(Hey cool...a pic of the Big D)
I hope everyone is well. While my spirits are good, my energy feels a little low today and I know why...tomorrow is a new moon. More recently, I've been observing the lunar cycles in my Yoga practice, opting to not engage in a physical practice during full and new moons. This is an Ashtanga Yoga tradition and I'm realizing this teaching is very wise. Typically, Ashtanga Yogis do not practice during these phases of the moon, and the passage below explains why. The following information comes from the Ashtanga Yoga Center website. It also has a list of what days the full and new moons will be for the rest of the year. I highly recommend being attuned to the lunar cycles as this will help you greatly to understand what you are feeling energetically. Renowned Yogini, Shiva Rea, schedules all of her Yoga teacher trainings and workshops according to the lunar cycle and I can now see why. In fact, at the exhale spa studio in Venice, CA, there is a large lunar cycle chart on the wall outside the entrance to the Yoga studio room. It's important to be attuned to the lunar cycles so you can better take care of yourself and understand your body's rhythms.

Like all things of a watery nature (human beings are about 70% water), we are affected by the phases of the moon. The phases of the moon are determined by the moon’s relative position to the sun. Full moons occur when they are in opposition and new moons when they are in conjunction. Both sun and moon exert a gravitational pull on the earth. Their relative positions create different energetic experiences that can be compared to the breath cycle. The full moon energy corresponds to the end of inhalation when the force of prana is greatest. This is an expansive, upward moving force that makes us feel energetic and emotional, but not well grounded. The Upanishads state that the main prana lives in the head. During the full moon we tend to be more headstrong.

The new moon energy corresponds to the end of exhalation when the force of apana is greatest. Apana is a contracting, downward moving force that makes us feel calm and grounded, but dense and disinclined towards physical exertion.

The Farmers Almanac recommends planting seeds at the new moon when the rooting force is strongest and transplanting at the full moon when the flowering force is strongest.

Practicing Yoga over time makes us more attuned to natural cycles. Observing moon days is one way to recognize and honor the rhythms of nature so we can live in greater harmony with it.

Something else we learned about while I was in L.A. at the SRF Convocation are the Yugas. Although I've had some understanding of the Yugas in Yoga, it helped to hear one of the monks talk about it. Apparently, we are 300 years into the ascending age of Dwapara Yuga. I'd like to post a passage from a book called A World in Transition: Finding Spiritual Security in Times of Change by Paramahansa Yogananda with writings also by Sri Daya Mata, Tara Mata, Mrinalini Mata, and Brother Anandamoy. This wil help us all to better understand the Yugas, or World Cycles. This passage is written by Brother Achalananda.

The Yugas, or World Cycles

In The Holy Science, Swami Sri Yukteswar, Paramhansa Yogananda's guru, explains that human civilization follows a definite cycle of evolution and devolution, upward and downward through four ages or yugas. In the scriptures of India these four ages are called Kali Yuga (which lasts for 1,200 years), Dwapara Yuga (2,400 years), Treta Yuga (3,600 years), and Satya Yuga (4,800 years). These correspond to the less specific Greek concepts of Iron Age, Bronze Age, Silver Age, and Golden Age. Many illustrations from history could be given to show the workings of these ascending and descending cycles, which consist of 12,000 years of upward evolution of civilization followed by 12,000 years of gradual degeneration.

With the rise and fall of these cycles, man's ability to grasp the true nature of creation and of himself increases and decreases correspondingly. In Kali Yuga, when man in general is completely blinded by maya (cosmic delusion), he cannot conceive of anything subtler than the physical attributes of the world around him - solids, liquids, gases. During this period man is totally absorbed in the problems of material existence - food, shelter, fuel for warmth, the other basic necessities for physical survival. As the cycle ascends to Dwapara Yuga, his consciousness becomes refined to the point where he can go beyond gross outer forms and comprehend the subtler forces-the atomic and electromagnetic structure of creation. In Treta Yuga he advances further, and gains knowledge and power of the attributes of universal magnetism, the underlying source of all electrical forces. And in the highest age, Satya Yuga, his consciousness is attuned to the presence of God-the creative power emanating from the Divine, which sustains the universe through vibration. In the descending half of the cycle, this process is reversed. A more complete discussion of the yugas may be found in The Holy Science, by Swami Sri Yukteswar (published by Self-Realization Fellowship).

