MIND YOUR BUSINESS

We have three minds: the Negative or Protective mind, the Positive or Projective Mind, and the Neutral or Meditative Mind. All three minds work together to process your thoughts of which there are one thousand released every blink of the eye. But where do these thoughts go? Each though becomes either a feeling, and emotion, or a desire. All thoughts and feelings get dumped into the subconscious, where they overflow and need to be cleared out through meditation. The desires that don't get fulfilled become the source of neurosis. When the subconscious overloads, it starts changing the way you perceive things, affects your behavior, and it dumps the overflow into the unconscious. The overloaded subconscious mind BLOCKS the flow of the divine cosmic energy into our lives. That is why it is essential to "clean house" by practicing meditation and mantra on a daily basis.

When you use the three minds to determine your next best move, you are using the best system you've got for decision making; weighing in on the plusses and the minuses and making a decision based on both. Kundalini Yoga is especially good for developing the Neutral/Meditative mind so that your good decisions happen at a fast pace.

This week's class is about the Negative Mind, which according to the Ten Body system of Kundalini Yoga, is the SECOND BODY.

The Negative Mind is your alarm system. It warns you of disadvantages or dangers. It's the mind that keeps you out of trouble. It gives form to the creativity of your SOUL BODY (the first body that we worked on last week). When we talk about the second body, we can't help but talk about the longing to belong or the urge to merge. This shows itself as a desire to connect very deeply with your higher self or with God. When we want to merge with others or be part of a group we need the protection of our Negative Mind to set boundaries.

Everyone longs to merge. Its part of the human experience. Joining is even the essential idea behind yoga.....uniting the body with the mind; the lower and higher selves. We all want to be accepted, to be part of a bigger whole. We join groups, institutions, clubs, businesses, families, classes, teams, etc. When you put yourself INTO something, you always grow because of it. Sometimes this URGE TO MERGE is so overpowering and your second body is underdeveloped, and so we tend to get ourselves into inappropriate and self-destructive relationships as a result of not being secure in your own "center".

So our Protective/Negative Mind isn't really negative at all! It can help us to navigate safely and smartly through our life. If our negative mind is overactive, we can get stuck worrying and obsessing about the bad things that could happen, and end up doing nothing. If it's underactive, we can't calculate danger. So it's a mind you really want working FOR you and one that is strong, flexible and balanced.

How can you balance the Negative/Protective Mind? First and foremost, develop conscious relationships. Value your discipline. Strive to live a life of integrity....and practice sadhana, a daily spiritual practice to help keep your self-discipline in place and to clear the subconscious mind of all its garbage.

Tonight, March 1st we are practicing exercises and meditations to activate and balance the Negative/Protective mind...and to improve the flexibility of both our body and our mind. Come with a mat, blanket, or cushion, a friend and a donation ($15 recommended). More information on the website. 7:00pm this and every Thursday. Yogi Tea and Gong always served.

Sat Nam,

Raghubir

EVERY BODY LOVES SOME BODY SOMETIME

According to Kundalini Yoga, we all have 10 bodies. One of them is the physical body which we all are well acquainted with but there are 9 more which may be new to some of you. Three of these bodies are mental and the remaining 6 are energetic. In these 10 upcoming classes at Eagle Rock Kundalini Center, we will be reviewing each body one by one and reviewing them as a whole.

Tonight's class will be a quick overview of the Ten Bodies and a foray into the First Body... The Soul Body. The Soul Body is your inner self. You have to live in balance with your head and your heart and through the Soul Body, you can do this. The Soul Body is your asset for the long term. It records everything you do, good and bad. It's the first thing that comes to you (at the 120th day of your mother's pregnancy) and the last thing to leave. It even has a weight! Your Soul Body weighs about an ounce. At the end, the Subtle body grabs the Soul body and then you're on to the next big thing.

