#Yoga Today ~ #Prosperity- The second Aim in Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

As human beings we are wired for pleasure. The human drive is not simply to survive; it wants to thrive and to thrive we seek pleasure. We are programed to strive for survival and longevity and an essential part of this is the drive towards pleasure. What would the world be like if we could not enjoy the pleasures of life?

Some interpretations of yoga appear to denounce pleasure. It is thought to distract us from our karmic work. But pleasure is as essential to life as air and water. It is the engine that drives us to create and thrive. The key is to never take pleasure to excess.

 

Your pleasure center is located in your primitive brain also known as the limbic system which is located in the temporal lobe. The limbic system is made up of multiple parts such as the hippocampus or your memory center. The one that is responsible for basic pleasures and pain is the amygdala.

Two neurochemicals send us messages regarding pleasure and pain. These are serotonin and dopamine. Both need to be in sync if we are to be balanced. Serotonin keeps us content, relaxed and satisfied. Dopamine drives us towards pleasure. And although it can take pleasure to extreme dopamine is necessary for our survival and our ability to thrive.

As well as being necessary for your survival, pleasure has many levels and layers. It can also be destructive if we allow pleasure to control our desires to the point of addiction. But pleasure at the deeper layers of our being instills beauty and when pleasure and beauty come together we truly understand the importance of enjoying the real pleasures of life. In harmony with life pleasures are never destructive, but always uplifting.  Understanding this is soul walking.

 

It’s not pleasure that destroys the good.  It is deceit and greed.  We sometimes greedily deceit ourselves into believing we need more. That is why yoga teaches us to enjoy life, but always in moderation and never to excess. It is our desire for excess that tips pleasure into pain. Just ask an addict how much pleasure there is in seeking the next fix?

 The Katha Upanishad, from an ancient Hindu Text, is about overcoming death by understanding it.  We cannot bargain with it. Death reminds us not to take our life for granted.  Our dreams and our desires are part of life. So enjoy the pleasures of life for life is short. A wise person however will always choose to do what is good over sheer pleasure.  This can be interpreted a number of ways. One way is that a wise person will choose what is good over the pleasure of comfort, or a wise person will choose to seek pleasure through effort and depth over laziness and superficiality.

 

The greatest pleasure comes from the greatest depth of our soul. When we truly experience something with full involvement by tapping into its essence we will discover the true nature of pleasure. Whether it is eating chocolate, sipping a great wine, buying a gift, making love, or spending tons of money it’s not the pleasure that should be avoided, but the greedy deceitful self-serving nature of the ego. The ego always wants and thinks it deserves more! Practice moderation in all things and in all things be moderate.

 

Pleasure has both a physical and emotional aspect.  Pleasure is comprised of five layers; it is sensual, loving, has a purpose, is creative and exercises free will. All of these layers are important to humans. They bring us pleasure, but can equally bring us pain if we are not careful in how we think, speak and act. Just remember all things in moderation.

 

 

 

Sensually connecting with someone you intimately love for the purpose of creating is the closest two souls can get to willful pleasure.  The more aware you are of the nature of pleasure the more likely you are to discover it and use it wisely. 

Namaste ~ I celebrate the place where our souls meet

Doctor Lynn

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#Yoga Today ~The Four #Directions or Aims in #Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first direction or aim in life is the accumulation of wealth.  Don’t confuse wealth for money. Money in and of itself is valueless. It is only what we can purchase in exchange for money that gives it value. Wealth is abundant potential energy.

The Kama Sutra, a Hindi Sanskrit text, makes it clear that health, love and pleasure, as well as music, art and education can only flourish in a prosperous society. Poverty therefore is not a virtue. It can actually be an obstacle toward creating harmony.  Poverty can also be an obstacle when it comes to morals and ethics. It is somewhat difficult to be moral and ethical when you are starving and struggling to survive. Material wealth allows for the refinement of society and this refinement allows us to partake of pleasure, be kinder and more generous. Wealth is not just about the accumulation of money or material goods, although both have the power to make the world a better place. Wealth comes in many forms such as good health, love, happiness and rewarding work. Many people get lost in the illusion of material wealth and confuse the earthly symbols of wealth for success. Success is measured by the degree of your happiness and not the size of your bank account.

In this world no one would argue that it is better to be poor than rich. Wealthy people have greater access to the necessities and the luxuries of life. Wealth affords more options and choices.  But just remember this - it is not wealth that destroys. It is greed.

