January/February 2014 - Transformation Journal

American Meditation Institute americanmeditation.org

JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2014

AVERILL PARK, NEW YORK

Self-Care for Healthy Living

Would You Drive With A Dirty Windshield?

5 Tools to Clear Your

VISION See p. 8

Photo by polycount.com

Upcoming Classes and Events Inside this Issue: Beginner’s Meditation Comprehensive Meditation Kitchen Yoga If you want to start and maintain a meditation practice, this course is perfect for you. / P. 2

FREE Guided Meditation Every Sunday morning at 9:30 you can experience a “guided meditation” with Leonard. / P. 5

This six week “self-care” program offers the complete science of Yoga, and lifelong support. / P. 3

Transformation

Practical essays by respected Yoga scientists to support and deepen your meditation. / P. 8

Would you like to learn how to prepare healthy and delicious vegetarian food? / P. 4

Yoga Psychology Teaches how to reduce stress, enhance personal health and heal all kinds of relationships. / P. 5

COMPLETE AMI CLASS SCHEDULE: Pages 2-5

AMI Classes for January - February 2014

BEGINNER’S MEDITATION: The Basics for Getting Started Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev), AMI Founder LEVEL I: Have you ever thought about trying meditation, but didn’t know how to get started? In AMI’s two-session course, you’ll receive step-by-step guidance on how to start—and stick with—a daily meditation practice. It’s easy to learn the basics: how to deal with distractions, reduce stress, enhance your body’s immune system and become more focused, creative and content. This class includes a FREE “guided meditation” CD.

What is Meditation?

In meditation you are fully alert, but the mind is relaxed and allowed to let go of its tendencies to think, analyze, remember, solve problems and focus on events of the past or expectations for the future. Meditation helps the mind to slow down its rapid series of thoughts and feelings that often lead to stress and dis-ease, and to replace that mental activity with a quiet, effortless, one-pointed focus of attention and awareness. Thus, meditation is not thinking about problems or analyzing a situation. Meditation is not having an internal conversation or argument with yourself. It is an inner attention that is concentrated, yet relaxed. It does not conflict with any religious tradition.

and body are calm and relaxed, dis-ease from a previously agitated system (that may have intensified issues such as high blood pressure, headaches, back pain, insomnia, digestive problems or PMS) is lessened, and you feel better.

• Meditation can improve all relationships.

By offering you tools to deal with stressful thoughts, meditation helps you remain calm, compassionate and skillful with others and to be more loving toward yourself.

• Meditation makes you smarter. A 2005 Harvard Medical School study showed that meditation increased thickness in the regions of the brain associated with attention, sensory awareness and emotional processing.

Why Should I Meditate?

• Meditation makes you more creative. By

According to ABC World News Tonight, meditation is used today by many Americans including the U. S. Marines and students in classrooms all over the country. In 2011, 10% of U.S. adults (over 20 million) practiced meditation and 3 million patients, on the recommendation of their physicians, established their own meditation practice.

resting the mind from its habit of thinking, planning, judging and worrying, you create more space for new ideas to arise and to be noticed. Meditation also lowers resistance you may have to new concepts and ways of thinking.

• Meditation can make you healthier.

Daily meditation is an essential ingredient in your own personal “self-care health program.” Scientific studies at the Mayo Clinic show that “meditating slows breathing rate, heart rate, lowers blood pressure and aids in the treatment of anxiety, depression and a range of other ailments.”

• Meditation calms the mind. The mind and body are inter-connected. When the mind is calm, the body becomes stronger, more flexible, and less inflamed. When the mind 2

Meditating in a Chair: AMI teaches you to meditate in a straight-back chair. For proper posture, the head, neck and trunk should be comfortably erect (no slouching). For best back comfort, your buttocks should be slightly higher than your knees.

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SATURDAY MORNINGS, 9:30 -10:30AM, $95. (2 WKS) JAN 11 & 18; MAR 8 & 15

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Your entire $95 registration fee will be applied to your COMPREHENSIVE MEDITATION tuition should you decide to register for that additional class within one year.

americanmeditation.org • Tel. (518) 674-8714 TMTM

COMPREHENSIVE MEDITATION: The Heart and Science of Yoga Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev), AMI Founder

LEVEL I: AMI’s acclaimed six-week course teaches you how to apply meditation principles to every situation. This complete “self-care health program” includes all the Beginner’s Meditation material plus breathing techniques, nutrition counseling, easy-gentle yoga exercises, instruction on how to make the best possible choices and lifelong support for your meditation practice. It provides you all the tools you’ll need to ease stress, reduce pain, boost your immune system, heal relationships, enhance your problem solving ability and find inner peace, happiness and security.

