The basics of yoga and meditation practice...

Negative mind sees things negatively.
Positive mind sees things positively.
Agitated mind sees things agitatedly.
Peaceful mind sees things peacefully.
Depressed mind sees things depressingly.
Cheerful mind sees things cheerfully.

Liberated mind sees things as they are.

They are neither negative, nor positive, nor agitating, nor peaceful, nor depressing, nor cheerful.
Everything is just what it is.

These are the basics of yoga and meditation practice.

Be free.

Letting go...

When the mind experiences and recognizes 'problems' or 'undesirable experiences', it can choose to react in different ways - Complain or letting go.

Untrained minds will have the urge to complain about problems and unhappiness, and choose to complain and moan.

The act of complaining can relieve some tension or frustration for sure, but it doesn't undo the problems nor makes the problems disappear, and yet we are spreading those vibrations into the surrounding environment and those whom we complain to.

Letting go is different.

If the mind is able to let go what it recognizes as problems or undesirable experiences, the mind is undisturbed or uninfluenced by those experiences, there's no need to complain or moan about anything at all.

Letting go is our basic yoga and meditation practice.

Seclusion comes gradually and naturally...

Seclusion for a period of time, is important in the path of yoga and meditation for emancipation, although there's no guarantee of liberation, if it wasn't being carried out with correct understanding and right effort.

It is not the same as somebody who has Anthropophobia or Social phobia, and they want to be alone. Sincere yoga and meditation practitioners who go into semi-secluded life style, or complete seclusion for a few years are not anti-social. In fact they have so much loving kindness for the society that they want to attain liberation through focusing on intense Sadhana, so that they can serve humanity efficiently.

Most minds try to avoid seclusion with many excuses, as the worldly minded egoistic outgoing attention seeking mind doesn't like it.

If we still have some worldly duties and responsibilities need to be carried out, or we still have something that we have to do, or there's something that need to be achieved in this life existence, then we should perform all our duties and responsibilities, and give full attention and maximum effort to pursue all our dreams.

Seclusion, or complete renunciation from worldly social activities and interactions comes gradually and naturally, when Vairagya / dispassion and Viveka / right discrimination is firmly rooted in the mind of the Sadhaka, seeing the highest meaning of human existence is serving humanity by attaining liberation from ignorance and egoism.

Only when one attains liberation from ignorance and egoism, one can truly serve humanity efficiently, without being affected, influenced or determined by all actions and the fruit of actions.

Retreats are supposed to be disciplining the mind and training the mind to get use to seclusion and to move away from worldly ideas and objects. But, many of the yoga retreats in the world nowadays are not about seclusion at all, in fact, it is about ego-pampering, worldly sensual indulgence and gratification of desires.

Om shanti.

Desires...

When desire is absent from the mind, whether it's wanting something or doesn't want something, the mind is peaceful, happy and content during those precious moments of being free from desires.

When desires arise in the mind, but are not being gratified, the mind feels disturbed, unhappy, upset, disappointed and frustrated.

We think that we will be happy and contented if we can gratify all our desires, but the more we gratify the desires, the more desires or craving will arise to be gratified. The mind is forever restless and dissatisfied.

Once a desire is being gratified, it's like adding fuel to the fire. The desires will multiply and grow stronger.

To be free from desires, the only way is to stop gratifying any desires. It's like stop adding fuel to the fire. Eventually all desires will die out completely.

Be free from desires, if we truly want to be in peace.

By performing yoga asana and meditation practice everyday, or attending countless retreats, or trying to accumulate and possess qualities of a 'good being', won't bring us peace, nor make us being free from unhappiness or suffering, if the mind is not free from desires.

When we have interest in learning and practicing yoga and meditation, are we working on the annihilation of desire and egoism, or are we expecting the yoga and meditation practice can fulfill our desires whether it's personal desires or universal desires? Even setting good and positive intention or aspiration before, during or after the yoga and meditation practice, wishing everything to be good and positive, is also a desire. We are not free.

We'll get depressed, disappointed and frustrated with ourselves or others for being not good enough if our personal and universal desires are not being fulfilled the way that we desire it to be.

