Body Prayer

Today I am offering you another practice to incorporate into your spiritual disciplines for the sadhanas you observe, including Lent.

When I was a teen my family participated in praise and worship services with an emphasis on music, singing and dance. This greatly impacted me and I learned a practice called praise dancing from professional ballet dancers. I realize that experience is not common to most people and I am grateful to have had it! When I started practicing yoga as a young adult I began to conceive of the physical practice as a form of worship.

The Surya Namaskar and Chandra Namaskar (Sun and Moon Salutations) practiced by many people around the world today were originally conceived as worship. Surya means sun in Sanskrit, and is also the name for the deity associated with the sun; Chandra means moon. The word Namaskar is from the root word namas which means "to bow to" and "to adore." Sun Salutations are traditionally practiced in the morning to greet the sun and God, and Moon Salutations are practiced in the evening in reverence of the day turning over to night.

Asana is the Sanskrit word used for yoga postures, but the original word asana refers to a meditation position and the place where a meditation practitioner sits, a seat for meditation. "Go and sit on your asana" is a correct instruction to give!

Those of us for whom Yoga is a primarily spiritual and mental pursuit are sometimes tempted to focus more on the intensity and quality of our physical asana practice, so we must remind ourselves what our asana is and what it means. When I perform my asana as an offering to God and a form of body prayer, it changes the quality and the feeling of my practice. I am then prepared to sit on my asana and wait for God to sit with me.

For the religiously and spiritually inclined, the body is not only a vehicle for moving through life; it is also a means to give love and gratitude back to the Divine Source.

Consider choosing a physical practice you can offer to something or someone you love and revere. In this way, your practice becomes body prayer.

Lovingkindness Prayer

The Pali word Metta is translated in English as "lovingkindness." There is a Buddhist and Yogic practice called Metta, in which a simple prayer is recited to direct lovingkindness to oneself, family, friends, strangers and enemies. The equivalent Sanskrit word is maitri. Jesus is quoted in the book of Matthew as saying, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," (chapter 5, verse 44).

It is a truism that love begins with the self; if we cannot direct love towards ourselves we cannot direct it outwardly, either. The Metta practice takes this wisdom to a practical level, providing us with a tool to become more wholeheartedly loving and kind. From personal experience, I can tell you that Metta practice brings peace and transforms difficult relationships.

To engage Metta practice one needs only a small block of uninterrupted time to repeat the prayer inwardly first towards oneself, then to loved ones, then to people about whom we feel neutral, and finally to people who trigger us emotionally or cause us some sort of angst. I find it powerful to envision the likeness of those to whom we direct the prayer.

Here is the Metta Lovingkindness Prayer:

May ___ be peaceful.
May ___ be happy.
May ___ be well.
May ___ be safe.
May ___ be free from suffering.

For strangers or neutral persons, you may find it helpful to envision people you pass in the street yet don't know personally, your postal carrier, the barista at your coffee shop, air traffic controllers, the cab driver you had last week, etc. Once you begin to envision many people you don't know but see nonetheless, you will get a concrete sense of wishing strangers well and of wishing for the happiness of all people.

When you say the prayer directing it towards yourself or towards your enemies, you may find yourself upset and uncomfortable. This does not mean you should stop. In fact, transformation directly results from facing the discomfort. Make sure you have a friend, loved one or counselor you can speak to about any discomfort you experience so that it does not become a burden too difficult to bear on your own. If you believe in God, take your discomfort to God in prayer.

The general Metta prayer uses "all beings" to fill in the blank. You can silently repeat this general prayer to yourself in moments of stress throughout your day. It will bring you relief.

Because you are reading this, you are in my sphere of consciousness and so I wish you peace, happiness, wellness, safety and freedom from suffering, my sister, my brother, my mother, my father, my friend, and anyone who takes issue with me. May you be deeply blessed.

Divine Surrender

On this the third day of Lent, a period in which we renew our devotional and contemplative practices with a heart towards repentance from harmful thoughts, words and actions, we are reminded to let go of all that does not serve the highest good. We are instructed to turn away from everything holding us back from our divine purpose. 

In the Lord's Prayer, we recite the phrase, "Thy will be done." We are taught to surrender our own egoistic desires. We are asked to surrender control to a higher will. 

In Yoga philosophy the term Ishvara Pranidhana describes this attitude of surrendering to divine will. Ishvara Pranidhana is one of the five niyama (ethical observances) of the eight limbs of Yoga. Ishvara Pranidhana is a surrendering of the self and all actions to God; the Sanskrit word Isvara translates in English to mean “Lord” or “Supreme Being.”  The word points to a recognition of a power that is greater than us in the scope of our individual existence, some greater force that encompasses us and includes our being within a larger whole.  If we are not religious, we may prefer to think of this niyama as self-surrender.  Even if our interest in religious faith is merely intellectual, it is interesting to draw the parallel between this niyama and all of the well-known faiths of the world: for example, the very word Islam means “surrender to God,” and in Judaism, the central prayer, the Shema, contains these words: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength,” words which Christians also revere since Jesus declared them to be the greatest commandment.  So then Yoga, along with these Abrahamic faiths, tells us that surrender is the path to the highest spiritual development.  

