The Edgar Cayce Primer
Monday, November 30th, 2009
My current reading:
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Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
The Story of Edgar Cayce
Monday, November 16th, 2009|
Last week, I started reading There is a river…, the story of Edgar Cayce. Full of his remarkable prophecies, medical cures prescribed while in a trance, and his insights into the human soul.
“Man demands a beginning and a boundary, so in the beginning there was a sea of spirit, and it filled all space. It was static, constant, aware of itself, a giant resting on the bosom of its thought, contemplating that which it was.” Sometimes I am a skeptic. This is one of those times. Yet, how wonderful would it be if such miracles were in fact possible. |
Autobiography of a Yogi
Monday, September 14th, 2009|
Considering the vast collection of books that I have “for the betterment of humankind”, it is difficult to select a favourite. However, none has intrigued or inspired me more than Autobiography of a Yogi. From his early days of being the “Mad Monk” Mukunda Lal Ghosh to his later days as Paramahansa Yogananda, his story is one of true illumination.
The greatest impact of this book for me has been in raising my interest in India and its masters and saints; learning how experienced yogis perform miracles and attain self-mastery. |
- The Saint with Two Bodies (Swami Pranabananda) was able to appear in two places at once.
- The Perfume Saint (Ghanda Baba) had the ability to astrally-project scent and permeated odorless blossoms with rose and jasmine.
- The Levitating Saint (Bhaduri Mahasaya) was able to defy the law of gravity as a yogi’s body was purported to lose its grossness after certain pranayamas.
- The Sleepless Saint (Ram Gopal) took residence in a cave, engaging in yoga union for twenty hours daily, never sleeping.
- The Fasting Saint (Giri Bala) employed a certain yogic technique that allowed her to survive without eating. It was a Kriya technique that freed the body from its dependence on mortal food – the use of a mantra and breathing exercises.
- The Catholic Stigmatist (Therese Neumann) – although German, not Indian – was cured of blindness as a child. As an adult, she abstained from food and water, except for a daily consecrated host, slept for a mere hour or two a night, and experienced the stigmata.
Unwavering faith and devotion is also a part of the yogi’s journey. Mukunda demonstrated his deep trust on many occasions as a young devotee under his guru Sri Yukteswar.
- Yogananda claimed to only need inheritance from the Heavenly Father; his older brother Ananta sent him and a fellow disciple on train to a selected town without money or means to return home; so moved was Ananta upon their return (having not begged for food nor rupees, circumstance amply provided them) that he asked Yogananda to initiate him into Kriya Yoga.
- While awaiting the return of his guru by train, Yogananda received a telepathic message that he would be late, and sure to his vision, his guru arrived on the train of his instruction.
- When asked by his sister Roma to assist in bringing her husband Satish around to spiritual matters, Yogananda implores the Divine Mother to provide nourishment for them without request. At the temple they are visiting, they are treated to a lavish meal and Satish begins to change his ways.
In describing his guru Sri Yukteswar, Yogananda said, “A master – one who has realized himself as the omnipotent soul, not the body – perceives in all men a striking similarity.” The goal of yoga is divine union; a true master seeks union in both the earthly and the heavenly realms. With mastery come the disappearance of separation and the return of original oneness.
Yoga and the Quest for the True Self
Monday, September 7th, 2009| One night, psychotherapist Stephen Cope had a dreamt of the wanderer archetype. Free to seek the treasure of his true self after a failed romantic relationship, Cope departed for the Kripalu Center to begin a year-long sabbatical. Cope was troubled initially by the language, discipline, and devotion to the guru, wondering if he was accidentally getting involved with some sort of cult. In time, he began to realize that he had simply entered a “transformative space” – a space whereby exist the conditions for growth and make it inevitable. Over time, Cope began to experience serenity; in yoga, the fully alive human being is created on a daily basis by food, breath, sleep, movement, and word. | |
According to yogic philosophy, there are 5 kleshas (conditioned beiefs and behaviours) that keep people bound to “gross apparent reality.” They are seen in terms of cause and effect.
