Tuesday, October 31, 2006
hOw tO gain enlightenment, lOve, save the wOrld and becOme really pOpular fOr S$22.84
Ok, time to act.
Theory, analysis and understanding gained from reading, meditation and yoga is all very nice but nothing is achieved if there is no change in our daily actions. We know we need to understand our minds, we have the right motivations to want to improve our lives, we are willing to invest our time and effort in this but. . . but. . . but where do we really begin?!
No worries, eager yogis. Help is at hand. I have found (or did it find me?!) a helpful book that provides practical steps taking you on your own path from self-centredness to selflessness, and to enjoy happiness, contentment. . . and world peace.
I think the Dalai Lama has outdone himself with this book. The clarity of the simple words help greatly to present the resounding logic of the argument for altruism as a necessity for good living. The practices outlined so clearly and simply allows us to put action what we learned AND through our own actions, experience real transformation. The languange is simple but the effects are profound. I challenge anyone to read this, attempt the practices and not be transformed in any way. I challenge the world to read this, attempt the practices and not become a better place.
The concept is universal, beyond the confines of specific religions or cultures: "All you need is love". The practical exercises essentially train you, in stages, to cultivate the seeds of loving-kindness first within yourself and then spreading out to widening circles of people (and animals. . . ). This is loving-kindness practice in real life, written with a lot of sympathy for the modern person, living in a busy, pluralistic, materialistic, angry world. The practices work. . . I can't get the idea out of my head now that a cockroach I see could be my mother in my former life. . . (read the book to make sense of this!). . . and the thought of killing it makes my stomach churn. . .
How to achieve world peace:
Step 1: Find $22.84.
Step 2: Purchase the book:
Widening the Circle of Love
by HH Dalai Lama XIV / Hopkins, Jeffrey
ISBN:1846040280
Publisher:Ebury Press Published 2006/05
Step 3: Read the book.
Step 4: Do the practical exercises.
Step 5: Attain inner peace and spread more peace to the folks around you.
Step 6: Pass on the book to another person and urge him/her to follow Steps 3 to 6.
Step 7: Achieve world peace.
Not bad for S$22.84 (price at Kinokuniya).
Saving the world should be cheaper after 10% discount with their privilege card or on ebay, amazon, etc. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Theory, analysis and understanding gained from reading, meditation and yoga is all very nice but nothing is achieved if there is no change in our daily actions. We know we need to understand our minds, we have the right motivations to want to improve our lives, we are willing to invest our time and effort in this but. . . but. . . but where do we really begin?!
No worries, eager yogis. Help is at hand. I have found (or did it find me?!) a helpful book that provides practical steps taking you on your own path from self-centredness to selflessness, and to enjoy happiness, contentment. . . and world peace.
I think the Dalai Lama has outdone himself with this book. The clarity of the simple words help greatly to present the resounding logic of the argument for altruism as a necessity for good living. The practices outlined so clearly and simply allows us to put action what we learned AND through our own actions, experience real transformation. The languange is simple but the effects are profound. I challenge anyone to read this, attempt the practices and not be transformed in any way. I challenge the world to read this, attempt the practices and not become a better place.
The concept is universal, beyond the confines of specific religions or cultures: "All you need is love". The practical exercises essentially train you, in stages, to cultivate the seeds of loving-kindness first within yourself and then spreading out to widening circles of people (and animals. . . ). This is loving-kindness practice in real life, written with a lot of sympathy for the modern person, living in a busy, pluralistic, materialistic, angry world. The practices work. . . I can't get the idea out of my head now that a cockroach I see could be my mother in my former life. . . (read the book to make sense of this!). . . and the thought of killing it makes my stomach churn. . .
How to achieve world peace:
Step 1: Find $22.84.
Step 2: Purchase the book:
Widening the Circle of Love
by HH Dalai Lama XIV / Hopkins, Jeffrey
ISBN:1846040280
Publisher:Ebury Press Published 2006/05
Step 3: Read the book.
Step 4: Do the practical exercises.
Step 5: Attain inner peace and spread more peace to the folks around you.
Step 6: Pass on the book to another person and urge him/her to follow Steps 3 to 6.
Step 7: Achieve world peace.
Not bad for S$22.84 (price at Kinokuniya).
Saving the world should be cheaper after 10% discount with their privilege card or on ebay, amazon, etc. . .
Monday, October 30, 2006
the purpOse of mindfulness
What is the purpose of mindfulness cultivated in meditation or yoga? Just what is it that we want to come to be mindful of?
We want to see clearly how the mind works and understand how the way the mind works affects us. Being ignorant of how the mind really works is the ultimate trap for you as a human being. The emotional ups and downs you experience are wrongly perceived to have external causes, rendering you helpless to what you experience in life and you feel that you are not in control all the time, open to whatever fate throws at you. Being aware of how your mind works, you rid yourself of this delusion and you truly choose and act as a free human being.
Jon Kabat-Zinn is a well known meditation teacher and he explains in the exerpt below how gaining mindfulness helps us to understand and cope with fears and anxiety.
. . .
Exerpt below from p. 345/6, Full Catastrophe Living: How to cope with stress, pain and illness using mindfulness meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn
As you look deeply into the process of your own thinkng from the perspective of calmness and mindfulness, you may come to see. . . .that much of your thinking and emotions occur in recognizable patterns that are driven by discomfort of one kind or another. There is the discomfort of being dissatisfied with the present and wanting something more to happen, to possess something more that would make you feel better, more complete, more whole. This pattern could be described as the impulse to get what you want and to hold on to it. . .
If you look deeply into it, you will probably find that, at a deep level, such impulses are driven, much as we might hate to admit it, by a kind of greediness, the desire for "more for me" in order to be happy. Perhaps it is money or control, or recognition or love that you want. Whatever it is you are craving at the moment, to be driven by such impulses meants that, on a deep level, you don't believe that you are whole as you are.
Then there is the opposite pattern, dominated by thoughts and feelings of wanting certain things not to happen or to stop happening, the desire to get rid of certain things or elements in your life that you think are preventing you from feeling better, happier, more satisfied. These patterns of thought can be described as driven by hatred, dislike, rejection, or a need to get rid of what your don't want or don't like so that you can be happy.
Mindfulness brought to our actual behaviour may drive home the realisation that we can be caught, in our mind and actions, between these two driving motives of liking/wanting (greed) and disliking/not wanting (aversion) -- however subtle and unconscious they may be -- to the point that our lives become one incessant vascillation between pursuit of what we like and flight from what we don't like. Such a course will lead to few moments of peace or happiness. How could it? There will always be cause for anxiety. At any moment you might lose what you already have or you might never get what you want. Or you might get it and find out it wasn't what you wanted after all. You might still not feel complete.
Unless you can be mindful of the activity of your own mind, you won't even notice that this is going on. A blanket of unawareness, our old acquintance the automatic-pilot mode, will ensure your will continue to bounce from pillar to post, feeling out of control much of the time. This is basically because you think happiness is solely dependent on whether you are getting what you want. . .
This process winds up consuming a great deal of energy. It can blanket so much of our life with unawareness that we hardly perceive that we may actually be basically okay right now, that it may be possible to find a core of harmony with ourselves in the midst of the full catastrophe of our fears and anxiety. In fact, when you think about it, where else could it possible be found?
The only way to free yourself from a lifetime of being tyrannized by your own thought processes, whether you suffer from excessive anxiety or not, is to come to see your thoughts for what they are and to discern that sometimes subtle -- but most often not-so-subtle -- seeds of craving and aversion at work within them. When you can successfully step back and see that you are not your thoughts and feelings and that you do not have to act on them, when you see, vividly, that many of them are inaccurate, judgemental, and fundamentally greedy, you will have found the key to understanding why you feel so much fear and anxiety. At the same time you will have found the key to maintaining your own equilibrium. Fear, panic, and anxiety will no longer be uncontrollable demons. Instead you will see them as natural mental states that can be worked with and accepted just like any others. Then, lo and behold, the demons may not come around and bother you so much. You may find that you don't see them at all for long stretches. You may wonder where they went or even whether they ever existed. Occassionally you may see some smoke, just enough to remind you that the lair of the dragon is still occupied, that fear is a natural part of living, but not something you have to be afraid of.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
We want to see clearly how the mind works and understand how the way the mind works affects us. Being ignorant of how the mind really works is the ultimate trap for you as a human being. The emotional ups and downs you experience are wrongly perceived to have external causes, rendering you helpless to what you experience in life and you feel that you are not in control all the time, open to whatever fate throws at you. Being aware of how your mind works, you rid yourself of this delusion and you truly choose and act as a free human being.
