Posted on

NO APOLOGIES

I cause trouble wherever I go.

I had 7 jobs over my career: 2 retail & 5 accounting.

RETAIL

1. My first job was 45 years ago – I used to drive the other employees nuts because I never sat still. There was no union – they just thought I was kissing ass. They literally could not comprehend why someone would work harder than they had to.

Working for my grandfather’s old lumberyard was my all time favorite job. Shout out to anyone left of the Oyster Bay Lumberyard crew.

2. My second job – went pretty much the same except I was met with outright hostility from other employees, who literally began stealing things since I had an interest in the business. I quit for the benefit of the real owner.

Newly married and contemplating rug rats, what were we to do? My grandfather used to say, “You make more money with your head than your back!” so I went back to school and got an advanced accounting degree.

ACCOUNTING

3. My first accounting job was 25 years ago – my second day on the job my supervisor asked me to fabricate financial statements for a client. Literally, just came right out and told me to add non-existent assets to a client’s balance sheet so the bank would give him a loan!! When she wouldn’t listen to reason, I went to the owner – who took me out to dinner and invited me to join the firm.

4. My next job was for one of the mega accounting firms of the day. We were all just so many cattle (and not like in India either – rather, as in Texas!) How did I manage to piss off my peers this time? By volunteering to work when there wasn’t any given to me.

5. I bailed as soon as I had a chance and become the director of accounting for one of my clients: Snapple – back when Wendy was the company’s spokesperson. At that point, my previous employer, mega-accountron, essentially became an adversary since my old boss was now auditing my work – and I knew how they played the game! 😉

The three partners who owned Snapple before it got caught up in a game of virtual monopoly were three of the best bosses I’ve ever had the pleasure to work for: savvy and kindhearted, which is an awesome, winning combination. 😉 [Historical footnote: not-so-much for the folks at megacorp Quaker, who tried to dictate unfair terms to their new customers; ask anyone who’s gotten an MBA in the past fifteen years.]

6. I went to work for the guy who orchestrated the sale of Snapple to Quaker – one of the most lucrative investments in the history of megatron-sized investments. [Historical footnote #2: I’m the only person I know who worked for Snapple at the time of the sale who didn’t make a dime on it].

My new boss became an instant mega-supper-dupper lottery winner and started his own investment firm – with airplanes and and all the rest of the trappings. It was a real life version of some Wall Street movie where secretaries (sorry ladies) won luxury automobiles at holiday parties!!

I was a workaholic for most of my 13-year tenure there – always on pins and needles worrying that the guy was going to can me. It’s not clear whether I left that job or he fired me: my termination was a consequence of my refusal to fire an innocent friend whom I depended upon to do MY job! Talk about a rock and a hard place!

7. My next and last accounting job, which I just shook off 19 months ago to “retire” was a more painful version of the previous one for a LOT less money, and for people as passionate about the old Republican establishment as I am about yoga!! I was referred to internally as the firm’s token Democrat.

YOGA (early days)

Nineteen months ago, just as I had fifteen years ago when I turned my family’s life upside down thinking it would be a good idea to hitch a ride over to the Harley dealership in Revere and ride home on a motorcycle – I decided to start my own yoga business.

Yoga is virtually all I’ve thought about – besides family, friends and myself (unfortunately not in that order) – for 14 years.

Here’s the funny part: just like when I left my mega-dollar accounting job, and my ego said, “No problem! The job offers will come pouring in…….” – I coasted for the better part of a year before it dawned on me that wasn’t going to happen, and I better get up off my ass.

YOGA (these days)

Nineteen months ago I thought, “I know something about yoga that no one else does!! 😉 Of course students will come pouring in….” Again, not so much (though to my true students – you know who you are – you have my eternal gratitude!)

So I’m turning up the heat in my pursuit of spreading what I know about yoga.