The sacred Hindu text, the Bhagavad Gita emphasizes the importance of persistent effort without personal attachment to outcomes. Such an attitude of total surrender of ego is nearly impossible for most people and runs counter to our entire culture and society. Nonetheless, we can experience the peace, contentment and total lack of anxiety which result from simply letting go of control. We can learn, even if only for a few moments or days, to release the fruits of our actions, to let go of the reins and rest in a non-judgmental, non-controlling place in the mind-body. 

Practically speaking, we can intend to adopt an attitude of divine surrender day-to-day. A concrete practice we can undertake daily or as often as possible is meditation. Here is a meditation practice you can do to cultivate the attitude of divine surrender:

1. Set a timer for 10-15 minutes, or as long as you have to meditate. 

2. Sit comfortably and close your eyes.

3. Bring your awareness to your breath.

4. Inhale fully, and as you exhale, letting go of all tension, silently repeat the phrase, "Thy will be done, not mine but Thine." 

5. Repeat step 4 continually until your timer signals you to stop. 

6. Notice how you feel, without judgment. 

May your mind and heart rest in God's peace, today and always. 

Chanting the Names of God

The spiritual practice of chanting the name or names of God exists across all devotional faith traditions. In Hinduism and Yogic practice this is called Japa. The Muslim practice of Dhikr is very similar to japa. Both these practices use the names of God and short prayer mantras in a continuous recitation to bring the devotee more fully into the awareness and presence of the Divine. Catholics who pray the rosary, reciting the Our Father and Hail Mary prayers are engaging in a similar practice, but japa and dhikr focus more on the actual names of God with fewer prayer words.

If this is your first introduction to chanting God's names, there is no need to delve deeply into its history, especially across the many faith traditions. All you need to know is that you should chant the names of God which resonate the most with you, from your particular background. If the topic is of interest to you, you can find more history and details here.

You can sing or chant God's name out loud if you are not disturbing other people around you, yet most of the time it may be easier to silently chant the name to yourself as you perform routine tasks throughout the day. If you meditate or practice contemplative prayer, singing or chanting God's name first is a beautiful way to open yourself to a richer experience.

Since we are now in the period of Lent, if you are Christian and would like to chant the name of the Christ in Hebrew, you may chant: Yeshuah Hamaschiach, Yeshuach Kadosh! (Jesus the Messiah, Holy Jesus) How to pronounce it; yesh-oo-a ha-ma-shee-a.

A more universal chant is Allah, Jehovah, Rama, Sa ta na ma, which you can listen to in this song by the Sikh musician Snatam Kaur, in the video above.

And above is a Muslim chant of the name of Allah, a Dhikr chant:

Here is a chant of Holy and names of God in Hebrew, Adonai Elohim Tz'va'ot, and Yeshua:

The names of God can be a real stumbling block for many who believe that there is only one name for God, or that people are never worthy enough to utter God's name, or that too many mistakes can be made in doing so, or, or, or..... The essential truth is that when we sing out or cry out to God with a pure heart and a pure intention, this is what matters, and our words and thoughts in this direction can only bring us closer to God.

Words and names are powerful, but without the proper intention behind them they become meaningless.

Chanting the names of God with pure intention will clear away mental fog, balance our emotions, instill peace and joy within us and keep us on a righteous path.

Trataka: Third Eye Gazing Meditation

Welcome to the first day of the Lent Sadhana! I will post a spiritual practice you can easily do at home each day. It is wonderful to stick with one practice, but for the purpose of broadening your toolkit I will share many. You can choose one and stick to it for the duration if you like. For today, you will need a candle and a few minutes to sit and meditate. 

This practice is called Trataka (pronounce it tratak, without the final "a") and it focuses your meditation on the agna chakra or third eye point, the place where you receive your ashes on your forehead if you go to Ash Wednesday, or where you receive a Hindu tilak or wear a bindi. This point is linked to spiritual insight, vision and intuition. 

Here is the practice:
1. Light a candle in a dimly lit or mostly dark room and place it below eye level.
2. Sit in a comfortable posture, gazing at the candle flame for a couple of minutes.
3. Close your eyes and notice the after-image of the candle flame in your mind's eye, in the area between your physical eyes.
4. Keep your inner gaze focused in that place where you see the image and notice any colors or images appearing there.
5. Sit quietly and simply notice your inner sight.

Repeat this exercise up to three times, opening your eyes again and gazing at the flame.

Ash Wednesday: The product of Syncretism

Are you an unknowing syncretist? I embrace syncretism as it is part of the growth cycle of humanity. This is a thought provoking explanation of the Norse origins of the imposition of ashes. I now remember learning about the Norse adopting certain Vedic practices (from Hinduism) in my last yoga teacher training. Ash Wednesday not only has origins in traditional Jewish rituals but also in Vedic and other indigenous practices from around the world. Because it is such a beautiful example of syncretism, I love Ash Wednesday. The following article takes a critical view of it, but read it anyway to review the different pagan and Vedic origins: 

The pagan origin of Ash Wednesday

By Craig Portwood

It's not mentioned in the Bible. None of the apostles observed it. Nowhere are Christians commanded to keep it. It was not even officially practiced until nearly 1000 years after Christ's resurrection. Like so many other non-biblical “Christian” customs, it has pagan roots.

