As we get older and 'wiser' notice how we inflate both in body and mind! To keep the body deflated we are told exercise and eat less. Do we? And for the mind - we hardly do anything. Just as food and laziness to exercise can become a lifestyle, so can the inflation of the mind. Its the ego, the elevation of self over others.
Ego becomes a weapon of offense and self defense and self feeding i.e. the ego only feeds on itself to become larger and larger. Large enough to expand like a balloon and to a point where a little prick will burts it. I am stuck in this egoflation. Yoga is a way to help but I am still stuck in the muck and struggling to get out... hoping for the balloon to burst asap :). Realization and acknowledgment is the first step to a recovery and that gets you that mental pin to prick the ego-balloon. I am ready for my 3 miler and then a yoga class at IYISF. And for others around you who suffer the same, perhaps you can leave some healthy ego in yourself to prick their ego-balloon as well.
Namaste
Showing posts with label ego. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ego. Show all posts
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Engaging in Meaningless Battles - Unyogic Igomania!
War is nothing but a battle of selfish and mindless egos that loose sight of compassion love and care for others. At the end even the winner loses - the destruction is bi-directional as war spares no one! Yoga teaches us to deflate our egos by going inwards to the I and beyond.But occasionally going to the "I" sounds selfish to me. Should we not be going inwards to "us" which I term that as SMS - Shared Memory Space. I started using this term back in 1993. I picked it up from my software programming vocabulary and I first wrote about the idea of SMS in my personal journal. I lost the journal in a computer crash, with no backups. I have yet to learn my lesson of making regular backups - I still dont! Shame on me as I am a certified computer geek...
Shared Memory Space was my way of describing the notion of collective consciousness. In my world the notion of ego, self and collective consciousness are all interlinked. It is easy to break this link and simply let the "I" become the major ahamkara - ala the freaking mayhem causing devil in our lives which I call "Igo" rather than ego. It leads to utter blindness, failure and misery in our lives. We all suffer from Igo-mania. Why do some engage in such meaningful battles and conflict ? I am still uncertain, but Igo has a major play in it. But does Igo have physical manifestations?
Shared Memory Space was my way of describing the notion of collective consciousness. In my world the notion of ego, self and collective consciousness are all interlinked. It is easy to break this link and simply let the "I" become the major ahamkara - ala the freaking mayhem causing devil in our lives which I call "Igo" rather than ego. It leads to utter blindness, failure and misery in our lives. We all suffer from Igo-mania. Why do some engage in such meaningful battles and conflict ? I am still uncertain, but Igo has a major play in it. But does Igo have physical manifestations?
Despite some expert opinions I don't believe knee and back aches are physical manifestations of inflated Igos. They are purely physical and generally posture related or for instance when you blow up your knee through a bad slip on a ski slope which I VERY much avoid.You wonder why I write much about Igo and war. Well last I checked it's a daily occurrence in my life. I deal with battles daily and its a challenge to keep my Igo in check.
War has been a cornerstone of the history of the world 
right from the great epic of Mahabharata described in the bhagvatgita. We want peace. But peace is impossible unless we are peaceful inside with our Igos and negative reciprocity in check and deflated, while love and compassion is inflated. Unless you keep your Igo in check, you cannot bring the love and compassion into yourself and start seeing "Clearly". You will remain clouded till the war destructs you and who you engage the war with. Its a vicious cycle of negative reciprocity. You see that daily in the war in the mid east. Its simply never-ending.
right from the great epic of Mahabharata described in the bhagvatgita. We want peace. But peace is impossible unless we are peaceful inside with our Igos and negative reciprocity in check and deflated, while love and compassion is inflated. Unless you keep your Igo in check, you cannot bring the love and compassion into yourself and start seeing "Clearly". You will remain clouded till the war destructs you and who you engage the war with. Its a vicious cycle of negative reciprocity. You see that daily in the war in the mid east. Its simply never-ending.
Yoga helps you connect with the collective conscious - your SMS. The more you are connected to the SMS, the more likely you are to be thoughtful, calm and able to withstand dysfunction in your life. You get the power to understand not only yourself, but the universe around you. That understanding can be helpful in you respond to battles and attacks. Rather than reciprocate, sometimes pulling your sail down and not showing up for the battle may be the best diffuser. But that requires a major check of your Igo value. It needs to be at its lowest point.So, when I am attacked or have a strong desire to let my love and compassion be blocked by my Igo and negative reciprocity, I rely on some of the following postures that help me it keeping it in check and restrain me from engaging meaningless battles:
1. Half uttanasa
2. Paschim uttanasana
3. Adho mukha paschim uttanasana. This is great to do at 35000 feet on a cramped seat of a zooming jet.
4. Supported backbend - Viparita Dandasana This will open up the well of tears in your eyes and gush those emotions out. You need that once in a while.
