SOUL FOOD

Now and then, there is a little uprising by some folks or others, saying that yoga is against their religion, or claiming that yoga is a religion and should be avoided by those who belong to their faith. As if yoga is something to fear. If we look at the definition of yoga in BKS Iyengar's Light On Yoga, it says, “the system of yoga (yug=to yoke) is so called because it teaches the means by which the jivatma (individual human spirit or soul) can be united (or “yoked”) to, or be in communion with, the Paramatma (Supreme Universal Spirit).” The means is the eight fold path of yoga which trains the whole being to look within, not to an outer authority, for its grounding in unlimited, loving consciousness. Thus, yoga could enhance ones practice of their chosen religion, yet is not limited to those who do.

The best definition of the Soul that I have come across recently is from a book entitled, The Intuitive Way, by Penny Pierce. In it she says, “the soul is a function of consciousness that interconnects the individual with the universal.” Yoga establishes one in that function of consciousness called the soul.

And the soul is without fear.

Every so often, I have a dream of being in the middle of a natural disaster, usually a flood. But, sometime during the dream, I realize that I am not at all afraid, its just an experience and I begin to enjoy it. When I think of the great spiritual masters of history, who faced tremendous resistance, obstacles, and violence and yet carried on without any compromise of their love for humanity, I think, perhaps, they lived life in the realization of the soul, fearless. They seem to have enjoyed the experience. They seem not to have been attached to expectations and outcomes so were not driven to distractions that compromised their inner peace and purpose. The obstacles brought out their skillfulness and enhanced their self-empowerment rather than self-defeat.

In the Athabascan folklore, Raven represents the creator of the universe. In Anne Hanley’s delightful play, “The Winter Bear”(at Cyrano's through 11/14), Raven conjures up a snow storm just as a search team is looking for a missing woman in the wilderness. Wolf, a member of the team, says to Raven, “This is NOT fun and games”, to which Raven replies, “Cosmically, Everything is fun and games.” The universal message appears to be, enjoy the obstacle course, enhance your skills, don’t take things so seriously. Stay on purpose and have fun with it!

Namaste,

Lynne

CALMLY INACTIVE

Greetings Everyone,

This blog is replacing "Home Page Reflections" from the previous website. The new website format will have a page for this blog. You can access the blog alone if you would like to see what is new for the month by going directly to http://lynneminton.blogspot.com/

Beyond keeping you updated on yoga offerings, the intention for this monthly installment is to share some wisdom from the two yoga masters who have been my inspiration for over 3 decades: BKS Iyengar and Swami Paramahansa Yoganada. Their influence is a daily presence, and when my attunement is strong, remarkably poignant to the needs of the moment.

This is a big transition time in my life as Jim and I contemplate moving out of Alaska, after several decades of living here. Our critical plan had us on a very manageable timeline that culminated in selling the house in Anchorage by September 1. We would drive out of state to Northern Arizona where we would be all settled in and looking for a new home by mid-October. But, one the contrary, there has been no house sale yet, and our forward momentum has come to a whining halt (that would be us doing the whining).

A quote from a reading by Yogananda this week stated, "There are two times in life that strong will power to calm the mind is required, when everything is happening at once, and when nothing is happening." Iyengar is renowned for saying, "when you are happy, practice, when you are sad, practice, when you are excited, practice, when you are bored, practice." This is perhaps the first time in my life that I have not had a sense of when and how the next step will unfold. I credit the wisdom of yoga and the anchoring in the practice for keeping me grounded in the moment and not frustrated by the lack of momentum.

Yogananda stresses the importance of being "calmly active and actively calm". There are those who have found as much inspiration by practicing the art of being "calmly inactive". Ekhardt Tolle is renowned for having written The Power of Now after spending one year doing nothing but sitting on a park bench. I just happen to know where the nearest one is.