Day 1 - Yoga Sutra 1 - Reflections on Practice

Shanti and welcome

Perhaps one of the most important parts of a strong yoga practice is the practice of tarka or reflective journaling. Reflection upon your inner and outer life is essential if you wish to progress along the path. These reflections on your life can help you see your mind more clearly. Your relationship to yourself, the world, and others is revealed in each journal entry. We can sometimes be blinded by our own beliefs or trapped in a cycle of thinking that is unhealthy for us. Tarka can help us to illumine the way before us, discard old beliefs, and change our attitudes and ways of thinking.

This blog is designed to help you reflect upon your life and examine your mind so that you may travel the path of enlightenment with greater ease and harmony.


Today's Tarka Practice
For today’s reflection, I have chosen Satchidananda’s translation of Patanjali’s first teaching in Book 1 of the Yoga Sutras.

“Now the exposition of Yoga is being made”

Here, Satchidananda’s emphasis is on the “practice”. He tells us that yoga is not something you just think about but something you do. He is not talking about only the physical practice (asan) but the entire practice of yoga (all 8 limbs – yamas, niyamas, asanas, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi).

He believes that one will not reach the goal by philosophy and words only; instead, if we wish to reach the goal of yoga, we must practice.

For today’s tarka in your journal consider the way you practice each of the eight limbs of yoga. If you are not practicing all 8 limbs, think about how you could incorporate this practice into your daily life.

Day 2 - Yoga Sutra 1 - Reflections on the Present Moment

Today's Tarka Practice
For today’s reflection, I have chosen Kriyananda’s translation of Patanjali’s first teaching in Book 1 of the Yoga Sutras.

“Now, at an auspicious moment, begins the traditional instruction in yoga”

Here, one of the main ideas of Kriyananda’s translation is his focus on “this moment”. He wants us to consider the important concept of auspiciousness. He wants us to ask “why now”? Why has yoga come into our lives right now, at this particular time?

For today’s tarka see if you can reflect on the importance of yoga in your life right now. For a deeper understanding, you may want to think about how long you have been practicing yoga, why you were called to it in the first place, and what it means to you on this particular day.

Day 3 - The Simple Life

Today's Tarka Practice
In the nineteenth century, Henry David Thoreau said that as our lives become more complex, we hunger for simplicity.

One might argue that today, in the 21^st century, our lives are much more complex than they were during Thoreau’s time. In our yoga practice, we should be working towards simplifying our lives.

When our lives are simpler, our minds are quieter. When our minds are quieter, we feel more peaceful and at ease.

For today’s journal entry, reflect on the following questions: Is this true for you? Do you feel your life is very complex and would you like it to be simpler? If so, what could you do today that would bring your life into greater simplicity?

Day 4 - Awakenings

Today's Tarka Practice
In order to experience an awakening in your life, you have to let go of your own personal lens - this is your own personal vantage point from which you see the world and the way in which you see yourself, your problems, your beliefs, and your values. An awakening or an "aha" moment takes place when we are able to step back and objectively observe our thoughts, our actions, our attitudes, and our beliefs.

Just for today, pay attention to your thoughts, your actions, your attitudes, your problems and your beliefs. As you go about your day, observe yourself and what is arising in your life. Practice objectively observing or watching yourself. In your journal, write down what you observed and how you reacted to certain things in your day. What do these thoughts and reactions tell you about yourself? Are they helpful or harmful to your own well-being?

Day 5 - Letting Go

Today's Tarka Practice
Being able to let go of things is an important part of your yoga practice. People hold very tightly to things that have happened in their past and often ask me, "how do I let go"? Letting go of something from our past is a very gradual practice that cannot be done overnight; however, there are things we can do to encourage ourselves to let go. Today, I have a practice that you can use to help you let go:

During your meditation practice, bathe yourself in light. Picture light washing over your entire being like a waterfall. Picture this light cleansing you. Every time you think about that thing which you are trying to let go, picture this light washing over you. It doesn't matter if you are standing in line for groceries or at a party; you can always take a few seconds to release your feelings by using light.

In your journal, reflect on something that you need to let go of and freewrite about it. Freewriting involves writing for 10 minutes about the experience without thinking or organizing your writing. Just write about that experience without stopping yourself for 10 minutes. Next, find a quiet place to meditate and try to let go of that experience using the light cleansing technique discussed above.

