In
the spring of 2008 I intended to start cleaning up my life. At
first I was focused on diet and drinking, the physical me. I
became inspired after reading The Complete Master Cleanse to make
some major changes. Due to the realization that I was eating mainly
out of habit, nervousness and convenience I was determined to
change. That realization alone created a natural high that
lasted about a week. It was beautiful. I only needed 6
hours of sleep a day. I was excited to wake up and go to work.
My outlook changed over night. It was as if my mind body and
spirit wanted to say... YES you got it right, nourish
yourself.
Shortly after this I was given the book, A New Earth, byEckhart Tolle. It triggered a deep chord in me. The main impression I recall from this book was that our mind determines our state of happiness. Most of us program our minds to "seek" happiness somewhere other than here and now. Of course here and now is the only place we can find satisfaction. The implications in my life were obvious. I had basically accomplished every major worldly desire in my life ( a family, a dream home, a career of my choosing, living in a resort town, travel, sports) yet the joy of these accomplishments was so short lived. It occurred to me that I had trained my brain to be unhappy in the moment of now. Eckhart also provided an example that humans can change radically and suddenly for the better which affected me later.
Armed with this new perspective I decided with all my intent to embrace my situation and learn to quiet my mind. It seemed so simple, with peace of mind I can tap into the always present Joy of the Universe. I became very observant of my mind chatter. I was also introduced to Carlos Castaneda's books about Don Juan. This is a mystical based set of teachings based in Central America and the tools described in there were supposed to help quiet the mind. I applied every tool I could. Shifting awareness to my other senses, long hikes, gazing at one object for long periods, meditation... all to no avail. In hind sight I realize my mind chatter was fueled my emotional turmoil created by my constricted life.
I was not about to give up though. In November of 2008 I was given a copy of the book, The Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansha Yoganada. The teachings and experiences in this book paralleled that of Castaneda's but were based out of ancient India. The spiritual teachings are more religious based than mystical. What really captivated me was that the author described a meditation technique called Kriya Yoga which would powerfully quiet the mind and open the practitioner up to their spiritual selves. Yoganada also described that many individuals who did this were husbands and fathers working in society. I didn't need to become a monk and live in a cave. The only catch is that the technique is not freely distributed. It has only been passed down my Master Yogi's to devoted disciple.
Well I could not get to India, so I thought may be someone has "leaked" the secret meditation on line! I started searching and immediately found the Cyberspace Ashram. Despite the kind of cheesy appearance of the website and its message of "God is Love" on every page, something kept drawing me back to it. As I read more and more, the message resonated deeper and deeper. The author claims to be God-realized and felt his spiritual duty is to provide the secret Kriya Yoga technique to the world. He honors the age old tradition of limiting it to only the devoted by hiding the technique in the 5000 page website! He asks that you read the entire website before practicing the meditation for your own safety. So I was hooked. As I read more and more it was clear that the author felt the way we live our lives is more important for spiritual evolution than the meditation. He advocates learning to love all beings in all situations. He teaches that God cannot be conceived, but can be experienced. In fact we've all had little tastes during the times in our lives when we've felt that loving presence and our minds are silent and our hearts are warm. He provides endless tools for living a life of love in modern day society. At first I questioned who this author was claiming to have a fail safe path to enlightenment, but as I read on the MESSAGE was so powerful to me that it spoke for itself. In the context of my personal and professional life I could clearly see how it was the one thing that could solve all problems.
It was now mid December as I digested these teachings. The more I read the more I was enthusiastic to start changing my life. I started small, but as Christmas break approached I felt an overwhelming desire to make bigger changes and open myself up for the Love of the Universe. This next experience desires a blog page of its own and so I will finish with that thought.
Shortly after this I was given the book, A New Earth, byEckhart Tolle. It triggered a deep chord in me. The main impression I recall from this book was that our mind determines our state of happiness. Most of us program our minds to "seek" happiness somewhere other than here and now. Of course here and now is the only place we can find satisfaction. The implications in my life were obvious. I had basically accomplished every major worldly desire in my life ( a family, a dream home, a career of my choosing, living in a resort town, travel, sports) yet the joy of these accomplishments was so short lived. It occurred to me that I had trained my brain to be unhappy in the moment of now. Eckhart also provided an example that humans can change radically and suddenly for the better which affected me later.
Armed with this new perspective I decided with all my intent to embrace my situation and learn to quiet my mind. It seemed so simple, with peace of mind I can tap into the always present Joy of the Universe. I became very observant of my mind chatter. I was also introduced to Carlos Castaneda's books about Don Juan. This is a mystical based set of teachings based in Central America and the tools described in there were supposed to help quiet the mind. I applied every tool I could. Shifting awareness to my other senses, long hikes, gazing at one object for long periods, meditation... all to no avail. In hind sight I realize my mind chatter was fueled my emotional turmoil created by my constricted life.
I was not about to give up though. In November of 2008 I was given a copy of the book, The Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansha Yoganada. The teachings and experiences in this book paralleled that of Castaneda's but were based out of ancient India. The spiritual teachings are more religious based than mystical. What really captivated me was that the author described a meditation technique called Kriya Yoga which would powerfully quiet the mind and open the practitioner up to their spiritual selves. Yoganada also described that many individuals who did this were husbands and fathers working in society. I didn't need to become a monk and live in a cave. The only catch is that the technique is not freely distributed. It has only been passed down my Master Yogi's to devoted disciple.
Well I could not get to India, so I thought may be someone has "leaked" the secret meditation on line! I started searching and immediately found the Cyberspace Ashram. Despite the kind of cheesy appearance of the website and its message of "God is Love" on every page, something kept drawing me back to it. As I read more and more, the message resonated deeper and deeper. The author claims to be God-realized and felt his spiritual duty is to provide the secret Kriya Yoga technique to the world. He honors the age old tradition of limiting it to only the devoted by hiding the technique in the 5000 page website! He asks that you read the entire website before practicing the meditation for your own safety. So I was hooked. As I read more and more it was clear that the author felt the way we live our lives is more important for spiritual evolution than the meditation. He advocates learning to love all beings in all situations. He teaches that God cannot be conceived, but can be experienced. In fact we've all had little tastes during the times in our lives when we've felt that loving presence and our minds are silent and our hearts are warm. He provides endless tools for living a life of love in modern day society. At first I questioned who this author was claiming to have a fail safe path to enlightenment, but as I read on the MESSAGE was so powerful to me that it spoke for itself. In the context of my personal and professional life I could clearly see how it was the one thing that could solve all problems.
It was now mid December as I digested these teachings. The more I read the more I was enthusiastic to start changing my life. I started small, but as Christmas break approached I felt an overwhelming desire to make bigger changes and open myself up for the Love of the Universe. This next experience desires a blog page of its own and so I will finish with that thought.
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