Message from Karen

Dear Friends,

It's summer and the grass is still green! The mugginess has me looking at the dew point on a daily basis while I remind myself that other parts of the country have been in a heat wave for weeks and that weather around the world affects people, animals and plants daily.

We are all connected.

In this mugginess I have the chance to be grateful for the gifts of water and shade and slowing down. Things that are well understood in other parts of the world.

Open a good book, put the feet up and relax. The mind turns to contemplation and reflection. I have found several things to reflect upon this summer, some of which I share in this newsletter - daily readings from the Bhagavad Gita and other inspiring sources, reflections on the word and sound of aum, and the vibrational connection of all beings everywhere.

I am planning several workshops for the fall, beginning with a workshop on the Gayatri Mantra: the words, the story and the practice. The Gayatri Mantra is the oldest mantra. The history and meaning are fascinating and the practice can be transformative. This workshop will be held at Blissworks Yoga & Healing Arts on September 23rd, the vernal equinox. I hope you'll plan come.

The Fall Class Schedule is now online!

Speaking of online, my new website is easy to navigate and includes a new feature - a posture flow sequenced in a photo slide show. For best viewing, enlarge your screen by clicking on "View" at the top of your browser window, then click on "Enlarge Screen."

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Peace and love, Karen

Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras Daily Readings

Daily readings can be inspiring, thought provoking and uplifting. I found a wonderful website that offers daily readings based on the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras - your choice.

These quotes are from the home page:

Swami Sivananda's translation of the Bhagavad Gita (Song of God) with commentary by Swami Venkatesananda.

This site has been created for all, no matter what religion or path. It is not intended to further any particular group, organization, or philosophy. It is hoped that it will illumine a deeper understanding of yoga for seekers of truth, no matter what path you follow and no matter where you are in your journey of discovery.

More Daily Readings

"This is the central principle of meditation: we become what we meditate on."
– Eknath Easwaran

This website offers a thought for the day and information on meditation called the "Eight Point Program." I made the Thought for the Day page my homepage so every time I turn on my computer I get an inspiring message.

Eknath Easwaran (1910–1999) is a spiritual teacher for our times and the founder of the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation. A professor of English literature, acclaimed writer, and lecturer, he wrote 27 books, which have been translated into 26 languages. For almost forty years, he taught passage meditation and his Eight Point Program as practical tools for living high ideals in the home and community.

The Thought for the Day is a daily excerpt from Words to Live By by Eknath Easwaran.

The Mantra Om — Symbol of Primordial Vibration by Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati

The mantra Om (or Aum) has been handed down to us by the Himalayan sages. It is the most important mantra of Yoga. According to tradition, every 'thing' manifest comes from Primordial Vibration, which is symbolised by Om: all material objects, all living beings, including each of us, all spiritual teachings, including Yoga, all languages, including Sanskrit, all scriptures, including the Vedas, everything.

Everything has come out of Primordial Vibration, which is represented by Om.

This concurs with modern scientific thinking which says that everything - every atom and molecule in every nook and corner of this universe - is formed out of energy vibration. Einstein formulated his famous equation that E = mc2 which indicates that matter (m) is but an expression of Energy (E). Every atom, at-Om, comes out of the Primordial Vibration which is symbolised by Om.

Om as a sound, syllable (Om or Aum) and glyph () all symbolise the fact that all material objects, all phenomena and all thought patterns, both on a microcosmic and macrocosmic level, are states of energy vibration.

Pronounciation of Aum from Wikipedia

"A - emerges from the throat, originating in the region of the navel. U - rolls over the tongue. M - ends on the lips. A - waking, U - dreaming, M - sleeping. It is the sum and substance of all the words that can emanate from the human throat. It is the primordial fundamental sound symbolic of the Universal Absolute." [1].

In fact, when correctly pronounced, or rather, rendered, the "A" can be felt as a vibration that manifests itself near the navel or abdomen; the "U" can be felt vibrating the chest, and the "M" vibrates the cranium or the head. The abdominal vibration symbolises Creation. It is interesting that the "creative" or reproductive organs are also located in the lower abdomen. The vibration of the chest represents Preservation, which is also where the lungs are situated (the lungs sustain or preserve the body through breath). The vibration of the head is associated with Destruction or sacrifice, since all that one gives up or destroys is first destroyed mentally. Hence, the entire cycle of the universe and all it contains is said to be symbolised in AUM.

Today, in all Hindu art and all over India and Nepal, 'Aum' can be seen virtually everywhere, a standard sign for Hinduism and a vast but economical storehouse for the deep philosophy and mythology inherent in the world's oldest religion.

Notes the Chandogya Upanishad, "That syllable, is a syllable of permission; for, whenever we permit anything, we say Aum." However, this is seen by others as a myopic perspective because the same Hindu scriptures, the Upanishads, that aver this function also attribute to it the divine property of the source of the universe. Aum is seen as the source of existence as we know it within the causal dimensions of time and space, and thus affirmatory meanings in languages are a natural progression. Aum is not only affirmation, but negation, and transcends both.

The AUM sound is sometimes called "the 3-syllable Veda". The third syllable arises because in Devanagari and similar alphabets, a consonant at the end of a word is sometimes written as a separate consonant letter with the virama "no vowel" sign, and this combination is treated as a syllable when talking about Devanagari writing rather than about phonetics.

An individual's "Aum" is the sound that can be held steady the longest per breath for the longest consecutive sequence of breaths. It is called "aum" in every culture that is aware of it because it sounds like that in all humans. The lower pitches are more suited because they require less muscular contraction of the abdomen, leading to lower rates of oxygen consumption, allowing for longer time between breaths. The Aum is the exact sound that is easiest for the individual to produce.

Once the minimization of oxygen consumption occurs (by minimization of muscular exertion), the outflow of air will be steady and quite sensitive to any forces that alter the amount of pressure in the chest cavity. One of the most notable consequences of this is that the rhythmic contractions of the heart become audible within the Aum.

Thus, by the use of Aum:

one can easily hear their own heart.
a person can modify the pace of their heart.
a group of people can synchronize their heartbeats.