Day 6 - Wherever you go, there you are

Today's Tarka Practice

Wherever you go, there you are. You are stuck with yourself and so you might as well practice the art of loving yourself. In order to grow along this path, you need to forgive yourself, stop criticizing yourself, and be gentle with yourself. We usually tend to be very hard on ourselves and fairly over critical. We get angry at ourselves easily and then we stew in this anger. These negative thoughts can harm you and your practice. Instead, you need to step outside of this habit and be more kind to yourself.

In your journal, reflect on a time in which you were angry with yourself. It could be for something you did or the way you treated someone else. It could be for something you wanted to accomplish but didn't because you were too afraid to try it. It could be something you regreted not doing in your life.

Remember this time and record it in your journal. Think about why it made you angry. Think about what hot buttons it pressed for you. Think about how this anger hindered rather than helped you. Now, every time you think of this event in your life, replace it with something you like about yourself, something more positive. Be compassionate towards yourself like you are to others in need of compassion.

Day 7 - The Chandogya Upanishad

Today's Tarka Practice
I want you to reflect on this passage from the Chandogya Upanishad...

Brahman is all. From Brahman come appearances, sensations, desires, deeds. But all these are merely name and form. To know Brahman one must experience the identity between him and the Self, or Brahman dwelling within the lotus of the heart. Only by so doing can man escape from sorow and death, and become on with the subtle essence beyond all knowledge.

To get started on your reflection, think of Brahman as meaning "the totality of reality". That is everything in reality both physical and non-physical.

The Atman or Self is one thing in that total reality.

How does this Upanishad help you to understand the relationship between yourself and the total reality? If you are having trouble, think of yourself as one ripple in an entire pond or one wave in an entire ocean. The ripple or the wave is the Self and the pond or Ocean is Brahman.

Day 9 - The Empty Mind

Today's Tarka Practice
On of the reasons that we practice meditation is to empty the mind. An empty mind is a clear mind. An empty mind allows us to see reality as it is, to connect to our higher sense of self, to become one with God, Self, Nature,Universe, Reality or the Atma within the Brahman.

The first step to an empty mind is to use a meditation technique to focus the mind. Meditation practitioners around the world use a variety of techniques - they use a catch word or phrase, they use the breath, they use an object of beauty, they watch their thoughts, they use a mantra, etc. There are many techniques to choose from. Do not get caught up in the technique. The technique helps us to focus the mind but that is not the goal. The goal is to allow this focusing technique to empty our minds of all other thoughts. Eventually, with practice, you will become completely focused on this one thing. However, you should not stop there.

It is when you are so completely focused on the now that you are no longer concentrating that you have acheived the goal. All time passes away, all thoughts pass away and everything becomes completely effortless. It is at this point that you will truly experience the peace and harmony of an empty mind.

In your journal, write down a list of all of the different techniques you have tried. Out of that list, pick the one that works the best for you. The one that helps you get as close to this empty mind, this one-pointedness that you can possibly be in this moment. Now, practice only this technique for the next 40 days. See what happens and record any changes you experience in your journal.

Day 11 - The Way We Experience Love

Today's Tarka Practice
To begin today's reflections I have another story to share. This story comes from my own personal journal and talks about my meditation experience in the Zen tradition. This was before I became a student of Kriya yoga and the writing is from about eight years ago. After re-reading this story in my own journal, it struck me how many great lessons are still present. This was a writing about love.
And the story begins...

