Posts Tagged ‘meditation’

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Robert Butera, author of The Pure Heart of Yoga: Ten Essentials Steps for Personal Transformation Robert has studied meditation and yoga for over twenty-five years and is the founder of the YogaLife Institute in Devon, Pennsylvania, where he trains yoga instructors and publishes Yoga Living magazine.

Kala: Robert, thanks for taking the time to sit down with me for this interview. I enjoyed reading your book as it shares the philosophy that I’ve always aligned with, which I describe as the ‘essence of yoga’. You describe it as the ‘pure heart of yoga’. Can you define what yoga means to you?

Robert: Yoga is the spiritually infused life. Yoga is a path to a viribrant life and Yoga embraces all paths that lead to harmony of mind, body, spirit and environment. One classical definition of Yoga from The Yoga Sutras is that Yoga means cessation of the mind’s waves. (Yoga citta vritti nirodha). Thinking of Yoga in terms of the mind’s waves can be a good barometer regarding if an activity is yoga or not – simply ask yourself if that activity calms the waves of your mind. I am writing this with a smile, mind you!

Kala: In some parts of the US, yoga has become completely mainstream, and in other places, it is still being steadily introduced into communities. For beginners, who are just exploring the idea of yoga and are preparing to take their first class, what advice can you give to beginners?

Robert: Firstly, remember that each and every experience you have can be a source of learning. Finding your perfect style of yoga or the best teacher for you requires some investigation. So, learn from all classes and recognize that finding your perfect situation may take time as there is great variety amongst all the styles of yoga. If your first class is not a fit, remember to try another teacher as there is alot of variety. Be careful of absolutes. There are many physical body types and therefore many ways of doing yoga poses. Non-violence is a cardinal virture in yoga so make sure not to overdo anything or to stretch too far. At the start, read a few books to gain some perspective. In a beginner’s yoga class learn the breathing as it is noted as the top benefit for new students; relaxation is usually second and the interesting philosophy follows. Physical flexibility is often ranked fourth as a benefit to new students, while most think that flexibility would have been the first conclusion.

Kala: In your book, you share 30 main poses, what they represent and how to use them as tools to achieve physical and emotional balance. Can you discuss a few of these poses with us and how they help to create balance within the person?

Robert: As the book states, I recommend that everyone finds a teacher to meet at least once per week to avoid any mistakes. Then, perform a few minutes of a deep breathing exercises in a quiet place. Next, try a group of poses that move your spine in each of 5 directions; a reaching pose to elongate your spine; a twist to release tension; a sidebend for flexibility as the body rarely moves sideways; a forward bend to release stress and a back bend for energy. These exercise can be performed right at your desk during a short break during your workday. The final exercise for the busy person is to maintain the “Smile Pose” and attempt to navigate through the ups and downs of life realizing that the inner state of your mind is the ultimate pose!

Kala: The western world has a bad habit of taking an ancient philosophy and connecting to only a small part of the whole, in an attempt to bypass the full lengthy process and get quick results. For example, I studied Feng Shui for years, at first I studied the western version and I felt it was missing something at the core. I then studied traditional feng shui with two masters, one from China and one from Hong Kong. One of the masters referred to the western version as the McDonald’s version (fast food) of feng shui. I’ve seen this with some yoga practices as well, where it’s touted as exercise and skips over the core of yoga. What are your thoughts about yoga and how it’s practiced here in the west?

Robert: Well, Kala, you have hit a big issue that is a tough one. I went through a big let down in 1989 fresh off of the Yoga Ashram in India (theyogainstitute.org) when a friend gave me a popular yoga magazine. At the Ashram, men and women had separate dormitories, I wasn’t allowed to wear short pants… and the Yoga magazine had a scantly clothed model in a revealing posture on the cover. A point to remember is that the jewels of discovery are within yourself and not in the form of the body but in its essence. Many years have passed and one of my mentors mentioned the concentric circle approach to transformation. Whatever each one of us knows about life and reality can be honored. And however broad our knowledge, we can draw a larger circle around our present state. So, leave open the possibility to learn something new. What you know at this point can be honored and maintained as you circle your present experience with something new. Suffice to say, there is usually much room for authentic yogic wisdom to shine forth.