A retrospective case study of former Heart and Science of Yoga TM students

recently found these positive, reproducible, long-term health-promoting changes: • Lowered blood pressure • Increased exercise capacity • Reduced stress and fear • Lowered heart rate • Improved restorative sleep • Eliminated irritable bowel • Reduced cholesterol levels • Improved energy levels • Enhanced happiness/optimism • Weight loss • Increased creative capacity • Diminished or extinguished • Increased breathing capacity • Diminished migraines acute and chronic pain TM

The Heart and Science of Yoga Curriculum is Endorsed by

Dr. Oz (Mehmet Oz MD), Dean Ornish MD, Bernie Siegel MD, Larry Dossey MD WEEK 1: YOGA SCIENCE How to use the mind for the best choices How to create new, healthier habits Understanding pain as an agent for healing Increasing energy, will power & creativity Antidotes for worry, stress and depression WEEK 2: MEDITATION Systematic procedure for meditation How to diminish distractions Learning the one-minute meditation Building focus, fearlessness, and strength WEEK 3: BREATHING TECHNIQUES Breath as Medicine How breathing irregularities foster dis-ease Complete (three-part) yogic breath

WEEK 4: PSYCHOLOGY & AYURVEDA How the mind supports optimal health The power of the present moment Building and healing relationships Introduction to Ayurveda WEEK 5: EASY-GENTLE YOGA Yoga stretches and exercises for: muscles, joints, glands and internal organs Physiological benefits of Hatha Yoga WEEK 6: MIND-BODY CARE PLAN The healing power of prayer The practical benefit of contemplation Creating a therapeutic care plan Learning to budget your time Integrating spiritual beliefs

PHYSICIAN ACCREDITATION (15 CMEs)

NURSING ACCREDITATION (15 contact hours)

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of Albany Medical College and The American Meditation Institute.

Albany Medical College is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses, Inc., an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialling Center's Commission on Accreditation.

The Albany Medical College designates this Live activity for a maximum of 15 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS, 6:30 - 9:00PM, $475. (6 WKS) Physicians, Residents, Fellows, PAs, NPs: $775; RNs: $575 JAN 15 – FEB 26 (excluding Jan. 29); MAR 19 – APR 23

Registration Includes: Lifelong support for your meditation practice, a Guided Meditation CD, a complementary subscription to Transformation journal and a copy of The Physiology of EasyGentle Yoga.

Required Texts: The Heart and Science of Yoga : A Blueprint for Peace, Happiness and Freedom from Fear, and The Art of Joyful Living.

TM

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americanmeditation.org • Tel. (518) 674-8714

Welcome the New Year!

This is the perfect season to love yourself by transforming stress into strength.

Regardless of your level of experience, The American Meditation Institute can provide you an easy-to-follow and enjoyable blueprint for self-care and healthy living. In its holistic approach to wellness, AMI combines the best of ancient Eastern wisdom and modern Western science. By learning the scientific meditation techniques taught at AMI, you’ll experience better health and creative, loving, nurturing and rewarding relationships.

Professional

ENDORSEMENTS “Traditional medicine is very good at treating physical illness. However, studies show that the state of one’s health has more to do with lifestyle choices than with heredity or medical care. Patients need something beyond what we can offer them.

Meditation relieves stress, allows clearer thinking and helps to control many chronic illnesses, all at very low cost and a small investment of time. We are fortunate to have the excellence of AMI in our area.”

RICHARD RUBIN MD Internal Medicine, Slingerlands, NY

“The Heart and Science of Yoga comprehensively outlines the holistic benefits of Yoga and brought joy to this heart surgeon’s heart.”

MEHMET OZ MD Host of “The Dr. Oz Show” The AMI Curriculum is also endorsed by:

Dean Ornish MD Bernie Siegel MD Larry Dossey MD

Directions to A MI • 60 Garner Road I-90 Exit #8 (Rt. 43 E). Take Rt. 43 for 4 1/2 miles. In W. Sand Lake, take a right turn at the lighted intersection onto Rt. 150.

Go 1 mile on Rt. 150. Take a left turn on Cnty Rd #52/Sheer Rd (at stone wall). Go 1 mile on Sheer Rd and bear left at fork onto Garner Rd. AMI is the 3rd house on the right.

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KITCHEN YOGA Food as Medicine Leonard and Jenness Perlmutter LEVEL I: Would you like to learn how to prepare the same healthy and delicious foods Leonard and Jenness eat daily? At this hands-on workshop you will consciously prepare and eat lunch and dinner, and you’ll benefit from the Perlmutters’ 36 years of research, experimentation and practice with nutrition, vegetarianism, food combining, Ayurveda, and alkaline therapies. After eating colorful, healthy, whole-food meals during this “food as medicine” training, you will be informed and inspired to transform your own and your family’s diets. Menu preparation will respect your personal Ayurvedic body-type and any dietary restrictions you may have, including vegan and gluten-free food choices.

SATURDAY, 10:00AM - 5:00 PM, $175. (1 DAY) FEB 22

INNER WORLDS - OUTER WORLDS One vibratory field connects all things An Important Video Experience It has been called Akasha, Logos, the primordial OM, the music of the spheres, the Higgs field, and a thousand other names throughout history.

The ancient teachers taught Nada Brahma, the universe is vibration. The vibratory field is at the root of all spiritual experience and scientific investigation. It is the same field of energy that saints, Buddhas, yogis, mystics, priests shamans and seers have observed by looking within themselves. In today’s society, most of humanity has forgotten this ancient wisdom. We have strayed too far into the realm of thinking; what we perceive to be the outer world of form. We have lost our connection to our inner worlds.

