so there i was the other week, fully immersed in my mantra while doing one of my Morning Rituals; Zen Sweeping along the Buddha Garden Path. Suddenly, this lady comes walking hard upon Mother Earth, turning toward me right around the corner in my own backyard. Startled like a deer from my inner reverie, i regained my lost mantra composure and peaceful countenance nearly within the same instant. Recovery is everything in life. You know, in sports performance, usually it is he or she who recovers fastest – heart rate wise, neurally wise, physiologically wise – who wins. Well, in the Spiritual Journey, the same notion is even more vital to winning the Human Race (attainment of Enlightenment/end of Cyclic Existence). In the same way recovering from hard efforts while bike racing or running can get you onto the podium, recovering your mantra during daily life is really, really everything.
i mean everything!
why?
ilg will tell you why.
it’s all about our Bardo Entry; that is, that ultra critical mOMent while, anticipated or unexpectedly (like the lady walking into my Zen Sweeping reverie) we take our Last Gasp; our final breath, our exit wind. the Mind Quality at that mOMent is our ‘hole shot’ into the Bardo; the nearly 50 Consciousness Realms of high intensity that we all must navigate before taking another body in any one of the Six Realms.
so the other day i was out Inline Ski Skating, working my Mantra into my synchronized rhythm of poling and skate movement which is really just a beautiful Nordic Dance to my spirit. Anywhooooo, this big ol’ 4×4 pickup (why is it ALWAYS pickups?) comes barreling next to me, nearly carving off my left deltoid like a slab of turkey flesh tomorrow. Instead of Anger Arising, there was only Mantra Intensification…that is to say, if i woulda got nailed by that pickup and was sent to the Bardo courtesy of heavy metal collision, my final Mind Wave would not have been, “You goddamned red necked, heavy-on-the-earth mothafucker!!!!” Hell no. instead, my Mind Waves would be saturated with the eon-old and Master proven Bardo Beneficiary of the Sacred Mantra…and that literally, makes a world of difference in the Death and Rebirth Realms. It was like when Gandhi got murdered. as the bullet entered His flesh, He did not cuss, He did not even scream out in pain. all that was heard, reportedly, was a visceral uttering of His mantra;
“RAM!”
contemplate that One…my Noble Yogis! then, contemplate this One; iPods ruin Mantra. and no, you are not allowed to download a Mantra CD into your iPod and think that if you die while listening to the Mantra in your IgnorancePod you’re gonna be whisked past the Bardo Intensities by some good looking Godlike Being into Nirvana. doesn’t work that way. you have to do the mental workout of keeping the undisciplined Mind disciplined while under high intensity effort.
so, double anywhooooo…after this lady startles me from my Mantra while Zen Sweeping and i recover quickly thanks to inspirational Masters like Ghandi, i realize that she is the Gas Meter Lady come to check my gas meter, right? she asked me,
“Are you sweeping air?”
odd comment, thought i. so, i figure it was one of my Tibetan Teachers in drag come to test me, right?
so, i smiled as sweetly as i could toward her, replying, “why yes, you might very well say that!”
as i heard her heavy footsteps pounding away, another thought interrupted my Mantra Consciousness. i chose to allow it to linger for a mOMent as the autumn air danced between the soft bristles of my India Broom…”Isn’t that just what we all do here on this plane(t)…is not our Breath merely a sweeping of God’s air?”
May Your Practice Be Strong and Sincere,
your mountain yogi beneath the Sacred Peak
ps; yesterday, i released my MULA BANDHA AUDIO MEDITATION. i attempted to email many of you. i am watching closely who is hungry for this Precious Teaching. little response dictates what type of DVD and AUDIO products i release in the future. you are pacing me to Coach you as High as you wish…you show me your Hunger for the Real Inner Workouts, and i will Serve you at that level. if you want to keep my work with you in the lower chakra realms like just focusing on bodyfat loss, sport performance, and physical fitness stuff; fine. we’ll play that game. just remember, i only got about five more years of public Teaching in this manner…you better be sure you ‘train’ me to Serve you in the Highest Way you want! you can order the Mula Bandha Audio Meditation on the WholisticFitness.com Pro Shop under Pay Per MPEG category. and no, i ain’t gonna provide a hyperlink to take you directly to my Mula Bandha Meditation you lazy mofo! ilg is not here to train lazyness into you, regardless of what may be ‘more effective business techniques’ on my end. if you ain’t got the gumption to take a few more seconds to work your way over to my Online Pro Shop and order the Mula Bandha Audio Meditation? i promise you this much, you ain’t ready to climb up the Steep and Direct Path of where i would really, really like to climb with you!