Category Archives: Inspiration
New Study: Meditators Can Be Identified From Brain Images Alone
For anyone who may have been wondering if meditation truly creates lasting changes in the brain, a new peer-reviewed study shows that meditators can be identified from brain images alone — with roughly 95% accuracy.
Print 
PDFTripping Through Time (New Song)
Lyrics
Tripping through time like some kind of archetype
Lost in the layers of the lies of mind
Holding out hope for heavenly happiness
Drowning in the drama by dreams defined
Feeding the fears that are fueling the fantasies
Building the barriers to block the real
Wanting to wake up from worry and wanting
Hiding from wholeness with what we feel
Step out of the circle of Time
Into the circle of Love
Letting go is living the truth that it’s forgiving
That frees us from the fears we dreamed up
Step out of the circle of Death
Into the circle of Life
Letting go is living the truth that it’s by living
The love we are that makes us alive
Transcending time as artists and architects
Living and loving with lives of light
Holding out healing wholeness and happiness
Dissolving all the dramas by dreams defined
Fueling the freedom of fun and fulfillment
Being the beacons of all that’s real
Willing to wake up the worrying and wanting
Creating wholeness with love we heal
Step out of the circle of Time
Into the circle of Love
Letting go is living the truth that it’s forgiving
That frees us from the fears we dreamed up
Step out of the circle of Death
Into the circle of Life
Letting go is living the truth that it’s by giving
The love we are that makes us alive
**
The chorus was inspired by a quote from Rumi:
“Step out of the circle of Time, step into the circle of Love.”
Juggernaut
UPDATE July 29, 2012 — I completed recording Juggernaut, and uploaded to YouTube:
Background from 2011:
I decided to try my hand at a bit of home recording. It’s still very rough, but I like the general feel of the song, and the lyrics – and so, wanted to go ahead and share it.
Listen to Juggernaut (Rough Cut, from 2011).
(Click the link above, and then click the Play arrow manually.)
Enjoy!
Lyrics
(spoken)
Aum tryambakam yajamahe
Sughandhim pushti vardhanam
Urvarukamiva bandhanan
Mrityor mokshiya mamritat
*
Running out of space
Running into time
A cog in the juggernaut of artificial mind
Running out of me
Running into you
Running into all the things we should and shouldn’t do
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We lost our freedom
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We have control now
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We are not perfect and complete
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We’re not here now
Aum Namah Shivaya
Running out of bodies
Running into mind
Running into memories we’d rather leave behind
Running out of life
Running into death
Running ‘round in circles to be sure that we forget
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We are not living
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We’re not unbound now
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We are not all and only whole
It’s a dream it’s a dream it’s a dream
We’re not home now
Aum Namah Shivaya
*
(spoken)
Caitanyam Atma
Jnanam Bandhah
Yonivargah Kalasariram
Jnanadhistanam Matrka
Udyamo Bhairavah
Sakticakrasamdhane Visvasamharah
**
The six sutras (spoken, at the end of the song) above are from the Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta.
They are the first six sutras of the first section, translated as follows:
(exact translation/exposition mine.)
1.1 Caitanyamatma
Our (true) Self is Living Unbound.
1.2 Jnanam Bandhah
(objective) Knowledge is bondage.
1.3 Yonivargah Kalasariram
Source (language, concept)-derived classifications create the body/experience of limitation.
1.4 Jnanadhistanam Matrka
The hidden Mother (source) is the place of (objective) knowledge.
1.5 Udyamo Bhairavah
The upsurge (infusing) of awareness is Bhairava
Bhairava is the Terrible form of Shiva.
The Destroyer (of language/concept derived limitation).
The Creator (of Living Unbound).
1.6 Sakticakrasamdhane Visvasamaharah
When the wheel of energies (objectivity and subjectivity) unite, the (objective-only) Universe dissolves and (our true nature) Living Unbound is Realized.
The mantra at the beginning of the song is the Mahamritunjaya Mantra – the Great Mantra of Victory Over Death, chanted to Lord Shiva.
For a somewhat more traditional chanted version, click here.
Aum tryambakam yajamahe
Sughandhim pushti vardhanam
Urvarukamiva bandhanan
Mrityor mokshiya mamritat
AUM. We worship and adore you, O three-eyed one, O Shiva.
You are sweet gladness, the fragrance of life, who nourishes us, restores our health, and causes us to thrive.
As, in due time, the stem of the cucumber weakens, and the gourd is freed from the vine.
Free us from attachment and death, and do not withhold immortality.
Interesting side note – I sang this song acapella at our AYP Yoga Retreat last fall (2010), and the next day, one of our attendees mentioned having a first-ever vision of the form of Lord Krishna, known as Jagganath.
