lacking conscious awareness of the pain in the first place, all they would consciously be aware of is “I really don’t want to be doing this!” This physical avoidance response could well be interpreted as anxiety about speaking to groups, when in reality it is literal physical pain that the mind has sublimated but is brought to the fore situationally.

I recognize that this model is somewhat simplistic. I’m still revising and expanding it, and wish to construct the most elegant and functional model I can, so keeping it as simple as the data I get will support seems reasonable.

I also realize that it may strike some people as dishonoring to the validity of their emotional experiences. I suppose all I really have to say to that is:

Most of us in industrial cultures have lost a sense of connection to the planet. Instead, we have preoccupied ourselves with social constructions such as economies, borders, money, banks, cities, buildings, jobs, etc. All of these are important to us because we say they’re important. We give them our power and therefore their meaning. We have relegated nature to small plots of land within urban environments. With this exception, nature is not a part of our lives. This very essence on which everything on this planet depends has been marginalized and devalued. Our religions have taught us that we, as rational beings, as humans, have dominion over what God created. Unfortunately, we seem to have equated dominion with irresponsibility.

Now, slowly, we as a human culture, are realizing that we can’t keep doing this. If we do, we’ll all be gone along with those social construction which we have given so much meaning and power. If we continue on our destructive trajectory, nature will destroy us, our economies, cities, buildings, banks, jobs, and slowly, over thousands of years, evidence of our existence. This has brought us face to face with our own societal mortality and is making us realize that we are not, in fact, above nature and we can not continue to exploit it.

Thousands of years ago we lived in nature and coexisted with the various plants and animals. We depended on the earth, its creatures, and its life. We were very well aware of that, and it seems that we had a lot of respect for that system that was sustaining us and everything which we were surrounded by. This is evidenced in the cultures and religions of indigenous and agrarian people. Their paradigm tends to be one in which they view themselves as an integral part of the ecosystem in which they live, as opposed to something separate and above the natural order of the planet. Religions of these people tend to focus on a profound reverence for the earth. These are religious systems in which the divinity and the devotee are both a part of the same system. The devotee is well aware of his or her dependence on this greater system. This is still evidenced in many earth-based religions such as Hinduism, Shinto, and various shamanic traditions. The connection between the earth, the foundation and sustainer of everything on this planet, was and is so much more real to these people. Its a part of every day life to be respected rather than exploited. I find it interesting that these people tend to also have a ubiquitous expression of spirituality; god and goddess are everywhere. Spirit and nature are extremely real. They’re present in every facet of life and not something relegated to certain buildings or to be revered on certain days of the week.

Now, I’m not going to go all hippy on you and say that we should all be leaving our cities and living in communes in the forests. I’m not going to go into what we are all already aware of by preaching about how we all need to recycle, drive less, and conserve our resources. Besides, I’m writing on spirituality and how it can have a stronger and more present influence in our lives. Clearly, I believe that building a stronger foundation on nature is a vital part of this practice.

In my experience, having a connection to nature makes me feel more whole and grounded. It can also inspire a sense of awe, and a deeper connection to humanity. My mind is clearer, and I am much more centered. I love to grow plants and watch hummingbirds flutter from flower to flower. I love to experience the vastness of the mountains and to be reminded of the universe and of myself. I suggest taking some time each day to be outside and experience nature. Take a moment to go for a walk in a park and marvel at nature’s beauty. Notice how quiet it can be and still so very busy in its constant cycle of life, death, and transformation. Take regular time to meditate in a park or garden. Be conscious of how this makes you feel like a whole, more connected, and less stressed individual. Spending time to experience and relate to nature will surely bring us more peace, healing, and contentment, for ourselves and the planet itself.

Limiting Beliefs Are So Last Year!

Changes in one’s train of thought produce corresponding changes in one’s conception of the external world….
As a thing is viewed, so it appears.
To see things as a multiplicity, and so to cleave unto separateness, is to err.
–Padmasambhava

We could have just about anything we want if something wasn’t blocking us. Many of us often face obstacles that keep us from achieving our goals and living our ideal life. The bulk of these obstacles are without foundation, substance, and lack any real existence. They are mental constructs that you impose upon yourself with your imagination and cultural agreements. Many of these obstacles are known as limiting beliefs.

