Perception of the World

"We create our friends and enemies as well, but we forget that it is so. Because of our lack of mindfulness, our creations are transformed into something solid and real, and we become ever more entangled. When you fully realize, not just intellectually, that everything is your just your creation, you will be free." - Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse (What Makes You Not a Buddhist)


Namaste and welcome. It's so hard to decide what topic to broach next. I was looking over this amazing book that is going to be on a recommendation list that I'm creating:

And found a lot of things I had underlined about thinking patterns, personality, and the way we interact with the world. I think this is so important for so many people to realize, and so it seemed to emerge as the next topic.

What we first have to ponder when thinking about how we react to the world is how we perceive the world. As Dr Rishi Vivekananda says, "Each of us perceives the world differently. It is impossible for people to be aware of everything that is in their field of the senses such as sight, sound, touch, or even smells or taste; there is just too much. So perception chooses those objects and events that have meaning for us as an individual, concentrates on those, and ignores the rest."  When we actually think about what this means we have to realize that Dr Vivekananda is also right when he says, "When we are with another person, we assume that they are experiencing the world as we are, but this is just not true."

This is simple enough, and not even necessarily a "big deal", until we combine it with other thinking patterns that we have. For example, habitual thinking, and fixed opinions, convictions and attitudes.

We end up taking our perceptions of the world, and convincing ourselves that they are 100% true, and the only truth. People, things, actions, behaviors, take on the labels 'bad', 'good' and 'neutral' and we end up believing that these things really, inherently have these characteristics. Once we form these opinions we never think to question them, and we hold onto them tightly, even if they cause us trouble, which they often do.

An old Indian story illustrates this point. It is the story of 6 blind men, who all discover an elephant. They return to their village and the first one describes the elephant having felt only it's ear, "It was large, and flat and smooth, about twice the size of my head." Another speaks up, having felt only it's tusk, "What?! You are an idiot. It was hard and long and sharp at the end." And so it goes. We are always interpreting the world from our own senses, perceptions, definitions, memories and opinions. A minuscule part of the truth, at best, is instead transformed into the whole truth, and nothing but.

What yoga and meditation offer is an ability to develop the 'witness position' - the ability to stand back and get a new view of events, situations and even our own thought patterns. We can then question the real truth of all our valued opinions and decide whether we should keep them or not. We can slowly realize that often it is not events that hurt us but our attitudes towards them. 

Yoga philosophy recommends, as a counter to such destructive thinking patterns, the trio of acceptance, non-expectation of outcomes and equanimity.

Dr. Vivekananda elaborates:

Acceptance

- See things as they really are; don't resent them because they are not as your want, or waste time fantasizing that they are better. See events and people realistically- one thing in your power is your attitude towards them- either accept them (and get on with life) or reject them.

Non-expectation of Outcomes

-"Contentment and fulfillment begin with a clear understanding of one principle- some things are within our control and some are not." (Epictitus, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Greece)

-" Lord, grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." (The Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Neibuhr, a 19th century American clergyman)

Equanimity

- Develop the ability to accept the ups and downs of life as they are. Swami Satyananda said, "Life is full of ups and downs, but for the yogi every 'up' is a joy and every 'down' is an adventure."

-"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift in its hand for you. You seek problems because you need their gifts." (Richard Bach)



By meditating, thinking about, and reflecting on how we perceive and create our world we can find freedom in realizing how much control we really have over our own reactions and happiness. We can realize thing like "annoying" people are not inherently annoying (to someone else they might be the most charming person in the world), and that WE are creating that annoyance in our own minds. With this realization of the control we possess, we can paint the world however we want, and take control of our own emotions, and lives. How incredibly liberating.

Reflecting and meditating on these concepts is great, but it's also doesn't just transform us over night. We can  understand intellectually that we create situations, but that doesn't help at all the second someone hits our car,  or annoys us, etc. We  suddenly find ourselves reverting to pure emotion that doesn't feel created at all. My suggestion for daily life, on top of meditation and discovery, is to start to be aware of at least one situation per day (or even per week if this is too much for you) where you find a strong emotion coming up and really pinpoint it, and focus on it, and think to yourself something like, "Is there a different way I could react to this situation?" or "What part of this situation do I have control of?" or "Is there any part of this situation that is being created, being made bad by me?" etc. If we can start, even on a small scale, to be more aware of our reactions and interactions with people and the world I think our lives will start to improve drastically.

Below is an Equanimity meditation from a 10 day Introduction to Buddhism class that I took in May. It is quite long, especially for a beginner, but I think it's really nice to have someone guiding you through a meditation, and Jonas, my meditation teacher, covers the topic beautifully. Hope you enjoy! As always feel free to start up a discussion with me or ask any questions (mekenziesutton@gmail.com).

