I do a daily chant, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, and I recently found a posting about it online, by a woman talking about the various things she manifests in her life with this chant. True, things do seem to remarkably manifest, within hours of me chanting, but the manifestation of "things" isn't the point of Buddhism. Rather, the manifestation of our "Self" is.
I couldn't restrain myself, so I just had to say something in response to her posting, so here it is!!!...
I've been chanting this mantra for about l5 years and it's very powerful. I touch on it in my new book, Stories From the Yogic Heart.
I may chant sitting, walking or driving, but when I do it in a focused way for several minutes or an hour a day, it works best for me. I feel it's what resulted in my getting an invitation to the White House to do a presentation for my charity, Artists Against Racism, to the UN to accept an award for the charity (Global Tolerance Award), and has made my life so much better and smoother in so many ways. But these things I did not chant for.
What we must remember, is that both Buddhism and chanting are not meant to manifest "things" in our life. They are meant to center us, so that we will be grounded, know our True Selves, and live from our True Selves.
So, when I chant, I don't chant for "things" and neither should anyone else. I chant until I feel as one with the "vibe", one with the "reverberation" of the sound of the mantra, until I am the sound, I am the vibe, and this puts me on a different energy level where everything works out for my highest good--I feel like myself, I attract the highest good for my soul (in terms of relationships and everything else), and I make the right decisions--from my soul rather than my mind. Everything just flows. I am protected, as was Tina from Ike (I learned about this mantra from her movie but that's another story!).
When I was invited to the White House, I didn't chant for it; when my charity won the Global Tolerance Award and received it at the UN on the charity's behalf and I had the rare chance to make a speech that I'd been dreaming of doing all my life, I didn't chant for that either. The Universe is aware of our dreams and if it coincides with the highest good of the planet, it happens when we're in our highest vibration.
The meaning of life is to spiritually transcend, not to attain. Remember this, and you will be on your way...to true transformation in this precious short life you have. A transformation that is more valuable than anything you could ever wish to attain.
Namaste,
and, as my yogic mentor, Erich Schiffman would say, may you "be online" all the time.
Through the ocean of yoga, it is the answer to everything: your true Self.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Shelly
Everyone needs supporters in life, and Shelly Altman was one of my greatest. She came into my life about 11 years ago, as the long-time manager of Steve's Music, in Toronto, and regularly donated Fender guitars which were then autographed by the likes of Matchbox 20, Pearl Jam, Alex Lifeson and many more when I'd meet them backstage on behalf of my charity, Artists Against Racism.
She was such a brilliant and kind person, that she was soon a pivatol voice on our board of directors.
When not working manically, Shelly could often be found smoking outside on the sidewalk, something I'd often try to stop--offering her yoga lessons, reiki and more--warning her of the consequences of her continual puffing. "Oh, I'll stop one day, when I'm ready," she'd say, a phrase which would make me wince.
The some-day sadly came a couple years ago when she needed to have half her lung cut out due to lung cancer. Then she had to stop, She even began Quigong which she said gave her remarkably more energy, even with just half a lung sharing oxygen with the rest of her system, and embarked on her next-favorite hobby--entering her dog in dog shows. I happily thought this feisty woman had once again beat the odds.
But the honeymoon didn't last long. Steve's Music wouldn't let her return to work when she was ready, and while the cancer metasticized to the rest of her body she spent the final two years of her life taking her former employers to court to win the funds to feed herself.
Sadly, the victory came too late -- almost to the day when she had to begin a series of massive radiation treatments which would leave her frail and anorexic in a hospital bed, her gaunt body devoid of hair except for some sparse fuzz on her head, her eyes barely able to open. Photos of holocaust survivors or prisoners of war were recurring images in my mind.
Shelly died two days ago, fortunately in her own loving home, with her dog by her side, her rabbit under her bed, her caring neighbors taking care of her. I wish I'd been in town to be there.
I try to remember her as she was in her prime, but the images alternate with the images of her near her end. They flash back and forth, disturbingly in my mind. Perhaps the slideshow will slow down as time passes, as it did with my grandmother a few years ago, and my 96 year old friend, Electa, who passed last year.
Perhaps what disturbs me most is that we cannot easily save another human being--from addictions, from themselves, from the trauma in their minds or even from the corporate marketing and social pressures which entice them to smoke, to drink or to use any other addictive products. The fact that billions of dollars are being made on our inevitable demise does not seem to be deterant enough.
There were and are more Shelly's in my life who met an untimely end from tobacco or cocaine or alcohol, and each has taken a piece of my heart. I see them every day as do we all. What can we do but send them white light if they choose not the path of yoga. Or we can send them reiki, send them daimoku, to send them love. We can listen, we can share our stories, we can love. We can lead a joyous life they may want to follow.
And when even this seems to fail, we can love ourselves and acknowledge that we've done our best. Even when we often feel that our best wasn't enough.
Feel free to share. Have you successfully helped "addicted" friends in your life? Start by taking a breath, a large one, then share. On behalf of my dear friend and the many others who have passed too early, I thank you. I know that Shelly would too.
She was such a brilliant and kind person, that she was soon a pivatol voice on our board of directors.