Problems arise when wealth is used to control other people and to abuse society. In a world such as ours, with so much wealth, no person should ever go without or be abused. So if you want to prosper, find a way to make the world a better place and you will become a wealthy person.  

 

Just remember the difference between wealth and material possessions. Wealth can mean having beauty, love and good health, and these can never be replaced with gold, money or material possessions. Your true wealth comes from within. It is the source of your abundant energy and this energy has the power to create. Draw from it and create.  Once found it can never be depleted. Money may come and go, or slip past your outstretched hand, but if you use your abundant energy wisely you will always create wealth and with this you prosper.

 

Namaste ~ I celebrate the place where our souls meet

Doctor Lynn

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#Yoga Today ~ The Energy of #Prosperity

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lakshmi is the Goddess energy of the yoga of prosperity. Her name means, “aim” or “goal”. She has four arms which signify her power to grant the four goals or directions towards a successful and prosperous life. These four goals grant us a fulfilling life.  The aim of the goals is to direct your highest potential into creating prosperity.  

The practice of yoga fully acknowledges the realities of living in a material world. It encourages us to incorporate the four important goals of; soulful growth, meaningful work, pleasure and wealth into living a fulfilling and meaningful life.

 

Lakshmi reminds us that affluence should be respected because in reality affluence is a forceful stream of energy that has great power. It can create or destroy, depending upon how we use it.

 

Although many people have the determination to create wealth, their attitudes in doing so can greatly influence the outcome. Inert symbols of affluence are not wealth; wealth is the byproduct of the energy of prosperity. As you think, speak and act so you become.

 

Be forewarned many sacred texts mention Alakshimi the evil sister of Lakshmi. With Disregard for order, disrespect of nature and poor hygiene she will bestow poverty and misfortune upon your house.

If you want to bring prosperity into your life, let the energy of prosperity flow out towards others. Apply the Golden Rule of prosperity; do not take without giving back. Those who lookout for ways to help other and ways to contribute to the betterment of life, without expecting anything in return are sure to receive prosperity. They have found a need and are fulfilling it. This brings us wealth.

 

The goddess Lakshmi tells us that prosperity has far more to offer us than a beautiful home and a large bank account. You are the source of your wealth. Whatever you have increase it. Instead of saying it could be less; say it could be more. Say I would like to have this, but do it from a place of consciousness contentment. Be content with what you have and then reach out for more. Lakshmi gives wealth and success to those who ask with sincerity and are willing to do the work. The work involves developing conscious awareness of how to use the dynamics of potential energy in complete harmony with the soul’s path.  When you combine the infinite force of the soul with the finite source of the material world to create good anything and everything is possible. This is the pathway to prosperity.

 

Remember this – the most abundant thing in the universe is energy. Use it wisely. The punja or merits we accumulate as we travel through life are with us from lifetime to lifetime.  They define us and are by far our most valuable assets. Money can’t buy you happiness, but prosperity can!

 

“Although you may gather a million gold coins upon death you cannot take with you even one copper penny.” (Chinese Proverb)

 

Namaste ~ I celebrate the place where our souls meet

Doctor Lynn

 

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#Yoga Today ~ # The Pathway to Prosperity

 

 

 

 

 

The pathway to prosperity is about learning how to walk through life in a soulfully conscious way while discovering the real treasures of life. Use them wisely and you will prosper. These treasures are available to everyone who has the desire to discover and use them constructively.  I have found these treasures to be of great value and so it behooves me to share them with you. Sometimes they come covered with rust, but if you look deep enough beneath the surface you’ll find gold. You just need to know where to find them, how to polish them and how to use them to prosper.

Remember this; poverty is not a virtue, but it can be a tremendous inspiration. All relationships matter; we are the mirror and the reflection of life. Enjoy everything; just remove excess. And stay connected to your true self.

 Before you can prosper you must gain punja and remove papa. This means to gain merits through good deeds while removing improper and disastrous behavior.

The practice of yoga fully acknowledges the realities of living in a material world. It encourages us to incorporate the four important goals of; soulful growth, meaningful work, pleasure and wealth into living a fulfilling and meaningful life. These fall in line with the four aims or goals of Lakshmi the goddess of prosperity. More on this in future classes.

 

The primary goal of yoga is expansion of consciousness into your highest potential. To access your inner potential you need to harness the energy of the ego. This will remove papa or obstacles and enhances punja or merits. With the expansion of potential comes a greater ability to deal with the concerns of everyday life. And this opens the door to prosperity.

