Thank you Tracy for asking what you are supposed to read before we meet on 28 January 2024. Now that the book has arrived with you, here's a reminder.

We have not read the foreward to the book together. Read this if and when you wish to.

During 14 January, I read the introduction to the book. You can read it again at home, if and when you feel to.

On 28 January we will read the first chapter, Ashtanga Yoga, together. I recommend that you read this chapter at home before we meet, and jot down any reflections or learnings you might wish to share in the group.

See you there ❤️

Hari Om 💕

Some clarification about who has lived through stage 4 cancer and a painful back.

On 14 January I read the introduction to the book, which was written by Bhava Ram.

Some people thought it was Claire who had lived through that.

Those were Bhava's experiences, not Claire's.

Hari Om 💕

In the sanctuary on 28 January, we met to share chapter 1, a summary of the eight limbs which are;

1 Yamas, moral and ethical guidance 

2 Niyamas, personal guidance

3 Asana, posture 

4 Pranayama, control of vital life force 

5 Pratyahara, sense withdrawal 

6 Dharana, concentration 

7 Dhyana, meditation 

8 Samadhi, liberation 

Bhava Ram has written that the first four concern the external, five moves to the internal, and then in we go!

No matter your belief system, the eight limbs can be applied.

Together, they work to still the fluctuations of the mind. When the mind is still, there is a realisation/glimpse of a different reality that has been here all along.

I don't mean that you see goblins or angels (or maybe you will?!). It's that life is experienced from a different place. And that place promises less suffering. Not because life turns to cash, accolades, and being right all the time (!), but because the person who wants or needs many things to feel at peace ✌️ and serene, shifts. There is a different version of 'you' to be found! I guess that's why they call it seeking.

And to find it, you turn down down the chatter and judgements and blah blah of the mind. Tune in to a different station that isn't locked in to external pursuits.

How to do this ?  Follow the eight limbs.

The first two have five parts each which we will learn about and practice each fortnight.

Our next sanctuary meet is 11th February. We will read chapter 2 and there will be mindful 'homework' to consider and practice in the proceeding two weeks. Then we meet again on the 25th February to share our experiences and insights (and challenges!) and consider chapter 3.

Feel free to add comments or questions to this thread.

Cheery bye for now 🌻 💕

Mantra for beginning and end of meet.

In the first week we ended with me chanting the Mahamrityunjaya mantra. I did so because it's a traditional chant to end with.

At the second meet I closed with Gayatri mantra. I did so because it is a very gentle and sweet mantra, related to pranayama (4th limb).

For the third meet I am guided to open and close with Shanti mantra.

It is traditional to open any class, learning, practice with this mantra. It's not usually a closing mantra, but if we open and close with it each meet, you can become familiar with the sound and rhythm and pronunciation, and you might even join in!

I have attached a screenshot of the words and translation 💕

I have been asked if it is essential to memorise the words /labels of eight limbs. The answer is "absolutely not".

I've been looking at the eight limbs for some years and I still look at a book if I can't remember the ten Yamas and Niyamas (first two limbs).

For Shiny Things, we are working through them one by one. The important thing going forward is that we get a little understanding of where we are each at and one little practice each fortnight to move us toward our aspirations. 

So far, feedback from people previously unfamiliar with the eight limbs has been: fascination at how well the system is describing where they are at, helping to describe how they have been feeling, offering comfort to know they have a normal human mind.

The practices going forward may well be revealing and helpful 💕

PS if you are not keen on books then join us anyway. You can listen to the reading 💕

Hi there 🤗

During today's Shiny Things, we read chapter 2, Ahimsa, aka non-violence or, without harm.

Put simply, this may be thought of as non harming thought, speech, and actions. 

Most of us harm frequently.

We harm by using chemical toilet cleaners and flushing them back into the water supply. If your body can't biodegradable it, how can 'mother earth'? (We can use less toxic products for skin and home and garden)

We harm by not questioning self-berating thoughts such as "my body shouldn't look like this", "there's no point trying, I'm going to fail", or "I'm lazy, that's why I'm in this situation". (These are untrue)

We harm by projecting blame, anger, and aggression at 'others'. Whether we are giving or receiving blame, we know that it breeds more of the same (instead we can do our best to not react, and whether we react or not, we can inquire why we feel that way)

We harm by polluting our own minds with unnecessary media, and polluting the minds of others with gossip. 

