In Sharon Gannon's essay for October focus of the month, she spoke about how yogis know the truth that all beings matter, that if we dare to care and reach out to another, we transform ourselves and the lives of others. I think the choice of words is interesting: dare to care. It's true, isn't it, that even if our default reaction is to care, we hold back because caring could mean we inconvenience ourselves, that we have to step out of our familiar black-and-white zones, that we have to perhaps change our lives in the name of caring? And so it takes courage to actually allow ourselves to care for others. I've been vegan for close to four years now, and things have been pretty black and white. If exploitation is involved, I do not support it. Period. But life throws us surprises, and mine came in the form of an adorable two-pound carnivore. While taking my vegan dog out for a walk, we found an abandoned kitten. Long story short, I took the kitten home and with it the dilemma of what to do with him, namely what food choices I will make for this little one. If I buy him animal products, it will compromise my values. If I make him vegan, it may potentially expose him to health risks. I discussed this with many fellow vegans and did my research and I am still unsatisfied with either option. A good friend, in her effort to comfort me, told me that while I may not have changed the world by adopting this kitten, I have certainly changed his life. Maybe figuring out all the answers is not a requirement for daring to care. Maybe the courage that is required of us is simply to take one step towards the right direction. There are many situations that will seem imperfect to us. Is it more courageous to take no action so we are not burdened with any dilemma? Or is it more courageous to challenge ourselves in difficult situations, knowing that our desired results may never be available? Our yoga asana practice is a good opportunity for us to explore these questions. When confronted with a pose I know I struggle in, would I just skip it altogether, or would I dare confront the pose with all that I have got right here right now? Would I at least try? If I try, are my intentions pure in that I am tapping into my courage rather than my selfish egoic desire to compete and look good? This week I taught several classes where I asked students to spot each other on an L-shaped handstand against the wall. Everyone did the pose. And many were able to come up to a handstand away from the wall when assisted by their partners. We experience this dynamic in yoga asana, the realization that if we have the courage to help someone else out, it makes a world of difference to that person. We see that assisting someone in a pose is not about me, it is about them and their best interests. Authentic courage always looks to compassion. And while we use our asana to understand the courage that we have, many of us get distracted by the allure of our ego. It is as though in this vehicle that will take us to enlightenment, we become so enamored by the vehicle itself that we forget where we are going. Our yoga practice becomes misguided in becoming attached to which pose I can master now, which poses I can hold for 10 minutes, which poses look advanced and make me look good. That is not a practice of courage. It is the ego taking over. Ultimately, as we allow ourselves to be open to the teachings of yoga, to the goal and embodiment of yoga as interconnectedness, then we realize that the courage we use in lifting up to handstands is precisely the courage we need to dare to care. The world does not need any more people who can do handstands, but the world needs us to be courageous, to be fearless, to dare to care, even if we do not have nor will ever have all the answers. The world does not need our perfection. The world needs our compassion.
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I am hooked on these kale chips! Sold at the Sunday Legazpi Market. No time to say any more. Kale chips are not going eat themselves. There's a new vegetarian place in San Juan called Little White Cottage, and they made it vegan-friendly on the spot for me by marking the vegan items in the menu. I tried the longanisa (loved it) and tofish with seaweed (I liked the dish itself but the soy ginger sauce was just ok). I was still feeling a bit hungry so I ordered something from their cafeteria-style lineup. It's tofu steak if I am not mistaken. Not bad as well. Little White Cottage is located at 39D A. Bonifacio Street, San Juan. Open everyday. Check it out! The moon reflects the sun as we are all mirrors of each other. How I love metaphors. I wanted to dig deeper into the idea of mirrors so I looked into how they work. When two mirrors are set up at a ninety degree angle, you would see the reflection of two complete images. As the angle decreases, the number of images reflected increases. When the two mirrors are set up at zero degrees, that is facing each other, the number of images reflected goes into infinity. I thought about how much closer to our emotional lives this metaphor is than I originally considered. Many of us for most of our lives are afraid to be seen. For whatever reason, we believe ourselves to be flawed, and we hide our secret selves, showing only an angle, feeling safe in the limited view others have of us. We dodge questions that may be too revealing. We even avoid venturing into meaningful conversations or paths or relationships not because of what we may find but because we may be found. To stand completely stripped of our fears in front of another seems unthinkable, and yet the law of physics says that if we do just that, become a mirror reflecting another mirror, we do find and we do merge into infinity. Everyone we meet is a teacher, a mirror, a reflection of some part of us that makes us whole. Every situation we find ourselves in is a teacher. But there are teachers we choose, whom we openly acknowledge and honor as our teachers. They may or may not hold the title of a teacher in what they do. Who they are is whom we love. They are our spiritual family, our yoga teachers, our meditation teachers, our