Post No. 024 - Them and us [Content Warning: harm, bigotry, judgementalism, harm / abuse including SA]

One of the aspects I found quite enlightening about Buddhism is the notion of integrating our darker self: those parts of ourself that we do not like or want to admit. This has also carried through into my experience of Wicca, where I've encountered it under the term "shadow work".

This view is quite refreshing when looking at the hard line "us and them" mentality of quite a few people I've met with respect to criminals. The attitude seems to be "I could never be like that". Well, I have to question that. OK, so maybe it would take a lot more than just a moment or two, or a month, or maybe even a year in someone else's shoes before you snapped and wound up like them: but if you genuinely grew up in an abusive environment where everyone took law breaking and violence as the norm, would you REALLY be so inspired that you could reject all that social conditioning and rise above it? I'd be happy with a genuine yes that only involved you breaking free of that yourself: you don't have to be a Bishop Desmond Tutu or a Mohandas K. "Mahatma" Gandhi inspiring others.

Oops - I mentioned Mohandas K. Gandhi: but he had a privileged upbringing, didn't he? 

PS - and was sexually abusive, which I address here.

Our attitudes tend to influence our behaviour in different ways in different circumstances. For instance, in the example I gave of breaking free of social conditioning, I used a situation of deprivation and abuse: what is your situation? What is the social conditioning you had, and have you sifted through that to reject the less desirable or inappropriate conditioning and accept or embrace the good, constructive influences that encourage compassion? If not, then I would seriously question any "yes" answer to my previous question. I could say "You haven't been able to do this in a situation of comfort, so why would you do it in a situation of hardship?", but that is not an honest question: quite a few people's responses do tend to adapt to different situations (they "rise to meet the occasion", so to speak). So, I'll adapt that question: "Including allowance for genuine - not fanciful or wishful - 'rising to the occasion', would you, if born into a life of extreme hardship and abuse and surrounded by unspiritual values, be a spiritual person?"

I have thought about this myself, as I have had a physically privileged life (middle class Australia in the 60s and 70s) but some significant emotional trauma. On the basis of this life I'd rank myself at "pass; could do better". If take my most recent past life into consideration, I'd cut that back to "could do better".

Any time you get judgmental about other people, especially criminals, I respectfully suggest that you could beneficially take a step back and consider the old saying "there, but for the Grace of Deity, go I".

Incidentally, this post is NOT an argument in favour of doing nothing and allowing the world to have miserable places on the off chance you could get incarnated into that and test yourself. If you take that attitude, your selfishness (failure to consider others' suffering) is resulting in you incurring negative karma. Have a look at my post http://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2007/10/stress-warts-and-blackmailing-universe.html.

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo is taken from the same trip I raved about in my last post, and is a view of the Ninety Mile Beach at sunset.

Tags: responsibility, about me, Buddhism, change, emotions, initiation, karma, life lessons, mirrorology, past lives, personal characteristics,

First published: Sunday 14th October, 2007 

 

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Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering” (just as binary gendered [men’s and women’s] sporting teams are either both given the gender descriptor, or neither).

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Post No. 023 - [Content Warning] Stress, warts and blackmailing the universe

I am a wart: a worry wart.

I've got into this habit through engineering, where you keep thinking about problems (flexibly and creatively - you don't go over and over the same old ground, or be like a bull at a gate) until you find or invent a solution. It is a very challenging and very rewarding form of creativity (particularly rewarding, when you have the good fortune to work in an environmentally sustainable form of engineering, as I do [reuse of wastewater]).

However, there can be a time and a place for worrying, and there is a time and a place for not worrying.

My partner is a gem at the not worrying part: if she can't change or control something, she won't allow it to intrude into her life. As a worry wart, that can be frustrating, at times - but that frustration is a sign that I am learning. (I hope I am managing to be as useful to her.) I have observed that differences of "level of worry" can be a source of conflict in a wide range of situations: those of us in the worry wart camp may tend to assume that someone else refusing to worry means they aren't caring (that's an assumption - it's not necessarily so), whereas those in the "she'll be right, mate" camp tend to focus on one's inner state at the possible expense of improving things in the physical world - remember the description I gave at the start of this post, of how one can creatively "worry at" a problem, a bit like (I apologise for this analogy in advance: it's all I could think of) a hunting dog worrying at it's prey: the energy can be used creatively, and "worry" does not automatically mean "stressed out". Both can learn from the other.

