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Pratyahara is the fifth limb of the eight limbs of yoga and it means the withdrawal of senses and drawing awareness away from the external world in order to create a stable, calm, anchored and balanced inner life. The foundation of pratyahara is the intentional absence of curiosity about outside stimuli. In modern life it has become even more imperative to practice pratyahara on a daily basis in these ways:
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- Withdrawal from news media, most of which tends to agitate mind and emotions.
- Withdrawal from individuals who are prone to drama creating stress and tension and from persons who are pessimistic, cynical and unkind, infecting others with their negativity.
- Withdrawal from social media eliminating the comparison of oneself to others and becoming unhappy and distressed with one’s own life.
- Withdraw from 24/7 access of email, cell phone, computers.
- Withdrawal from family members who are addicts and whose behavior is dishonest, deceitful, manipulative and untrustworthy.
- Withdrawal from relationships where there is anger, jealously, abuse, secrecy, inequality, judgment, disrespect and which are generally unhealthy.
- Withdrawal from media which presents unfettered violent images.
- Withdrawal from habits which are detrimental to body, mind and spirit.
- Withdrawal from friendships which hamper, impede and interfere with our growth and evolution.
- Withdrawal daily life and routine to spend a few days in silence and meditation from time to time.
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The web site Medical Daily, had an article on five benefits of meditation. The first four are well known: better sleep, pain management, mood lift, emotional intelligence. It was the last one which caught my eye. Couple who meditate together find their relationship becomes stronger, healthier. Here's what the site says:
"Dyadic meditation refers to the practice of two people meditating together. It is believed that this could help improve relationships with a partner by promoting closeness and communication.
As researcher Bethany Kok notes, regular conversations are often constrained and focused on what a person should say next instead of listening to others. Dyadic meditation, on the other hand, teaches people to pay close attention and listen to their partner in a calm, accepting manner."
"Dyadic meditation refers to the practice of two people meditating together. It is believed that this could help improve relationships with a partner by promoting closeness and communication.
As researcher Bethany Kok notes, regular conversations are often constrained and focused on what a person should say next instead of listening to others. Dyadic meditation, on the other hand, teaches people to pay close attention and listen to their partner in a calm, accepting manner."
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I believe we are called today . . . to move beyond our own tribalisms, our racial and ethnic and national and class smallness, and let our vision of human wholeness become a basis for a more genuine community, a model of what can be. One way [to do this] is by participating in multiple religious traditions. - Gene Reeves
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(public domain image from www.pixabay.com)
Sunlight is good for body, mind and spirit. That's why the yoga tradition has alwasys recommended doing yoga outside in nature and in the presence of sunlight.
Now, a new study suggests sunlight also keeps us healthy by destroying bacteria that lurk indoors. The sanitizing effects are impressively close to those of ultraviolet light.
For their experiment, researchers at the University of Oregon collected dust from homes in Portland and placed it in dollhouse-sized rooms. The dust inside the tiny rooms — and the microscopic creatures that lived within — stayed there for 90 days under three conditions: exposed to daylight through regular glass; UV light alone; and total darkness.
When the team counted and inspected the bacterial samples, they were surprised by what they found. Lit rooms seem to harbor only half as many viable bacteria when compared to dark rooms, and nearly as few as those in the UV room. Researchers found 12% of bacteria in dark rooms were viable, compared to 6.8% in sun lit rooms and 6.1% in rooms with UV light only, according to the findings published in the journal Microbiome.
Ultraviolet (UV) light is a form of light that is invisible to the human eye. One of the biological characteristics of UV light is that it is germicidal – meaning it is capable of inactivating microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.
So, keep your curtains open permitting as much natural sunlight into your home as possible.
Sunlight is good for body, mind and spirit. That's why the yoga tradition has alwasys recommended doing yoga outside in nature and in the presence of sunlight.
Now, a new study suggests sunlight also keeps us healthy by destroying bacteria that lurk indoors. The sanitizing effects are impressively close to those of ultraviolet light.