Mumukshutva is the only 'desire' that will allow us to have the strong will-power and determination to renunciate both the worldly passionate and spiritual desires, and render the mind one-pointed towards emancipation.

There are many people who 'love' yoga and meditation practice, as well as like to attend yoga retreats from time to time, including 'yoga teachers', but only a few are interested in serious yoga sadhana that is about moving the mind away from worldly objects, affairs, activities, sensual enjoyment and social interactions. Solitude of being away from all these worldly activities for a few days or weeks will make them feel so 'wrong' and depressed, not to say seclusion for a few years.

While living in this world having the function of the body and mind, having certain knowledge, skills and talents, we do our best for the well-being of ourselves and for the world, while allowing everything to be what it is, without any desires, intentions, or expectations to make everything to be the way that we want it to be, or the way that we think it should be.

Just like the elements of fire, wind, water, earth and ether. Without any desires, intentions, or expectations to influence or determine everything to be existing or cease existing, but everything exists and cease existing because of the cohesion or dissolution of all these elements.

Om shanti.

All physical activities should be completely suspended, all attachments should be ruthlessly cut asunder completely for five or six years, if you want to practice Dhyana Yoga, if you want to realise God through concentration of mind. Newspaper-reading and correspondence with friends and relatives should be completely stopped; as they cause distraction of mind and strengthen the world-idea. Seclusion for a period of five or six years is indispensable.

Swami Sivananda 

Addicted to anger and bitterness...

Some people don't like to be angry and bitter, and want to be free from anger and bitterness.

While some people seem to enjoy being angry and bitter from time to time, and have no interest to stop being angry and bitter.

Anger and bitterness can be addictive. Just like most minds are addicted to being busy seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking, they have to be engaging in some sorts of mental or physical activities, or else they will feel very uncomfortable and irritated. Like fish out of water. After being in a silent meditation retreat for a few days observing all the disciplines of the silent retreat, the mind will want to runaway, thinking "What am I doing here? Wasting my time. I better off going back to the outside world doing something that I like to do..."

Some people don't feel good or comfortable, if their minds are not having certain degrees of tension for some time.

The mind is already used to certain degrees of tension occupying the mind. The mind feels comfortable having certain degrees of tension that it familiars with.

The mind doesn't know how to allow itself to be in a relaxed state, without any tension arise in the mind. The mind identifies the relaxed state of mind without any tension as boredom or void. And this makes the mind feels anxious, or out of control about everything and whatever situation that it is encountering. The mind prefers to be in a state of tension as it makes the mind feels safe and comfortable, or be in control and feels good about itself.

By being angry and bitter can generate a particular type of sensation/tension which the mind is craving for, or addicted to.

Due to impermanence, when the anger and bitterness towards something or someone is lessening or fading away from the mind, the mind will start looking for some other objects to be the target for the mind to be angry and bitter at. The mind doesn't feel comfortable if anger and bitterness is absent in the mind. This behavior pattern of the mind exists in those who have the habits of fault finding, moaning, grumbling, back-biting, arguing, criticizing and condemning.

The mind actually takes pleasure in the tension or sensation that come from anger and bitterness. Just like certain people take pleasure in self-harm, and they won't feel good and satisfied unless they induce self-harm onto themselves.

If we are aware of our mind keeps falling into a state of anger and bitterness quite frequently from time to time, while knowing that anger and bitterness is unhealthy for the body and mind, but still it wants to be in a state of anger and bitterness, then know that our mind could be addicted to anger and bitterness.

We think that there is something or someone that we don't like or disagree with that inflicts the anger and bitterness in us. We think that our existing life problems and unhappiness are the responsibility of something or somebody, but not 'I'.

Actually it's our own mind finds pleasure in anger and bitterness, and keeps looking for something and someone to be a target for the mind to express anger and bitterness to satisfy the craving for certain tension or sensation.

No one can free another being from this ignorance and suffering. It has to come from self-realization of what is going on in the mind and understanding the behavior pattern of the mind, and willingly want to get out from the behavior pattern of the mind, or stop all the madness.

Om shanti.