This balance, what the Buddha called the middle way, what Aristotle called the golden mean, is the birthright of every human being. It is the common link between all religions, and the link between our inner worlds and our outer worlds.

SATURDAY, 1:00 - 4:30PM, $25 MAR 22

AMI Classes for January - February 2014

THE MEDITATION DIET All the Body is in the Mind

FREE GUIDED MEDITATION Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness Perlmutter

Leonard Perlmutter, AMI Founder Level I: Yes, you can lose weight without drugs, strenuous exercise, calorie counting or expensive gadgets that don’t work. Most overweight people have faced the frustration of trying to lose weight and failing time and again because they don’t understand that all the body is in the mind. The Meditation Diet approaches weight loss without making unrealistic starvation diet demands. This is not another fad diet. Rather it is a common sense approach, based on scientific principles, to help you lose weight naturally! The Meditation Diet provides permanent results through a painless method. Forget about old diet methods that never worked. AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter will share an ancient, revolutionary approach that guarantees positive results through the wisdom of Yoga Science.

TUESDAY NIGHTS, 7:00-8:00PM $125. (3 WKS) MAR 11 - 25

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Your entire $125 registration fee will be applied to your COMPREHENSIVE MEDITATION tuition should you decide to register for that additional class within one year.

YOGA PSYCHOLOGY

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LEVEL I: Have you been thinking about learning to meditate, but just haven’t taken the first step? Each Sunday morning AMI offers a FREE 20-minute guided meditation followed by a satsang (an informational discussion led

by Leonard and Jenness). Participants can choose to sit on comfortable chairs that are provided or cross-legged on the floor. This program provides a convenient way to become familiar with the teachings at AMI. SUNDAYS, 9:30 - 11:00AM, FREE

PREMARITAL COUNSELING Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev), AMI Founder Int’l. Association of Yoga Therapists Love is the essential first ingredient in every marriage, yet the challenges of life can divert our attention from the union we cherish. Our own hopes, attitudes, expectations and assumptions will shape the marriage, determining what joy, stability and fulfillment we create together. This counseling can help you create a loving philosophy of life that can identify the strengths and needs of both partners.

AMI HOME CENTER, By appointment. $125 /hr.

The Gita’s Mind/Body Connection Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness Perlmutter Available by CDL (Computer Distance Learning) Study Yoga Psychology from your own home or anywhere in the world. Call 518.674.8714 for details.

No additional computer software is necessary.

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LEVEL II: The Bhagavad Gita is the most revered scripture in the literature of Yoga Science. As a follow-up to the six-week Comprehensive Meditation course, the Gita will teach you how to further reduce stress and confidently enhance your personal health and creative abilities while providing you a new perspective on all your family and business relationships.

MONDAY NIGHTS, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, $150. (6 WKS) JAN 6 - FEB 24 except Jan 27 & Feb 3; MAR 3 - APR 7

PERSONAL COUNSELING Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev), AMI Founder Int’l. Association of Yoga Therapists Meditational Therapy is a powerful tool of mind/body medicine. With over 35 years of personal practice, Leonard will teach you how to live free from stress and illness.

By observing and harnessing the power of your thoughts, desires and emotions, you can establish a state of personal contentment, creativity and bodily health. Each personal counseling session will teach you how to make choices that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being.

AMI HOME CENTER, By appointment. $125 /hr.

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Dinner • Movie • Satsang “A Late Quartet” Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, Mark Ivanir

Friday, Jan 17, 5:30-10:00 PM

CALENDAR SUNDAY GUIDED MEDITATION & SATSANG Sundays 9:30-11:00 AM with Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness Perlmutter. Love donations appreciated.

JANUARY 2014 DEC 31: NEW YEAR’S EVE (Dinner, Movie, Fire Ceremony) Tuesday, 6:30 - 10:00 PM FREE with RSVP

JAN 6 - FEB 24: YOGA PSYCHOLOGY see p.5 Mon. Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM (6 wk. Bhagavad Gita Study)

JAN 11 & 18: BEGINNER’S MEDITATION Members of a world-renowned string quartet struggle to stay together in the face of death, competing egos and insuppressible lust.

“Silver Linings Playbook” Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro

Friday, Feb 14, 5:30-10:00 PM

see p. 2

Sat. Mornings, 9:30 -10:30 AM (2 weeks)

JAN 15- FEB 26: COMPREHENSIVE MEDITATION see p. 3 Wed. Nights, 6:30 - 9:00 PM (6 weeks)

JAN 17: DINNER-MOVIE-SATSANG see p. 6 Fri. Night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM

FEBRUARY 2014 FEB 14: DINNER-MOVIE-SATSANG see p. 6 Fri. Night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM

FEB 22: KITCHEN YOGA see p.4 Saturday, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM (1 Day)

MARCH 2014

After a stint in a mental institution, Pat Solitano moves back with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife.

Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.