Ironically, when you learn the theory of yoga in more depth, the mind becomes more focused. This focus quiets the nervous system and actually improves the physical experience of life as well as the spiritual experience.

Kala: Describe for us what you call the body’s Energy Centers and how we can connect with these centers through a yoga practice…

Robert: These days most people have a fascination with the “Chakras” or energy centers in the body. Chakra means ‘wheel’ and in this case relates to a wheels of energy that converge at different areas in the body. The heart chakra is most easily perceived; a loving interaction brings warmth to the heart and sadness brings a constricted or cold feeling. After one performs the yoga poses for six months and understands how to breath and align the body in the poses, understanding the chakras helps go deeper in the poses. This is simply one area of discovery on the inner journey with yoga poses.

Kala: You mention 10 Steps that transcend yoga and connect it with spiritual and emotional growth. Share some of these steps with us…

Robert: Beginning with a spiritual Intention for your yoga practice is an important first step. Start with your first motive even if it feels shallow, say weight loss was your first reason for starting yoga. Then, go beneath that and align weight loss to improved health. Take your nutritional choices and align those with received love in your heart… pretty soon, you have moved into an intention on love that is at the core of weight loss. Another interesting approach is to try to gain an understanding of the attitude of a posture. Inherent in each posture is an expression of an attitude. Yoga poses also relate to archetypes whch is an interesting exploration. There are also the energy centers, concentration points and emotional transformation. The recommendation is to discover one new aspect of yoga poses at a time. If you are a beginner, stick with the alignment and breathing. And as your practice grows, explore the other areas one at a time.

Kala: I view yoga as a way of ‘being’, rather than as some people say that they, ‘take a yoga class’. For example, when I say I’m a dancer, it’s part of my essence and spirit, how often I dance is almost irrelevant, I am a dancer at heart. To me, yoga is the same, one lives and embraces yoga. What are your thoughts?

Robert: My original teachers say that yoga is a culture of consciousness. Yoga studies physical health in great detail as we have been discussing. What few people know is that Yoga also discusses how to work at your job and turn work into Yoga. There are equally detailed teachings on relationships, meditation, psychology, higher knowledge and practically every field of living. So, yes, any activity that is taken to its depth penetrates a person’s consciousness and is a “yoga.”

Kala: Let’s talk about yoga and meditation. Many people picture meditation as sitting in an uncomfortable position for an hour while trying to stop their mind from wandering. Each pose in yoga can be an active, moving meditation. Can you discuss the yoga poses in regards to what they can do for the mind body and spirit?

Robert: Refering back to the definition of Yoga as stilling the waves of the mind; each yoga pose can lead to stilling the mind. A lot of folks ask if stilling the mind is boring, they ask in passionate ways, “Bob, am I supposed to turn into an android?” Ironically, a clear mind is one that loves deeply, it’s a mind that is free of negativity and limiting thoughts. A quiet mind is able to laugh loudly and feel passionately.

Kala: Robert, where does yoga take us next? What do you see as the evolution of yoga?

Robert: I am seeing the maturation of yoga in terms of an increasing interest in all the points that this interview asks, what is further? How can I go deeper in my life? How can I love more, how can I be stress-free in my life? As those who take the time to improve their health physically begin to experience the joy of having a balanced mind, more and more people will look into the theory of yoga. Just as you are helping people access this information, I am seeing an interest in meditation and activities that quiet the mind! Thank You for spreading this information!

Kala: My pleasure Robert and a pleasure to speak with you, thanks for your time. More info on Robert and his book can be found at: PureHeartofYoga.com

Robert: Yes, Thank You Kala, it is always a treat to discuss the essence of Yoga.