I suspect many of us use worry as a badge to show we care - for instance, I've known young males to go off the handle because of kids they don't have contact with and allegedly care about, and feel that they consider this shows they care (whereas it actually only shows they possibly have emotional problems and confirms that they can be violent). I've also watched crowds baying for the blood of child abusers, and wondered at their motives as well: do they really care so much about their children, or is it about fear, frustration and wanting to control the world and people in it and force it to be something they feel is safe (which I could summarise as destructive expressions of "love")?

To take a view where one doesn't "worry about things", or does not "let things get at you", can be hard. Apart from the obvious changes to one's inner emotional landscape, one of the hardest things for me is others' reactions to this. For instance, at work a few decades ago I was told that if I wasn't upset by someone's else unethical or illegal behaviour, there was no need for anything to be done :so do I allow myself to be harmed by something so others will take the action they should, or heal myself and move on AND urge those who should to "do the right thing" anyway, even if I have been able to prevent someone else's attempt to harm me from doing so? These days I'm a bit older and wiser, and can see the comments that were made then as an attempt to manipulate me into making the life of the manager involved a bit easier. (Many years of political lobbying for human rights has helped me attain that point of view.)

Going back to "letting things get at you", I sometimes feel that people hold on to hurt to more or less try to blackmail the universe/Deity into showing some sympathy. "Hey universe/Deity, see how much this has hurt me? If you loved me, you wouldn't let this happen - or at least you'd come and give me a massage/tattslotto win/slab/ to make up for it!" Sounds trite, but it is easy to do, and I still find I do that at times. Maybe that is partly because it is easy to mistake sympathy for caring? (Mind you, I don't believe in this "hard love" rubbish: if the interaction between someone who allegedly cares and the recipient of that "care" is ineffective because it is presented in a way that the recipient cannot relate to, then it isn't caring. Did I word that carefully enough to include honest, constructive criticism? Maybe just read my post at http://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2007/10/tough-love.html.)

Wherever you are at on this and other issues is probably where you are meant to be: the lessons you are meant to learn will be in front of you, although you may need to ask for help to learn them. Be patient with yourself: if you've been paying attention, you'll have noticed from this post alone that some of my lessons have taken me years to learn, and from one end of a spectrum (worry wart) to the other ("she'll be right, mate") and back again until I have (almost - I'm still working on this!) reached a state where I can put myself onto whatever parts of the spectrum I need to be in any particular situation.



Love, light, hugs and blessings


Gnwmythr

This post's photo was taken on one of my cruising trips through the Gippsland Lakes in the late 80s. Sailing has been very important to me in this and several other lifetimes: I mentioned it in my post http://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2007/06/about-me.html, but I failed to mention that it has given a wonderful connection to the natural world, especially it's dynamic aspects - the wind, the movements of water (tide and waves), changes with time (sand bars can shift, coast lines changes, etc). The joy of sailing has helped me through times of great personal crisis, and has helped my spiritual and personal growth and development. I have sailed through the islands in the Whitsunday Passage (the islands are actually called, if I recall correctly, the Cumberland Group) in the early 80s, when it was already crowded but not as much so as now, and I prefer the Gippsland Lakes. The "Whitsundays" can be quite rough and technically tricky because of the 20"+ tidal range and the currents that generates (to get technical, wind over tide can make a nice day one subject to rough conditions with no change of wind at all: mind you, I enjoy heavy weather sailing - you don't master nature, but you can get to be part of it and see the dynamic aspects of Mother Nature); I have found the Gippsland Lakes more relaxing. This photo - and a few from other posts - is from one of my trips. In fact, it is close to where I turned round and took a sunset photo: this is a view into Boxes Creek.
On these photos, I am aware there are far better photos around: but this post is about myself and my life, so I am both personalising it by using photos I have taken, and helping to show the beauty of this part of the world that I live in. I'll stop waffling now :)

Tags: about me, emotions, life lessons, stress

First published: Sunday 14th October, 2007 

 

Post No. 022 - Anger is not an emotion

I read Jeff Lily's latest post over at Druid Journal (http://druidjournal.net/; the post concerned is at http://druidjournal.net/2007/10/07/positive-loving-kindness-using-opposites-to-banish-negativity/), and got to thinking about the opposite of anger.