For their experiment, researchers at the University of Oregon collected dust from homes in Portland and placed it in dollhouse-sized rooms. The dust inside the tiny rooms — and the microscopic creatures that lived within — stayed there for 90 days under three conditions: exposed to daylight through regular glass; UV light alone; and total darkness.
When the team counted and inspected the bacterial samples, they were surprised by what they found. Lit rooms seem to harbor only half as many viable bacteria when compared to dark rooms, and nearly as few as those in the UV room. Researchers found 12% of bacteria in dark rooms were viable, compared to 6.8% in sun lit rooms and 6.1% in rooms with UV light only, according to the findings published in the journal Microbiome.
Ultraviolet (UV) light is a form of light that is invisible to the human eye. One of the biological characteristics of UV light is that it is germicidal – meaning it is capable of inactivating microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.
So, keep your curtains open permitting as much natural sunlight into your home as possible.
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Selfishness is either self-centered or self-extended. - A. C. Bhaktivedanta
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Even in small amounts, intoxicating substances can make us less sensitive, more easily swayed by gross motivations of anger and greed. Some people defend the use of drugs or alcohol, saying that these substances are not so bad. On the contrary, they are very dangerous; they can lead even a good hearted person into forgetfulness. Like accomplices to a crime, intoxicants open the door to a host of problems from just talking nonsense, to inexplicable bursts of rage, to negligence that could be fatal to oneself or others Indeed any intoxicated person is unpredictable. Abstaining from intoxicants is therefore a way of protecting all the other precepts. - Sadyadaw U Pandita
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When you’re on social media
resist the impulse to
compare your insides
with other people’s
outsides.
- Victor M. Parachin
resist the impulse to
compare your insides
with other people’s
outsides.
- Victor M. Parachin
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In 1958 McCall's magazine published a feature "129 Ways To Get A Husband". For your reading pleasure here are the top 10 ways to find a man, 1958 style:
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- Get a dog and walk it.
- Have your car break down at strategic places.
- Attend night school - take courses men like.
- Look in the census report for the place with the most single men. Nevada has 125 men for every 100 females.
- Read the obituaries to find eligible widowers.
- Take up golf and go to different gold courses.
- Sit on a park bench and feed the pigeons.
- Take a bicycle trip through Europe.
- Get a job in a medical, dental or law school.
- Become a nurse or an airline stewardess - they have high marriage rates.
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Meghan Markle, married to Prince Harry and now part of the royal family, has a very busy schedule traveling, visiting and representing Great Britain. She's also pregnant. In order to do her daily yoga/medation practice she rises at 4:30 am to do it.
That's very inspiring and cuts through the often heard excuse "I don't have time!" Markle experienced yoga from a young ages because her mother was a yoga instructor and actually practiced yoga while pregnant with Meghan.
Meghan has said she was “very resistant” to doing yoga as a kid, but her mom kept encouraging her. “She said, ‘Flower, you will find your practice–just give it time,’” Meghan said. “In college, I started doing it more regularly.”
If you yoga practice isn't as regular and smooth as you'd like it to be take these two lesso ns from Meghan Markle's life: 1) just do it; 2) hear her mother whisper "you will find your practice - just give it time."
That's very inspiring and cuts through the often heard excuse "I don't have time!" Markle experienced yoga from a young ages because her mother was a yoga instructor and actually practiced yoga while pregnant with Meghan.
Meghan has said she was “very resistant” to doing yoga as a kid, but her mom kept encouraging her. “She said, ‘Flower, you will find your practice–just give it time,’” Meghan said. “In college, I started doing it more regularly.”
If you yoga practice isn't as regular and smooth as you'd like it to be take these two lesso ns from Meghan Markle's life: 1) just do it; 2) hear her mother whisper "you will find your practice - just give it time."
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One person's awakening will enlighten countless others. - Buddhist Proverb