This week, I lost a cherished orange cat–Mushuk (muh-shook). He would have been 19-years old this summer, but it turns out that he did not have another spring in him. This winter was his last. My son broke his leg sledding this past January and Mushuk watched over him as he recovered on the couch. He was that kind of cat. Present. Empathetic. I adopted him as a rescue in Philadelphia a few lifetimes ago when I had nowhere to go but up. As it became more and more clear to me over 18-years that the directional potential of life is infinite and unpredictable, Mushuk found ways to soften the blows of the lowest lows and sweeten the best of days.
As it turns out, I’ve been thinking a lot about the heart, our human capacity for both suffering and joy and how we can use the study of Buddhist texts as a tool for increased capacity for engaging with life. This April I will be offering an online study opportunity of classic Buddhist texts on mindfulness, awareness of the breath, the heart and happiness. The more I build the course curriculum, the more convinced I am that working with the heart is the key to health and well-being. Even before finding myself enveloped by grief, I have been thinking about the heart as a bridge between spirit and matter as reflected in the organization of the energetic body and as suggested by John Selby:
“Below the heart chakra, lies the world of matter, of survival and procreation, of manipulation and mastery over the physical realms of life. Above lies the world of Spirit, of pure thought and intuition, of interpersonal communication and, ultimately, universal unity and transcendence. The heart chakra, in its most basic sense, is the marriage of matter and spirit, of concrete and abstract, of knowledge and wisdom, of earth and heaven.” (Selby 147 as quoted in Sausys 38)
In the Doors of Joy, Daniel Odier in his meditations on Love suggests that we ask ourselves “Have I already experienced a love that was not centered on an object or a human being—a feeling of love that included the world?” (111). I love this question and I feel that thinking about the heart as a bridge between spirit and matter and also considering what the experience of love without an object creates for our human experience truly inspires the core of my objective for the course.
Even if you have limited experience with yoga or meditation or studying any kind of philosophy, I encourage you to consider taking this course with me. Cardiovascular health is not just about aerobic exercise and limiting milkshakes and steaks, it is also about the heart as an energetic body with its own center of intelligence and desire for authentic expression. Taking a few weeks to explore these texts that provide very simple, yet profound, techniques for living a heart-centered life where the intelligence of the heart can inform our actions, words and expression of our unique self in the world is likely to be an experience worth investing in. And, you will save $75 if you register before March 23, 2015!
REFERENCES
Daniel Odier
The Doors of Joy: 19 Meditations for Authentic Living (2014)
Antonio Sausys
Yoga for Grief Relief (2014)
John Selby
Kundalini Awakening: A Gentle Guide to Chakra Activation and Spiritual Growth.
If you are wondering whether or not you are technological enough to take an online course or if you just want to get a “feel” for how the online course works, then please feel free to register for this course for FREE. It’s a very different type of course, but the platform is the same and so the way the course is organized into lessons, discussions and events and how you access the videos and recordings will be exactly the same. Check it out HERE!