Edgar Cayce founded the non-profit Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) in 1931, to explore spirituality, holistic health, intuition, dream interpretation, psychic development, reincarnation, and ancient mysteries-all subjects that frequently came up in the more than 14,000 documented psychic readings given by Cayce, who died in 1945. A.R.E.’s publishing arm, A.R.E. Press, has been publishing books since 1931 as well, with the mission of furthering the work of the A.R.E. by publishing books, DVDs, and CDs to support the organization’s goal of helping people change their lives for the better.

In 2009, A.R.E. Press launched its second imprint, 4th Dimension Press. While A.R.E. Press features topics related to the work of Edgar Cayce in the fields of spirituality, intuition, psychic abilities, ancient mysteries, philosophy, comparative religious studies, personal and spiritual development, and holistic health, 4th Dimension Press expands the publishing efforts further with like-minded and expansive explorations into the mysteries and spirituality of our existence.

The ancient wisdom of the Kabbalah and how its lessons can be applied today is A.R.E.’s latest release – Edgar Cayce and the Kabbalah: A Resource for Soulful Living by John Van Auken. This is the first of its kind in addressing wisdom from the psychic readings of Edgar Cayce as it relates to the spiritual teachings of the Kabbalah. Van Auken combines his love of Kabbalah with his 40 years of studying the Cayce readings to guide readers on a mind-expanding journey through creation and the higher levels of consciousness. Van Auken’s explores the concepts in Kabbalah including the five divisions of being, the four planes of existence, the seven heavens, the 10 emanations, and the 22 channels of the Infinite Creative Consciousness.

Author John Van Auken is an internationally renowned speaker, longtime staff member, and current director at Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. A popular leader of A.R.E.’s life-changing tours to Egypt and other sacred sites, he is also the author of several best-selling books, including Edgar Cayce on the Revelation, Toward a Deeper Meditation, and Ancient Egyptian Mysticism. In addition he is a regular contributor to Venture Inward magazine and the Venture Inward Newsletter. His extensive knowledge of the Cayce readings, the Bible, world religions, Gnosticism, and ancient Egyptian mysticism is combined with years of experience as a teacher and meditation retreat leader, to bring a deeper understanding of this ancient mystical tradition that enhances the understanding and skill of today’s spiritual seeker. Van Auken will be presenting a program on the Kabbalah March 12-13 at A.R.E. Headquarters (details available at EdgarCayce.org/conferences).

About more about Kala’s Bohemian Blog and Who Is Kala Ambrose…

Intuitive, Priestess, Muse and Oracle – Kala Ambrose is an intuitive empath, inspirational speaker and voice of the highly acclaimed “The Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show.” She is the award-winning author of 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled, creator of a trilogy of sacred site meditation CDs and the National Metaphysical Spirituality writer for the Examiner.

As an intuitive, she provides Egyptian Akashic Auracle Readings. Auracle Readings are the combination of aura readings and oracle readings by Kala Ambrose. Kala begins by reading your aura, going over the colors currently present in your aura. From there, she shares symbols, signs and energetic impressions in your aura that are imprinted there from your Akashic records. The process reveals the challenges you are facing today, the spiritual gifts presented to you in this lifetime and the importance of your spiritual journey as it continues from previous lifetimes to the present. More information at www.ExploreYourSpirit.com

Enjoyed this article? Kala welcomes your comments and reads them all. For more articles by Kala Ambrose, visit her main page at National Metaphysical Spirituality Examiner

As we draw close to wrapping up the 12 Gifts of Enlightenment, with gift number eleven presented here, take a moment to reflect on the concept that the best gifts are the ones we give and receive with great thought and care. With the holiday season winding down, you may find yourself a little worn out from the season of celebration. In January, the long cold dark nights of winter are a reminder that we should take time to hibernate, recuperate, and create reserves of our vital energy, so that when spring arrives, we are bursting with energy.

One of the simplest, rewarding and budget friendly gifts that you can give to yourself this year, is to adopt the practice of meditation. For many, the concept of meditation is a daunting one. For those who have never tried to meditate, the idea of sitting in a very uncomfortable position in complete silence for hours is enough to discourage even the slightest attempt. True, there are those who enter into meditative practices that become an entire lifestyle, however, just like the preponderance of flowers in an English garden, there truly are hundreds of ways to meditate and connect with your inner self.

