January - March 2015 Transformation Journal

American Meditation Institute americanmeditation.org

JANUARY - MARCH 2015

AVERILL PARK, NEW YORK

Self-Care for Healthy Living

Learning to Love the Food that

LOVES YOU

Photo: philly.com

Upcoming Classes and Events Inside this Issue: AMI Meditation Diet Beginner’s Meditation Comprehensive Meditation 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. 4

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

This three week course is not just another fad diet. It is based on scientific principles. / P. 4

Transformation

Practical essays to support and deepen your meditation by AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) and other respected Yoga scientists. / P. 8

COMPLETE AMI CLASS SCHEDULE: Pages 2-5

AMI Classes for January - March 2015

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.

Why Should I Meditate?

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.

• 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

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.

• Meditation makes you more creative. By 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.

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 -11:00AM, $95. (2 WKS) JAN 10 & 17; MAR 7 & 14

•*

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 • Lowered heart rate • Reduced cholesterol levels • Weight loss

• Increased breathing capacity • Increased exercise capacity • Improved restorative sleep • Improved energy levels

• Increased creative capacity • Diminished migraines • Reduced stress and fear • Eliminated irritable bowel

• Enhanced happiness/optimism • Diminished or extinguished 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 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

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 WEDNESDAY NIGHTS, 6:30 - 9:00PM, $475. (6 WKS) Physicians $775; PAs, NPs, Psychologists: $675; RNs: $575 JAN 14 – FEB 18; MAR 4 – APR 8 Required Texts: The Heart and Science of Yoga

TM

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.

and The Art of Joyful Living.

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 providership 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 claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The American Meditation Institute (AMI) has been approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

AMI maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

PSYCHOLOGIST ACCREDITATION (15 CE hours)

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

A MI MEDITATION DIET

Our Founder LEONARD PERLMUTTER is a noted educator and founder of The American Meditation Institute. He is the author of The Heart and Science of Yoga TM and the mind/body medicine journal, Transformation. Leonard has served on the faculties of the New England Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine, the Himalayan Yoga Teachers Association and the College of Saint Rose. He is a disciple of Swami Rama––who, in laboratory conditions at the Menninger Institute, demonstrated that blood pressure, heart rate and the autonomic nervous system can be voluntarily controlled. Leonard has presented courses at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the Commonwealth Club, the Albany Medical College and The New York Times Yoga Forum with Dean Ornish, MD.

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

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) FEB 10 - 24

• FREE GUIDED MEDITATION Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness Perlmutter LEVEL I: Join AMI’s FREE 20-minute guided meditation and satsang teaching. Participants may sit on comfortable chairs or on the floor.

SUNDAYS, 9:30 - 11:00AM, FREE

Save this Date!

Dr. Oz (Mehmet Oz MD), Dean Ornish MD Bernie Siegel MD, Larry Dossey MD

PHYSICIANS’ 30 CME CONFERENCE

Directions to A MI • 60 Garner Road

Cranwell Resort & Spa, Lenox, MA

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.

NOVEMBER 3-7, 2015

The AMI Curriculum is also endorsed by:

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All the Body is in the Mind

For Details: (518) 674-8714 americanmeditation.org/courses/physicians-cme-retreat

AMI Classes for January - March 2015

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YOGA PSYCHOLOGY BHAGAVAD GITA STUDY

Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness Perlmutter Available by CDL (Computer Distance Learning) Attend this in-depth course from your own home or anywhere in the world. Call 518.674.8714 for details.

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LEVEL II: In continuous six week installments this course presents the profound teachings of the Bhagavad Gita as a handbook on the science of life and the art of living. If you are seeking a manual or guide for the supreme task of living in the world today, this ongoing study will provide you practical wisdom, meaning and purpose for your life. Each week Leonard and Jenness will teach you how to reduce stress, confidently enhance your health and creative abilities, while providing you a fresh, positive perspective on all your family and business relationships.