The following passage was written by Paramahansa Yogananda himself.

I will explain briefly about the life cycles of the earth. These cycles consist of 24,000 years, divided into four yugas or ages-12,000 years of ascending through these yugas to increasing enlightenment, and then 12,000 years of descending through the yugas to increasing ignorance and materialism. Each of the half-cycles is called a Daiva Yuga. The earth has already passed through many complete cycles since the dawn of creation. The four ages of each Daiva Yuga are Kali Yuga, the dark or materialistic age; Dwapara Yuga, the electrical or atomic age; Treta Yuga, the mental age; and Satya Yuga, the age of truth or enlightenment.

Dwapara Yuga, The Present Cycle

The earth has already passed through Kali Yuga, the materialistic age of 1,200 years' duration. According to the calculations of my guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, we are about 240 (now 300-this writing is from the 1930s) years into Dwapara Yuga. Now
in its ascendancy, this is the electrical age, even though it may yet seem very materialistic. If you think about it, you will see how man has progressed from comprehending only gross matter to understanding and harnessing the energy in matter. In this age, man will make great headway in the electrical or electromagnetic field.

As Dwapara Yuga progresses, diseases will be treated and healed more and more by rays. Vibratory energy can reach the electronic factors of the atoms, the building blocks of matter, where gross chemicals cannot penetrate. After this war, you will see a great surge of devlopment in electrical science. Aviation will develop tremendously also. Travel will be much, much more by air. Planes are still viewed with doubt by many today, just as trains were once looked upon with fear; but planes are already taking over, and trains have become almost a thing of the past. Gradually, automobiles will come to be considered as carts.

The trouble in the second age is that there is not enough security, because science plays the part of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Man uses science not only to create and do good, but to destroy as well. Therefore scientific development is not yet safe. The present World War shows how technology of science is being used to destroy mankind. Out of conflict we will learn how to employ more scientific devices for human comfort. But unless we develop spiritual forces, we will also continue to use scientific knowledge to destroy.

People will learn from this war the devestating consequences of the misuse of technology. In the First World War, and in earlier times, it was considered chivalrous to fight. But the idea of chivalry has gone. In this war, no one wants to fight. After it is over, there will be so much fear of world devestation that if anybody tries to start a war, the rest of the world will fall upon that nation. I am telling you things far ahead of my time...

Man's destructive potential has grown much greater than his constructive power. There will be no safety in the electrical age. Methods of war on a greater and greater scale will come. So thank God that Dwapara Yuga, the electrical age, is only 2,400 years.

Here is one more passage written by Paramahansa Yogananda. I will post more information on the ages to come of Treta and Satya in the next couple of days. This is fascinating information, but I want to give you some time to soak it in. Here is the last article, entitled:

How Our World Will Change
From a magazine article published in April 1942, in which Yogananda made the following predictions about how the world will change as it moves into the new era:

America and India, situated on opposite sides of the earth, will represent the two highest types of ideal material civilization and ideal spiritual civilization. They will influence the whole world with their combined civilization. The material efficiency of America combined with the spiritual efficiency of India will lead the world to a balanced existence.

Science and religion will join hands to prevent the misuse of science in wars and to free religion from superstition, thus giving all the world a securer civilization.

Experimental psychology will investigate religious methods and yoga techniques for human perfection and God-contact.

No matter what happens, the world will become better and better until the United States of India, Asia, of Europe and of the Americas are achieved and become ready to amalgamate into the United States of the World.

The United States of the World will not come in a day nor in our lifetime, but a great deal of groundwork will be prepared in this twentieth century.

Yogananda also says to 'rise above the age in which you are born.'

"You do not have to wait for the end of the world in order to be free. There is another way: rise above the age in which you are born. In the material age, the majority of mankind is materially minded. But you will also find those who are living ahead of their times, Christlike souls. In the mental and electrical ages, you will find predominant the mentalities characteristic of those yugas. At the same time, there are other mentalities-some that are more highly evolved, and others not yet as highly evolved. Thus in the electrical age you can find people who are still living in the stone age. There is always a balance: some who are living ahead and some who are living behind the age of the civilization in which they are born.

Through repeated incarnations, those of lesser development will gradually advance until they express the mentality of the age in which they reincarnate, and eventually, the qualities characteristic of the higher ages yet to come. The cycles of this world are like a see-saw going up and down. But when we hasten our evolution through right living and a spiritual technique such as Kriya Yoga, we can find freedom in God within this or only a few lifetimes.

