Biochemistry and Spirituality

[Guest guest]

Hello, Harsha. Thank you for mentioning the physiological stress reducers.

 

It's interesting that your input comes at the same moment my husband and I

were just now speaking of hypoglycemia. It's been the bane of my existence!

 

Although I'm vegan, I still have to be very careful about sugar. I was

wondering why the past three days and especially yesterday were bad and

getting worse. I was having the usual oatmeal, raisins, sunflower seeds for

breakfast, but over the last couple of days I added a bit of maple syrup.

 

I was wondering why I was getting more and more ornery and jittery until

yesterday. That's when I was at my lowest and most depressed - interesting

that it was also directly between New and Full Moon, but I digress.

 

I find my hypoglycemia affects my spiituality and my sense of peace very

directly and very erratically.

 

So, thank you for the "confirmation" and the reminder that I must respect my

body and its limitations, otherwise my spirituality will continue to be held

hostage by my biochemical junkyard dog!

 

 

Rose

[Guest guest]

Rose, I am glad you understand all this. There is a lot of

information available on how blood sugar can influence emotions.

Weight lifting and strength training and losing weight can be

helpful, I have heard.

 

David Bozzi, a long term member, knows quite a bit about strength

training and often mentions sources of information for maintaining

the body and good health.

 

Many medical doctors are now also discussing the benefits of strength

training.

 

Body and mind influence each other profoundly.

 

Harsha

 

 

, "Fred & Rose Lieberman" <pyrite@c...>

wrote:

> Hello, Harsha. Thank you for mentioning the physiological stress

reducers.

>

> It's interesting that your input comes at the same moment my

husband and I

> were just now speaking of hypoglycemia. It's been the bane of my

existence!

>

> Although I'm vegan, I still have to be very careful about sugar. I

was

> wondering why the past three days and especially yesterday were bad

and

> getting worse. I was having the usual oatmeal, raisins, sunflower

seeds for

> breakfast, but over the last couple of days I added a bit of maple

syrup.

>

> I was wondering why I was getting more and more ornery and jittery

until

> yesterday. That's when I was at my lowest and most depressed -

interesting

> that it was also directly between New and Full Moon, but I digress.

>

> I find my hypoglycemia affects my spiituality and my sense of peace

very

> directly and very erratically.

>

> So, thank you for the "confirmation" and the reminder that I must

respect my

> body and its limitations, otherwise my spirituality will continue

to be held

> hostage by my biochemical junkyard dog!

>

>

>

> Rose

[Guest guest]

With deep and quiet breathing, vitality will improve, which will influence

the brain and help the mind to grow pure and stable and fit for meditation.

Without vitality, little can be done, hence the importance of its protection

and increase. Posture and breathing are a part of yoga, for the body must be

healthy and well under control, but too much concentration on the body

defeats its own purpose, for it is the mind that is primary in the

beginning. When the mind has been put to rest and disturbs no longer the

inner space (chidakash), the body acquires a new meaning and its

transformation becomes both necessary and possible. (496-7)

 

Give all your attention to the question: "What is it that makes me

conscious?", until your mind becomes the question itself and cannot think of

anything else. (447)

 

Try to be, only to be. The all-important word is "try". Allot enough time

daily for sitting quietly and trying, just trying, to go beyond the

personality with its addictions and obsessions. Don't ask how, it cannot be

explained. You just keep on trying until you succeed. If you persevere,

there can be no failure. What matters supremely is sincerity, earnestness;

you must really have had surfeit of being the person you are; now see the

urgent need of being free of this unnecessary self-identification with a

bundle of memories and habits. This steady resistance against the

unnecessary is the secret of success. (509)

 

The value of regular meditation is that it takes you away from the humdrum

of daily routine and reminds you that you're not what you believe yourself

to be. (492)

 

Meditation is a deliberate attempt to pierce into the higher states of

consciousness and finally go beyond it. The art of meditation is the art of

shifting the focus of attention to ever subtler levels, without losing one's

grip on the levels left behind. The final stage of meditation is reached

when the sense of identity goes beyond the "I-am-so-and-so", beyond

"so-I-am", beyond"I-am-the-witness-only", beyond "there-is", beyond

all

ideas into the impersonally personal pure being. But you must be energetic

when you take to meditation. It is definitely not a part-time occupation.

