"The high mission of any art is, by its illusions, to foreshadow a higher universe reality, to crystallize the emotions of time into the thought of eternity.
Since the beginning of the human race, we have engaged the mind and the senses to perceive the world around us, and to recognize a relationship between the world and our own human interaction.
We begin this relationship at birth; from our first recognition of our growing sensory perceptions we learn to recognize our parents. From them, we learn to recognize the world around us and from what we perceive of that, develop a relationship with that world through our experiences.
We all have experiences, that is what being human is all about. Yet we do not always have the same experiences. What makes us so unique is our ability to integrate experience into life and to socialize with others and their experience.
We have the mind to take experience and integrate it into our perceptions of reality and improve our perceptions, or to put it in other words, we can choose to evolve.
From the very beginning we have tried to see the world and ourselves in the best way we can. Everyone always, and at all times, does the very best they are capable of doing to live life in a way that will create happiness, or fulfillment through satisfaction.
In retrospect it would appear that some do better than others, but the truth is we will try to do the best we can rather than to intentionally choose to create suffering in our lives.
Excerpt from the Library, read the rest of this article: HERE
The Ishayas bring forward a simple but powerful practice; one that dissolves stress from the body, brings peace to the mind and returns life to optimal potential.
Ride the Tiger
Inspired by “Life of Pi”
What is the story of my life? Whichever one I choose to make real or bring into my focus. There are the events played out and the experiences that I have had in my life… and yet were you to ask me that question, I would have to choose which story to tell you and from what angle.
The secret is that you can as if rewrite your entire story from this present moment. You can change the past and you can direct your future to wherever you want it to go. None of us live in a life created by somebody else or something else. This gives us both the freedom to change and it also dissolves our victim-consciousness.
Some of the most liberating experiences in my life have been those moments where I have been able to rewrite the script. To see how an entire chain of events has shifted into one of appreciation and love instead of the dreadful march through the darkness of ignorance. The slightest change in the inner environment towards what is real changes everything.
No one can make this change happen for me as it does not come from the outside, but I have never been alone with it either. The story of my life, the original draft of it, is created from Unconditional Love, Infinite Wisdom, Unyielding Strength. Connecting with That through direct experience is what changes everything. Every single moment of my life is seen in a different light, it becomes enlightened through clear perception of reality.
That story is worthy of telling. It is worthy to be found and experienced. Unique to each individual and yet born from the One source.
Ride the tiger into the night, have the courage of a thousand, dive into the depths of the great waters. Live a life worthy of who you really are.
Nataraja
What is the story of my life? Whichever one I choose to make real or bring into my focus. There are the events played out and the experiences that I have had in my life… and yet were you to ask me that question, I would have to choose which story to tell you and from what angle.
The secret is that you can as if rewrite your entire story from this present moment. You can change the past and you can direct your future to wherever you want it to go. None of us live in a life created by somebody else or something else. This gives us both the freedom to change and it also dissolves our victim-consciousness.
Some of the most liberating experiences in my life have been those moments where I have been able to rewrite the script. To see how an entire chain of events has shifted into one of appreciation and love instead of the dreadful march through the darkness of ignorance. The slightest change in the inner environment towards what is real changes everything.
No one can make this change happen for me as it does not come from the outside, but I have never been alone with it either. The story of my life, the original draft of it, is created from Unconditional Love, Infinite Wisdom, Unyielding Strength. Connecting with That through direct experience is what changes everything. Every single moment of my life is seen in a different light, it becomes enlightened through clear perception of reality.
That story is worthy of telling. It is worthy to be found and experienced. Unique to each individual and yet born from the One source.
Ride the tiger into the night, have the courage of a thousand, dive into the depths of the great waters. Live a life worthy of who you really are.
Nataraja
Meditation in the Military and in Universities Higher Education
January 2013 marked an era of new beginnings. The Marines and the University of Virginia are have both begun what may be continual offerings of meditation mindfulness (aka mindfulness meditation) courses!
