GAs Are Advertising My Book
This weekend it came to my attention that during the Priesthood session of the most recent General Conference (of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), that Elder Uchdorf (one of the apostles) did some free advertising for my forthcoming book. The title of my book is Awake As In Ancient Days. The title of Elder Uchtdorf's talk was "Are You Sleeping Through the Restoration?"
He basically said what, in my book, I quoted others saying: that the restoration is not over. It's still happening. And we need to be awake enough to recognize all that God is now revealing, and strong enough to act, and be more than just an observer in these awesome and historic times.
[For those who are literal, he didn't REALLY plug my book. He was plugging the word of the Lord. But I took it as another of many witnesses that what I am aiding Him to do is right. And it's not my book anyway. It's God's book. God chose the title of my book and the title of his talk, and so I think it just shows that there is a theme of awakening going on right now and God is behind it.]
President Uchtdorf pointed out there things that can hinder us from being awake and gave some ideas for how to combat these things. He left it pretty general, so that people could seek their own personal revelation. So for those seeking more tools for combating the sleepwalking through the restoration, I have decided to go into more depth and share some tools that you can use. Here are his big three with my commentary and tools:
1. Selfishness - Ego and Pride also falls under this category. There is a 3 minute exercise called Ego Eradicator that I usually include as a warm up to my daily sadhana and also include as a warm up in every class I teach. It is in my forth coming book, too.
2. Addiction - Addiction takes away our agency and binds us to unhappiness and darkness. But addiction goes beyond what people commonly think of: porn, drugs, alcohol. It also includes emotional addictions, like begin addicted to our own anxiety or negativity or guilt or addicted to attention or recognition. Sugar addictions are rampant in the LDS culture, which in my opinion is a big FAIL of the word of wisdom. Some people are addicted to being in a hurry, to complaining, to eating too fast, looking at their phone, bargain hunting, physical touch, etc. The thing is, most of us have addictions we are so blind to, that will never be able to address them--unless we have a tool that is bigger than us.
I would like to share the meditation for healing addictions as one of the best out there for every kind of addiction. And in as little as 3 minutes/day, it has a powerful bang for your buck. Here is a video on how to do it and how it works. I recommend doing it daily for at least 40 days to see how well it works. Then keep doing it.
If you are in recovery from something serious, such as drugs, alcohol or porn addiction, I also recommend including regular kundalini yoga classes at least once/week because 1) they are the best high you will ever have and 2) they will repair the nervous system. The nervous system is your base power, and it has to be strong not only to stand in the presence of God, but also just to deal with every day life in our overloaded world. The nervous system gets fried on drugs and alcohol and also sugar and caffeine and artificial sweeteners and other toxic substances in processed foods. Yogi Bhajan also taught that masturbation is bad for the nervous system, just a FYI to anyone with a porn addiction. So when my book comes out and you get a copy I also recommend the set for Nervous System and Stamina and one called Sex Energy Transformation.
3. Competing Priorities
It seems so obvious to me that the more communion you have with God, the more you know how to keep the Main Thing the main thing, and the more power you have to do it. But there are still so many times that even the most enlightened among us is torn between good, better and best. So here is a meditation (that is also in my forthcoming book) called When You Don't Know What To Do.
TO THE MEN OUT THERE
In conclusion, because this talk was initially addressed to the Priesthood, I would like to invite more men to openly follow my blog and comment and start their own daily practice. There are many men who practice Kundalini Yoga and Meditation, but for some reason my audience was mostly women in the begining. (Probably because I wrote a book on pregnancy and birth.) I know it is not now, but most of the men reading seem to be being quiet, so I'd invite you to uplevel your practice, "come out" with your yogi self, and if you still aren't sure all this for you, I invite you to give it 40 days of consistent practice before you make up your mind. Then I will invite you to go to 90 and 120 days, but start small. I have many tools to help if you check out www.treeoflifekundaliniyoga.com. Sat Nam.
He basically said what, in my book, I quoted others saying: that the restoration is not over. It's still happening. And we need to be awake enough to recognize all that God is now revealing, and strong enough to act, and be more than just an observer in these awesome and historic times.
[For those who are literal, he didn't REALLY plug my book. He was plugging the word of the Lord. But I took it as another of many witnesses that what I am aiding Him to do is right. And it's not my book anyway. It's God's book. God chose the title of my book and the title of his talk, and so I think it just shows that there is a theme of awakening going on right now and God is behind it.]
President Uchtdorf pointed out there things that can hinder us from being awake and gave some ideas for how to combat these things. He left it pretty general, so that people could seek their own personal revelation. So for those seeking more tools for combating the sleepwalking through the restoration, I have decided to go into more depth and share some tools that you can use. Here are his big three with my commentary and tools:
1. Selfishness - Ego and Pride also falls under this category. There is a 3 minute exercise called Ego Eradicator that I usually include as a warm up to my daily sadhana and also include as a warm up in every class I teach. It is in my forth coming book, too.