Each film reflects practical Yoga Science. A gourmet vegetarian dinner begins at 5:30 PM, followed by a movie and discussion (satsang). A group meditation concludes the evening. $20 per person (dinner & complementary movie). RSVP required.

American Meditation Institute

Self-Care for Healthy Living January-February, 2014 • Vol. XVII No. 2 ©2014 60 Garner Road, Averill Park, NY 12018

americanmeditation.org \ Tel. (518) 674-8714 ami@americanmeditation.org AMI is a tax exempt, non-profit 501(c)3 educational organization. Donations are fully tax deductible.

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MAR 3 - APR 7: YOGA PSYCHOLOGY see p.5 MAR 8 & 15: BEGINNER’S MEDITATION see p. 2 MAR 11 - 25: MEDITATION DIET see p. 5 MAR 19 - 23 : COMPREHENSIVE MEDITATION see p.3 MAR 22: INNER WORLDS - OUTER WORLDS see p. 4 Speed Bump used with the permission of Dave Coverly and the Cartoonist Group. All rights reserved.

MEDITATION NEWS Harvard Finds New Proof Scientists are getting close to proving what Yoga Scientists have held to be true for thousands of years: meditation can ward off stress and disease. John Denninger, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, is leading a five-year study on how the ancient practices affect genes and brain activity in the chronically stressed. His latest work follows a study he and others published earlier this year showing how mind/body techniques can switch on and off some genes linked to stress and immune function.

While hundreds of studies have been conducted on the mental health benefits of meditation and yoga, they have tended to rely on blunt

tools like participant questionnaires, as well as heart rate and blood pressure monitoring. Only recently have neuro-imaging and genomics technology used in Denninger’s latest studies allowed scientists to measure physiological changes in greater detail.

“There is a true biological effect,” said Denninger. “The kinds of things that happen when you meditate do have effects throughout the body, not just in the brain.” This new study may persuade more doctors to try an alternative route for tackling the source of many modern ailments. Stress-induced conditions can include everything from hypertension and infertility to depression and even the aging process. They

John Denninger, MD, PhD Director of Research, Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

account for 60 to 90 percent of doctor’s visits in the U.S., according to the BensonHenry Institute. The World Health Organization estimates stress costs U.S. companies at least $300 billion a year through absenteeism, turn-over and low productivity.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s

Easing Physician Burnout

Wireless Sensors

Research led by Rebecca Wells, MD at Wake Forest Medical Center indicates that meditation and yoga can be helpful in treating dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Dr. Wells says, “If it can delay the symptoms of cognitive decline even a little, it can contribute to improved quality of life.”

Meditation can reverse physician burnout, according to a new study in the Annals of Family Medicine. Dr. Mary Catherine Beach of Johns Hopkins states, “This study supports meditation as a way to improve the health of both doctors and their patients.

Meditation helps doctors listen better, talk less and see clearer what patients need.”

Scripps Translational Science Institute and the Chopra Foundation have concluded a new study using wireless devices to measure vital signs in a more precise way to determine the effects of meditation on the heart and vascular system. Program director, Dr. Eric Topol, expects results to be released next year.

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Transformation The Journal of Meditation as Mind/Body Medicine

Would You Drive With A Dirty

Windshield?

5 Tools to Clear Your

VISION

By Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) Photo by PBBase.com/Trescot

I was five years old when I began wearing eyeglasses to correct my vision, and the experience was a game changer. For the first time in my life objects that had previously appeared fuzzy and indistinguishable, now became sharp and identifiable. I could see individual leaves on the trees and recognize words written on the blackboard in school. It was not only a thrill, it was an enormous benefit to see the world so clearly.

After that first amazing experience of clarity, however, my glasses often got dirty.

A common accumulation of grease, dust and debris easily rendered my glasses ineffective.

Many times I didn’t even realize how compromised my glasses had become until I found myself unable to read some fine detail in a book. Once I cleaned the lenses, however, everything appeared in sharp focus again.

When I started practicing meditation years later, I again began to notice that my vision and associated decision-making abilities were compromised. But this time, I didn’t need eyeglasses. I had a perfectly good pair of clean glasses with an up-to-date prescription. Yet, in many situations I felt as though I were driving an automobile with a dirty 8

windshield. It was hard to see clearly and rather unsettling to deal with the world from such an inaccurate and unreliable perspective.

As my meditation practice deepened, I began to contemplate what it is that obscures our vision. What are all those metaphoric dead bugs, pine needles, dust, dried leaves, bird droppings and road spray that cover the windshield of the human mind? Like you, I could cite karmas, parents, siblings, children, illness, work, habits, likes and dislikes, but all those seemed more like symptoms than causes.

Finally, through meditation, contemplation and prayer, I discovered the culprits. It seems that a great number of undesirable concepts and attachments are hiding out in the dark recesses of our unconscious mind.

And like some anonymous internet hacker half-way around the world, these mischievous evil-doers seem to revel in compromising our ability to see accurately, and to know what to do and what not to do. Of all the unconscious factors I examined, the most insidious force that I discovered blocking my view and skewing my perceptions was a sense of lack. A lifetime of false (but convincing) input from the senses, ego,

unconscious mind and culture has most of us hypnotized into believing that “I” am a separate, individual––living in a vast universe of objects and relationships that have the power to bring “me” lasting happiness and security.