Camp Pendleton School Infantry-West will offered an eight-week course in mindfulness starting on Tuesday (January 22, 2013) to about 80 Marines. The plan was to give Marines a tool to regulate their own stress levels before they lead to problematic behavior: "We have doctors, counselors, behavioral health scientists, all sorts of people to get help for Marines who have exhibited stress type symptoms but what can we do before that happens? How do we armor Marines up so they are capable of handling stress?" said Jeffrey Bearor, the executive deputy of the Marine Corps training and education command at its headquarters in Quantico. (1)
Adding to behavioral issues while in the military, veterans by the thousands are seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress. A record number are committing suicide, causing the military to search for ways to reduce strains on service members and veterans.
Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training" or "M-Fit" was designed by former U.S. Army Capt. Elizabeth Stanley, a professor at Georgetown University who found relief doing yoga and meditation for her PTSD. (“Mindfulness” includes practices that emphasize non-judgmental active attention to keep the mind in the present.)
Stanley, who is also involved in studies for the Army, said the techniques can help those in battle think more clearly under fire when they are often forced to make quick decisions that could mean life or death, and help them reset their nervous systems after being in combat.
"If indeed that proves to be the case, then it's our intention to turn this into a training program where Marines train Marines in these techniques," Bearor said. "We would interject this into the entry level training pipeline - we don't know where yet - so every Marine would be trained in these techniques."
The growing movement of mindfulness courses, as well as student interest in the topic, is being spurred in part by research showing how stress affects the ability to learn. The University of Virginia offered ‘Mindfulness as a Tool for Learning and Living,’ for the January 2013 term. The course included a number of contemplative exercises as well as a dozen guest speakers who taught the class a variety of contemplative practices, including yoga, nia and t’ai chi. (2)
UVA’s new Contemplative Sciences Center, to be launched in April, will also offer a 180-person class this spring on ‘Buddhist Meditation and Modernity’ that will cover mindfulness. There are 50 students already on the wait list.
______________________________________________
(1) http://www.13abc.com/story/20632304/marines-test-adding-meditation-stretching-to-training)
(2) http://anniemurphypaul.com/2013/01/colleges-begin-to-offer-meditation-101/#
Camp Pendleton School Infantry-West will offered an eight-week course in mindfulness starting on Tuesday (January 22, 2013) to about 80 Marines. The plan was to give Marines a tool to regulate their own stress levels before they lead to problematic behavior: "We have doctors, counselors, behavioral health scientists, all sorts of people to get help for Marines who have exhibited stress type symptoms but what can we do before that happens? How do we armor Marines up so they are capable of handling stress?" said Jeffrey Bearor, the executive deputy of the Marine Corps training and education command at its headquarters in Quantico. (1)
Adding to behavioral issues while in the military, veterans by the thousands are seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress. A record number are committing suicide, causing the military to search for ways to reduce strains on service members and veterans.
Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training" or "M-Fit" was designed by former U.S. Army Capt. Elizabeth Stanley, a professor at Georgetown University who found relief doing yoga and meditation for her PTSD. (“Mindfulness” includes practices that emphasize non-judgmental active attention to keep the mind in the present.)
Stanley, who is also involved in studies for the Army, said the techniques can help those in battle think more clearly under fire when they are often forced to make quick decisions that could mean life or death, and help them reset their nervous systems after being in combat.
"If indeed that proves to be the case, then it's our intention to turn this into a training program where Marines train Marines in these techniques," Bearor said. "We would interject this into the entry level training pipeline - we don't know where yet - so every Marine would be trained in these techniques."
The growing movement of mindfulness courses, as well as student interest in the topic, is being spurred in part by research showing how stress affects the ability to learn. The University of Virginia offered ‘Mindfulness as a Tool for Learning and Living,’ for the January 2013 term. The course included a number of contemplative exercises as well as a dozen guest speakers who taught the class a variety of contemplative practices, including yoga, nia and t’ai chi. (2)
UVA’s new Contemplative Sciences Center, to be launched in April, will also offer a 180-person class this spring on ‘Buddhist Meditation and Modernity’ that will cover mindfulness. There are 50 students already on the wait list.
______________________________________________
(1) http://www.13abc.com/story/20632304/marines-test-adding-meditation-stretching-to-training)
(2) http://anniemurphypaul.com/2013/01/colleges-begin-to-offer-meditation-101/#
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