The Living Flame

 The Living Flame provides infinite possibilities for meditation, and the safest and most economical way of doing this is to use a candle. Sitting around a single flame can awaken in us the primordial instincts of the cave dweller, when it was fire that kept wild animals at bay, and was the only source of light and heat. It evokes feelings of comradeship, friendship and security

Some Yogis and Hindus still practise a fire ceremony (Agni Hotra), by meditating on the living flame at Sunset and Sunrise. This flam is produced by burning dried cow dung, as the cow is considered holy. It is said to purify the atmosphere and help the meditator achieve harmony with life. Here we use the lighted candle, which in churches throughout the world is used to represent living spirit. By meditating and participating in its light you will experience warmth and peace

Meditation

Meditate on the light of a candle flame. Then with Love kindle a small light in your heart.

With each peaceful breath encourage the light to grow,

until it permeates your whole being.

Then place the word LOVE in letters of gold, deep within the light.

Let go of the word LOVE and let it melt into the surrounding light

so that you are surrounded in an aura of golden white light.

Direct the light to friends in need and those you love

Gordon Smith Editor & Custodian Trustee

Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti Yoga is a heartfelt yoga that leads directly to union with God.  When we love we embrace more than ourselves and God the ‘Absolute Good’, is the Love that embraces the whole of creation. Yoga is not unlike a many faceted jewel that reflects its inner light to the world; the human body is our vehicle of experience which we are here to fashion and develop through time and the many yoga’s with its Gods and Goddesses,  the many functions that constitute the whole.

Within each moment of time there are infinite possibilities and the bhakti trains himself and herself to respond as perfectly as possible as the occasion requires. This means using their yogic training and expertise to still the mind and seek a heartfelt response, rather than weighing the action possibilities to gain some personal advantage.

God is love and it is love that awakens the potentialities that exist in each moment of time.  At the heart of Love is Truth and it is Truth which in its many forms has structured the many life-forms that we see around us. We have been given freedom of choice and karma is the product of private purpose, which ultimately makes us wise.

Bhakti Yoga is devotion to the highest and is guided by love, which moment by moment is linked to the inner sentient power which transcends the limitations of time, refines perception, and awakens us to a better way of doing things. To Will what God Wills for us we have to develop the mind of the heart, learn to still the mind and open to our own channel of intuitive perception. Every thought is a package of energy and carries its own emotional charge, which requires that we are ever watchful and always pure intentioned.

To love what we are doing is the key, whether a simple yoga posture or when meditating. It is a level of feeling which when refined transforms each breath, reaches beyond the limitation of ideas to reveal new perspectives and better ways of doing things. It is a level of feeling which is ever guiding, expanding every horizon and enabling each to fulfil is divine purpose.

Yoga for Back Pain

When we use the word Yoga it implies an intelligent and Conscious approach to whatever is being done. Whenever back pain is present there can be diverse reasons as to its cause, from serious trauma requiring immediate medical intervention, to the less serious, whether physical or psychological. At some point decision has to be made whether any form of exercise is appropriate and this is when the realistic approach of Yoga may prove helpful.

It is likely that if the cause of the pain is recent that the injury is at the acute stage, when inflammation, torn tissue and pressure due to swelling affecting nerve endings produces continuous discomfort and the best course of action is rest. It is when healing takes place and when musculature tightens that we enter the chronic phase, when there is undue stiffness and a lack of flexibility. Yoga exercise then becomes part of a Conscious and evolving process in which the spine and associated musculature is allowed to start to express itself through a range of movement, which is extremely gentle at first, as forced movement can be counter-productive. Some basic exercise is described as follows:-

Flexing the Spine as with the forward bending postures, particularly with disc related problems, has to be approached with caution. Paschimottanasana is a seated posture with the legs extended to the front, in which the posterior muscles of the body are given a stretch by bending forward and bringing the body toward the legs. The posture is then held for several seconds without pulling or jerking, but simply allowing the upper weight of the body to contribute toward the stretch. It takes time and patience to stretch tightened muscles; helps are directing the energy and the warmth of the out flowing breath toward the whole of the back.

Hyperextension is the counter pose posture which after spinal flexion is taken up from a lying face down position. Ideally it should be possible to first raise the head and shoulders without assistance from the arms. However, a realistic approach after suffering back trauma is to adopt a Sphinx like pose by resting on the forearms and then raising head and shoulders and holding position for several seconds. With improved flexibility the body can be raised further by adopting the Cobra or Bhujangasana pose with the hands palms down at shoulder level.

Lateral Flexion allows the spine to bend first to one side and then the other. There are a variety of Yoga postures to encourage this, usually from a stable seated position while sitting with the legs crossed or knees bent and at one side and then the other. The arms are then raised and clasped above the head and stability maintained as the body is stretched first to one side and then the other.

Spinal Rotation can be from either standing or sitting and the body rotated first one way and then the other, and holding the twist for several seconds at each turn.

This is a small example of the type of Yoga exercise then can help alleviate back pain. It is important to remember that the body is best supported by a well toned musculature and that there has to be achieved a balance between too relaxed and flaccid, called the hypotonic condition, and the too tense, the hypertonic. The ideal is when muscle tone is such that it is ready for immediate action and referred to as a balanced or tonic condition.

Yoga is very much bringing control back to the individual and assisting in the healing process through an intelligent awareness of the body, whether or not medical intervention has been necessary. The aim of Yogi throughout the ages has been to know one’self at all levels whether physically, mentally or spiritually.

