06 April 2008
Don't Try To Save the World, Save Yourself
12/04/08 17:18
I just watched a wonderful new movie about the Dalai
Lama. The basic premise was that 40 really smart,
cutting age thinkers met with him to see if they
could find solutions to some of the world's problems.
If I could sum it up in a sentence I would need to
use the words of the Dalai Lama himself. He said,
"100 people with not so many brains could find more
solutions to the world's problems than 40 people with
smart brains." The movie showed what happens when 40
really smart people with egos get in a room and try
to work as a team. I had to laugh or cry, knowing
that I would have been right there with the best of
the egos!
Many of the group's leading thinkers wanted to talk to the Dalai Lama individually so that they could present their ideas to him. Others in the group were happy to put their ideas together and allow one person to speak for the group. When they did present, the Dalai Lama usually agreed with the people who had common sense ideas, not the big plans to save the world. It boiled down to practicing compassion within ourselves.....one person at a time.....to change the world.
Many of the group's leading thinkers wanted to talk to the Dalai Lama individually so that they could present their ideas to him. Others in the group were happy to put their ideas together and allow one person to speak for the group. When they did present, the Dalai Lama usually agreed with the people who had common sense ideas, not the big plans to save the world. It boiled down to practicing compassion within ourselves.....one person at a time.....to change the world.
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras
07/04/08 07:45
Yesterday we began our 4-part workshop on Patanjali's
Yoga Sutras. It was so much fun! We reviewed the text
as a whole and then got into the first part of
chapter 1. We talked about how the first chapter is
for people with stable minds, the second chapter for
people with unstable minds, the third chapter tells
us what we can achieve if we practice yoga (but to
not get caught up in these things) and the fourth
talks about reaching samadchi.
Chapter one begins with a commitment sutra which says "I am ready to take a new path- the old path is not working for me and I am suffering." Then it goes on to tell us that yoga is creating a on-pointed focus in the mind (which is why you can use it to achieve just about anything). Next Patanjali discusses the benefits of having a yoga mind- that we will see more clearly, make better decisions and ultimately suffer less. He also warns us of the other path- that we may not see clearly, make poor decisions and suffer more.
I could go on and on because I love the sutras so much! But for now I must go and do my practice!
Chapter one begins with a commitment sutra which says "I am ready to take a new path- the old path is not working for me and I am suffering." Then it goes on to tell us that yoga is creating a on-pointed focus in the mind (which is why you can use it to achieve just about anything). Next Patanjali discusses the benefits of having a yoga mind- that we will see more clearly, make better decisions and ultimately suffer less. He also warns us of the other path- that we may not see clearly, make poor decisions and suffer more.
I could go on and on because I love the sutras so much! But for now I must go and do my practice!