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Aries April 6th-May 5th 2008

You Are the Attraction
Wednesday April 30th -- 25th Day of Aries

If you come to yoga looking to be entertained you wont last long. If you come to
yoga with the same consciousness as when you go to see a movie you will find
yourself bored to death as the movie of yoga is running over and over at this local
theatre -- it will never change. This is the beauty of yoga. I was looking back at
my ten years of practicing yoga and I realized I have been doing virtually the same 60
or so poses for the last ten years.   I know them like friends. They are not new. They
are not there to titillate me or be my clown. If you are hoping for titillation or
entertainment you won't be practicing yoga for very long. After a few months you will
loose interest and move on to your next quick fix. The secret is discovering that you
are the main attraction of yoga. Each time you practice you are offered the tools
to go within.   What makes you tick? How is life sustained? What makes you
happy? Why are you sad? What are you made of? Where is God? Is it outside?
Inside? Everywhere? The internal self-exploration is the number one movie at the box
office each week and us who know this run to the theatre to experience it again and
again.   This is what keeps us practicing. Do you think those of us who have done
yoga for 10, 20 or even 50 years keep coming back because downward dog is so
exciting? No. We come back for more because we know yoga is one of the doors
that once opened will lead us to our souls. In the beginning you may find yourself
entertained by yoga but I promise you the day will come when the entertainment is
gone and what will you do then? You will have two choices: Go within or go without.

Posted by Joseph at 1002AM

Formula to Connect
Monday April 28th -- 23rd Day of Aries

The Law of Attraction promises that a connection will be made when two forces are
similar in nature. We all wish to connect to a higher power. The entire goal of yoga is
to unite with the "supreme one". The union with the higher power is thought of as
"yoking" which mean to unite. This is where the word "yoga" comes from -- "to
yoke." The Yoga Sutras refer to this higher power as "The Supreme One" and every
philosophy has its on name for it. We have all heard terms like Hashem, Alah and
God. The Alcoholic Anonymous philosophy refer to this higher power as just that:
The Higher Power. I like this secular term for it includes all religions and beliefs and I
will refer to the supreme one today as the higher power. Regardless of its name
though, I do believe there is just one grand source and we are all praying and longing
for connection to the same source and only our different languages have created this
illusion that we are connecting to different energies. This illusion is ultimately a tragedy
as it causes us to feel separate and insecure and the ground becomes fertile for wars
and persecution.   Although we call God by many different names, the path to this
higher power is similar for all of us. We must all use the law of attraction.   For us to
cleave to this higher power we must become more like it. There is a four step
process:

Step 1: Admit that we are in opposition to the energy of the higher power. This is
the hardest step and the most important. Our ego knows that once we start we will
complete our mission so it constructs a lock on the door of this four step process.
This lock is hard to break but it's vital to our path. We must admit that we are
different to the energy of this higher power which is why we currently don't have a
constant and strong connection to it. This for many of us is the willingness we have to
start a spiritual practice like yoga. I am not saying we are horrible people and are
sinners. I am not saying we are not made with the same essence as the higher power
either. I am only saying we must admit that there is a disconnect and therefore a
difference in essence between us and this higher energy.

Step 2: Shut down the energy that is causing the separation. We must know what
we should be before we know what we shouldn't be. The energy of the higher power
isn't a secret. We intuitively know what this higher power is like. For we experience
this energy when we are in love, when we become a parent, when we care for the
world, when we feel good and happy. We know that this higher power has a high
vibration because we have had moments of joy in our life and we know it is a higher
quality energy because of how it makes us feel. But we are not always vessels for this
high energy. We are capable of much much worse. We all have moments of
reactivity, of fear, of hatred and jealousy. Deep inside we know that parts of us like
conflict, wars and lack of human dignity. The opposite of love is not hate but
indifference as Elie Wiesel reminds us. We also must see that our apathy for the
world and its people is also a quality we possess that needs eradicating. These are
the energy patterns that repels us away from the higher power for the law of attraction
states that like attracts like and unlike things repel. We must stop being unloving,
selfish, hateful, judgemental and self involved. Our yoga postures help squelch these
reactive and body conscious qualities from our being as well as meditating and
deliberate acts of love and sharing.   Note that this step is the ascension towards this
higher power. Every small step we take towards quieting the ego is another step
closer to this higher power. This second step is full of wondrous times and many joys.

