Thursday:
In the afternoon I did my 11 minute “Har” meditation. That evening I heard someone mention that it was the anniversary of their father’s passing, and realized the date my dad had died was around this time of year. I checked my journal when I got home, and it was actually that night! So I spent the rest of the evening remembering that period of my life and wrote a blog post about it. It felt cathartic; good to observe that painful period of my life, honor it, honor dad, and process some of the remaining grief.
Blog post about dad’s passing
Friday:
Met my friend Elizabeth for lunch at Lake Balboa as she passed through town. (It didn’t look quite as nice as this online pic this time) We found the one picnic table with some shade; it was sunny and hot out.
Traffic was horrific everywhere, so I figured I’d spend the afternoon in that part of town, but still ended up in a cul de sac Encino baseball park as I tried to cut across the valley. (I guess I was at the Encino Velodrome) Rather frustrated! Then realized I could just lay my mat there and do my yoga.
Hadn’t had a full night’s sleep the night before; it was also Friday the 13th, Mercury retrograde, and a full moon! A pretty challenging set of obstacles to be navigating the day with!
I chose the first set in the “Fountain of Youth” manual, Self-Care. This is preceded by 2 rounds of the Har Aerobic Kriya.
As I finished the exercises, I thought to myself, that was easy – definitely a women’s set. Then there was a ONE HOUR relaxation, and I thought, “no way I’m gonna be able to lie here for that long!” You’re supposed to listen to Rakhe Rakhanahaar for the whole time, and it said your heartbeat will synchronize with it. Well, I hadn’t had adequate rest, and really struggled to cut it short at 45 minutes because I had to get across the valley! Self care was definitely something I needed.
It was the miracle hour light-wise, shortly before sunset, and quite beautiful out. I videotaped myself doing the “Har” meditation for 11 minutes, but got home to find it was really too light to see well. I might run it through After Effects to adjust it sometime soon. Or maybe I should just re-shoot it.
Music: Cherdikala Jetta’s “Rakhe Rakankar”
Saturday:
I felt shaggy, and looked so dis-sheveled and tired in the last few posts, so finally got a haircut – whether it’s good sikh form or not. Saw some peculiar things around town…
Then I was finally doing my laundry, and didn’t have a strong inclination for any particular set, so I reached into my folder and pulled random Prosperity Paths newsletters until I found one with a full yoga set instead of a single meditation. I found Developing the Power to Win – Part 1 (also published in Self-Knowledge manual)
Music: Livtar Singh’s “I Am Thine”
(Here’s the music with Yogi Bhajan’s voice instructing another meditation)
Har Meditation
I’m trying to remember the name of the woman in the pics; I worked for her at the IKYTA conference or Japji course, and thought her really nice. Narayan? Nirbhair? Starts with an “N”.
After I finished, when I pulled my laundry out of the dryer, I found a movie theater gift card in it! I checked if there was any value left on it, and it said there was $30 credit left! That’s the sort of thing that challenges any skepticism I’ve got about the prosperity meditations!
Sunday Morning:
Wanted to get the day off to a good start and had a very full day ahead, at the Quaker meetinghouse and Elderberries, where I was playing with Brad and Kevin. Since I’d had a good experience with the sets the night before, I figured I’d do them again. Unfortunately, I found my mind jumping around and considering all the events I had to show up for later in the day. My neighbor called asking if I wanted to take her to see a mime visiting from France next weekend. She has problems driving at night. So we’re on for next Saturday. Hmmm… more prosperity?
Developing the Power to Win – Part 1
Music: Livtar Singh’s “I Am Thine”
and Matamandir Singh’s “I Am Thine”
11 minute Har Meditation
As I moved into my day, I found I my neck and right shoulder was pretty uncomfortable, but I didn’t have a break at any time to try to work the kinks out.
Evening:
I went to our meditation meeting at Vedanta Temple. Had a few minutes to read through the remaining Master’s Touch meditations and consider which were good candidates for a silent meditation period of 20 minutes and what mantras and music I’d need for the others. I’ve almost done all the meditations in the book! I realized most of the remaining ones incorporate chanted versions of sections of Japji, which I’ve got at home, so I’ll have to do them there.
I chose and did the first 2 parts of Five-Part Meditation Series to Keep the Chakras Open (p. 320). These are actually the last meditations in the book – I’d had to jump ahead because most are not silent, and the meditation period is a silent one. I did them, and as I moved into the second part, I realized my neck and shoulder pain had completely gone away. Interesting….! I was a bit frustrated that the instructions for part 2 didn’t tell you whether to continue with the eyes staring straight ahead, unblinking, or not. You close them for part 3, but haven’t gotten to that yet.
I had the impression you’re supposed to do all five parts in one sitting, but haven’t had a chance for that yet.