The faint scent of cedar wood filled the room. Eyes closed, I carefully observed the proper form of the Soto Zen meditation tradition. As my breath eased in and out of my body, I used breath control and intention to push the air deliberately towards my feet. I was focused and felt calm and peaceful until my cat, Egypt, started rubbing her head lovingly against my hand, begging for attention. I did not reach out to pet her; instead, I tried to maintain my locus of control. In order to train my mind, my will, it was essential to maintain proper form. Her rubbing became more insistent, and I felt the hives begin to grow and itch on the back of my hand. They itched like mad, but I refused to move and break form. Again, I used my breath to try to forget the itching sensation that was now cascading up my wrist and forearm. She would not leave me alone, and I was getting very irritated. I did not set out to make irritation the central focus of this meditation. Yet, I sat there still, irritated and itchy. She was not trying to irritate me; she was only seeking love. This love came to me without warning and was not what I expected it to be. I thought to myself, love is often like this. We have expectations about the form it will take and who it will be with. We make judgments about the way we wish it to be, and when it does not meet our expectations, we become irritated. This irritation actually blocks us from being able to receive love. We often want love to come to us on our terms and only when we decide we want it; we want to control it instead of just opening ourselves up and letting it happen. When others demand love from us during inconvenient times, such as during meditation, or while we are busy working on a project, or watching our favorite TV show, we don't notice it; we actually push love away, get angry and then wonder why our partners are irritated, hurt, or angry. Love can be very demanding. When those who seek only to be in our presence approach us, what we need to do is to stop, to listen, to awaken, to pay attention, become fully present in the moment and ask ourselves what is going on here? When others are "begging" for our attention, it is because we have not been giving it. If we tend our relationships as if they were a flower garden, if we nurture them with care and water them regularly, the petals will slowly open and grow towards the light. Instead of acting and reacting, we can just sit openly, listen silently, and awaken to what is being offered here. It is caring, compassion - it is generosity. My cat gave up for a bit, moved away, and sat next to me quietly purring. We rested comfortably in each other’s presence. Neither of us had to do anything. No action needed to be taken. Both of us were able to offer each other love and both of us were open to receive it. Love does not need to be demanding if we are awake. Love moves through us as freely as our breath.

In your journal today, I want you to open yourself to love. As you move through your day, think about your own encounters with love and the effects love has on your state of mind.

How many times did you feel love enter your life today? How did you approach it (did you receive it easily, get irritated, close yourself off, etc.)

Just notice all of your feelings and thoughts surrounding love.

Day 12 - The River of Life

Today’s Tarka Practice
I have one more story to share with you this week. This story is taken from Goswami Kriyananda's Beginner's Guide to Meditation.

"Once upon a yogi time there was a man who owned a little donkey. For many years, the donkey carried huge baskets of salt that weighed him down and made him tired. One day, by accident, the donkey slipped at the edge of the river and fell in. When he emerged, he realized that his burden was greatly lightened because most of the salt dissolved in the river. The man was angry but accepted the loss of the salt as an accident. The next day the donkey passed the same river and remembered how light his burden had been made the previous day. So he threw himself into the water and came back out, his load greatly lightened. This went on for a few days until the man realized what his donkey was doing. But he said nothing. Some days later, the man stacked huge piles of cotton on the donkey and together they started their trek. Coming to the river, the donkey thought himself very clever and again fell in. But this time the light cotton quickly soaked up the water, and when the little donkey emerged from the stream his legs buckled under him, and he understood the ways of the river of life."

While there are many different levels to this story and many things to reflect upon, today we will focus on only one of those themes.

For today's journal, think about your misconceptions about life. It is easy to think that once we take care of the problem, life will run smoothly. However, this is not the way of life. Life can be easy sometimes and challenging sometimes. We can solve one problem, have a break, only for another new set of problems to begin. Write down your expectations about life. What you expect to happen and what actually happens may be completely different things, so it is good to be aware of the nature of life, particularly, the nature of your life.
Shanti

Day 13 - Your Conversation with Life

Today's Tarka Practice
Life is a dialogue with the self, others, and the world. Each of these entries in your journal is your conversation with life. These conversations are not complete, and they will never be complete. All they can do is to give you a snapshot of what you are thinking during one moment. Just as a photograph represents an exact slice of time so do your writings and reflections. Therefore, each entry will build on another entry. As you write, you will find that your thoughts change. When you engage in conversations with others, your thoughts change. As you have new experiences, your thoughts change. Your thoughts breathe with each passing moment, and you will often end up somewhere completely different from where you started. The message here is really this - don’t get too attached to your thoughts or to your conversation with life, for everything is impermanent and will change.

In your journal today, write about impermanence and how each moment passes. Reflect on old thoughts that you don't believe in anymore. For example, maybe last year you ate meat and this year you don't or maybe you were a vegetarian last year and this year you are not. Notice how you feel when you discover that thoughts are fleeting and are of little importance. Does this make you happy, distressed, peaceful?