families, our partners, our friends, our companion animals whom we have named. I chose my teachers Sharon Gannon and David Life in the Jivamukti lineage. They reflected back to me a value I hold very dear, which is kindness and compassion towards nonhuman animals. They chose their teachers too, among them Swami Nirmalananda, who reflected back to them the same values. I love hearing stories of Sharon-ji's early teaching days. She taught at a fitness center, talked about veganism and received complaints in return. I applaud her courage in being unattached to popularity or what is considered mainstream. Ordinary people do not change the world. Radical people do. My teachers David-ji and Sharon-ji also talked about the activism of their teacher Swami Nirmalananda. Swami wrote letters to many world leaders about peacefulness. What inspires me about Swami was his practice of non-attachment. He wrote the letters regardless of whether those letters were considered or acted upon or not read at all. Results were not the intention; intention was the only intention, and he was guided by the purity of his heart. At first glance, we may think we chose our teachers because of the positive qualities they have that resonate with us. I believe that as we progress in our practice, we start to peel away the layers of delusions we have about ourselves. After all, the Sanskrit word for teacher is guru, and it means remover of ignorance. Then we understand that we chose them precisely because the highest values they represent are the highest values that are already inherent in us. And when the highest in us is acknowledged, we rise up to the occassion. We become the compassion that we always were. We serve the same mission in the world. We become the mirror. We become the reflection. We become the moon that shines bright at night when all the clouds hide the luster of the stars. Found out that two of the variants of these Danish cookies I grew up with are accidentally vegan. It's like revisiting childhood. Royal Dansk cookies are available at SM Hypermarket. Most people who are not vegan think all vegans eat are salads. Most people who are vegan who know me think all I eat are donuts and candy bars and cupcakes and accidentally vegan things like Oreos and Hershey's chocolate syrup. This is not true. It is really a lot easier to eat vegan than most people think. For starters, you can have a filling breakfast with any of these convenient options: Pan de Manila pan de sal with spreads (fruit jams, peanut butter, coco jam, Crumpy hazelnut spread, Speculoos cookie butter spread), oatmeal, hot cocoa, cereal (read the label) with non-dairy milk (soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, hazelnut milk, hemp milk etc, unsweetened or sweetened, plain or vanilla or chocolate flavored), fresh fruits, green smoothies, fruit smoothies, taho, the list goes on. Go vegan- everyday and all the time- for the animals, for humanity, for the environment, and for your health! Watch the Earthlings documentary at www.earthlings.com to understand why many people are choosing nonviolence over ignorance! You are not normal. Yes, you. You are not normal. The world is "normal" in its greed, in its obssession with consumerism, in its relentless pursuit of exploitation, in its massive violence towards animals, in its routinary destruction of our planet in the name of economic progress. That is normal. You with your interest in yoga- that which teaches oneness, kindness, and compassion- are not. But as a slogan in Jivamukti Yoga Berlin says, Why Be Normal? In yoga, there is the concept of the ha (sun) and tha (moon) channels. One of the most important scriptures of yoga is Hatha Yoga Pradipika, which means light on the sun and moon union. According to the Jivamukti Yoga book, Hatha Yoga refers to "the dual state made up of all the pairs of opposites: male/female, pleasure/pain, good/evil, night/day, left/right. When these preferences are overcome, the boundless Self manifests in the yogi". I believe no one will have a strong objection when I say our society is patriarchal, aggressive, and competitive, leaning too much on the sun qualities. That is what normal means to us. Philosopher Ken Wilber says that our behaviors are largely driven by the chemicals testosterone and oxytocin, which is reminiscent of the sun and moon qualities taught in ancient scripture. I looked further into this and found an episode in This American Life that spoke specifically about testosterone. A man who had stopped producing it described himself to have lost desire, but not in the negative way our cultural disposition would have us believe. He said he started to see beauty in everything, from the crack of a wall to a bug. He felt he was seeing the world through the eyes of God, detached and objective, seeing beauty as a natural state. This, to us, is not normal. Furthermore, I looked into Paul Zak's work on oxytocin recorded in TedTalks and found out that it relates to trust and morality and compassion. As yogis, we have the opportunity to take control of restoring balance into our lives- and into the world- through our own thoughts, patterns, and behaviors. When we practice asana and we face certain challenges getting into or holding a pose, what attitude do we take on? Do we become competitive? Are we unforgiving towards ourselves? Are we imbalanced in that we are disregarding our moon side? Or can we be more accepting, more compassionate, more nurturing? One may argue that you have to be tough to survive in this world. But is this world, the greed-stricken, other-exploiting, ego-centric world the one we want to be protective of? Or would we rather break down this current structure and build upon kindness and concern for others? Why is it so important to observe our thoughts and tendencies when we practice asana? If we want yoga, if we truly want to be liberated, then we must be willing to undergo a revolution of the spirit. We start by changing the patterns that keep us stuck. If we cannot be kind towards ourselves, how can we be kind to others? If we cannot get past our egos, how can we be open to the world that exists beyond the I, me, and