I've found in my life that depression can be due to an anger that is turned inwards, but what is the opposite of anger? When I was around 8 or 10 I realised that I had a bad temper, and decided then that I would master my anger (bad temper), and use it constructively, rather than allowing it to use me. (Yes, young children CAN have such thoughts.) Over my life, I kept working at anger when I felt it - and I had the opportunity to observe the anger of other people, much of that being other people's anger that I was different in some way (e.g., anger over my being lesbian). There was always an underlying emotion behind the anger- and that helped me to realise that I do not now consider anger an emotion is it's own right.

Anger is one way an emotion is being expressed, whether that emotion is intolerance of other people being different, insecurity about oneself leading to feeling threatened or insecure and hence to angrily threatening others (I've been at physical risk because of such emotions in other people - which was one of my motivations to get involved in political lobbying, to protect people from such intolerance), or not wanting to change or broaden one's mind. It is an external expression of an emotion, as opposed to depression, which MAY be an internal expression of anger. (There may be physical causations of both depression and anger - e.g., hormonal imbalance.)

Anger is not necessarily destructive. There IS such a thing as righteous anger - one (probably poor) example is Christ and the money lenders; better examples would be a mother (or father) protecting their child from a serious threat (e.g., an attack by a bear) or someone acting to protect others through lobbying for better anti-discrimination laws.

Well, I hope that gives you something to think about - and maybe the edge to stand up to someone who is manifesting anger towards you or people close to you and say "being angry is a way you are expressing something else: what is that?"

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

I've added a photo to this post, after rushing initially and not doing so (and not doing a spell check, either). The only problem is, I'm not entirely sure where it was taken. It was in the late 90s, and I thinki it was at Hastings Marina, on Westernport Bay (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Port) in Victoria (from a boat, of course - looking back towards land). In any case, wherever I took it, I still like it :)

Tags: anger, emotions, energy work, interpersonal interactions, life lessons, personal characteristics, responsibility,

First published: Thursday 11th October, 2007 

 

Post No. 020 - The secret science of hugs

I recently had the compliment of a friend saying he needed one of my hugs: that's nice, and it's not the first time I've had compliments on my hugs. I've even had a couple of people who commented on my "secret" for a great hug: opening chakras (specifically, the heart chakra). 

PS - hugs, as with all physical contact, must be consensual  

If you have had much to do with psychic development work, you will know that protection is important, and that will include issues such as closing or sealing one's aura, grounding, flaming, psychic strength ... and closing chakras. Various psychic exercises will then require opening those chakras.

Each chakra is associated with a certain function: for instance, the forehead or "third eye" chakra is commonly associated with clairvoyance, the throat chakra with communication (including clairaudience, in some systems), the solar plexus chakra with emotions and will power, and the heart chakra with the various forms of love. The respective function is maximised when the chakra is "opened" (the function never completely shuts down, however: it is not as if, for instance, we are incapable of any communication whatsoever if our throat chakra is not opened - or we are utterly incapable of love if our heart chakra has been "closed" by one of the techniques that are available).

(For some group work, people try to harmonise their chakras; I'm considering whether or not using the Sephira of the Qabballah can be used as an alternative to that - watch http://qabalist.org/q-blog/ [now a dead link] for more on that :) )

Most people know of seven major chakras, but there are others - for instance, the hands and major organs of the body will typically have a (minor) chakra, and I will shortly be studying a system which seems to look at harmonics or octaves of chakras. I currently work with thirteen chakras: the only one I want to mention here is the "Earth Star" chakra (which I think I first read about in a book by Katrina Raphael about crystals that has gone walkabout: unfortunately, I can't find the two books of hers that I do have, so I'll have to post the details of that some other time). The Earth Star chakra is about 6" (15cm - we've been metric since the 70s or 80s, but some things I haven't changed over) below our feet (yes, that's right, dear reader: below our feet - after all, our aura does happen to extend beyond our body ... ), and is the chakra which connects us to Mother Earth. I personally consider the loss of common knowledge of this chakra to be part of the problem that humanity has in caring for our world. That, however, is a pet peeve for another post :) What I will add to this post (after my signature) is an edited version of an article I wrote for the Temple of La Veda (see ), which I'm not sure I actually completed and posted - it is based on some notes on chakra system (at that stage twelve chakras) that I sent to a few friends a few years ago.