We harm ourselves by eating or smoking or spending or drinking too much . We harm other beings through our choices (the book mentioned factory farmed meat). Can we make wiser choices ?

And why are we going towards Ahimsa?

Whether it's very obvious or super subtle, harm creates ripples in the mind. Layers upon layers of thought based and worldly suffering. This is not what we are looking for. So if we are not looking for suffering, we must be looking for something else. And what is that ? 

Well, to find out, we quieten the fluctuations of mind through Ahimsa (and the other Yamas, Niyamas, and eight fold path). It will be revealed.

I could call it peace. But what do I know ? 🧐 😊 Peace from the mistaken identification with the construct of 'me' or 'i'.

It's like (?) Ramana said. Use a thorn to remove a thorn. Use 'you' and your curiosity about Raja yoga the practices, to remove the 'you' that is the illusory source of suffering. 

Clear ? Keep going ! 😀💪

💕

Next fortnight we will reflect on our two weeks of noticing and refining our intention for living without harm. 

You can post your intention in this forum if you wish. 

I'll start. 

I'm looking out for microagressions of this mind to itself. How those microagressions contract, limit, and hold the illusory self in place. I will then question them and if they can possibly be true. I know what the answer is!

Also for the next few weeks, I will be vegetarian. Like many, I became meat free pre teens after realising where meat came from! However, at a certain point, I decided to be grateful for whatever food was offered or available. I haven't made the effort to be consistently vegetarian for some years now. A busy schedule; the need for nutrients; bodily reactions to plant products!  Whether this will lead to a recommitment is unclear. But it keeps coming up quietly, as a quiet guidance. 

Would you like to share your intentions? 🙏

💕

I would like to focus any negative self speak. To try to understand why it has come up in the moment and to turn it to something more kind.  I would also like to work on portion sizes and purchases... the over consumption parts of this chapter were very focal for me.

All the best to anyone setting intentions! 🙂

Hi there. Negative seif speak is a good one. It's all so unnecessary but it's planted in there, so it's great to say "oh there's a weed!" and dig it out. The pesky things have roots, so we keep going back to tend the garden over and over, digging up more. Keep going!

I look forward to your reflections on consumption. Goodness knows we are all capable of that. 

I think you already have the tools for root cause inquiry which are available on the Awakening Together website. 

😘 🤗

During Shiny Things on Sunday 25 February 2024, we reflected on non harm, Ahimsa, and read the chapter on the second of the Yamas, Satya, with Truth.

The chapter highlighted how we are lied to by government propoganda and consumer driven media/marketing, which distracts us in numerous ways. It programs us as individuals to believe that others are bad, or better than us,  creating an even greater sense of seperation and individualism. It is a crack cocaine level of distraction for the thinking monkey mind, pulling attention outward into the virtual external reality that we call global society and worldly life!

The other lies/falsities that the book highlights are the ones we tell to others or ourselves. For instance, the way the thinking (egoic/delusional!) mind makes excuses for itself regarding lack of self discipline, whether it be about our own addictions (e.g. shopping, gambling, screens) or commitment to growth and practice. 

The book encouraged us to practice living in Truthfulness by consuming less media (less blatant lies about the way we should /are living), noticing when we lie to ourselves or others, and avoiding idle speculation or gossip.

If you are faced with either telling the truth OR not harming, then go with not harming. For instance, if your friend has been working on a craft project for six months and loves it, and asks you what you think. If you see it as a monstrosity then it may be better to point out what you do like about it, rather than harming your friend with words. E.g. "wow , I can see where six months of effort has gone, what an elaborate piece! I love the colours. I'm so proud of your determination to finish this!".

Refer to your own inner guidance for how to handle each situation.

And regarding inner guidance, that is the subtle voice of Truth that gently prompts you in the right direction. The reason we are following the path of Raja Yoga, is initially to quieten the ripples in the mind so that we can follow our inner calling naturally, without distraction.

My personal reflection on Ahimsa practice, is that I am glad to be off the meat. Personally, I always have doubt about meat, therefore each time I eat it, it generates thought forms ie ripples in the mind. It is easier to be off it and not wonder. I believe my eleven year old self had a lot of wisdom that has been neglected. The first time she realised she was eating an animal, she stopped, only to reintroduce meat several times in twenties, thirties (and beyond !) in case it helped with 'health/bodily ' concerns. It may have. So I'll say it was right to be vegetarian before, it was right to eat meat when I did, and it is right to be vegetarian now.