mine? Only compassion can free us. Only compassion can help us restore balance in the world. In this world of normal where the norm is disconnection, are you not glad that you are not normal? If you are willing and if you are able, please choose compassion. All the time. For yourself and for others. I urge you to continue on your path not to be normal. I saw a coconut water vendor by the sidewalk today, and I thought I'd get my water bottle refilled to reduce plastic waste. He sold one cup for ten pesos. The refill was about a cup and a half, and I gave him twenty pesos and started to walk away. He called me back and insisted I take the five peso change. "Hindi maganda ang sobra", he said. It translates to: Excess is not good. That made me think. What a nugget of wisdom. We live in a world of excesses. Most people want more money, more clothes, more shoes, more cars, more vacations, more titles. The most popular board game, Monopoly, encourages this mindset too. I played it recently with friends and we all realized how oppressive and frighteningly realistic the rules of the game were. You win by taking away from others. You are successful when you wipe out other players. You are savvy when you know when to use your cards. And here is a man who did not have much but did not want more. He did not see excess as an opportunity as most of us do when we daydream of winning the lottery. He saw excess as a liability. He was right. Excess is not good. As Gandhi-ji said, "We have enough for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed". We may think many of our choices are personal and do not affect others. But they always do. I jokingly tell my friends that I am a poor yoga teacher, and sometimes I even believe I am. It seems ridiculous now, that I consider myself poor by the standard that I have to work hard and struggle and find ways to go to New York to study with my teachers. I definitely have enough. I even have an excess of yoga pants. It is humbling to think of the many ways I have overlooked the excesses in my life. I can argue that my veganism is efficient and saves a lot more resources, but I also do not need an embarrassing number of vegan candy bars to be shipped to me halfway across the world. I can point out that I teach so many classes I am sometimes deprived of sleep, but it is hardly slavery, though I joke about that too. I do have enough time, because all of the time I have are used one way or another to live the life that I love. Excess is not good. And perhaps it is when we realize this that we can be unconditionally grateful that we have enough. Because having enough for the present moment is a gift to the present moment. And if we have excess, be it money or time or love, we have the opportunity to give it to others. All we ever need is enough. I feel that a disclaimer is in order. If you're the type of person who feels awkward showing emotions and asking for what you want, this month's Jivamukti Yoga classes will feel particularly uncomfortable for you. If that's the case, take more classes. Better that the issues come out during yoga asana practice than outside. "Admit something. Everyone you see, you say to them: Love Me. Of course, you do not do this out loud, otherwise someone would call the cops. Still, though, think about this, this great pull in us to connect. Why not become the one with a full moon in each eye that is always saying in that sweet moon language what every other eye in the world is dying to hear?" These are the words of the Sufi poet Hafiz. "Love me" is such a bold declaration, a demand we are afraid to make, and yet many of our actions are motivated by the need for love. My teacher Sharon Gannon has an interesting observation. She said many people tend to believe- falsely believe- that there are only predators and preys. If we operate with this mindset, we become fearful. We avoid eye contact. We avoid connecting to others. We fear that others may hurt us, and we may hurt them first because we think it is better to hurt than be hurt. This is no way to live. We can be inspired by the moon to become this whole complete person unafraid to love and be loved. In yoga asana, poses like chandrasana or moon pose can remind us of what it means to be whole. It does not mean we have to be perfect. It merely means we have to be true. When we come into this pose, can we practice acceptance and compassion and let go of criticism and judgment? If we can do it even only for a pose, then we are already one step closer to letting go of our predator-prey myth. We can practice natarajasana, dancer's pose, which is also inspired by the moon deity, facing a mirror. Look straight into your own eyes, and see the subtle nuances that your eyes want to tell you that language finds insufficient. See yourself as a whole. You may struggle in the pose, you may fall out, you may shake, but regardless of what is happening to your physical body, can you start to accept yourself as you are? "Love me" is a risky plea. Once we put it out there in the world, it could be accepted or rejected, and that makes us vulnerable. But a deeper insight is: How do we feel about this acceptance or rejection? Do we feel that we need to somehow earn this love? Do we genuinely believe in our own worthiness? "Love me" is something we can boldly say, with no fear and no attachment, when we have accepted our own wholeness. We can allow others to love us when we realize that we love ourselves, not because we can perfect an asana, not because of what we look like or what our jobs are or how much money we have in the bank, but because it is our birthright. "Love me". Our obsession of who loves us, and whom we love, and who loves whom start to fade away when we realize our true nature. We are worthy. We are courage. We are compassion. We are love itself. Sebastian's now has these unusual sorbet flavors: guyabano, santol, and kamias. I tried the santol out of curiosity. It tasted like an iced version of the fruit, which I guess is what sorbets are. Am I glad I ordered it? Yes, for variety. Am I going to buy it again? Probably not. |
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