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I had the joy of studying recently with Mingyur Rinpoche, a teacher of Tibetan Buddhism who was in Phoenix last month.  He performed a ceremony to help participants create lives of greater compassion and awareness.  I will try to relay some of his wisdom in the meditation classes I am offering at Cochise College Center for Lifelong Learning Saturday mornings July 16, 23, and 30 from 9-10:30.  If interested, go to cochise.edu/cll and under classes, type in meditation.

Yesterday I went to listen to a profound talk on the Buddhist perspective on Anxiety and Depression at the Sky Island Unitarian Church.  If we think about how depression feels, it is a rejection of what is going on for us, whether it is internal or external in origin.  We are resisting with an inner “no!”  Then we send a second arrow to the heart by rejecting ourselves for being depressed.  This can easily become a habit of depression, but I learned some ways to help myself out when the storm of sadness or despair hits.  I can direct joyful effort to look for the “no,” oppose it with acceptance, and take a larger picture perspective.

Since depression is a tight emotion focused on me, if I take any step at all to bring my focus back to others it will help me feel better, even if it is just a thought of love and kindness.  Doing a little something for someone else is even better.  The key of the talk was this.  We can change our minds through practice, and whenever we meditate, we are performing an action which will cause the experience of inner peace in the future.  Whenever we meditate—meaning that the meditation doesn’t have to be a great or even good one.  It will still help brighten my future mind and chip away at bad mental habits.

 Whatever you have, enjoy it.  If you don’t get what you want, have equanimity.  Non-attachment is not the same as rejection of pleasure or dreams.  It just means being O.K. regardless of how things turn out.

Once we capture the present, there is no more need to wait.  I think about all the sneaky ways waiting creeps into consciousness and shadows happiness with the now—waiting for the weekend, waiting to hear news about something important, waiting to feel better, waiting to look better, waiting for a future plan or a festive event, waiting for a dream to be realized.  But what happens to the in-between time?  So let’s make a plan, yes, but the time between now and then is the journey, all that we really have.  Because by the time what we are waiting for comes around, if we are not aware, we will already be mentally on to the next plan, the next “better” thing!  

This time of year is a time of practicing generosity.  How can we give all we would like to give without becoming depleted—financially or psychically?  It is important and feels good to give presents, but we might think about generosity as more than giving other people merely money or things.  The more we are able to share our unique gifts of self, the things that make us who we are, the more we will fill our reservoirs and add to the good of the world.   By this, I mean take inventory of what makes you happy.  What are your natural strengths?  What comes easily to you?  For example, are you good at organizing, problem-solving, empathizing, making connections, understanding, or supporting?  How can you make opportunities to express these qualities?  These things are beautiful gifts which can only come from you.  Do not underestimate how important it is to not hold back!

I am always interested in how people make sense out of life and how their philosophies help them understand the world.  I was reading about the Yoruba religion of West Africa in the book God Is Not One.  The Yoruba believe that we have two souls, one related to breath, which reminds me of the yogic idea of prana, the life force, and the other related to destiny.  They have great faith that we can create our path for ourselves.  When we are given breath for a new life on earth (reincarnation is part of the belief system), we are allowed to choose our destiny: our personality, our occupation, our measure of good and bad luck, and the day we return to heaven.  But when we are born, we forget our true purpose, and we wander through life, distracted on all sides by social expectations, work, and even love.  Our task is to remember our destiny so we can do what we were actually created to do–for both for ourselves and for the world.  A “diviner”, a Yoruba holy person, is unlike many religious figures in the Judeo-Christian tradition.  Far from taking a power position, this is a person who says, “You know the mystery,” and helps us remember who we are.

The third Yama is Asteya, non-stealing. Of course! We all know not to steal, but what about the things we rob from ourselves? What am I stealing from my life with my thoughts? Am I stealing time I should be devoting to developing my potential? Am I taking attention away from those around me? Am I taking from my health?

By not caring for the energy we have, we are taking our inner light and dousing it. This keeps our unique gifts and contributions from others. An example of this unconscious theft involves unchecked mental conversations. These distractions, internal monologues, work against our greater good, stealing our attention to and experience of the present moment. In relationships, we might try to get from others what should come from within. If we take care of ourselves and are self-sufficient, we don’t take more than we need. And to be self-sufficient, we must cultivate abundance. Our unique talents, our love, our contribution to the world—holding these things back, taking from our inner resources and depleting ourselves, is a way of stealing our own gifts from their rightful place in the world.

Satya, or truthfulness, is the second Yama, another of the guidelines to a peaceful and self-actualized life.  In the yogic perspective, truthfulness can’t be practiced without remembering the first foundational Yama: non-violence.  Non-violence underlies everything.  I need to start by being truthful with myself.  What drives my thinking?  What is beneath the layers of my culture and social programming?  Do I want to be where I am, doing what I am doing?  Are my choices drawing me to my greatest good?  It takes courage to ask these things and then act on the truthful answers.  I need to reject lies told to me by others or by myself in my inner conversations.  “If I do a bad job, I’m a failure.”  “I look terrible today.”  “That person doesn’t like me.”  Truth is uncovered by questioning.  It is not about being brutally honest.  Brutality is violent!  There is no need to blurt out random opinions which could hurt someone.  Truth is not a weapon.  To be truthful, to practice Satya, we need to take care in all that we say, both to ourselves and others, to avoid being destructive in thought or action.  Words have tremendous power, and we have the option of using them well.

Yoga can help guide us in using our energy to grow and live in harmony and peace.  The guidelines are called the Yamas, which relate largely to our relationships, and the Niyamas, recommendations on how to evolve into a wise human being.  I would like to just introduce the most fundamental Yama today: ahimsa, non-violence.  This is much more than the injunction to avoid killing.  Think of all the opportunities to show compassion that we miss.  What about starting at home with our very self?  We don’t have to set out for distant lands in order to contribute.  We are all part of a whole picture, so caring for and accepting ourselves, shadow and all, will give us greater understanding of others and more sensitivity for the rest of the world.  What about accepting our limitations or struggles with the body, whether with health or practicing the poses themselves?  When you hear yourself say something like, “how stupid of me,” or “I always mess things up,” pause and be kind.  Your inner world will be reflected out into world around you, bringing peace and non-violence.