So what it all boils down to is balance. Balance between following your emotions and feelings and logical intellectual thinking. Balance between intuition and reason. The SOUL body when in balance gives you compassion, a happy disposition, optimism, creative flow, emotional stability, and razor sharp intuitive skills. You understand how things work, how other people feel. You live for yourself first, and share appropriately with others. In fact, if you feel that you are over-giving to others and not nurturing yourself, that is probably a good sign that your Soul Body is out of whack. A strong Soul Body will give you the ability to treat yourself and everyone else equally and this is its greatest gift to you.

Tonight we will work on meditations and exercises to activate and balance the SOUL BODY. Bring a mat, a blanket, a cushion and everything you need for yoga practice. Donation only.

(recommended $15) and Yogi Tea served after to all who stick around. For more information visit the website.

Sat Nam,

Raghubir

SELF-DISCIPLINE AND THE ART OF BEING HAPPY

What are we up to tonight Thursday February 16?

"Drive your life like a car, and you will be fine. Use a signal to change lanes. Drive carefully and shift the gears as you face the day. Gas up the car and check the oil before you go, that is called Sadhana (daily spiritual discipline). It is a mental cleansing process, a tune-up to the point of elevation every day." - Yogi Bhajan

If you think that driving on auto pilot will get you where you want to go in life, then you have another thing coming! The very thing that gives you character, mental richness, and spiritual strength is the thing that will transform your life from ORDINARY to EXTRA-ORDINARY. It's called self-discipline and it can make all the difference in the world if you are aiming to be happy.

Everyone knows the old joke "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" "Practice, practice, practice". Practice is discipline and it's something that we try to teach our children from a very early age through music or dance lessons, athletic practice, and learning how to study. Through the development of these early habits we learn that "practice makes perfect" and that improvement, advancement, and excellence are always achieved through self-discipline. Whether you received lessons in your childhood or not, these habits are valuable in your life at any stage and can contribute to a life of joy.

"The greatest reward of doing sadhana is that the person becomes incapable of being defeated. Sadhana is a self-victory, and it is a victory over time and space. Getting up in the morning is a victory over time, and doing it (sadhana) is a victory over space." -Yogi Bhajan

Self-discipline is about making choices for yourself that serve the greatest good. That means overlaying a template for living that exercises your best self and enables you to interact with your friends, family, and professional life with grace and balance. At first, it may look like giving things up (like addictions or bad habits) but after a while, your body and mind crave to make better and better choices and so many of these "bad habits" drop away as your happiness increases. You are more apt to ACT than to REACT and you see things from a higher perspective.

"Service creates a permanent love and friendship. Self-discipline creates grace. And a neutral mind creates wisdom. These are the rules of life."- Yogi Bhajan

For some of us, self-displine means waking up in the *amrit vela before the sun rises and meditating...for others it may be saying "no" to recreational drugs, exercising more, drinking more water, or eating a vegetarian diet. For others, it may be practicing consciousness in ones actions or not saying anything negative for one day at a time. Whatever it is, it's a perfect choice for YOU and it helps you to grow in scope and magnitude and brings you to a state of self achievement, personal satisfaction, and happiness.

Tonight we will be doing a yoga set and meditation to activate that aspect in ourselves that makes the impossible, possible. This is an aspect in ourselves that enables us to transcend emotions and commotions of daily life and rise above it. It's our spiritual strength and mental richness that gives us this extra edge.

Come at 7:00 pm. Bring a blanket, mat, cushion and anything else you may need for your yoga practice. Yogi tea is always served. By donation ($15 recommended) Bring a friend and a desire to transform. Gong meditation always included. For more information visit the website. See you later alligator.

Sat Nam,

Raghubir Kaur

*In this period of calm and peace, before the 'hassle and bassle' of life, one can easily meditate on God and receive the Lord's divine blessing. In the Japji, Guru Nanak emphasises, the need of rising early for prayer. Due to the change of season and geographical location, AMRIT VELAA is likely to differ in various countries.

Early morning is called Amrit-Velaa, which means that it is the time to worship God. The most generous definition of Amrit-Velaa must be that it starts after midnight and ends around six in the morning, According to Yogi Bhajan, it is thought of as the 2.5 hours before sunrise.

IDA NADI

Plain and simple, TONIGHT'S FULL MOON is the PERFECT time to write my blog on this upcoming Thursday night's class which will be all about the MOON ENERGY...AKA IDA NADI.