When friends hug, it is the heart chakras that line up; if the people concerned are feeling fond of each other, their heart chakras will tend naturally to open up, and allow a free flow of energy between the two (I've not actually thought about this for group hugs; my initial reaction is that the heart chakras don't line up or connect, but maybe the group hug creates some sort of temporary energy centre where energies can flow through to each other).

This psychic openness is what gives a fair part of the nice feeling that goes with such a hug. It can be quite natural, and tends to happen more with people we are in harmony with, or who we like (those matters tend to be related, but aren't necessarily always related. Incidentally, when we relax, or feel comfortable, it isn't only our body language that is more at ease and "open": our auras and energy centres tend to also be more open and relaxed. (That is part of the problem when some people get drunk: their aura becomes so open that they can be partly possessed [technically, overshadowed or obsessed] and undergo a change of personality [usually to a personality far less pleasant, possibly even violent.)

If you want to give better hugs, allow your heart chakra to open. I find that quite easy, but if you don't, you may have to do some exercises (e.g., visualising doors opening, or a flower blooming, or perhaps the sound of the chakra increasing). As always, do such exercises with appropriate protection established first.

I mentioned protection: there is a risk with this openness, and that is that one may get a slug of unpleasant energy. That doesn't necessarily mean your friend is being malicious: it may simply be that, if you have more energy, they receive some of your energy, or that you are able to do some healing or clearing of negative energy. It may also simply be that there is a certain amount of incompatibility between the two of you.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing: think of two colours that clash, or two scents that don't agree, or two sounds that jar. Each on their own is fine: it is the combination that is unfortunate. Most sources I read suggest that as we all evolve, we will become more in harmony with each other. I don't necessarily agree with that: I suspect there could well still be some moments of lack of harmony (especially on this world, where so many of us are going through such vastly different expressions of our soul - different paths, if you will), but the true showing of evolved beings is that they will be able to overcome any such lack of natural harmony and be able to work together.

Going back to hugs, if you've received a slug of something unpleasant, calmly and without rancour or anger clear or dissolve it, and then go on to be brave enough to open your chakras again when you next hug someone.

I wish you good hugging :)

Love, light, HUGS and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo was taken in the valley where the MacKenzies Falls are located, in Geriwerd.

Notes on chakras:
Following the recent "First Keys" workshop, I though I'd put some of my thoughts regarding chakras down. I considered the "First Keys" workshop to be excellent, and I was particularly interested in a comment along the lines of chakras and energy pathways being potential - they have to be worked with to become "actual" (my words). That rang a bell with me - particularly as I recently read an article somewhere on the net challenging the notion of chakras, and also because I work with a twelve major chakra system (I am not referring to the other chakras in the hands and at major points within the body, which I first read about in one of Lobsang Rampa's books [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobsang_Rampa, and other posts where I have referred to Rampa - particularly http://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2007/08/purpose.html]).

And at this point, I have to humbly make an apology, as I haven't been able to find the article challenging chakras nor the original source of the twelve chakra system (I THINK it may have been Katrina Raphael's third book on crystals [as a digression, I consider that she is the best author on crystals]), but I recall that one of the chakras, between the heart and solar plexus chakra is attributed in that source to Shirley Maclaine (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Maclaine).

I can say that the breathing exercises for the traditional seven main chakras I will write about are from "Energy Ecstasy: Your Seven Vital Chakras", by Bernhard Gunther (pub. Newcastle Publishing Co. Inc., Van Nuys, CA, USA, ISBN 0-87877-066-6).

Assuming everyone is familiar with the seven traditional chakras, I'll start describing my extra five with the lowest chakra: the "Earth Star". This chakra is located in the aura, around 6" (sorry - 150mm) below the feet, and (going from memory, as I couldn't re-find the original reference) has the function of connecting us with this physical reality - ie, Mother Earth. My personal opinion is that the lack of awareness of this is one reason that humans as a whole tend to be somewhat disconnected from Mother Earth.

