Are you interested in living in a sublime mansion for an investment of as little as one hour of your time each week? Sounds like the saccharine sweet promise of a late night real-estate infomercial. But alas leave it to the Buddhists to come through on the deal. They’ve named your body – yes your body - as one of the best places to live in the world, make that the universe.
So how do you go about movin’ on up?
Our resident yoga-book-club introduced us to the national best-seller, Awakening the Buddha Within, by Lamas Surya Das. Well worth your read—superbly written, light on dogma and chock full of sensible practices. In the chapter on right effort, the author suggests you can build a marvelous internal living space by focusing on the four heart-titudes, otherwise known as divine abodes (or homes):
1. Loving kindness and friendliness
2. Compassion and empathy
3. Joy and rejoicing
4. Equanimity and peace of mind
Turns out we are no strangers to the four heart-titudes. (…and you know how much I love connecting the dots, no matter how Rorschach-ink-blot loose the association!) Who knew, but the four heart-titudes correlate to the Tibetan prayer recited from time to time during our opening meditation; Sally Kempton gifts it at the beginning of each of her meditation tele-sessions. Give it a try. When read with sincerity, it can melt the moment and begin to clear away the internal clutter.
May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness
May all beings be free of suffering and the causes of suffering
May they know the scared joy that that arises in the space beyond suffering
May they rest in equanimity that knows no grasping or hatred
May they experience the equality of all beings
May my practice be of benefit to all
And so…we similarly used our physical yoga asana practice to spruce up our inner mansions. You did a lot of heart-openers (back bends) and in the spirit of a practice that benefits all, you helped each other into handstand. No yogi was left behind. You infused each pose with whichever heart-titude struck your fancy–-you made joy, compassion, friendliness etc. right there on your mat.
Stop searching and start making.
You proved to yourself that through practice you can "make" so much of what you are searching for. Any time, any where, therein lays the latent potential of tuning in and dialing-up a heart-titude.
Granted, it is not always easy or even clinically possible for some of us to draw out joy or empathy on demand. We’ve all had days maybe even weeks, months, or years where ‘fake it until you make it’ has been our only option. And yet, more often than not I’ve seen a wide variety of people turn into magicians on their yoga mats. Instead of pulling rabbits out of hats – poof! – in 90 minutes or less they’re spinning heart-titudes seemingly out of thin air.
Just do it.
Now, some of you suggested (smiling): Buddhism equals new-agey equals skeptical. Fair enough. You do not attend a public yoga class looking to practice a new (another) religion. Reading a book about Buddhism, let alone practicing it, is not your thing. You are not believers rather you are practical. You simply want to feel good, be better. If an eastern inspired (or best said any practice) works, enhances your life here and now –helps you to be a good parent, employee, child, leader, friend, lover, etc... you’re in.
So we welcomed your inner skeptic as the author suggested. We took off the table whether or not we “believed” in Buddhist concepts such as reincarnation or Bodhisattva status. And instead we put the Buddhist heart-titude practice up to your “does it work and is it useful” test. As an example we contemplated what would happen if we did not build space (a room) within ourselves furnished with loving-kindness and forgiveness. Our conclusion…
Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head. – Esther Lederer
Yep, count most of you in (…especially the capitalists in class ;) Seems most everyone had a few pesky tenants in need of an eviction.
How do the practices work?
It’s complicated.
And the more I learn the less I know (…rats!) What I’ve come to appreciate however is that there are many ways to describe the mystery of our experiences and each of us has a preferred vernacular. For some it is science, others philosophy, art, poetry, architecture, and the list goes on and on. Yet while each of us may prefer a particular language, the basic themes are so often similar. It is with this in mind that I shared the scientific explanations of heart oriented practices below not as proof per se but rather to offer “one” way to describe my experience and maybe yours too.
• How God Changes Your Brain is a book by Dr. Andrew Newberg, a professor of neuro-theology. In it he explains how the anterior cingulate cortex connects the rational (mind) and emotional (heart) parts of the brain. The cortex is activated when you mediate on heart-titudes like love, joy, or hope thereby increasing the communication between the heart and mind parts of the brain. Pretty cool. The result is more empathy for yourself and others, key ingredients for a meaningful life. (www.andrewnewberg.com)
Interestingly (...here I go loosely connecting the dots again) long ago and far away the Indian language of Sanskrit used the word manasika to name the heart|mind. One word. Not two. Intuitive. Not scientific. Lends some merit to the adage, trust first then verify...even if it takes science eons to catch up with what your heart already knows.
• Heart Math is an organization dedicated to the scientific study of the heart mind connection. They have all kinds of info about their research on their site. The video below talks about the science behind how cultivating a positive heart-titude affects both you and those around you.
It's complicated....but then again, maybe it's not.
Because...in the end all that may matter is simply your experience. Think a about it. Right. Wrong. Science. Religion. And everything in between. How did you experience the world? Truth be told, I approach all of these yoga-related philosophies and practices, not from a vantage point of right or wrong, how far out or intellectually pristine, but rather how may this enhance my here and now (...and duly noted a certain legal beagle philosopher vehemently disagrees with my paradigm!)
So what my experience tells me is that whether a Buddhist teaching or not, when I create positive feelings and wish them for others my life is better. And whether the frequency of my heart||mind connection is oscillating at an optimal rate or not, your yoga practice makes me better. Truly, it does. I have entered our yoga class once too often exhausted or heart broken by the toils of life. Yet when you get busy radiating friendliness or joy on your mats in class, it rubs off. I feel it. You change my inner state. Your yoga practice matters. You matter. And perhaps this was the only point that needed to be made.
Closing…
We spent the last few moments of our practice in silence putting the finishing touches on the beautiful mansion we built within the cave of our own hearts by focusing on the four heart-titudes and wishing them for others.
During our meditation I was reminded of St Peter's apse at the Vatican. I’m not particularly religious nor Catholic. Yet, in all my travels this sanctuary of the divine continues to be one of the best outward manifestation of what I imagine the home sweet home of my heart may look like after meditating or practicing asana intent on the four heart-titudes. Awe inspiring. Decadent. Scintillating. A prism of hope and peace swaddled in angelic light.
To building a sublime mansion befit for Architectural Digest within the cave of your heart, Namaste!
