Story 21. Why not carry a candle to remove darkness?

I don’t like flipping through daily newspapers, TV or internet as there is more gloomy news than good ones. When I do that, I make sure I do the minimum, just to stay informed with the latest social development. But whatever I read or hear, I am not quiet sure as how true and reliable they are. Because if I were to take seriously of all that, then, it feels as if we are heading toward the doomsday in any time soon. Every day, everywhere, the media is so busy to stir up insecurity, provoke fear and manipulate power that which only increases the chain reactions of panic and tension in public. We human beings can’t thrive too well when functioning from fear, insecurity and threats. Under constant tensions and threats, we are likely to become more defensive and destructive than positive and optimistic.

The sole purpose of the media is just to provoke all kinds of fears, worries and insecurities in us as much as they can. The 99% of what they are reporting, circulating is all about problems and corruptions here, tragedy and disasters there, if not gossiping about the celebrities’ latest affairs or their yo-yo weights. The media just loves to offer us with a perpetual drip, drip of scary stuff. They have the scoop on the latest threat; and they’re graciously letting us know, offering advice, warning us, blah-blah-blah.

What do they get in return? They get to control us by playing our psychic and survival instincts, so that they can sell their agendas on behalf of the institutional powers they are representing; so that they get to manipulate us into buying whatever the dominant market forces might want to sell. Isn’t that a great pity to play the helpless puppets in their string? Isn’t that a waste of our time, precious life just to sit around feeling worried and scared all the time, instead of going out to see what else life has to offer? Is our life meant to do nothing but just to defend and prepare against any possible odds in life, like accidents, diseases, tragedy, robbery and cheats that which might or might not happen to us? I don’t think so. As Mark Twain said, 98% of our fears never come true.

Life meant to sustain itself to live, not to annihilate. It was never meant to be continual disaster and tragedy of one kind and another. When we open our eyes and hearts, there are so much goodness and beauty than those ugly things that the media not are reporting to us. Why are they doing that? It’s the game of control they play; gloomy news attracts more attention and it is easier to control people through fear rather than hope. They are out to increase their power and control by constantly reminding us with what is lacking and what we need to have more, rather than what we already have are enough and thereby need to share more with others, together to elevate the qualities of our lives and uplift our spirit to soar towards the highest and noblest causes.

It is our natural desire to be happy and well, and we deserve just that, to enjoy and to become the best we meant to be in life. While some say, there are so much evil, injustice and wrongdoings rampant in the world out there, and the global economic crisis is yet to hit our shore, how can we just sit and relax and take it easy? Then, what do they suggest instead? Up and down, wail and cry every time some bomb knocks off people in somewhere far off country, or go crazy together with volatile stock market? Or keep up with whatever they suggest, by buying this and that, by upgrading this and that, so that we can feel safe and secure, or work 24/7 not to get hit by retrenchment? I really don’t believe that is the way to counter life’s darkness that which will be always there as a part of package offered in the school of life we all have enrolled.

It is written in the Pantanjali Yoga Sutra that, when the negative feelings restrict us, the opposite should be cultivated. Why not inculcate the better habit of carrying a candle whenever you see darkness is looming? By nature, we are resilient beings, not much physically compared to the rest of mammals, but mentally and spiritually we are enormously strong. We are much more magnanimous beings than we know of, capable of gaining full enlightenment in this life time like the Buddha, Jesus, Socrates, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and many others who walked on the earth as we do. What is common in them? They all went against what their social conventions tried to sell it to them. They didn’t buy into it, neither fought; but simply acted accordingly what they felt right in their heart; they didn’t toil or struggle to standoff against the giant odds in their society. Instead they simply lived and did their own thing regardless of what others or authorities might say. They carried a candle to lighten up their life and others regardless of the wind or tornado. Why can’t we?

How? Be watchful of negative energy, bad people and all other kinds of basic do’s and don’ts to keep your family and you safe and healthy. But don’t become neurotic or go hysterical until you have to sleep with an electrical bat just in the case a thief comes in at night (my boy’s school friend who lives in a bungalow with bullet proof doors does that). Your very focus on the negative things in life, in fact, can backfire you like a powerful magnet, as we attract what we put our attention the most. Be vigilant but don’t forget to breathe and be serene. In challenging times like this, where goodness, kindness, and optimism seem so scarce to come by, why not you become the candle around your loved ones by refining and raising your energy levels?

Aching back and pain in the neck by too much sitting and fixation to computer? Don’t go to doctor. They will give you pills but will add that you have to exercise more. So step aside and stretch your body up and down and twist sideways. Do few up and down dog like how my naughty Doberman does when he is bored. Bloating tummy and gas in the afternoon? Don’t swallow pain killers. Sit with a straight back, be in the office, in the car or in the couch, adjust your shoulders and posture to be comfortable; and then, place your hands, one on the chest and one on the tummy; do the few deep breathing until you can feel the movements on your both hands, gently rising and falling together with the breaths. Don’t forget to squeeze your lower abdomen slightly at the end of each out-breath. Need to be calmer and cheer up? Don’t go to psychologist. Close your eyes (or half close if you have to pretend to work) with your attention between the eyebrows. Imagine little spark of light from there spreading, spreading its brightness to fill your whole body, to the whole room or office, even to your nasty bosses…and say to yourself, darkness is disappearing, darkness is disappearing, all there is light, all there is light…5 to 10 minutes would do. Everybody else in the world go crazy because they are so mental and stressful. I suggest you don’t buy into that. Trot along with your conscious breathing, upright posture and positive emotion. That is the candle we should not forget to carry with us wherever we are, whatever we are doing it. Then, you are safe. I guarantee. Cheers!