Crucial in any meditation practice, is the breath. Regardless of whether you wish to spend ten minutes in meditation or ten hours, slow deep methodical breathing will relax the body, bring in oxygen to the lungs and blood stream and help to retain focus and awareness.

This brings us to Gift Number Eleven – Give the Gift of Meditation. If you or an aspiring metaphysician in your life are looking to adopt a meditation practice, open your mind and disregard any preconceived notions of how you think a meditation practice should operate. Take this time to create a practice that feels right for you. One of the easiest ways to do this, is to adopt a simple ten minute meditation. Make a resolution for the new year, that for ten minutes every day, you will create a window of opportunity to meditate. Perhaps you’ll wake early before the rest of your household to have those ten minutes, or set aside some time during your lunch hour in your car or before you go to sleep in the evening. Given the demands of your day and the fast paced lifestyle that you may be leading, you may find that when you take those ten minutes, that it proves to be too difficult to simply relax and think of nothing. Do not feel concerned about this, this is your practice and you can create a meditation practice which is right for you at this time.

For many people, guided meditations are a wonderful way to meditate. You can have the meditation on CD or on your iPod and play in your home, car, or with headphones anywhere you are. Simply choose the meditation that appeals to you and play and enter the journey that the guided meditation provides with a guide and soft music.

If your day is full and you don’t have time for a guided meditation, create a sacred space for yourself that you can return to often. This is done by picturing a peaceful scene which you find relaxing. Perhaps it’s the beach or a mountain top or garden. Build the scene in your mind, adding beautiful details. If you find the concept of a garden to be calming, create a bench where you will sit in the garden. See the trees, the cascade of flowers blooming in a multitude of color and hear the birds chirping, along with the soft rustle of the breeze blowing through the leaves in the trees. Relax on the bench, stretch out your legs and with your eyes closed, tilt your head back and feel the warmth of the sun on your face. Take a deep breath and sigh out loud. Breathe in slow and deep and exhale fully, releasing the air from deep within. Notice the colors of the leaves and the bark on the trees. Take your shoes off and sink your feet deep into the soft grass, flexing your toes. As you breathe in again deeply, become aware of the flowers as their scent fills the garden.

Continue building this garden in great detail until you can see it fully in your mind and know it well. Then claim this scene as your sacred space. Know that you can return there anytime, all you need to do is to sit quietly, breathe deeply and imagine this scene in your mind. In this space, you can relax and spend a few minutes there every day. This act of active meditation can become a profound spiritual practice that can make a significant impact on your day and create a sense of relaxation and well-being.

Tune in tomorrow as we explore Enlightenment Gift Number Twelve. If you’ve missed Gift’s One, Two, Three, Four, Five Six,  Seven, Eight, Nine or Ten. Click on the links here to visit the articles and click on the subscribe button on the top section of this page, where you’ll be notified via email each time a new article by yours truly appears.

As Bob Marley once said, “Man is a universe within himself”.

Breathing deeply, unwinding and going within…
Kala

More about Kala Ambrose:
Kala is an award winning author, intuitive and talk show host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show. Her thought-provoking interviews entice listeners to tune in around the globe! Described by her guests and listeners as discerning, empowering and inspiring, she speaks with world renowned authors, artists, teachers and researchers delving into metaphysical, holistic and paranormal topics. Kala’s  book, 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled delves into the mysteries of ancient Egyptian mystery schools and explains their wisdom teachings. Kala lectures on Esoteric Teachings,  Developing Business Intuition, Working with Auras, Chakras and Energy Fields, and Wise Woman Wisdom (also known as the Divine Feminine). Kala’s Guided Meditations CD’s include Spirit of Hawaii and Egyptian Mystery Temple and Tibetan Mountain Journey.  More info: www.ExploreYourSpirit.com

Enjoyed this article? Kala welcomes your comments and reads them all. For more articles by Kala Ambrose, visit her main page at National Metaphysical Spirituality Examiner.