MONDAY NIGHTS, 6:30 - 8:30 PM, $150. (6 WKS) JAN 5 - FEB 9; FEB 16 - MAR 30 excl. Mar 23

THE CHAKRA SYSTEM

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Balancing Subtle Body Energies Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness Perlmutter Available by CDL (Computer Distance Learning) Study The Chakra System from your own home or anywhere in the world. Call 518.674.8714 for details.

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LEVEL II: The power to attain our own perfect health lies within each of us. It is simply a matter of attaining the necessary knowledge, and then cultivating our determination and will to employ the knowledge we have learned. This three-week course provides a detailed understanding of the meaning, anatomy, psychology and function of the ancient yogic chakra system. By learning to balance the chakras through the advanced mind/body medicine practices taught each week, you can increase your vitality and power of concentration, and rediscover your inner source of physical and mental health and well being.

SATURDAY AFTERNOONS, 2:00 - 4:00PM, $195 APR 11 - 25 (3 wks)

A MI STRESS MANAGEMENT Techniques to Transform Stress Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) AMI Founder LEVEL I: The pace of modern life makes stress management a necessary skill for everyone.

Many people juggle multiple responsibilities: work, family, school, caregiving and a variety of other relationships. Learning to identify stressful situations and implement solutions is the key to successful stress reduction. Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life. Remember that your brain comes hard-wired with an alarm system for your protection. When your brain perceives a threat, it signals your body to release a burst of hormones to fuel your capacity to respond. This has been termed the fight-flightfreeze response. Once the threat is gone, your body is meant to return to a normal relaxed state. Unfortunately, the nonstop stress of modern life means your alarm system remains on high alert and never shuts off. Over time, high levels of stress can lead to serious health problems. That’s why stress management is so important. AMI Stress Management provides you a range of helpful tools (like diaphragmatic breathing) to reset your alarm system.

Don’t wait until stress has a negative impact on your health, relationships or quality of life.

Start today to learn a range of simple and easy to use stress management techniques that have worked for over 5,000 years.

TUESDAY NIGHT, 7:00 - 8:30PM, $75 JAN 6; APR 7

PERSONAL COUNSELING Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev), AMI Founder Int’l. Association of Yoga Therapists Meditational therapy is the world’s oldest form of mind/body medicine. With over 35 years of personal practice, Leonard will teach you how to observe and harness the power of your thoughts, desires and emotions to enhance your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being.

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

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CALENDAR

Dinner • Movie • Satsang

FREE: SUNDAY GUIDED MEDITATION & SATSANG

Friday, Jan 16, 5:30-10:00 PM

2015 FILM DISCUSSION SERIES

Sundays 9:30-11:00 AM with Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness

JANUARY 2015

All is Lost

JAN 5-FEB 9: GITA/YOGA PSYCHOLOGY see p.5 Mon. Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM (6 week Gita Study)

JAN 6: AMI STRESS MANAGEMENT see p. 5 Tues. Night, 7:00 - 8:30 PM

JAN 10 & 17: BEGINNER’S MEDITATION

see p. 2

Sat. Mornings, 9:30 - 11:00 AM (2 weeks)

JAN 14 - FEB 18: COMPREHENSIVE MEDITATION see p.3 Wed. Nights, 6:30 - 9:00 PM (6 weeks)

Robert Redford This survival film features a cast of one: Robert Redford, as a man stranded in the Indian Ocean. Conflict and drama are heightened as each new challenge requires the man’s mastery and dedication to yogic principles.

JAN 16: DINNER, MOVIE, SATSANG see p. 6 Fri. Night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM

Friday, Feb 13, 5:30-10:00 PM

FEBRUARY 2015 FEB 10 - 24: AMI MEDITATION DIET

see p. 4

Tues. Nights, 7:00 - 8:00 PM (3 weeks)

FEB 13: DINNER, MOVIE, SATSANG see p. 6 Fri. Night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM

FEB 16- MAR 30: GITA/YOGA PSYCHOLOGY see p.5 Mon. Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM (6 wk.Gita Study excl. Mar 23)

MARCH 2015 MAR 4- APR 8: COMPREHENSIVE MEDITATION see p. 3 Wed. Nights, 6:30 - 9:00 PM (6 weeks)

MAR 7 & 14: BEGINNER’S MEDITATION

see p. 2

Sat. Mornings, 9:30 - 11:11 AM (2 weeks)

A feud between adjacent restaurants––one operated by a recently relocated Indian family and the other by an acclaimed French chef––is resolved when all parties employ the yogic injunction to, “include all, exclude none.”