Jon Kabat-Zinn is a well known meditation teacher and he explains in the exerpt below how gaining mindfulness helps us to understand and cope with fears and anxiety.
. . .
Exerpt below from p. 345/6, Full Catastrophe Living: How to cope with stress, pain and illness using mindfulness meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn
As you look deeply into the process of your own thinkng from the perspective of calmness and mindfulness, you may come to see. . . .that much of your thinking and emotions occur in recognizable patterns that are driven by discomfort of one kind or another. There is the discomfort of being dissatisfied with the present and wanting something more to happen, to possess something more that would make you feel better, more complete, more whole. This pattern could be described as the impulse to get what you want and to hold on to it. . .
If you look deeply into it, you will probably find that, at a deep level, such impulses are driven, much as we might hate to admit it, by a kind of greediness, the desire for "more for me" in order to be happy. Perhaps it is money or control, or recognition or love that you want. Whatever it is you are craving at the moment, to be driven by such impulses meants that, on a deep level, you don't believe that you are whole as you are.
Then there is the opposite pattern, dominated by thoughts and feelings of wanting certain things not to happen or to stop happening, the desire to get rid of certain things or elements in your life that you think are preventing you from feeling better, happier, more satisfied. These patterns of thought can be described as driven by hatred, dislike, rejection, or a need to get rid of what your don't want or don't like so that you can be happy.
Mindfulness brought to our actual behaviour may drive home the realisation that we can be caught, in our mind and actions, between these two driving motives of liking/wanting (greed) and disliking/not wanting (aversion) -- however subtle and unconscious they may be -- to the point that our lives become one incessant vascillation between pursuit of what we like and flight from what we don't like. Such a course will lead to few moments of peace or happiness. How could it? There will always be cause for anxiety. At any moment you might lose what you already have or you might never get what you want. Or you might get it and find out it wasn't what you wanted after all. You might still not feel complete.
Unless you can be mindful of the activity of your own mind, you won't even notice that this is going on. A blanket of unawareness, our old acquintance the automatic-pilot mode, will ensure your will continue to bounce from pillar to post, feeling out of control much of the time. This is basically because you think happiness is solely dependent on whether you are getting what you want. . .
This process winds up consuming a great deal of energy. It can blanket so much of our life with unawareness that we hardly perceive that we may actually be basically okay right now, that it may be possible to find a core of harmony with ourselves in the midst of the full catastrophe of our fears and anxiety. In fact, when you think about it, where else could it possible be found?
The only way to free yourself from a lifetime of being tyrannized by your own thought processes, whether you suffer from excessive anxiety or not, is to come to see your thoughts for what they are and to discern that sometimes subtle -- but most often not-so-subtle -- seeds of craving and aversion at work within them. When you can successfully step back and see that you are not your thoughts and feelings and that you do not have to act on them, when you see, vividly, that many of them are inaccurate, judgemental, and fundamentally greedy, you will have found the key to understanding why you feel so much fear and anxiety. At the same time you will have found the key to maintaining your own equilibrium. Fear, panic, and anxiety will no longer be uncontrollable demons. Instead you will see them as natural mental states that can be worked with and accepted just like any others. Then, lo and behold, the demons may not come around and bother you so much. You may find that you don't see them at all for long stretches. You may wonder where they went or even whether they ever existed. Occassionally you may see some smoke, just enough to remind you that the lair of the dragon is still occupied, that fear is a natural part of living, but not something you have to be afraid of.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
mOtivatiOn
Live as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Think as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Speak as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Work as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Laugh as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Love as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Meditate as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Practise yoga as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Because countless number of lives do depend on what you choose to do,
What you choose to do must be chosen wisely, responsibly
and done without hesitation, with reverence, in joy.
No one lives in isolation. You condition the lives of countless beings.
Be a cause for good
For kindness, generosity, wisdom, patience, peace.
Nothing arises and has no effect. So what you do will become.
Mahatma Gandhi said: "You must be the change you want to see in the world."
Countless numbers of lives depend on your doing this.
No one lives in isolation. You are conditioned by the lives of countless beings.
So you will suffer the effects of evil. Recognise the hate in your own heart.
You are not this hate since you can stand apart and see it arise and fail.
Do not let this become a further cause for evil.
Extinguish this hate within you because only you can do it.
What you destroy in your self perishes in the world.
Countless numbers of lives depend on your doing this.
Not a single moment of ours is free
until we spend it as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Not a single free moment is ours
until we realise how
Meeting our own needs alone will never satisfy us
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Think as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Speak as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Work as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Laugh as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Love as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Meditate as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Practise yoga as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Because countless number of lives do depend on what you choose to do,
What you choose to do must be chosen wisely, responsibly
and done without hesitation, with reverence, in joy.
No one lives in isolation. You condition the lives of countless beings.
Be a cause for good
For kindness, generosity, wisdom, patience, peace.
Nothing arises and has no effect. So what you do will become.
Mahatma Gandhi said: "You must be the change you want to see in the world."
Countless numbers of lives depend on your doing this.
No one lives in isolation. You are conditioned by the lives of countless beings.
So you will suffer the effects of evil. Recognise the hate in your own heart.
You are not this hate since you can stand apart and see it arise and fail.
Do not let this become a further cause for evil.
Extinguish this hate within you because only you can do it.
What you destroy in your self perishes in the world.
Countless numbers of lives depend on your doing this.
Not a single moment of ours is free
until we spend it as if countless number of lives depended on it.
Not a single free moment is ours
until we realise how
Meeting our own needs alone will never satisfy us
Happiness is incomplete when it excludes others
If our purpose is to be happy
how can we be when we see others unhappy?
Let us take our place in the world seriously
Recognise the nobility of our motivation
and the urgency of our action
Let not another moment be wasted
because countless number of lives depend on us.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
weekday evening meditatiOn, etc.
There has been some requests for meditation sessions on weekday evenings as the current class is on Saturday mornings. We are very very happy to hear this clamour! It is a sign for a maturing practice. Looking at the current timetable, we can have these sessions either on Monday 8:00-9:00pm or Wednesday 8:45-9:45pm. Please let us know your preference and we will get these going.
. . .
As for requests for guided loving-kindness meditation instructions, we are happy to provide for our yogis free audio CDs at our studio from today - so ask for these when you come to class if you are interested. The recordings are by a teacher I practiced with, Venerable Mahinda, whose kind and good-natured demeanour so imbued the instructions with an added power of authenticity: I keep thinking, "here's the living example, the clear proof, of the beneficial outcome of the practice!" Whenever I hear his voice, I recall the earnestness and humility he brought to the instructions at the Metta (Loving-kindness) Meditation Retreat I attended and I am moved to become even more motivated in my practice. ;-)
You can also download guided meditation instructions for loving-kindness meditation instructions and Vipassana Meditation, as well as explanations about the practices from the following website: http://www.buddhanet.net/audio-meditation.htm
I practised under Venerable Pannyavaro and I recall his precise instruction - always challenging us to see and think clearly - his deep learning and his commitment to the practice. I've benefitted much from the instructions he gave me during a Vipassana Meditation Retreat he conducted. May you benefit from these too.
Also available at our studio is a CD for guided meditation for relaxation by Venerable Kwang Sheng (the current abbot of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery). This is available in Chinese and English tracks. . . and with a choice of either backgroud music or the sound of flowing water! Essentially, this is a comprehensive body scan technique which is great for deep relaxation and an excellent prelude for other forms of meditation.