No time and space for anything but peace and compassion...

Fully engage our body and mind with the cultivation for peace and compassion. There's no time and space to entertain nor be interested in anger, hatred, hurts, guilt, regrets, sadness, disappointment, dissatisfaction, jealousy, ill-will, ill-thinking, fear, worry, bitterness, resentment, grumble, fault finding, criticism or condemn, as every moment and all the space is fully occupied by peace and loving kindness.

Om shanti.

Be anything that we want to be?

"Be anything that we want to be"

We hear this very often from yoga classes, or positive thinking and motivational classes to encourage people to be positive and confident about themselves, and strive to become who they want to be.

There's nothing wrong with "Be anything that we want to be" as long as we know that "Whatever we want to be, is not who we are"

There's no attachment or identification towards what we think we were, or what we are, or what we want to be.

All the names and forms that we think we are, or we could be, or we want to be, are impermanent and there's no 'I' exists in these names and forms.

Om shanti.

Want to be free?

Many beings want to be free.

Be free from suffering, painful sorrow, unhappiness, discrimination, separateness, racism, sexism, war, killing, violence, hatred, prejudice, unjust, corruption, criticism, condemn, corrupted government and leader, bias rules and regulations, obstacle, weakness, sickness, injuries, unpleasant sensations, pain, old age, death, separation from people and things that we love, undesirable experiences, fear and worry, and so on.

We think and believe that it is all the above 'bad' and 'negative' names and forms that make us not being free.

We think and hope that all kinds of suffering, painful sorrow, unhappiness, unpleasantness, evilness, bad and negative things or happenings will cease existing in this world or in our life existence, will make us free.

 

All those names and forms that we think are bad, wrong and evil in this world are all deriving from human beings under the influence of ignorance and egoism. All human beings need to work independently to free their minds from ignorance and egoism through their own effort. None can remove the ignorance of others. And by perceiving suffering in ourselves due to being disturbed, determined and affected by the ignorance and the consequences of ignorance of other human beings, is also the consequence of ignorance in ourselves.

We are not free is not because we are limited or restricted by all those qualities of name and form that make us think and feel that we are not free, but it's ignorance.

Real freedom is when our mind is free from ignorance, egoism of attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion, expectation and all kinds of impurities and restlessness deriving from ignorance and egoism.

As long as our mind is not free from ignorance, egoism of attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion, expectation and all kinds of impurities and restlessness, we won't be free.

Due to ignorance, human beings create lots of unnecessary 'conditions' conditioning the entire life existence of the body and mind under the influence of egoistic attachment and identification with certain qualities of name and form to be identifying as 'I', as well as there's expectation towards this life existence and the world that it has to be in certain ways that how we would like it to be, or how we think it should be.

Under the influence of ignorance, we don't just conditioning the life existence of our body and mind with the limited and subjective thinking and belief, and the ceaseless desires of want (craving) and don't want (aversion) and expectation, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, we also try to limit and restrict other beings' life existence by interfering with how they should and shouldn't think and behave based on our particular subjective thinking and belief, expecting all and everyone should be the way that we would like them to be.

Allowing others to be free for being who and what they are, even if our mind cannot agree with or dislikes what they think, act and speak, as their thinking and behavior are contradicted or different from our own thinking and behavior, but without being disturbed, or influenced, or determined by others' thinking and behavior.

Be free from all kinds of desire of craving and aversion and expectation is real freedom, even though the world is still being what it is, not necessarily the way that we think how it should be. Allowing the world to be what it is, but without being disturbed or determined by the world. Just do our best for ourselves and others through this life existence, and let go of attachment, identification, intention and expectation towards this life existence or the world that it has to be in certain ways that we think it should be.

Don't blind-believing or blind-following any teachings from anyone, not even the teachings mentioned here. Inquire the truth of everything, attain self-realization, and be free.

Om shanti.

Eliminate egoism by starving the ego, or stop feeding the ego...

As yoga practitioners, we have to remind ourselves from time to time that the yoga practice is about the annihilation of egoism.

Elimination of egoism is through starving the ego, or stop feeding the ego.