A Book of Thoughts by Gordon Smith

Gordon's new book is now available! To all of you that have bought it in the last week, we hope you are enjoying all the positivity arising from within its pages 
A Book of Thoughts, a beautiful little book based on a lifetime of meditation and teaching yoga. It is suitable for anyone interested in philosophy and a useful handbook for yoga teachers and students as it contains 64 seed idea's for meditation. It is now available at only £12 including postage and packaging from 
http://www.nirvana-essence.co.uk/a-book-of-thoughts

Yoga and Christianity

Yoga and Christianity

Yoga and Christianity are two pillars of light which when studied together mutually enrich each other. Many, who practise Yoga, stop short when it comes to any mystical or spiritual considerations. Yoga and Religion are two words which are synonyms as the former means Union, and Religion in the same sense, is to bind back to God or the source that is the creator of everything that exists.   What confuses many Christians who approach ancient Hindu based practices is the apparent confusion of Gods, which refer to the many functions of one reality, rather than many Gods?

Yoga is Union in the sense of not only discovering the link factors that make us tick, but also discovering those which aid our mutual understanding and development. This means waking up to the fact that there is a universal or cosmic intelligence that guides us all. Whether Yogi, Christian or both, it is a committal to a lifetime of hard work and ‘letting’ the techniques of heartfelt meditation speak to us, whether via the medium of Hermeneutics, Art, Religion, Philosophy or Science.

Self-recognition is an important first step in self-understanding, and the fact of our own sentience and the feeling that we exist, would not be possible if the ground of our existence were a non-sentient, a none knowing power. The potential that we have for life must have existed since the beginning of time, as it is not possible for something which is dead and inert, to produce something intelligent from itself.

The Self (Atman)’ is that intelligence in us which knows, and has been guiding our development since the beginning of time. Yoga is learning to be guided by the source of that development, by stilling the mind, and clearing away the many cobwebs that prevent us seeing clearly. Both Yoga and Christianity express this universal truth in their own ways; Yoga through the concept of Brahman, “that which expands greater than the greatest”, which is a reference to the Absolute which is without limits, yet complete in itself. The Christians express this concept with “Our father, which art in heaven”; Our Father being the generative power which has guided us from the apparently “NO Thing” of infinite space into life and Being.

Sanskrit is the ancient sacred and classical language of the Hindus and yoga, having its origins in the sonic geometry of the universe, not unlike the words of Jesus that resonate down the years and bring light and understanding to those who have ears to hear. The Yogi who is working to unite the teachings both East and West, will have at their disposal a good Yoga/Sanskrit dictionary and a Red Letter Testament, in which the words of Jesus are highlighted in red. Sanskrit is unique as the words act like windows between time and eternity and assist with the hermeneutic art of the interpretation of words at the initiating level of spirit; the words of Jesus, having the catalytic power to awaken and inspire.

The spiritual teachings of the world are more than intellectual propositions and awaken the light in our hearts. This light is the light of consciousness that has links with the creative and healing energies of the universe. The ability to heal has now been largely lost to the human race. Thus-Yoga is the art of re-awakening the Divinity within ourselves. The following exercises are meditative in nature and toward ‘Self’ discovery awakening the creative powers within ourselves.

Self Healing

Self Healing - There was a time when planet earth did not exist, yet, from space has arisen, the first movement that started the evolutionary process to where we are today. Not all has been plain sailing as evidenced by the suffering that we see around us, which can be largely attributed to our own making. From the mystical tradition of Yoga has come the concept of Shabda Brahman that is the Divine Word which gives shape and form to creation.

A similar declaration is made at the start of St, John’s Gospel; In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, etc... This implies intelligence and an underlying blueprint that patterns life. Distortion of this pattern due to stress and being out of touch with the life force conducive to life, leads to suffering and eventual breakdown.

The art of the Yoga Teacher is to convert age old wisdom into practical exercises conducive to life and health. High on the list is the developing art of Yoga relaxation techniques, which are completely opposite to forms of escapism, and more akin to throwing open the curtains and accepting the light of a new dawn. The curtains are symbolic of the habitual habit patterns and the old framework through which we view the world. The new dawn is the intuitive light of consciousness which continually introduces new emergent’s and restructures the old; enabling the meditator to make profound changes to their lives.

At the beginning of time, before the mind was overloaded with data, it was possible to listen to the heart and attune to the Cosmic Purpose of the Creator. This early form of listening has guided evolution from the beginning. The Yogi recognises two birds that live in self same tree, one representing the ‘Lower Mind’, which is an accumulation of information from the five senses and the other the ’Higher Mind’, which structures the world and is glimpsed during meditation and the refining techniques of Yoga practice.

It is when the mind is still and the body is deeply relaxed, that we can attune to the pulse of life, and set a new pattern for the future that leads to health and well being.

Meditation

The New Dawn

Each day, refresh and renew; by stepping into stillness

The All comprehending space from which all life evolves.

Let go the thoughts that darken the mind.

Open each curtain that obscures the light of ‘Self’,

Quieten the breath, until the surface of your mind is still.

Touched by the Lotus Blossoms of Peace.

Let each fragrant breath capture the light of Eternity,

That touches time with its healing presence.

Becoming one with the light of your true essence,

Healing Body, Mind and the space around.

Do not close the curtains of your mind,

Let consciousness be your timeless guide.