I couldn’t help but notice the similarity in sound between Jagganath and Juggernaut (a title I had given the partial lyrics to the song above in 2008), and so, Googled, and found this Wikipedia article on the word Juggernaut, which, among other things, states:
“The word is derived from the Sanskrit जगन्नाथ Jagannātha[1] (meaning “Lord of the Universe”), which is one of the many names of Krishna from the ancient Vedic scriptures of India.”
I was wondering a bit, understandably, then, about the Shiva/Bhairava focus of the song, since Jagganath is cited as a form of Krishna … and fortunately Google, and the government of the Indian state of Orissa (Odisha), where the largest Jagganath temple is located) were available to help me out:
“In various other tantric texts, Vimala, the Pitheswari of Puri is described as Bhairavi and Jagannath as Bhairava.”
(Emphasis mine.)
Want Ongoing Peace? It’s As Easy As AYP! (Interview with Carson Zi)
If you’re interested in ongoing peace, via a simple, daily program, please listen to the following interview (link below) with our friend, fellow AYP contributor, and fellow AYP Retreat teacher, Carson Zi.
Listen to Internet Radio with VividLife Radio on Blog Talk Radio
In this interview, Carson discusses the ongoing benefits in his daily life, from his Advanced Yoga Practices (AYP) routine – and please note: it’s the practices that are advanced – you don’t have to be. He also tells his story, which is one of the more dramatic examples of how effective practices can take any of us from the depths of despair, or from the volatility of life’s daily ups and downs, to the peaceful reality that is actually our inherent nature.
In a few short years, Carson went from immersion in horrific heroin addiction, to a failed suicide attempt, to discovering AYP, to continual improvement in his experience of ongoing peace and fulfillment in daily life. Not long after starting AYP, Carson began to notice some fairly dramatic results, including the ability to stop a high daily dose of methadone (prescribed for treatment of heroin addiction), without experiencing any withdrawal symptoms, something even his doctor couldn’t believe. Even more dramatic, though, has been the ongoing improvement of Carson’s experience and quality of life, which is continuing even now.
As Carson says, “Yoga saved my life.”
Today, Carson enjoys a happy life, and contributes to the world around him by sharing AYP with others, which includes leading AYP retreats that can help any of us realize the power of ongoing inner silence, and to deepen both our practices, and our living experience of ongoing peace.
We very much enjoy working with Carson at our AYP Allentown retreat and at the AYP Support Forums. If you are interested in joining us (Doug, Shweta and Carson), at our annual AYP Retreat in Allentown, Pennsylvania, it is taking place on the weekend of September 16-18 at the Mensch Mill Retreat Center. For a bit about what these retreats are like, here are some retreat experiences and reports from last year’s retreat.
Carson has contributed here at Living Unbound as well, via the following articles:
Asanas, Yoga and Living Unbound – Why Yoga Is More Than Just Asanas
and
Asanas, Yoga and Living Unbound – The Asana Routine
You can also visit Carson’s main website, Blissed Yoga.
As mentioned in the interview, like physical exercise, the practices of AYP involve brief daily practices which then yield results throughout the day. If you are also interested in ways to enhance your daily experience of ongoing peace via simple teachings, techniques and resources that you can use throughout the day as well, beyond the daily practices of AYP, that is what Living Unbound is for, and we invite you to take a look at the Living Unbound lessons, as well.
Ongoing peace truly is available — and we invite you to join us, and find out for yourself.
Advaita Already – Living Unbound & Non-Duality
Many of us have heard of Advaita, or “Non-Duality”. There are many people, with different styles of writing, teaching and speaking, etc. – articulating the reality of wholeness – non-duality – Advaita – in their own unique way.
One of the most interesting things about some of the newer non-dual teachers, is that they are so grounded in awareness of-as wholeness, they don’t even see themselves as teachers, but rather, just one aspect of the wholeness — exactly as each and all of us every actually are, now.
They also hang out on Facebook – and seem to be quite open to making new friends.
Here’s a sampling, for those who may be interested, and/or inspired.
Bentinho Massaro & Benjamin Smythe
Bentinho Massaro
Benjamin Smythe
Known as “The Bens” on Facebook, these two are utterly identical ….. except for the parts that are seemingly not ….. check them out, and see if you can detect any differences — and/or the wholeness inherent in the expressions of both.
Enjoy.
Scott Kiloby
Scott, like Bentinho and Ben, is a regular guy — different — yet the same — as “the Bens”.
Same message. Slightly different style. Potentially liberating import.
Jeff Foster
The video below pretty much says it all; so much so, in fact, that Benjamin Smythe, at one point, referred “all further questions” … to that video.
… and just notice: despite the variety in expression, none of them express any doubt; none of them express any belief in anything — everything they say is simple, verifiable observation, being articulated from experience, and in awareness.
This is what Living Unbound in reality looks like.
This is the very real, very actual Freedom Beyond Imagination; Living, Unbound.