. . .
While the instructions are by Buddhist monks and stem from the tradition, these do not invoke particular deities nor do they force you to believe in any religious dogma. The instructions are given in a straight-forward manner with a focus the practical, even mechanical aspects of how to practice meditation. The purpose of these meditations are to relax body and mind, nurture loving intentions and to learn to observe, understand and cultivate the mind for yourself.
. . .
Suggested sequence of practice is: body scan, loving-kindness, then mindfulness (also known as awareness or insight or Vipassana) meditation. You can also do each on its own. Just be sure of which you are doing and not flip-flop between the different practices when you are sitting and confuse yourself.
I find it helpful to download these to your PDA or mp3 player then you can have a portable meditation teacher with you all the time! For beginners, it is helpful to have such recordings because the consistency of each session is available to you - it may not be possible to have such good guidance at your convenience otherwise. The repeated encounters which are the same each time, create mental habits which allows you to achieve a reasonable ease in settling down to meditate each time you practice. After a while when you become familiar with these instructions, and have internalised them, you can do away with the recordings and build up on your own skills. Then, as I said to some of you, you can get to the really interesting part of your practice of meditation!
It is beneficial to your meditation practice to. . .
. . . practice regularly, have a similar time and place for practice - set a daily time for practice, the time may not be long, but it must be regular - this encourages consistency and makes it easy for you to settle the mind. Remember: You don't find time to practise, you make time for practice. If something like understanding and developing your mind is important to you, don't you want to make time for this?
. . . take care of your health and not over-indulge in pleasing your senses - poor health and having our 5 senses overstimulated with indulgences creates a busy busy mind which makes it hard to settle down, relax and watch mental processes just because there are too many things going on very fast in your mind - this is especially hard for beginners to cope with.
. . . practice with and associate with others who are also practising, especially, with those who are more established in their practice - this keeps you motivated and consistent
. . . while written instructions and recorded guided instructions help us start a habit for regular practice, it is important to seek out a teacher/mentor who can guide you as you encounter obstacles and insights or have questions.
On why we need to meditate, read our many earlier posts, including this one: http://momentomyoga.blogspot.com/2006/04/were-running-serious-business-here.html
. . .
The guided meditation recordings are given with a lot of compassion and are free of charge because it is considered beyond material value. If you feel you've benefitted from the instructions -- then share it with others, you can make copies for your friends or donate to support the replication of more copies for distribution. Donation details are enclosed in the CDs and on the website.
. . .
Y Thanks, in particular, to Betty, Michelle Khoo, Leon and all Saturday meditators, for your enthusiasm and feedback. May you grow in your practice. . . walk on and meditate your way to liberation!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .
As for requests for guided loving-kindness meditation instructions, we are happy to provide for our yogis free audio CDs at our studio from today - so ask for these when you come to class if you are interested. The recordings are by a teacher I practiced with, Venerable Mahinda, whose kind and good-natured demeanour so imbued the instructions with an added power of authenticity: I keep thinking, "here's the living example, the clear proof, of the beneficial outcome of the practice!" Whenever I hear his voice, I recall the earnestness and humility he brought to the instructions at the Metta (Loving-kindness) Meditation Retreat I attended and I am moved to become even more motivated in my practice. ;-)
You can also download guided meditation instructions for loving-kindness meditation instructions and Vipassana Meditation, as well as explanations about the practices from the following website: http://www.buddhanet.net/audio-meditation.htm
I practised under Venerable Pannyavaro and I recall his precise instruction - always challenging us to see and think clearly - his deep learning and his commitment to the practice. I've benefitted much from the instructions he gave me during a Vipassana Meditation Retreat he conducted. May you benefit from these too.
Also available at our studio is a CD for guided meditation for relaxation by Venerable Kwang Sheng (the current abbot of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery). This is available in Chinese and English tracks. . . and with a choice of either backgroud music or the sound of flowing water! Essentially, this is a comprehensive body scan technique which is great for deep relaxation and an excellent prelude for other forms of meditation.
. . .
While the instructions are by Buddhist monks and stem from the tradition, these do not invoke particular deities nor do they force you to believe in any religious dogma. The instructions are given in a straight-forward manner with a focus the practical, even mechanical aspects of how to practice meditation. The purpose of these meditations are to relax body and mind, nurture loving intentions and to learn to observe, understand and cultivate the mind for yourself.
. . .
Suggested sequence of practice is: body scan, loving-kindness, then mindfulness (also known as awareness or insight or Vipassana) meditation. You can also do each on its own. Just be sure of which you are doing and not flip-flop between the different practices when you are sitting and confuse yourself.
I find it helpful to download these to your PDA or mp3 player then you can have a portable meditation teacher with you all the time! For beginners, it is helpful to have such recordings because the consistency of each session is available to you - it may not be possible to have such good guidance at your convenience otherwise. The repeated encounters which are the same each time, create mental habits which allows you to achieve a reasonable ease in settling down to meditate each time you practice. After a while when you become familiar with these instructions, and have internalised them, you can do away with the recordings and build up on your own skills. Then, as I said to some of you, you can get to the really interesting part of your practice of meditation!
It is beneficial to your meditation practice to. . .
. . . practice regularly, have a similar time and place for practice - set a daily time for practice, the time may not be long, but it must be regular - this encourages consistency and makes it easy for you to settle the mind. Remember: You don't find time to practise, you make time for practice. If something like understanding and developing your mind is important to you, don't you want to make time for this?
. . . take care of your health and not over-indulge in pleasing your senses - poor health and having our 5 senses overstimulated with indulgences creates a busy busy mind which makes it hard to settle down, relax and watch mental processes just because there are too many things going on very fast in your mind - this is especially hard for beginners to cope with.
. . . practice with and associate with others who are also practising, especially, with those who are more established in their practice - this keeps you motivated and consistent
. . . while written instructions and recorded guided instructions help us start a habit for regular practice, it is important to seek out a teacher/mentor who can guide you as you encounter obstacles and insights or have questions.
On why we need to meditate, read our many earlier posts, including this one: http://momentomyoga.blogspot.com/2006/04/were-running-serious-business-here.html
. . .
The guided meditation recordings are given with a lot of compassion and are free of charge because it is considered beyond material value. If you feel you've benefitted from the instructions -- then share it with others, you can make copies for your friends or donate to support the replication of more copies for distribution. Donation details are enclosed in the CDs and on the website.
. . .
Y Thanks, in particular, to Betty, Michelle Khoo, Leon and all Saturday meditators, for your enthusiasm and feedback. May you grow in your practice. . . walk on and meditate your way to liberation!
thursday nOOn class
Dr Kajal's Thursday noon class has been cancelled as there are too few attendees. Do continue to give us your feedback on your preferred class timings. We are always striving to keep the schedule convenient for your participation!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thursday, October 19, 2006
yOga class schedule update
Due to the public holidays, there will be no regular yoga classes on Saturday 21 Oct and Tuesday 24 Oct. Responding to feedback gathered from our yogis, there will also not be any yoga class on Monday 23 Oct.
Do remember to come down for our 3rd anniversary celebrations on Saturday though. 2-4 pm.
See our earlier post, click on "Latest News" on the homepage links, for details. Do let us know if you are coming down!
Happy Deepavali & Hari Raya Puasa!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Do remember to come down for our 3rd anniversary celebrations on Saturday though. 2-4 pm.
See our earlier post, click on "Latest News" on the homepage links, for details. Do let us know if you are coming down!
Happy Deepavali & Hari Raya Puasa!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
self fulfilling prOphecy
I like watching The Apprentice which had started a new season Sunday evening on TV. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is a “reality show” by Donald Trump where contestants compete with each other to be the final one left not “fired” by The Donald and “hired” by him to be part of his “business empire”. Rather than seeking sadistic enjoyment from watching people fail at their tasks and getting kicked out of the game each week, what I enjoy really in this show is see people rising up to their potential.
