Being in the Moment and practicing Non Attachment

Aloha Everyone,

During my stay in the Philippines, I had a chance to get acquainted with two people who are so different from one another that they might as well have come from two ends of the world.  Yet, they are both Americans whose personal circumstances have transported them to this part of the world.

David, not his real name, is a retired U.S. military.  He has fought in Vietnam and has had a chance to mingle with those in high society of his host countries in the South East Asia to those who are making living off the streets.  David is street wise.  He does not trust anyone as he does not trust himself.  He told us that he has done drugs, taken marijuana and cocaine as well as has been witness to human trafficking.  He has seen the good, the bad and ugly and has an intimate knowledge of the suffering of those who fell in the cracks of the society. David told me that if I know a half of what he has done, I would not want to be in the same room with him.  However I also learned through several conversations we had that he has "changed his ways" and made a pack with the maker that he is allowed to live 15 good years, he will be a reformed man.  "I owe my life to no one," as he put it bluntly.  From his birth, David somehow carved his life, was able to overcome his shortcomings and determined to make something of himself.  He acts like a "tough-guy".  Yet, David has an open heart.  Behind his caustic facade, volatile personality, it's not difficult to see his honesty and vulnerability.  I do not believe that he is an immoral person but rather he hides behind a shell.  He is afraid of more rejections.  He is afraid to be judged by others.  But who is to say one is virtuous. 

David lives by clinging onto his past or dreaming of a better tomorrow. Whenever disappointment occurs in his life which seems to be constant, the way David cope is by reacting in anger and looking for someone or something to blame.

James, not his real name, also lives in the past or in his future.  James is young, attractive, has a beautiful wife and three little boys.  He appears to be a model of a happy man and a happy father.  However James' moving to this part of the world happened not by choice.  Rather than looking at this period of his life as an adventure which many would dream of, he is thinking, "I am not happy and I must get back to my old life-style which I once thought I enjoyed while I was living back in a small town in Tennessee."  James is not happy with not understanding the language, he is not happy with the weather.  Perhaps someone should gently remind him that it get very humid and hot in Tennessee in the summer months, too.

When one is dissatisfied and not being in the moment, even little things can become a big deal.  

Basic practice of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation teaches us to know what is happening in your mind.  Whether you are happy, angry, sad, attached or detached, if you can accept your ife as is and being in the moment, you will learn to let go of the fear of the unknown, let go of cringing to the past, let go of the pains of desiring something that cannot be attained, let go of finding blames to others and enjoy being in the moment.

We can practice non-attachment by practicing the following techniques:

1)  Mindfulness - be in the moment, aware of that which is occurring mentally, emotionally and physically without judgment

2)  Law of Karma - whatever comes let it come, whatever goes, let it go

3)  The neutral mind, the yogic mind to maintain equanimity and composure.  Whenever you are faced with the fluctuation of life, treating the ploarities equally, favoring neither one or the other

May all Davids and James in the world find peace and happiness and learn to live in the moment and let go of attachments.

SAT NAM -- Cathi