To control this energy requires the ability to flow with life. Gratitude for what you have rather than desire for what you don’t have is the first step. Put your attention on what you have and be grateful. When you are grateful you appreciate, and when you appreciate you find grace and with this you gracefully move with refinement through this life.  Prosperity is a stream of consciousness. This stream of energy can reshape your life in either positive or negative ways depending upon how you use it. Wealth can bestow great power while misuse will surely make a person suffer.  The universe has a perfect accounting system. 

 

 As well as the stream of consciousness we also need punya which means merits earned through our action in this life and our past lives. When we see people who are wealthy and successful the Buddhist and the Hindis would call this punya that was earned from a past life. We in the western world might call it luck. Karma yoga calls it the “good” karma you have earned from your past lives, as well as the merits you are earning in this life.

Punja is not necessarily in the form of money. It might appear as talent, integrity, virtue, value, beauty, status, worthiness, assets, honor or goodness.

If we want to create punya we must exhaust papa, which means demerit or bad karma. Remember karma attaches itself to our actions, our thoughts and our speech. So we need to be consciously aware of how our actions, thoughts and speech affect our life. Papa might appear as dishonesty, disturbance, evil, worthlessness, demerit, fault or weakness.

To prosper requires strength, flexibility, balance and finding peace no matter what life brings to you. Let’s get started

 

 

The three basic methods of developing merit or punya are: giving without expecting a return, live a virtuous life, and spreading good will. These fall in line with the ten ways to make merits. They are: give, observe virtue, concentration and focus, honoring others, be of service, dedication, be happy for others good fortune, listen to and practice virtuous teaching and instruct other in being virtuous.

 

Yogananda was quoted to have said when asked if the spiritual path had an end,” No end, you go on until you achieve endlessness.”  This is the path to endless prosperity.

Namaste ~ I celebrate the place where our souls meet

Doctor Lynn

 

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#Yoga Today ~Now You Have Your D-GAP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Armed with the knowledge of your D-GAP and the troublesome four you are now ready to start Soul Walking. Don’t carry your D-GAP – deceit, greed, anger and pride, or the troublesome four; envy, jealousy, resentment and revenge, too heavily. They are here to assist you and can be easily changed. However, it will take some work. That’s Karma!

In life you will have to act on two levels; living in the moment while looking into the future, and acting in the present moment to serve your universal mission, which is to remove your karma.  We all have karma we need to remove. The key is to have faith in the cause you are serving. Are you working to make your life and the world a better place?

The underlying essence of life is infinite energy and because of its infiniteness it always has the finite potential to be.

I would describe the potential to be, as the infinite possibilities (effects) available for final causality. This is karma; cause and effect.

Be cautioned: in life you will be deceived, lied to, used and abused. You will experience anger, fear, sadness, loss, hatred, greed and all the emotional states that are part of being a human. You will experience each component of the D-GAP and encounter the troublesome four. Humanness involves experiencing all the aspects of what it means to take on human form. What you do with your humanness (experiences) determines whether you prosper, or live in emotional poverty.

When someone deceives you and destroys trusts remember this; trust is the union of intelligence and integrity.   Ignorance and deceit is its counter opposite. Where is this intelligence and integrity you need so you can trust yourself?  It is located in the third eye; the seat of the intellectual self also known as the soul. Here you know beyond knowing. Remove human emotion and trust yourself. This takes balance, strength, flexibility and peace – let’s get started.

 

When trying to walk along a certain path you must take your time. Karma yoga teaches us that nothing comes instantaneously. Everything is a long learning process. So be patient and kind. Both will serve you well.

Everyone is Soul Walking whether they are conscious of it or not. We are all living out this life in our own fashion. Look for the moments of AHHH!  These will lead you towards discovering life’s treasures and a prosperous life.  Pay attention to the guidepost and work on your karma. Don’t worry about mastering anything. Just be open and aware. The gifts of prosperity are everywhere. Look for the time gates. When a positive one opens step through it. Remember we are all here just trying to do the best we can possibly do. Respect everyone’s Soul Walk, but most of all enjoy yours.

Happy New Year – follow next year as we walk the pathway to prosperity!

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Namaste ~ I celebrate the place where our souls meet

Doctor Lynn

 

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#Yoga Today ~ The Troublesome Four

 

 

 

 

Life will present you with the troublesome four: envy, jealousy, resentment and revenge.

