January 29, 2012 | 1:01 pm

Kosher Sutra: Night Terrors (Bo)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

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A couple of my friends have trouble sleeping at night because their three year-old son wakes them up. For a few months he suffered from ‘night terrors’, screaming and scared at 2am, or he was wide awake and in the mood for playing and singing. Many other people have problems sleeping at night through anxiety, troublesome thoughts or disturbing dreams.

The long, lonely night was a theme frequently visited by the Psalmist and King David spoke of how ‘every night I drench my bed, with my tears I soak my couch (Psalm 6). His counterpose to this fear was ‘though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me’ (Psalm 23).

But how can we banish fear if we awake with anxiety? How do we jolt ourselves into a state of consciousness that is free from fear? If you’ve ever tried pulling out a yoga mat at 3am and trying to meditate or do a physical yoga practice, it isn’t always that easy to calm down and become present.

When the Children of Israel were preparing to leave Egypt amidst the 10 plagues and escaping Pharoah’s wrath, they were told ‘it will be a night of anticipation to God to take them out of the land of Egypt, this is the night to God, a night of guarding for all the Children of Israel for their generations’ (Exodus 12:42). The Hebrew word for ‘anticipation’ is ‘shomer’, which is also translated as to ‘observe’ as well as ‘guard’.

A meditative reading of this passage can be deeply revealing. If our nights are beset with fear, the only way to banish the terror is to become aware of our fear and to understand that they are more intensified at night. If we can ‘shomer’, truly guard and observe our thoughts, then we can reach a state of peace. The idea of ‘Leaving Egypt’ is akin to becoming free from oppression, and when we become conscious we are free from the slavery to our oppressive thoughts. Finally, we can even re-read the idea of ‘God’ as become conscious to the Will of the Universe, to really internalise the notion that there is something bigger than ourselves. A night-time worry is often based on the idea that **we** have to fix everything, that **we** are responsible, that **we** have created our problems. When we can relinquish this ego and remember that there we didn’t create the universe, our problems are shared and our problems are halved.

So what can we do if night terror strikes? Does it work to roll out the yoga mat when the night is darkest “the country cocks do crow, the clocks do toll/ And the third hour of drowsy morning names”*?

Yes! That is precisely the time to meditate. It isn’t always easy. It might take some while to calm. It probably won’t feel like your favourite upbeat yoga class, but this is where the real meditation action happens. This is the time to create ‘a night of guarding’, to guard your thoughts, guard your soul and guard your wellbeing. Breathe deeply, commit to the practice and enjoy your journey from slavery to liberation.  If you want freedom, you have to realise that it is within you.
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_*Henry V, 4:i. Sorry, couldn’t resist it._

January 20, 2012 | 7:55 am

Kosher Sutra: Be a Contender (Vayeira)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

We have no shortages of excuses to excuse our lack of success.‘If only I had a better education’. ‘If only I had more money’. ‘If only I was born into another family’. Perhaps the most famous excuse is from Marlon Brando’s 1954 film On the Waterfront when he famously lamented “I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody”.

Moses has a problem, or so he thinks. When asked to lead the people out of slavery he explains to God that it’s impossible, after all, “how will Pharoah listen to me? And I have blocked lips” (Exodus 6:12).

Let’s do a quick, deep re-reading. Moses is explaining to God something that is impossible to do on earth. If God created the earth, surely he knew what was possible and what wasn’t? In case we missed it the first time, it’s repeated again that ‘Moses said before God, “Behold! I have blocked lips so how shall Pharoah hear me?” (6:30).

The yogis were well aware of the issue of blocked energy. They identified thousands of energy channels within the body –  the nadis – with the three central ones being the ida (left column), pingala (right column) and shushumna (central column). Kundalini yoga focuses on unblocking these channels through the pranayamic yogic breath.

The yogis’ ideas are reflected in the kabbalah with the three channels clearly demonstrated in the sefirot/tree of life…but as I mentioned, this is a quick, deep reading, so this week we don’t have much airtime for tangents!

Moses was convinced that he wasn’t up to the job. He described his mouth as ‘Aral Sefatayim’ which translates as ‘blocked lips’, ‘sealed lips’ or even ‘uncircumcised lips’. The last image can be helpful as we consider that sometimes we have to ‘circumcise’ our self-image, i.e. to take a metaphorical knife and cut away our excuses. This can hurt! It is much easier to stay clothed in the warmth of our own reasons for not being a success.