And motivated by this popular, but erroneous perspective, we human beings scramble to fulfill as many of our desires as possible and thus become happy.

Unfortunately, when we act on this faulty philosophy, just the opposite occurs.

Every time we fulfill a desire, we do experience a short-term gratification, but we also begin to fear that we might lose what we have. And if our desires are thwarted, we experience anger. If anger cannot fulfill our desires, we repress the anger and experience depression. The actual consequences of such a defective paradigm (based on the inherent limitations of the human brain and senses) are two-fold. First, we remain enslaved to the delusion that as an individual, “I” lack.

Second, in the face of our failure to find unbounded happiness and security from desires fulfilled, we often try to compensate ourselves through imprudent lifestyle choices.

We take a literal or imaginary vacation by having too much or too little food, sex, sleep or self preservation (in the form of fear or worry) that soon returns us to our familiar state of unhappiness and insecurity.

But through a consistent practice of meditation and its allied disciplines, we can recognize that our sense of lack is birthed from our reliance on external objects and relationships that are subject to change. For example, let’s assume that one day, when feeling insecure, we decide to purchase securities. That makes us feel happy and secure when the stock market goes up, but when the market goes down and the stocks lose their value we again feel insecure and unhappy, and our sense of lack resurfaces.

The good news is that, as Yoga scientists, we learn to consider every relationship as a means for unbounded happiness and security. Therefore, an emotional roller coaster ride like the stock market can actually help us realize that what we lack is always variable. I lack a new iphone. I lack grandchildren. I lack a swimming pool. I lack my boss’s respect. What we lack is always

unique to us at a certain time and place in our life, and differs from person to person and culture to culture. And as long as we require a crutch to be happy and secure, a sense of lack and insecurity will always remain.

Therefore, what “I” lack is not the problem.

The real problem is that “I” believe that “I” lack. Our problem is not that we lack something; rather, it’s not knowing that we do not lack anything. As the ancient yogis would say, “We are the fullness, bliss and wisdom of pure consciousness having a human experience in time and space through a limited mind-body-sense complex.” And as we use this novel paradigm to experiment with Inner Wisdom, we can begin to see that the mind’s dirty windshield is actually the whole problem, and that a clean windshield is the solution. Just as Paul wrote in First Corinthians, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then [when we purify the windshield of the mind] we will see everything with perfect clarity.”

Armed with this new realization we can begin cleaning the dirty windshield of the mind. For that profoundly rewarding effort, the following five tools can be very helpful.

Breath The breath is the physical manifestation of the mind. Although we cannot will the mind to calm down, we can establish a serene, contented and creative mind through conscious regulation of the breath. When the breath is full and even, without jerks, pauses or sounds, the mind becomes an asset to daily living rather than a liability.

The breath and the mind are inextricably linked––like two sides of the same coin.

Through your own personal experience you may already know that your respiration always reflects the state of your mind. The rhythm, rate and capacity of your breathing changes instantly in reaction to your thoughts, desires and emotions. When emotional shock or strain is experienced in life, you can immediately observe its effects on the breathing process. When you are tense or surprised, you may hold your breath. When you are stressed, the breath may become rapid or shallow. When the breath begins to flow freely, smoothly and silently through 9

the nostrils without any jerks, pauses or sounds, the mind experiences a state of joyful and calm stillness and creative confidence. This mental stillness allows the mind the clarity of vision to know what is to be done and what is not to be done.

The goal of the science of breath is to re-establish the body’s natural respiratory pattern––not by shallow breathing from the upper chest, which reflects an abundance of unaddressed stress, but rather, by consciously employing the diaphragm, one of the body’s strongest muscles, in your breathing process.

A full and smooth diaphragmatic breath is composed of three distinct, yet seamlessly integrated phases of inhalation: abdominal, thoracic and clavicular through the use of the belly, rib cage and collarbones.

To feel the first phase of proper diaphragmatic breathing, imagine a balloon positioned just behind your navel. When you inhale, the balloon inflates and your belly gently swells outward. When you exhale, the imaginary balloon deflates and the belly contracts gently. Physiologically, the diaphragm, in its resting state, resembles the dome of an open parachute. The abdominal phase of proper inhalation begins when the diaphragm contracts downward flattening into a disk, thereby expanding the thoracic cavity and causing the belly to protrude slightly.

Exhalation then follows more or less automatically when the diaphragm relaxes and returns to its resting dome shape in exhalation, compressing the lungs.

A complete yogic breath, however, is more than the mere use of the abdomen and diaphragm. As the inhalation continues in its second (thoracic) phase, the belly expands outward and the lower ribs expand upward and forward, enlarging the thoracic cavity further and increasing the circumference of the chest. The lungs fill this increased space, permitting oxygenation of blood in the lower lungs. In the final phase of the inhalation the clavicles (collar bones) rise slightly, allowing oxygen into the upper portions of the lungs.

