LAWYER, LITTLE B, & MY SKYLIGHT POV

Not being able to sit up at the party, I lied down on the floor and stared up at the sky through the skylight as my beloved friends and family celebrated Little B's birthday!


Today was gloriously beautiful (it's after midnight, so technically it was yesterday).

My cousin Sean flew in from Phoenix, Az, with his wife Clau and their two year old daughter Little B. We had a family and friends reunion to celebrate Little B's second birthday. She is an angel. I could be in the throws of overwhelming, unrelenting pain from my spinal cord injury, and Sean will text me a photo of  Little B; without fail her smile lifts my spirits. She is so full of joy. That's a beautiful thing.

Sean is also my lawyer. He helped me deal with protecting my blog's trademarked name after I discovered someone begging for material items and asking for $750 "donations" for energy work using the same name on his blog. I'd like to reiterate that I have never charged anyone for the energy work I do (I have studied nine years, and continue to study, under the tutelage of Grandmaster Dr.Kam Yuen, Shaolin Temple).

Sean is a brilliant lawyer. He is currently helping me win my appeal re: Medicare. My hearing is in two weeks. 
After nine years, Medicare has decided to deny my Lidoderm Patches. They help numb the third degree burns going from my spinal cord down my left arm. They cost $13,500/year.

Last night Dr. Yuen told me not to worry about money. Check this out: Today I caught up with my old friend/former roommate "D" from Brooklyn. We lived together (with Sean) while I was working on my college thesis. We haven't seen each other in 20 years. D tells me in no uncertain terms that if Medicare denies my meds, he will pay to set up my Special Needs Trust. What compassion!

I have such gracious friends. I'm so blessed. Such grace.

My friend Serrana (my beloved friend and guitar prodigy Jason Becker's nurse) has agreed to set up crowd funding if need be.
My friend, Vernon (lead guitarist of Living Colour) has offered to help get the word out via his fan base, etc.

I truly do have wonderful friends. It's a beautiful thing: we are all kind and have always offered to share our wisdom with others freely: whether it be music theory, mysticism, energy work, etc. We give. That's seva. Lots of people talk. We practice what we preach: do the work and forget about the fruits of your labor (this was taught by both Krishna in the Mahabharata's Bhagavad Gita, and Jesus in John and Thomas.) 

Let's be honest, the glory is in the doing and the giving.

And the Maya spins her web of drama...and we all play our parts.

I might be stuck in a body riddled with dis-ease, but my Heart is open a mile wide, and I am grateful for every breath.

Thank you.

Love.

Namo Namah!

Bhakti

JAI BHAKTI™ BLOG: Raja Yoga: WITNESS EXPERIMENT

Last night, after meditation and while in a state of blissful expansion, I got on Twitter to see if I could engage with a fellow Tweeter who's political views are diametrically opposed to my own without losing my center, the state of expansiveness . His tweets are filled with hatred, and most of what he tweets as fact is simply not true.

Because I was in a state of expansion, I was able to Witness what I was doing while I was doing it. In other words, I wasn't merely reacting to this man's hate-filled tweets, I was watching my every move: metacognition, thinking about my thinking. (I've written about metacognitin many times in the past, please scroll through the archives for more info.)

The reason I did this experiment was because I normally get heated and quite charged when dealing with this kind of person--someone who spews hatred and lies regarding politics and offers no positive solutions.

It bothers me that people buy into so much of the propaganda we call the news. I'm mystified that people cannot intuitively tell right from wrong. (One of the most difficult things to navigate when one is "awake" is recognizing and remembering that others are still bound; compassion is key. After all, ignorance literally means "not knowing".)

My experiment was all about seeing if I could tweet about politics without  losing the state of expansion and, also, discover how defending my view of U.S. politics affects my mood.

What I discovered was that it was totally futile, and perhaps self righteous--even though the tweets were from my heart!-- to try and talk sense into this man. His tweets do affect my livelihood in a roundabout way because he's against helping the sick and elderly, however, everyone is entitled to his or her opinions. 

I also discovered that replying to this man's tweets slowly morphed my state of expansiveness into a state of constriction: from liberation back to Maya, from freedom to the feeling of being stuck.

One of the most important things I learned was 
that countering this man's political views on my Twitter feed offered nothing enlightening to my readers. How could it if the tweets were being offered from a state of constriction? I wasn't so much stating my opinions as I was countering this man's, and that's why I began to lose my center. My reaction to his tweets created the conflict. It's none of my business what he thinks.

