We’re subject to three types of karma, or consequences:

• Directly as a consequence of our own behavior;
• Indirectly as a consequence of someone else’s behavior; and
• Indirectly as a consequence of natural events (e.g., our DNA, tornados).

In other words, most of what happens to us is beyond our control; however, we CAN affect our own behavior (e.g., start new habits; break old ones) thus influencing our state of mind.

According to Patanjali, ignorance* gives rise to the fears and desires that fuel our thoughts and drive our behavior.

[* the inability to distinguish between mind and consciousness: thought and the awareness thereof.]

Patanjali’s Raja Yoga is sometimes referred to as Karma or Kriya (action) Yoga because it’s practiced to affect our own actions and reactions to the events of our lives – purposely to affect better outcomes for all.

Patanjali’s path to lasting universal peace:

• Overcome ignorance to
• Mitigate fear, desire and ego, to
• Influence thoughts and behavior, to
• Reduce universal suffering (ours, others, and environmental).

Influence what happens between your ears to affect the quality of your life and the world around you.

Meditate! Exercise for the inside of us.

Blessings, Skip (aka Allan)

We’re each capable of experiencing five distinct states of mind.

Think of a Boston parking garage with five levels: 1, L3, L2, L1, B.

(1) Conscious Mind – this is our “normal” state of mind: the above-ground level in the parking garage analogy. This mental state is characterized by words, including the voice in our head; transcending this mental state is associated with the end of attachment.

(L3) Sub-conscious Mind – closest to Conscious Mind; thus, the energetically densest of the three sub-conscious mental states; transcending this mental state is associated with the end of sorrow – superseded by serenity as sensuality dissipates.

(L2) Sub-conscious – the middle of three energetic sub-conscious mental states; transcending this mental state is associated with the end of fear – superseded by faith as memory’s affects subside.

(L1) Sub-conscious – the energetically subtlest [quietest] sub-conscious mental state; closest to Consciousness; transcending this mental state is associated with the end of delusion – superseded by wisdom as ego becomes less energized.

(B) Consciousness – this is where the parking garage analogy breaks down; there is no real world equivalent for something that isn’t affected by time and space. Think of this level as the “X” on a three dimensional map of the parking garage [think treasure map!]! Transcending Mind altogether – union with our Self – is associated with indescribable Bliss: the state of yoga.❤😊🕉

Tap into the power within: meditate.

God bless, Skip

Dedicating this one to my newest student! No guns allowed in the studio Buddy! The very first rule of Raja Yoga is love – and it starts with your self.

After picking a spot where you’re going to sit for a few minutes every day to relax, your next homework assignment is to read this and the posts linked below.

PART I – HERE’S WHY

Your frame of mind as you sit to meditate is important. You have NO idea what will come up when you sit quietly with your thoughts, so make it fun!! It’s sort of like fishing: just be prepared and patient.

When trying to change habits, you need three things to sustain them: desire, resources and knowledge. You make the time. I’ll help you keep it fun and teach you how!

Is your stress level – your ability to cope – going to improve on its own? Not likely. Learn to control your thoughts so they don’t control you.

All it takes is practice!

Make meditating like brushing your teeth. You might let a lot of things slip, but you likely brush your teeth every day. It’s really that easy: practice, practice, practice. You’ll see the near term benefits soon enough. Practice for 20 years and you’ll be sharing it with others too.

How can you make it fun? Use your imagination! Visualization is a third of the practice of restorative, medical qigong as I’m learning it. This is no different.

As I sat down this morning in my favorite sunny spot and closed my eyes (almost!) I imagined that I was a kid again, hopping on and getting ready to ride a toboggan downhill. I was grinning from ear to ear!!

I grew up in Vermont, so a toboggan works for me. Ride your own toboggan in your mind and smile from your heart like a kid again!

PART II – HERE’S HOW

Once seated:

Lift up and drop down energetically from your heart-center.

Set an intention, either specific or general. Seek an answer. Acknowledge why you’re doing this: effectively praying. Express appreciation for the unique, miraculous manifestation of body, mind and consciousness that is you. Express gratitude for your blessings. Or just close your eyes and push off!

Sit upright, relatively still and quiet. Adjust and shift your weight as necessary; otherwise, be a tree – subject only to swaying in the breeze. Your mind, organs and systems are always in motion so don’t try to stop anything. We’re trying to get our various physical and mental systems to “idle” or run quietly, less stressfully, for whatever period of time we’ve set aside. The goal is to reach an ALMOST hypnotic state of sub-consciousness marked by calm, rhythmic breath, heart, and thought rates.

• Thoughts – focus your attention on something benign but complex enough to hold your attention. I suggest starting with the alphabet; learn to recite it forward and backwards. It’ll take a little practice but eventually it won’t require as much attention – just beware not to let the recitation become rote. When our sub-conscious mind takes over and we learn to “do” it without “thinking” about it – it frees up our “thinking” mind to wander off to find something else to occupy itself! Right now, we’re practicing reducing the wandering for a little while.