Friday, Mar 13, 5:30-10:00 PM

MAR 13: DINNER, MOVIE, SATSANG see p. 6 Fri. Night, 5:30 - 10:00 PM

Print & eBook Versions Now available at the AMI Bookstore and Booksellers Nationwide

American Meditation Institute

Self-Care for Healthy Living

January - March, 2015 • Vol. XVIII No. 2 ©2015 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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CALVARY delivers Easter and Passover life lessons on dharma, forgiveness, death and resurrection. This edgy thriller dramatically presents the yogic teaching, “ the form of the seed must die in order for the plant to sprout.”

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.

RSVP required. $20 per person - (dinner & complementary movie)

NOTES & QUOTES Meditation Exercises the Mind to Treat Attention Deficits From an article in http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/ by Daniel Goleman Which will it be—the berries or the chocolate dessert? Homework or the Xbox? Finish that memo, or roam Facebook? Such everyday decisions test a mental ability called cognitive control, the capacity to maintain focus on an important choice while ignoring other impulses. Poor planning, wandering attention and trouble inhibiting impulses all signify lapses in cognitive control. Now a growing stream of research suggests that strengthening this mental muscle through meditation may help children and adults cope with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (A.D.H.D.) and its adult equivalent, attention deficit disorder (A.D.D.). The studies come amid growing disenchantment with the first-line treatment for these conditions: drugs.

In a large study published last year in The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, researcher James M. Swanson, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine observed, “Meditation techniques seem to be training the same areas of the brain that have reduced activity in A.D.H.D. It seems to get at the causes.”

Meditation is a cognitive control exercise that enhances “the ability to self-regulate your internal distractions,” said Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco. According to a recent report in Clinical Neurophysiology,

Illustration: exercisesbest.us

adults with A.D.D. were taught through meditation to monitor their thoughts and feelings without judgments or other reactivity. Rather than simply being carried away from a chosen focus, they noticed when their attention had wandered, and were able to renew their concentration. This training led to a decline in impulsive errors, a problem typical of A.D.D., while the cognitive therapy helped them be less self-judgmental about mistakes or distractedness.

Stephen Hinshaw, a specialist in developmental psychopathology at the University of California, Berkeley, said the time was ripe to explore the utility of non-drug interventions like meditation. Dr. Swanson agreed. “I was a skeptic until I saw the data,” he said, “and the findings are promising.”

Thoughts on “Radical Healing” by Rudolph Ballentine, MD Whether large or small, use your symptoms as clues to the healing process at this moment. Ask yourself what cleansing needs to be done, what food choices need to be changed, what you need to let go from the past. Allow yourself to see your “defects” more clearly, own them, value their utility for you. They unlock mysteries, open doors.

Don’t hide from them. Explore, experiment,

use your body as a laboratory. Learn from your food, your body, and from your mental and emotional challenges. Rejoice in the challenge of this moment, this sensation, this opportunity. Make a habit of letting go the old and moving into the new. Let your journey be a constant delight, a daring dance.

Make radical healing a way of life, a celebration of your presence on this earth.

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Blood Vessels

Eyes

Joints

Prostate

Teeth

Ears

Skin

Lymphonodus

Thyroid

Muscles

Brain

Immune System

Learning to Love the Food that Loves

YOU

By Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev)

(ALL OF YOU)

Heart

Lungs

Liver

Bladder

Spleen

Lg Intestine

Sm Intestine

Gall Bladder

Stomach

Kidneys

Uterus

Pancreas Photo: 123rf.com

Do you really think that you’re loving yourself by eating three hamburgers topped with french fried onion rings and drenched in an exotic, savory “secret sauce?” If you asked TV host Guy Fieri of the popular Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show, or any of his masterful guest cooks, they’d probably tell you that they love the seductive, flesh-based, sense gratifying, comfort food they prepare each week. But in truth, that kind of food does not love you or me. It’s really poison!