All behavior stems from belief. A limiting belief is behavior that limits our empowerment and prevents us from achieving our goals. Some examples of limiting beliefs are: “I can’t make enough money”, “I’m not good enough to do X”, “I’m not smart enough”, “I don’t deserve to be successful”, or “I must/have to do Y”.

Limiting beliefs do not come from a state of choice, they’re restrictive, often unconscious and as such don’t encourage mindfulness or personal growth. They keep us stuck, unhappy, and burdened. They’re just ugly.

Here are 3 simple steps to change limiting beliefs:

Consciousness: The first step in changing a belief is knowing it’s there. Recognize it for what it is. Look into and at it. See why it’s there. What is it getting you and do you still want what you’re getting from it? Where did it come from? Do you still want to hold on to it?

Language: Changing your language will change the structure of the belief. Instead of saying “I can’t make enough money” say “I can make enough money. I AM making enough money. I am so dang successful I don’t know what to do with myself!” Rather than saying, “I must/have to/should/need to do X or Y”, say “I want to/it would be fun to do X or Y.” This brings choicefulness back into the picture. There’s ultimately nothing we have to or must do. It’s always a choice. What would happen if you didn’t do X? Often, nothing at all and sometimes, something with a negative consequence. Reframe it all in a way so it speaks to your choicefulness and passions. Instead of saying “I have to go running today,” say, “I want to go running today because I enjoy the feelings of health and vitality it brings.” Instead of focusing on the negative consequences you would get from doing something that needs done, focus on the positive. “I have to pay may taxes” becomes “I made a lot of money this year so I get to pay taxes and help the country out, woohoo!” (Yeah, maybe that’s being just a little too idealistic, but you get the point).

Internal Representations: Changing internal representations, or how we mentally see ourselves, also has a powerful effect. Limiting beliefs invoke negative internal representations. Negative internal representation fuel limiting beliefs. Change them from unresourceful to resourceful. Give yourself representations that are powerful and positive. Put yourself in those states. See and feel yourself making money, being choiceful, healthy, more conscious or whatever you want to change and you will change your actions accordingly. I went into more detail about this in my article on NLP.

Remember that whatever is in our mind influences your reality. Stop believing you’re a limited person with limited choices and you’ll become freer, more successful, and more powerful.

May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature.
May all beings be free.

This is a translation of a Buddhist prayer known as the Maitri (Metta in Pali) Prayer or the Loving-Kindness Prayer. I have seen several versions and translations of these earnest wishes, yet the focus is always the same: developing aspirations for the health, happiness, and liberation of the self and others. The Maitri is a simple invocation that calls us to profoundly focus compassionate attention and intention to all beings.

The development of compassion is central to every major world religion. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, XIV defines compassion as “a state of mind that is nonviolent, nonharming, and nonagressive. It is a mental attitude based on the wish of others to be free of their suffering and is associated with a sense of commitment, responsibility, and respect towards the other…there is also a sense to the word of its being a state of mind that can include a wish for good things for oneself.”

Besides just being a downright awesome thing for us to do as human beings, practicing compassion has some valuable side effects. When we treat others kindly, we experience a greater sense of ease, equanimity, confidence, and self love. These states enable us to more easily and more frequently abide in a compassionate frame of mind and action. Scientific studies have shown compassion to have a positive impact on physical and emotional health. These studies also reveal a correlation between compassion and a stronger immune system as well as increased life expectancy.

I am by no means a master of compassion but I am continuously working on becoming a more loving and caring individual. Here are some guidelines and ideas that I have found to be very helpful in developing a sense of compassion:

Meditation/Prayer. Prayer and meditation are some of the greatest and oldest tools we have for anything having to do with spirituality. Through prayer and meditation, we connect ourselves to stillness and divinity. This sacred connection gives us access to a force that enables us to more solidly and consistently act from a state of love and respect for ourselves and the world.

Mindfulness. This is a practice in itself. The more mindful we are, the more resourceful we are as spiritual beings. We also feel more connected to others. Mindfulness makes it less likely to slip into unconscious judgements, thoughts, speech, or actions. Mindfulness of our body, speech, and mind, allows us to be more consistently compassionate.