This week’s Bibliyogic challenge is to clear internal blockages. A basic pranayama breath is to inhale and exhale through your nostrils. Consider meditating on how you might be using an excuse as a reason not to pursue an important goal.

The path isn’t easy. Moses faced challenges, but he was able to succeed when he was able to stop blocking his own success. That is when ‘God spoke through Moses’ (Exodus 9:35). Perhaps we are able to truly get out of own way, that is the path to being a contender.

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com
). He lives in Los Angeles.

 

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January 13, 2012 | 9:33 am

Kosher Sutra: Flow (Shmot)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Kosher Sutra: Flow (Shmot)

Humans put extraordinary energy into resisting change. We have the ability to stay in jobs we don’t like, remain living in apartments with annoying neighbours, to remain in unhealthy relationships and carry out several other activities that drain our energy.

The Children of Israel faced a sudden change in Egypt and we are told that ‘a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know about Joseph’ (Exodus 1:8). There is one view that it is the same Pharaoh who suddenly changed his character and rejected Joseph, whereas another view explains that the king died and was replaced by a new one. Either way, it was the beginning of slavery for the Jews and the transformation was harsh.

How can we best respond to sudden change? One strategy is to stay present. Things get a lot worse when add our own narrative; ‘this shouldn’t be happening…it isn’t right…I don’t deserve this…’. The purpose of all yoga and meditation is to strip us of the story we tell and to bring us into the present. Yoga is the single focus of ekagratta, the end of the mind’s fluctuations (Yoga Sutras), achieving a deeper state of unity within.

The great sage Hillel taught a powerful lesson when he uttered the words: “If I am not for myself, who am I?” (Pirkei Avot). When times are rough, we are responsible for our own wellbeing, and when difficult changes descend upon our life we have to attend to our needs. This can mean quieting our mind, centering ourselves and smoothing our breathing. This is the essence of vinyasa – the sun salutes – in yoga. We literally practice moving with the flow and try to keep our movements and breath as smooth as possible.

Change is inevitable in good times, let alone when the world is in financial turmoil. The secret to resisting change is simple – just allow it to happen. Life can be a lot less stressful and we will fare a lot better if we just go with the flow.
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Kosher Sutra: Walk Like a Man (Vayechi)

In his biography Long Walk to Freedom Nelson Mandela recounts a rite of passage that was essential for members of his tribe in Africa. When a male turned 16 he was expected to take on the guise of a warrior and go through a public circumcision ceremony, without anaesthetic and without expressing pain or resistance. Jewish males have to go through a similar form of public torment in order to become a man. Upon turning 13 years old we gather all of our family and friends, musicians are hired, and we he must then dance in public with his mother. Only then is he truly considered a man. Is it any surprise that Freud was Jewish?

This week’s Kosher Sedra is based around the reading of Vayechi, my barmitzvah portion. And dedicated to my wonderful parents.

The scene is Egypt. The elderly patriarch Jacob gives his deathbed speech and addresses each of his children. The most powerful goes to Judah, who recently showed a depth of maturity and responsibility when he stood up for Benjamin. He is told:

“Judah, your brothers shall acknowledge your; your hand will be at your enemies’ nape: your father’s sons will prostrate themselves to you. A lion cub is Judah…The rod shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his legs….” (Gen 49:8-)

The essence of this blessing is stability. Unlike his elder brother, the firstborn Reuben, Judah is solid. Reuben is described as ‘hasty like water’ (49:4), which is a fluid element. There are positive qualities to water but this is not one of them.

Internal balance is essential for all spiritual practice and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika states that : ‘Living…free of all anxieties, one should earnestly practice Yoga as taught by one’s guru. Yoga perishes by overeating, overexertion, talking too much… Yoga succeeds by ..enthusiasm, openness, courage’ (1: 14-16). I’ve recently been practicing meditation to reach a state of inner evenness, which is the midway point between extremes.

What does it mean to be an adult? This is a question I ask every year on the anniversary of my barmitzvah. Perhaps it is about stability. Being able to see the seasons come and go without being flustered. Perhaps maturity is the ability to appreciate pleasure and endure pain without over-identifying with either.

