Hi there Yogis,

This morning I took my TEA-LEAF CARDS in to the printer (and followed that with my first aid training led by a fantastic teacher).What a great feeling to get my cards this far.  Now we have decisions about colours, papers, styles, seals, and so on.  It is not just “fling it at the printer and let’s go”.  I will let you know how we go.

 

IMPRINTS AGAIN.

I have had a lot of responses about seeds and imprints, but many still don’t totally understand.  They ask how can we know what kinds of deeds caused imprints which are making pleasant things happen, and what deeds created the  imprints which make unpleasant things happen in our world.

Listen close.  Only an Enlightened Being can make these distinctions.  I have been told by a very few yogis who believe on the basis of a magical “kundalini experience” that they are enlightened,  and I have ALWAYS DOUBTED THIS.  Especially  because they felt the need to tell me, and more especially because they came to me for help (I thought they were Enlightened?).

So, is every detail of our world, of our being,  and of those beings around us,  determined by imprints (seeds) of what has happened, dictated by our thoughts and deeds now and in the future.  Yes, every one of them, even those we are and are not aware of.

Yes, everything.  The smallest thought that arises because of what we see hear, feel or experience in any way.  The thoughts when we look in the mirror, feel a warm breeze, experience snow or a child’s laughter. What we think, feel and do when we are angry, annoyed, perturbed….  when we love, when we hit, when we kill anything.  Everything, everything, everything causes imprints/seeds.  You are thinking even when you can’t isolate each thought, and even these count as they drift through your mind.

Remember that seeds of any kind, in the mind or in the garden, take time to grow.  The thought you have today may take a long time to bear fruit, and it will bear the fruit of the seed you have planted. Keep in mind  we plant all different seeds, the good and the bad. Plum seeds will not grow into pumpkins.   Sometimes it seems that people who continuously do bad things get good results.  That is only because our window of observation is so small.

Take the four films that encapsulated the life of Michael Corleone in The Godfather.  He started out as a good boy who wanted to change the Mafia family.  His father supported him in this as did his wife, but gradually, he was drawn into a life of crime,   a life with no moral boundaries, none.  As the films progress you see him deteriorate.  He has his brother shot, his wife leaves him taking his children, his son hates him, his daughter is drawing away from him, he destroys his daughter’s life and she dies in his arms, and on it goes, one catastrophe after the other.

In the very last scene we see him sitting alone on a rickety stool in the Sicilian sand and sun with no-one except his guards who will only care as long as they are paid to do so, and an old dog.  He is obviously very sick,   has a stroke and dies on the ground. No-one comes, no-one rushes to his aid.

And this is just the beginning.  We can’t know what other reparations he has to make in lives to come  for his actions in this lifetime.  The payment in this life is dreadful enough.  We recognise his inhuman actions,  and in spite of his lack of normal emotion, at the end we feel sorry for him.  Mainly because we have to believe he doesn’t understand, and we are pleased our life doesn’t look like that – or does it?

Luckily none of my current students carry a weapon, and would use it against themselves or others.  But I have had classes where this is the case.  The students in this category have been without exception, oblivious to the effect just thinking about needing to carry a weapon (cocaine or a knife in their pocket) would have on their future.  What weapons do you carry?  You may not carry a gun or a knife, but do you carry  ingratitude, fear, hatred, judgement, impatience and so on?

The remedy.  We talk about it a lot.  THE YAMAS.  It may be too daunting to try and implement every one, every day.  You could perhaps start with “just for today I will not kill”, and so on.  I am sure it will make a big change in your life, and the life of your family. If you stumble, if you fall.  Don’t give up, there is plenty of time.  Try again.

 

HAVE A WONDERFUL, DAY – never stop learning.

NAMASTE – JAHNE

 

 

Dear Yogis,

I am having a Hugh Lawrie moment, working on the newsletter and having a rather distinguished Portuguese red wine and some lovely bread and cheese.  Not a yoga moment probably, but lovely all the same.

I have been sending you a video to contemplate as well as the daily words.  Here is another.  I have sent it before, this time maybe you will take it to heart. It is beautiful.  I thought it would be something the soloist in our Anglican Church could sing  – but no, it was too “controversial”. You decide.

Why do we believe we need to be compassionate?  Why do we do Tonglen? Why do we think that caring for others,  is important? Do you know why you long for this ability to love others?

The real reason is that we believe that with love we can do all things  and be all things.  A part of our mind realises this fact although we are too weak to act on this fact.  Love/compassion is the only emotion which can drive us to the greatest heights of human achievement.  This compassion is the one quality which can turn you into a spiritual warrior.  To get there,  you work towards achieving absolute and unquestioning service to everyone around you who needs help in any way.  The real source of pain as we have learned, originates with the pain we do or have done to others.  Devote yourself to the practice of taking and giving. Constantly.

God Bless you as you bask naked in this beautiful sunshine.

Namaste.  Jahne

 

 

 

Dear Yogis,

I hope you had a wonderful Sunday, we at Teacher Training did.  I hope you can be at the next one.   It was a great class.  I did have a bad hair day – don’t often have those, might cut it off.  At present, there is no colour so I could donate it to charity.  A good use for hair.  I don’t know why colour should make a difference – but it does.

Anyway, we discussed seeds.  A good place to go because it takes in so much of what we do, what we don’t want to do, and what we hope for.  In the newsletters a week or so back we did discuss this, so dig in.

Today we are still speaking about the warrior.  We have thought about Tonglen meditation and if we all maintain the sincere motivation of wanting to take away the pains of others, in fact all living beings (including the covid virus), and providing every single living creature with their  fondest wishes and ultimate happiness, then according to the Buddhist teachers, learn to personally escape this life of suffering, ageing and death.

When we hurt another being we could not have hurt them unless they had an imprint (a seed0 in their mind that would force them to see themselves being hurt.  This would have been planted when they hurt someone in the past.

If they didn’t have this implant, this seed, then you could not have hurt them.  Nothing depended on the action – everything depended on the implant or seed.

Take for instance your acts of charity.  Any particular persons experience of poverty is the direct result of their own lack of charity, and cannot be changed unless they learn to give.  That does not mean we should do nothing.  Our own experience of giving, the intention to give, needs to be exercised for any being to experience  this expression of giving in action.  Confusing and seemingly contradictory, but not, when you think deeply enough.  Giving is the way of the warrior.  The second perfection is to live a wholly ethical life (following the yamas is the key) meaning not giving harm to any fellow creatures.

An important way is to not give in to anger when anger surfaces, at that moment when anger blazes.  There are layers of things that during the day upset us to a greater or lesser extent.  It appears to be an endless obstacle course.  As we discussed today, see them as opportunities, like the Ballet Dancer marooned in Death Valley.  Build an opera house,  live the dream. Dance your dream to reality.

I am yoga’ing a dream into reality,  We are doing our yoga, filling every class (hooray).  There are only three per class so it is easy to fill.  If you are coming look at the web site, if you decide on a class ring to discuss availability,  please bring ALL YOUR PROPS.  Disinfect them before you bring them back.

Once you have booked your space and paid, as it says on the web page, it is your space.  If you don’t come it’s your space and you have paid for it.    Like Zoom if you pay for classes and don’t take them, do you get your money back? Can you take another class free?  I don’t think so. I am like that, except I have not got 2 million people taking classes!  They could give you a freebie without feeling the pinch BUT THEY DON’T.

Please respond, please give me feedback otherwise it seems as if all these words go into the void.  That is OK of course.  I have said I will do this, and I do – my seeds are right and correctly planted.  The imprint is OK.  That is the only important thing.  But I am directing it to you – and you are not replying.  I am inviting you to the table, and you are not responding.  It is like asking a friend to morning coffee, and she doesn’t reply, she doesn’t come.  I am asking you to the blog.  Please come, please reply. It is about the seeds you are planting.

Have a lovely day.

NAMASTE  JAHNE