Nonjudgement. Judging our selves and others is one of the more hateful things we can do and obviously counterproductive when we are seeking to be compassionate. Something that can be helpful when we find ourselves in judgment is to create a counter-thought or a reframe. For example, if your friend does something you don’t like and you find yourself thinking “Ahh! She’s such a stupid idiot!” Take a step back and evaluate your judgment, reverse it, or reframe it to something like “I don’t appreciate how my friend is acting, but I love her, and wish her the greatest bliss.”

Silent Blessings. Silently bless everyone you can. This is a profound practice that quickly creates clarity and happiness in your mind and gives you a strong sense of connection to humanity. Whoever you encounter, even if you dislike them, just silently think to yourself, “May you be liberated. May you be free.” I do the same to homeless people, drivers, and anyone I might pass on the sidewalk. It’s good stuff.

Focus on our equality. This is a practice I learned from the Dalai Lama. Judgement and hatred stem primarily from “othering” individuals. We see them as so different from ourselves, so unequal, and so removed from us that it’s easy to not love them. Instead, we can focus on our similarities. Then we can grow in our kindness. We are all human beings. We all suffer. We all want the best for ourselves and our families. We all hurt. We all cry. We all laugh and smile. We all yearn for comfort and freedom. Just because someone is different in some way, does not devalue their needs, innate beauty, and their inherent right to happiness.

Instead of hatred and judgement, I intend to practice love and compassion. It will likely get me a lot more out of life and, if nothing else, I’ll be a much happier person. I invite you to join me in this endeavor!

Recommended Reading

How to Practice,By Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, XIV

The Art of Happiness, By Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, XIV

Destructive Emotions , by Tenzin Gyatso, His holiness the Dalai Lama, XIV and Daniel Goleman

I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Linguistics from UC Santa Cruz. Linguistics is a funny sort of science, as it is based on empirical data (corpora of real linguistic utterances from real speakers of real languages), yet at the same time the theoretical models that it generates are, on the whole, not meant to reflect the actual physiological and neurological processes that are generating those data. That is to say, except for in specific cases, theoretical linguistics does not generate theories about what the brain itself is doing, it models language generation as an object.

All of this is to say that my formal education trained me in building abstract models (almost like mental machines or programs) of real world phenomena. Making models in my head of how things might be working, refining the model when presented with new data, proceeding as though that model were true until presented with new data that doesn’t fit the model, and constantly looking for data that the model doesn’t predict are deeply ingrained habits now.

What I have noticed recently is that this habit of refining my mental models of how complicated systems work is one of the most powerful spiritual practices I have. We all have core models of how we perceive the Universe to work. Some of these models are functional because they predict useful things for us, such as “I believe that gravity will keep me attached to the Earth.” This belief is accurate enough to serve most people in most circumstances. If you’re an astronaut or rocket scientist, this is not a functional enough model of the Universe for your daily life, because your daily life involves forces that are great enough to overcome gravity’s ability to keep you attached to the Earth.

Some of the models we hold are less functional. I suspect we’ve all met people who carry models that include beliefs like “everyone who loves me will eventually betray me,” and others who use models that include beliefs like “the Universe is conspiring to shower me with blessings.” The thing about models of complex systems (such as, for instance, the Universe!) is that they tend to be self-reinforcing. People who believe on a core level that everyone that they love will betray them will tend to disregard evidence to the contrary as being outlying and insignificant data (if they even notice it at all) and use any evidence that supports their belief to reinforce their model of reality as being correct.

This is what brings me to my real point about my spiritual practice: we are all operating, eventually, only on models of reality. Our minds aren’t capable of conceiving of the totality of the Universe all at once and making all of our decisions from that understanding, so we model reality based on our experiences. Having a model of reality that explicitly includes its own constant revision and refinement by the actively seeking data that lies outside of the model’s ability to handle them creates an ever-expanding model which is capable of dealing with ever-greater and more complex circumstances.