Who knows what 2012 is going to bring? Is the economy in a recession or a depression? Will there be any changes in the big city banks now that the ‘Occupy’ camps have been dismantled and the protesters sent home? In some ways, what goes on outside is not our concern. We can find stability through the ‘enthusiasm, openness, [and] courage’ mentioned by the yogis. We can emulate the leonine qualities of Judah, and stay grounded. If nothing else, we might be comforted by this thought: however bad things get, at least we don’t have to endure a public circumcision.

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com
). He lives in Los Angeles.

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January 1, 2012 | 8:38 am

2012: A New You (Kosher Sutra)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

When being told a dramatic story, we all love the surprise ‘reveal’ at the end. Darth Vader removes his mask with “Luke, I am your father”. Russell Crowe spins around to say “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North…”*. In this week’s Kosher Sutra the prophet Joseph reveals to his brothers that he isn’t only the leader of Egypt, but says “I am Joseph”. Today’s Sutra is about revealing our true selves and our own potential in the coming year.

One reason why humans love being told stories is because they reflect how our minds work. We go to sleep and we use internal movies to process our deepest thoughts and desires, using a technique called dreaming. Psychologist Carl Jung identified that we dream in a three-act structure with a beginning, middle and end, which explains why the majority of films and plays follow this idea. David Mamet’s excellent book Three Uses of the Knife explores the difficulty of constructing the perfect story, and the need to keep on building the tension with a well-crafted Act II.

The middle of Joseph’s story, his ‘Act II’, is a complete mess. We are all familiar with his Act I – he is the favourite son, he has some dreams and he gets given a coat, and then everything goes wrong. He was then sold into slavery, stuck in a jail and falsely accused of rape by his master’s wife. Nonetheless he managed to stay on track and rather than getting beaten by depression and giving up, kept his self-belief and belief in a Higher Power and eventually achieved immense success by the end of his drama.

The world we live in appears to be experiencing difficult challenges and it often seems that things aren’t getting better. We are told that Joseph had an overwhelming Bitachon – Trust in the Divine – and if we are able to echo this quality then we too can ride out the dark times and create space for light to follow. The rabbis teach that Joseph had a brief loss of faith when he was in jail, asking the Butler to do him a favour rather than praying to God, and he was subsequently punished with an extra two years in jail because he had a brief lapse of focus (Rashi, Gen 40:23).

The whole essence of yoga is told by means of a dramatic story and it’s called the Bhagavad Gita. If you haven’t already, have a read of it and here’s a link to a free download of the entire text (along with some other great yoga classics) (http://www.yogavidya.com/freepdfs.html ). Try not to get hung up on the whole Hindu-god thing, and let’s not go down the ‘is yoga a religion’ nonsense – it isn’t! (email me if you’re still stuck on this one). One essence of the story is Dharma, which is the idea of staying true to oneself and staying on mission. We can be swayed from our mission at any time, whether it is by well-meaning friends or family who imbue us with fears or by our own minds when we lack faith in our abilities. These are the times to pray, to get back onto the yoga mat, to meditate or to do whatever gets you back with the programme!

Last week I saw some beautiful Turner paintings at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Joseph Mallord William Turner is one of my favourite artists and I’ve regularly enjoyed visiting his other masterpieces at the National Gallery in London. In Long Ship’s Lighthouse, Lands End (1834-1835) he depicts a stormy scene where the coastline is obscured, the sea is chaotic and the sky is dulled. The writer and aesthete John Ruskin commented that the painting captured “the whole surface of the sea . . . undirected, bounding, and crashing, and coiling in an anarchy of enormous power.” We can also view the painting as a metaphor. When our thoughts are clouded or when we seem to be in the middle of a stormy sea, it is as if the skies will never be blue again and that dry land has disappeared. If we can recognise this as part of a cycle – there are times of feast and times of famine – and if we can keep faith in our Divine essence, then we can ride out the storm.

Thank you for staying with the Kosher Sutra – I genuinely appreciate your taking the time to read this. May you be blessed with an incredibly positive 2012, with the strength to ride out any storm, the vigour to fulfil your purpose, and the insight to perceive the Light that is all around us.

B’Ahava-

Marcus

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

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