Ultimately, I learned that I don't lose my center when discussing politics, but when I get defensive and feel a need to counter with my own point of view. This simply creates more drama, and after 26 years of studying and practicing on the spiritual path, that's the last  thing I'm chasing!

My conclusion to this experiment: 

The only way I can affect a change in this world is to keep an eye on my mood and do whatever needs to be done to cultivate the state of expansiveness.

I will continue to offer wisdom that creates a state of peace and bliss. That's one thing I can do from the confines of my room (virtually bedridden due to spinal injury and spinal diseases).

It is my wish and prayer that everyone, everywhere, experience this level of satchittananda (existence, consciousness, and bliss absolute) in his or her lifetime.

Hari Om Tat Sat!


©2014 DL Bhakti Brophy

BHAKTI BROPHY QUOTE No. 7.7 COMPASSION

Compassion is the only answer because Love is truly all that exists under the veil of Maya--Maya itself being a manifestation of the One.


©2014

BHAKTI'S TONGLEN PRACTICE: How to Deal With the Suffering and Injustices of the World (JAI BHAKTI™ BLOG)

BECOMING DEPRESSED OVER THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS HELPS NO ONE.
YOU CAN AFFECT A POSITIVE CHANGE!

Two weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit, I had emergency surgery to reconstruct my cervical spine. This meant that I was unable to volunteer, which I would have done had I not been laid up. Watching so many people suffer--and incensed as the US Government sat idly by with its bureaucratic thumbs up its bureaucratic arse-- left me in a state of despair. I spent my entire life helping others, and now I was stuck immobile on my parents' couch, watching the horror unfold on TV, unable to lift a finger to help. The physical pain I was experiencing, and the toll the nerve damage was taking on my physical body, meant nothing to me: My heart was breaking.


I expressed my dilemma with my dear friend, Meditation Master Sally Kempton:

"I feel useless, Sallyji! Why would I be rendered unable to help when so many people are suffering? I want so much to go down south to help. These people are suffering and I can't do a thing to help them."



I already knew that my meditation practice--everyone's meditation practice--effects a positive change in the world, but I could not reconcile why I would be given the capacity to give so much, and then not be able to help when so many thousands of people were in dire need of assistance.



Sally taught me the Buddhist practice called Tonglen, as taught to her by Pema Chödron. You can find Pema's Tonglen instructions in many of her fabulous books.



I tweaked the practice to better suit my situation. What remains hardly resembles Tonglen as it was taught to me, but the intention is the same, therefore I continue to call this practice Tonglen. Being virtually bedridden for the past nine years, I use this practice when I begin to feel discouraged that I am not able to be out in the world teaching, doing charity work, sharing my love of life with others, etc. When I feel my own suffering is in vain, I offer this practice to the world:



"May my suffering be enough for this world

so that no one else may have to suffer.

May my pain be enough for the world

So no one else may have to experience pain

May my level of physical discomfort be enough for this world

So that no one else may have to suffer this level of physical discomfort.

May my offering be enough

So that others may live in peace and good health.

Let my suffering be enough for this world.



May every being know

that he or she is being upheld by Grace.

Thank you for blessing me with this Life,

With this Grace,

With this Love.

I offer my life to Your service,

To the service of All.

May it be so.

And so it is."*



If you are feeling overwhelmed by the injustice and suffering in the world, I ask that you look deeply into these feelings. Label them ("I feel sad." "I feel helpless." "I feel scared." etc.), contemplate the feelings, and then create your own Tonglen based practice.



You will learn that, through your meditation and spiritual practices, you are effecting a positive change in this world. Moreover, through going deep in meditation (Raja Yoga), and by studying the Vedas (Jnana Yoga), the reality of existence reveals itself to you. You realize we are all exactly where we are meant to be at any given time. We are all playing roles: we have played them all before, and will continue to do so until Self Realization, and the cessation of the cycle of birth and death.



Tonglen is all about Love and Devotion (Bhakti Yoga) to the One who has become the many.



Love and All Great Blessings to You All


As my very own Self,

Bhakti






*©2005 DL Bhakti Brophy
 ©2014 DL Bhakti Brophy
 All Rights Reserved

METTA PRAYER

May all beings be peaceful.

May all beings be happy.

May all beings be safe.

May all beings awaken to

the light of their true nature.

May all beings be free.

May it be so,
Bhakti