I don’t know about you, but I’d like every experience I have to reinforce the idea that the Universe is a pretty good place to be, so I have intentionally structured my model of reality to be more like “the Universe is conspiring to get me what I want” and less like “the Universe screws me over consistently.” How have I been doing this? I consistently look for patterns of synchronicity, of getting what I need when I need it, and of always having what I need. I spend time picking through difficult and painful experiences to find the exact way in which the painful event was actually, somehow, exactly what I really wanted, and then I made a conscious and concerted decision to stay focused on the good I was getting from the experience. This not only keeps the pain or hurt valid and real (instead of dismissing or ignoring it), but it charges it with the power to transform my life even further into what I want. My model of reality is no more accurate than someone who believes the Universe is out to get them; the Universe is infinite, and all models that remain experientially consistent are, for all intents and purposes, equally accurate. My model just feels nicer to me than I imagine models that hinge upon the idea that the Universe is a horrible place to be would feel.

What beliefs do your models of reality contain? Do you like what they’re getting you, experientially?

Recommended Reading:

Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia, by Rob Brezsny

When the word yoga is mentioned, most of us in the West think of a physical and mental exercise wherein the practitioner places his or her body in a series of poses (asana) while controlling the breath and focusing the mind. This type of yoga is known as hatha yoga (properly pronounced as ha tuh). Studios that teach various forms of hatha yoga are everywhere and we have all either tried it or know someone who has. However, hatha yoga is but a small component of the rich and ancient practices of yoga.

So what exactly is yoga and where did it come from? What is its aim? In this article I’ll attempt to answer these questions by providing a brief history of yogic philosophy and descriptions of some of the various forms of yoga.

Yoga is one of the world’s oldest spiritual traditions. This family of practices was born in India but the precise date of their origination is unclear. According to traditional yoga philosophy, the entire cosmos consists of a state of duality between the eternal and abiding purusha and prakriti. Everything in the universe can be classified as either purusha or prakriti or consists of a combination of both. Purusha is the formless, pure realm of spirit (for lack of a better term) and consciousness. Prakriti is the realm of nature and physical materiality. As humans, we are simultaneously composed of both these essences. Our body is physical, and thus is part of prakriti. Our soul (jiva) is non-physical, pure consciousness and is purusha. Traditional schools of yoga hold that because our purusha, our true self, is part of prakriti, it becomes so caught up in the physical nature of reality that it forgets its true being, that of pure, formless essence and consciousness.

This is where yogic practice comes into play. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning to yoke or restrain. Early yogic applications focused on restraining and controlling the senses in order to realize separateness from one’s purusha and prakriti so that the true self, pure consciousness, could be known. Ultimately one would experience nirvikalpa samadhi where the purusha no longer has any ties whatsoever to the prakriti. In this state, the purusha is free, completely liberated.

As I stated before, it is unclear when yoga first began. There are seals from the Indus Valley civilization (c. 3600 - 1900 B.C.E) that clearly depict beings in various asanas. It is highly probable that early forms of yoga, like tantra, were developed by the Dravidians (the indigenous people of India) long before the Aryans came into India and brought with them the Vedas (holy books of ancient Hindus dating to at least 1500 B.C.E.) and what we call Hinduism. However, these forms of yoga probably would not be very recognizable to us today. There is no mention of yoga in Hindu scripture until it is passively alluded to in the Upanishads (c. 900 - 300 B.C.E.) and clearly described in the Bhagavad Gita (c. 200 B.C.E.). This suggests that by 200 B.C.E. Hinduism, like it did with so many ancient Dravidian beliefs, practices, and philosophies, had married and adopted yoga.

According to Encyclopedia of Hinduism* the earliest structured form of yoga was likely practiced by the Jains (c. 900 B.C.E) and involved severe worldly denial and physical restraint. “The early Jain monks and Thirthankaras (perfected beings) would train themselves to ignore the body completely and train the mind to ignore even the strongest positive and negative stimuli.” Renunciation and worldly denial is still quite prevalent in many forms of yoga today. “Yoga of this sort is ultimately about controlling all bodily functions, so that even the autonomic nervous system can be under the adept’s control. When Swami Rama first traveled to the United States in the 1970’s, he demonstrated such control by stopping his heart completely for more than a minute while being attached to a heart monitor.”