Not that I don’t love good, tasty food.

I do! It’s just that at this stage of life I need food that keeps my mind/body in tip-top shape. This life is a marathon––not a sprint.

A few weeks ago, as I intently watched an episode of what Fieri affectionately refers to as his “Triple D” show, the focus of my one-pointed attention was suddenly distracted by the copious rush of saliva filling my mouth. I must confess that for a vegetarian and rather disciplined eater for almost forty years, the experience was both shocking and instructive. First, I was astonished that my senses and unconscious habits were responding in such a juvenile, non-discriminating 8

manner to the outrageously sensual prompts.

Secondly, I felt an abiding compassion for other TV viewers who might not be armed with the tools provided by a daily meditation practice. I knew that if I were still a child––or even an adult innocently handicapped by an untrained mind––I too would likely succumb to the call of my senses and habit patterns.

Fortunately, however, I’ve been meditating for many years. This practice has helped me cultivate the tools of detachment, one-pointed attention, discrimination and will power that train the senses, ego and unconscious mind to defer to the wiser perspective of my conscience (known as buddhi in Sanskrit). Because of this effort, I can now see every relationship as an instructive opportunity that can enhance my happiness, health and security.

With the increased clarity of vision found through meditation, I saw that the lesson presented me by Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives was an important one. It reminded me in no uncertain terms that I needed to eat less of the food my senses and habits love, and to eat more of the food that loves me––all of me.

If that sounds like repression or denial of the “good life,” I guarantee you it is just the opposite. Imagine for a moment that everything you’ve chosen to eat today is now benefitting the health and vitality of your blood vessels, eyes, joints, prostate, teeth, ears, skin, lymph system, thyroid, brain, muscles, heart, lungs, liver, bladder, spleen, intestines, gall bladder, stomach, kidneys, uterus and pancreas. And as a bonus, those choices are also providing you more flexibility, energy, optimism, creativity, improved stool formation, shorter stool transit times and lower health care costs. With all those positive benefits, would you still consider not eating a “Triple D” meal to be a denial of the “good life?”

My personal experience indicates that the predominant cultural concept of the “good life”––the one authored by the senses, endorsed by the ego, and stored on the hard drive of the unconscious mind––is highly inaccurate! And this erroneous, unexamined, unconscious concept, which motivates you to love and consume excess sugar, salt, fat, flesh, carbs and alcohol, is not leading you to the happiness and satisfaction promised by Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Instead, it’s delivering you directly to the doorstep of the real “Triple D”––namely death, decay and decomposition.

In actuality, it only takes a little time and energy to train the mind through meditation to begin incorporating healthy, nutritious, flavorful, and life-affirming food choices into your everyday life. But I must warn you, your good intentions will be tested by the powerful force of emotional attachments. So you should anticipate having to deal with some pushback.

Since the human body is comprised of food and water, you are redefining yourself every time you bite off, swallow and consume a portion of your Mother, Earth. In fact, the personal philosophy you bring to this spiritually intimate relationship and your attitude toward the entire miraculous process reflect your concepts about every other relationship. So, is it any wonder that changing eating habits is so challenging? If maintaining a well balanced diet were solely a matter of making appropriate choices about nutri-

tion, you would probably be a much healthier person than you are today. In practical terms, however, your eating habits are directly linked to powerful unconscious emotional forces that seek happiness and security, and which tether you to your family––the people with whom you regularly eat.

Imagine that after reading a few inspiring health articles, you told your closest relatives and friends that you’ve decided to no longer eat the Standard American Diet (SAD) your family normally consumes.

Instead, you’re going to become a vegetarian.