The early Pagan origins of Ash Wednesday

This ritual “imposition of the ashes” is purportedly in imitation of the repentant act of covering oneself in dust and ashes. The marking of believers on Ash Wednesday is done in combination of another extra-biblical routine called “Lent.” Despite Christ's command to his followers to abstain from the practice of disfiguring their faces during fasting, it has become a regular practice. He also told us to wash our faces during a fast.

The practice of putting ashes on one's forehead has been known from ancient times. In the Nordic pagan religion, placing ashes above one's brow was believed to ensure the protection of the Norse god, Odin. This practice spread to Europe during the Vikings conquests. This laying on of ashes was done on Wednesday, the day named for Odin, Odin's Day. Interestingly enough, according to Wikipedia, one of Odin's names is Ygg. The same is Norse for the World Ash. This name Ygg, closely resembles the Vedic name Agni in pronunciation.

The Norse practice which has become known as Ash Wednesday was itself, drawn from the Vedic Indian religion. Ashes were believed to be the seed Agni , the Indian fire god. It is from this name that the Latins used for fire, ignis. It is from this root word that the English language got the words, ignite, igneous and ignition. Agni was said to have the authority to forgive sins. Ashes were also believed to be symbolic for the purifying blood of the Vedic god Shiva, which it is said had the power to cleanse sins.

Lent

Lent is a period of 40 days preceding the observance of Easter, where the observers are expected to fast or cease from having the use of some other “luxury.” Like the majority of modern, so-called Christian practices, its beginning can be traced to heathen practices.

In his book The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop observed:

Let any one only read the atrocities that were commemorated during the 'sacred fast' or Pagan Lent, as described by Arnobius and Clemens Alexandrinus, and surely he must blush for the Christianity of those who, with the full knowledge of all these abominations, 'went down to Egypt for help' to stir up the languid devotion of the degenerate church, and who could find no more excellent way to 'revive' it, than by borrowing from so polluted a source; the absurdities and abominations connected with which the early Christian writers had held up to scorn. That Christians should ever think of introducing the Pagan abstinence of Lent was a sign of evil; it showed how low they had sunk, and it was also a cause of evil; it inevitably led to deeper degradation. Originally, even in Rome, Lent, with the preceding revelries of the carnival, was entirely unknown....

In the early 19th century, German explorer Alexander von Humboldt noted the practice among the pagans in Mexico, being held in the spring. His account states:

Three days after the vernal equinox…began a solemn fast of forty days in honour of the sun.

A Lent of forty days was also commemorated in Egypt. According to by English scholar John Landseer, in his Sabean Researches (1823), an Egyptian Lent of forty days was held in honor of Osiris.

There is a spiritual signature which bears witness to the spirit of these traditions. It is called Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. It is the custom of living it up to get our fill of all the enjoyment the world has to offer before setting off to “Church” in mock repentance on Ash Wednesday. Such celebrations are an indication of the spirit behind the facade.

The Truth

Christ made it plain in John 4:23-24:

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

To be sure, those who observe modern “Christian” practices are religious. They may have personal conviction, but they are missing a vital element of the faith. They are lacking truth.

Mark 7:7

Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

The Bible tells us in chapter 9 of the book of Hebrews, that we are made clean by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. No amount of ritual or work of the hand of man can accomplish this.

1st Peter 1:13-16 tells us:

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

The word holy means set apart, different from the rest. If we keep traditions which are not of God, how can we be holy? From what then are we different if we do as they do?

Not everyone has the conviction nor the courage to be set apart from the rest of the world. The sad truth is that mainstream Christianity lost her way, having fallen into apostasy long ago. This apostate tradition is continued by priests, pastors and preachers, ordained not by God in the power of the Holy Spirit, but by men in the spirit of the world.

And their followers wouldn't have it any other way.

© 2003 - 2017 Beacon of Truth / The Christian Underground Network

Abiding In Our Firmament

Yoga practice (including meditation, breath work and postures) connects us to our foundation and helps us build a stronger one. We build our postures from the foundation up, and in doing so we are more balanced, stronger and better able to grow into flexibility. 

We connect to our breath as the foundation for our movements and our health. 

In our resting postures and in meditation, we establish a foundation of self-awareness and peaceful abiding with what is. 

We become more aware of a foundation within us which does not shift. We come to know our firmament. As we become more familiar with it, when we are presented with occasions to react, when we are faced with a prompt or a trigger, we can eventually pause and consciously decide how willing we are to be pulled to the far reaches, to be stretched, to bend with the wind in any direction. 

You may have seen images of monks meditating in all climates and weather conditions. They sit solidly rooted no matter the circumstances. We are not monks, but perhaps we can become less reactive, less inclined to move off of our foundation. We come to love the refuge of abiding solidly in our firmament and over time we are less inclined to give into reactivity. 💙🙏