And it’s always equally available for us all; it’s what we are —- we are the wholeness, now — Advaita, already!
Reference Sites:
Bentinho Massaro - Free-Awareness.com
Benjamin Smythe – Benjamintsmythe.com
Scott Kiloby - Kiloby.com
Jeff Foster – Life Without A Centre
Marcos Cortes (appearing with Jeff in the video, above) – http://www.satsang.es
**
Adyashanti on Freedom From Separation
Some powerful yet down-to-Earth pointers from Adyashanti on Freedom from Separation.
The dream of separation is unenlightenment, is bondage, is error; wholeness is reality, now.
Poems by Mirabai
"Devotion" ~ by Shweta Mitra (July 2010)
O My Mind
O my mind,
Worship the lotus feet of the Indestructible One!
Whatever thou seest twixt earth and sky
Will perish.
Why undertake fasts and pilgrimages?
Why engage in philosophical discussions?
Why commit suicide in Banaras?
Take no pride in the body,
It will soon be mingling with the dust.
This life is like the sporting of sparrows,
It will end with the onset of night.
Why don the ochre robe
And leave home as a sannyasi?
Those who adopt the external garb of a Jogi,
But do not penetrate to the secret,
Are caught again in the net of rebirth.
Mira’s Lord is the courtly Giridhara.
Deign to sever, O Master.
All the knots in her heart.
***
In A Sudden
In a sudden,
the sight,
Your look of light,
stills all,
The curd-pot
falls to
the ground.
Parents and
brothers
all call a halt.
Pry out, they say,
this thing from your heart.
You’ve lost your path.
Says Mira:
Who but you
can see in the dark
of a heart?
***
Devotion-Krishna
I WRITE OF THAT JOURNEY
I remember how my mother would hold me.
I would look up at her sometimes and see her weep.
I understand now what was happening.
Love so strong a force
it broke the
cage,
And she disappeared from everything
for a blessed
moment.
All actions have evolved
From the taste of flight;
the hope of freedom
moves our cells
and limbs.
Unable to live on the earth, Mira ventured out alone in the sky –
I write of that journey
of becoming as
free as
God.
Don’t forget love;
it will bring all the madness you need
to unfurl yourself across
the universe.
***
I Have Found
I have found, yes, I have found the wealth of the Divine Name’s gem.
My true guru gave me a priceless thing.
With his grace, I accepted it.
I found the capital of my several births;
I have lost the whole rest of the world.
No one can spend it, no one can steal it.
Day by day it increases one and a quarter times.
On the boat of truth, the boatman was my true guru.
I came across the ocean of existence.
Mira’s Lord is the Mountain-Holder,
the suave lover, of whom I merrily, merrily sing.
Truth Hath No Confines – New Living Unbound Video (Captain Ahab, Moby Dick & Living Unbound)
“Truth Hath No Confines“
~Captain Ahab, in Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby-Dick.
Many of us may recall Moby-Dick as required reading in high school, and/or at least know the outline of the story:
A Nantucket whaling-ship captain named Ahab seeks revenge for getting his leg chomped off by a White Whale named Moby. Drowning ensues. Moby gets away. The End.
Many people have wondered why Herman Melville ended his somewhat strange tale of Ahab vs. the White Whale on such a tragic note.
What’s the message?
To paraphrase Jed McKenna: What could be the message?
And, by the way, very special thanks to Jed McKenna for pointing out the facets of Moby-Dick which resulted in the video below.
What facets?
Those are best described in the video.
Please take a few minutes to watch — and please let us know what you think.
Suffice it to say that if you haven’t read Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment by Jed McKenna, your views about Moby-Dick may just be changing rather radically in the next few minutes (if you watch the video, that is).
Jed McKenna posits some rather staggering and radical ideas about Moby-Dick, which are highlighted in our newest video.
The most staggering and radical aspect of all, though, it that having just re-read Moby-Dick, and viewing it afresh, per Jed McKenna’s amazing insights — it appears he’s either largely, or completely, correct, with respect to his amazing, Living Unbound-related insights, not only about the story of Moby-Dick, but about the book’s author, Herman Melville.
And even “partially” (correct) would make Moby-Dick an infinitely more interesting and important story than most of us could ever have imagined.
Being a bit about spiritual symbolism ourselves, as well any and all resources that can help us all with Living Unbound, we’re now going to be studying Moby-Dick in greater detail as well, with the intention being to expand upon Jed McKenna’s initial insights.
We’ll keep you posted.
Resources:
Quotes by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Please understand that there is only one thing to be understood, and that is that you are the formless, timeless unborn.
***
It is your fixed idea that you must be something or other that blinds you.
***
The world is like a sheet of paper on which something is typed. The
reading and the meaning will vary with the reader, but the paper is
the common factor, always present, rarely perceived. When the ribbon
is removed, typing leaves no trace on the paper. So is my mind – the
impressions keep on coming, but no trace is left.