5. Adhomukha Svanasana - This has lately become my favorite pose. Be a relaxed dog and stretch your tailbone up to make a perfect triangle out of your body! Here is a near perfect rendition from my teacher Nuvana...
Namaste
The Yogi
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Yoga - A unison of faith, purpose and suffering to create positive energy
The massive earthquake in China has caused tremendous destruction and pain. In some cities most of the human population has been wiped out. In this destruction today a young girl was found alive. Why was she singled out to live while so many died? Many questions arise in my mind as I try to understand this destruction.
I look to the Buddhist philosophy for answers. Buddha says life is full of suffering. So the end of the life means end to that suffering. Was the destruction from a spiritual standpoint caused by anger and ego, the negative emotions? Could this destruction in China been prevented somehow? Was it fair for this little girl to survive and continue to face life suffering or did she survive because she had positive emotions around her? All those who sadly passed, how many carried the negative emotions with them on to their next incarnation? All these questions propel my mind into deep thought.
Watching this destruction gives me reason for thought and reflection of the turmoil we face every day. We spend so much energy and time on these negative emotions - building them up with ego and anger, which empowers us to become destructive and vengeful. What we forget is that this sense of empowerment is not permanent. A destruction like this earthquake will end that empowerment in an instant. All that would be left is a dead body, a physical relic of oneself and the prana, the conscience, the life force will leave only to be re-incarnated with all the negativity that the mind will carry.
So why do we waste so much energy in negative emotions? I don't have an answer for that. What I do know is that if I can channel that energy into a positive action or thought, I have put one negative karma off my carry list to the next life. So with that thought in mind I am going to practice Adho Mukha Vriksanasana (hand stand) at home tonight and put all my energy to re perfecting it and getting my legs to kick up effortlessly by holding my arms straight and strong. The wall will be my support and guide. I will hold myself up for as long as I can by putting in all the extra effort and energy I have. I will attempt it several times till I tire my body out and then get ready for Savasana. At the conclusion of Savasana, I will pray for those departed souls. I will pray that they carry more positive energy into next life, which is then full of more positive energies and love - as at the end that is all that matters. That is all they will carry to the next cycle of their lives. Everything else material will all be left behind to decay. Thank you Gehlek Rimpoche for enlightening me with your book!
Namaste
The Yogi
I look to the Buddhist philosophy for answers. Buddha says life is full of suffering. So the end of the life means end to that suffering. Was the destruction from a spiritual standpoint caused by anger and ego, the negative emotions? Could this destruction in China been prevented somehow? Was it fair for this little girl to survive and continue to face life suffering or did she survive because she had positive emotions around her? All those who sadly passed, how many carried the negative emotions with them on to their next incarnation? All these questions propel my mind into deep thought.
Watching this destruction gives me reason for thought and reflection of the turmoil we face every day. We spend so much energy and time on these negative emotions - building them up with ego and anger, which empowers us to become destructive and vengeful. What we forget is that this sense of empowerment is not permanent. A destruction like this earthquake will end that empowerment in an instant. All that would be left is a dead body, a physical relic of oneself and the prana, the conscience, the life force will leave only to be re-incarnated with all the negativity that the mind will carry.
So why do we waste so much energy in negative emotions? I don't have an answer for that. What I do know is that if I can channel that energy into a positive action or thought, I have put one negative karma off my carry list to the next life. So with that thought in mind I am going to practice Adho Mukha Vriksanasana (hand stand) at home tonight and put all my energy to re perfecting it and getting my legs to kick up effortlessly by holding my arms straight and strong. The wall will be my support and guide. I will hold myself up for as long as I can by putting in all the extra effort and energy I have. I will attempt it several times till I tire my body out and then get ready for Savasana. At the conclusion of Savasana, I will pray for those departed souls. I will pray that they carry more positive energy into next life, which is then full of more positive energies and love - as at the end that is all that matters. That is all they will carry to the next cycle of their lives. Everything else material will all be left behind to decay. Thank you Gehlek Rimpoche for enlightening me with your book!
Namaste
The Yogi
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Ego and Anger - The inevitable karma of life
Ever since I have read Rimpoche's book, I have become more observant about these two emotions that cloud our mind and create enormous negativity in our lives. These two emotions are highly destructive. I encounter it daily and I struggle with it myself. Yoga and this blog becomes my outlet to humble myself - to let go of the ego and then anger that comes along with it. I think ego is the source of many problems in our lives. The "I", the "Me" drives this ego.
With ego comes the anger - they are interconnected. Ego naturally leads to anger and anger causes the negative emotions which lead to strife, battles, war and destruction. When my ego is challenged or hurt, I get angry and upset. I wish to retaliate - but the inner mind wakes up and questions this urge to retaliate. The yogi in me puts a period at the end of the sentence that ends in retaliation. You slowly let go of this ego, the anger dissipates and the urge to retaliate goes away.