When not working manically, Shelly could often be found smoking outside on the sidewalk, something I'd often try to stop--offering her yoga lessons, reiki and more--warning her of the consequences of her continual puffing. "Oh, I'll stop one day, when I'm ready," she'd say, a phrase which would make me wince.
The some-day sadly came a couple years ago when she needed to have half her lung cut out due to lung cancer. Then she had to stop, She even began Quigong which she said gave her remarkably more energy, even with just half a lung sharing oxygen with the rest of her system, and embarked on her next-favorite hobby--entering her dog in dog shows. I happily thought this feisty woman had once again beat the odds.
But the honeymoon didn't last long. Steve's Music wouldn't let her return to work when she was ready, and while the cancer metasticized to the rest of her body she spent the final two years of her life taking her former employers to court to win the funds to feed herself.
Sadly, the victory came too late -- almost to the day when she had to begin a series of massive radiation treatments which would leave her frail and anorexic in a hospital bed, her gaunt body devoid of hair except for some sparse fuzz on her head, her eyes barely able to open. Photos of holocaust survivors or prisoners of war were recurring images in my mind.
Shelly died two days ago, fortunately in her own loving home, with her dog by her side, her rabbit under her bed, her caring neighbors taking care of her. I wish I'd been in town to be there.
I try to remember her as she was in her prime, but the images alternate with the images of her near her end. They flash back and forth, disturbingly in my mind. Perhaps the slideshow will slow down as time passes, as it did with my grandmother a few years ago, and my 96 year old friend, Electa, who passed last year.
Perhaps what disturbs me most is that we cannot easily save another human being--from addictions, from themselves, from the trauma in their minds or even from the corporate marketing and social pressures which entice them to smoke, to drink or to use any other addictive products. The fact that billions of dollars are being made on our inevitable demise does not seem to be deterant enough.
There were and are more Shelly's in my life who met an untimely end from tobacco or cocaine or alcohol, and each has taken a piece of my heart. I see them every day as do we all. What can we do but send them white light if they choose not the path of yoga. Or we can send them reiki, send them daimoku, to send them love. We can listen, we can share our stories, we can love. We can lead a joyous life they may want to follow.
And when even this seems to fail, we can love ourselves and acknowledge that we've done our best. Even when we often feel that our best wasn't enough.
Feel free to share. Have you successfully helped "addicted" friends in your life? Start by taking a breath, a large one, then share. On behalf of my dear friend and the many others who have passed too early, I thank you. I know that Shelly would too.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Contemplation
A friend of mine, who belongs to the Anglican Church in Vancouver, recently asked me to answer some questions for her that she's going to bring to her church's contemplation group. While I enjoy contemplation (though I don't "plan" to do it daily!), I never really thought of the below and I'm glad she asked. Here is what came of it...
Because it gives me this "knowing", it gives me a great peace in my life due to my tendency to have an over-active mine.
1)What is your understanding of contemplation?
hmmmm...well, that's complex, but it's like introspection, but it's about the outter-world. We can contemplate on anything we wish to understand better. I'm assuming you're looking at it in the religious sense, so in that case it would be trying to understand the concept of God, the concept of life, the concept of the universe, the concept of creation, the concept of life after death, etc.
hmmmm...well, that's complex, but it's like introspection, but it's about the outter-world. We can contemplate on anything we wish to understand better. I'm assuming you're looking at it in the religious sense, so in that case it would be trying to understand the concept of God, the concept of life, the concept of the universe, the concept of creation, the concept of life after death, etc.
2) Who participates in this practise?
Whoever has a contemplative nature! As a Pisces, I seem to be very prone to it!
Whoever has a contemplative nature! As a Pisces, I seem to be very prone to it!
3) How has this changed in the last ten years?
I don't know if this makes sense, but I did so much intellectual contemplation before yoga, that now, with yoga and meditation, I let my mind "go" and I let wisdom enter and because I can differentiate and know whether it it wisdom or just my "thinking", I don't overanalyze or try to figure things out as I did before. It's a "knowing" which I touched on in my story in my new book "Stories From the Yogic Heart."
I don't know if this makes sense, but I did so much intellectual contemplation before yoga, that now, with yoga and meditation, I let my mind "go" and I let wisdom enter and because I can differentiate and know whether it it wisdom or just my "thinking", I don't overanalyze or try to figure things out as I did before. It's a "knowing" which I touched on in my story in my new book "Stories From the Yogic Heart."
4) How does yoga support your life?
Because it gives me this "knowing", it gives me a great peace in my life due to my tendency to have an over-active mine.
6) Do you have hopes or concerns for the future concerning contemplation?
My hope, as I seem to be running into way too many over-analytical people lately (in the sense that they are hard-fast in their views), is that more people will begin practices such as yoga where they relax their body and mind, and will access not only their intuition and the wisdom of the universe and not lean so much as needing "proof" for everything, where they become less argumentative, more open-minded and more open to recognizing the mysterious and often inexplicable aspects of life.
My hope, as I seem to be running into way too many over-analytical people lately (in the sense that they are hard-fast in their views), is that more people will begin practices such as yoga where they relax their body and mind, and will access not only their intuition and the wisdom of the universe and not lean so much as needing "proof" for everything, where they become less argumentative, more open-minded and more open to recognizing the mysterious and often inexplicable aspects of life.
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