Another way in which we experience the end of the world is in the detachment that is felt in sleep, in dreams, in losing one's mind, and in death. These conditions are forced on us; so it seems that the experience of the end of the world is necessary to us. Its purpose is to teach us the delusive nature of the world and the true nature of our Self, the soul. The soul comes on earth and becomes entangled in the mesh of delusion. Through the suffering that comes to us then, the Lord wants us to see that the world is not perfect. In this way He helps us to break our attachment to it. God is trying to make us realize, through nonidentification with it, how delusive our existence here is. The more I saw of the world and its defects, the greater became my determination to know God.

I hope this helps to shed some Light on the spiritual evolution of our souls and planet. It's fascinating to consider all of this. The most important thing is to keep practicing Yoga, and when I say Yoga, I don't mean just the poses, ultimately, Yoga is meditation. So, keep allowing your Yoga practice of meditation to grow deeper and deeper. The most important thing we can cultivate is a desire to know God and this is a desire no one can give us, it is one we must find within ourself. But, I do believe the more we realize the delusive nature of the world, just as Yogananda says, the stronger we grow in that desire.

Blessings with each breath we breathe and may we share this Light, these blessings with all of those we know. Joy, joy, joy, joy ever-new joy, joy. Om shanti~namaste :)
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(Picture from lawn at the SRF Mother Center in L.A. overlooking the downtown skyline. We meditated and chanted on those grounds sitting above the City of Angels.)

My experience at the Self-Realization Fellowship Convocation in Los Angeles this past week was one of the most powerful experiences of my life.

I had no idea what to expect, other than knowing I would be participating in a week-long event of spiritual talks, daily meditations, devotional chanting and fellowship with 4,000 fellow Truth seekers. I am almost speechless in communicating my experience, as there doesn't seem to be any words to effectively describe how incredible it was...

What I can say, is I left Dallas last Saturday with a tremendous amount of tension and pain, not only in my body (in my neck and shoulders) but also in my heart and mind, healing from the loss of my father 9 months ago, and many other changes, as well. I have felt the healing from this powerful week and I am deeply humbled and grateful for the amazing energy I received from the blessings of Sangha (spiritual friendship) and Spirit. Paramahansa Yogananda truly is a Master, a Guru, and those who seek attunement with him and God, have the gift of healing others just by being in their Presence. And being in their Presence is incredible and uplifting as they are some of the most Divinely beautiful people I have ever seen...they radiate Joy, Light and Peace. There were 4,000 of us meditating and chanting together twice a day, one hour in the morning, and one hour in the evening. Everyday we participated in a healing ceremony, asking for and praying for healing for the bodies, minds and hearts of everyone we know, and praying for healing and peace on our planet. I have never meditated with 4,000 people. I hope everyone of you has the opportunity to experience this at some point in your life. In fact, I hope you have the opportunity to attend an SRF Convocation, I can assure you it will be one of the most powerful and positive experiences of your life. And, the Convocation itself is very affordable. But, a prerequisite to being able to attend is the study of the SRF Meditation Lessons, which can be ordered and sent to you via mail. They are incredible and I've been studying them for two years. The meditation lessons teach you the most effective meditation techniques on the planet, which are the techniques for Kriya Yoga, which include the Energization Exercises, the Hong-Sau technique and the Aum technique. This may not make sense to you but if you study the lessons it will. The lessons do, by the way, take a couple of years to complete. The sooner you begin, the better. I first learned these techniques about a year ago, but haven't been practicing them regularly yet. I am now committed to practicing them consistenly, as this is also a prerequisite to receiving Kriya Yoga. Yogananda suggests practicing the Energization exercises twice daily, in the morning and evening, although a beginner would benefit greatly from a consistent once-daily practice of the exercises. I've been wanting to learn them more thoroughly, and because I am a visual learner, I found this DVD of them online. Apparently, Yogananda never missed a day of doing the exercises, or meditating for that matter. There's a story they tell where they say one of the nuns saw Yogananda doing his exercises out on the lawn in the afternoon. A half hour later they saw him doing them again and they asked him why he was doing them twice. He replied saying he had missed his morning routine, so he did the first set to make up for the morning and the second set was his evening routine. They also say he did them, even on the day he died, which that story is remarkable in and of itself. This website give you a little insight into the miraculous days that followed his death, with no visible signs of decay in his body, even 20 days after he had passed away. But, there is also a story of his last few hours and the speech he gave at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, which I hope you will get to visit yourself and hear one day, as well. I also learned that George Harrison was a devotee of Parmahansa Yogananda. In one of my Yoga classes before attending Convocation, I mentioned that the Beatles had studied Yoga in India, but I didn't realize George Harrison was a devotee of Yogananda himself. That's awesome, what a blessing to be attuned to the same Guru as George Harrison...Hare Krishna, Hare Om. Shanti, shanti, shanti. Jai Guru. (I learned Jai Guru means victory to the Guru...Jai Guru!)

