The 8 Limbs of Yoga – Part 7 Dhyana

April 17, 2016 EVLeave a comment

A continuous flow of perception (or thought) is Dhyana (meditation).[1]

Forgetting the body, your surroundings, and your relationships. This will help improve your meditation a great deal. Remembering God will help you forget all other things.

We are able to taste the spiritual consciousness by withdrawing our minds from all other senses and fixing them on our meditation. This is considered “Samadhi”, the highest goal of Yogis.

To reach this point of meditation, it is suggested that you meditate in the same spot daily.

Simply put, to initially attain samadhi requires a unity of both body and mind, so in stilling the body and calming its energy flows (by detaching from them and the sensations they generate), we can speed any efforts to calm our minds. Through the stability of sitting meditation, comforting the body helps still the mind for its entry into samadhi. In other words, if we can calm the body consciousness, we can detach from it and achieve the emptiness required of samadhi concentration. [2]

Sound easy? Yeah, no. But is it attainable? Absolutely. Most likely we arrive at Dhyana/Samadhi when we least expect it. Because we are not concentrating, focusing, or willing it. It just happens, and then becomes our second nature.

In the video, Amir Mourad explains more about Dhyana and the difference between the Western concept of mediation.

So attaining Samadhi through Dhyana, like any other desire we have in life, is done by not trying too hard. Just let it happen. And so it is. Stay Blissful my friends – E

The Snow Man

November 19, 2015November 20, 2015 EVLeave a comment

I have been intrigued with the term “Poetic Crossing”, in a more philosophical manner. I wanted today’s blog to be written about said term, but I am finding that it is going to take more research to give it my best words.

However, in my ongoing research I have found a lovely poem that I feel compelled to share. Please enjoy these words by Wallace Stevens…and stay blissful my friends! – E

The Snow Man

BY WALLACE STEVENS

One must have a mind of winter

To regard the frost and the boughs

Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time

To behold the junipers shagged with ice,

The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think

Of any misery in the sound of the wind,

In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land

Full of the same wind

That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,

And, nothing himself, beholds

Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

Wallace Stevens, “The Snow Man” from The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens. Copyright © 1954 by Wallace Stevens and renewed 1982 by Holly Stevens. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

Mondays with Michael

June 22, 2015 EVLeave a comment

11108317_10205888903933415_8353820451753348417_n — Michael T. Clark has graciously agreed to share his lovely words of poetry on my blog every Monday. Going forth, this day shall be deemed “Monday’s With Michael”. So let it be said, so let it be done. – E

Peace – by Michael T. Clark

As I walk up the mountain all alone,
I realize I’m at peace, this is my inner home,
I hear the insects, the birds, and the trees,
One with nature, this is how I fight my disease,
As the water flows through the stream,
My mind is calm, this must be a dream,
I feel the love pounding in my heart,
So blessed God gave me a fresh start,
The dirt and rocks under my feet, this is the foundation of the Universe that I seek,
My thoughts are so clear, not only do I see the beauty, I can hear,
The wind blows as I travel the path,
My cells are cleansed, like a warm bath,
This is the solitude that I seek,
Thank you life, I’ve found peace…
Live 2 Love…

Stay Blissful my Friends – E

Sunday Shot of Bliss IV.

June 14, 2015June 14, 2015 EVLeave a comment

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. - Casey Kasem — Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. – Casey Kasem

When I was the little girl, I used to look up to stars and wish myself away from the violence and the chaos of my life. It helped to look up and away from all of the gravel and asphalt. Away from the angry people. Away from that man who used to pull a gun on me on my way to school and then pull the trigger. “Click”.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm. 8:3-4)

I always knew I would have a better life, even at such a young age. The stars were not my God, but a representation of the hope I would have in my God knowing someday that better life would be attained.

Source: http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/01/worth-seeing-beautiful-images-to-remind-you-to-spend-more-time-looking-at-the-stars-above-and-within/ — It is said that stars represent high hopes and great ideals. I like this concept!

There was a time when my hopes seemed so high. To live in a decent neighborhood, to have a nice home and a car that runs without having to push start it every day.

After all this came to pass, I realized just how not so high these hopes were. Again, I wanted better. I wanted to be better. To be a friend among friends, a worker among workers. To be a better parent to my children. To have something to offer others. To be of service to all of God’s creation.

My hopes and ideals are not too lofty, but they are bigger than myself. I cannot achieve them on my own. That is where a good support group, fellowship or whatever you want to call it comes in. The good news is that there are people who have lived this before and are more than happy to share with each other how they did it!

I have heard this song several times this week. I used to think it was a corny love song. Now as I hear the chorus “Waiting”. I realized this star could represent anything we are waiting on. A life partner, a job/career move, a home, retirement (gulp), the birth of a child, and for some of us just a better way of life (whatever that means).

Keep in mind that waiting, does not mean being slothful until said “star” arrives. We must work for it. If it just happened, how much would we appreciate it? Just like labor pains; though they are difficult to experience, how easily are they forgotten when that newborn baby is placed in our arms?

I understand labor and working while waiting. Sometimes, it seemed that a bad situation was never going to end. Or more concerning, potentially get worse…and sometimes it did.

Source: http://www.bhmpics.com/shooting_star-wallpapers.html

It is said that a shooting star represents a fleeting moment. “This too shall pass”. Thank you God for that one. If I didn’t have this cliché in the back of my head (and also tattooed on my shoulder), I would have lost my mind several years ago.

Are you waiting on a star to fall? Are you willing to work while you are waiting, to overcome the obstacles? Can you accept each circumstance along the way knowing “This too shall pass”? Will you share your experience and empower others along the way?

Stay Blissful My Friends – E