Voices from the cave

So yes, the rumors are true, I spent a week in a cave. :)

I had warned Amalia before we began this journey that at some point I might want to escape for a personal spiritual adventure of sorts.

We had finished our six week yoga teacher training program and had followed it with a two week intensive into more subtle kriya yoga practices. Amalia said she felt amazing and was more at peace than ever before. She was digging the vibe of the ashram where we were staying and the next course they were offering was a in-depth look at the Bhagavad Gita and Yog Sutras, perfect for her to expand her philosophy of these two crucial texts. Between that and the fact that I found a peaceful spot along the holy river Ganga, not far from a resident Swami I had befriended, it seemed the perfect time for my retreat. I can't say Amalia felt the same way, but we'll get into that later :)...now to the cave!

Why you ask did I go to a cave and what did I do there?

Well honestly, it was a personal journey and it doesn't serve either of us to divulge everything, but because questions have arisen, I feel compelled to provide insights.

In yogic philosophy there is the concept called sadhana. In simple terms, a sadhana is dedicated spiritual practice usually setup for a given amount of time. For some it is to bath in the holy Ganga everyday come rain, shine or snow. For others it is to not lie for an entire year. In essence anything that requires you to focus on higher principles can be crafted into a sadhana. For me, there was a certain set of detailed and time-intensive yogic practices that I wanted to take on, so the cave served that purpose.

I now know why yogis of the ancient tradition lived in caves. Beyond the need for basic shelter they provide an environment removed from all distractions. There is nothing but yourself to face in that cave. While I can't imagine the ancient yogis had nearly as many temptations vying for their attention, I know that in the modern world humans are drowning in distractions. Facing only yourself so intimately is damn-near impossible in the melee of modern society. The cave gave me that space.

Beyond the actual practices, I'd say I came face to face with my holdings, my attachments.

Attachments are the foundation of your world. Attachments are held perceptions that create your brand of reality. The beliefs I hold have created the way I perceive and interact with the world. Some of these attachments were created culturally some were built personally.

Without expounding on the topic ad nauseum, what I found was that every one of the things, either material, mental or emotional, that I'm attached to take up space in my being; and every attachment is inter-connected.

What that means is that even the most simple material attachment (re: that which you own) not only takes up precious space in your mind but also changes your perception of the world at large. The concept seems deceptively simple but its implications touch every area of our lives. Our attachments not only clutter our mental and physical landscapes but lock us into patterns of thought. When change is the only constant, locking ourselves into certain perceptions is dangerous, plus we then have to store or haul all the acquired acoutrements into the next (read: changed) phase of our lives.

We must recognize that we choose either actively or passively what brand of reality we create, so I offer voices from the caves. Ancient voices that urge us to consider our attachments and their effects in and on every fiber of our beings.

While I haven't conquered all my holdings, with my sadhana I delivered a significant blow to the power that upholds them. In addition to that, my friend Swami Chidanand Puri made me realize that a sadhana shouldn't be confined to a week in a far away land apart from all I know. A true sadhana never ends and I'm obliged to integrate the lessons and practices into my everday existence. At any rate, Mollie is glad I'm back from the cave. ;)

Rishikesh, India

Here are some random images from our stay in the original home of the ancient rishis of India. We have not found any rishis yet, but there are a lot things to do, places to see and plenty to learn.

We are not wasting our time, as our days are filled with yoga and meditation by Mother Ganga, flute lessons, massage courses, wildlife viewing and lots of reading. Going much deeper into the science, philosophy and practices of yoga. :)

Yoga Teacher Training - Graduation Day - Pat's essay final

The Essence of the Story - Rishikesh Yog Peeth, October-November 2010

Yoga is the story of union between the observed, observer and the source.

At one moment yoga is the science of your body's alignment within its frame and at the next it is the art of dancing with your breath. Yoga is a personal journey between states of distraction, focus, and release.

Genetically no two humans toolsets are the same and thus yoga is innately devoid of competition.

Most of the time we fail to realize we are the perfect tool for every situation we face. Life's greatest challenge may be learning to accept and work with the toolset you are given.

The essence of my story is transformation without end.

Having chosen to take this spiritual journey, I find that after six intensive weeks it's as if I am standing on the edge of a vast ocean and only my toes have gotten wet. Beyond me lies an unfathomable expanse where time and dimensions unfold mysteriously.

I now know fully that yoga is a path of spiritual science, a journey with and into the divine. It is the journey I was meant to take, within its realm lies my destiny, my dharma.

How does one discuss the infinte whispers of the beloved within the soul?

In the stillness of my meditation I can sense the eternal flame guiding me inwards to more profound understanding. My challenge is to continue practising (Abhyasa: constant and steady practise) without expectation (Niskama), no matter what life may brings my way.

Such a seemingly simple concept can emcompass and consume entire lifetimes; but there is no other way forward for me anymore.

I truly believe yoga is a crucial tool for human development and is needed to bring the world back into balance. If your most sacred space, the temple of your body, is out of balance how do you expect to maintain external balance?