In the first episode, there’s a guy with an exceptionally high IQ who turned out to be a let down in terms of leadership – he nearly escaped getting axed simply because there was someone else who got on The Donald’s nerves by foolishly interrupting him incessantly. Many of the contestants are otherwise successful and bright individuals in their own right but how come some do well when met with challenges and some can’t seem to function at all?
I think the difference is self-knowledge. Looking back at the previous seasons, the best leaders and workers, whether naturally talented or not, seem to have an understanding of who they really are and how they relate to those around them. They have a goal and they have motivation because they realise their own potential and limitations and they take a responsibility for actualising their potential and overcoming their limitations: knowing that undertapping on their inner resources is ultimately being a disappointment unto themselves. There is little internal doubt about what they can do because they can clearly see the distance between their expectations and the reality before them. I think this kind of self-accountability is very much evident to those around them and people are attracted by this kind of intergrity as it inspires them to want to perform up to their expectations too.
It is hard to be honest to our self. In yoga, one of the core ethical precepts is satya or truth. This is sometimes translated as the trait of “non-lying”. But to put this in a positive, proactive perspective, when we practice satya it does not mean that we simply refrain from stating untruths but we act according to truth. We commit to the truth. If we know that exercise is good for us, then we need to practise and not find excuses to stray away from our regular sessions. If we know that meditation practice brings us inner peace and harmony, then we need to invest the kind of energy into it that brings our practice into fruition. If we know we need to cultivate compassion, we cannot let a harsh word escape our mouths. We cannot allow ourselves to sell ourselves short. You may find this is hard to actualise. But why?
Why do we underperform when we are fully aware that we could have done better? How is it that we let ourselves sabotage our own efforts to excel? Are we born under-achievers?
I once did an IQ test. I won’t go into the specifics but when I got the test results I was embarrassed. Perhaps it was the other kids at school who knew about it and teased that made me feel I wanted to dumb down so that I can fit in. I did not want to be labelled “the genius” as much as I did not want to be labelled “the idiot”. I just wanted to fit in. I coasted through exams after that where I knew I could ace if I worked harder. And I ticked random choices at the multiple choice section in the next IQ test. The rest is history.
I sailed through my career choices and working life too before I practised yoga when I just cruised through jobs which I thought were interesting enough but didn’t really put in the kind of effort that would trailblaze. “Just do enough to get by, why waste effort on things that don’t really matter all that much anyway? It’s not like you’re going to get recognised for your efforts anyway! Why work so hard and make yourself suffer more?”, I thought. For some other reason, I went through another IQ test at that time and the results reminded me of the first test. Both had pointed that I should be a university professor, an inventor, or some kind of leader.
When I examined the gulf between that and the reality of what I choose to spend my daily efforts in, I experienced a kind of disappointment that I would really rather do without. I had based my actions and the amount of effort I invested in tasks on what I thought people expected of me. The problem with this, my friends, is that usually people did not expect much from you at all! And when they do have any expectations, usually, the expect the worst from you! Hahaha. What an unrealiable and terrible yardstick of your performance! When I look back now I realised that there was a load of resentment seething within me at the time. I knew that I have not lived to my potential and I was far from being true to myself. I need to validate my actions and performance based on something more real than what people randomly thought of me and how they reward my efforts. But at that time, all I know is that somehow I am feeling that I am being less than I can be and this is robbing my daily tasks of significance. Yet, unpleasant as this feeling might have been, there is no real push for change. So I continued to let the feeling gnaw within me and dragged my feet about life, wrapped in a cloud of futility.
After I took up yoga, the push for change came. I realised that knowing is never as cool as doing. We know we want happiness but few really make happiness. We know we are capable of love, few invest real effort into action that will free people from misery. It doesn’t take a genius to know if we are living in happiness or not, whether what we are doing brings us satisfaction or not, whether we are giving and receiving love or not. All it takes is simple honesty to own up to the truths that we hold within and simple wisdom to live up to these truths. We rise up to the challenge of actualising the potential for good that lies within us: we make real what we know is good. And we do this in every day, in every way, each task is not spared, each word comes from this sacred core of authenticity. We strive to excel not because of the force of mindless discipline but because we have aligned ourself with our inner wisdom and we choose to do right by it.
I read the biography of Mahatma Gandhi and his story woke me up to the power and urgency of practising what you preach. He took the twin ethics of satya (Truth) and ahimsa (Peace or non-violence) and made the way he lived a living example of these principles. What I understood from his words and example is that once you know what is right, there is no other way you should live but by what is right. To do any less is to fail yourself and also to doom humanity to failure. To live as a champion of truth and peace is not just to rise to the highest potential of being human, it IS being human. To live in ignorance of truth that you realise only in your heart is to live forever conflicted, within yourself and with the outside world. The distance from the reality of your actions to the reality you realise in your heart is your personal performance yardstick.
Then I knew what I had to do, spend all my time, effort, abilities to bring real help, happiness and humanity into existence. . . and never stray from the truth in my heart again. The scale of what I can do may not be big but it must be total, complete, all choices stem from this, each step taken from this heart. In this way, no task becomes so mundane as to rob me of my humanity again. The kind of satisfaction, contentment and joy of living in this way is a constant source of motivation to carry on, a constant validation of your life. The kind of satisfaction, contentment and joy of living in this way is the aim of yoga. You live as well as you, a temporary package of problems and promise, can. As happy as you can be to see someone else rise to a challenge and excel, there is utter happiness in seeing yourself rise to the challenge of life and put in your best effort, in the face of self-centredness, cynicism and passivity impoverishing the spirits of our society today. Walk on, in truth, in joy, in courage, even if you walk alone.
Cast off pretense and self-deception and see yourself as you really are.
Despite all appearances, no one is really evil.
They are led astray by ignorance.
If you ponder this truth always you will offer more light,
rather than blame and condendation.
You, no less than all beings, have Buddha Nature within.
Your essential Mind is pure.
Therefore, when defilements cause you to stumble and fall,
let not remorse nor dark foreboding cast you down.
Be of good cheer and with this understanding, summon strength and walk on.
- exerpt from Dhammavadaka
. . .
If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou of evil luck,
open thy mind and speak out alone.
If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,
O thou of evil luck,
trample the thorns under thy tread,
and along the blood-lined track travel alone.
If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,
O thou of evil luck,
with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart
and let it burn alone.
- Ekla Chalo Re, by Rabindranath Tagore, a favourite song of Gandhi
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In the first episode, there’s a guy with an exceptionally high IQ who turned out to be a let down in terms of leadership – he nearly escaped getting axed simply because there was someone else who got on The Donald’s nerves by foolishly interrupting him incessantly. Many of the contestants are otherwise successful and bright individuals in their own right but how come some do well when met with challenges and some can’t seem to function at all?
I think the difference is self-knowledge. Looking back at the previous seasons, the best leaders and workers, whether naturally talented or not, seem to have an understanding of who they really are and how they relate to those around them. They have a goal and they have motivation because they realise their own potential and limitations and they take a responsibility for actualising their potential and overcoming their limitations: knowing that undertapping on their inner resources is ultimately being a disappointment unto themselves. There is little internal doubt about what they can do because they can clearly see the distance between their expectations and the reality before them. I think this kind of self-accountability is very much evident to those around them and people are attracted by this kind of intergrity as it inspires them to want to perform up to their expectations too.
It is hard to be honest to our self. In yoga, one of the core ethical precepts is satya or truth. This is sometimes translated as the trait of “non-lying”. But to put this in a positive, proactive perspective, when we practice satya it does not mean that we simply refrain from stating untruths but we act according to truth. We commit to the truth. If we know that exercise is good for us, then we need to practise and not find excuses to stray away from our regular sessions. If we know that meditation practice brings us inner peace and harmony, then we need to invest the kind of energy into it that brings our practice into fruition. If we know we need to cultivate compassion, we cannot let a harsh word escape our mouths. We cannot allow ourselves to sell ourselves short. You may find this is hard to actualise. But why?