You announce you will start eliminating flesh from your diet; no more poultry, pork, beef or fish, and at the same time you will begin to reduce or eliminate sugar, salt, unhealthy fats, simple carbs and alcohol. You can imagine how disturbed others would be.

“Are you kidding? Are you no longer part of our group?” they’d wonder. “Are you rejecting our values and us? Are we not worthy of your identification anymore?” When you break with a group norm, your actions can be psychologically threatening to others, and their reactions can consciously or unconsciously pressure you to abandon your worthwhile intentions. But that’s just the kind of challenge that a daily meditation practice can help you with.

Meditation is an engineering science.

Through daily practice, meditation can re-engineer your unconscious mental software while providing you a nurturing framework for positive change. Meditation, learned under a competent teacher, can provide you the inspiration and clarity of mind to make the necessary conscious, discriminating choices concerning what, when and under which circumstances you eat. And as you’ll learn by meditating, only when your food choices reflect the discriminative faculty of your conscience (buddhi) will your mindbody-sense complex be nourished and strengthened to the fullest extent possible.

You see, meditation does something that nothing else can do. It introduces you to your eternal Self (known as the Christ in Christianity and Allah in Islam). By meditating every day, you access a super-conscious wisdom that awakens you to the realization that you are actually a citizen of two worlds.

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You already know that you’re a mortal citizen of the material world of change, but you also come to know that you’re an immortal citizen of the subtle, changeless, transcendent world of consciousness and spirit. Your acceptance of your dual citizenship makes it possible for you to view the body-mind-sense-complex as a transitory vehicle of action that houses the real You. When you contemplate and incorporate this Truth into all your relationships, the act of eating instantaneously becomes a sacrament––a life-enhancing offering that leads to physical vitality and mental creativity.

Once you begin to meditate, the food you eat will no longer be considered simply an entertainment experience nor something that just keeps you alive. Slowly, slowly, you realize that food choice is one of the spiritual “fields of action” upon which you engage the world. On this particular field of action (as on all others) you are simply asked to do only one thing: base your outer action on the inner intuitive wisdom of your eternal Self.

At the last supper Jesus, speaking as the Christ, voices this understanding when He offers a prayer over a piece of bread, saying in part, “This is My body which is for you.

Do this in remembrance of Me.” In Christian as well as in yogic terms, food––like every other object in the material world––is considered to be the “body of Christ.” Food is a manifestation of the One Supreme Reality that is intended for your well being. If the buddhi (conscience or Holy Spirit) advises that a particular food is a shreya (the choice leading to perennial well being and joy), you are asked to consume the food as an offering.

If the buddhi indicates the desired food is a preya (a choice merely serving an ego or sense gratification) you are to sacrifice the desire as an offering. Either way, your skillful action will bring you a revitalized immune system, a brilliance of confidence and the necessary comfort to face all life’s challenges without pain, misery or bondage.

The certainty with which I offer you this knowledge has not come to me through books or lectures delivered by nutritional experts. I have learned the effectiveness of food as medicine through my own personal battles with the painful medical conse10

quences of eating too much sugar, salt, fat, flesh, simple carbs and alcohol. In 1977, as I began the third decade of my life I began to discover that my intense desires for sweetness and security could never be fulfilled by the food I ate. Now, my meditation practice has empowered me to identify less with my personality’s sense of lack and need for oral compensation. And I have been able to provide Leonard an abundance of sweetness and security simply by basing my thoughts, words and deeds on my own inner, intuitive wisdom. As a consequence of this process, my ego, senses and unconscious mind have learned to willingly forsake much of the poison that previously masqueraded in my life as food.

By allowing celebrity TV hosts, advertising, restaurants or grocery stores to control what you eat, you are only ensuring yourself an undisciplined mind that must inevitably project an unhealthy body. As Mahatma Gandhi observed, “When you control your palate you strengthen and vitalize your total mind-body-sense complex.”