Day 16 - The Isha Mantra

Today’s Tarka Practice

This week we will be discussing and practicing several mantras.

The Isha Mantra
Om Purnam Adaha Purnam Idam
Purnat Purnam Udacyate
Purnasya Purnam Adaya
Purnam Eva-vasi-syate

This mantra is an expression of the ideas set forth in the Isha Upanishad. It speaks to the relationship between the Atman (Self) and the Brahman (Absolute Reality). The message here is that the Brahman is perfect, whole and complete and because we come from the Brahman or the absolute, unmanifested reality, that we are also perfect, whole and complete.

We can use this mantra in our own lives to help us understand that the Atman and the Brahman are the same. We are a part of the absolute. We have come out of the absolute. We are a part of the manifested reality that comes out of the unmanifested reality.

This mantra is used to harmonize ourselves with the universe or to yoke together our earth life and spiritual life. It is one of the most important mantras because of this yoking. It is this yoking that is the goal of yoga – complete Self-realization.

On a practical level, one could use this mantra when one is feeling confused about life and one’s purpose in it. One could use this mantra if one is feeling disconnected from one’s spiritual nature and/or spiritual life. There are really an infinite number of uses for this mantra. It is, perhaps, one of the most powerful mantras to use in our daily practice.

For today's journal entry, think about the times that you feel most disconnected from your own life's purpose. If you are struggling to find your life's purpose, write down those thoughts as well. Repeat this mantra over and over for 5 minutes. Write about your experience.

Day 17 - The Sarveshaam Shanti Mantra

Today’s Tarka Practice
Today we will discuss the Sarveshaam Shanti Mantra. In my tradition, we only practice the first part of the mantra, which is...

Om sarveshaam svastir bhavatu, sarveshaam shaantir bhavatu
sarveshaam poornam bhavatu, sarveshaam mangalam bhavatu

The Sarvasham mantra is a blessing mantra or prayer for all people and can be interpreted in the following way:
Sarveshaam – means all people
Svastir – means well being
Shaantir – means peace
Poornam – means completeness
Mangalam – means auspiciousness
Bhavatu – let it be ordained

Hence, this mantra means…let it be ordained that all people experience well-being, peace, completeness and auspiciousness.

This mantra can be used in your practice in many ways. It can be said daily as a part of your meditation practice. It can be used when you are having trouble with forgiveness. It can be used in a temple at the beginning or end of a service.

For today, let’s talk about using it when you are having trouble with forgiveness. Sometimes we are not ready to forgive someone and we need some help moving into that place. In order to help us move towards forgiveness, we can say this mantra daily in our meditation practice as we picture the person we wish to forgive. Saying this mantra will allow us to send good wishes towards the person we are feeling angry about (without actually forgiving them yet), which will eventually help us to feel more positive and less angry. As we begin to feel more positive and less angry, this moves our thoughts gradually, slowly towards forgiveness. Eventually, our thoughts will become softer and we will be ready to forgive and let go of the feelings we once held.

In your journal, think of someone you wish to forgive (this could also be yourself). Write down the story of what happened between you and the person. Write down what made you upset, sad, angry, jealous, etc. Get the whole story down on paper. After you have written everything down, set some time aside for meditation and practice this mantra. See what happens and write down what you experience.
Shanti

Day 18 - The Om Namah Shivaya Mantra

Today’s Tarka Practice

Today we will discuss the Om Namah Shivaya mantra.

This mantra is known as a 5 syllable mantra and means “I bow to Shiva or I bow to my Self”. Shiva is one of the Hindu Gods that is part of the creation story and is associated with the destruction of all creation. Shiva is known as the destroyer but can also be interpreted in a way that means things can be dissolved or we can let go of them. Shiva can also symbolize the Self (with a capital S) or spirit / soul – that part of us that remains after everything else is destroyed - our true Self rather than just our physical self.

This mantra is repeated during meditation. As you repeat this mantra you feel a sense of being released from those things that are troubling you. Your troubles are being dissolved and you are being freed. Most often, what you are really freeing yourself from are your thoughts, attitudes, patterns of self-destruction, etc. Repeating this mantra brings forth clarity and wisdom as you begin to see those things which have been holding you back or those patterns in which you are stuck. This mantra will lead you to your own self-realization and you will see yourself and reality as they really are. For this reason, it is a very powerful mantra.