Why do we underperform when we are fully aware that we could have done better? How is it that we let ourselves sabotage our own efforts to excel? Are we born under-achievers?
I once did an IQ test. I won’t go into the specifics but when I got the test results I was embarrassed. Perhaps it was the other kids at school who knew about it and teased that made me feel I wanted to dumb down so that I can fit in. I did not want to be labelled “the genius” as much as I did not want to be labelled “the idiot”. I just wanted to fit in. I coasted through exams after that where I knew I could ace if I worked harder. And I ticked random choices at the multiple choice section in the next IQ test. The rest is history.
I sailed through my career choices and working life too before I practised yoga when I just cruised through jobs which I thought were interesting enough but didn’t really put in the kind of effort that would trailblaze. “Just do enough to get by, why waste effort on things that don’t really matter all that much anyway? It’s not like you’re going to get recognised for your efforts anyway! Why work so hard and make yourself suffer more?”, I thought. For some other reason, I went through another IQ test at that time and the results reminded me of the first test. Both had pointed that I should be a university professor, an inventor, or some kind of leader.
When I examined the gulf between that and the reality of what I choose to spend my daily efforts in, I experienced a kind of disappointment that I would really rather do without. I had based my actions and the amount of effort I invested in tasks on what I thought people expected of me. The problem with this, my friends, is that usually people did not expect much from you at all! And when they do have any expectations, usually, the expect the worst from you! Hahaha. What an unrealiable and terrible yardstick of your performance! When I look back now I realised that there was a load of resentment seething within me at the time. I knew that I have not lived to my potential and I was far from being true to myself. I need to validate my actions and performance based on something more real than what people randomly thought of me and how they reward my efforts. But at that time, all I know is that somehow I am feeling that I am being less than I can be and this is robbing my daily tasks of significance. Yet, unpleasant as this feeling might have been, there is no real push for change. So I continued to let the feeling gnaw within me and dragged my feet about life, wrapped in a cloud of futility.
After I took up yoga, the push for change came. I realised that knowing is never as cool as doing. We know we want happiness but few really make happiness. We know we are capable of love, few invest real effort into action that will free people from misery. It doesn’t take a genius to know if we are living in happiness or not, whether what we are doing brings us satisfaction or not, whether we are giving and receiving love or not. All it takes is simple honesty to own up to the truths that we hold within and simple wisdom to live up to these truths. We rise up to the challenge of actualising the potential for good that lies within us: we make real what we know is good. And we do this in every day, in every way, each task is not spared, each word comes from this sacred core of authenticity. We strive to excel not because of the force of mindless discipline but because we have aligned ourself with our inner wisdom and we choose to do right by it.
I read the biography of Mahatma Gandhi and his story woke me up to the power and urgency of practising what you preach. He took the twin ethics of satya (Truth) and ahimsa (Peace or non-violence) and made the way he lived a living example of these principles. What I understood from his words and example is that once you know what is right, there is no other way you should live but by what is right. To do any less is to fail yourself and also to doom humanity to failure. To live as a champion of truth and peace is not just to rise to the highest potential of being human, it IS being human. To live in ignorance of truth that you realise only in your heart is to live forever conflicted, within yourself and with the outside world. The distance from the reality of your actions to the reality you realise in your heart is your personal performance yardstick.
Then I knew what I had to do, spend all my time, effort, abilities to bring real help, happiness and humanity into existence. . . and never stray from the truth in my heart again. The scale of what I can do may not be big but it must be total, complete, all choices stem from this, each step taken from this heart. In this way, no task becomes so mundane as to rob me of my humanity again. The kind of satisfaction, contentment and joy of living in this way is a constant source of motivation to carry on, a constant validation of your life. The kind of satisfaction, contentment and joy of living in this way is the aim of yoga. You live as well as you, a temporary package of problems and promise, can. As happy as you can be to see someone else rise to a challenge and excel, there is utter happiness in seeing yourself rise to the challenge of life and put in your best effort, in the face of self-centredness, cynicism and passivity impoverishing the spirits of our society today. Walk on, in truth, in joy, in courage, even if you walk alone.
Cast off pretense and self-deception and see yourself as you really are.
Despite all appearances, no one is really evil.
They are led astray by ignorance.
If you ponder this truth always you will offer more light,
rather than blame and condendation.
You, no less than all beings, have Buddha Nature within.
Your essential Mind is pure.
Therefore, when defilements cause you to stumble and fall,
let not remorse nor dark foreboding cast you down.
Be of good cheer and with this understanding, summon strength and walk on.
- exerpt from Dhammavadaka
. . .
If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou of evil luck,
open thy mind and speak out alone.
If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,
O thou of evil luck,
trample the thorns under thy tread,
and along the blood-lined track travel alone.
If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,
O thou of evil luck,
with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart
and let it burn alone.
- Ekla Chalo Re, by Rabindranath Tagore, a favourite song of Gandhi
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
"If music be the fOOd Of lOve, play On"
Yoga is not just all work and no play! However, playing is not for killing time, we should choose our entertainment according to whether it can inspire us to realise the best in ourselves. This is the reason why we, a yoga studio, have encouraged our yogis to visit interesting exhibitions, attend moving performances and read inspirational books. The stuff we expose our senses to are the raw materials from which we build our dreams. So better start feeding yourself with all the good stuff!
Very happy to continue to hear from yogis who have attended the performance of Musica Antiqua Koln at Victoria Concert Hall last Thursday that they enjoyed the show. One of our yogis, Kng Huang, even sent us a charming picture of joy that is herself and her husband holding the tickets to the concert. Thanks Kng Huang, for sending the picture, it will certainly go into our album!
Feedback from other yogis who smsed or emailed:
"Hey thanks for the tickets. It was a very enjoyable performance. Thanks. :-) "
-- from Wei Ren
"Thanks for inviting us to the concert, was quite lively, it was eye opening for Lexuan..."
-- from Wasana & Cheng Hock who brought their little girl to the concert
"Hi the performance was very enjoyable. . . thank you very much for the tickets!"
-- from Stanley
"Wanted to thank you once again for thinking of me for the Musica Antiqua Koln concert. It's been a while since i've attended a classical concert. It was indeed a very pleasant evening"
-- from Tiffany
"Thank you for the tickets to the Musica Antiqua Koln. My husband and I enjoyed it alot.
Congratulations on mOmentOm yOga turning 3!!!!"
-- from Aileen
And as to Serene's question of whether you can look forward to such musical events as a regular part of our yoga studio's activities, I've spoken to our partner who produced the Musica Antiqua concert and yes, we can certainly look into this. Art, music and creative words are part of our celebration of life. And if there's anything that we can learn from these great musicians from Koln, it would be that practice makes perfect, and what we are perfecting here is not just playing musical instruments, we want to perfect ourselves and live to our greatest potential - this is our greatest gift to humanity. We can create magic through diligence, aspiring to be the best we can be and also wanting to give a gift to the audience, to share the joy of music-making with others. We can create great happiness and truly celebrate what it means to be alive by working steadily to perfect ourselves through yoga, uniting our daily efforts with our highest ideals. We also break the illusion of boundaries between ourselves and others by giving and sharing.
Happiness is a simple thing. Give and you are happy. Start counting the "sesame seads and green peas" (chinese saying) and hoarding and you are miserable. It is as much a joy to give as to receive. If you feel you've enjoyed the concert, "pay it forward". Let it inspire you to bring the same kind of joy to others in whatever you are able to do today - not asking for anything in return but simply to enjoy the act of giving in itself.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Very happy to continue to hear from yogis who have attended the performance of Musica Antiqua Koln at Victoria Concert Hall last Thursday that they enjoyed the show. One of our yogis, Kng Huang, even sent us a charming picture of joy that is herself and her husband holding the tickets to the concert. Thanks Kng Huang, for sending the picture, it will certainly go into our album!
Feedback from other yogis who smsed or emailed:
"Hey thanks for the tickets. It was a very enjoyable performance. Thanks. :-) "
-- from Wei Ren
"Thanks for inviting us to the concert, was quite lively, it was eye opening for Lexuan..."