Desire is the fuel for action and actions have consequences. Your desire for food is what motivates you to eat, and eating assures the continuation of your life. But not every food will bring you the health, happiness and security that you deeply desire. In truth, that which you seek through food can only be experienced when your choices serve the inner wisdom reflected by a purified buddhi.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna, representing the wisdom of your eternal Self, teaches that, “When you allow your mind to heed the siren call of the senses, they carry away your better judgment as a typhoon drives a boat off the charted course to its doom. Therefore, use all your will power to set the senses free from both attachment and aversion alike, and live in the full wisdom of the eternal Self.” These verses speak of the disaster that awaits anyone who mindlessly remains enslaved to the charms, attractions and temptations of the senses. The practice of meditation can help you train the senses to become loyal servants of your eternal Self.

Then you will naturally begin to eat less of the food the senses and habits love, and eat more of the food that loves you––all of you!

Experimenting with Foods that Love You 1. Reduce or avoid sugar. Processed sugar and corn syrup are poisons! Don’t bring sodas or sugar-laden baked goods home. Try alternative sweeteners like honey, stevia, maltitol or xylitol.

2. Avoid cold drinks during meals. Cold liquids retard digestion and cause the production of ama, a subtle poison that causes disease.

3. Chew your food. Depending on the texture, chew 20-30 times before swallowing. You’ll eat less, feel more satisfied, digest better, assimilate more completely and eliminate more easily.

4. Drink hot water. Drink 6-8 cups of plain hot water (the same temperature as coffee) every day. It boosts energy and tones your entire urinary system.

8. Use cilantro and basil to cleanse the blood.

9. Mediterranean-ize your diet. Cook and garnish vegetables with garlic and olive oil.

10. Eat a medley of 3 vegetables daily. Use your favorites and change the trio often. A balance of colors ensures a spectrum of nutrients.

11. Eat fresh, first-generation foods daily. As often as possible, prepare food just before it is eaten. The life force of vital prana contained in your food is greatly diminished in leftovers.

12. Use ghee (clarified butter). The clarifying process removes milk solids while improving nutrient assimilation. Reduce or eliminate butter, margarine and hydrogenated oils.

5. Use mineral or sea salt. Refined table salt is chemically cleansed. Natural salts include trace minerals needed for a strong immune system.

13. Reduce or eliminate flesh. Flesh is highly acidic, lengthens stool transit time and taxes all digestive organs. We can be healthy without taking a sentient life.

6. Eat quinoa as a grain substitute. It’s alkalizing, relatively low in carbs and a complete protein.

14. Take a pro-biotic supplement daily. This will help build healthy intestinal flora.

7. Eat 1 tsp. of coconut oil daily. Its medium chain triglycerides can enhance brain function.

15. Leave a little space in your stomach after meals. It improves digestive efficiency.

Mahabharata The Game of Dice

Exile in the Forest The Bhagavad Gita

The War

A profound and thought-provoking film journey into the very heart of Indian mythology, religion, history and yoga philosophy. In bringing to life the conflict between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, director Peter Brook has crafted an allegory that speaks to the emotions and concerns of the twenty-first century.

3 Monday Evenings, April 13-27 • 6:30-9:00 PM • $60 RSVP BY THURSDAY, APRIL 9

11

The Food Addict

By Linda Johnsen Norwegian dessert photo: mylittlenorway.com

In the U.S.A. I watch my neighbors struggle with all-too-typical modern American problems: drugs and alcohol, gnarly relationships, frustrating careers. I myself have sailed past those treacherous shoals unscathed, but there’s no point in getting cocky: it’s whipped cream puffs and marzipan tarts that lay me low.

As you may guess from my last name, I’m Norwegian—and we Scandinavians have the richest, most delicious desserts on the planet. My family is from a part of the world where the sun disappears for a fourth of the year. Even in the darkness our lives are sweet. When we party up in the northern Norwegian province of Troms, it’s not with beer and wine. It’s with a dining room table completely covered with the best cakes, cookies and pastries you’ll ever taste, washed down with a strong cup of coffee.

It’s our culture.

