By: Coby Hadas "...we choose wisely our battles, we choose wisely our audience, and we choose wisely our timing." I’m boarding a flight to go home for the holidays, Guatemala to New York with a long layover in Miami. I’m always the last to board, I want to minimize my time on the radiation filled cylinder which is going to miraculously hurtle me through the air, landing lightly and gracefully on terrafirma, a continent away (I hope). I pass row after packed row overwhelmed with whiffs of equal parts perfume and BO. 24, 25, 26, 27… I reach my row and glance to the left, an empty seat sandwiched between a large gentleman on the aisle (arg) and, a friend at the window. What a small world!
by Coby Hadas Who was the “Buddha”? There are many ways to answer this question, for there are many aspects of the Buddha. There was the person, Siddhārtha Gautama, who truly existed. He was born, lived an interesting life which we know a little about, and died. Buddha is also a mythical character. While Siddhārtha was real, the stories that developed in the centuries after his death became diluted with the grandeur people feel for their holy leaders. And finally, despite his teachings to the contrary, there is the religious figurehead, the statue to whom people bow and leave offerings, that Buddha has become to many. by Coby Hadas
by Coby Hadas
by Coby Hadas ‘No’… it’s such a simple sound to make and yet often so hard to say. Those who have difficulty making this simple sound are the yes-men of the planet. Saying ‘no’, they fear, may make someone not like them. If they say ‘no’ they may be perceived as unkind or mean. Due to this fear, a yes-man will often put other’s needs before their own. Generosity and kindness, they feel, is more important than their own wellbeing. Fifteen years ago I left the comforts of the US to explore our beautiful planet. For much of my time abroad I have been living in spiritual communities of one sort or another. During this time, something has become apparent that brings me concern… within these communities there is a sore lacking of men. And not by a small margin either. I don’t have any precise numbers, but I’d guess that the circles I walk in are roughly 80% female. By Coby Hadas After many years of floating on the beautiful stream of privileged comfort and ease we call suburbia, my inner self demanded more. While the ride was pleasant, there was a lack of stimulation which bored me… I wanted more. Motivated by curiosity and a desire for excitement, I stood up and leapt over the edge of the abyss, trusting my eagle wings would take me where I needed to go. My landing was soft and sweet in the mountainous jungles of Colombia. By Coby Hadas My wife, CJ Ananda, and I have been leading Shamanic Yoga retreats, cleanses and teacher trainings for many years and we’re often asked about the connection between these two ancient traditions. But before we can begin to explore the overlap of these paths, I’d first like to define Shamanism, as it’s a term that’s used widely in the West but not very well understood. Keep in mind that since Shamanism has been practiced around the globe for hundreds of thousands of years, it’s not possible to fit all traditions into one all encompassing definition. But, the following is as good as I can do… By Coby Hadas “On some level, sometimes gross and sometimes subtle, we all carry impurities. Your parents have toxins within their bodies, minds and spirits, as did their parents, and their parent’s parents. Since the times of the Ancients, we have been passing on our filth, from one generation to the next. Since you were born, your parents have done their best to raise you and while they may have passed on much light, they also, unknowingly, passed on the shadow programming that their parents had gifted them. And so it goes, from one generation to the next, passing on our light and our shadows. Nor is it just your parents, our society is a collective of impurity, and we are a product of the collective shadow. The chain of darkness goes back to the beginning of time, when the only way to survive was through greed, lust and violence. With the beginning of civilization, decency developed and violence diminished, but the primal Ego has never left.”
“So, is a baby pure?” I asked. “Babies are our greatest teachers, for they are the cleanest of us all,” she said, clearly delighted by the thought of babies. But then her face dropped and she continued, “But no, babies are not enlightened beings. They too have their work, they too must walk the path of cleansing. When two impure beings come together and make a baby, the baby was not made with perfect awareness, was not made with perfect intention. These impurities are passed to the baby on the level of the DNA. We must cleanse ourselves so deeply that we even purify the contamination that has been passed to us on a genetic level.” |
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