To do it, your raise your arms to a 60 degree angle. The fingers are touching the pads of the palms (this should feel like a little bit of a stretch) and the thumbs are pulled away from the hands and plugged into the sky or pointed at each other. Do breath of fire in this posture for 3 minutes. To end bring the thumbs together over the head, hold the breath briefly, pull the root lock and then exhale release. If you don't know how to do breath of fire, you should really take one of my classes! I'll post a video on it soon, though.
2. Addiction - Addiction takes away our agency and binds us to unhappiness and darkness. But addiction goes beyond what people commonly think of: porn, drugs, alcohol. It also includes emotional addictions, like begin addicted to our own anxiety or negativity or guilt or addicted to attention or recognition. Sugar addictions are rampant in the LDS culture, which in my opinion is a big FAIL of the word of wisdom. Some people are addicted to being in a hurry, to complaining, to eating too fast, looking at their phone, bargain hunting, physical touch, etc. The thing is, most of us have addictions we are so blind to, that will never be able to address them--unless we have a tool that is bigger than us.
I would like to share the meditation for healing addictions as one of the best out there for every kind of addiction. And in as little as 3 minutes/day, it has a powerful bang for your buck. Here is a video on how to do it and how it works. I recommend doing it daily for at least 40 days to see how well it works. Then keep doing it.
If you are in recovery from something serious, such as drugs, alcohol or porn addiction, I also recommend including regular kundalini yoga classes at least once/week because 1) they are the best high you will ever have and 2) they will repair the nervous system. The nervous system is your base power, and it has to be strong not only to stand in the presence of God, but also just to deal with every day life in our overloaded world. The nervous system gets fried on drugs and alcohol and also sugar and caffeine and artificial sweeteners and other toxic substances in processed foods. Yogi Bhajan also taught that masturbation is bad for the nervous system, just a FYI to anyone with a porn addiction. So when my book comes out and you get a copy I also recommend the set for Nervous System and Stamina and one called Sex Energy Transformation.
3. Competing Priorities
It seems so obvious to me that the more communion you have with God, the more you know how to keep the Main Thing the main thing, and the more power you have to do it. But there are still so many times that even the most enlightened among us is torn between good, better and best. So here is a meditation (that is also in my forthcoming book) called When You Don't Know What To Do.
Pose: Sit in Easy Pose or in a chair, with the spine straight. Relax the arms at the sides of the body. Bend the elbows, raise the hands, and bring them together at the center of the chest. Cross the hands, with both palms facing toward the chest. Rest one palm in the other (the position of the left and right hands is interchangeable). Cross the thumbs, and point the fingers up at a comfortable angle.
Eye Position: Look at the Third Eye Point, and then bring the eyes to the tip of the nose.
Breath: First, inhale through the nose, and then exhale through the nose. Second, inhale through the mouth, and then exhale through the mouth. Third, inhale through the nose, and then exhale through the mouth, Fourth, inhale through the mouth, and then exhale through the nose. Continue this sequence.
All breaths should be deep, complete, and powerful. When breathing through the mouth, purse the lips almost as if to whistle.
Time: Start by practicing this kriya for 11 minutes. You may gradually increase the time to 30 minutes.
Commentary: Try this meditation when you don’t know what to do. It is very simple but very powerful if done correctly. This kriya coordinates both areas of the brain, provides powerful insight, and coordinates the mystery of spiritual phenomena with the mastery of the three bodies (physical, mental, and spiritual). Sometimes called the Gyan Mudra Kriya, this meditation solves many complications.
TO THE MEN OUT THERE
In conclusion, because this talk was initially addressed to the Priesthood, I would like to invite more men to openly follow my blog and comment and start their own daily practice. There are many men who practice Kundalini Yoga and Meditation, but for some reason my audience was mostly women in the begining. (Probably because I wrote a book on pregnancy and birth.) I know it is not now, but most of the men reading seem to be being quiet, so I'd invite you to uplevel your practice, "come out" with your yogi self, and if you still aren't sure all this for you, I invite you to give it 40 days of consistent practice before you make up your mind. Then I will invite you to go to 90 and 120 days, but start small. I have many tools to help if you check out www.treeoflifekundaliniyoga.com. Sat Nam.
It dawned on me today that the LDS Temple Ceremony was brought to us by Masons. Then it was restored and purified by the Prophet, but it had to be brought to him, for God to restore it to it's original glory. That kind of reminds me of Kundalini Yoga. :-)
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