Last week was all about the Sun (relates to right channel, YANG, positive, inner masculine, expansive, extroverted, concentration, projective, focused, pingala, RA) and this week it's all about the Moon (related to left channel, contraction, introverted, YIN, inner feminine, relaxed, calm, receptive, MA). The Sun and the Moon relate to the shushmana or the central channel in the spine...(ever hear of Lord RA MA?)

The full moon is the time of the month where there is the greatest connection between sun and moon. Therefore, if we meditate on the full moon, it may be easier to direct the PRANA,OR LIFE FORCE ENERGY through the Shushmana or central nerve channel in the spine.

The nadis are the ida, pingala, and the shushmana. The sun nadi is the pingala and the moon nadi is the ida. Ida is a Sanskrit word which means "comfort". It starts and ends to the left of the shushmana. It terminates in the left nostril, but is also connected to the left testicle in males.

Ida Nadi is the feminine energy and has a cooling effect. It is associated with the right side of the brain and the left side of the body. Ida Nadi controls all of the mental processes; purifies the body and the mind". If you want to calm down and "get comfortable", you can breathe out of the left nostril only which accesses the IDA NADI and the moon energy.

The moon has different phases which each possess a certain character. You can find the chart for the Moon cycles on the Kundalink website. The full moon is when your subconscious mind is closest to the surface..therefore it's a really effective time for healing and meditation; a really perfect time for your energy to go into digesting what is laying around your subconscious mind instead of digesting what you eat. You are naturally accelerated on a full moon; at your highest energy level. The new moon is a time to focus your energy on NEW BEGINNINGS. If fasting is not an option for you, or not what you prefer, try to eat sattvic foods and adhere to a spiritual template for your day. The New Moon is when you are at your lowest energy level. It's a good day to fast on lemon and water from sun up to the next sun up.

Yogi Bhajan taught that the 11th day after the New Moon is the day when you are most in balance. The glandular system readjusts itself on this day and your metabolism changes. It's a good time to eat lightly on green foods or just lemon and water. Eating one meal and then lemon and water throughout the day is recommended.

MORE FASCINATING INFORMATION: Women have eleven moon centers throughout their bodies. These eleven centers are sensitive physical areas on the women's body that are responsive to lunar energies and affect how she deals with every day life. During her 28 day cycle, the location shifts every 2.5 days. Each woman has a different sequence, but it remains constant with her and does not coincide with her menstrual cycle. These are the moon centers: arcline, navel center, thighs, ear lobes, clitoris, vagina, back of the neck, breasts, lips, cheeks, and eyebrows. I'll write more about this some other week, but this will have to do for now. Men have a moon center on their chin which corresponds to the trigeminal nerve...and it is reponsible for how men relate to their emotions. That is why men in the Kundalini Yoga community generally grow beards; to help them buffer how they interact emotionally with the outside world.

Thursday night, February 9 we will be practicing Kundalini Yoga exercises, pranayam (breath exercises), and meditations which bring out the moon energy in you. Be prepared to say good-bye to tension and fatigue and say hello to deep relaxation and contentment. Bring a friend, a mat, a blanket and a cushion if needed. There will be yogi tea and cookies served afterwards. Donation ($15 recommended). For more info visit the website.

Sat Nam,

Raghubir

HERE COMES THE SUN

Thursday February 2.......... HERE COMES THE SUN

Have you noticed lately that your computer is acting weird or that telephone, satellite, or radio reception is a bit "off"? Have you noticed a change in your behavior or emotions? If you have you are just like everyone else on earth who is experiencing the effects of the most recent solar flares. A solar flare occurs when the magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released. Solar flares cause the earth's atmosphere to become more ionized and it has a profound effect on radio signals and wireless communication. The magnetic fields of humans have also been shown to respond to the changes in the sun's magnetic field.