Going upwards, the next extra chakra (this one is, I think, attributed to Shirley Maclaine) is between the heart and solar plexus chakras, and was described as having the function of connecting our emotions (solar plexus) with our love centre (heart chakra). From memory, this chakra was being manifested as part of a perceived trend towards a more loving, centred population (ie, emergence of New Age/Age of Pisces).

The last three extra chakras are: - Soul Star, to connect us to our Higher Self, located just outside the head but behind the crown chakra - Spirit Star, located about 6" or 150mm above the head, to connect us with the world of Spirit generally (much as the Earth Star connects us to physical reality; I see the Soul Star as a personal chakra, connecting us with our spirit personally, and the Spirit Star as connecting us with "all the spooks up there", to be a bit irreverent) - Causal Star, located about 12" or 300mm above the head, to connect us with Deity.
I'm not going to claim that this is a correct description of these extra chakras, but it's the best I can do, and reflects my personal practise fairly well.

Bernhard Gunther's book "Energy Ecstasy: Your Seven Vital Chakras", which I mentioned, describes a coordinated system of breathing and visualisation to promote good functioning of the seven traditional chakras; I've extended that in a way which suits me for the twelve chakra system, and the result is as follows.

Earth Star - I visualise the chakra as a mini-Earth, and as I breathe in (ie - visualise flowing in with my breath as I inhale) green, red and brown, and direct the energy to the Earth Star; as I breathe out, I visualise any disharmonious, inappropriate or "negative" flowing out of that chakra and leaving me with my breath, leaving the chakra bright, shiny and new (to be a little facetious). I may need to do this several times till I feel that the energy in that chakra is right (or, to put it another way, that the chakra is functioning properly). If I am doing this with my alternate nostril breathing, as I usually am, I aim to do this for one complete cycle of in right - out left - in left - out right, for the sake of balance. As I do this, I mentally chant either "Malkuth" or "Adonai" (which come from the Qabballah) or (since the First Keys workshop, as this practise evolves and changes as I do) "hum".

Base chakra - from Bernhard Gunther's book: I visualise a rectangular, red coloured box in front of the base chakra, at the level of the base chakra; as I breathe in I visualise drawing that red energy from the box into the base chakra, and as I breathe out I visualise any disharmonious, inappropriate or "negative" flowing out of that chakra and leaving with my breath. Again, if I am doing this with my alternate nostril breathing, as I usually am, I aim to do this for one complete cycle of in right - out left - in left - out right. As I do this, I mentally chant "ba".

Second chakra - from Bernhard Gunther's book, I visualise an orange pyramid with the top cut off in front of the second chakra (which he refers to as the "spleen chakra"; I've come across other terms as well and at this stage generally just say "second chakra", even though it isn't in the system I work with: I may change that shortly), at the level of the base chakra; as I breathe in I visualise drawing that orange energy from the box into the base chakra, and as I breathe out I visualise any disharmonious, inappropriate or "negative" flowing out of that chakra and leaving with my breath (Bernhard Gunther has visualisations for dispersing this energy for each chakra - e.g., allowing the pyramid to collapse and direct the expelled energy in all directions in this case; I haven't used those for some time and find just generally either directing the expelled energy into a ball of light, or Mother earth for recycling, works as well for me - but that may not be the case for others). I aim to do this for one complete cycle of in right - out left - in left - out right. The mental chant is "la".

Solar plexus chakra - from Bernhard Gunther's book, I visualise a green cylinder completely around me; as I breathe in I visualise drawing that green energy from the cylinder into the solar plexus chakra, and as I breathe out I visualise any disharmonious, inappropriate or "negative" energy leaving the chakra with my breath. I aim to do this for one complete cycle of in right - out left - in left - out right. The mental chant is "ra".

Chakra between heart and solar plexus - I tend to light-heartedly call this Shirley Maclean's chakra, but that is only because I haven't really through of a more appropriate name for it. I visualise the earth in front of the chakra, and draw in blue and green (and exhale the disharmonious, inappropriate or "negative" energy) while chanting - since the First Key's workshop "Hum". (Obviously, I'm not worried about using a chant twice.)