-- from Wasana & Cheng Hock who brought their little girl to the concert
"Hi the performance was very enjoyable. . . thank you very much for the tickets!"
-- from Stanley
"Wanted to thank you once again for thinking of me for the Musica Antiqua Koln concert. It's been a while since i've attended a classical concert. It was indeed a very pleasant evening"
-- from Tiffany
"Thank you for the tickets to the Musica Antiqua Koln. My husband and I enjoyed it alot.
Congratulations on mOmentOm yOga turning 3!!!!"
-- from Aileen
And as to Serene's question of whether you can look forward to such musical events as a regular part of our yoga studio's activities, I've spoken to our partner who produced the Musica Antiqua concert and yes, we can certainly look into this. Art, music and creative words are part of our celebration of life. And if there's anything that we can learn from these great musicians from Koln, it would be that practice makes perfect, and what we are perfecting here is not just playing musical instruments, we want to perfect ourselves and live to our greatest potential - this is our greatest gift to humanity. We can create magic through diligence, aspiring to be the best we can be and also wanting to give a gift to the audience, to share the joy of music-making with others. We can create great happiness and truly celebrate what it means to be alive by working steadily to perfect ourselves through yoga, uniting our daily efforts with our highest ideals. We also break the illusion of boundaries between ourselves and others by giving and sharing.
Happiness is a simple thing. Give and you are happy. Start counting the "sesame seads and green peas" (chinese saying) and hoarding and you are miserable. It is as much a joy to give as to receive. If you feel you've enjoyed the concert, "pay it forward". Let it inspire you to bring the same kind of joy to others in whatever you are able to do today - not asking for anything in return but simply to enjoy the act of giving in itself.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
sit with friends
Dear yogis,
if you've attended the 10-11am PRAN/DYAN class on Saturdays before, you would have some taste of Vipassana Meditation (according to the Mahasi Sayadaw method) which is the form I've been practising. I sometimes sit with the following lovely group of people from the Vipassana Meditation Centre. Sayadaw (Burmese term for Shi Fu) is a kindly patient teacher with an sense of humour that will catch you by surprise... You will feel grounded with his straightforward instruction, and yet inspired by the dedication of the other fellow meditators to their practice. Group sitting is something I seriously recommend if you want to add momentum to your practice. If you find it hard to sit on your own in your daily practice, sitting occasionally with a dedicated bunch helps to keep the practice going. Of course the by-product of such occasions is that you meet a group of friends in the most authentic of circumstances.
May you have the chance to experience all this and the happiness it brings!
Subject: One Day Mindfulness Retreat on Sat 14 Oct
Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:12:36 +0800 (SGT)
From: vmckm <vmckm@singnet.com.sg>
Dear Friends in the Dhamma
VMC is organising a One Day Minfulness Retreat this Sat.
Date : Sat 14 Oct 06
Time : 9am to 6pm
Venue : 33B Lowland Road (5mins walk from Kovan MRT Station)
Teacher : Sayadaw U Pannananda
Fee : By Donation
Lunch will be provided
If you have attended the meditation course conducted by VMC or are practising in the tradition of the late most Ven Mahasi Sayadaw method are welcome to join us for this One Day Mindfulness Retreat as we hope to provide an conducive environment to sharpen your practice.
If you are interested to join us , pls provide your name ,gender , age , contact no and vegetarian food (if required ) via email or sms to Bro Nelson @ 96985157.
With Metta
Vipassana Meditation Centre (Singapore)
*********************************************
Do not give way to heedlessness.
Do not indulge in sensual pleasures.
Only the vigilant and meditative attain greathappiness.
The Dhammapada Verse 27
*********************************************
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
if you've attended the 10-11am PRAN/DYAN class on Saturdays before, you would have some taste of Vipassana Meditation (according to the Mahasi Sayadaw method) which is the form I've been practising. I sometimes sit with the following lovely group of people from the Vipassana Meditation Centre. Sayadaw (Burmese term for Shi Fu) is a kindly patient teacher with an sense of humour that will catch you by surprise... You will feel grounded with his straightforward instruction, and yet inspired by the dedication of the other fellow meditators to their practice. Group sitting is something I seriously recommend if you want to add momentum to your practice. If you find it hard to sit on your own in your daily practice, sitting occasionally with a dedicated bunch helps to keep the practice going. Of course the by-product of such occasions is that you meet a group of friends in the most authentic of circumstances.
May you have the chance to experience all this and the happiness it brings!
Subject: One Day Mindfulness Retreat on Sat 14 Oct
Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:12:36 +0800 (SGT)
From: vmckm <vmckm@singnet.com.sg>
Dear Friends in the Dhamma
VMC is organising a One Day Minfulness Retreat this Sat.
Date : Sat 14 Oct 06
Time : 9am to 6pm
Venue : 33B Lowland Road (5mins walk from Kovan MRT Station)
Teacher : Sayadaw U Pannananda
Fee : By Donation
Lunch will be provided
If you have attended the meditation course conducted by VMC or are practising in the tradition of the late most Ven Mahasi Sayadaw method are welcome to join us for this One Day Mindfulness Retreat as we hope to provide an conducive environment to sharpen your practice.
If you are interested to join us , pls provide your name ,gender , age , contact no and vegetarian food (if required ) via email or sms to Bro Nelson @ 96985157.
With Metta
Vipassana Meditation Centre (Singapore)
*********************************************
Do not give way to heedlessness.
Do not indulge in sensual pleasures.
Only the vigilant and meditative attain greathappiness.
The Dhammapada Verse 27
*********************************************
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
class update
Tomorrow's (Thursday 12 Oct) 7.15pm FUNdamentals class will be conducted by Jancy Yeo in Michele's place.
Jancy is a trained yoga instructor with professional qualifications and experience in fitness instruction. She will be conducting more yoga classes at mOmentOm yOga. . . soon. We will be uploading her profile on this website shortly. Let's give a warm welcome to Jancy!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jancy is a trained yoga instructor with professional qualifications and experience in fitness instruction. She will be conducting more yoga classes at mOmentOm yOga. . . soon. We will be uploading her profile on this website shortly. Let's give a warm welcome to Jancy!
musica antiqua kOln
If you haven't already received my sms. . .
mOmentOm yOgis are warmly invited to a the Musica Antiqua Koln concert
at Victoria Concert Hall tomorrow night at 8pm.
See the flyer online: http://208.106.149.214/musica_antiqua_koln.jpg
or on the sistic website: www.sistic.com.sg
The tickets set aside on complimentary basis for invited guests of mOmentOm yOga are the $70 tickets. So please let me know if you are able to attend by today. You can sms me at 97631374.
Unfortunately, I have class 6-10pm so I will not be at the concert. Such is the life of a yogi!
Thank you to yogis who have already replied. Enjoy the performance!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
mOmentOm yOgis are warmly invited to a the Musica Antiqua Koln concert
at Victoria Concert Hall tomorrow night at 8pm.
See the flyer online: http://208.106.149.214/musica_antiqua_koln.jpg
or on the sistic website: www.sistic.com.sg
The tickets set aside on complimentary basis for invited guests of mOmentOm yOga are the $70 tickets. So please let me know if you are able to attend by today. You can sms me at 97631374.
Unfortunately, I have class 6-10pm so I will not be at the concert. Such is the life of a yogi!
Thank you to yogis who have already replied. Enjoy the performance!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
laugh at Our 3rd anniversary
All yogis and friends are invited to our 3rd anniversary celebrations
on Deepavali 21 October, Saturday from 2pm to 4pm at mOmentOm yOga!
(Regular scheduled yoga classes are suspended on Public Holidays so there will be no yoga class at 8am, 10am and 6pm on 21 October).
At 2pm, we are happy to have Dr Kajal lead a Laughter Yoga Workshop.
Come and experience this practice and other sound yoga techniques guaranteed to infuse your being with the joy of life! Everybody knows that laughter is the best medicine. I have often tried to make yogis laugh in class when I start seeing earnest yogis start pushing themselves too hard. . . I rather we keep things light-hearted just so that we stop taking ourselves too seriously and loosen up into the practice a little. Yoga must be steady, comfy AND happy.