I realize the ego and anger are inevitable part of our karma in this life. We cannot avoid them. They are easy to pop out. We just need to learn to catch this burning hot toast as it pops out of the toaster and dump it into the trash can. The more we do it, the less would we be inclined to feel challenged and hurt, and less will ego and anger pop out of the toaster. So as I calm myself of this ego and anger and type this blog, I wish the same for you. May there be less ego and anger in your life as well. Thank you Gehlek Rimpoche!
Namaste
The Yogi
With ego comes the anger - they are interconnected. Ego naturally leads to anger and anger causes the negative emotions which lead to strife, battles, war and destruction. When my ego is challenged or hurt, I get angry and upset. I wish to retaliate - but the inner mind wakes up and questions this urge to retaliate. The yogi in me puts a period at the end of the sentence that ends in retaliation. You slowly let go of this ego, the anger dissipates and the urge to retaliate goes away.
I realize the ego and anger are inevitable part of our karma in this life. We cannot avoid them. They are easy to pop out. We just need to learn to catch this burning hot toast as it pops out of the toaster and dump it into the trash can. The more we do it, the less would we be inclined to feel challenged and hurt, and less will ego and anger pop out of the toaster. So as I calm myself of this ego and anger and type this blog, I wish the same for you. May there be less ego and anger in your life as well. Thank you Gehlek Rimpoche!
Namaste
The Yogi
Monday, January 28, 2008
Yoga this evening
T'was an evening to remember. Today it was an advanced class by Nina, full of poses that hadn't been done in a while. It started with a classic Gomukh Asana (in sitting form), which I had performed only sparingly in the past. As we performed, she remarked "let go of your ego" and don't try to get your back foot straight. Let go of my ego? -- that is what I need to do in life I said to myself! This is a yoga pose. Eureka!
It made so much sense. So in the next pose called revolved triangle pose http://yogajournal.com/poses/692 I just did the best I could and the best I could was worse than a beginner could do. Ah! home practice is what I lack I said to myself! Then that voice in the back of my mind reminded me again "Let go of your ego"! OK OK I am letting go!
And then we moved to back-bends and other poses that really worked your thighs and hamstrings, everything leading to the incredibly difficult Rajkapot poses http://yogajournal.com/poses/863 and boy did I yell in pain after every leg strech. No, no ego here, just honest expressions of the pain. Nina threw in a adho mukha vriksasana (hand stand) http://yogajournal.com/poses/788, my favorite pose.
I did it twice and the third variation was too much. I had no energy left and and my panting heart had to let go of my ego. I just went into a child pose. My heart was racing fast and it felt like I had just run a marathon. A Supta Virasana lead to another painful grunt. It prompted a fellow student to comment "make the effort effortless"! Yes Barbara, one day I will, but right now every effort is painful.
We moved on to chair supported back-bends and a chair supported halasana in lieu of shavasana and it was the end of a very challenging class. I was really humbled. As I left the class I promised myself I would continue to work on letting go of my ego. And folks, if you are serious about letting go of your ego and looking to make your efforts effortless do visit http://www.sunsetyoga.com/ to find out how. Thanks Nina for another great class, I will actually sleep well tonight!
Namaste
The Yogi
It made so much sense. So in the next pose called revolved triangle pose http://yogajournal.com/poses/692 I just did the best I could and the best I could was worse than a beginner could do. Ah! home practice is what I lack I said to myself! Then that voice in the back of my mind reminded me again "Let go of your ego"! OK OK I am letting go!
And then we moved to back-bends and other poses that really worked your thighs and hamstrings, everything leading to the incredibly difficult Rajkapot poses http://yogajournal.com/poses/863 and boy did I yell in pain after every leg strech. No, no ego here, just honest expressions of the pain. Nina threw in a adho mukha vriksasana (hand stand) http://yogajournal.com/poses/788, my favorite pose.
I did it twice and the third variation was too much. I had no energy left and and my panting heart had to let go of my ego. I just went into a child pose. My heart was racing fast and it felt like I had just run a marathon. A Supta Virasana lead to another painful grunt. It prompted a fellow student to comment "make the effort effortless"! Yes Barbara, one day I will, but right now every effort is painful.
We moved on to chair supported back-bends and a chair supported halasana in lieu of shavasana and it was the end of a very challenging class. I was really humbled. As I left the class I promised myself I would continue to work on letting go of my ego. And folks, if you are serious about letting go of your ego and looking to make your efforts effortless do visit http://www.sunsetyoga.com/ to find out how. Thanks Nina for another great class, I will actually sleep well tonight!
Namaste
The Yogi
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