February 24, 2012 | 12:48 pm

Kosher Sutra: Sanctuary (Terumah)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

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Kosher Sutra: Sanctuary (Terumah)

“Oh Lord Prepare Me
To be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy
Kind and True
With thanksgiving
I’ll be a living sanctuary
For You” (Gospel Standard)

Our Kosher Sutra reads: “Make for me a sanctuary and I dwell within them” (Exodus 25:8). The rabbis teach that there is an apparent mistake within this verse in that ‘sanctuary’ is a single noun, but ‘them’ is plural. They resolve the problem by explaining that every single one of us is a sanctuary, and a dwelling place for God.

This is all nice and fluffy, but what does it mean? The context of the verse is at the beginning of a long passage that describes the incredibly specific details for building the mishkan, the structure which will become a ‘house’ for God. It describes beams, staves, joints, foundations, furniture and accoutrements of all sorts.

The traditional purpose of asana - yoga postures - is to strengthen our body so that we can sit and meditate for extended periods. ‘Asana’ means ‘seated’ (in Hebrew it would be ‘yoshev’ or ‘yeshiva’!), and they are supposed to be rigorously applied to bring strength and vitality to our body. This is so much more using yoga just as a flexible workout or relaxation practice. Although it has all of these benefits, it is supposed to really focus our body so that it is a powerful dwelling-place for prana (yogic energy).

In our modern world, spirituality is often described in very vague terms. Teachers talk about ‘doing what you feel is right’, ‘follow your heart’, ‘listen to your intuition’. These statements are all truthful but they are incomplete if they are all that is taught. Spirituality takes a lot of work and continued application if it is to come to fruition.

Yoga postures are a very helpful tool for strengthening our body, which is the dwelling-place of our soul. Standing poses help our feet and legs provide a firm foundation for the structure, backbends help open the upper cavities for the breath and create openness in the spine, while twists help cleanse toxins and clear blockages to keep the life-force flowing.

Our reading begins with saying that ‘everyone whose heart will motivate them’ should get involved (Ex 25:2), but it then goes on to say how they should get involved. If we really want to create a dwelling place for the Divine, then we have to work consistently to make a vessel that can hold the spirit of the universe. The stronger the vessel, the more light it can contain.

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.

February 17, 2012 | 1:41 am

Kosher Sutra: Freedom isn’t Free (Mishpatim)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

One failing of the penal system is that prisoners can become too comfortable with the lifestyle. Some people enjoy the feeling of being cared for by an institution and the rent-free living inspires some ex-cons to quickly reoffend upon their release so that they are thrown back into jail.

Our Kosher Sutra centres around the Hebrew slave who has completed his term of service but tells his master “I will not be free” (Exodus 21:5). These are not conventional slaves according to the modern understanding because they still have some human rights, albeit limited. Nonetheless the owner is commanded to take the slave and nail his ear to the doorpost as a sign that he has voluntarily given up his liberty forever.

The Talmud explains that the mark must be made on the slaves ear because he has chosen not to engage with the proclamations of freedom that were heard at Mount Sinai, and he has also chosen not to walk through the doorway that would be the first step towards his new life (BT Kiddushin 22b).

Shockingly, many of us behave similarly in our own lives. We complain about the slavery in our jobs, relationships, body-image, weight, fitness-levels, psychological wellbeing…but we also don’t take any action. Rather than stepping through the doorway and making the journey towards freedom, we would rather moan and choose the path of restriction.

Yoga is the path of freedom, or Moksha Dharma and it can lead the practitioner towards “liberation of the spirit” (Yoga – The Great Tradition by David Frawley, p34). “Yoga was devised as the sovereign means to end all suffering” (Ibid, p33), but it takes daily practice to really become free. It is much easier to find reasons not to practice – ‘I’m too busy, I can’t afford it, I don’t have the time, I don’t have a teacher’ – and it is much easier not to begin the work than to go through the trouble of putting in the time.

