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SolitudeWho does not want an “easy path” to enlightenment; a “minute meditation”; a “quickie” to take the stress away? We are all down for that! Yet, is it really possible? Can I hear a “hell yeah”?

Here is all you have to do: Click your heels together three times and say “I wish I was home. I wish I was home”. It’s what the great Oz told Dorothy to do in the story, The Wizard of Oz, and it worked!

Meditation, as it was described by those that perfected themselves as human beings, cannot be accomplished in one minute. In fact, it’s not the first step in our quest for peace. It is the last step. However, if you are looking for a smile rather than a frown, a laugh rather than a cry, or a thank you, rather than a f*** you, here is what you can do…

– Have a go-to word or phrase that sums up who you want to be, how you want to feel, and ultimately the attitude and energy that you wish to exude every day. This “mantra” needs to be repeated both out loud and silently throughout the day. The most important times to do this are as soon as you wake up in the morning, and right before you go to bed at night. Do not be stingy with this. Repeat your “mantra”, even when you are not feeling it, throughout the day.

– The Manic Meditation: We have been exposed to only a small piece of what meditation looks like. It is a mere shadow of what is described in the ancient yoga scriptures. Therefore, allow me to use the name as the title for its “catchiness”, not what its operating definition or intent is supposed to be.

We think meditation should look and feel a certain way, such as sitting in a cross-legged position silently with our eyes closed. This type of meditation is impossible for many and is not helpful for those who are a bit more expressive.

The Manic Mediation is just as it sounds. Take a few minutes to go nuts! Yes, you have to be nuts! Seriously, scream, yell, swear, dance, hit the floor, jump up and down. Having a controlled breakdown helps to prevent having an actual one.

– Breathe! Even taking a Xanax is no match for the soothing, grooving qualities our own breath has to offer. It does take a little more effort than swallowing a pill, but not much more.

Take a seat or stand. Place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly. Close your eyes. Breathe in through the nose and out through the nose. Focus on filling the belly (like you ate too much) on the inhale and emptying the belly on the exhale. Try to not push anything away or to hold anything in. Do not worry about what you are thinking, just breathe! After ten or so breaths, which is about a minute at the most, you will already feel different. This is 20 minutes less than the time it takes for a Xanax to kick in.

Our troubadour

Meditation is ultimately not something you just do. There are prerequisites. Meditation does not calm the mind. One needs a calm mind to meditate! However, it is a “state” of mind. It is the effect of making good choices. Choices that support who you are and who you wish to be. Choices that are consistent with your own morals and ethics. Choices that support health and well being for all of humanity.

The above exercises are quick, easy, and yet so powerful. The Buddha said “you will struggle on the path of enlightenment not because it’s too difficult, but because it’s so simple you won’t believe it can work”.

If you want to know the true benefit of meditation you must off load desires, withdraw from your senses, and learn to concentrate by taking the three fold path of Karma, Bhakti and Gnana yoga. This is a mammoth undertaking and there are no short cuts. However, there are many different starting points. Begin by starting to practice my simple program and you will be well on your way.

Peace,

EP

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They say honesty is the best policy… “They”, however, do not tell you how to put your truth into action. After eleven years of being in a business relationship that, in so many ways shaped and made my life, I had to walk away. I could no longer allow all the pleasures I received nor the fear that held me in it, to keep me involved with people and a vision that was in no way in line with who I am, what I want to represent and why I want to put it out there.

It was time to take the kind of action that many of us choose not to take because of fearing the unknown. Self doubt and attachment stand as impenetrable armor imprisoning us to the point, which ultimately is unhealthy. We come up with a million and one reasons to stay in something that is killing us. We shudder at the idea of parting with anyone or anything that brings us comfort, even if the pleasure comes at a great cost. Our minds are so convincing that we believe lies and do not believe the truth. It is only when we break the chains that bind us, that we can receive a clear vision of the illusion/delusion that holds us captive.

Are you strong enough to walk away from something that feeds your desires, terrifies you to leave, knowing it is not right for you? If so, stop reading this now. If not, here are three steps to making the move that will truly “move” you.

Listening intently to our Guru

The First Step is knowing your enemy. Science tells us that external stimuli (the world) is experienced differently by all of us. No two minds think or perceive exactly alike. Therefore, when you or I say “this person bothers me” or “this political view point is senseless”, we are being foolish. The same person who bothers you may be soothing to someone else. The political view that you believe to be senseless may be sensible to others.