***
Once you know with absolute certainty that nothing can trouble you but your own imagination, you come to disregard your desires and fears, concepts and ideas and live by truth alone.
***
There is no need of a way out! Don’t you see that a way out is also a part of the dream? All you have to do is to see the dream as dream.
***
There is no such thing as a person.
There are only restrictions and limitations.
The sum total of these defines the person. (…)
The person merely appears to be, like
the space within the pot appears to have the shape and volume
and smell of the pot.
***
Awareness is ever there.
It need not be realized.
Open the shutter of the mind, and it will be flooded with light.
***
You are not in the body, the body is in you!
The mind is in you.
They happen to you.
They are there because you find them interesting.
***
Do understand that you are destined for enlightenment.
Co-operate with your destiny, don’t go against it, don’t thwart it.
Allow it to fulfill itself.
All you have to do is to give attention to the obstacles created by the foolish mind.
***
Your sincerity will guide you.
Devotion to the goal of freedom and perfection will make you abandon all theories and systems and live by wisdom, intelligence and active love.
Theories may be good as starting points, but must be abandoned, the sooner — the better.
***
There is no chaos in the world, except the chaos which your mind creates.
It is self-created in the sense that at its very center is the false idea of oneself as a thing different and separate from other things.
In reality you are not a thing, nor separate.
***
Time is in the mind, space is in the mind.
The law of cause and effect is also a way of thinking.
In reality all is here and now and all is one.
Multiplicity and diversity are in the mind only.
***
When I realize I am nothing that’s wisdom and when I realize I am everything that’s love and between the two my life turns.
***
If you could only keep quiet, clear of memories and expectations, you would be able to discern the beautiful pattern of events.
Its your restlessness that causes chaos.
***
There is no such thing as an expression of reality. You are introducing a duality where there is none. Only reality is, there is nothing else. Just watch events happening, knowing them to be unreal.
***
Learn to look without imagination, to listen without distortion: that is all. Stop attributing names and shapes to the essentially nameless and formless, realise that every mode of perception is subjective, that what is seen or heard, touched or smelt, felt or thought, expected or imagined, is in the mind and not in reality, and you will experience peace and freedom from fear.
***
My actual experience is not different. It is my evaluation and attitude that differ. I see the same world as you do, but not the same way. There is nothing mysterious about it. Everybody sees the world through the idea he has of himself. As you think yourself to be, so you think the world to be. If you imagine yourself as separate from the world, the world will appear as separate from you and you will experience desire and fear. I do not see the world as separate from me and so there is nothing for me to desire, or fear.
***
Resource:
Quotes by Sri Ramana Maharshi
Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.
***
Liberation is our very nature.
We are that.
The very fact that we wish for liberation shows that freedom from all bondage is our real nature.
It is not to be freshly acquired.
All that is necessary is to get rid of the false notion that we are bound.
When we achieve that, there will be no desire or thought of any sort.
So long as one desires liberation, so long, you may take it, one is in bondage.
***
Reality must always be real.
It is not with names and forms.
That which underlies these is the reality.
It underlies limitations being itself limitless.
It is not bound.
***
Happiness is your nature.
It is not wrong to desire it.
What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.
***
If the mind is happy, not only the body but the whole world will be happy.
So one must find out how to become happy oneself.
Wanting to transform the world without discovering one’s true self is like trying to cover the whole world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns.
It is much simpler to wear shoes.
***
Mind is consciousness which has put on limitations. You are originally unlimited and perfect. Later you take on limitations and become the mind.
***
The Guru is both external and internal.
From the exterior he gives a push to the mind to turn it inwards.
From the interior he pulls the mind towards the Self and helps in the quieting of the mind. That is the Guru’s grace.
There is no difference between God, Guru and the Self.
***
Nearly all mankind is more or less unhappy because nearly all do not know the true Self.
Real happiness abides in Self-knowledge alone.
All else is fleeting.
To know one’s Self is to be blissful always.
***
The experience of silence alone is the real and perfect knowledge.
Know that the many objective differences are not real but are superimpositions on Self, which is the form of true knowledge.
***
Correcting oneself is correcting the whole world.
The Sun is simply bright. It does not correct anyone.
Because it shines, the whole world is full of light.
Transforming yourself is a means of giving light to the whole world.
***
It is false to speak of realization.
What is there to realize? The real is as it is always.
We are not creating anything new, or achieving anything we did not have before.
***
Instead of indulging in mere speculation, devote yourself here and now to the search for the Truth that is ever within you.
***
Reality is simply the loss of ego.
Destroy the ego by seeking its identity.
Because the ego is no entity it will automatically vanish and reality will shine forth by itself.
***
Resources:
http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/Maharshi.html
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/ramana_maharshi/
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