When all three phases of diaphragmatic breathing are integrated into one continuous motion, the diaphragm muscle gently massages the vegus nerve. This stimulation diminishes the survival instinct of fight, 10

flight or freeze orchestrated by the brain’s amygdala and hypothalamus. In effect, diaphragmatic breathing reduces the call for adrenaline throughout the body, and instead of repeatedly reacting in a heightened state of alert and stress, the mind experiences a relaxation that enables us to act calmly and creatively. When you establish a full, smooth and quiet diaphragmatic breath through the nostrils as your default breath, the windshield of the mind is automatically, but temporarily, cleaned of its problematic debris.

Mantra In any new endeavor we need a guide to help direct our energies toward the attainment of our chosen goal or desire. In the transformative science of Yoga, the mantra is our leader.

For every action there is an equal reaction. When we continually give our attention to the mantra, there will be an effect. We may not be aware of the mantra’s effect immediately, but its subtle power is continuously stored in the potential state––available to us when it is most needed. When listened to regularly throughout the day (japa) and in seated, silent meditation, the mantra reduces stress, anxiety and pain; strengthens will power; facilitates the freedom to become an instrument of love, forgiveness and compassion (even in the face of our own fear, anger and self-willed desire); and slowly cleans the obstructing dirt from the windshield of the mind.

A mantra may be a single word or a series of words, usually including the name of the Divine Reality. As a result of giving our attention to the mantra, love, fearlessness and strength are stored in the unconscious mind to help us fulfill the purpose of life. An understanding of the word mantra can be found in its etymology. The word mantra joins the Sanskrit words man, “the mind,” and tri, “to cross.” When used regularly and earnestly, the mantra can help us cross over the turbulence of the mind to the sea of peace and bliss. The mantra is also an instrument that purifies and calms the mind by altering its conditioning. Mantras are most effective when heard mentally from within rather than spoken or perceived through the external auditory sense. Every sound has a form. An

oscilloscope is a scientific instrument that visually depicts the shape and design of sound waves. The mantra is considered a subtle seed that will grow into a concrete form through our continued, one-pointed attention. Remember, the mantra represents a perfect harmonic or vibration. In subtle terms, the mantra represents our clarity of vision in an as yet unmanifest form. As we give our full one-pointed attention to the syllables of the mantra, it eventually washes dirt and debris off the windshield.

Meditation Every aspect of life requires action. Even inaction is an action. As long as we are alive, we cannot avoid taking actions, and every action has a consequence. Even monks who renounce worldly possessions and relationships to live in a remote monastery must continue to make decisions concerning their own body, breath, senses, thoughts, desires and emotions.

Since there is no escape from performing action, why not choose those actions that cause the least amount of friction in our lives––the least amount of dirt on our mental windshield? A regular meditation practice provides us three essential tools to clean away unwanted debris that causes pain, misery and bondage. The first tool is detachment. Every time we sit for meditation we train the mind to withdraw or detach our attention from the unhealthy habits and concepts that currently render our windshield unserviceable. The second tool is discrimination. Once our mind learns how to detach itself from the litter it has accumulated, meditation trains the mind how to redirect its attention toward its discriminative faculty (buddhi)––to learn which actions can lead us to happiness, health and security. The third tool is will power. The practice of meditation does not eliminate all thoughts from the mind. Meditation simply teaches the mind how to strengthen and employ the muscles of will power to serve our discriminative wisdom rather than the attractive debris presently covering the windshield.

Contemplation: “Who am I?” The great value of this human life is that it

provides both the capacity and the means to end our suffering. Beginning today, and for the rest of your life, contemplate the question “Who am I?” If you are earnest in your effort––allowing consciousness to observe consciousness––the answer will appear, and as it does, your vision will become clarified.

Slowly, slowly, you will become a seer––one who sees things as they are and not merely as they appear from behind a clouded windshield.

Whenever there is any form of consternation in the mind, we are reacting to relationships from a limited perspective. It’s a clear indication that the ego––not the real You––is driving the bus. When thoughts, desires and emotions arise in your awareness, do not automatically pursue them with your attention, but rather, inquire: “To whom did this thought arise?” It doesn’t matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, inquire with diligence: “To whom has this thought arisen?” The answer that will emerge is: “To me.” If you earnestly inquire “Who am I?” at this point, the mind goes deeper to consider its Source, and the thought that arose will become less seductive. Seeking the answer to the question “Who am I?” will eventually give rise to the realization that within you––at your core––dwells fullness and bliss, not lack and insecurity.

This dialogue requires attentive introspection. Be sensitive and patient as you consider your feelings and thoughts. Be gentle with yourself, as you would with any good friend. Don’t be judgmental with yourself, and don’t entertain regrets or guilt.

When we begin to trust our inner Self, we soon realize that a constantly faithful companion and guide resides within to lead us through all the currents and cross-currents life has to offer.

Buddhi Buddhi is the name given to the function of the mind that has the power to reflect unerring, inner intuitive wisdom from the superconscious portion of the mind. Buddhi is also known as the conscience, and as the Holy Spirit. When supported by the desires for self-discipline and Self-realization, the buddhi See DIRTY WINDSHIELD, page 15

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The Most Important Thing DISCRIMINATION

By Linda Johnsen

Photo / smartfulcoach.com

What is the single most important thing in spiritual life?