Therefore, we can say; no one can defeat us and no one can complete us, but us! The enemy is your own mind. It can make a heaven into a hell, or a hell into heaven. Unless you have control over it, it will control you. Its nature is to spin! Once you know that it’s You that is the problem, you are half way to the solution! The only thing you can change is you. When you embrace this, you are ready for Step Two.

The Second Step is crushing the lies. Everyone of us who are in the position of needing to change, but being stuck, has one huge common denominator and that is; we have an incredible love affair with the lies we tell ourselves. Some of mine are: I’ll be alone; I can’t start over; I won’t make enough; I can’t live without that; there isn’t enough time, money, people, interest, help; I’m to old, too young; I don’t know how to do that. My favorite excuse is: everyone will find out that I’m really worthless! 

I am sure you have some special ones of your own.  Write them down and then we will crush them! These lies die as soon as we hold them up to the light. The light is sharing them with others. You will see for yourself immediately that, in many cases, the only one that believes this nonsense is you!  For example: I had a nasty habit of telling myself “I couldn’t finish anything”.  I told others about this.  A few friends pointed out dozens of different and very meaningful things I have completed and the lie was crushed.  All lies can be crushed by fact-finding.  The only way a lie can be held up is through secrets and emotion.

Now that you have revealed the enemy and crushed the lies, you are ready for Step Three:  Dynamic Action. “DA” is simple in design to understand, yet very difficult to execute. “DA” is acting without motives! It’s living your obligatory duties in life; just as the sun rises and falls every day; like the rose emits its fragrance.  The rose does not say ”you were not nice to me, so I am not sharing my fragrance with you”. Here is the 411; “DA” is 100% selfless.  When you mix selfishness into it, the action becomes deluded and we begin to become fatigued, agitated, excited, disappointment, etc.  More selfishness equates to increased energy drainage until ultimately we get stuck! “DA”, however, empowers us.  It lightens the load, relieves the stress, and frees us. The secret lies in your intentions. If you serve yourself, you will get caught up in relationships and jobs that will not serve you! If your aim is to rise above your own desires, there will be nothing more the world can offer you.  Nothing in the world that can terrorize you.  You will be out of this world; the world that you keep wanting to change!

You will not need luck to accomplish this task.  What is required is hard work, a good support team, lots of patience and more importantly, a desire to keep on learning! 

For more information, email me eric@ericpaskel.com.  Many of these thoughts and teachings are interpretations from my teacher, Swami Parthasarathy.  His many books and great teachings can be found at vedantaworld.org.

Peace,

EP

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Eric Paskel & Rina Jakubowicz on Feb 13, 2015

india flowers

As we sit here on a bus in India on our way to hear a lecture about “When is Enough Enough?” from our teacher Swami A. Parthasarathy, we reflect how we have gotten to this place together.

 

Two strangers who happen to be in the same elevator at a Yoga Journal Conference in Hollywood, Florida over a year ago have now joined together in their own spiritual journeys to walk alongside one another.

Part of this “spiritual” walk includes our first trip to India together, which we booked during the dates of February 1 to 15. Neither one of us thought that the trip would fall during Valentine’s Day. We placed our emphasis on a common, higher ideal for ourselves; we knew we needed to see our guru and the time was now.

When we were asked by elephant journal to write our first joint article about what we were doing for Valentine’s Day we chuckled because Valentine’s Day isn’t important to us but we knew we had to do it; not for PR but for RP (Right Purpose). We hope that after reading this, you may have a difference outlook as to what this holiday means to you.

Valentine’s Day can be important, not necessarily to exchange dinners, jewelry, flowers or the like, but to remind ourselves what love is and what it means to give it.

The philosophy of Vedanta explains that true love is neither preferential nor personal; it’s selfless and universal. According to the teachings, when we love correctly, we assess and accept ourselves along with others. This allows us to begin to see ourselves in all creatures, which is called identification. Therefore, our Valentine’s Day gift to each other is making ourselves better people every day, while learning how to love with these definitions in mind and all the while respecting each other’s struggles and natural ways.

These Vedanta teachings are what have helped us create our short yet powerful relationship together. Without them, we wouldn’t have made it thus far.

On this Valentine’s Day, we are at an ashram, sleeping in separate beds in a small room, waking up at 5:00 a.m. to study, wearing the same uniforms, eating the same foods and unable to display public forms of affection due to respecting the Indian customs.

To us, that makes every day romantic, sexy, and a beautiful expression of love because we are engaged not to each other but to discovering something more profound…our true Self.

Peace,

EP

 

Authors: Eric Paskel & Rina Jakubowicz

Editor: Cat Beekmans

Photos: Dennis Jarvis/Flickr  

Rachel Thompson/rachelthompsonphotography.com