At 3.30pm, join us for tea and refreshments as you browse through an exhibition and sale of beautiful handmade yoga bags and other handicraft from India lovingly put together by one of our yogis, Christine Neo. I would also be putting up an exhibition of based on my India/Nepal trip.
Please email or call us if you would like to come.
Only $5 per person for workshop and to buy us tea and snacks for mOmentOm yOgis.
$8 per person for public.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
on Deepavali 21 October, Saturday from 2pm to 4pm at mOmentOm yOga!
(Regular scheduled yoga classes are suspended on Public Holidays so there will be no yoga class at 8am, 10am and 6pm on 21 October).
At 2pm, we are happy to have Dr Kajal lead a Laughter Yoga Workshop.
Come and experience this practice and other sound yoga techniques guaranteed to infuse your being with the joy of life! Everybody knows that laughter is the best medicine. I have often tried to make yogis laugh in class when I start seeing earnest yogis start pushing themselves too hard. . . I rather we keep things light-hearted just so that we stop taking ourselves too seriously and loosen up into the practice a little. Yoga must be steady, comfy AND happy.
At 3.30pm, join us for tea and refreshments as you browse through an exhibition and sale of beautiful handmade yoga bags and other handicraft from India lovingly put together by one of our yogis, Christine Neo. I would also be putting up an exhibition of based on my India/Nepal trip.
Please email or call us if you would like to come.
Only $5 per person for workshop and to buy us tea and snacks for mOmentOm yOgis.
$8 per person for public.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
"dO nOt be afraid Of death but the unlived life"
mOmentOm yOga is happy to recommend Broadway musical "Tick, Tick. . . BOOM!" now showing until 8 October at Victoria Theatre.
The producers of the show in Singapore are happy to present mOmentOm yOgis with a 15% discount off ticket prices.
Please email tania@the-go-getter.com and cc to momentomyoga@gmail.com for ticket orders and queries. For info & pictures: www.fictionfarm.com.sg
Flyers available at mOmentOm yOga and SISTIC counters.
When I watched RENT in Chicago in 1999, it changed by life. That's no exaggeration. I was moved by the raw energy of the lyrics which can only stem from a creative soul who is grappling with the hard realities of finding meaning and humanity in a crazy cynical materialistic world. I watched RENT the musical when I was also at the crossroads of my life and after I had already spent a year more or less living a la vie boheme in the art and theatre scene. I identified with RENT's creator, Jonathan Larson's struggle because it is the same as my own. What I got from his musical is in fact a push to seize the day and to rise above the sorry self-pitying ego to reach for dreams which inspire us and illuminate the world. Tick, tick. . . BOOM! is the story of Jonathan Larson's own no less inspiring life.
"Ever imagined
Working like you don't need the money
Loving like you have never been hurt
Dancing like no one is watching"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The producers of the show in Singapore are happy to present mOmentOm yOgis with a 15% discount off ticket prices.
Please email tania@the-go-getter.com and cc to momentomyoga@gmail.com for ticket orders and queries. For info & pictures: www.fictionfarm.com.sg
Flyers available at mOmentOm yOga and SISTIC counters.
When I watched RENT in Chicago in 1999, it changed by life. That's no exaggeration. I was moved by the raw energy of the lyrics which can only stem from a creative soul who is grappling with the hard realities of finding meaning and humanity in a crazy cynical materialistic world. I watched RENT the musical when I was also at the crossroads of my life and after I had already spent a year more or less living a la vie boheme in the art and theatre scene. I identified with RENT's creator, Jonathan Larson's struggle because it is the same as my own. What I got from his musical is in fact a push to seize the day and to rise above the sorry self-pitying ego to reach for dreams which inspire us and illuminate the world. Tick, tick. . . BOOM! is the story of Jonathan Larson's own no less inspiring life.
"Ever imagined
Working like you don't need the money
Loving like you have never been hurt
Dancing like no one is watching"
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
we are 3!
This October is mOmentOm yOga's third anniversary!
It was exactly three years ago, on Deepavali, that we opened as Om Improvement at Stamford House. We are now gearing up for a celebration event on Saturday, 21 October, also Deepavali. Details will be available soon so make yourself available that day and come down and join us!
. . .
To commemorate the occasion, we would like to invite our yogis to reflect on our studio’s journey thus far. Let’s contemplate what are the factors that make mOmentOm yOga our steady, comfy, happy yoga home. Your thoughts will serve as a nice introduction to new yogis who are just joining our family. You are welcome to email us at mOmentOmyOga@gmail.com your thoughts on any or all of the lines below.
. . .
My name is ___________________.
I have been an Om Improvement/mOmentOm yOgis for ___________ years/months.
What makes mOmentOm yOga my yoga home:
I practice at mOmentOm yOga because. . .
Everytime I enter mOmentOm yOga’s studio I. . .
I find that the people I meet at mOmentOm yOga are. . .
Since I practised yoga at mOmentOm yOga, I. . .
As mOmentOm yOga grows I would like to see. . .
Finally, I would like to say. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It was exactly three years ago, on Deepavali, that we opened as Om Improvement at Stamford House. We are now gearing up for a celebration event on Saturday, 21 October, also Deepavali. Details will be available soon so make yourself available that day and come down and join us!
. . .
To commemorate the occasion, we would like to invite our yogis to reflect on our studio’s journey thus far. Let’s contemplate what are the factors that make mOmentOm yOga our steady, comfy, happy yoga home. Your thoughts will serve as a nice introduction to new yogis who are just joining our family. You are welcome to email us at mOmentOmyOga@gmail.com your thoughts on any or all of the lines below.
. . .
My name is ___________________.
I have been an Om Improvement/mOmentOm yOgis for ___________ years/months.
What makes mOmentOm yOga my yoga home:
I practice at mOmentOm yOga because. . .
Everytime I enter mOmentOm yOga’s studio I. . .
I find that the people I meet at mOmentOm yOga are. . .
Since I practised yoga at mOmentOm yOga, I. . .
As mOmentOm yOga grows I would like to see. . .
Finally, I would like to say. . .
jOin yOur uniOn
Why are you?
What is your purpose?
How do you become you?
When people first become yogis, many are suspicious of what is the spiritual dimension of yoga. They say to me, “just give me the physical exercise but cut out the mumbo-jumbo religious stuff okay?”. I always say, “Sure!” And I wait. . . Because not long after, the same yogis will inevitably come to me and say, “Hey, what is meditation? Can I learn meditation? How to I find out more about myself? Are there any yoga practices that can bring me lasting peace? Happiness?!” Why is this so? What is it in yoga that makes us ask these interesting questions when all we want at first was just to work up a sweat?
Spirituality does not mean praying for external help from divine sources nor suspending belief in the logical and investing faith in the superstitious. Spirituality means finding coherence: making a lasting connection between the meaning of being you and your place in the scheme of things. As much as it is human to feel, it will be human to seek meaning in our lives. Hence, as long as we feel the urge of trying to make sense of what happens to us, we cannot help but search for the spiritual dimension of things.
We are sorely lacking in one key aspect in our process of educating individuals for the challenges of modern life and how generally to stand on our own two feet: we are not taught how to find this kind of unity. Instead we indoctrinate book knowledge, we propagate technical competency and we create individuals who are able to make a good enough way of life materially but who are clueless about finding the kind of real happiness that comes from inner coherence. Oops.
From my own pre-yoga experience and from what yogis at mOmentOm have shared with me, I find that a lot of unhappiness comes from feeling we are somewhat helpless in the face of the daily onslaught of people and things that do not agree with us. This creates tons of stress and resentment. We slide from depression to anxiety to anger to depression, momentarily lifted by brief visits of excitement or anticipation only to be dropped back into the downward cycle once again after these inevitably evaporate. It is understandable given this scenario, where so-called “happiness” is momentary and followed by a huge anti-climax, that people are skeptical of practices that promise a way out of misery and into lasting happiness.
