I spent the weekend in Corpus Christ, TX with my Teacher Training group there. We had Manorama teaching on Friday night and Saturday and I taught on Sunday. I always love getting a chance to spend time with Manorama and listen to her teachings. This weekend was no different. She spent Friday night in what she called a "traditional satsang" where she had a student read from a book by Ramana Maharshi while she interjected commentary, gave explanations, asked provocative questions and fielded questions from the group. It was a wonderful evening full of great gems and insight.
A few pearls:
And so begins your journey of not taking everything literally.
You have to study your translation. First you study someone else's translation (of a text). Then you have to study your translation.
The one thing never absent from the study of yoga is you. Of course, that opens up a much bigger question: Who are you?
What is You is not limited self alone but it is not Absloute Self alone either. It is both.
We have tons of practices for the body and mind but we have limited experience with understanding what underlies reality as we know it.
Tantras are tools.
On mantra: That which protects the mind. The mind is the bridge between the relative and the The Absolute. We do not leave the mind behind.
You can use experiences as tools to create your life artistically.
It is not going to help you to be obsessed with preferences.
Perfection of mind means a quiet mind. Then the free flow of energy will come through with great force.
You can't fool God.
Everybody plays a fool before the Guru... and that is not a bad thing.
Everybody needs a place to fall. It is impossible to train a student who won't let themselves fall..."
Your expression is always expressing something.
Confusion is the partner of clarity.
Learning is a grueling, ego-bashing process. It's brutal. It's not fun.
I am starting the Nobody movement.
The network gets revealed the more you perfect your consciousness.
Dating is like practice because in order to date someone you actually have to spend time together.
Union is the way into the network.
If you get the essence of the class, you will not have missed the class.
Devotion is nothing more than knowing oneself.
The work of the mind is always to divide.
Yoga is not a better or worse game.
The yogi is not after partial. The yogi is after total.
Are you interested in being something or in Being itself?
Play with the clay you have been given.
Yogis learn not to activate on all the energy they experience. Nor do they fall asleep to it.
Don't get into yoga if you want it to make you happy.
Yoga is not here to grant you your preferences but it will teach you find happiness beyond your preferences.
If you are sincere, the Force of the Teachings will draw themselves to you.
What you want to want will always elude you. What you want will come to you.
On problems: Nobody had more problems than Jesus Christ and by the benefit of those problems he realized he was the Son of God.
knowing what you do not understand gives you a place to start.
On surrender: Everyone loves the topic until it comes knocking on their door.
When you surrender the things that bring you to that state will ALWAYS bring you to the new.
You don't get to divinity by leaving humanity in the dust.
Getting angry is different than living in anger.
Whatever is going on for you requires your presence.
God Alone Exists.
Everybody is a whole Universe.
The untrained mind always wants what it doesn't have and has what it doesn't want. the yogi-in-training is learning is learning to reverse that process. When you get to the place where you have what you want and you want what you have you are in the state of the trained or restrained mind.
And that was just Friday night! Obviously, each one of those statements could inspire a blog entry on its own. Perhaps I will take a few and run with them as the weeks go by. As it is now, its time to get on with the work of the day.
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