Step 3: Fully purge these energies that are unlike the higher power. This step is
different than step two. In step two, we started the process of stopping these
energies. Step three is the complete removal of these energies. Without a complete
release from these reactive, selfish and ego born energies we will not be enough like
the higher power to merge with it. Devoted daily practice to completely removing our
ego through uncomfortable actions of love and sharing is our medicine for life and our
solution to accomplish step three.

Step 4: Allow the connection. Once our ego has been greatly diminished we must
then allow the connection. We must then allow ourselves to be loved. We must
allow ourselves to receive and connect. But at this point we have purged our
receiving ego nature so greatly that making this connection it is no longer an act of
receiving. Our receiving becomes an act of sharing because we are now willing to
receive so our higher power can connect to us which is what it has wanted to do from
the beginning of time. In a way we are doing the higher energy of favor by allow the
connection to happen. We let the power connect to us and thus we are simultaneous
sharing and receiving which still insures the laws of attraction to work. This is called
the perfect union since we are connected through our likeness of energies (sharing)
and we get to receive the higher powers energies at the same time! This is called the
union of yoga. Or the Garden of Eden. Or the energy of being "saved". Or the
concept of being in Heaven. There as many names of this final union as there are
names for God.

All of great spiritual philosophies promise us beyond our hard work of conquering our
ego lies great bliss when we make our union once again with the supreme one. We
are all on this journey and lets help support each other. Today, love for no reason.
Send mercy to others when they don't deserve it. Hate no more. And do your yoga
today knowing as you calm the body down you increase the magnetic attraction
between you and the higher power.

Posted by Joseph at 433pm

Anyone Can Be Righteous
Wednesday April 16th -- 11th day of Aries

Often times in this world, people feel the need to hold others up on a pedestal and
give them a larger than life status turning them into something far greater than who they
actually are. It's not the lifting up of others that bothers me, its the automatic default
mode of lower status the rest of us become when we separate an elite group or
people from of the rest. As if only a few of us are worthy of praise and love. The
rest of us our just commoners and unimportant is how the thinking goes. But this is
not the truth at all. Everyone one of us is worth knowing and is capable of reaching
great heights of righteousness. We often want to put people high up on pedestals
because then we get the permission to be lazy. We can live a life unconsciously and
devoid of true work if we adopt the belief that only certain people are destined to
greatness and the rest of us are just hopeless fools who need not apply. We are not
forced to idolize anyone -- we run after the opportunity so we can opt out of the
game of life and sit on the sidelines.

Probably my favorites spiritual story of all time is a story that tells of how an ordinary
man can reach heights of extraordinary levels. It shows us that we are all capable of
greatness and everyone of us has this potential within if we are willing to make the
right sacrifices.

one day, a wise old sage was passing through a town he had never visited
before. He was just about to leave the south village of the town when he
noticed the most divine fragrance in the air. He couldn't believe what he
smelled. It was as sure as the ears and eyes and as strong as anything he ever
knew. The scent was of the Garden of Eden. He had never in his life
experienced the wonder of this scent.

The sage followed the scent to a modest cottage at the foot of the hill nestled by
a small spring. He knocked on the door with great excitement hoping to find
the source of such a wonderful aroma. An old man answered the door, "May I
help you?," the he said.   "I hope so. I know that in this home is the Garden of
Eden and I must find its origin. May I come in?," the sage asked. The old man
was strong and fearless and felt no sense of danger so he easily let sage inside.
Inside the sage looked around the entire home and came to a closet. "May I
open the closet?," he asked. "By all means," replied the old man. Inside, the
sage found hanging a putrid, molded, frayed, tattered, stained and vile jester
suit. The sage knew this was the source of the Garden of Eden for its sweet
aroma was palpable -- it was coming from the suit! The sage immediately
drilled the old man for all information regarding the suit and the old man
relayed the following story:

Years ago, I was living in this very town. The town was quite different back then, but
nevertheless life was good and I had a decent life. I was quite poor though. I often
needed to beg for food and many times never had any food at all. I did however have
many friends. I was blessed with many good friends and I truly did feel rich. One
evening, after a meager dinner, I headed to bed only to be disrupted by a knock at the
door. It was my good friend Noah from town. Noah appeared to be in trouble. He
informed me that his daughter was very ill and she appeared to be dying and that he
needed to pay for his daughter to be transported to the main city 20 miles north for
treatment or else she would die. Noah came to me to borrow any money that I could
possibly spare. I told my friend that I had nothing myself tonight to hardly eat and
unfortunately could offer no money to him. Noah was devastated. I was his last hope and
he knew that without medical care, his daughter would soon be gone. Now I knew many
people in town and I thought of an idea and told Noah to go home to his daughter and
wait for me and I will get the money he needed. Noah was puzzled but thrilled and left for
home. Without thinking I knew what I had to do. I needed to see the rich miser who lived
at the top of the hillside and I needed to beg him for the money. I went to the rich miser's
home and knocked on the door. The door was answered by his servant and I begged to see
the rich miser and pleaded for a chance to speak with him. The servant let me in and
showed me to him. I explained the story about Noah's dying daughter and asked the miser
for money. Now the old miser lived alone for many years for many reasons. He was a
selfish, mean, cruel and hateful man who hoarded his money and shared with no one. The
miser immediately told me no and demanded me to leave. I fell to my knees and pleaded
and begged for the money. And with this grand gesture, the miser was inspired to change
his mind and decided to have a little fun. "I will give you the money you need under one
condition. Do you see the jester suit hanging?", the old miser pointed to an ornate, gaudy
and shiny circus like jester suit fit with a multi pointed hat that hung in the corner of the
room. "That suit I purchased during my travels last week. I was hoping to hire a local
fool to entertain me during my dinners, but I believe you would be just the fool I am
looking for. I will give you the money you need, if you put the suit on and enter ever pub
in town and make a fool of yourself. Jump on the tables, yell -- do everything possible to
get kicked out. And do that in every pub and when you return I will give you the money
you need." I remember feeling ill and I felt as if my face turned white. The prospect of
doing what the miser asked frightened me, but I remembered Noah and his daughter and I
knew I had to do it. So I put the suit on and left the house headed for the first pub. On
the outside of my body was the shiny and circus like jester suit complete with a multi
pointed hat. And on the inside of my body was fear filling my bones and sickness in my
stomach. What greeted me as I entered the first pub was an onslaught of laughter.
Patrons heckled and called me names. I jumped on the table tops and jumped across the
bar inflaming everyone with rage and anger. I was beat up. I was kicked. I was spat on.
I had food thrown at me. And I ultimately was kicked out on the street. It was an awful
experience and I felt I couldn't endure it again. But, I remembered my dear friend Noah
who needed my help and knew what I had to do. I visited a total of ten bars that night.
In each bar patrons kicked me Beat me. Spat on me, threw food and ultimately threw me
out on the street. After the tenth bar, I hobbled back to the miser's home. The miser was
waiting for me and he began to laugh with such amusement after laying his eyes on me,
"You are the town fool after all!" I stood there dripping with blood, food, dirt and
defilement. I was bleeding and the suite was torn to shreds. "I have never so thoroughly
enjoyed myself. Here take the money, it was worth it," the miser said to me as he handed
me the money and he too kicked me out. Suddenly, through all the pain and humiliation, I
didn't care. I knew I had gotten the money for my friend and somehow it was all worth it.
I couldn't deliver the money to Noah personally, I was too beaten. Instead I got a child
to deliver the money to Noah and I decided to go home. When I arrived home I fell to the
ground and passed out. And that is the story behind that suit you see in the closet. I kept
the suite to remind myself that if we are willing to sacrifice ourselves a bit, we can
probably make anything happen. Noah's daughter was sent to the near by city and got her
treatment and survived. What I did was worth it. She is now grown and is a mother and a
wife and I am the godfather to her five children. Noah and I have been very close since
then and have become the closest of friends. I feel truly rich in life. I am happy and
joyful and feel loved."