Part of that effort has been put into a charitable association for certified yoga instructors (I WISH I knew how to add heart emojis in WordPress!!!!), who’s mandate is:

fellowship, education and service

My sincere, heartfelt thanks to those who have responded “YES”!!! It’s going to be awesome! Modeled after the old, stodgy corporate affairs – a few hours of study in the morning followed by an awesome meal and an afternoon of service – rather than golf!  😉

Another part of the effort to spread the word about mind-control and consciousness has been put into Marblehead’s chapter of BNI: the Nor’easters. That chapter of the story next!

Namaste 😉

Class schedule

Posted on

Asana to Amma

My dearest friends (and any yoga instructor teaching on the north shore of MA who asks!) will receive a copy of Amma’s biography as a holiday gift from our Raja Yoga studio this year. Yeah, we went there in mid-October!

I’ve been reading excerpts in the morning as part of a personal “puja”, or study/worship practice.

Here’s the thing: just as a zebra will never become an elephant, I will always stand up for underdogs and remain skeptical in the face of authority (characteristics that made me a good auditor); however, if even 5% of what is written in Amma’s biography is True…

(and here’s the thing – she’s VERY much alive – there are A LOT of people who could stand up and refute any of what’s written!! – but NO ONE is!)

….she’s a living saint.

Amma is worthy of ALL of our respect and admiration! Even if you’re an atheist, you HAVE to give this woman props for her Phelps-esque Olympic devotion to God! No wonder she’s been received at the UN. I really hope you read her story!

From today’s reading (page 64) [Sudhamani eventually became known as Amma]:

[When Sudhamani was about 16]…..If there were any time remaining after completing her embroidery work, Sudhamani would return to the chapel, which had an inner apartment like a cave. In the dim light, she would gaze upon the crucified form of Jesus Christ. Seeing Jesus on the cross, she felt Him to be her beloved Krishna. Immediately, she would become enraptured. Returning to the plane of normal consciousness, she would weep, thinking of the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ and Krishna. She would think, ‘O, how They have sacrificed everything for the world! People turned against Them, but still They loved them. If They have done it, then why can’t I? There is nothing new in it.’

Sudhamani was acutely aware of the extreme poverty of the villagers. Seeing their sorrows and sufferings, the little one would weep in the silent hours she spent in the shrine room. She would pray, ‘O God, is this life? People are toiling day in and day out just for a bit of food to satisfy their hunger. O Krishna, why do you allow them to starve? Why do they become afflicted with diseases? Everywhere I turn I come face to face with selfishness and people’s sufferings caused by it. Youngsters pray for a long life and children pray for an early death for their aged father and mother. Nobody is at all interested to care for the elderly. O Lord, what kind of world is this? What is the purpose of creating such a world? O Krishna, what is the solution for all this?’ Such were the prayers of the innocent girl.

Whatever you believe about life or Amma, it’s a universal Truth that we get out of something what we put into it (it’s science!)

That being the case, consider what Amma must have experienced and witnessed as a consequence of her interminable, lifelong devotion!!

Imagine coming as close as humanly possible to witnessing what’s been described over millennia as beyond human comprehension. Remember, consciousness (evidence of the existence of God) doesn’t exist in time and space the way our body and mind do, although it reveals itself as:

  • patience – some say “curiosity and compassion”;
  • intuition – our “inner voice”; knowing without cognition that something is True;
  • awareness – recognizing that our body/mind is only two thirds – at best – of what we are; and
  • bliss – perhaps best described by people who’ve experienced sensory depravation: a calm stillness beyond thought.

Somewhere along the path that typically begins with Asana (ironically, poses are the third in a series of five exercises intended to facilitate lengthy prayer, or meditation), faith kicks in and when THAT happens you change.  😉

Class schedule

Posted on

Yogi vs Yoga

Two of these people are my teachers.

It’s probably a good thing I’ve never met the other two – though, believe it or not, I can do what they can do [I just don’t look as good doing it!!]

But what I REALLY want to do is what my teachers do:

bring peace to millions

 

Yes; I have an enormous ego – but I have an even bigger heart.

Let me help the people you love feel better about themselves.