The root of the misery is that we feel we are not in control. We know we are not actively participating in our own lives – instead, we let life "happen" to us. This is not just upsetting, it is dehumanizing. We become robots, haplessly processing endless streams of data from external sources and suffering innumerable programme failures and system crashes.
When we feel upset that things are not going according to our liking, we really feel this bad. This is because there is that guiltridden part of us who knows we have already surrendered our freedom to the randomness of life and we have willingly damned ourselves to the consequences of such randomness. We know deep inside that we are ultimately the saboteurs of our own happiness because we have given up our freedom to choose how we want to be AND to make actions that originate from this choice. We just roll along with whatever comes by and feel unhappy because we know we are allowing ourselves to be bounced like a pinball from one event to another. This is that nameless feeling that gnaws at you on sleepless nights and haunts your daily tasks with a feeling of impotence and fills your frenzied plans with a sense of futility. Within ourselves there is a primal yearning for unity: to unite our actions with our purpose. . . to be true to ourselves and thus to have some kind of direction.
The meaning of the word “yoga” is “union”. And the purpose of yogis (“union makers”?) from antiquity to the present is to find ways of bringing individuals to a state of unshakeable union: where our inner being and outer actions are intimately connected. Where our daily behaviour becomes the truest manifestations of our purpose in life, we find ourselves in a state of authenticity that is called “the happiness that surpasses all happinesses” or samadhi. Samadhi is a kind of self-assuredness of living up to our most treasured expectations. All the yoga practices are explorations of how to bring about this kind of union. These practices, even if practised without knowing their purpose, will lead us to seek out our own path to union.
As I teach, I observed such a hunger for a “safe” way of spiritual enquiry from people. They do not want to dismiss their logical minds and take things on faith to discover who they are. They need not worry, in fact, because there is no need to leave your common sense at home to practice yoga, to seek coherence and union. As a matter of fact, you need ALL your senses, common and uncommon. We want to bring individuals to a state of complete union afterall. It is good news that we have adequately developed a healthy curiosity and a scientific spirit of inquiry that encourages us to accept only as facts what we have tested through experiment. As we delve deep into our being, our consciousness, we need these skills to differentiate reality from delusions. And when you find a yoga practice effective in bringing about mental clarity and inner peace, then you believe in it, then you share it and practise it with diligence, making it a part of your life. Authenticate all pursuits, spiritual or otherwise, with your own experience and wisdom. Then live by the truth.
It is significant that yoga is experiencing a revival now. That mankind has reached a spiritual crisis of unprecedented proportions is old news. But today I get a sense of more and more people feeling that “enough is enough” and taking their lives into their own hands and taking on risks to find a way to live in harmony with themselves and the world. We are taking back our humanity. And we are infusing our daily tasks with considered intentions from the largest of hearts. Thank goodness! I think even if just one person practises yoga and reaches to a peak of spiritual attainment, there is already so many benefits for the rest of us just by experiencing someone so authentic and purposeful. And here we are, so many of us practising. This is good. And as I always say, “it gets better”.
May you drop the burden of self ignorance today and join the path to self knowledge.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
What is your purpose?
How do you become you?
When people first become yogis, many are suspicious of what is the spiritual dimension of yoga. They say to me, “just give me the physical exercise but cut out the mumbo-jumbo religious stuff okay?”. I always say, “Sure!” And I wait. . . Because not long after, the same yogis will inevitably come to me and say, “Hey, what is meditation? Can I learn meditation? How to I find out more about myself? Are there any yoga practices that can bring me lasting peace? Happiness?!” Why is this so? What is it in yoga that makes us ask these interesting questions when all we want at first was just to work up a sweat?
Spirituality does not mean praying for external help from divine sources nor suspending belief in the logical and investing faith in the superstitious. Spirituality means finding coherence: making a lasting connection between the meaning of being you and your place in the scheme of things. As much as it is human to feel, it will be human to seek meaning in our lives. Hence, as long as we feel the urge of trying to make sense of what happens to us, we cannot help but search for the spiritual dimension of things.
We are sorely lacking in one key aspect in our process of educating individuals for the challenges of modern life and how generally to stand on our own two feet: we are not taught how to find this kind of unity. Instead we indoctrinate book knowledge, we propagate technical competency and we create individuals who are able to make a good enough way of life materially but who are clueless about finding the kind of real happiness that comes from inner coherence. Oops.
From my own pre-yoga experience and from what yogis at mOmentOm have shared with me, I find that a lot of unhappiness comes from feeling we are somewhat helpless in the face of the daily onslaught of people and things that do not agree with us. This creates tons of stress and resentment. We slide from depression to anxiety to anger to depression, momentarily lifted by brief visits of excitement or anticipation only to be dropped back into the downward cycle once again after these inevitably evaporate. It is understandable given this scenario, where so-called “happiness” is momentary and followed by a huge anti-climax, that people are skeptical of practices that promise a way out of misery and into lasting happiness.
The root of the misery is that we feel we are not in control. We know we are not actively participating in our own lives – instead, we let life "happen" to us. This is not just upsetting, it is dehumanizing. We become robots, haplessly processing endless streams of data from external sources and suffering innumerable programme failures and system crashes.
When we feel upset that things are not going according to our liking, we really feel this bad. This is because there is that guiltridden part of us who knows we have already surrendered our freedom to the randomness of life and we have willingly damned ourselves to the consequences of such randomness. We know deep inside that we are ultimately the saboteurs of our own happiness because we have given up our freedom to choose how we want to be AND to make actions that originate from this choice. We just roll along with whatever comes by and feel unhappy because we know we are allowing ourselves to be bounced like a pinball from one event to another. This is that nameless feeling that gnaws at you on sleepless nights and haunts your daily tasks with a feeling of impotence and fills your frenzied plans with a sense of futility. Within ourselves there is a primal yearning for unity: to unite our actions with our purpose. . . to be true to ourselves and thus to have some kind of direction.
The meaning of the word “yoga” is “union”. And the purpose of yogis (“union makers”?) from antiquity to the present is to find ways of bringing individuals to a state of unshakeable union: where our inner being and outer actions are intimately connected. Where our daily behaviour becomes the truest manifestations of our purpose in life, we find ourselves in a state of authenticity that is called “the happiness that surpasses all happinesses” or samadhi. Samadhi is a kind of self-assuredness of living up to our most treasured expectations. All the yoga practices are explorations of how to bring about this kind of union. These practices, even if practised without knowing their purpose, will lead us to seek out our own path to union.
As I teach, I observed such a hunger for a “safe” way of spiritual enquiry from people. They do not want to dismiss their logical minds and take things on faith to discover who they are. They need not worry, in fact, because there is no need to leave your common sense at home to practice yoga, to seek coherence and union. As a matter of fact, you need ALL your senses, common and uncommon. We want to bring individuals to a state of complete union afterall. It is good news that we have adequately developed a healthy curiosity and a scientific spirit of inquiry that encourages us to accept only as facts what we have tested through experiment. As we delve deep into our being, our consciousness, we need these skills to differentiate reality from delusions. And when you find a yoga practice effective in bringing about mental clarity and inner peace, then you believe in it, then you share it and practise it with diligence, making it a part of your life. Authenticate all pursuits, spiritual or otherwise, with your own experience and wisdom. Then live by the truth.
It is significant that yoga is experiencing a revival now. That mankind has reached a spiritual crisis of unprecedented proportions is old news. But today I get a sense of more and more people feeling that “enough is enough” and taking their lives into their own hands and taking on risks to find a way to live in harmony with themselves and the world. We are taking back our humanity. And we are infusing our daily tasks with considered intentions from the largest of hearts. Thank goodness! I think even if just one person practises yoga and reaches to a peak of spiritual attainment, there is already so many benefits for the rest of us just by experiencing someone so authentic and purposeful. And here we are, so many of us practising. This is good. And as I always say, “it gets better”.
May you drop the burden of self ignorance today and join the path to self knowledge.