Btw – when your thoughts do drift, gently smile because that’s the nature of our mind; let your breathing settle again, and re-focus. Practice makes perfect. The length of time you can comfortably sit in a sub- or semi-conscious state will lengthen and the state will deepen. 😉

• Breaths – breathe naturally into your stomach like a child [navel away from your spine on the inhalation; toward your spine on the exhalation]. To begin, simply observe your body breathing [a recent post describes the mechanics of breathing; see if you can translate my post description into your experience].

The object here is to breathe in a settled, rhythmic, subtle, quiet, deep, comfortable, manner – facilitating and fostering a sub- or semi-conscious state of mind. Your breath will settle into a rhythm over time. It may help to play soft melodic music in the background.

• Heartbeats – ironically, this is the hardest of the three to affect, partially because it can be difficult to sense our pulse without using our fingers. Sometimes it’s easier to sense it in the wrist or neck than in our chest. In order to find and focus attention on – thereby calming – our heartbeat, we quiet our breathing and thinking first.

There’s no right or wrong way to settle and sooth your self. Techniques are as vast and varied as we are. Patanjali’s Raja Yoga is a tested, tried and true method for slipping below the noise when you want and need to!

Ask questions!! I’m here to help.

Other recent posts for novice mind control enthusiasts:

1. calming breathing exercises 
2. meditate step 5
3. sunday reflection 5/20/18 
4. giving birth to faith
5. take your mind offline
6. take 2 asprin and call me in the morning
7. breadcrumbs
8. what does consciousness have to do with relaxing
9. open letter to dan harris
10. the poor me’s
11. i see something
12. find the real you. meditate
13. spiritual guide for hire
14. the mechanics of meditating 
15. forget what you see in the mirror 
16. battling addiction – insights from a 60 year old addict 

To see yourself from the inside out:

• SIT STILL & UPRIGHT
• RELAX
• CLOSE YOUR EYES ALMOST ALL THE WAY [LET LIGHT IN]
• BREATHE CALMLY, DEEPLY, RHYTHMICALLY
• FOCUS
• FOCUS
• FOCUS
• FOCUS

You get the idea: it’s simple, not easy.

At the beginning, focus all of your attention on a physical aspect of your body (e.g., breath, heart beat, physical sensation). If that doesn’t work, silently and slowly recite the alphabet forward and backwards.

Your thoughts WILL drift away from the object of your attention. When you realize it’s happened, smile and gently bring your attention back to the object as if you’re lovingly leading a child home.

Like EVERYTHING, you WILL get better at it the longer you do it. How long have you been working at your profession? I assume you’re better at it today than your first day on the job. Same idea.

Eventually your intuition deepens as you access the more subtle, generally sub-conscious regions of your own mind.

Trust me, you WANT to be motivated by intuition. It saves SO MUCH TIME & TROUBLE!! 

Just start. Like ANY new healthy habit chose one a) you’ll enjoy and thus want to make time for, and b) one you KNOW you’ll be grateful for twenty years from now – to stoke that motivation. Because I’m lazy, I picked two simple, relatively easy ones a long time ago: walking and meditating.

It’s your body/mind. Take loving care of it because – sadly – no one else ever will. It took a long time for my teacher’s expression “we’re all alone” to sink in. THAT PART SUCKS!!

If you’re religious or spiritual, I encourage you to think of your body/mind as a gift from God.❤

If you’re not (and 16 years ago I wasn’t), I encourage you to recognize the scientific miraculousness of your body/mind – and to meditate!!

When you realize the nature of your own awareness, the world around you takes on an entirely new, miraculous perspective. I wish it for everyone.

Seeing life as miraculous, if not divine, is a happier way of living! That paradigm relieves fear, reducing blood pressure, stress and anxiety!

It inspires us to take better care of our self.

My job description: stimulating self-awareness in others.

Wishing you insights galore and lasting peace of mind.

Blessings, Skip ❤😊🕉

Steps #1-4 😉

WHAT IS RAJA YOGA?

I’m a Raja Yogi, a devotee of Patanjali.

Patanjali was the legendary author of the Yoga Sutras, a 200-line poem universally recognized as the authoritative source on the science and practice of Raja Yoga.

Raja Yoga is a personal proof of the scientific hypothesis that consciousness (our awareness) isn’t like anything else in the known universe. This practice has withstood the test of time for good reason:

Mind control (generically, “meditation”) is a gateway “TO THE OTHER SIDE!!”

That’s not marketing hype; that’s fact.

I’m not an authority on Raja Yoga but I am speaking from personal experience. I’ve led an incredibly blessed life:

I was a straight A post-graduate student [we won’t talk about my college grades!] I passed the CPA exam on my first try. I worked for a big eight accounting firm in Manhattan for several years before becoming the chief accounting officer for a pubic company. I ran the back office of a multi-billion dollar investment company for thirteen years – and quit that insanely lucrative job on principle.

I became a disciple of Patanjali’s 15 years ago; I became a devotee and started teaching others two years ago.

Mind control literally changes your paradigm – your perspective on EVERYTHING!

You want to see yourself as I see you – I promise.

Here are a couple keys to success (all the details are in this blog), constantly:

• practice distinguishing between your thinking and doing mind;
• practice distinguishing between your thoughts and your awareness OF them;
• practice driving your thinking mind – not just while you’re sitting on a meditation cushion;
• contemplate the nature of your awareness.

Happy trails.

God bless. Skip

10 minute video introducing Raja Yoga