Heart chakra - from Bernhard Gunther's book, I visualise a gold cross (or an ankh) in front of this chakra; I breathe in the gold energy from the cross or ankh into the heart chakra, and breathe out any disharmonious, inappropriate or "negative" energy, for one complete cycle of alternate nostril breathing. The mental chant is "ya hm" (I think I've got the spelling wrong there). This is probably my favourite of these exercise: it is the one that I get the most from.

Throat chakra - from Bernhard Gunther's book, I visualise a light blue cup (this is actually a simplification of the symbol used by Gunther) in front of this chakra; I breathe in the blue energy, and breathe out any disharmonious, inappropriate or "negative" energy, for one complete cycle of alternate nostril breathing. The mental chant is "ha".

Third eye chakra - from Bernhard Gunther's book, I visualise an indigo six pointed star in front of this chakra; breathe in the indigo energy, and breathe out any disharmonious, inappropriate or "negative" energy, for one complete cycle of alternate nostril breathing. The mental chant is "ah".

Crown chakra - from Bernhard Gunther's book, I visualise a purple lotus above this chakra; breathe in the purple energy, and breathe out any disharmonious, inappropriate or "negative" energy, for one complete cycle of alternate nostril breathing (or more, if needed). The mental chant is "om".

For the top three chakras I do not visualise a flow of energy: i simply visualise the colour in the location of the chakra. I mentioned in this that I am continuing to develop this technique as I change with time, and the techniques I use for these top three are probably most fluid. I am interested in anything others find works well for these chakras.

Soul Star - visualise white light and chant either "Eheieh" (which comes from the Qabballah) or (very occasionally) my spirit name for at least one set of alternate nostril breathing

Spirit Star - visualise pure brilliance (this is meant to be something beyond any conception of being any one colour - or more colours) and chant "Kether"

Causal Star - this is a bit hard to describe (and no doubt harder to understand - sorry :) ), but I visualise almost the concept of energy. To understand this better, I would suggest reading some of the "Seth" books channelled through Jane Roberts (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Roberts), and can suggest a few in particular if anyone is interested (and given some time to check through them). I sometimes chant "Kether", sometimes don't chant and just enjoy the stillness.

Tags: chakras, Lobsang Rampa, New Age, interpersonal interactions, Seth, energy work, healing, responsibility,
First published: Thursday 4th October, 2007 

 

Post No. 019 - Tough love and inconsistency [Content Warning: harm]

This post is going to be a bit shorter than most: what I want to say is that, in the overwhelming majority of cases I've experienced or witnessed, people claiming to be using "tough love" are actually just failing to handle a situation constructively owing to their inability to think of any other way to handle it. In, as a rough estimate, over 99% of cases, the "tough love" is no different to the former apprentice who bullies the new apprentice because they were bullied: a pattern of behaviour has been experienced, and because these people are so out of touch with their own soul, or their own higher forms of guidance, that they are doomed to repeat the pattern.

This is probably most obvious to many people when they see people repeating the parenting patterns of those people's parents (which means both the strengths and the problems get blindly repeated). It also happens very strongly in workplaces, and some people I have worked for have been, effectively, office psychopaths (look that up on the Internet - there is some quite specific information available now on it; try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopath or some of the links below) - and they are that, in part, because they were treated badly by other office psychopaths. I've also seen this sort of "tough love" attitude in managers who lack management or emotional competence or a touch of imagination/creativity.

The tragedy about this is that we are NOT automatons: we do NOT have to repeat the mistakes of our forebears, or those we have experienced personally. We have the capacity to rise above issues - we may need help, but we can use our minds to at least acknowledge that something is not ideal, and therefore should be changed. This attitude has been a major driving force in my life: I dislike dragging myself down to (some) others' level, and repeating their mistakes is one such way I can make that mistake.

I will be writing a post about control in the near future: if you believe in this "tough love" rubbish, I suggest VERY strongly that you read it.