"You are a magnetic psyche. This Praanic energy is nothing but an electromagnetic field. This whole Universe is just the co-existence of magnetic psyches within a working electromagnetic field...every electromagnetic field within an electromagnetic field has its own frequency, its own rhythm, its own axle, and it own orbit." - Yogi Bhajan

In last week's class we balanced the praanic energy through the manipulation of breath and through physical exercise working with 5 major areas of energy called vayus. This Thursday night, we will learn about the nadis a.k.a. channels of energy through which praana travels. We will be focusing primarily on the Pingala, one of the three most important nadis: namely the Shushmana, Ida, and Pingala.

These three channels meet at the first chakra located at the base of the spine. The Ida and Pingala rise from here and circle around the spinal column traveling in opposite directions. The join again at the brow point. The left channel is called the Ida, governs the moon energy and terminates at the left nostril. The right channel is called the Pingala, governs the sun energy, and terminates at the right nostril. The shushmana is the central channel of energy through which the Kundalini energy makes its ascent. When the Kundalini energy rises and energizes all the chakras, it makes you calm, creative, non-attached and in harmony with the infinite. You're "in the flow". It's a scientific process to raise the Kundalini but it takes commitment and discipline to "keep up".

So now that you have the general landscape, I'll get back on topic and tell you specifically about the sun and the moon energies. We are energetic beings and energy flows through the ida and pingala nadis all the time. You might notice that at different times of the day, one nostril is breathing more predominantly than the other. This is the work of your pituitary gland which operates much like a thermostat to balance the energies in your body.

If the Ida is dominant, then the flow of energy in our magnetic psyche is mostly negatively charged and is cooling, imaginative, and calm. It is the energy of the moon. If the Pingala is dominant, then the flow of energy is mostly positively charged and its focused, energetic and active.It is the energy of the sun. Once we become aware of these energies, we can use them to put our lives in better balance.

Even though the glandular system monitors the body temperature and emotional state throughout the day, Kundalini Yoga provides the technology to override that system if and when necessary. If you are nervous and have anxiety for example, you can breathe out of the left nostril to activate the cooling and calming moon energy. Conversely, if you are spaced out and unfocused, you can breathe out of the right nostril to activate the positively charged sun energy which will give you concentration, focus, and energy.

WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON THIS THURSDAY NIGHT IS ACTIVATING THE SUN ENERGY. WHEN YOU HAVE A LOT OF SUN ENERGY, YOU ARE EXPRESSIVE AND ENTHUSIASTIC, ENERGETIC AND FOCUSED. YOU CAN DO MANY THINGS AT ONCE. YOUR DIGESTION IS WORKING WELL AND YOU ARE VERY CLEAR AND ACTION ORIENTED. IT IS THE ENERGY OF PURIFICATION. We will also practice several pranayam which will positively charge your magnetic field giving you an "energy boost" that is literally at your fingertips! HERE COMES THE SUN!

Thursday February 2 at 7:00.

Bring a mat, blanket, cushion or whatever you need to sit comfortably. We move around, meditate, chant, breathe, and lay down for long GONG relaxations. Bring a friend, bring a donation ($15 suggested) and bring a desire to transform. For more information visit the website. Yogi tea always served afterwards.

Sat Nam,

Raghubir

PRAAN VAYU - THE BREATH OF LIFE

"There are two ways to go in your life. One is 'go and get it' and the other one is to 'be and get it'. One is to develop your physical body to go for everything. Other is to develop your radiant body so that everything will come to you. And the best way is to develop (both) your radiant body and your physical body so that you can have perfect balance". - Yogi Bhajan

Yes, becoming magnetic and radiant will attract opportunities, but without a strong body you can't do anything about it. You can have a powerful physical presence, but without the vibratory frequency of an expanded and healthy magnetic field, you are just thrashing in the dark.

Our life force energy is called PRAANA and it's what makes our minds and bodies work. It is the BREATH OF LIFE and is called PRAAN VAYU. When you talk about PRAANA, you are referring to all the different kinds of praana which, if you count them all, total 72. These energetic tributaries run off of 5 major channels of energy which are also referred to as VAYUS (or airs).