So, what else, besides feeling this tremendously positive healing from this amazing and life-changing, strengthening and enhancing experience. (Which I believe we are all feeling the blessing of in our own way, not only because 4,000 people were collectively praying for and meditating for each of us, but because we are all interconnected and as each one of us aligns with the Divine, and realizes that Divine and Higher attunement with Truth/God/Guru, it flows outwardly to each and everyone around us. That's how important our own transformation is. As Gandhi said, we really must be the change we wish to see in the world, and the true practice, although we are not expected to be perfect, but the true practice is to keep being it, i.e. devoting ourselves to meditation, Higher Consciousness, and to find that better alignment when we realize we have become deluded by the trappings of worldy desires, once again, forgetting our connection to the One who ignites all things into Being, whatever we consider this One to be. The reality is, this Source exists. The great mystic Kabir said...Student tell me what is God? He is the breath inside the breath. This is why Patanjali, the Father of Yoga, said we don't have to believe in God, but we must honor the breath, become conscious of the breath, for in the breath is the very essence of Consciousness itself. We must surrender our Will to the attunement/alignment with that Higher Consciousness, and to being guided by it each breath of the way. And, we must learn to truly love and honor that Consciousness in each other, meaning we sincerely and completely wish the best, the Absolute Highest, for each and everyone. And, it is the Consciousness/Truth that will set us free, in our ever-deepening devotion to it. Will we succumb to our lower nature at times? The monks say even the most devoted of Yogis will, but each we time we experience pain from our worldly experiences we remember that the ultimate Joy and fulfillment can only be found in our devotion to the One who ignited us into Being. Not even the best relationship in the world with another human being can be a substitute for that relationship with Supreme Consciousness..) I look forwrad to sharing more of the wisdom and inspiration I received from this blessed experience as we journey along.

Something I want to share with you is this ecstatic dance happening next weekend in Dallas on Sunday from 9-12 pm. I will be attending this event and hope you will, too. It's a 5Rhythms Moving Meditation, which is what ecstatic dance actually is, (moving meditation) and it's going to be amazing. I can't think of a better time to let go and flow with everything we've been letting go of and releasing in our body, heart and mind. Here's a little description about the experience, you can learn more here. I hope to see you there!

Grounded in our feet and with an open heart, we release our head to free our mind and step into the deep intuitive field of the rhythm of Chaos.

In Chaos we empty out into creativity and possibility. As we release control, we let go of contraries and begin dissolving all opposites. In Chaos we surrender fully to the dance deconstructing ourselves and all our movements until we are liberated and recreated once again. Chaos is the realm of nature and the intuitive mind. We dive below the surface of the dance, letting go of thinking, agendas, and plans so we can meet our real impulses and our spontaneous poetic intelligence; freeing them to move through our bodies and hearts and then into our creative projects, our relationships, and our artful, original lives.

"The teaching of chaos is to constantly seek the opposite and accept the contradictions.

When you're feeling joy, tune into your sorrow.
When you're feeling writer's block, keep your hand moving on the page.
When you're feeling rushed, move more slowly.
When you're paralyzed with fear, crank up the volume and DANCE." -Gabrielle Roth

"To let myself go
To let myself flow
Is the only way of Being.

There's no use telling me
There's no use taking a step back
A step back from me."

-To Let Myself Go, Ane Brun

Oh, and also, the new Prana Flow Yoga Class I am teaching at Karmany Yoga will begin this Saturday, August 15th. The class will be every Saturday from 9 - 1015 am. I am REALLY looking forward to this Yoga class and practice together. It's going to be awesome to be able expand into new horizons in our Yoga practice and lives and to feel the blessing of community strengthening us with each breath we breathe along the way. Namaste! Read more