The other characteristic I mentioned in the heading is inconsistency. Now, I am very pleased that I am somewhat changeable, and felt quite complimented when a friend mentioned I always seemed to have a surprise up my sleeves (that attitude can be helpful when other people are trying to manipulate you into a corner: you can change the whole ground rules, and take the discussion to a higher plane :) ), HOWEVER ... there are principles I stick to, things like sticking to human rights and standards of decency no matter what. Sports people (and supporters) who think it is acceptable to indulge in racist or other abusive sledging in or near a sporting arena - or that that can do so, and still claim not be racist, or claim that they are "good" people - are totally, completely and utterly WRONG. People who sacrifice human rights for economic gain (especially in the name of national economics) or political expediency (which the Australian Democrats used to do when pressure was put on an issue which had gay rights linked to it) are also behaving in a way that is just as unacceptable. Another example would be people supporting human rights or spirituality in one context, but not in another: for instance, not working in accordance with their spiritual beliefs (if those are constructive!), or allowing things like personal conflicts to be an excuse for overriding a commitment to human rights.

There are some universal principles which I consider people should adhere to: universal love (in a dispassionate, i.e., not romantic, sense) is one. Acceptance of karma and conducting oneself in accordance with that is another (I make exceptions for the very, very few extremist and mostly irrelevant cases that get thrown up, such as the masochist, which have nothing whatsoever to do with life as most people experience it). Those principles should not be ditched for simple, personal (or larger) expediency.


Love, light, hugs and blessings


Gnwmythr


* links relating to "office psychopaths":


http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/08/26/1124563022416.html


http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1360571.htm


http://www.softpanorama.org/Social/Toxic_managers/office_stockholm_syndrome.shtml


etc

This post's photo was taken at the Werribee Open Range zoo.



Tags: personal characteristics, love


First published: Thursday 4th October, 2007

Last edited: Saturday 26th June, 2010 (fixed typo) 

 

Post No. 021 - Breathing exercises

I mentioned that I would do a post on breathing exercises. I'll start this by copying something I wrote for some friends a little while ago:

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BREATHING EXERCISES

My information comes from the work of the very controversial author Tuesday Lobsang Rampa (as well as http://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2007/08/purpose.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobsang_Rampa, see http://www.karenmutton.com/rampa/intro.htm).

Rampa claims to be a Tibetan lama who took over the body of an English plumber in the late 50s (with the permission of the plumber) in a rare for of transmigration. Critics usually deride this as an obvious absurdity, and I have heard claims that some of the description of Tibet are not actually correct, but the information in Rampa's books led me (as a teenager) to a practical involvement in Buddhism, spirituality and psychic matters.

I've forgotten exactly which book(s) the information comes from, but the breathing exercise for keeping warm is one that I have found works quite well (although it does require practise). This description is about the "alternate nostril breathing exercise" (my guess at a suitable title).

This exercise is supposed to strengthen and balance the mind. I have, at times, been concerned about using it, as I thought if I did so when I was, say, angry or upset, the exercise may strengthen the anger or upset - or that, if I was annoyed with someone else, I might inadvertently use this to strnegthen any projection of negativity towards that person. However, I have found that that is not so: my experience is that the exercise calms, balances and then strengthens the mind. Having said so, however, you need to assess the effect of this for yourselves - I can NOT guarantee that it is so for others, and I do know that crystals are helpful for some, neutral for others and harmful for a few, and keepo that possibility in mind for ALL techniques of working. If you find that the exercise is being counter productive, then you need to re-examine what is happening, whether that is due to external influences trying to stop you (I usually try harder when that happens) or the exercises not being suitable for you. I can't (and won't :) ) try to determine that for you.

Rampa sets great store by doing these exercises using what is termed the Complete Breath (also mentioned in Yogic texts). The Complete Breath certainly probably has health benefits, but I don't know that it is critical for this exercise - although I do find it tends to work more effectively if I try to use it.

A "Complete Breath": is based on using all the lungs: the idea is to use the abdomen first, then expan the ribs, then lift the shoulders. After filling the lungs this way, reverse the order: drop the shoulders, then ribs in, and finally compress the abs. Rampa sets this as an initial exercise for a period to develop some proficiency at this before working up to the next stage.
The next stage is breathing in one nostril, and then out the same nostril - to get used to the idea of breathing this way. The "Complete Breath" is supposed to be through the nose anyway (one exercise, claimed to cool the body and cleanse the liver/blood involves breathing through the mouth: that one I have found doesn't work at cooling the body, and I don't about the liver/blood). Start with around ten breaths in one nostril, then ten via the other nostril, and - according to Rampa, build up to 20 - 40 repetitions per day.