This is a very extreme path of yogic practice and not all schools are quite so severe. When Buddhism was founded (c. 600 B.C.E.) it promulgated another view that did not advocate bodily denial. Its focus was that of mental control where the practitioner focused on the breath and physical sensation in the body.

After Buddhism, other forms of yoga began to develop in Hinduism. In the Bhagavad Gita there is a lot of emphasis on devotional yoga or bhakti yoga. Here primary mental focus on the deity is the goal. There is also karma yoga where one’s attention is ideally placed solely on good worldly conduct. Astanga yoga, the eight-limbed yoga of Patanjali, from whom we get the Yoga Sutras, “…involved a sitting yoga, sometimes called raja yoga, which focused on breathing. As one observed the breath, one developed ways of concentrating the mind and eventually controlling the mind”.

Next we come to the ever popular hatha yoga that “…is an amalgam of practices that may have emerged separately and were later combined”. The primary progenitors of hatha yoga were the Nath Yogis, a group who sought physical immortality through alchemy, the ingestion of mercury, and asana. Hatha yoga today does not involve alchemy or mercurial ingestion, but combines the teachings found in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, such as breath control with asana. Hatha yoga is, essentially, an active meditation and within its scope there are various schools with differing postures, techniques, and philosophies. Examples of these are Iyengar, Vinyassa, and Yin. Kundalini yoga is another popular school of hatha yoga that focuses on awakening the serpent Goddess-energy at the base of the spine (kundalini) and moving this force through the energy centers along the spine, or chakras (pronounced as a “ch” as in Chalk as opposed to “sh” as in ship).

Hatha yoga is quite profound and beneficial. I have been practicing for at least 12 years. I sometimes jokingly refer to myself as a fundamentalist yogi because I love it so much and feel that everyone could benefit from it.

Breath control is the foundation of hatha yoga. This, coupled with asana practice, produces such an amazing feeling of peace and compassion. It also develops concentration, ease in the body, relieves tension, and makes overall spiritual practice easier.

The beauty of hatha yoga is its adaptability. In yoga, there is no place to go, except for where we already are. The point is to strive to improve ourselves bit by bit, moment to moment. The postures have ideal forms, but these forms are only pointers. In practice, we simply try to get as close to these forms as we can. It is a continuous push to better ourselves, our bodies, and our minds. It doesn’t matter how physically flexible we are, insofar as we engage the body while focusing the mind and the breath.

Essentially all yogas are ancient Indian sciences that we can use to invoke our own inner power, to better ourselves as human beings, and to realize the divinity of ourselves and the world. These are practices that we can harness to live deeper, more meaningful, and more compassionate lives infused with zest and vitality.

*All quotes are taken from pages 511 and 512 of this encyclopedia.

Reccommended Reading

The Alchemical Body, by David Gordon White
Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, by Mircea Eliade
Encyclopedia of Hinduism, by Constance A. Jones and James D. Ryan
Yoga Spandakarika, by Daniel Odier
The Shape of Ancient Thought, by McEvilley
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, by B.K.S. Iyengar
Light on Yoga, by B.K.S. Iyengar

In my previous post, I talked about how your brain maps out the space immediately around you. Neurologists who study this phenomenon refer to this space as peripersonal space. Think about this: your brain literally knows not only where your body is in space, but how the area immediately around your body is relating to the rest of your environment, and it knows this through the same mechanisms that it knows where your limbs are and what they’re doing.

Conjure up the feeling of having someone stand too close to you, or even stand at arms length with one hand a few inches from your body. The sensation is clearly not the same as that of being touched, but it shares many common elements, most particularly the feeling of having someone in personal territory. Imagine, now, what this space looks like. Where are its edges and boundaries? How far out does it extend from your body? How does it move when you move? Does it change size depending on how much attention you’re paying to it? There are real, testable, neurological answers to these questions.

And this brings us into the teaser I gave in the last post about so-called psychic perceptions. It is reasonable to assume that some people have tuned their awareness onto their own peripersonal space to the degree that they have a fairly constant perception of it. In fact, according to the Blakeslees, there are even some tribal cultures that say that people are surrounded by a bubble that connects them to their environment and to each other. Couple this perception with various sorts of synaesthesia effects and it’s not difficult to imagine otherwise normal and ordinary people seeing colored fields around people, or auras.

