Plasticity: Power of Affirmations, Aphrodisiacs

Dearbhla Kelly (durgayoga, layoga.com); Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.” - THE BUDDHA

  

Think affirmations are New-Agey and trite? I mean, really, as if, “I am the very source of abundance and love itself” taped on the mirror were going to pay that credit card bill in the drawer? 

I’m going to suggest that we rethink and try on the possibility that affirmations may be at the cutting edge of neuroscience and its sexy sister, PNI, or psycho-neuro-immunology.
 

See inside free (layoga.com)

And while an affirmation in and of itself may not be enough to pay bills, practicing affirmations can reshape our brains and thus cause us to incorporate behavioral changes, which can help us do everything from having more successful relationships to better managing our finances.

“Plasticity” refers to the brain’s ability to reconfigure itself, to establish and to dissolve connections between its different parts. Consider the phrase, “Neurons that fire together wire together” [video]. What exactly does it mean? More

Aphrodisiacs: Encouraging Love and Vigor
Arun Deva (layoga.com, Feb. 2014, p. 26)

Depression help (chin mudra)

We are all fascinated with aphrodisiacs -- the substances or activities that help build our strength and staying power in the bedroom as well as our overall vitality.

In Ayurveda, the study and use of these is significant. The Sanskrit term for aphrodisiacs is vajikarana, which means "that which imparts the strength of a horse."

Aphrodisiacs are applicable whatever one’s personal situation. Reproductive fluid, called shukra, circulates throughout the body and is responsible for courage, activity, love, delight, and vigor, according to the ancient Indian medical texts, the Sushruta Samhita and the Charaka Samhita. More

Also in this issue: massage oils, yogi food, meditation, depression help (mudra), Deepak Chopra, astrology, India.Arie, yogis feeding the homeless, Events Calendar, "Lights, Camera, Yoga!"

Unravelling the Mysteries of Mind and Body

Wisdom Quarterly, new Dharma book by Sayalay Susila edited by Dhr. Seven

The Sayadaw, Sayalay, and Seven set out the Buddha's "Higher Teaching"

  

(Aidan McRae Thomson)

Wisdom Quarterly is overjoyed to announce that Unravelling the Mysteries of Mind & Body Through Abhidhamma, the much awaited new book by the accomplished Buddhist monastic Sayalay Susila and Wisdom Quarterly editor Yogi Seven, is now available on Amazon.

We are pleased to see our efforts come to fruition and have the opportunity to share this work of Dharma, the culmination of Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw's accessible teachings on this delicate and complex topic.

 

All proceeds from the book go to support the establishment of Appamada Vihari, Sayalay Susila's new meditation center, offering an opportunity for all to accumulate supportive merit to advance on the Buddhist path toward enlightenment in this very life.

Why would anyone go on a meditation retreat?

 
ABOUT

Ven. Sayalay Susila, Grand Canyon

Unravelling the Mysteries of Mind & Body Through Abhidhamma was originally derived from a series of PowerPoint presentations and talks on the Abhidharma (Buddhism's "Higher" or "Ultimate Teachings"). 

It is based directly on instructions by famed Burmese Buddhist Meditation Master Pa Auk Sayadaw -- presented by the Chinese-Malaysian nun Ven. Sayalay Susila on her trips around the U.S. and Canada in 2002.

How much longer will the liberating Dharma survive in the world? (Mikecogh/flickr.com)

 
Repeatedly told how helpful these were, Sayalay developed them into a startlingly clear visual presentation and eventually a book, now in its second completely re-edited edition.
 
At first glance the Abhidharma can appear so complicated as to be impenetrable. It may, therefore, seem dull and irrelevant, a mere commentary to the sutras rather than a systematic treatment of what is needed to attain enlightenment -- the details, the explanations, the factors explained in extreme detail.
 

The Buddha among devas explaining the Abhidharma leading to final liberation

 
That it has been largely overlooked outside of Burma comes as no surprise. But the Sayadaw, Sayalay, and Seven have made Abhidharma accessible by employing direct and concrete language, clear analogies, and simple anecdotes primarily based on the experiences of real meditators in Asia, America, and Europe over many years. 

The essence of Abhidharma is drawn out from its vast and complex matrix. Doing so makes it utterly practical, relating to everyday life in a way practitioners find meaningful for ordinary living. The way to realization is through concentration-and-insight meditation instruction to tie together theory and practice.

First edition (holybooks.com)

In this way analytical knowledge is made available for direct personal realization in meditation (bhavana, cultivation and development of various kinds). By providing clarity, this book helps practitioners come to a knowing-and-seeing, or knowledge and vision, of Abhidharma as a path revealed by the historical Buddha. It shows that its application, not its theoretical grasping, leads to happiness, mundane and supramundane. 
 

May all beings -- humans, devas, and others -- share in the blessings of this offering of liberating wisdom.

Who sees the Dharma (Dependent Origination) sees the Buddha (MN 28; Mikecogh)