Meditation isn’t easy, but neither is suffering.

Thank you, Allan Dowds

The Marblehead School of Raja Yoga class schedule

Posted on

Pray Like a Yogi (learn to meditate!)

Skype?

Would you like to learn to meditate (or understand the science behind it?) from the comfort of your own home?

Skype’s an amazing thing!

Obviously, it isn’t quite the same as an in-person lesson (the energy is somewhat diminished) but my guru has students all over the world, so she HAS to Skype – and she swears her lessons are virtually as effective online as in-person.

Click ‘n email for more info! 😉

Preparation!

That said, remember all the things we can do to live less stressfully off the matt – to get the most out of our meditation, whenever or however we do it:

Be kind to others; follow the Golden Rule (you know you sleep better at night when you’re kind and helpful – rather than the opposite!).

Be kind to yourself; act with compassion; practice purity, serenity, courage, wisdom and faith to reduce stress and anxiety; take care of yourself physically, mentally and spiritually; get enough sleep, exercise, and nourishment to fulfill your responsibilities to the best of your ability; read – specifically, inspiring stories (like Amma’s bibliography!!); pray, contemplate, be mindful, meditate – whatever you call it, give your sub-conscious mind a chance to purge its most pressing fears and desires in a time and place of your choosing; somewhere that feels safe and comfortable and somehow inviting.

Exercise – in short, make your exercise routine fun – otherwise, in won’t become a habit; swim, walk (outside!), dance or cycle – all awesome whole-body workouts that won’t leave you feeling like you’re about to expire – unless of course, you’re into that!

Breathe – [caveat: breathing exercises initially require a teacher’s supervision; remember, our diaphragm massages and stimulates the organs and systems that keep us alive – including our heart and brain! Unlike the muscles that move us; maintaining our inner parts requires a softer, more loving touch.]

Try sitting still for two minutes – with your eyes not-quite closed – and simply observe your breathing. Don’t change a thing. Pay attention to each inhalation and exhalation from beginning to end – and notice the momentary pause in between. Notice what happens to the pause over time. I ALWAYS find it calming to simply observe my body breathing on its own.

Focus – our conscious mind is the aspect we’re aware of: it’s our control mechanism/monkey mind. Unless we’re purposefully being mindful, we’re either using this aspect of our mind to make a decision or we’re listening to it.

This part of our mind is easiest to control in part because it can only do one thing at a time! Our non-physical conscious mind “acts” like our heart and lungs: single, consecutive, and hopefully constant – beats, breaths and thoughts. If you’re unsure, try simultaneously counting and reciting the alphabet – right; not happening.

The first step to learning to control our conscious mind is to distinguish between it and our sub-conscious mind – in our self; to experience them differently, to truly perceive them separately.

The next step is learning to focus or hold our conscious mind (our attention) on one thing for a prolonged period of time. Simple – not easy – but well worth the time and effort!

In summary, to prepare to meditate:

Even before coming to class or Skyping you can prepare to have a deeper, more meaningful experience by:

Generally acting in a manner that fosters a calmer, more peaceful demeanor, as opposed to an agitated one; specifically,

  • treat others with compassion;
  • treat yourself the same way;
  • foster a faith-based attitude of serenity, courage, and wisdom;
  • exercise;
  • breathe;
  • learn to distinguish between your own conscious mind (evidenced by your thoughts – the words in your head), and sub-conscious mind (evidenced by your actions: walking, talking, breathing, chewing – all the stuff we don’t have to “think” to do!)

Now we’re ready to meditate; to draw our attention inward, closer to the energetically subtlest aspect of our selves: our immutable awareness.

Namaste

Class schedule

Posted on

Inspiration

What could be more inspiring than reading about the suffering of a CHILD – born into hell on earth, who lovingly accepted whatever new anguish befell her as a lesson from her beloved God, whom she calls Krishna.

Amma is a living embodiment of the spirit of RajaYoga: selfless acceptance and relentless pursuit of a deeper connection and union with God.