 

It will require discipline, strength, balance and flexibility to master them. 

Envy is a widespread feeling today. Envy means to feel inferior to others and to desire that which you have not earned. Admire others and then seek to become your own unique aspect of those qualities.

Jealousy is a morbid emotion that looks for anything that will cause suffering.  With jealousy an individual feels threatened by the loss of control over another person or situation. Remember this; even love focused entirely on another human being cannot bring fulfillment in the long run.  Replace jealousy with self-trust and self-worthiness and the worth of your soul will shine through in all of life’s ups and downs.

Resentment is a negative state where an individual blames everybody and everything, but self for the state of his or her life. Resentment results from expectation. We expect something and when it doesn’t turn out as expected we experience resentment.  Expect and you will surely be let down. Unreal and unfulfilled expectations are the foundation of resentment. We feel disappointed, sad and even angry. Take responsibility for your expectations.

You cannot change what happens, but you can change how you view it. Let go of resentment and focus on your potential energy and you will prosper.

Revenge is an act of wanting to conflict hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands. You want to even the score by one-up-man-ship. The worse thing about revenge is that it gets inside your head and hijacks your focus. Once revenge occupies the space within your head fighting it is like fighting yourself. The desire to get revenge is mighty powerful force. If you take that energy and redirect it towards improving your life you get the greatest revenge of all; you prosper.

“Revenge is never a straight line. It’s a forest. It’s easy to lose your way…to get lost…to forget where you came in.” Hattori Hanzo (played by Shinichi Chiba in Kill Bill Vol.1

To master the Troublesome Four requires balance, strength and flexibility, as well as the ability to be content and at peace with your life just as it is. Circumstances happen. You cannot un-happen them. Accept what happens. Learn from it and focus on using what you have learned to prosper. Let’s get started

 

 

Karma plus the Troublesome Four

As we say with Karma yoga – don’t fall into D-GAP. As you move through life working on your karma each of the troublesome four will try and attach themselves to your work. If you let them they will make your labor one of burden as opposed to joy.

 Be aware when the troublesome four arrive; trust me on this one; they will arrive, one by one, in a pair and sometimes all together at once.  Acknowledge them and then investigate why you let these four get into your head and control your life in such a burdensome and impoverish way. What did you gain?

Deceit, greed, anger and pride will never be mastered by letting envy, jealousy, resentment and revenge reside in your mind. Be careful what you let occupy your mind.  Because what you let in your mind will occupy you. 

 

Happy Holidays ~ may every day be healthy, joyful and peaceful

Doctor Lynn

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#Yoga Today ~ #Karma ~ Don’t Fall into D-GAP

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to karma, our true purpose in life is to return to a state of balance, love, happiness, and abundance, while removing our negative karma. If you choose to break the pattern of your karma you will free your energy to explore the rest of the universe and through your wisdom you will realize that you now can do as you choose rather than being compelled by karma.

 

The root of all karma is seeded in the four great passions. One of these passions is more intense in your life than the others; but they all appear at one time or another. The four great passions which are the major causes of all of life’s problems are:

1.     Deceit

2.     Greed

3.     Anger

4.     Pride

These states, which lack honesty, tolerance, unselfishness and humility, are the triggering mechanisms for all karma. They also include a lack sincerity, fairness, joy, admiration, detachment and courage. These give rise to prejudice, sorrow, disloyalty, fear, disgust and cruel joking which will activate karma and get us into trouble.  These are driven by the ego and not the soul.

 

 

Although the soul has an infinite ability for creativity it only has three central activities: thinking, speaking, doing. These three activities create our karma and all karma then seeks expression through your thoughts, words and deeds.

Remember, to lighten or soften our karma (aura) we need to manifest certain actions and inhibit others. The practice of yoga (physical) helps us to learn to become motionless and balanced without losing consciousness. This is how we annihilate karma, being balanced and serene while holding onto awareness. This is known as our witnessing consciousness; the observing principle of life.  Let’s get started

 

The soul has infinite ability for creativity but can only express itself through our thoughts, words and deeds. Likewise the ego expresses itself through our thoughts words and deeds. Awareness - becoming the witness consciousness allows us to discern whether the ego is directing our life or we are allowing the soul to render us motionless and balanced; for it is here we learn to let go, detach, remove deceit, greed , anger and pride, and ultimately find peace.

Namaste ~ I celebrate the place where our souls meet

Doctor Lynn

 

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