If we look at our thoughts, actions and speech in everyday life, most of them are feeding the ego.

Although we are doing some yoga practice from time to time, and convince ourselves and others that we love yoga, and we like to practice and do yoga everyday, but we don't really practice yoga if we didn't work on the elimination of egoism, but instead, in everyday life, we are empowering the ego whether intentionally or unintentionally.

It is the ego that has lots of desires of craving and aversion towards what it wants and doesn't want. Craving for qualities of name and form that our mind perceives as good, pleasant, happiness, positive and meaningfulness. Aversion towards qualities of name and form that our mind perceives as bad, unpleasant, unhappiness, negative and meaninglessness.

It is the ego that likes or loves something, even if it's something really good and right. If we truly practice yoga and meditation, there's no 'I' being here to like or love something that our mind perceives as good and right, even if it's yoga and meditation practice, or the fruit of yoga and meditation practice.

It is the ego that dislikes or hates something, even if it's something really bad and wrong. If we truly practice yoga and meditation, there's no 'I' being here to dislike or hate something that our mind perceives as bad and wrong.

It's the ego that feels good or bad, happy or unhappy, positive or negative, excited or depressed, peaceful or not peaceful, meaningful or meaningless, and so on.

It's the ego that generates likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements towards what the mind experiences through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body/skin and thinking.

It's the ego that generates attachment, identification, craving and aversion towards the qualities of name and form to be 'I', and what 'I' think is 'my' and 'mine'.

The one who wants and doesn't want to feel in certain ways, is the ego.

The one who judges, compares and expects, is the ego.

The one who admires or condemns, is the ego.

The one who feels confident and proud, or feels not confident and shameful about 'I' as somebody with or without certain qualities, abilities and achievements, is the ego.

The one who feels sad, or depressed, or angry, or hate, or jealous, or fear, or worry, or lonely, or unhappy, or neglected, or ignored, or unattended, or unloved, or embarrassed, or humiliated, or hurt, or betrayed, or insulted, or disrespected, or guilt, or regret, or dissatisfied, or disappointed, or meaningless, and the opposite of all these feelings, is the ego.

The one who is longing for approval, support, liking, companionship, association, acknowledgement, agreement, compliment, praise, appreciation, gratefulness, thankfulness from within and without, is the ego.

The one who is ambitious, who have dreams, or not, is the ego.

The one who wants to create or destroy, is the ego.

The one who wants to love or doesn't want to love, is the ego.

The ego is fed and strengthened by gratifying all its desires of wants and doesn't wants. 

Starve and eliminate the ego by free the mind from attachment, identification, desires, craving, aversion, and all the modifications of egoism.

Realize selflessness, or egolessness, or 'I'-lessness.

There is no 'I' being here to want to love or doesn't want to love.

There's no 'I' being here to hurt, or be hurt.

There's no 'I' being here to heal, or be healed.

There's no 'I' being here to be positive or negative, to be happy or unhappy, to be good or bad.

There is no 'I' being here being not free, or being free.

Om shanti.

Beyond all the thinking and feelings, action and inaction, there's no 'I', 'my', or 'mine'...

Beyond all the thinking and feelings, action and inaction

Whether it's positive or negative thinking and feelings
Whether it's good or bad thinking and feelings
Whether it's happy or unhappy thinking and feelings
Whether it's clear or confuse thinking and feelings

Beyond kind or evil, right or wrong action and inaction

There is no 'I', 'my', or 'mine'

Allow the mind to perceive all the names and forms as they are, and allow the names and forms to be what they are

There's no attachment or identification with any names and forms as 'I', 'my', or 'mine'
There's no desires, clinging, longing, craving, or aversion
There's no dissatisfaction and disappointment
There's no feelings of hurt or painful sorrow
There's no anger and hatred
There's no fear and worry

Be free

If our yoga and meditation practice doesn't bring the mind closer to peace but the opposite, constantly be disturbed, be affected, be influenced or  be determined by all the qualities of name and form of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, sensations and thinking due to the reactions of the mind towards its craving and aversion towards what it likes and dislikes, agrees and disagrees with, wants and doesn't wants, then let go of what we have been practicing, and start practicing again based on the basic teachings of yoga and meditation about 'I'-lessness, egolessness, or selflessness.

