Day 6

10:00 AM

Day 6 started with early yoga class. I was at the studio at 7.30 AM or so, it was still kind of dark outside.  What a change in my weekend routine. Last Saturday morning I woke up at 11 AM still hang over from a night before.  I mean I am not a heavy drinker, but I liked to drink on the weekends.  So instead of going to sleep around 7 in the morning, I was in a yoga studio. To my surprise, it was a lot of people there, despite the snow storm outside. People really like yoga around here, most of them like the heat, and we all know why...
Every day in a Yoga studio one has the opportunity to learn something. Stories, quotes, facts....  Like here is a story for you:  In the yoga academy in Los Angeles, all the advanced classes are taught by a 85 years old lady.  85 years old!!!!  And she teaches the advanced yoga series, serious stuff.  How about that...?  This lady has been doing Yoga for almost 40 years.  Just think about what, most of people at that age, look like....  And she is teaching and leading classes that require extreme strength and flexibility. So is Yoga good for you....?

2:00 PM

Snow, snow and more snow.  You have to love Canada....  Today I woke up with that 'proud of myself' feeling.  I managed to do things that I couldn't do before.  Set new records and accomplishments. Of course, little battles with my mind are still present, but again I am in control.  In control of the little battles, not the mind, of course. I wish...  My cravings are still there but they are slowly fading and becoming less frequent.  At the same time I can feel that I am developing the ability to live without the things my mind craves.  Something I learned with the craving issues is that we always say our body craves this or that.  No it doesn't.  Or body has needs that we have to fulfill in order for it to function.  And thats it, the body doesn't need anything more. Its the mind that needs this or that, its the mind that depends on different things. So if one tries to brake a habit, any habit, the entire focus needs to be on the mind.  So all those helpful tools that people get in order to quit something, or brake a habit, are useless. All it does is giving the mind something else to attach too. And the mind is happy with that, as long as he has something to cling on. What it is, he doesn't care...

11:00 AM

Day 6 see you...  A good day for your average day 6...  I cleaned my closet, finally today.  One should be always neat and clean.  Zen teachers always say that the way you, your clothes, and your house look like is a reflection of your head. What is inside your head, is it order and peace, or is it disorder and chaos...?  Well, take a look around you, and in the mirror.  There is your answer....
A buddhist temple, for example, is always in perfect order.  Simple.  Not a lot of furniture, wall hangings, carpets, etc...  Just what's needed for the students and teachers to live a normal life.  Very minimalistic way of life.  That is because they believe that too many things around the house create a distraction.  It makes the mind wonder more.  It takes away energy... Now, in our world we tend to have too much of everything.  All kinds of furniture, wall hangings, carpets, etc...  We like the cluster, minimalism is too dry for us, it has "no soul" as many people like to put it.  Really....???
Is it order and peace in our heads, or disorder and chaos...?  Look around, look in the mirror...