This six weeks has been about opening for me. Opening the body, heart and mind to make way for greater spiritual inhabitance within my soul. To open youself is to let your holdings rise to the surface. Through awareness, careful examination and release, you empty yourself of past conditioning and make way for new choices. In the end all my explanations, philosophies and words shall pass away leaving only my actions to matter or remain.

I am truly thankful to be here studying in the mother land. To be taught and led by true seekers with open hearts is a blessing indeed. Throughout our course there was a palpable love for challenging us to seek that which is higher, deeper, and brighter within each of us.

Here I met many genuine souls seeking in earnest. In these short weeks we have made some lasting connections and I feel we might become the roots of a grand tree giving shade and shelter to many seeking hearts.

Early in the course, we approached the question of the meaning of life. For me, the primary reason for our existence is to learn to hear one another. Only through true hearing can we come to understand perspectives different from our own.

Learning to clear our personal and inter-personal lines of communication will allow us to grasp the infinite modes of perception symbolized in the thousand petaled lotus. We are here for one another and must learn to face ourselves honestly and without distraction; only then may we learn the meaning of grace.

This is just the beginning of my journey and all who I met here will remain precious to me. I bow to the divine spirit within all of you and within myself.

The Holiest of Holies - Sikh Style

After finally uprooting ourselves from three months of intensive self-study in Rishikesh, we arrived via overnight express in the city of Amritsar in the Punjab.

Amritsar lies less than thirty miles from the border of Pakistan and is the home of the holiest site in Sikhism, the Golden Temple.



The city's name is derived from the pool of nectar (water) surrounding the temple, the amrit samovar.

Given the close ties between Sikhism and the kundalini yoga style we often practice, a visit to the temple was high on our list and it did not disappoint.

Never before have we encountered any people like the Sikhs. For the most part, they were overly gracious, helpful and not-too-pushy to sell you something (a novel concept in India). The facilities around the temple were amazing while the temple itself was spectacular.

A prominent feature of Sikhism is the welcoming of all peoples, from all backgrounds and all religions. The kitchen in the temple complex is open twenty-four hours a day, everyday, and feeds between 50-80,000 people per day for FREE. Those numbers are not a joke.


It is a wild experience because you just follow the lines where you are handed an aluminum plate, bowl and silverware, funnelled into large halls with long runners to sit on with a thousand plus other people, and fed by men who dish out all-you-can-eat dal, beans, rice porridge and chapati from large stainless steel buckets and wicker baskets. Afterwards you can help clean up in long dish cleaning stations or even help in the massive kitchens. How they fund or man such enormous operations is mind-boggling, but profoundly beautiful.

As for the temple, if ever I could imagine a building housing the divine in my soul, the Golden Temple would be it. Maybe it's the supposed 750kg of gold glimmering on the top, but somehow I couldn't help but sit mesmerized by its visage. I'm positive that the countless amicable pilgrims walking around it and bathing in the sacred waters generated ample good vibes, but just sitting there gazing on the temple brought spontaneous smiles to our faces.
Being back in a bustling large city was both exciting and challenging. In addition to the copious amount of turbans available, both meat and alcohol were back on the menus. We found ourselves being very timid with the ordering of either but were pleased at finding some lovely coffee houses to take brief respites from hustle.

While the temple was the highlight, we were awfully cold and ended up cutting short our trip through Rajastan by catching a flight out of Delhi to the south into the former Portugese colony of Goa. That move made Amalia, my little California girl, very, very happy. :)

While in Goa we'll be meditating on the golden temples in our hearts as we warm up laying in the sun and soaking in the Arabian Sea. And since we have opted to rent a small apartment just off the beach for a month, we'll have ample time to do just that.

We know, it's a rough life but someone's got to live it. ;)

PS, click on the last picture to open in a bigger window & tell us what's happening in the shot.

New Years Vision Board - 2011 (Amalia)

Hey y’all!

A very Happy New Year to everyone! Sorry we’ve been off the radar for a while. I guess we’re just having too much fun in India! We’re still in Rishikesh and have enjoyed almost 3 months here. After our 6 week yoga teacher training course we moved on to Parmarth Niketan ashram where we dove into 2 weeks of Kriya Yoga. Following that I continued on at the ashram with 2 more weeks studying the Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras, while Patrick moved into a cave. That move may or may not have been met with some resistance, but both of us have emerged stronger because of it.

Every year we like to create ‘vision boards’ to help us clarify our goals and intentions for the coming year. This is our 4^th year now and its always amazing to us how many of our dreams come true when we just write them down. This trip, for example, came to be because on 2009’s board we drew a picture of how much debt we would pay off and how much cash we would put into savings. A little perseverance, a little help from Dave Ramsey and here we are!

We’ve spent the better part of New Year’s Eve day doing our 2011 vision boards and we’d like to share them with you now.

Amalia’s board:

The central theme of my 2011 board is ‘cultivating inner strength’ as you can see inside the golden pyramid. Pyramids are well known vehicles for efficiently channeling cosmic energy. Surrounding the pyramid are different symbols representing different intentions I have for cultivating my inner strength. I’ll start with the butterfly at 1 o’clock and continue clockwise.