As one song wrote: “Freedom isn’t free…there’s a hefty..fee” (Team America: World Police). The question is this; we all want self-realisation, but are we willing to pay the price

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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February 17, 2012 | 1:27 am

Kosher Sutra: Synaesthesia (Yitro)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

In the mid-1920’s a Russian Journalist called Solomon Veniaminovich Shereshevsky was reprimanded by his boss for because he didn’t write any notes during a meeting. Shereskvsky didn’t need to because he had a photographic memory. He was later discovered to be a synesthete. Synaesthesia is a state whereby someone’s neural pathways crossover, so that when they hear a musical note they will see a colour, when they touch something it will trigger a taste sensation and so forth.

Our Kosher Sutra takes us to Mount Sinai where people ‘could see the voices’ that were usually heard (Exodus 20:15). There was a disagreement between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yishmael over whether this was indeed a miracle. The former argued that it was supernatural as it lifted humans up to a heavenly realm, whereas the latter suggested that it was merely an opportunity for everyone to experience the Divinity that is always around and within them*.

When we stop to truly listen to that which is going on around us, we can quickly find ourselves in the realm of the supernatural, hearing things that we otherwise missed. We can ‘see’ the anger in someone’s voice even if they are speaking calmly if we quiet ourselves and look at their body language. We see the anxiety and depression in someone’s voice if we stop listening to just the words they are saying and really listen to them in their entirety.

The journey of yoga and meditation takes us much deeper, and far closer to our full potential. The book Autobiography of a Yogi describes someone having extra-sensory experiences on a daily basis, but are these really miracles? Or are they merely touching the potential that we all have?

Last year’s excellent film Limitless showed a man who took a drug to open up the full potential of his brain, although we don’t really need this drug to enjoy our brain to its fullest. We just need to slow down and listen.

The standard manual of mental disorders DSM-IV does not list synaesthesia as a neurological condition because it does not have to cause problems with everyday life. Many people who experience it have begun to see it as a gift rather than a burden.

We have incredible abilities at our fingertips and most of us have only just begun to scratch the surface of our body and soul’s potential.

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.
www.bibliyoga.com

*(as recounted by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Likutei Sichot, vol. 6, pp. 121-129 and vol. 1, pp. 149-150)

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February 5, 2012 | 2:09 pm

Kosher Sutra: Generation Flux

Posted by Marcus J Freed

There is a question as to whether our economy is in a recession or if it has entered a full depression. One thing we can be certain of is that things have changed. The current issue of Fast Company magazine leads with a story about ‘Generation Flux’, its name for the status quo. Gen Fluxers could be 20 years old, 40, 60 or older, and are defined not by their age but by their attitude. “You don’t need to be a jack of all trades to flourish now”, they wrote, “but you do need to be open-minded”.

Our Kosher Sutra joins the Children of Israel who are in a state of flux. They have been uprooted from the ‘comfort’ of slavery and are being pursued by Egyptian forces as they escape towards the Sea of Reeds. Things have become so uncertain that their anxieties are running sky-high and they are campaigning to return to a life of slavery rather than open up to the possibilities of a new and exciting world. Moses gives them a very simple and very yogic instruction: “Do not fear! Stand fast and see the salvation of God….[and] remain silent” (Exodus 14:14).

How can we stand still and remain silent when we are overcome with the fear and anxiety that is brought on by sudden change? Which Bibliyoga tools can we use when we are longing to wind back the clock to the way things were?

On a recent trip to China, yoga guru BKS Iyengar gave some helpful clues on how we can learn to stand fast, using the metaphor of a tree. He explained that “the movements for any asana (yoga pose) should come from the root not the shoot”*. For example in a standing forward straddle bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), the focus should be on spreading the legs from the groins (‘the roots’) rather than the feet (‘the shoots’). When standing straight we might also focus on keeping the front of the groins open and using gravity to bring our weight so that it is evenly distributed across our feet.

The world is going to change whether we like it or not, and it is our choice how much we want to suffer. We may feel like resisting the flux and turning back the clock. Some say ‘better the devil you know’, but that doesn’t need to be the motto by which we live our lives if we desire liberation. Rather, we can stand up straight, get rooted, listen actively and watch carefully for the miracles that are about to unfold before our eyes.

*Yoga Rahasya, Vol 18, No 3, 2011. Sweet timing for Tu B’shvat.

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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