Friday, March 30, 2007

Harder than any asana

FitYoga Magazine's Yogascope for June

Go on a "mental fast". Challenge yourself to abstain from all negative thoughts and words for seven days. You'll be rewarded with a mind filled with gratitude and peace - plus more energy for fun activities. You might start a new romance. If coupled, you'll have new appreciation for your partner and children. You might also get exciting ideas about finances and prosperity. Your personal asanas: Energizing, joyous postures such as Crescent, Staff Pose, or Lion.

June is still two months away, thats what I hate about magazines publishing dates but whatever, I can try to apply this now. Recently YogaMum @ Yoga Gumbo went on such a mental fast where she went a week without critizing anyone. I wonder if I could do that and immediately I think "No way!". I feel like I am too hard of a person with too much visual stimulation to critique. It's terrible I know. I am super judgmental. Just this afternoon when I went out for lunch I don't know how many negative thoughts I had towards others.

This is the reason why I do not not feel comfortable referring to myself as a Buddhist. I have WAY too much attachment towards others behavior. Because of this attachment, I do end up suffering thus not getting me past the second Noble Truth that attachment leads to suffering. I am overwhelmed sometimes by the lack of consideration, rudeness, and disrespect others show. Greed and selfishness is encouraged more than courtesy and selflessness. I try to meditate on this but even meditation is such a challenge for me. I'm still new to it. I'm hoping with more practice I am able to quiet the mind easier and for more than 1 minute. I guess thats why call it a Meditation Practice and not perfection.

9 comments:

Yogamum said...

Oh, believe me, I still had the thoughts! I just tried not to express them out loud! I don't know how anyone would abstain from negative thoughts...it's like trying not to think of a white elephant!!

Nadine Fawell said...

The mental/ internal practices really are tougher - that's why we have the blessing of asana to help us along! The fact that you are examining this at all says you are better off than you think. Imagine having all those negative thoughts and not even noticing!

PS despite its unfortunate name, I quite like Fit Yoga magazine!

Linda-Sama said...

"I am overwhelmed sometimes by the lack of consideration, rudeness, and disrespect others show."

why does being human mean you can not call yourself a Buddhist? If that was the case, there would not be very many Buddhists in this world!

it just means you are not yet a buddha, which is something we can all become in this lifetime.

om mani pedme hum

Mary said...

I'm super critical too and I think that stems from what I do for a living. I'm a Photo Editor so go through hundreds of images a day and constantly have to choose the "best" shot. I can't help but look, compare but hopefully I have learnt to appreciate the real, the raw and the diversity in life too.

I can totally relate to the whole idea of attachement. The more I do yoga, the more I find myself overwhelmed by the sheer rudeness of others. Something as simple as letting an elderly person take a seat on the bus or even a simple thank you when you're exchanging money for a service in a supermarket. It's bizarre but I know I need to let it go and just live my life by example.

There's a quote I keep seeing around the place..."be the change that you wish to see in the world" by Gandhi. I think that's a good one to meditate on.

Thanks for the post babe. Definitely something that has been playing on my mind lately and can get me really down.

PS. I mucked up my blog so now you can find me at - ombites.blogspot.com

Marilyn P. Sushi said...

Linda, I guess I still have a long way to go. :)

Mary, I will update my links, I was wondering why when I clicked your link I saw something completely different.

Linda-Sama said...

what I keep telling myself is that "we all evolve at different rates." that's the only thing to remember.

my path is not someone else's path.

om mani pedme hum

Regina said...

I would love to be able to do that as well- abstain from all negative thoughts and words... I think we all can do it, and probably do it even when we aren't thinking about it. It really is in our nature to be kind and loving, not the other way round. We just have to get back to remembering that...
It might be nice to keep a little journal of your progress...?

Anonymous said...

Abstention, if forced, would do more harm than good. That does not mean we shouldn't abstain. Rather, we should 'watch' what is going on our mind that we need to abstain from. Watching is Awareness and Awareness 24/7 forms the bedrock of meditation. I'm sure if we start watching, negativity will dissolve on its own over time.

shinyyoga said...

I read Yoga Gumbo's post on this and challenged myself and my students to do it... it's not about NOT thinking the thoughts, but I suppose, letting go - not becoming attached.

But of course - the very first day I started it, I had one of THOSE days. One of those days when everything went wrong, when I had a teary, when ppl annoyed me no end.... and I started to get frustrated at myself because I was too negative!

So I gave it up for a couple of days and I'm back on it now. I suppose it's about being in the present, isn't it? Not getting caught up in thoughts, but living in the here and now.

Great post - so true. x