Every Yoga scientist I ask has a different answer. Some say bhakti, all-consuming devotion to God. Others say don’t obsess so much about God, focus on seva, selfless service to humanity instead. Another answer I’ve heard is satsang, which means spending as much time as possible with sages, or at the very least with other people who are also sincerely on the spiritual path. This keeps you inspired, insightful and more likely to be conscientious about your spiritual practices.

Swami Rama of the Himalayas completely surprised me with his answer to the question. He said nothing is more important in spiritual life than viveka, discriminating intelligence. What? Viveka means the ability to tell what’s of lasting value and what’s just a temporary fix. It helps you distinguish between real and unreal, true or false, what’s genuinely helpful and what’s enjoyable but ultimately self-destructive.

All of us watch our friends and family members struggle with a lack of discriminating awareness. There’s the uncle who loves to be sociable but doesn’t realize he alienates everyone when he drinks too much. There’s the mother who believes her kids feel loved when she indulges their every whim. She doesn’t recognize that their incessant 12

demand for instant gratification and the resulting lack of self-discipline will serve them poorly when they go out into the world. Being clear and honest with oneself could prevent so much grief! But stubborn clinging to bad ideas—and the need to interpret every circumstance in life in a way that flatters our ego—can cloud our judgment.

It’s so easy to delude ourselves! My friend Marie was madly in love with a handsome yoga student named Greg. Every time they passed each other in the hall at the local yoga center she sensed an unmistakable spark of magic between them. She couldn’t understand why he didn’t ask her out.

Well, I knew the reason—it was because he was secretly engaged to Peggy, with whom he was madly in love. Marie’s existence barely registered in his awareness.

Greg and Peg had sworn me to secrecy so I couldn’t tell Marie the truth, and all my subtle attempts to suggest that perhaps Greg simply wasn’t interested in her—that she was just imagining he was attracted to her— fell on deaf ears. It’s nearly impossible to listen to good advice when we don’t want to!

All of us have had a crush on someone at one point or another, mistakenly believing the feelings might be reciprocated. This is called moha in Sanskrit, meaning a sort of delusory infatuation. We are hit by Cupid’s

arrow (in India they’d say by Kama’s flowery darts) and our ability to see the situation realistically is shot to pieces.

But there are far more serious ways in which we subvert ourselves when we can’t see life with clarity. Most people naively mistake their own opinions for reality, never stopping to evaluate whether the “certainties” on which they build their lives are actually true. We constantly get in our own way by confusing our personal biases with God’s will, when the deity we’re really serving is our own egotism. “What my political party says is always right; what yours claims is always wrong.” “I have the right to force my religious beliefs on you because I know what God wants and you don’t.”

“Alternative medical modalities are always better than modern Western medicine, which is totally evil” or “Modern Western medicine is always right and people who experiment with alternative treatments are nuts.” Life is rarely so black or white; reality usually lives in the gray zone in between.

Heeding the Inner Guru In India, saints and sages have always been valued for their ability to arbitrate between delusion and reality. These gurus’ years of meditation and nonattachment give them a higher perspective that cuts decisively through their students’ wrongheaded thought processes. The guru has earned the spiritual authority to speak bluntly to erring personalities in a way family and friends cannot— everyone knows the guru is objective and has no ulterior motive when offering advice.

Historically, Indian maharajas had spiritual advisors who were allowed, without penalty, to criticize them, speaking truth to power, when they made serious errors of judgment. Also, on those rare occasions when a fully self-realized yogi arrived at his court, the king was obliged to rise from his throne and bow before the saint, who was his superior in discriminating intelligence.

Counsel from such a wise adept was more valuable than the kingdom itself.

It’s very easy—whether you’re a king or a commoner—to see other people’s shortcomings, but it’s incredibly difficult to be honest with oneself about one’s own faults.

My friend Holly is the living stereotype of “the little old lady” behind the steering wheel: she drives 35 in the 55 mph zone.

She’s completely oblivious to the quarter mile backup of irate drivers who aren’t able to pass her safely on the winding roads in our county. But if she’s in a hurry and the driver in front of her is going beneath the speed limit, she’s so angry she spits fire.

Don’t we all have a problem recognizing that often the things we criticize others for, we’re guilty of ourselves? I flinch when I hear people speaking about others in a petty way, but don’t flinch enough when I catch myself doing it! A guru figure can provide the insight we lack about our own attitudes and behavior. Because we respect him or her so much, we take their comments seriously, rather than self-servingly dismissing them.

The problem of course is that not all of us are fortunate enough to have an enlightened mentor living nearby. We need to cultivate our own viveka, our discriminating awareness, so we can find our way through the morass of our confused understanding.

We do this through regular, focused meditation, which helps us expand the part of our mind that’s self-aware. As our self-insight broadens, we’re no longer constantly driven by unconscious habits and untested assumptions. We start paying full attention to what we’re saying, doing and thinking, keeping a firm hand on the steering wheel of our mind.