For today’s journal entry, you should write down something that has been an obstacle for you or something you wish to let go of. Set aside some time for meditation and repeat this mantra in your meditation. Write about your experience of this mantra after your meditation.
Shanti

Day 20 - What Would You Like to Manifest?

Today's Tarka Practice
My yoga teacher asked me the other day - what would you like to make manifest in your life right now? I was surprised by the question. It is something that I think about all of the time because I understand that we have the power to create anything we want in our lives. It is not a power that I often talk about with others and so her question made me come out of my own head (which was swirling with thoughts) and try to capture these thoughts in a more tangible way.

Sometimes, when we wish to create something in our lives, it is a good idea to talk about what we wish to create with other people. This can bring the creation from just thoughts to taking action. I often think about this in terms of a big pool of possibilities swirling around in the Brahman and that I have to just reach up and choose something. In yoga, we call this phenomenon aham bramasmi or I am the creative principle.

For today's journal entry think about and then write down 3 things you have been thinking of doing. Have you been wanting to add more to your yoga practice, change your eating habits, take a walk everyday, write a book? Take a look at your list and choose one thing that you would like to make manifest in your life right now. Write it down on a notecard that you look at everyday. Talk about it with other people and then observe how just setting this intention begins to bring what you need to make this manifest into your life.

Shanti

Day 21 - The Beauty of Silence

Today's Tarka Practice

This is one of the most important spiritual practices that you can work into your life. The more you can incorporate periods of silence into your life, the stronger your spiritual practice will grow. Being silent helps you to learn to become a better listener. You will be able to better hear your own internal dialogue and you will be able to better hear others and what they are really saying.

 

Silence will also help you to slow down your thoughts and work towards an empty mind. The more you can be silent, the more present you will become with others. Your own mind won’t be running amok and so you will be able to really hear and observe what is going on around you. You will become more sensitive and more compassionate.

 

It can be very difficult to be silent, particularly if there are others in your life that think that your practice of silence is because you are upset with them.  In order to avoid this problem, explain to your loved ones that you are practicing silence and ask for their support. It can also be difficult to bring more silence into your life because you are afraid of the silence. Some people fear silence because they are afraid to slow down, take a breath and see who they are or see reality exactly as it is. So, be aware that when you first begin your practice of silence, you may encounter some obstacles with yourself and with others. This is good. It will help you grow and you can record all of this in your journal.

 

To begin to incorporate the practice of silence in your life, you may want to just start with an hour of silence each day. You can easily achieve this by waking up before everyone else or going to bed after everyone else. This is the easiest method. If this is not a possibility in your life, look at your schedule and see when you might be able to work silence into your life. Even an hour a week will benefit your spiritual practice.

 

In your journal today, write down when you will practice silence in your life, for how long, and when you will begin the practice. Set a date and make a commitment. When you practice silence, record how you feel about this practice in your journal. Do you feel relieved? Nervous? Fearful? Peaceful? Record everything you experience and you will begin to have a better understanding of what the practice of silence means in your own life.

Day 23 - Taking Care of Yourself

Today's Tarka Practice

We often don’t take good care of ourselves. We tend to work long, hard hours, put others before ourselves, sleep less than 8 hours a night to catch up on our to-do lists, and as a result, we are exhausted and irritable. The problem is this – by exhausting ourselves in this way, we can’t be fully present for others. If we are tired and irritated, we are more likely to yell at others, act out of frustration, be quick to anger and it is very difficult to listen to what someone is saying to us. Concentration and focus are difficult when we are so busy that we don’t have time to take care of ourselves.

 

For this week’s journal entry, I want you to reflect on how well you think you take care of yourself. How much time do you dedicate to your own personal needs and interests? How much sleep are you getting? Do you have enough relaxation time set aside in your day?

 

After answering these questions, I want you to give yourself permission to take better care of yourself this week. Just for one week, see what you can do to make time in your schedule for you. If you have a hard time finding time in your life right now, just set aside 15 minutes to begin. If you can set aside an hour for yourself, that is even better. An hour a day would be superb. After taking care of you first for a week, write down what you experienced in your journal. Did you find you were less irritable? Was it easier to reach out towards others in understanding? Easier to listen and help others? These are the benefits of this practice.

