In Buddhism, being at peace, in bliss, and experiencing joy—ideally non-stop—is the ‘goal.’ In my 20s, I often felt expansion, excitement, and a drive to do, explore, and discover. Now, in my 40s, after decades of work, commute, mortgage payments, laundry, dishes, meal planning, and toilet unblocking, this expanded state is not something I experience often. I set out to create a series of three energy poems on the days when I felt happy, expanded, and driven, to preserve the energy so I could re-read them in the future and recharge with that same energy. Did it work? I hope so!
Literally. Please let me know if you are aware of any shamans doing anything like this in the UK.
Image source: Polina Legostayeva for Nomad Lectorium
How do you feel when you make a costly mistake? I’ve done it recently with a DIY project. There were disbelief, anger, and self/ other-blaming but gladly, only momentarily. I’ve practiced radical acceptance and surrendered immediately—if the Universe needs £1000, it will have it either way. If it makes you feel better, you can hope that it will return it with interest. It usually does. I focused on lesson-learning instead.
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As a child, I used to see a dream with stairs like this. Escher’s art is playful and mind-blowing. If you like fractals/ repeating patterns, check out his works.
If you are familiar with the TV show The Good Place, you will remember the hilarious trolley problem scene. Poor Chidi!
The problem is ethical: a trolley’s brakes failed and it is hurtling down the tracks, about to kill five people. Is it okay to push someone in front of the trolley, killing them but preventing the deaths of five? (in the TV show, the trolley driver—you—are faced with the choice: head down one track and kill five strangers or choose another track and kill one person you know).
The Dalai Lama was once asked what he would do in the “runaway trolley” problem; he said he would throw himself in front of the trolley.
Determined, Robert Sapolsky
♥️
There is no such thing as a goal on a spiritual journey, sorry for the clickbait style title! 😊 The path is non-linear and there is no beginning or end. In fact, it’s not really a path, just an illusion. Yet, in the early stages, one needs goalposts to guide them. I summarised in a tagline the goal as I understand it in various teachings I have been following over the last couple of years. The theme is of course the same. In my case, it’s all of the above please. What do you think? What is your goal? Why do you do it?
When you have a toothache, you are enlightened. You realize that not having a toothache is a wonderful thing. If you breathe in and breathe out and become aware of your non-toothache, you touch joy, you touch peace. This practice is to try to touch what is not wrong inside and outside us. Just touching [this], you get healed, and you will be able to bring this healing to our society.
I am currently taking the Kriya Yoga course with the Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship. They are very strict on sharing any teachings (as they are easy to misunderstand without contextual knowledge). I am going to share a couple of minor techniques which I believe could be useful to anyone in day to day life. Specifically:
Practice Whenever Beset by Unwanted Emotions
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I’ve been interested in the idea of anti-work, downshifting, slowing down. The anti-thesis to the concepts of overwork, always-on productivity and hustle culture that the capitalist system is selling us. It started with learning about a concept of “doing nothing” in Buddhism (wu wei). There is the idea of FIRE and early retirements, or even punctuating one’s working life with mini-retirements.
Continue readingHeavenly Father, Mother, Friend, Beloved God, [Buddha, Maharaji, Ram Dass], Jesus Christ, Bhagavan Krishna, Mahavatar Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Sri Yukteswar, Guru-preceptor [Paramahansa Yogananda], and saints of all religions, I bow to you all.
[Please] free my life from all obstacles of delusion, and give me [health], material, mental, and spiritual development. Lead me from desires to contentment, from restlessness to peace, from ignorance to wisdom.
Heavenly Father, I will reason, I will will, I will act; but [please] guide my reason, will, and activity to the right thing that I should do in everything.
I shall tune my free will with the infinite will of God, and my only desire shall be to do the wisdom-guided will of Him who created me.
[Ram Ram. Om. Amen.]
This is the prayer I use daily while studying Kriya Yoga with Yogananda. Additions in square brackets are mine.
Uell Andersen proposes we go on the mental diet in his Three Magic Words. For 30 days, “you are not to accept a single negative thought nor dwell on a single negative premise.” He suggests to start by noticing and writing down any negative thoughts of doubt, jealousy, anger, sadness, worry, etc. (kleshas in Buddhism) for a couple of days (it is a very revealing and shocking experience).
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Universe keeps on giving.
A fancy cocktail to enjoy,
Soft grass to run fingers through,
New experiences to cherish,
Precious moments to remember.
Warmth, joy, sea, sun, fun.
Yet, instead of overwhelming gratitude
For the abundance of the present,
My mind goes straight to anxiety
Over an old role that would not fit,
A loss of what would never work,
A gamble on a path that is not mine.
I’ve overgrown my self
But I forget and fall apart.
Choosing faith over panic is hard
But is the only way.
I give myself time and I do my practice.
I remember to step out of the illusion.
Broken-record thoughts and stinging feelings swirl beneath me.
I watch them. They are not mine. They are not me.
I sleep on my confusion,
And the fog of delusion settles.
I continue to believe.
I know I am supposed
To reason, will, and act
(according to Yogananda)
But sometimes I just want to do nothing.
I have no reason, I never had the will,
And I am not a fan of action.
So I’ll sit here and conserve energy
Until doing nothing becomes boring.
I get why the Creator big banged this duality-driven mess.
Doing nothing suspended in the void for eternity
Can drive anyone, including God, insane.
Nomad of the Universe 