Following Sound into Silence:  Chanting Your Way Beyond Ego into Bliss – Illustrated book with mantra-music CD (2008, Hay House)
.. excerpt from the book by Dr. Kurt “Kailash” Bruder

Invitation to Chanting
Are you hoping to find a simple, straight-forward spiritual practice that reliably calms and concentrates your mind, elevates and stabilizes your feelings, and inspires and energizes your will? The fact that you’re reading this suggests that you’re already a spiritual seeker—someone wanting to experience the Great Mystery directly and hoping that this experience will translate into concrete improvements in your day-to- day life.

Devotional chanting is the very spiritual practice you need, allowing you to take full advantage of a resource that’s already available to you for your own evolution: your voice. If you’re like me, at some time or another you’ve been inspired by stories of saints and sages. You’ve probably imagined yourself becoming like them—holy, compassionate, wise, and carefree—only to discover that wishing didn’t take you there. Learning about how great someone else’s spiritual life was doesn’t do much by itself to improve your own. True enough, reading about their heroic efforts with respect to self-discipline and their amazing insights can be inspiring. However, it can also be discouraging in the long run, especially when you discover that the particulars of their path are simply too ambitious for you to imitate.

Yet, there’s this nagging sense that you can be more than you’ve been thus far and that a way of life that transcends your current limitations exists, if only you knew how to access it. But where do you begin? What you need is a system for spiritual development that works with your life as it is, yet challenges you enough to result in definite growth. It should stretch you where you need to expand and provide incentive to strive where you’ve been lax, while not overwhelming you with its complexity or difficulty. The practical spiritual exercise of devotional chanting has filled these needs for me, and I know it can do the same for you.

My own entry into chanting was from two different “angles.” One was my search for an approach to spiritual growth that would engage every dimension of my being, especially my feelings. For many years, my emphasis was on cultivating the clearest and most accurate understanding of ultimate reality that I could. This process led me to consider a wide variety of perspectives, first exclusively within Christianity, and then within other wisdom traditions as well. While I learned many things that I still regard as valuable, this philosophical approach was sometimes rather “dry” and detached. I wanted a practice that involved all of me—my body and heart, as well as my mind—which would lead me to a direct experience of the ideals I was pursuing. Devotional chanting delivers.

The other point of entry for me was my work as a scholar-teacher of communication. For the bulk of my professional life, I’ve been investigating the relationship between people’s specific communication behaviors and their interior lives, especially their sense of self. I came to realize that everything we say (or sing) to ourselves and others shapes us and contributes to the quality of our lives. My studies of interactive methods for spiritual development that have been used by people throughout history and around the world inevitably led me to devotional chanting…

Why Chant?
The advantages of this ancient form of worshipping the Divine are many and varied. Not only does chanting quiet our minds, it also helps us forget our troubles; produces a sense of connection with others; and fosters a wealth of positive feelings such as serenity, lightness, and joy. Many chanters—novices and veterans alike—even report the sensation of having transcended their bodies during this practice. Chanting is a technique that makes the best use of our love of pleasure, redirecting our desires toward the Supreme. In this way, chanting is a shortcut to ecstasy. Mantra repetition is a simple, enjoyable, and powerful procedure for purposefully reorganizing your consciousness. The uncomplicated nature of chanting may seem at odds with some of the extravagant claims made for its power as a form of spiritual technology.

After all, how could speaking or singing syllables from an ancient foreign language possibly generate such an amazing range of benefits? The very act of repeating a mantra induces relaxation, allowing you access to the sublime silence always abiding at the core of your being. Simplifying your mental processes by working with mantras will support you in increased concentration and emotional command. Additional benefits may be realized when you chant in coordination with other types of sadhana (spiritual practice). For example, the rewards of chanting are exponentially increased when also harnessing the force of imagination—such as repeating mantras while visualizing the Perfections that are being invoked…As you move through these pages, you’ll learn about other benefits common to all mantras, as well as many that are linked to the repetition of specific mantras…

Visit Kailash’s website, http://OmKailash.com, for chant-relevant information, events schedule, audio and video clips of Kailash chanting and teaching, and much more.

