May 2017

Blue Lotus

5-29-2017

Say "Yes!" To the Call

Paula Whang-Ramos

"We are all called to rise in great and small ways throughout our life.

We never know the extent of our divine potential until a time or a situation arises that both requires it of us and allows it to come forth."

~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian

My friend, Ali, was a beautiful expression of the Divine Mother. She took in all the unwanted babies in our neighborhood and loved them into their independence. She joyfully, patiently raised the cute, cuddly ones, and the defiant, unfriendly ones.

Ali freely shared love and kindness with all she met. It was as if Ali saw beneath our frailties and loved us from a higher view that we were not always able to see in ourselves. Ali's unconditional generosity did not reflect any of the hardships and losses that she personally experienced in her own life. Nowhere in her presence was her own past suffering revealed.

And, years after the end of her earth life, whenever I think of my friend, she reminds me of the power of love and gratitude that can carry, guide, and grow us beyond our life circumstances, into the divine beings that we all are. In divine grace, she still reminds me to say "Yes!" to the inner call to love all beings, even the defiant, unfriendly ones...furry and furless alike.

Join us at Blue Lotus Center and rest in the love and remembrance of the divine potential that indwells us all. The Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds. Beginning and experienced participants from all traditions are welcome at all groups and classes.

5-22-2017

Live from the Freedom of the Self

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Lack of Self-awareness causes a mistaken sense of Self."
Yoga Sutra 2.24

Don't we enjoy a good movie that takes us on a journey of mystery and adventure, and then returns us to safety at the end? It can be entertaining to be swept into the film story as we are temporarily lifted out of the daily details of our lives. However, when we allow ourselves to be swept into the stories of the mind, we actually contribute to our suffering, as we perceive life through the biased filters of thoughts, opinions and memories. We may even blame another person, circumstance, or deity for our life, and further disempower ourselves by not turning within to the essential wholeness that we are.

The study and practice of Yoga involves UNlearning who we mistakenly thought we were, so the truth of our fabulousness can be revealed. Grounded in the Source of life, we live from the higher true Self. From the Self, we can enjoy the mystery and adventure of our lives from a broader, deeper wisdom, clarity, and joy. And, when we do get wrapped up in the mind's stories, Yoga shows us the path and practice to return into the indwelling peace and love of the Self that we all seek.

Join us this Tuesday for the opportunity to receive Yogacharya O'Brian's inspiration and teachings from The Yoga Sutra, the oldest manual on yoga and yogic living. Learn how to UNlearn our stories of smallness, so we can live in the freedom of the Self. The Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds. Beginning and experienced participants from all traditions are welcome at all groups and classes.

5-15-2017

What is Yoga?

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Practice of yoga eliminates obstacles to Self-knowledge."

Yoga Sutra 2.28

In popular culture, yoga is sometimes considered a form of exercise, stress management, beautification or even weight loss. And, while the practice of yoga may enhance these processes, none of them is the ultimate practice of yoga.

Yoga is a way of living, free from the suffering of the reactive mind, even in the face of life challenges. Yoga is the conscious choice, again and again, to intelligently and compassionately unplug from fear based stories that keep us small, so we can courageously take our place in Life and fulfill the reason we took birth. Yoga is the ancient practice of returning, remembering and living in the essential wholeness and goodness of the Source of all life. Yoga is a way of thinking, speaking and behaving from a conscious awareness, based on time-tested techniques suitable for sincere seekers from all backgrounds. Yoga is a way of peacefully, gratefully being in the world, grounded in the power and presence of the One in all, including all of us.

Join us this Tuesday for the opportunity to receive Yogacharya O'Brian's inspiration and teachings from The Yoga Sutra, the oldest manual on yoga and yogic living. Gift your Self the opportunity to experience time-tested, practical methods and to claim peace, love and wholeness in this lifetime.

5-8-2017

Wise Mind, Compassionate Heart

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Progress is in accord with intensity of practice, whether mild, medium, or extremely intensive."

Yoga Sutra 1.22

Imagine what it would be like to live from a wise mind and a compassionate heart? Unexpected change could be welcomed instead of feared, perceived differences could be celebrated instead of judged, and conversations could be held in communion instead of verbal defensiveness. The Yoga Sutra, the oldest spiritual manual on meditation and yoga in the world, offers instruction on meditation and universal spiritual practices to live from our wise minds and compassionate hearts.

The Yoga Sutra teaches us that the depth of peace, love and wholeness that we experience is based on the depth of our spiritual practice. If we are superficially committed to our practice, then we will reap superficial, very temporary peace and clarity. If we invest a somewhat deeper commitment, then we will experience a somewhat deeper benefit. And, if we fully live these ancient teachings to the best of our ability in all areas of our lives, then we can directly experience a power and presence of the Source of life, ever guiding and inspiring us in all areas of our lives, transforming us into agents of joy, peace, love and wholeness.

Join us at CSE and BLC this Tuesday for the rare opportunity to study and experience The Yoga Sutra with Yogacharya O'Brian. Gift your Self, your family and your community the opportunity to experience your life from your wise minds and compassionate hearts.

5-1-2017

Awakening Divine Wisdom Within

Paula Whang-Ramos

"To contemplate scripture as a vital source of guidance,read and then ask within to know its true meaning.
Inner wisdom will then be the guiding light toward right action.”
~ Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian

Yoga means yoking or returning to our essential wholeness. Within our essential wholeness is the divine wisdom that planned and manifested all of life as we know it. This wisdom is universal, and unbounded by time and space. Wouldn’t it be fabulous to be able to access this limitless indwelling guidance to address our current life challenges?

To help us live from divine wisdom within, the study of our true Self and sacred scripture is one of the foundational practices in Kriya Yoga. In this tradition, we do not study sacred scripture to find answers within the pages of the text. Instead, we study scripture to reveal the divine wisdom that already indwells each of us, and that is waiting to be heard by us now.

Join us for two empowering opportunities to learn and practice the contemplative study of sacred scripture. This Tuesday, at BLC I will be teaching "Awakening Divine Wisdom Within: An Introduction to Contemplative Scripture Study”. Learn simple, inspiring techniques to open into your inner wisdom revealed in The Yoga Sutra, the sacred text on meditation and yoga. Next Tuesday, join Yogacharya O'Brian for "How to Have a Wise Mind and Compassionate Heart". Experience contemplative study in action as Yogacharya brings to life the sacred teachings of The Yoga Sutra.

Join us for both classes and practice the techniques learned in the Contemplative Scripture Study class in your study with Yogacharya O'Brian. Experience how vibrantly supportive and unexpectedly enjoyable the contemplative study of sacred scripture can truly be when is it experienced from the inside out.

AWAKENING DIVINE WISDOM WITHIN: AN INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPLATIVE SCRIPTURE STUDY
2 Tuesday evenings, May 2 and May 30 from 7:00-8:30
Blue Lotus Center, Dry Creek Village, Gilroy
Free Will Offering

Meditation & Yoga Center:
CSE south county meditation center