New Fasting Article

[TexasRanger]

www.cnn.com/2018/10/01/health/fasting-longevity-food-drayer/index.html

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My Yoga teacher back in 1973, (old school Yoga) Fasting was recommended one day a week. One whole day, from waking up and to the next morning you don't eat. This doesn't mean to gorge yourself the next day, but to practice mindful eating everyday.

Today Yoga practitioners often do a juice fast, from 5 to 15 days.

Yogi Mind...

The Sensory Mind: Manas

Manas processes and deals with our sense impressions every day. It works hard for us in conscious daily life. These sense impressions are memory stored in each cell of the entire body. It is a data bank of experiences through sense impressions within the body-mind; like when the smell of a perfume reminds you of your childhood aunt.

In a world of stimulating and exciting things to see, hear, eat and learn manas works hard to inform our choices through our body sensations of past experiences. Meditation soothed my manas mind with a soft focus on how they could shift until I felt quiet. We want to calm the manas mind.



The Intellectual Mind: Buddhi

Our intellectual mind adds value or meaning to experiences in our daily conscious life. Layered on top of manas information it brings discrimination and judgments to protect us from exceeding our limits. As buddhi can only work with existing manas data this aspect of the mind is limited to ruminating in past options only. The buddhi mind can become over emotional and busy whether projecting to the past or future.

Whether reliving my past or worrying about my future, in meditation these thoughts became repetitive. I could witness the judgments as replays of old movies that generated drama. To step back from buddhi provides equanimity before emotions and reactions.

Yogi Mind at Blue Osa Temple

The Ego Mind: Ahamkara

We are souls manifested in physical form and ahamkara is this embodiment through the buddhi intellect that constructs an identity. The ego cares about the survival in ‘this life’ and uses fear and desire to drive our actions. Ahamkara keeps us limited to the current body self and veils the soul from clear sight.

Through meditation I became aware of suffering and excitement that drove my actions and perpetuated a cycle of struggle in my life. When ahamkara is treated as an illusion we create space to hear our soul speak.

Yogi Mind in Matapalo


The Cosmic Mind: Chitta

All experienced in life is deposited in the chitta as a subconscious impression of archetypes and instinctive associations. This inventory of knowledge is not limited to this lifetime and memories from past lifetimes can guide us in our current life choices. Chitta connects us to the greater cosmic consciousness and a richer experience of life.

When chitta is crowded by other aspects of the mind we become confused and our actions may be misled by habits or desires. When I felt lost about changes in my life, meditation helped me hear the subtle intuition of chitta guiding me forward.

When manas, buddhi and ahamkara quiet then chitta can provide clarity, insight and deepen our intuition.

Yogi Mind Sunrise

Through meditation, the four aspects of my yoga mind have built a more balanced relationship, but the more I meditate the deeper the chitta is revealed to me and I find greater harmony in life.