In this manner we begin to veer away from a neurotic engagement with the world characterized by constant worry, unfulfilled craving, and inevitable, bitter disappointment. We can be more realistic about what this troubled world has to offer us, and shift our focus to what we can offer the world.

Studying the scriptures of our tradition and carefully applying its precepts to our own behavior is also a practical way to hone our discrimination.

Coming to Grips with Reality “Lead me from the unreal to the real,” begins a 5,000 year-old prayer from the Upanishads. This sacred text is not about seeing through our romantic fantasies or consciously observing highway speed limits.

It’s about igniting our discrimination so we 13

can blossom spiritually. The second line goes, “Lead me from darkness to light.”

Ultimately it’s about dying as a free and illumined soul. The third line concludes, “Lead me from death to immortality.”

In the Vedic tradition immortality means that at death our soul is free to take another body, to abandon embodied life altogether, or to attain a vastly expanded state of consciousness that both contains and transcends the material cosmos. Typically we get so caught up in the minutia of our daily lives that we forget there are larger possibilities for those of us who deepen our experience of the Divine in all things. But to consciously direct our afterlife we need to be serious about spiritual awakening right now. That means being particular about how we focus our attention—on things that we’ll lose the day we die (or even sooner), or on skills and qualities we’ll need not just in this life but in our lives to come. Serenity, wisdom, compassion— these make better travel companions in the long run than fame or fortune. There is a lot we need to do to survive and thrive in this body, but viveka reminds us not to forget bigger picture. The soul’s life is far, far longer than that of the body, and its needs are neglected at our peril.

India’s great epic, the Mahabharata, notes that the biggest mistake we make is assuming that we won’t die, at least not for a very, very long time. Having done hospice work, I’ve been amazed at how some people, even hours from death, remain in denial about the impending reality. Because we don’t believe death is imminent, we’re not in a rush to prepare for it. We ignore our discriminating intelligence when it prompts us to make spiritual practice a larger part of our lives, to turn our focus from the unreal to the real.

The Vedic tradition claims that mankind experiences four great ages, a first of relative ease and happiness, a second, shorter one of some increasing difficulty, a third and still briefer era of serious problems, and a fourth and by far the shortest (the age we’re in now) where the world order completely collapses.

This is a metaphor for each individual human life. In our childhood an aeon seemed to pass between one Christmas and the next. By the 14

time we reach old age, the years whiz by so fast we’ve barely finished wrapping Christmas presents for our grandchildren before it’s time to go Christmas shopping again. It’s said that at the point of death, one’s entire life seems to have flashed by in a split second.

This is the reality we close our eyes to.

Swami Rama urged us to use our discrimination to put this physical life in the broader context of spiritual existence. We need to recognize that in order to become free from unhappiness and fear we must realize our true nature, and strive day and night toward that most important of goals. Discriminating intelligence helps us find an appropriate and fulfilling career path, choose friends and partners who will support the best in us, and make healthy lifestyle decisions. But most importantly, it helps us understand that this universe is impermanent, our time in our present body is limited, and that to face death freely and fearlessly tomorrow, we must expand our experience of a higher reality today.

Linda Johnsen, M.S. is the award winning author of Daughters of the Goddess: The Women Saints of India, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Hinduism, and six other books on spiritual traditions.

Available at the AMI Bookstore and Booksellers Nationwide

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DIRTY WINDSHIELD, continued from page 11

awakens us to a higher state of consciousness that skillfully guides us beyond the unconscious conditioning that litters our mental windshield and prompts our unskillful actions.

When we consult the buddhi within before we act in the world, our discriminating thoughts, words and actions effectively transform the debilitating and contractive power of fear, anger, self-willed desires and unexamined concepts into expansive, positive reserves of energy, will power and creativity. The daily practice of using the buddhi lengthens the space between stimulus and response, teaches us how to discriminate between passing pleasure and perennial joy, and helps diminish our expectations, worries and judgments in every relationship. It clears our mental windshield, focuses the energy of the mind, and motivates us increasingly to utilize our human, rather than our animal resources. As a consequence, we experience a peace of mind that expresses itself as contentment, tranquility, happiness and creativity.

Here’s the take-home message for all of us. It’s not necessary to drive through life and its many challenging relationships with a dirty windshield. That hindrance is not only annoying, it can be terribly dangerous as well.

The science, philosophy and practices of Yoga can do something that nothing else can: it provides us access to our own inner, intuitive GPS––global positioning system.

When we come to know our Essential Nature as wholeness rather than separateness, the road tar of ignorance that has blinded our vision and impaired our ability to make skillful decisions can be dissolved. When we are no longer dependent on outside sources for direction, our sense of lack simply evaporates, and in its place arise the clarity of vision, imperishable comfort and brilliance of confidence that come only from purified insight.

Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) is available for speaking engagements. For information, contact Mary Helen Holloway at (518) 674-8714.

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Please Support our 17th Annual Appeal Call (518) 674-8714 or Donate Online at: americanmeditation.org/MakeADonation.aspx On November 17, 2013, AMI’s Buddhi Yoga Labyrinth was dedicated.

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15

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