The old man finished the story and realized the sage was in tears. "This is truly
the most beautiful story I have ever heard and now I see how this suit has the
scent of the Garden of Eden", the sage said. "I have met in my life many great
people. Popes, bishops, priests, rabbis, scholars, author and leaders, but till
today I have never met a truly righteous man like you. I see you have a place in
the world to come." The sage thanked the old man for his time and story and
left, taking with him the awesome lesson that anyone of us can reach greatness
when we are willing to make a sacrifice for another person. The sage now saw
that true spirituality is taking responsibility for others and when we are willing
to do this anyone can be righteous.

Posted by Joseph at 1021am

Happy New Year!
Monday April 7th ---3rd Day of Aries

You hear right, Happy New Year. On Sunday, we began the real new year -- the
astrological new year. On Sunday it was the first day of Aries! For those of you who
do not know, Aries is the head of the twelve zodiac months: Aries, Taurus, Gemini,
Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. At
one time our calendar was based on a 30 day cycle and each month was directly
related to the astrological sign. Through history, leaders and rulers manipulated the
calendar to how you see it today: January, February, March, ect. But underneath this
modern calendar, another calendar exists and hides. It is the astrological calendar.
So, we are now entering a month of new birth. For the next 30 days, we will be
graced with the energy of renewal, birth, new things and the start of summer energy.
This is the month where we are prepared and ready to start new and excitement
projects and self discoveries. This month is ruled by the planet of war however:
Mars. We must however let go of our sword this month and surrender conflict. The
Ram, which represents Aries, is known for its aggressive headbuting and we want no
part of this as humans. This month on the full moon, on the night of April 19th, we
have a gift. It is the time when the energy of Aries is at its peak. The energy of Aries
is that of ego. Of all the signs, the Aries sign contains the most ego. It is the sign that
is influenced the most by energies of receiving. But receiving is good, when used
correctly. Wanting to receive in life is what allows us to make things happen! We are
more willing to work and do whats necessary.   Receiving is the most important
quality to have, because with it you can create anything you wish. For the world to
be in peace we have to want it. And if an Aries would channel its energies towards
wanting good things for the world like peace and love then those things will happen.
You can imagine what happens in a world where people do not desire happiness,
peace and love. Desire is the most important quality to possess. "Our problem in this
world isn't that we want too much, it is that we want too little," Michael Berg reminds
us in Becoming Like God. We all are guilty of just being satisfied with a pizza and a
couch. And as we sit there full and lazy, children starve and people anguish in pain
worldwide. We have to want more! An the Aries can desire like no other sign!
However, all that desire to receive can also be dangerous. You can manifest your
desire to receive only for your own benefit alone, and this is where the Aries can be
quite toxic. On the full moon this month, as mentioned before, we have the height of
the energy of Aries. Its during this time we need to meditate and remove our selfish
desires and foster new sharing and helpful desires for the world. When we all want
peace and love and community and happiness, we will have it! Also, the first twelve
days of Aries are seed levels for the entire next twelve months. We should be
conscious of how we behave the next 12 days so we can plant positive seeds. Below
is a chart for the next 12 days. Use it to work hard to fight against the negative
qualities of the sign and work hard this month dreaming big and wanting more!
Practice Sirsanana (Head Balance) often this month. Sirsasana grounds your head
and grounds your ego. Good Luck!

Sunday April 6th Aries
Look to Complete Tasks

Monday April 7th Taurus
Avoid Being Comfortable

Tuesday April 8th Gemini
Focus and Commit

Wednesday April 9th Cancer
Let go of a False Sense of Security

Thursday April 10th Leo
Let go of Control

Friday April 11th Virgo
Beware of Being Critical of Yourself and Others

Saturday April 12th Libra
Make Decisions with Certainity

Sunday April 13th Scorpio
Love Yourself More and Be Jealous Less

Monday April 14th Sagittarius
Stand Up For Something You Believe In

Tuesday April 15th Capricorn
Trust When it isn't Easy, Break Rules

Wednesday April 16th Aquarius
Try to Conform, Do What Others Do

Thursday April 17th Pisces
Stop Feeling Sorry For Yourself

Posted by Joseph at 906PM

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