As her biography quotes from the Bhagavad Gita [another prehistoric poem, and the only other universally-recognized authoritative source on Raja Yoga – the science of meditation, the original form of prayer]:

“The Blessed Lord said: those who fixing their mind on Me, worship Me, ever steadfast and endowed with supreme faith, they … are the best versed in Yoga.”

Namaste.

Posted on

Yoga Instructors Association

The Yoga Instructors Association sent out its first official old-school mailing today!  Invitations were sent to instructors in the following towns:

  • 01945 – 17
  • 01970 – 10
  • 01915 – 3
  • 01904 – 1
  • 01907 – 1

Clearly, there are more of us teaching in Marblehead & Salem; however, all certified yoga instructors living or teaching in Lynn, Swampscott, Marblehead, Salem and Beverly are hereby invited to join us for fun, learning and community service.

Check your snail-mail box for an invitation. For the twenty other local instructors for whom we don’t have a physical mailing address – look for something electronically!

Posted on

Inspiration

From a book: Amma’s biography

This morning we read from Amma’s biography. As I told my wife later, if the story of Amma’s childhood is even “directionally correct” (as we used to say in auditing), the woman is a saint.

If you’re looking for inspiration, purpose, or a living example of faith and devotion, read her biography, or better yet, go meet her! You’ll be glad you did.

From TV: National Geographic’s “The Story of Us”

While this blog is primarily about me and Amma (no ego here), I have to give equal mention to the individuals highlighted in National Geographic’s “The Story of Us”, narrated by Morgan Freedman.

Mr. Freedman seems divinely inspired as he narrates the stories of 4-5 people who, against all odds, survived unimaginable anguish through sheer force of will (strength of mind).

The show is breathtaking: shockingly-awful (inasmuch as we see the worst of humanity alongside the best) and yet somehow simultaneously equally inspiring.

Humans are capable of miraculous physical and mental toughness and endurance (individually – let alone as a species!!). It’s not a coincidence that we’re the most consciously-evolved beings on the planet – so far!

The Sinner

When I was in the third grade we moved from a close suburb of NYC to rural Vermont. My father literally took us as far away from his in-laws as possible.

That was one of two points of transition in my young life when I turned to God (albeit briefly).

I attended fourth grade in a two-story brick schoolhouse with a basement, or more precisely, a post WWII air raid shelter converted to a cafeteria/music room.

One of my favorite songs as a traumatized and uprooted 8 year old was “Onward Christen Soldiers”. I loved that song! One day during “music” class – held in the concrete basement of the old school house – tight quarters and cement walls did wonders for the acoustics – we started to sign my favorite song!!

“Started” because, virtually as soon as I opened my mouth and belted out the first few words, the teacher stopped the entire production, singled me out, and told me to stop singing. Apparently, I was off pitch.

OK, I was beyond humiliated in front of a bunch of country kids I barely knew and had nothing in common with – BUT at least they were going to keep singing my favorite song!

“Were”, because again, almost as soon as the signing started the teacher halted everything, singled me out, and again told me to shut my mouth. Apparently, lip-synching – especially enthusiastically – wasn’t acceptable in 1965.

The Saint

Amma embodies the concept of worship through service.

Like the oppositional states of matter that sustain us, I can only marvel at, and laud her ceaseless, tireless drive to honor and serve God by relieving OTHER people’s suffering – at her own expense!!

Be inspired

Be inspired to act self-less-ly rather than self-ish-ly.

Read Amma’s story: the poor thing was an “untouchable”, shunned, beaten and abused by her own mother; horrifically treated – in part simply because of her dark complexion! Yet she accepted it all as lessons from her beloved God provided to deepen her understanding of the Truth.

Or watch the stories of individual heroism narrated by Mr. Freedman and be moved to tears of joy and sorrow – and experience profound respect and admiration for people with a purpose who are willing to die for someone or something other than themselves.

That level of faith, conviction and love is not just inspiring, it’s divine.

Namaste