Om shanti.

Neither positive nor negative, everything is just what it is...

The teaching of yoga and Buddhism is about seeing the truth of things as they are, and allow all the names and forms to be what they are, without generate clinging or craving towards what the mind wants to think and believe as positive, good and happiness, without generate aversion towards what the mind wants to think and believe as negative, bad and unhappiness.

Everything is just what it is. It is neither positive nor negative, neither good nor bad, neither happiness nor unhappiness.

The truth is still the truth, whether we know about it, or not; whether we like it, or not; whether we agree with it, or not. Everything is subject to impermanence. This life existence comprising the body and mind is subject to changes, discomfort, old age, sickness, weakness and death, or decomposition. The truth doesn't change according to whether our mind is being positive or negative, good or bad, happy or unhappy.

Being super positive, super good and super happy, while denying something that the mind recognizes as negative, bad and unhappiness, won't bring the dead back to life, nor prevent the body and mind from experiencing pain or unpleasantness, or else there won't be painful sorrow exists in the world due to losing someone whom we love very much. It won't make other beings to be free from negativity, anger and hatred, or stop being bad and unhappy.

The positive and optimistic people need to be positive and optimistic shows that they do perceive and recognize something as negative, bad and unhappiness, but they want to convince that everything that they are going to experience will be all positive, good and happy, and they don't want to experience something that they perceive and recognize as negative, bad and unhappiness. They are not free from the perception of duality, craving and aversion. Or else, they don't need to be positive and optimistic at all, if truly there is no negative, bad and unhappiness existing in their mind perception.

Impermanent changes are always there. 'Good' things are changing. 'Bad' things are changing. They change due to their respective cause and at their own pace. If somebody who claims to be having the 'super mind power' to influence and change something to be all good and nothing bad, then the world is already all good and nothing bad.

There are many 'good' people everywhere in the world always wishing or praying for the best and goodness in oneself and in others. It's very good, but it doesn't stop 'bad', 'miserable' and 'undesirable' things and happenings continue to be existing here and there. It doesn't make all kinds of suffering and painful sorrow to disappear from everyone's life. It doesn't remove ignorance and egoism in all beings. Or else, every beings in the world will be selfless, peaceful, wise and compassionate.

Practicing yoga or Buddhism is not about to be positive and optimistic, but to see the truth of things as they are (whether it is something pleasant or unpleasant, whether we like or dislike, agree or disagree with it), without attachment, craving or aversion, without identification with the impermanent body and mind to be who we are, without being affected or determined by all the impermanent qualities of name and form to be peaceful, happy, confident and to feel meaningful, or not.

Before we see the truth of things as they are, we need to stay positive and to counter negative thinking with positive thinking, so that we won't be 'drowned' by negative thinking. When we see the truth of things as they are, there is no need to be positive or to have positive thinking.

Be free from ignorance, egoism and all the modifications of the egoism is the ultimate freedom. It's not about denying or keep away from something that the mind perceives and recognizes as negative, bad and unhappiness, or changing something that we don't want into what we would like it to be.

Om shanti.

If being stressed doesn't change the outcome, why stressed then?

If we have some obligated duties and responsibilities in our lives towards ourselves and our family that make us feel tied-up, and thinking that we have to achieve certain results to gain maximum return whether it's for financial stability or it's to maintain certain credibility of professionalism in a particular work-field, unwittingly we live under stress and being anxious towards our performance and the result of our performance. We are accumulating lots of tension mentally and physically. This will hinder us from performing at our best, affecting our work performance, and eventually our physical and mental health condition will be disturbed. This stops us from carrying out our duties and responsibilities efficiently.

We can just do our best in whatever we do, and allow the outcome to be what it is. There's nothing need to be stressed and anxious about.

By being stressed and anxious doesn't change the outcome of anything to become better than what it is.

Why stressed then?

It is the egoism, attachment, identification, expectation, and the desires of craving and aversion that make us think that we cannot fail, or we have to achieve certain results, that generate unnecessary stress and anxiety in the mind.

