January | 2020 | Home Yoga Practice

When I first got into yoga about twenty years ago, I collected a whole library of spiritual-related books. Through the years and moves, my library thinned. One book that has stuck with me and I have refused to give away is called The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment by Thaddeus Golas. Not much of a book really, but more a thin 30 page pamphlet not much longer than Ramana Maharshi’s “I am That.” It was evidently handed out on the streets of San Francisco in 1971 until it was published. It is a backhanded guide to Bhakti Yoga if you will.

The basis is simple: the universe is made out of one type of “stuff” and that “stuff” expands or contracts based on how much we love or withdraw from love. Feeling bad? Just put your love into something. Feeling spaced out and “pourous”? Maybe you are putting too much love into something that is already saturated with love. As I am getting older and more cynical, these types of easy peasey ideas actually break me out of my funk.

The book steers clear of some type of diety or God, but just the act of expanding or contracting your love. If you are of a certain faith, you can apply this to that which you worship. This also works well with relationships, pets and plants. Experiment on your pet. Give your pet as much love as you can in the next five minutes and you will see that this theory holds water. Then try it on humans.

When you practice yoga, you are giving yourself an intense dose of love. Just don’t overdo it or are pushed into getting into some type of Instagram challenge pose.

It seems the world is in a big funk now: political corruption, coronaviruses, homelessness, global warming etc etc. Maybe it is time to start thinking differently. Love is a great tool to change the world and certainly yourself.

Happy 2020 everyone! Not a whole lot of pleasant news around the world of late, so I thought I would buck the trend and show you how my garden is doing. My dog Kinako likes to “assist” me by digging random holes in the yard. During a recent play date with our neighbor’s dog, the two managed to dig a hole deep enough to plant a Hawaiian Ti leaf plant! The two dug a hole on the very most Eastern spot in the yard. As the East is auspicious, I took it as a sign to plant something that has deep significance to the Hawaiian culture. Ti leaf plants have tremendous powerful import. During the volcano eruptions last year, people would put Ti leaves in the path of the lava flow in efforts to appease Madame Pele. Having a Ti plant in the East part of the yard will bring protection and prosperity in the new year.

The man who cut our lawn retired this year and we hired a new person based on his recommendation. The new lawn service man did a terrific job, but also mowed over my whole garden! I couldn’t be mad because I did not direct him otherwise. When I saw all of my plants leveled, I “rage planted” the rest of my seeds. As a result, I have had a tremendous okra harvest this year. I grow both the green and burgundy varieties which makes for a whimsical harvest.

Our next door neighbor had to go to a care home as she was in her 90s and could not live independently anymore. Her late husband was an avid gardener and their whole property was lush with vegetation. Her son is renovating the property and took out all the plants. As a result, somehow a lot of the seeds from their property have migrated over to our yard. One day I saw a random bitter melon plant, tomato, and chili pepper growing. These are plants that I have grown myself, so I let them go. About two months later a large portion of my wall is covered with bitter melon leaves that trellis up wild tomato plants mixed in with peppers. This whole wall is edible! I didn’t lift a finger for this to happen and am letting mother nature do all the work.

Between letting dogs do the digging, my neighbor’s plants doing the sowing, and mother nature to the tending, I suppose my job is just to enjoy the process and harvest when ready! Have a happy new year!