So maybe it’s no surprise that keeping my weight down has been a battle since childhood. The daily struggle with food cravings is my worst problem, an area of life where I’m out of control. But I’m a Yoga student too, and the very first step in Yoga Science is yama, self-discipline. I know all too well I need more yama and less “yum!”

When Leonard (Ram Lev) asked me to write on this topic I thought, “How can I 12

advise readers about their eating habits when I’m so poor at regulating this myself?” He suggested I use this opportunity to examine my own unhelpful habits and share my thoughts with you honestly.

Obesity and Spiritual Life Eating too many calories is a recent problem. For most human beings, for most of human history, the problem was not getting enough. When Paramahansa Yogananda first brought Kriya Yoga to the U.S. in the 1920s, he was surprised that some Americans questioned how he could be an authentic yogi when he was overweight. Back in India his wide girth was admired; it meant he was successful and prosperous enough to enjoy hearty meals on a regular basis.

Swami Nityananda, one of the greatest masters of the Siddha Yoga lineage, was quite heavy, as you may know if you’ve seen the photos and life-size statutes of him at the Siddha Yoga centers. Neem Karoli Baba (guru of Ram Dass and Grammy-nominated kirtan singer Krishna Das) would eat as many as 40 meals in a day! According to my teacher Swami Rama who knew him well, Neem Karoli’s mind was so absorbed in higher consciousness, he was barely aware of his own body and often didn’t know whether he had eaten or not.

The Compassionate Buddha discouraged his students from getting too thin as fasting would eventually weaken the body to the point that concentration became difficult.

My favorite Tibetan Buddhist master of all time (Dolpopa, fourteenth century) actually weighed several hundred pounds.

So the good news is obesity is not a showstopper for spiritual life. People who tend to overeat usually have kapha constitutions according to Ayurveda, the yogic system of medicine. Kapha is grounding, which is not a bad thing if you’re going to sit for meditation an hour every day. So what’s the problem?

There are two serious difficulties as I see it. The first, obviously, is health.

We know there are cultures where eating a diet rich in fat is necessary for survival.

Almost always, people who need a lot of fat live in especially cold climates and must exert themselves strenuously to stay alive (think of the Inuits, Tibetans, and—yes—the Scandinavians). Some of us carry genes that cry out for fuel (fats and sugars), but today we live in comfortably heated homes and exert ourselves primarily to reach for the TV remote. We’re no longer burning thousands of extra calories a day. We’re just adding inches to our waistlines and cholesterol to our arteries.

You already know the consequences: heart disease, high blood pressure (read: stroke), diabetes. There is a substantially increased risk of developing cancer. Being fat won’t necessarily stop us from having good meditations. But death will.

And that’s not even the worst of it.

SPECT scans (that’s “single photon emission computerized tomography” scans which measure activity levels in the brain) dramatically reveal the debilitating effects of bad diet on our most valued organ, the one we think with. No wonder Alzheimer’s rates are also higher among the obese! Encouragingly, repeat SPECT scans often show significant improvements in brain function when patients junk junk food, and adopt a diet high in vegetables, nuts, fruit, beans and whole grains, and low in refined sugars, fats, and intoxicants. These latest findings from Western science merely reinforce what Yoga

students already know. After all, this is the menu our Yoga teachers have encouraged us to adopt for decades now.

As High as You Can Go Books, magazines, and TV infomercials focus almost exclusively on the physical repercussions of our unhealthy food habits.

But there is a second, more subtle reason for those of us on the spiritual path to be more conscientious about what we eat and how much we eat. In the Christian tradition, gluttony is considered one of the seven deadly sins. That means, in religious terms, it’s a vice that can actually cut us off from God. I’m fascinated by Hermeticism, the ancient Greco-Egyptian spiritual tradition that influenced early Christianity and, when it was rediscovered in the late Middle Ages, helped spark the Renaissance. At the time of death, the Hermetists taught, we have the opportunity to return to “our Father in heaven” who dwells in a realm of eternal light.