Butterfly: “Think Happy Thoughts” and then you can fly (Peter Pan). If I was capable of drawing Tinker Bell I would have, but I think the butterfly conveys the same message. The way I think will reflect in the way I am.

Live in the present: ha, ha, get it?

Ring of flowers: Be conscious

Symbol of Vishuddhi chakra: the chakra of the throat, symbolizing vocalizing my opinions, needs and desires.

Treble Clef: Keeping music alive in my life.

Om symbol: Yoga. Developing a self-practice and also practicing teaching.

Me in a frame: Simplifying my life. Creating a clutter-free environment for myself will help me think more clearly and make space for creativity to flourish, the end goal being more peace and freedom. Getting rid of stuff I don’t need and (probably more important) breaking the habit of constantly consuming (buying stuff).

Third Eye: Trusting my intuition.

Yin Yang: Balance

Buddha: Detachment. Being the “silent witness” of my body, actions and circumstances, trying to be more in tune with my soul and less attached to the things of this world. An age old concept that has a place in most spiritual philosophies; authors like Ekhart Tolle have done a good job of making the concept more accessible to the western mind.

Sending happy thoughts of peace, balance, creativity, love, hope and joy to you all! Here’s to a wondrous gateway into 2011!

~ Amalia ~

!!!!!! VISION BOARD CONTEST EXTRAVAGANZA !!!!!!

EMAIL US A PICTURE OF YOUR 2011 VISION BOARD
(done by yourself or with your partner)
WE WILL POST IT ON OUR BLOG TO HELP INSPIRE OTHER VISIONARIES
WE ALSO COMMIT TO SUPPORTING YOU IN REALIZING YOUR DREAMS IN 2011!
THE WINNER(S) WILL RECEIVE AN AMAZING PRIZE!
JOIN THE NEW YEAR OF LOVE!

email entries to: patandmollie@gmail.com

New Years Vision Board - 2011 (Patrick)

See my tree! :)

Amalia, my love, is a genius in remembering what is best for us. She once again got us going on our annual vision boards.

As the resister of the pair, I can confidently say the vision board idea works like magic. Every year I am truly amazed at the number of dreams/ideas/challenges we have fulfilled.

If anything can be said of our time here in Rishikesh, India, it is that our attention of the subtle has become a prominant feature of our awareness. The subtle magic behind the vision board is the attention you place on achieving our highest ideals. A key feature though is placing the vision board in a visible area of your living space, so Amalia and I will have to figure out how to make ours portable. :)

As Mollie suggested, we'd love to have some of you do your own vision boards and send us a picture of them so we can know what aspects of your life we can support and encourage you in.

Mine this year is broken into three parts. The roots of the tree designate my desire to reconnect with nature, friends, family, and a sense of self-sustenance. The trunk of the tree is my solidity and represents things I must give Abhyasa (constant and steady practice): Yoga techniques including asana (body postures), pranayama (breathing practices), Kundalini (energy producing breath and movement), and Kriya (inner subtle awareness), along with being honest (asteya). The branches, leaves and fruit of the tree represent qualities I'd like to cultivate in myself this year: non-judgmentalness, financial freedom, thankfulness, material simplication, inner silence (antar mouna) and just being love!

Our time here in Rishikesh has come to an end and tonight we journey to the holiest of the Sikh holies, the Golden Temple in Amritsar. I am ecstatic about the idea and think it will be a nice addition to the spiritual journey we've had thus far.

In the spirit of love, I wish you god's speed in the new year and if you find yourself pulling together a vision board or in need of advice on how to approach one, don't hesitate to email us.

- paddy-d

before the Himalayas

To me the world seems like a vast ocean of similar goals, similar ideals and similar dreams all wrapped up in different physical bodies.

Traveling makes you realize the expansive similarities of the human spirit juxtaposed against and amongst seemingly endless different living conditions.  To simplify, the goals, hopes and dreams of most human beings are the same; diverse living conditions and cultures are responsible for our differences.

It seems to be the lesson I must learn because time and time again I have entered into a situation with strong preconceived notions about the people, culture or place, only to learn how wrong or near-sighted my ideas were.

That said, I think traveling without concrete destinations has allowed us to experience the magic and mystery of the human spirit.

Most often we humans travel on dedicated timelines with definitive activities, premarked for completion; and if those activities or timelines are thrown off we lose our balance and often our cool.  In fairness, most just want to maximize their limited time away from their jobs, but I submit that if you find a way to live more openly, life will show you a plethora of hidden gems in new people, new places and most interestingly within yourself.

Waiting in the wee morning hours for our flight to Kathmandu, I am sitting on the verge of a trek through the Himalayas of my childhood dreams. If I am to meet the true spirit of the mountains and her people, I must learn to still my heart, calm my breath, and release my tedious preconceptions.

May we live in a world where human spirit pierces to the core leaving all matter of contrived insignificance aside. True beauty is revealed through attentiveness to exquisite subtleties of character.

Safe travels and positive thoughts to you all.

Love,

Patrick