Story 20. Let's have a Yoga break

Everybody heard of Yoga these days but almost everybody has few misconceptions about Yoga as well. Few of the examples are; for women and young only, weight-loss, huffing-puffing breath control, can’t bend, can’t sweat, religion, etc. Among those, the weighty issue comes on top of the list. People often ask “What is Yoga for? What can Yoga do?” What they are actually asking is whether or not Yoga can make them lose weight. Whenever they ask me like that, I go “Umm…” first. I try my best to give them better answer than what they are indirectly asking. I am not good at doing sales talks or pushing people around with pep talks. But I feel obliged to share correct knowledge, objective and balanced information, to help people make better decision, be educated and obtain right perspective. Some likes my approach; some do not, especially if they are afraid of the word “diet.”

Diet simply means the food we eat but it has been mostly synonymous with being on a diet. They will flee if I mention the word, diet. Just like any other exercise, done regularly in consistent manner, Yoga will help you to shed extra pounds and trim body line. But then, if you don’t watch what you eat, no matter how much you exercise or burn calories, it is of little help. Our body is not like an automated machine that you can control its operation depending on which button you press. Besides, there are many other factors to be considered, like gender, age, diets, lifestyle, genetic make-up, etc, that contribute to the bulging tummy and escalating numbers on the weight-scale. In the high technological era we live, in where anything is possible with a click, many look for a quick fix but cannot appreciate the virtue of patience and the art of discipline of which what Yoga is about in the first place.

People do not like to hear the words like, patience or discipline; most will immediately head to the door. But that’s what it is. It is the most comprehensive and beautiful words that can summarize Yoga. You don’t need super paramount of time and efforts but few simple steps at a time in a consistent manner will do the wonders. Once you start, then, the subtle transformation in our body, mind and heart happens quite naturally and automatically. You stand differently, you walk and talk differently, you feel and think differently. You are standing taller, you breathe fuller, your think clearer, you handle your emotion better; but more than anything, your spirit radiates more confidence and lightness around you.

We are the beings of energy. We constantly respond to the energy, consciously and unconsciously, in everything we do. If we exude heavy, cluttered and dull energy, then, what comes back to us is the same pattern of negative and unwholesome energy. There always will be plenty of problems, obstacles, endless chores to juggle, to make you run around like the hamsters in the wheel. But if your energy is refined and settled, if your being and manners are somehow more coherent, then, the people around you start to respond in more positive ways. Yes, one of the many benefits, besides its mental and physical benefits, is uplifting of your spirit to generate calm and peaceful energy around you. Your spouse and children will find easier talking to you because you are more patient and light-hearted. People will like to come around near you because you make them feel secure. The doctor’s bills will come down significantly, because you don’t get sick or feel tired as much as before. Somehow you can spot yourself better before start turning the same cycles of struggling and fighting in the hamster’s wheel that reaches nowhere.

Yoga is the process of energy transmutation to refine and bring closer to your center; to release stress and tension; to ease the various aches in the body; to clear the hazy mind; and to handle the fluctuating emotions better. It brings up the brilliant light within you, to shine every aspects of your life, so that you can lighten up your energy to enjoy more harmonious relationships with the people around you. Yoga helps you not only to become fit and healthy physically, but also to be beautiful, confident and positive mentally. You will also become much more stable, open-minded and loving emotionally; more compassionate, sensitive and joyful spiritually. You see, the benefits of practicing Yoga are so multidimensional, that, how can I simply answer in plain “yes or no” to the questions that are sometimes, not so congruent.

We are the beings of body, mind and spirit. Whatever we do to our body, thereby, has direct and indirect effects on our mind as well as heart. Just because we can’t see the mind, emotion or heart that many assume that Yoga is for the body only. When your body is tired and sick, no matter how much you love your spouse, kids, can you talk to them in a nice way? When your mind and emotion are messy with worries and fears, do you notice the loss of appetite and terrible constipation? When you are depressed or feeling rejected, can you remember the grace of God? We go about beating the bushes in finding solutions for whatever problems we might be facing in life; doctor’s pills, TV, the computer games, chocolates and ice creams, alcohols and cigarettes, pub and party, or sleeping...etc. They are the means to suppress or forget the problem momentarily but not the wise solution. It’s more like covering your eyes with hands so that you can believe they are not there. In fact, the very solution lies, in our willingness to turn around our lopsided attitudes. So much easier to spice up your life with a bit of discipline than, to continue burying your nose in the bushes.

My recommendation to any of your problem will be, by doing the very things that you don’t want do; hold onto your temper before you burst it out, do the slow and deliberate five breathings before you say anything nasty to regret later, move the body to exercise, do the 12, 30, 50 or 108 times of the sun salutations, then, lie down on the floor and do the Yoga Nidra… You can see the heaven. You can see yourself floating in the clouds up there. When you wake up, you can see how beautiful your eyes, your glowing face is; how precious your kids and spouse are; how fortunate and blessed your life is. Why not slow down, take one deep breath at a time, and open your eyes and heart to look around? There are so much beauty, goodness and peace all around us. Why not fill your heart with lightness and laughter rather than unnecessary fears and worries of the massive negativity and desperation in the world out there? Our life is so precious to squander away with petty, mind boggling endless chores and clutters. Time is slipping through our fingers. Why not take a Yoga break, to learn to come home? Your home is the body in where your spirit can find its peace. Give yourself a Yoga break regularly; you will find overflowing love for life. If we find ourselves too busy, too occupied, even for that couple of hours for Yoga in a week of 168 hours, then, something is terribly wrong with us. There also won’t be much space in our heart to love, care and enjoy the gifts of life. Then, we are living but not really living… Come this Sunday, to join us for the morning Sun salutions!!