Starting and Ending the Day Right

"Everything starts happening when you close your eyes." - Swami Satyananda Saraswati


India has changed my life in the most dramatic way. I have found love, light, happiness, peace, patience. I now see the most amazing joy and beauty in every thing around me. Life is now dedicated to others and trying to spread this light. I thought I would post some links, book recommendations, meditations, chants, quotes, etc. for anyone interested. I've been exposed to a lot of different types of spirituality and religion, in India mainly Hinduism, Yoga Philosophy, and Buddhism. I will be on the search to learn as much as I can about every type of religion and spiritual path for the rest of my life. My ears are always open to listening to your questions and thoughts. Love and Oms.

I think I'll start with a few small things that people could easily do without altering their life or schedule, but that I find make a huge difference in my life and outlook on it.


Starting the Day Off Right

The ashram where I went to yoga school (Bihar School of Yoga) teaches yoga not just as a one hour class, but as an entire lifestyle. Part of this lifestyle is starting and ending the day on a positive note. We do this by chanting three beautiful mantras before even getting out of bed.


The Gayatri Manta 12 times for wisdom and the ability to discern what is right:

The Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra 12 times for health and healing:

The 32 names of Durga 3 times to remove obstacles:

These chants are in Sanskrit which is one of the oldest and most sacred languages in the world. The vibrations from speaking Sanskrit are said in and of themselves to have a healing and changing effect on the body.  I think, especially for Westerners, it is important to keep an open mind when starting something like chanting. It can seem very foreign and like were maybe praying to or worshiping gods we don't even believe in, or something like that. I promise you that you can chant these mantras without believing in the existence of any god at all, and I encourage you to give them a try and see for yourself if you can feel a change in your own energy throughout the day.

Here also is a link to a dedication prayer from Buddhism that I say every morning after my yoga and meditation session. No matter what things you believe or don't believe in it's beautiful to wish others well and dedicate your life to them:

Dedication Prayer


Ending the Day Positively 

My ashram also suggests ending the day similar to how it was started: on a positive note. This way our days both start and end in a good way. I usually do this in 3 steps:

1. Writing in a Journal

I write in a journal every night. I usually try to reflect on what my goals were for the day or month, and positive things that happened throughout the day. I also usually write where I saw God (for me) that day. For example, " June 6 2013- Today I saw God in so many ways. In water on my head, in finding a cute cafe, in reading Anne Frank's words, in not being afraid of but welcoming the rain, in the long tip of burning incense, in how quickly the pages of this diary fill up.."
I also have three journals. One is for the above mentioned reasons, focusing more on spiritual life, goals, and the positive, one is for writing a poem that describes each day, and one is for less often use when I need to write more about a subject, or need to get out more negative things, or things that I just don't feel belong in my spiritual diary.
You'll figure out what works best for you, but journaling is definitely a great way to keep your goals in sight, and to remember all the small beautiful things each day has to offer.

2. Meditating 

I usually do my long meditation at the beginning of the day, after my yoga session. But, when it was recommended to me to meditate for a short amount of time every night to let your mind bring up whatever it wanted to, I started trying it and loved it.
When I'm ready to go to bed I sit up in bed and meditate for around ten minutes. You can have your eyes closed or open, and focus on your breathe either by feeling it come in and out of your nostrils, or by doing something called Ujjayi breathe. In Ujjayi breathe you focus your awareness on the throat while breathing, and slightly contract your throat to make a soft snoring sound that should barely be audible. It should sound like a baby snoring. Remember to always breathe through your nostrils only when meditating or doing yoga.
The function of this ten minute meditation session before bed is to allow your mind to have whatever thoughts it wants about the day, the past, the future, stressors, etc. so that it won't bring them up in your dreams or cause you to not be able to sleep. So, don't suppress! For ten minutes (or however long works for you) focus on your breathe and let your mind think and bring up whatever it wants, allowing the thoughts to exist, and then pass. Hopefully, you'll find like I did, that this assists in a more peaceful sleep, with less, or less dramatic, dreams.

3. Reflection

Finally, after my meditation I lie straight down into Shavasana which is a relaxation pose in yoga:

Have your hands slightly away from your body and facing toward the ceiling. Make sure your body is comfortable, warm, and symmetrical. Then, once again focus on your breathing, either in your nostrils, or in the rise and fall of your abdomen. With each exhalation let your body relax deeper and deeper. And then, play your day back in your head. It's exactly like pressing rewind on a movie. Try to picture the meditation you just did, and what you did before you got into bed, and continue from there. Replay every interaction, and every action and see how you spent your precious day. Note what you did well, and what you could improve on if you run into that situation again. Try not to be to hard on yourself if you realize you acted or reacted in way that you really don't like, just note it and remember to work on it, and make sure you also note positive parts of the day as well.
Once again, hopefully you'll find that this practice puts you in a deeper state of relaxation for more peaceful sleep, and helps you to see the beautiful small things through out the day, while also helping you work on being the person you want to be.




I'll try to post more often now about things I learned when I was in India and things I continue to learn. Don't hesitate to e-mail me to discuss anything and everything life related. I wish you all love and light.