We can learn how let go of the ego, attachment, identification, expectation, and the desires of craving and aversion, learn how to live in the present moment, and just do our best to perform all our duties and responsibilities without any stress or anxiety.

Certain anxiety is due to hormonal changes/imbalanced or even brain malfunctioning/damage, it's not necessarily has anything to do with external elements. Such like, we could have anxiety attack out of a sudden even though everything in our life is good or there's nothing to be worry about. In that case, one might need to do something that could help to regulate and balancing the hormonal system. Usually by having regular sufficient physical exercises and eating healthily, as well as by balancing work/activity and relax/sleep will help to regulate and balancing the hormonal system in the body.

Om shanti.

Practice yoga of selflessness, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness...

Many people like to do yoga asana exercises, as the yoga exercises, the breathing exercises, and the concentration while performing the yoga exercises can give many physical and mental health and fitness benefits when being done regularly. The body and the mind will feel good and light after the yoga asana and pranayama practice. The vast variations of the yoga exercises also give some sort of challenges and stimulation to the restless mind that craves to be stimulated and kept interested all the time. Or else the mind feels bored, dulled, depressed, meaningless, void or empty. But all these benefits and effects of performing the yoga exercises are impermanent and they are not the end of yoga practice.

Yoga practice is meant to allow the mind to go beyond all the qualities of name and form, to stop chasing after the objects of name and form, to be free from restlessness, to realize the truth of things as they are, and be free from ignorance, egoism, attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion, and thus be free from suffering.

The benefits and effects derived from the yoga asana practice which consumes lots of time, effort, concentration, patience, determination and perseverance of the body and the mind, can help to interest the mind to be busy doing some physical and mental activities that don't just benefit oneself physically and mentally, but at the same time one won't have the free time, free body and mind to be engaging in any unhealthy physical and mental activities that can harm oneself or other beings. It is very good even if one isn't interested in the complete annihilation of ignorance and egoism.

All these benefits and effects are momentary, and don't guarantee one freedom from ignorance and suffering, if one doesn't know how to be free from egoism, attachment, identification, and desires of craving and aversion.

The root cause of suffering is ignorance (not knowing the truth of things). From ignorance, there arise egoism. From egoism, there arise attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion. From all these attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion, there arise all sorts of impurities and restlessness. From impurities and restlessness, the mind has no peace and perceives suffering.

Most minds want to be free from suffering and have peace, but not many are interested when come to the yoga practice towards selflessness (the annihilation of egoism, attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion), attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness.

We can be putting our body in many different yoga asana poses after years and years of repeated practice of all these yoga poses, becoming more skillful and effortless while performing all these yoga poses, but, the mind might still be influenced by egoism and ignorance, it's not free from attachment, identification, desires of craving and aversion, impurities and restlessness. The mind is constantly being affected, disturbed, influenced and determined by what it perceives through the senses of what it sees, hears, smells, tastes, touches and thinks. There is no real peace which is beyond impermanence, which is not the momentary calmness, peaceful feelings and pleasant sensations that derived from performing some yoga exercises.

There is a common reaction of most minds who love yoga or love to do the yoga exercises - After we manage to perform certain yoga asana poses, the ever restless and dissatisfying nature of the egoistic mind will have this thought about "What next?" and try to do some other more challenging poses or new exercises that it never done before, one after another one. Even after the physical body has come to a point in achieving its highest strength and flexibility, the mind is still wondering "What next?"

By challenging and pushing the body to go beyond its physical limitation, and making the mind feels good doesn't guarantee one peace and compassion. Peace and compassion has nothing to do with physical conditions and abilities, or the impermanent states of the mind. It is freedom from ignorance and egoism.

The restless mind is never contented with just doing the same few basic yoga poses everyday, which is all that we need to help to balance and calm the mind, preparing the mind for meditation. There's nothing wrong with that. That's what the mind does. It gets bored. It needs new toys, new interests, new stimulation.