Each of these 5 vayus governs a part of the body:

Praana- in the chest and is linked to breathing and drawing of new energy into the body

Apaana-below the navel governs the elimination

Samaana- region between the thoracic diaphragm and navel and governs digestion, discernment and assimilation

Udyaana - region from larynx up to the head and governs speech, projection, mental capacity and memory and helps to bring the Kundalini energy up to the 10th gate or crown chakra

Vyaana- governs the entire body and distributes energy into every cell.

If you want to be healthy in both body and mind, it is essential to keep your praana vayus balanced and flowing.

Thursday night January 26 at 7:00pm, we will be performing a set of exercises that uses physical force to move the praanic airs. Not only are we moving the energies in the body but will be putting the glandular system into perfect balance. Yogi Bhajan said that practicing this one set alone gives you control on your mind, body and soul and puts everything in the perfect combination. Breath is the vehicle of the Praana...so we will also practice pranayam (breath exercises) that will activate the force of energy in you.

Please come with a mat, blanket, or whatever you need to be comfortable during meditation and relaxation. Bring a friend, bring a desire to transform your life for the better, and bring a donation. ($15 recommended). Gong relaxation and Yogi Tea always included. For more information visit our website.

You will, through the practice of this set of exercises, find equilibrium and balance.

Sat Nam,

Raghubir

Art by Hector Jara

ACCEPTANCE AND LIVING A STRESS-FREE LIFE

Tonight (January 19) we will be working on Acceptance. This is a big deal because without it, you absolutely cannot change a thing in your life. NON-ACCEPTANCE IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF STRESS.

Acceptance means that you consciously acknowledge where you are RIGHT NOW, not where you weren't, or not where you want to be. In order to improve the way you look or the quality of your thoughts, in order to make your life more manageable, to change your job, increase your income, get on top of your finances, better your health, and so on, you have to be realistic about where you are now....and BE OK with it. Only then can you make the adjustment, change or improvement.

If you are stressed out, chances are you are not accepting the way things are. When people are trying to change themselves and pointlessly trying to change others, they spend far too much energy attempting to change the unchangeable. HERE ARE TWO BASIC RULES:

1. You cannot change things before you accept things as they are.

2. You cannot change anyone else.

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

In the serenity prayer, you come to the place of acceptance through serenity; a state of peace, calmness, balance which is achievable through meditation. You cannot change everything...and so acceptance of things as they are is required. You need courage and grit to change the things that you can....and you need to have the awareness to know what is changeable and what is not.

Aakhan jor, Chupai neh jor,

Jor na mangan dayn na jor

Jor na jeevan maran neh jor

Jor na raaj maal man sor

Jor na surtee giaan vechaar

Jor na jugatee chutai sansaar

Jis hath jor kar vekhai so-i

Nanak utam neech na ko-i

Aakhan Jor is the prayer of acceptance. It is also known as the 33rd pauree of Japji by Guru Nanak. This prayer takes the YOU out of the situation. It removes the ego and allows you to let things be as they are. God, the Universal Source, or whatever you want to call it, has the power. Inserting your ego into everything and trying to control your life and everyone in it is a pathway to nowhere. This prayer calls upon us to trust, accept, and let go. We have everything we need. We are complete as we are NOW.

Here's theTranslation:

No power to speak, no power to keep silent.

No power to beg, no power to give.

No power to live, no power to die.

No power to rule, with wealth and occult mental powers.

No power to gain intuitive understanding, to contemplate spiritual wisdom.

No power to find the way to escape from the world.

He alone has the Power in his hands, he watches over all.

O Nanak, no one is high or low.

Give it some thought. Through yoga and meditation, you can arrive at that place of balance and calmness where you can see where exactly where and who you are. In that place you are perfect. You can access what is realistically possible to improve or change and what is not. Either way, accepting the situation as it is, is imperative to making an improvement. If you can accept the way things are and have the clear perception to know what you can work on and what you cannot, you will be on your way to living a stress-free life. We will work on eliminating stress and meditating on the beauty of how things are right now.

For more information visit our website. Every thursday night at 7:00pm. bring a blanket, friends, cushion, etc. Donation $15 recommended. Yogi tea served afterwards.....

SAT NAM,

RAGHUBIR