I’ve created a special series of guided meditations to guide and lift the energy from your solar plexus chakra up to the heart chakra. The meditations assist in bringing forth the Higher Self within each person to release the inner wisdom within your soul. Each meditation takes you on a relaxing and inspired journey using beautiful natural settings while offering the opportunity to interact with guides and other beings of light throughout each journey.

This series features three meditations, which are:

Tibetan Mountain Journey

The mountains of Tibet are calling to you, Are you ready to take the journey…

Journey through mountains, waterfalls and ice caves in this delightful and adventurous meditation through the Himalayan mountains of Tibet. The Tibetan Mountain Journey meditation is one of a three part series, which includes Spirit of Hawaii, Egyptian Mystery Temple and Tibetan Mountain Journey. The series was created to guide and lift energy from the solar plexus chakra to the heart chakra and to bring forth the Higher Self within each person to share the inner wisdom. Each meditation invites the listener on a relaxing and inspired journey using beautiful natural settings while offering the opportunity to interact with guides and other beings of light throughout each journey.

The soothing voice of Kala Ambrose comforts the soul along the journey. Accompanied by an ethereal harmony of flute and keyboard, the body, mind and spirit consciousness experience a sense of harmony with nature while underlying tones of falling water allow the meditative mind to settle deep into the experience.

Spirit of Hawaii

It’s time to connect with the loving Spirit of Hawaii, the secrets of the islands are meant to be shared…

There are sacred areas which enhance our intuitive abilities and allow us to connect deeper with the Earth and our soul.  The islands of Hawaii circulate this loving energy giving birth to new ideas and creativity.

The Spirit of Hawaii meditation is one of a three part series, which includes Spirit of Hawaii, Egyptian Mystery Temple and Tibetan Mountain Journey. The series was created to guide and lift energy from the solar plexus chakra to the heart chakra and to bring forth the Higher Self within each person to share the inner wisdom.  Each meditation invites the listener on a relaxing and inspired journey using beautiful natural settings while offering the opportunity to interact with guides and other beings of light throughout each journey.

The soothing voice of Kala Ambrose comforts the soul along the journey.  Accompanied by a subdued celestial melody, the body, mind and spirit consciousness experience deep tranquil moments allowing the experience to unfold in an empowering manner

and

Egyptian Mystery Temple

The Egyptian Goddess Hathor awaits your presence in her temple, will you heed her call….

The ancient temples of Egypt guided initiates through a series of rituals connecting each seeker with the energy of the universe. Many who journeyed through these rituals returned with the ability to speak to the gods and goddesses of Egypt.

The Egyptian Mystery Temple meditation is one of a three part series, which includes Spirit of Hawaii, Egyptian Mystery Temple and Tibetan Mountain Journey. The series was created to guide and lift energy from the solar plexus chakra to the heart chakra  and to bring forth the Higher Self within each person to share the inner wisdom. Each meditation invites the listener on a relaxing and inspired journey using beautiful natural settings while offering the opportunity to interact with guides and other beings of light throughout each journey.

The soothing voice of Kala Ambrose comforts the soul along the journey.  Accompanied by lush keyboards creating gentle melodies and blissful moods, the body, mind and spirit consciousness experience a sense of deep calm and mystery allowing the meditative experience to unfold as it should in divine order

Kala lends her powerful voice and energy in this series of Guided Meditation’s designed to illuminate the soul, awaken the mind and guide the listener within on a wondrous journey. Carefully crafted, Kala’s uplifting and empowering meditations allow beginners to revel in the joy of meditation with a guide, while more experienced meditation practitioners will enjoy peeling back the many layers of this work which allows for new experiences each time the meditation is played.

These Guided Meditations can be purchased on iTunes and Audible.com, where you can listen from your computer, burn to a CD or transfer as an MP3 file to your Apple iPod or over 500 other devices. Audible is home to millions of listeners who’ve discovered a new way to receive the entertainment, information, and knowledge they seek.

In great love, gratitude and joy!
*~ Kala ~*