Well, it’s official. 8 out of 10 people are stressed out about the economy. If you are a yoga teacher, this is great news! Your services are in much demand!

 

Come to the class on How Not to Stress During the Economic Collapse When the Evil Empire Came to Power in the 21st century!

 

I think the class simply would consist of focusing on the heart. We once again would be forced to find our center and find the heroic strength within by hearing its voice of the silence.

In this class we'd do a lot of meditation – dissolve those stressful, irrational, selfish and fearful thoughts for once and all. Why, with meditation we can meditate away this insane capitalistic society that leaves people in abject poverty while fat cat bankers go on welfare. There is work to be done! It calls for the heroic duty of being courageous now and stand up to fearful. It calls for calm rather than panic. It calls for going deep inside yourself, inside your heart, rather than clutching at the world on the outside. And it calls for a true experience of being alive! Wow! Are you ready?

Easier said than done you say?  Well, let’s look at the good and now. Let’s look to the body.

The more grounded you are and in your body and aligned with it, the less fear you have, because you realize that you are connected with it all. Everything is of yourself, so there is nothing to fear. This was the realization of the Buddha. I think I finally get it, and believe me I’ve lived with a lot of fear in my life. I’m just really sick and tired of feeling fear. In fact I’ve been afraid of this economic collapse all along because my father, who is a concentration camp survivor and was born during the Great Depression, kept telling me all my life it would happen. And now it’s here and I feel great calm! And excitement! It’s the end of an age! It’s the end of the Old Regime and old thinking and some very dreadful people. And hopefully an end to the suit and tie and ultimately to beggars on the street!

Capitalism works, they say. Just one thing got in the way. Greed! Human greed.  It gets us every time. The old Dutch Merchants warned of Greed. Avarice. Avariso in Latin. DESIRE.

 

I saw the Batman Dark Knight movie on Sunday. Amazing how many movies out there are about doomsday and apocalyptic times. We are what we think! But it has a great mythic theme of order and chaos. And Heath Ledger is brilliant. When things are chaotic, are humans going to do the right thing? Or are they going to go to the dark side? Is Bush going to suspend elections and seize power (like he already has) and maybe even install Dangerous Dick? If so what are we going to do and how are we going to behave toward our fellow human?

 

Just look to myths if you are wondering what to hold on to during this opportunity to open your heart and live fearlessly and stress free! Try any myth. Greek, Roman, Hindu, and lots of Fairy tales. You will get something out of it believe me. 

 

One of the things the myths teach you is that first of all, we need chaos. Don’t be afraid of chaos. Chaos is simply taking up its part of duality. We wouldn’t have the Ramayana without Ravana! We can’t get rid of chaos, it creates something new, as Gary Oldman’s nefarious character in the movie The Fifth Element explained. It makes us grow and evolve! So stop resisting chaos.

 

Yet humans are always trying to make order out of chaos. It's man against nature (and woman and life). It's Seth ripping apart Osiris, Marduk slaying Tiamat. You need to transcend it. Instead of taking up a side, do what needs to be done so that things flow effortlessly and you become karma free. So that actions are not self-righteously motivated actions, but in alignment with the dharma. A la the Matrix Keanu Reeves character. The ripping apart is necessary. You have to disolve back into chaos to make something new. Dionysis has to have a feast. Christ has to die. We hate chaos because it reminds us of death. And we are terrified of death. So terrified of death that we can’t even live, and yet we glorify death in our media myths desperately trying to come to grips with death by projecting images of guns, guns, guns, guns and more guns, and violence against women. We wonder why we have war!

 

Another tip in class would be to do more yoga. Those physical postures really shape up the body and wring out the Chi, as I found my core in the heart a while ago, after attending the Anusara Grand Gathering. In fact, you have to have a strong heart. You have to build up those muscles around it in the chest. For the arms fit in there and the arms and hands are how you bring things into you. They are your wings. You start from the heart center and move out, rather than starting from the outside and moving in. There is a mystical heart center. Breathe into it. Breathe into the back body and any shadow you are still unaware of. Get clear of all your garbage and be free.

Finally in class we'd do lots of yoga nidra for relaxation.

 

So try all this out, read up on some myths, do more yoga and meditation, feel it and see what you can do to teach children and others this too.

 

My dream is that if our economy didn’t depend on people buying toe rings or any kind of THING, we’d have a lot more time on our hands. Not sitting in dull offices like a Borg but doing yoga, farming, making arts and crafts, teaching children, having small cottage industries. Eating local and living well and most of all protecting life and being with children. Please, I really don't want a big screen TV. I want an EXPERIENCE OF BEING ALIVE.

I do that by honoring children who are the light of the world and the future of humanity. I don’t want to bail out any Wall Street fat cats on taxpayer money until every child in America is fed and has a home. Can you imagine what kind of a spanking education and health care system America would have if we could spend $10 billion a month on it? There is definitely some dark hearts afoot in our government and economic system. Because I don't know how they can believe otherwise.

 

With the children in my 4th and 5th grade after school class on Thrusday, I taught them to watch the mind. I used from my Treasure in Your Heart book the story Praying of the Psalms to illustrate the mind’s thinking of what IF?. We need to meditate and try to catch our thoughts. We need to get a little more eternity and rest in the space in between our thoughts and feel the peace and quiet there. These kids at this early age have tight backs and hamstrings. I teach them sun salutations and the alignment, but I talk to them to inspire them. I tell them they are making their bodies worthy vessels by aligning within to bring out the gifts they have for the world. Be the best you can be! Catch any limiting thoughts and change them! Feel good and feel love, joy and compassion! And of course when I teach young people it's never super serious.  I get to be really silly and weird with kids. It’s the best.

 

I walked again yesterday at Waneka Lake. I saw vultures and a mole! This place is so darn beautiful and especially now that fall is here Colorado is at it’s most beautiful.

There was a young girl at the Lake who was looking sad. I couldn’t stand to see her suffering. I knew she was in distress, indeed crying. I just walked up to her, asked her if she was ok, and then held her in my arms for a while. It  turns out her mother died two days ago, and the family is fighting over the assets. She came here to this beautiful place in nature to get away from it all. Even though she’s 22, she seemed so young. A shaven head beneath a bandana. Going to the community college studying veterinarianism. The poor mother died of a stroke at 39! The importance of breathing and a stress free life! Whole world going to hell in a hand basket? Who cares? At least we have each other. And we are eternal. We just keep going on and on and one. From one dream to another, until by chance you wake up. That is a strong, heroic heart.

 

I listened to her story. My friend Peter and I gave her an inspirational chat until she felt better. And that’s why I have no fear. I believe in humanity to help each other out, and that our true courage and heroic hearts will come through for us in the every day. Every day we have a chance to be heroic in our own life, but looking deeply at our faults, or helping another in need. How are we going to BE in the moment of crisis we are facing? How are we going to deal with fighting the Evil Empire who is using the Shock Doctrine and Disaster Capitalism to seize power?

I’m not really sure myself. All I know is that the heart will lead the way. I'm ready!

 Avec Amour,

Sydney Solis

 

 

 

 

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