Day 24 - To Yoke Together

 

Today's Tarka Practice
 

Our focus this week will be on the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita is one chapter out of the Mahabharata, which is one of the longest Sanskrit epic poems from ancient India.

To begin, the Bhagavad Gita or the Lord’s song is an epic poem specifically discussing the very nature of yoga and what yoga means. If you have been a student of yoga for a while, you will know that yoga means to yoke or put things together harmoniously. But what, you may ask, are we supposed to yoke together?

The Gita tells us that in order to live a harmonious and happy life, we must yoke together our earth life with our spiritual life. But again, what does this really mean? It means that we should work towards creating our life on earth in such a way that it matches our spirit or what is deep within.  Here, we should strive towards manifesting those things that are most important to us. Those things that are most important to us are written onto our very spirit itself.

Another way of thinking about this would be to consider whether or not you are leading the life you wish to lead? When we are doing exactly what we want to be doing in our lives, we feel a deep inner harmony. However, when we feel like something is missing or there is an emptiness, most likely there is a discord between what we are doing in our earthly life and what our spirit is meant to be doing in our earthly life. The goal is to make these things match or to make them consistent with each other.

For today’s journal entry, the first thing I want you to think about is what does what I have said above mean to you? Do you feel your earth life and spiritual life match each other or is there a discord of some type? Reflect upon whether or not you feel like what you are doing in your life is what you feel like you were born here to do? This is the first step.

Shanti

Day 27 - Your Dharma Part 2

Today's Tarka Practice

Our focus this week will be on the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita is one chapter out of the Mahabharata, which is one of the longest Sanskrit epic poems from ancient India.

 

Yesterday, we ended our tarka practice with the question, what is your purpose in life or your dharma? Today, we continue on with that question to a second level of the word dharma. Dharma also means duty. So here, we could also ask ourselves the question, what is my duty in life?

 

The word duty often calls up thoughts of responsibility or questions like what am I responsible for? This is a question of ethics. So now, if we yoke together both purpose and duty within the word dharma, we come to understand that we each have an individual purpose to fulfill and a way to fulfill it. Not only should we fulfill our purpose but we should fulfill it in a responsible and harmonious way.

 

This is one reason that I asked you yesterday to make a list of your strengths in your journal. Your strengths tell you about what you do well. We are meant to do these things. It is our duty to do them. For example, if you think you are very good at teaching others but not very good at woodworking, this is a hint from the universe. One might say here, it is your purpose to teach or your duty to teach. It is not your purpose to be a woodworker. So, another way to find our purpose or our dharma is to make a list of what we do not do well. If you are still searching for your purpose, you can eliminate those things from the list that you have difficulty with and those things that you do not enjoy doing. We are given strengths and talents and we are meant to use them to fulfill our purpose.

 

In your journal today, I want you to make a list of things that you don’t think you do well and things you are not interested in doing. Now, you have to be careful here because sometimes we have weaknesses that we are meant to develop into strengths and sometimes we are afraid of success. When making your list, make sure that the things on your list are not there because you are running away from them.

 

Shanti

 

Day 28 - Your Dharma Part 3

Today's Tarka Practice

Our focus this week will be on the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita is one chapter out of the Mahabharata, which is one of the longest Sanskrit epic poems from ancient India.

Yesterday, we were talking about the relationship between dharma, duty, and purpose. Today, we will continue that discussion here, so if you missed yesterday’s post, read that one before reading this one.

 

A second way to understand the relationship between purpose and duty is this – it is our duty to fulfill our purpose. Hence, our task in life is to find our purpose and then to do it. The deeper message here is that when we are off the path - we are not finding our purpose or doing our purpose (we are not living our dharma), we will experience pain and unhappiness. However, when we are on the right path – we are moving towards our purpose and beginning to practice our purpose (we are fulfilling our dharma), we will experience joy and happiness.

So, our next task is to now write down in our journals those things that bring us pain and unhappiness and those things that bring us joy and happiness.

 

Finally, over the weekend, you can examine all of your journal entries this week in order to begin to get a sense of what your purpose in life is or what your duty is or what your dharma is. Go ahead and write those things down. Keep this list. Build on this list and notice some of the changes you begin to make in your life over the next few weeks.

Shanti