My other non harm practice was looking out for microagressions of the mind. The subtle, quiet, sneaky ones. It is good to see them for what they are. I don't know if you have followed the story of Jesus Christ? I haven't much because of the level of rejection it received in my upbringing in a secular society. Even if you take it as a story, you don't have to believe it is true, you can still take meaning and insights from the story of JC.

What appeared for me during quiet contemplation is that JC was whipped, shredded to the bone, to take suffering from us. 

If you see the blatant and subtle aggressive thoughts that our delusional/egoic minds have toward it's (translucent) self, as the whippings, the suffering, the harm, then could it be, that on one level, this is the very harm that JC offered to take for us? 

And if that is the case, then should we let go of horrid and false beliefs easily and rapidly once they have been seen? I know that if any loved one of mine was lacerated to the bone, flesh peeling off in great chunks and bleeding out, all so I could live a life free from suffering, then I would not want to waste that profound offering. I would and do know that I can live without those false ideas of a personal seif that is falsely judges as not good enough (or unworthy or unlovable). 

JC allowed the afflictions of every worst nightmare, so that you don't have to. So that you can discover what you really are.

My personal practices for the  weeks of Satya focus:

To put non-harm before Truthfulness: I can get carried away with truth telling. Sometimes because I'm at my 'wits end' with handling something peacefully and compassionately and quite frankly, lose my shidazzle. So I go for a heavy dose of truth as I see it! It embellishes an us and them stance, which is only moving towards greater seperation. 

I don't watch commercial television but I'm prone to a show or movie after a long day at work. I vow to put the movie projector away after long work days, and engage in something else, whether it be reading, stretching sitting quietly or connecting with loved ones. 

Reflections.

You don't need to heal, because there is nothing to heal

Just as there is no trauma story, there is no healing story

It's all a mirage 

Just as there is no story of pride, there is no story of shame

Why? Because there is nothing and no-one to pin stories to

All it takes is one drop 💧, one ripple in the mind, to draw attention from what is True, to what is false

You can observe the ripples in the mind and see them for what they are .... ripples

There's no need to get in the water with them. There is no need to become them. You no longer get into bed and tussle around with them!

To start on this path, you can use your own false self, navigating in the direction of Truth, to create a life of less ripples. 

How?  Initially follow the Yamas and Niyamas of Raja Yoga. Which is exactly what we are doing here!

If you get stuck, ask for help. Mentoring is available through Awakening Together. Other great tools to use are Root Cause Inquiry, Rest Accept and Trust, Chanting mantra, and breath practices that quieten the body mind.

See you next time. Half an hour at Shiny Things is a bit tight to reflect and read a whole chapter, so we will see what happens on 10 March!!

Om Shanti 

💕

Here are my reflections on the practice of Satya. The two practices I chose are worldly based. We create worldly seeming practices as their outcome is to  redirect the attention inwards/quiet/toward greater Truth.

My first was to ensure Ahimsa comes prior to Satya. If the egoic level of operation tells it's 'truth', it is likely to be in the form of anger, blame (worry, anxiety, disappointment, lack etc). All of which navigate into the waters of greater and greater seperation. We want to go the other way. So by keeping ego in check, we avoid making more ripples in the water. I've particularly been practicing this when driving as I had one incident on a particularly where I yelled at another person (it shocked me!) Lucky all the windows were shut, but I bet my face expressions scared them 😨. Well, you have to know what you don't want, to know what you do want! More mindful, check. Less ripples, check. Keep practicing,check.

My second Satya was to avoid the impressioning of media in the form of films from a mainstream streaming service. I let the service go. I'm still engaging in 'spiritual entertainment ' and health science education, which in the interim are more helpful impressions. Greater amounts of meditation and reading are taking place. Check. Continue.

Let's remember that the deeper aspect of Satya is to take direction from our True and authentic self! The less ripples, the more you hear Truth. The more you are directed by Truth, the more you Trust. The more you Trust, the less monkey mind thinking you need to do. The less thinking, the less ripples, and on we go!  

Enjoy! 😍

See you tenth March for Asteya.

Om Om Om 🕉️

Oh dear. I didn't show up for Shiny Things on tenth March because I hadn't anticipated the clock change in USA. On 24 March it will be at 1330 UK and the fortnight after that, following UK click change, it will be back to 1430 UK. It's always 0930 ET. 

I encourage you to continue your Ahimsa and Satya practices and read the Asteya chapter. Comment in this thread if you would like to. 

💕