There are also 4 beliefs that continue the delusion of the kleshas:
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Ram Dass: Remember, Be Here Now
Monday, August 31st, 2009Before Ram Dass reminded us that he was still here, he urged us to BE here…
| Be Here Now describes the transformation of Dr. Richard Alpert into Baba Ram Dass through 3 stages: Harvard scholar and social scientist, psychedelics, and yogi. In the beginning, he had every indication of outward success, but was experiencing a mounting inner dissatisfaction. During this time, he began spending time and teaching courses with Timothy Leary, who turned him onto hallucinogens. After several years of experimentation with LSD, Alpert was dismissed from Harvard and began seeking altered states of consciousness in earnest. Armed with a bottle of LSD, Alpert left for India and shared his supply with those he met along the way. One of the most interesting receptions that he received was, “It’s good, but not as good as meditation.” Over the course of his travels through India, Alpert transformed into Dass and provided his Cook Book for a Sacred Life. | |
The idea of BE HERE NOW (being present to the moment) is the core of what yoga means to me and brings to my life; and in return, what I wish to share with others. |
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Ram Dass: Still Here
Monday, August 24th, 2009Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying
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Ram Dass had a dear friend who was confined to a wheelchair due to a sporting accident he received when he was younger. Asked to introduce him at one of his lecture, Dass agreed with some trepidation. This courageous young man was brought onto the stage and spelled out the following on his board (he was unable to speak): “R.D. says we are not our bodies. Amen.”
This is one of the most profoundly moving lines I have ever digested from a book. What powerful words! We are not our bodies! Yet, how much advertising/media goes into trying to prove and/or convince ourselves that we are? |
“You will find that each time you’re able to welcome your own pain, you’ll also be welcoming the Soul, and the Soul is what can defeat the fear and suffering of pain.” |
This is a mind and life-altering book. Enjoy and reflect.
Ringing Cedars Reference Project
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
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Several months ago, Book 1: Anastasia of the Ringing Cedars of Russia Series made its way into my hands. At first read, I was not inspired – in fact, I was downright angry – frustrated, threatened, put-off. I was extremely challenged. These books were against almost everything that I enjoy (sometimes to excess) in this (mostly) modern, technocratic world. Despite this, I kept an open mind and continued reading the rest of the series – finding inspiration in unlikely places. I was a skeptic. |
I have enjoyed my fine dining, fancy shoes, and opulent European vacations – and it’s quite conceivable that I may continue to do so in the future. However, I am 100% convinced that life does not have to be the cold and stressful existence that many experience it to be. Life can be warm, creative, succulent, and exhilarating! The Ringing Cedars books have made me look at life in a different way – I find myself more positive, optimistic, and hopeful. With an undergrad degree in Classical History, College diploma in Programming – and having furthered my studies to become a Reflexologist, Herbalist, Reiki Master, and Yoga Teacher, I am certainly open to new ideas and concepts. I also enjoy combining my technological/IT background with my love of holism.
It was suggested to me that an excellent (and beneficial) project would be to take the contents of the Ringing Cedars Series and create a reference library of their contents, cross referenced by category and with authors/experts in related fields. The challenge, is of course, to do this in a way that does not violate copyright infringement 
What a project this is going to be – the books contain a vast plethora of information/advice on nutrition (raw food in particular), farming, spirituality, relationships, child-rearing, education, and politics.
The Bhagavad-Gita
Monday, June 15th, 2009
The 18 Chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita:
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1 The unchanging transcendent reality
2 The study of the inner self
3 The principle of objective existence
4 The principle of subjective existence
5 God exists and is in every part of nature
6 The cosmic vision of Krishna
7 Represents material existence
The Four Agreements
Monday, June 8th, 2009Ancient Toltec wisdom offers a powerful code of conduct to bring us freedom, happiness, and love
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