I don’t wish to be a reductionist and claim that this is the true nature of these perceptions without exception. What I do wish to do is offer an opportunity for perceptual systems (such as psychic abilities) to be realistically examined from a dispassionate perspective, without getting bogged down in the vocabulary and jargon of any one particular model of reality.

And speaking of models, in my next article I will be discussing a functional mindset I’ve been playing with lately that teases apart the notion of “theory” from the notion of “model.” I’ve found this distinction to be a useful tool, and hope you will as well!

One of the most pervasive menaces in the home is clutter. It makes the house feel cramped, uninviting, stagnant, and dirty. It stresses us out. It causes us to feel trapped by possessions. It’s ugly and unappealing.

In our capitalist buy, buy, buy culture, the tentacles of clutter slowly seep into our environments. One day our house is bright, sparkly, and new. Before we know it, we take a look around the living room and think “Wow! I don’t have a single clear surface in this place.” Then we go to put some things away in the bedroom or kitchen only to find that the cupboards and closets are already overflowing with belongings, some of which we’ve neither seen nor used in years. When it reaches this point, the presence and the prospect of getting rid of the clutter can be quite overwhelming. However, all is not lost.

Here are some useful tips for getting rid of and preventing the accumulation of clutter:

1. Have a regular “spring clean” or de-cluttering party. Every six months to a year, go through all of your cupboards, closets, surfaces, bookshelves, and anywhere else you might collect clutter. Donate old books to the local library. Give old clothes, nick knacks, and anything else you’re not using to charity, a friend, or a family member who could get use out of it. If the item is broken throw it out. My general rule is that if I’ve not used something for a year or more, I get rid of it. If I’ve gone that long without needing it, I clearly can live without it and I don’t want it taking up space in my mind or environment.

2. Your possessions are not your emotions. Many people hold on to things for emotional significance. This is fine if it’s an item you genuinely love, use, and brings you happiness to have around. However, if you’re just keeping it because you feel like you “should” or “have to” due to the emotions surrounding it, it’s just an energy block that’s not benefitting you. You don’t need it. Memories are not held in physical objects. If you need something to remember an event, then that event probably isn’t that important. Let it go. If you have issues about this address it with your therapist or life coach.

3. Collections. Collecting certain items is fine as long as they’re not running you out of your home. If you’ve come to the point that your precious dolls are just sitting around collecting dust and you no longer have room in your house to place a cup of tea, then it’s time to stop and assess the situation. Thin down the collection to a healthy level in which you can tastefully display the collected items. You could even find some fun in having a cyclic display of your collection where whenever you get a new item, you donate an old one. This could add life to the collection while making it more interesting. Don’t let your collectibles consume and control you. Your mental clarity is worth more than that and your value as a human being is not contingent on having physical objects around you.

4. Stay away from the “Unitasker”. The unitasker is a “gadget,” usually, but not exclusively, found in the kitchen. The unitasker serves only one limited function. Examples of these are hot dog warmers, waffle makers, and pasta machines. Typically, we use these items once or twice a year and they otherwise sit around and take up space. We don’t need them.
There are times when unitaskers can be useful and worthwhile. For example, I have an iced tea maker. All it does is make iced tea, but it does it much more quickly and conveniently than I could otherwise. However, I love iced tea and drink it all the time, just about every day. So, if you really do use your unitasker regularly and find it makes your life easier, then hold on to it. If you can count the number of times you use the object per year on one hand, then you can probably live without it and would be better off doing so.

Be brave and pick a day and go through your house and just get rid of “stuff” you no longer use or like. I promise that you’ll find it extremely liberating and you’ll be much happier and vibrant for doing so!

Reccommended Reading
Living with Less: The Upside to Downsizing Your Life, by Mark Tabb

I am a self-identified phobophile. I love my fears. Fear is a powerful teacher, because fear marks resistance, and resistance is a good place to discover breakthroughs. “Here be dragons!” the signpost reads. But here also be treasures, if you have the patience, trust, and willingness to look.