Limit your interests and activities to what is needed for you and your

dependents' barest needs. Save all your energies and time for breaking the

wall your mind had built around you. Believe me, you will not regret. (413)

 

It has nothing to do with effort. Just turn away, look between the thoughts,

rather than at the thoughts. When you happen to walk in a crowd, you do not

fight every man you meet, you just find your way between. When you fight,

you invite a fight. But when you do not resist, you meet no resistance. When

you refuse to play the game, you are out of it. (349)

 

No particular thought can be mind's natural state, only silence. Not the

idea of silence, but silence itself. When the mind is in its natural state,

it reverts to silence spontaneously after every experience, or, rather,

every experience happens against the background of silence. (242)

-Niargadatta

[Guest guest]

> No particular thought can be mind's natural state, only silence.

Not the

> idea of silence, but silence itself. When the mind is in its

natural state,

> it reverts to silence spontaneously after every experience, or,

rather,

> every experience happens against the background of silence. (242)

> -Niargadatta

 

Which raises the possibility of the following

questions to be answered at the next Yogathon:

 

Which swami experiences the deepest silence of all?

 

Which swami reverts most quickly to silence

after the least amount of experience?

 

Which swami waits the longest to break

the perfect stillness of realization?

 

Still talking -- but against a background of silence,

Dan

[Guest guest]

, "Fred & Rose Lieberman" <pyrite@c...>

wrote:

> Hello, Harsha. Thank you for mentioning the physiological stress

reducers.

 

Namaste,

 

Yes hormones and sugar imbalances can upset one that's for sure.

However I have found it helpful to stand back and observe my sugar

imbalance and witness it. The same with hormones they tell you what

to think about but not what to think. I'm saying not to use counter

measures, but to ask oneself, 'to whom is this happening?'. It seems

easier to control the emotions etc,,,Om Sakti,,,saktidass

[Guest guest]

on 11/14/02 9:33 AM, dan330033 at dan330033 wrote:

>> No particular thought can be mind's natural state, only silence.

> Not the

>> idea of silence, but silence itself. When the mind is in its

> natural state,

>> it reverts to silence spontaneously after every experience, or,

> rather,

>> every experience happens against the background of silence. (242)

>> -Niargadatta

>

> Which raises the possibility of the following

> questions to be answered at the next Yogathon:

 

 

Who raised it?

 

> Which swami experiences the deepest silence of all?

 

let's form a commitee and make a measuring devise!

> Which swami reverts most quickly to silence

> after the least amount of experience?

 

Let's crawl into their experience and find out!

 

> Which swami waits the longest to break

> the perfect stillness of realization?

 

You call that perfect?!

> Still talking -- but against a background of silence,

> Dan

 

 

Dear Swimmy,

 

The water's warm here, Dannyji. But i think the fishys may be competing for

silence. They all seem to out do eachother in their silent wriggling....

or perhaps it's just my not so silent wriggling!

 

I swim with the fishes and yet live!

 

Where are you dan?... country and statewise, of course.

 

Shawn

[Guest guest]

snip

> I swim with the fishes and yet live!

>

> Where are you dan?... country and statewise, of course.

>

> Shawn

 

Swimming with fishees in NC, USA, Shawn.

 

The wriggling of the fishees, is

them swimming ...

 

Wrigglingswim,

Dan

[Guest guest]

> I swim with the fishes and yet live!

 

 

I'm Sicilian and I was born and raised in Brooklyn. Swimming wit da fishus

means a whole udda ting.

 

Ciao,

 

Rosa

[Guest guest]

on 11/14/02 12:39 PM, Fred & Rose Lieberman at pyrite

wrote:

>> I swim with the fishes and yet live!

>

>

> I'm Sicilian and I was born and raised in Brooklyn. Swimming wit da fishus

> means a whole udda ting.

>

> Ciao,

>

> Rosa

 

 

yes, Rosa, that's why I said I'm still kickin'. Yo, Vinni...not for nottin,

but ya matza rella iz like shoe ledda!

 

Shawn

[Guest guest]

, "Fred & Rose Lieberman" <pyrite@c...>

wrote:

> > I swim with the fishes and yet live!

>

>

> I'm Sicilian and I was born and raised in Brooklyn. Swimming wit

da fishus

> means a whole udda ting.

>

> Ciao,

>

> Rosa

 

Reality made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

 

Amore,

Dan