“Do not worry about God. Like the meditative state, either a formful or formless version of God will soon visit your Lodge so long as you focus on getting to First Base; the ability to concentrate your mind and maintain a concentrated state.”
– coach ilg, Direct Lines/7/1/07
Dear Coach,
my pastor spoke on how the “worst curse of mankind,” is our lust and greed for things instead of concentrating on God.
it left me confused. you are the only person that came to mind to ask for clarification. i know you are only a personal fitness trainer, however, after reading your blogs i can’t think of anyone else to ask. i don’t know how to concentrate on God. i am not even sure i know what or who God is. if this is too weird of a question, never mind.
as you say, “I bow to you,” in advance…
sincerely,
Pat
***
COACH RESPONDS:
Namaste Noble Warrior Who Is Willing To Question Everything!
relax and be very, very grateful. for the ‘space’ from which you write me today is a very special space. the space is an instinctual one and the by product of this instinct is known in Sanskrit as a “divine mood.” the yogi’s know it as, Deva Bhava. in other words, you and i are Connected in this m(om)ent by one of only two instincts that matter for spiritual progression; the instinct for aestheticism and the instinct for meditation. everyone has them. nearly all who are attracted to the WF Path have these two instincts more entrenched than others due to their karma.
according to yogis, moods, or Bhava, are controlled by the mind. this is opposite from what i learned in the Molecular Biology Sciences. in the West, moods are indelibly tethered to our endocrine system; organs and glands which secrete hormones which then supposedly overpower our willpower. this Victim Mentality is running rampant these days in Kali Yuga;
“Gee, Lucy, you are looking downright obese these days!”
“Yes, it’s my Thyroid the doctors say. I can’t help it. Don’t worry however, they have me on some GREAT medication for it plus anti-depressants and i really feel MUCH better!”
“Wow, that’s great, Lucy!”
“Yes, and the best thing is that i am getting my stomach stapled next week plus liposuction next month!”
“Wow, that’s really great, Lucy! I am very happy for you!”
“Thank you! Me too!”
you know, that type of thing.
the sad thing about submitting to such a Victim Mentality is that a surgeon can cut more than mere flesh when engaged in the relatively sophomoric action of taking out and/or ‘fixing’ our’ wrong’ things either by knife or prescription pills.
doctors can also sever our spiritual strength. one must be very, very careful before resorting to giving away personal power to a doctor. i ain’t dissing doctors. i am just saying that one should not just reactively run away from one’s own karmic work to take blind counsel from those who suffer from our same lack of fitness or unenlightened state. only a Master can lift us beyond our spiritual challenges. it requires great Faith to develop our inner courage to trust our (inner) Master. we can do it, however!
when i broke my spine, each doctor i consulted gave me a very grim and bleak outlook. they all suggested some form of surgery. i said to myself,
“Well, okay. how about if i delay surgery until i can fold my legs into Padmasana (full lotus posture). if the pain is still so fantastically searing as it is now, i will get surgery.” so i applied my WillPower to doing Padamasana. it took me 13 years to do that posture. when i was finally able to do it, the chronic pain was (is) still there, however, it was so much more manageable and i was able to do some many fun things regardless of the pain, that i just (as the Mountain Paiutes say:) ‘just kept a’goin.’ certainly in my life with Pain, many, many Bhava’s had to be traversed. few of them would be termed, “Deva Bhava,” however, the few that were Divinely Infused, were enough to keep me on the Spiritual Path without drugs or surgery.
***
Let me try to summarize and clarify:
Moods – or Bhava – are often uncontrollable, yet the predominant emotions which empower them are not. they can and should be governed by willpower. this is why aspirants are often given Mantras so that the mind is not so victimized by fluctuations.
Bhavas are related to emotions in the sense that an emotion is a desire blended with thought.
Bhavas are emotional waves which tend to overwhelm the mind.
the “worse curse” is not lust or greed which are both mere ripples from the root emotion of Fear.
the worse curse of mankind is the restless mind. the undisciplined mind. why? because the restless mind is unAttentive. and Attention is a precursor to Concentration and Sustained Concentration (Dharana) is the prerequisite for Meditation (Dhyana).
do not worry about God. like the meditative state, either a formful or formless version of God will soon visit your Lodge so long as you focus on getting to First Base; the ability to concentrate your mind and maintain a concentrated state. all the rest will follow. it’s the distracted mind that “God” refuses to visit and for go(o)d reason! We are not ready or fit enough to handle the Cosmic Power that God imparts! you gotta TRAIN to ‘get God!’
Perhaps Pascal said it best in a very clever Western version of the Buddha’s First Noble Truth;
“All the suffering of mankind can be traced to this one fact;
a man’s inability to sit still with himself in a small room.”
May this humble entry be of Benefit to All Beings Everywhere In Some Way…
may your Practice be concentrated and may a Deva Bhava soon swept you all off your beautiful feet…
om so ti,
the mountain yogi
back beneath the Sacred Peak
These teachings are the "Rasas" or "sap" of Wholistic Fitness. You’ll find insights to ponder, student chi to keep your own chi topped off, and plenty of proven training techniques to test on your own body, mind, and spirit! Also, you’ll find my very popular Race Reports, and news of our Sangha’s (community’s) latest transpersonal fitness adventures!