Fear is a billboard, a mark on the map. Fear is as clear a signal that you’re going the right way as pain is a signal that you’re going the wrong way. As usual, let me employ some metaphor to clarify what I mean:

When you burn your hand on a stove, your immediate reaction (mediated mechanisms in the spinal column itself, not the brain) is to jerk your hand away from the hot stove. Contrarily, when you’re afraid of burning your hand on the stove, your (brain-mediated) reaction will probably make it very difficult to get your fingers to touch the surface you know to be hot. In this sense, the pain response is like suddenly throwing your car in reverse, while fear is like hitting the brakes hard. Technically speaking, both of these cause the car to undergo negative acceleration (acceleration in the opposite direction of current movement), even though the results are quite different. The distinction is in some sense one of degree, and result. Pain leads to movement away from the source of pain, fear leads to reduced movement toward the object of fear.

Pain is a signal from your body that something is wrong, fear is a signal from your body that something might go wrong, based on previous experience of pain from something going wrong. And that, ultimately, is what makes fear such a profound teacher; fear is fundamentally not a feeling that happens in the Now. Fear is based on either a perceived future threat or a recalled prior threat.

When I’m feeling afraid, rather than taking a tip from Rogers and Hammerstein and whistling a happy tune, here are the steps that I go through:

1. Clarify precisely what I’m afraid of. Being stung by that hornet buzzing around me? Looking foolish flirting with an attractive stranger?
2. Identify what I’m avoiding experiencing by going into fear; ie, I’m avoiding experiencing pain with the fear of the hornet sting. I’m avoiding rejection with the fear of looking foolish to the hot stranger.
3. Identify the potential benefits of avoiding the experience the fear is tied up in. The benefit of not being stung is not being in pain. The benefit of not being rejected is not being in pain.
4. Identify the potential benefits of having the experience the fear is tied up in. The benefit of being stung by a hornet escapes me just now. The benefits of approaching the stranger is learning to handle rejection without taking it personally, possibly getting the stranger’s number, making a friend, making a networking contact, etc etc.
5. Optionally spend a moment identifying where the fear came from. Knowing the source of a problem, the painful previous experience that led to fear of similar experiences in the future, can sometimes be helpful in getting the rational mind to step in and override the fear. Sometimes. As often as not, however, I find that I get bogged down in finding the details and understanding why I’m afraid instead of simply taking action. The fear of being stung by a hornet probably comes from being told that it hurts at least as badly as a bee sting, and I know I don’t really enjoy those. The fear of being rejected could come from any number of previous experiences, social programming about how bad rejection is, how mommy wouldn’t let me have ice cream when I was 7 and really wanted it… I think it’s ultimately not that interesting an endeavor, despite traditional psychotherapy’s position.
6. Make a decision about how to handle the fear. I decide to avoid the hornet, moving calmly away from it so as not to excite it. I decide that I’m powerful enough to handle rejection if it comes, and attractive enough to merit a phone number if that comes, and remind myself that whatever reaction I get, it’s not about me (see The Four Agreements for more on that!).
7. Take action! This is the most important step. Intellectualizing is useful only for making sure I’m doing what’s really in my best interest. Running screaming from the hornet reinforces an intense and phobic reaction, so I walk calmly. Telling myself I’m strong enough to handle rejection but not asking for the stranger’s phone number is sending mixed messages to myself, and actions speak louder than words (or thoughts) to the subconscious.
8. Acknowledge myself. I always give myself a little mental high-five when I take considered action in response to fear, instead of just reactively avoiding it. Even if the considered action I take is not to push into the fear, and I don’t talk to the attractive stranger, I make sure to acknowledge myself for at least weighing the pros and cons and making a decision. This reinforces a feeling of having personal power, making it easier to tackle future fears as they arise!

So try it. If you’re afraid of embarrassing yourself by dancing in public, eating too big a steak in front of your boyfriend, or pickles, then go through, step-by-step, what you’re telling your subconscious with your actions, and make a decision. You can’t choose wrong, but consider why you’re choosing fear very carefully, when you do!

Recommended reading:

• The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz