The Value of a Good Cartoon!!

Remember back in the day (what ever day that may be) when you would watch a show that just had a good message or moral behind the story. Like Fat Albert for instance. Bill Cosby would always have his little segment where he would share with the viewer some sort of valuable message, like don't judge a book by its cover or eat jell-o pudding pops. Or at the end of the Care Bears when they would have the Care A Lot skit.....oh.... like that one where those two kids are fighting over the lime green Popsicle and then it breaks and melts on the floor..... no one got the Popsicle!!! Then Cheer Bear would show up with another Lime Green Popsicle and break it in half and disperse the parts equally.... and everyone was happy!!!! And these are the messages that are missing in alot of today's programming.

So recently I've been watching the anime sensation Avatar: The Last Air Bender. For those of you that don't know, The Avatar is a cartoon about a little Buddhist monk whose destiny it is to save the world from the Evil Fire Nation.

The show is laced with amazing little stories and morals and most of them based in a realm of Buddhist and Yogic philosophy. There's even an episode where the Avatar (Aang is his name) has to meet up with a Yoga guru so that he may help Aang open and master his 7 Chakras. Although most people aren't going to master and clear their Chakras in 5 minutes like Aang did,
it's still pretty amazing to see a cartoon that teaches kids about these philosophies. As well, when it comes time for Aang to defeat the Fire Lord (basically killing him) Aang remembers his Buddhist morals and instead of destroying the Evil Fire Lord he chooses the path of non-violence and merely takes away the Fire Lord's powerful ability to control fire.

All in all, I would have to say that I would recommend that anyone should watch the Avatar....from young to old. There are several valuable lessons to be learned and it's also
got some really amazing animation, general plot, great character development and it's pretty damn funny in my books.....it also made me cry a little bit!!

So think about it the next time you're thinking of something interesting and entertaining to watch....there's a show out there that actually has a base of true virtue underlying a dynamic story!!!

GO AVATAR!!!

Namaste...shanti...shanti...shanti

Making His way Home - ode to my Uncle Ferg

My Uncles funeral was yesterday... not a dry eye in the house!! The man was so well loved!! Yogis say that sometimes the practice of Asana can become a spontaneous meditation and release of creative energy. In Flow Class today my goal was to cultivate a pure practice of gratitude. To be grateful for every breath and every movement. As well, I dedicated my practice to my Uncle Ferg. During Savasana this poem started to write itself.


Making His Way Home
by Steven Ferrell

Today they say a man was lost.
And to the ground his body tossed.
To be cycled through this world again
as husband, uncle, father, friend...

His body not betrayed himself
instead a life of loving wealth
His last smile felt,
His last breath breathed,
But still I hold no sense of grief.

For as lay in smiles, in sun
I see the grace in everyone,
In eyes, in leaves
In gowns and graves,
And every time a child is made.

I feel we need to all embrace
each stage of life in time we'll face.
In his death and rebirth,
In our sadness and fear,
His flesh now gone, his heart still here.

So don't consider him lost today.
When we think on him he's not alone
As guide and guru along this path
My Duke is making his way home

One Comes In and One Goes Out

So for anyone that might actually read my blog.... It's a hell of a long time since my last post!!! For anyone that cares... um sorry!!

But as the Sixth Spiritual Law says "Om Anandham Namah - My actions are blissfully free from attachment to outcome" So writing or not writing... Readers or no readers, here I am.

A lot of crazy hazy stuff has been happening lately and as they say... things always come in 3's.

Number one, which is in continuation as we speak, my Uncle Ferg is one of the millions that have fallen victim to cancer. One of the most beautiful men that I knew, had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer a little over a year ago. Apparently when he was a child he was drinking unpasteurized milk and caught a bad case of Tuberculosis which the doctors say was the beginning of the cancer.... which I don't really understand but I'm not a doctor. Non the less my uncle later developed two tumors in his lung (both substantial in size). And this is where the roller coaster begins. Uncle Ferg had his first cycle of radiation and responded amazingly. One of the tumors had shrunk from the size of a baseball to the size of a nickle and the other tumor had almost completely disappeared.... HOORAY!! The operation to remove the tumors was successful and we thought that this was it...he's going to make a full recovery. And he was already starting to grow his hair back (which had resembled an "greaser" style like a young Elvis Presley) previous to the radiation.

I am a huge believer that you must facilitate your own own healing process... you need to be the most active participant!! Unfortunately, like most others, my Uncle Ferg had just relied on the doctors to do cure him. Being that my Mom and Aunt are both very knowledgeable in the ways of holistic nutrition, they tried to make suggestions but to no avail. He was to "Old Skool" and skeptical to try anything (even a shot wheat grass). I believe that it was this lack of care for himself that eventually led to my uncle getting another tumor and then bone cancer. Which brings forth the question in my mind..."Why would you not want to know or heal your own body?"

Needless to say I am attending my Uncles funeral tomorrow. But while he lived, he was a hilariously funny man with a lot of love to give. He will be missed!!

2nd.... It has been decided that my father, wonderful as he is, is no longer allowed to step onto or off of the back of a pick up truck. About three weeks ago my dad, who has been taking care of my Uncle Fergs property while he's was sick, broke his leg..... oh you old bastard.... can I say that.... not very Yogic but what-a-ya-gonna do...?? He was trying to get a snow blower off the back of his pick-up truck when his proprioception failed and he stepped into space and came crashing down on his heel. As a result, he now has a vertical hairline fracture of his Fibula...Boooooo!!!! Fortunately enough, the break wasn't major and he is healing nicely without the use of a cast or any surgery (just a brace). Man I love that guy!!

And last but not least.... The Wednesday after my dad broke his leg I got a call from my mom saying that my 3 yr old niece Emma had a seizure. Frightening!!! It was 3 in the morning when Emma had gone into my sisters room because she couldn't sleep. My sister took Emma back to her room and was soothing her back to sleep when Emma started to seize. Even now when I think of what that must have been like for my sister, I get queezie!! After 3 weeks and several tests later (CT, EEG) Emma has not had another seizure and they still have not figured out what caused it.

So this is where I'm at!! A seizing niece, a broken dad and a dead uncle.....wow!!!

And this is the thing.... Yoga has helped me deal with it all. The grief, the death, the fear, the pain, the worry.... Yoga (and Adele) has helped me cope with all of it!! And I think these days, when all of this is so common in my life ( and in most peoples), seeing people with cancer or just getting ill, the gift of Yoga and spirituality is such a blessing. It, along with meditation, lends me the tools to explore and know myself and the world around me.... I'm learning to be more mindful.... I'm learning to see the grace in all things (from birth to death)... I'm learning that I don't always need to react and now I can respond. Life is a grand dance and when one song is ending another song begins.

This is for you Uncle Ferg... you crazy old fart!!

"One comes in and one goes out." -Jack Johnson

Namaste...shanti...shanti...shanti

Who's that...? Oh it's the Witness!!

A new-be to the Yoga world, I have just uncovered a treasure that is probably pretty apparent to most people who have followed Yogic or Buddhist philosophy for a while!!!! Jack Kornfield ;)
It totally happened by accident... I think that I had read his name on the home page of Yoga Journal...and then a couple of days later (possibly weeks...I live in the freakin moment...no time for days or weeks...) I found a Jack Kornfield book called After The Ecstasy, The Laundry. I was blown away by it. I won't go into the premise of the book...just read it or listen (I actually have the audio book).

You know how sometimes you'll hear a piece of advice coming from a whirlwind of sources telling you "This is the way...Do it like this!!" And you'll hear this advice about a thousand and six times... and then one day you're just sitting in your car on your break. And you begin to listen Jack Kornfield on your ipod. *And keep in mind I've never heard this mans voice before* And all of a sudden you hear this soft, calm, slow but exceedingly comfortable voice. And this voice tells you "This is the way...Do it like this!!" And somehow you seem to forget every other time you heard the advice in past because those times mean nothing now that you're really hearing it for the first time!!
Welcome to my new reality.

So now that I am a pseudo student of Jack's (we're tight), and have been meditating more and more... I am lead to the place that meditation can take you... The Witness! I don't think that I ever spent too much time in the Witness. Being Unbiased and neutral but still very enthusiastic about that which is being witnessed... I was pretty complacent as a youth...super lazy and un-involved... I was interested in knowledge and philosophy and science but was just so unmotivated to take any of it... But now? I'm am witnessing some crazy shit!!! When you meditate you really start to examine what your sources are. Where you came from... What choices you have made you who you are?

Today I really figured out that exceeding low self-esteem is my main reason for being a Yogi today. It was this lack of self-esteem that lead me to weight training... It was weight training and a real interest in myself that lead me to feeling comfortable in my own skin. It was also this interest that lead me to being interested in Anatomy and Physiology... which in turn lead to and lead to and lead to until we're here. And I found Yoga!!

But the things that I've heard over and over and just realized lately are all about our generosity in life. How much are we willing to give? How much time, how much effort? This concept of giving really put it's hand on me a couple of days ago when I was teaching a semi private session. Both of my students came in feeling depressed and sub-par. During our warm up of Sun Salutations I had said something to the effect that "In our Yoga practice we need to have a little faith... Faith in yourself to lead you to the right place in your practice and faith in the breath to help get you there." This really struck an accord with one of the girls so much that she actually stopped doing Sun A and just wanted to listen to what I had to say. She asked me a question and then another and rather than teaching Asana for the rest of the session we just talked. They asked questions and I gave answers if I had them.

The thing that I like most about Yoga is that it's so experiential... You need to do it to get it. "99% practice" as Pattabhi Jois says. So most of my answers for the ladies were based on my experiences and how I interpreted such experiences. The more questions they asked, the more I found myself really sharing my story with them. Telling them things that even my friends don't really hear about. After the session we all hugged and I felt this feeling that I had never gotten after teaching a class... This feeling that I had done something generous.... My epiphany... By listening to their questions and sharing my experiences I had practiced generosity. And it felt good.... Could this be a trend!!??

So hear it is....you've heard it before... Generosity is the key!! Generosity to those around you and also generosity towards yourself. Try it if you haven't. Real generosity... without consideration of reward or praise... just pure generosity!! Keeping with the season, now is the perfect time.

Namaste...shanti...shanti...shanti

When Challenged, Do I Run or Breath?

Lightly close the eyes...bring your attention to your breath...keep concentration on the cooling sensation on your inhalations and the warming sensation on exhalation at the rim of the nostrils...hold this concentraion strong for a few moments...now relax your concentration...Today we meditate on the sense of compassion...To deeply feel compassion toward all living things we must first bring our awareness to the suffering of all living things...Think of all the suffering that happens all around the world...think of suffering from the very extreme to the very subtle...from the poverty that happens all around the us to the subtle suffering of someone who stresses out over losing $100 at the casino...and think of every suffering in between...these are all types of suffering no matter how minute... Now imagine that every living being on our world could be free of all their suffering no matter how big or how small...now hold this feeling at your heart...hold it strongly without waivering your concentration...

This is a meditation that I've found myself doing quite a bit since I've been taking a Buddhist meditation course for the past 8 weeks...And it helps. I talked a bit last time on how I've been feeling more compassion towards people and things in general. I feel that meditation has really helped me deal with my stresses no matter how minor they may seem. Even on my yoga mat I've been learning to treat myself with compassion by thinking about my stresses and sufferings on my mat. I've come to the conclusion that sometimes I fear slowing down and sometimes I fear trying new poses (especially crazy looking ones). And as much of a cliche as it is "We need to find that balance between will and surrender." We need to stay mindful and treat every challenge with acceptance and compassion.

And this is my lead-in to something that instantly made me want to write.... It was a weekend of learning about how others use compassion and mindfulness to over come, what seem to me, great challenges in life. The first such instance came on Saturday when Adele's friend Lara sent her a video that we watched. I've posted the link here so you can watch and be inspired by someone elses courage. The video was about a small baby (Eliot) that was born with major health complications. Eliot was not even expected to make it through childbirth. Instead of being so overwhelmed by this challenge that they would complain and give up, the parents treated every second that their son was alive as a miracle. They accepted their child's condition not as a challenge but as opprotunity to be with him every day he was alive. I was on the verge of tears wathcing this video.

The second instance was Saturday night while watching Gandhi (the movie). I'd never seen Gandhi or really knew too much about his struggles in this life. It was truly an inspiring telling of his life. A man that saw injustice and needed in his heart to stand an fight...but without violence!! BRAVO!! What a true hero to mankind. A selfless man who mealry wanted equality for his fellow man. And was willing to stand-up to any challenge with compassion. This movie also brought me to the verge of tears...compassion filled tears.

This weekend was a great inspiration to me and really brings home what I am learning in Buddhist Meditation... That my meditations be cause to help end the suffering of not only myself but those around me. Whether I only effect one or many I try to live in this compassionate state. And whether you follow the teachings of Buddha or Christ or Vedantic traditions... they all teach the same thing... We are all brothers and sisters of this vast universe... We are all someones Mother or Father, Son or Daughter.

I meet the challenge of treating everyone as my sister or brother with compassionate open arms and not aversion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qILw1iFzmIE
this is the video!!

Namaste...shanti...shanti...shanti

This Is Not A Lamp!! WTF!!

So how right was Bob Dylan when he said, "These times they are a changin'."
Super right!!!

He could not have been more true than right now in time. So many things are changing
at this time.... Not only are the leaves changing from a deep green to those beautiful shades of
of red, yellow and burgendy but so much more than that.

In Canada we recently had an election for our Prime Minister (and even though it's the same dude as last time). This election was a record low for voter turn out at a whopping 54%...CRAZY!! Is it that people don't care about who's running the show or are we all just fed up with the same political bullshit. All the promises that fall by the way side once a person is elected...All the new taxes that seep out of our wages to support this and that when really the money goes toward taking a limo to the corner store. Needless to say I was disappointed when I heard that the turn out was so poor. But on a higher, more resonant note, the Green Party (for whom I voted) had the highest record of votes in their party's history. Which tells me that people are definitely taking the importance of the environment more seriously. So that's the politics portion.

Hhhhmmmmm...what else is changing...oh wait...just my perception of reality!!!
I have been taking a Buddhist Meditation course for the past 8 weeks at the Samudra Buddhist Temple in my city of Hamilton. It is truly a Lotus springing out of the mud (it's in a not so good area of town-but sorely needed). This part of my journey is bringing a lot of things into light. I am now questioning my self, my surroundings and everything even the kitcken sink these days. I and learned last night that there is no kitchen sink....WTF!!! I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that one. I find myself with more clarity. I find myself in the witness more these days, especially when it comes to my reactions toward people and certain scenarios. I'm not so reactive in traffic, I'm not so put down by bad weather and the most amazing thing is that I'm not so angered by people that I would usually find Uber-irritating. Let's give it up for MEDITATION!!! Oh and I was way less reactive when I tried to write a blog the other day and as soon as I got to the end something crashed and the entry was lost...but it lead the way for this entry!!

Things in this world are getting crazy people...are you ready handle it...calmly?
If you're not and you're interested in preparing check out this website
http://www.getselfcentered.com/ It has some great insight!!

If the goal of life is to love (truly love)...Yoga will help us to get there.

Namaste...shanti...shanti...shanti

For show...but still!!

So here I am again, having not posted in more than a month and asking myself why I even do this...!?!? But never the less, I love to write when I am inspired to. And let me tell you, last Sunday I was deeply inspired. My wonderful partner, Adele and I, have been having an amazing Summer... We've gone camping a few times, went to art exhibits, walked the streets of Toronto and Montreal and last weekend we saw the beautiful show that is Cirque De Soleil. The name of the show was Saltimbanco (which is one of the original shows). HOLY SHIT!!!! That stuff is crazy. So many fantastically talented people who really excel in their chosen field. There were gymnasts, dancers, clowns, actors, singers and athletes of all kinds. The show was without a doubt the most visually stunning display that I have ever seen.

This also brings up a point that I'd like to address. When I told my teacher that I was going to see Cirque we had a great conversation about how beautiful the show is and how visually impressive it is to see such control of the body. We talked about how watching that can really inspire a Yoga practice. And how when you see these things it makes you realize that some of the poses that we think are physically out of our reach can really be possible. Then she brought up the point that it's all for show... And yes obviously it's all for show!!! I paid $70 to see it!!But still...

These people might not be getting into Cirque to connect with their "True Self" but you really have to admire the Tapas and discipline that it takes to get to that level. I personally think that even though these things are done for performance, some of the same "Yoga rules" still apply. It takes quite a bit of physical awareness and concentration to do a single arm handstand on another persons head. I've never been in that kind of situation to tell you if the breath is involved...but I can assume that it is. Even if it's not being used as a vehicle to personal and universal enlightenment, somewhere in there is some sort of realization. I'm also assuming that, at some point, these performers have had to leave their ego's in the dressing room and just "show up" to the performance.

So as Yogis, we should never just play these things off as just being for show... we are all putting the same amount of energy into it. Some people just choose to put their energy into different places. But in the reality of it all...if they didn't do what they do (and perfectly too) I wouldn't have had an amazing show to watch and wouldn't have been inspired to write this post or I wouldn't have had the realization that it might just be possible to transition from Bakasana to Handstand with a little Tapas and an open mind.

Namaste...shanti...shanti...shanti

PS...it was a girl....Samantha Page Overholt...good job sis!!