As part of this initial practice is holding the breath for a period. Rampa's "ideal" seems to be 8 seconds to breath in, hold for 32 seconds, and then breath out for 16 seconds - which is a ratio of 1:4:2. I have never, despite years of practise, been able to do this. I aim to keep the same ratio as best I can, but with a shorter overall period. In practise, what I generally do is count while I breathe in, hold my breath for a COMFORTABLE period (I don't want a tombstone that says "Here lays Kayleen, of balanced mind and blue of face"), and then breathe out taking twice as long to breathe out as I took to breathe in.

(In general, I now tend to breathe in for a count of 6, hold for a count of 24, exhale for a count of 12, pause for a count of 3 - so the ratio is all multiples of three.  9th September, 2013)

I also don't, these days, try to acheive a particular number of breaths. I usually combine this with something else, like meditation, or colour visualisations, and base the timing on that. If I want to do a minimum, I'll use three repetitions.

Having developed the nostril breathing, again according to Rampa, you can then start using the alternate pattern: - breathe in the left nostril (abdomen-ribs-shoulder), - hold (for a comfortable period, up to 8 times longer than the period taken to brteathe in), - breathe out the right nostril (shoulder-ribs-abdoment), - breathe in the right nostril (abdomen-ribs-shoulder), - hold (for a comfortable period, up to 8 times longer than the period taken to breathe in), - breathe out the left nostril (shoulder-ribs-abdoment).

Aim to do this 40 times per day - according to Rampa. I can't do this, and 40 x (8+32+16) x 2 = 8,960 seconds /day, which seems a bit excessive to me. As I said, I'll just do three as a minimum and often combine this with something else.

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I actually do now try to do more than 3 such breaths a day.

It's interesting to consider how this breathing could work. The theory of meridians suggests that energy flows around our body - various bracnhes of Yoga work with this to varying degrees (for instance, I read some discussion on this in the "Autobiography of a Yogi", by Paramahansa Yogananda [published in 1946; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogananda and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_a_Yogi - which, when I accessed it for this post, had a caution that it was writen like and advertisement). Obviously, in this case, the theory is various postures influence how the energy flows and place some pressure on blockages. I have no argument with this (particularly as I work with [basic] shiatu :) ).

The mind can influence energy flow - hence the use of visualisation in many metaphysical techniques. A number of these techniques combine breathing - either for assisting with relaxation, or to enhance the effect of the visualisation. That suggests to me that breathing has a connection with the mind, and the organ which connects us to the mind: the brain. (to pick up on the theme in my post http://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2007/08/purpose.html, maybe breathing will be useful training for us to direct energies when we are existing in higher realms?)

To digress for a moment, our brains are arranged into a right and a left hemisphere, with different functions having been identified for each (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateralization_of_brain_function). My training in applied kinesiology ("Touch for Health" - which I would like to learn to practitioner level one day, as I would shiatsu) indicates that functions which trigger each side alternately (e.g., cross crawling, or marching) can have beneficial effects in some cases.

Perhaps the alternate nostril technique helps to balance out the activity in the hemispheres of the brain, and thus helps with the balancing effect? I've tried to avoid using my fingers - e.g., by leaning to use an object to close each nostril, and still find the effect as powerful, but I'm still moving side to side so there may be some physical trigger involved as well; I've also found I can get a good effect by starting with the alternate nostril breathing, and then just using visualisation to direct energy in and out the relevant nostril.

In any case, the energy flows stimulated by this are, in my experience, very beneficial. If they are for you as well, please enjoy using this technique; if this technique is not for you, move on and may you find whatever technique you need (if any).

(I also consider the book "The Science of Breath", by William Walker Atkinson, writing as "Yogi Ramacharaka" in 1904, and now available at the Sacred Texts website at http://sacred-texts.com/eso/sob/index.htm, well worth a look. 9th September, 2013)

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr

This post's photo was taken in the Geriwerd (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grampians_National_Park) in June, 2006, as the area recovered from the fires. The photo is from the slopes of Mt William.

Tags: energy work, Lobsang Rampa, breathing, yoga

First published: Thursday 4th October, 2007