However, in order to reach him, we must pass seven gatekeepers who are determined to prevent our rising any higher in consciousness. They are called archons in Greek, meaning “governors.” If they find any qualities in our nature that they rule (pride, envy, greed, lust, anger, laziness, and—yes—gluttony), they can arrest our spiritual ascent and force us back into another physical body on Earth where we continue to serve them in the form of slaves to our passions.

In numbers of the very early Christian texts discovered in 1945 near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, Jesus discusses these archons with his disciples. When his brother James asks where he will go after he dies, Jesus replies, “As high as you can go.” If you have purified yourself of the desires and aversions that attract you back to physical life, you can ascend to heaven. If not, the archons claim you and back to Earth you go. (Yes it’s true, some early Christians believed in reincarnation.)

Gluttony doesn’t seem like a big vice.

It’s not murder. It’s not even “accidentally” losing your little sister’s Justin Bieber CD so you don’t have to listen to “Baby” for the thousandth time. When you eat too much, or eat delicious but non-nutritious food, you’re 13

not hurting anyone but yourself. But according to this tradition, anything you value more than spiritual light stands between you and that light, leaving you in its shadow.

Knowing its potentially serious consequences, why is a “silly” vice like gluttony still so hard to beat? The answer lies in the neurophysiologically addictive properties of poor quality food, particularly sugars and some fats. According to the wisdom of India, everything in nature has a devata or “living intelligence.” If you approach a devata respectfully, it may bless you. If you abuse a devata however, it will abuse you back. Any addiction, whether it’s to cocaine, tobacco, or sugar, can actually feel like a demonic possession as the “living intelligence” of the substance you’re abusing takes over the biochemistry of your brain and creates almost uncontrollable craving. To progress in spiritual life, these demons need to be exorcised.

It takes a lot of patience and self-awareness to achieve this.

Tasting the Taster There’s another tack some yogis in India prefer in confronting this type of problem. Texts like the Vijnana Bhairava encourage students not to back away from the pleasures of life, but to enjoy them with greater awareness.

Sometimes (as Swami Rama warned us) simply trying to wrench oneself away from a vice only creates “suppression and repression.” The moment you’re off guard, the compulsion reasserts itself or takes another equally destructive form. The Vijnana Bhairava recommends instead that when you taste something delicious, don’t just swallow and rush on to the next bite. Instead, approach every delightful flavor as a spiritual event. Bring the full light of your awareness to the experience. Who is tasting the chocolate? Who is having the sensation of pleasure? Shift your center of focus from the sensation of taste to the taster, pure spirit beyond space and time which is relishing this one moment right now.

The Heart and Science of Yoga

TM

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Slow down and feel the sacredness of this unique moment.

In this tradition yogis are called bhogis, “enjoyers.” The point is to pull back to one’s transcendent being, recognizing your true self as the real enjoyer and, ultimately, all sensations as enjoyable. You’re fired from your job. How interesting! You smash your foot against the table leg. You notice new wrinkles forming on your face. The tofu spinach pie is delicious. The tofu spinach pie is spoiled. You’re enjoying it all as if you were watching a really good TV show. You enjoy the show, whether it’s a comedy or a tragedy, but there’s always a distance between you and the show. After all, you’re watching the show; you’re not in the show.

The vanilla layer cake is in time and space; you are in eternity. Self-control begins to flow naturally out of the experience.

I’ve always been impressed by my husband’s mastery of his appetite. Whatever I feed him he innocently enjoys, and when he’s full he doesn’t crave more. I’m not there but I’m working on it. I exercise six days a week come rain or shine. I don’t eat after six p.m. What I do eat is vegetarian and wholesome—except perhaps for the occasional Scandinavian desserts. Working on it!

Many great sages, like Neem Karoli Baba or Yogananda, engaged life with gusto, but they weren’t slaves to it. Those seven nasty archons couldn’t block their way. We do our yoga practice so we can follow close behind.

Linda Johnsen, M.S., is the award winning author of Teach Yourself Yoga in 24 Hours, Lost Masters: The Sages of Ancient Greece, and six other books on spiritual traditions.

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