Even though the body and mind is busy spending lots of time and effort into practicing yoga asana exercises, years after years, and attaining many benefits of the exercises, but we are not really practicing yoga at all, if we never train the mind to go beyond the qualities of name and form, to free the mind from ignorance, duality, egoism, attachment, identification, intention, expectation, desires, greed, dissatisfaction and restlessness. Instead we keep on trying to satisfy the desires of craving and aversion of the restless mind, keep on feeding and strengthening the egoism of the mind and all its modifications while performing the yoga asana practice.

May all be free, by practicing yoga, not just doing some yoga asana exercises.

Om shanti.

Practice yoga and meditation in everyday life?

There were retreat guests have doubt about whether they can continue to practice yoga and meditation in everyday life, or whether they will have the free time and space to perform yoga and meditation practice when they go back to their busy city life. What they meant is about whether they will have the discipline, time and space to perform the yoga asana practice and the sitting meditation practice. But, yoga and meditation practice is unlimited by time and space.

It exists everywhere in every moment in our life whether we are doing some external and physical yoga and meditation practice in a particular name and form, or not. It is the mental or internal yoga and meditation practice of continuous awareness and observation towards what is going on in our mind, from moment to moment, without generate attachment, identification, craving or aversion. Being undisturbed, unaffected, uninfluenced, undetermined by all the impermanent changes of names and forms that the mind perceives through the senses.

Whenever there is perception of name and form when the mind comes in contact with the objects of the senses, that is the moment of our yoga and meditation practice that is happening in our mind. It is not somewhere outside doing some external physical form of yoga and meditation practice.

In this present moment, no matter how we are, where we are, what we are doing or not doing, or how is the surrounding environment and what is happening, free the mind from :-

• The past pleasant and unpleasant experiences
• The future projection, speculation, imagination and anticipation
• The egoism, or the idea of 'I' exist as an individual being
• Attachment and identification
• Intention and expectation
• Clinging, craving, aversion
• Possessiveness
• Obsessiveness
• Defensiveness and offensiveness
• Criticism, argument, justification, condemn, prejudice
• Violence, back-biting, ill-will and ill-thinking
• Anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, desires
• Dissatisfaction and disappointment
• Feelings of hurt, guilt, regret
• Agitation and depression
• Fear, worry, anxieties, doubts, and all sorts of restlessness
• Ignorance

Develop dispassion, right discrimination, self-inquiry, self-awareness, self-control, self-discipline, independence, initiative, mindfulness, open-mindedness, patience, determination, perseverance, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, adjustment, adaptation, accommodation, forgiveness, loving kindness, magnanimity, generosity, simplicity, contentment, calmness, straightforwardness, honesty, purity of thoughts, actions and speech.

Contemplate and realize the truth of non-duality, non-separateness, selflessness, attributelessness, namelessness and formlessness. Go beyond all the qualities of name and form, the life existence and worldly experiences through the function of the mind, the body, the sense organs and the senses.

Allow the mind to be calm and quiet, to be equanimous and at peace under any circumstances, conditions and situations.

This is our yoga and meditation practice in everyday life.

Undetermined by who we think we are and how we are; what is our gender and sexual orientation; what language we communicate with others; what type of educational and training background, talents and skills; what nationality and origin; what is our family and cultural background; whether we think we are spiritual or non-spiritual; whether we are religious or non-religious; whether we believe or disbelieve in 'God', heaven and hell, karma, cause and effect, reincarnation; whether we can perform any yoga poses and what are their benefits, or how we look and feel during and after the yoga poses; the 'correct' physical alignment; the knowledge of the names and benefits of all the yoga poses; the knowledge of physiology and anatomy; the degrees of intelligence and how much knowledge we know about this and that; the physical appearance; the physical conditions; the physical abilities to do this and that; the condition of the environment and what is happening in our life and in the world.

In this present moment, if our mind is being disturbed and influenced by what it sees, hears, smells, tastes, touches and thinks, and generates reactions of like and dislike, agreement and disagreement, craving and aversion, and is restless due to all these activities in the mind, then keep practice, without judgment, comparison, or expectation, until the mind is no longer be disturbed nor influenced by all the perceptions of names and forms.

Om shanti.