• The main article on Tony Parrish and his path to recovery using Bikram Hot Yoga.

• The Bikram Hot Yoga Pose slideshow

Here are few of them with links to the pose into the slide show.

• Quotes create a small ripple of good thoughts which in turn stay and many times increase in our day. This is no different than meeting a cheerful or upbeat person in the morning.

• Yes, there are things better than Quotes. Quotes are not doing, for example, Reading about clearing your mind does not clear your mind. After ways and methods which tell you “what”, come ways and methods which tell us “how”.

I’m a Hippie Yogi!

A Hippie Yogi

When you’re not doing yoga or marching in protests, you divide your time between
hugging trees and flashing peace signs at people you don’t know. You truly
care about the world around you and take action to make it a better place for
everyone to enjoy–including your furry friends. You’re warm, welcoming,
and a lot of fun.

Be careful, however, not to let your dedication to your cause alone determine your
actions–take time for yourself every now and then, too. Everything in moderation
will make you more balanced in your yoga practice and in your life.

Ahem, Maybe I just do not know myself or I am not focusing when answering these quizzes.

How to register?
The process for registration involves taking a two second check swab. If a match is found, some more tests are done. For the actual bone marrow transplant, from the HelpVinay FAQ.
Peripheral blood stem cell collection

(MOST current and common method)…..You are given small injections of Neupogen/Filgrastin for 3 to 5 days to force your marrow to overproduce marrow or stem cells which are then released into your circulating blood. The stem cells are collected by removing blood from a vein in your arm, passing it through a filter system, which collects the stem cells and returns the remaining blood to you…a 2 to 3 hour procedure.

Where to register?

Find a drive happening close to your location using

• For US, click to find All Upcoming Drives for Vinay

• For US, click to find the nearest National Bone Marrow Donor drive
• For Canadians: https://www.blood.ca/Web/cbswebforms.nsf/page/E_ubmdrPKG-intro?opendocum…
• For the Brits: http://www.anthonynolan.org.uk/
• For Singaporeans: www.bmdp.org

For people around Eastside, there is a drive happening on the Microsoft Campus from July 23-July 27 2007

See map: Google Maps

Contact Person: Sandip Shahane: sandipshahane at yahoo.com; (425) 894-5153

These are guidelines on how to live one’s life and are full of wisdom.

Many of the Verses are relevant for Personal Development including the one about “Reviewing each day of your life”. Some of the other concepts are similar to those in Yoga texts.

Here are a few selected Golden Verses of Pythagoras:

• Do not neglect the health of your body. Give to the body food, drink and exercise in measure — so that it strengthen and know not surfeit and slumber.

• Before sleep closes your eyes remember thrice your deeds of the day. Consider them as an impartial judge and ask yourself: “What good did I do? What did I fail to do that I should have done?” Thus review everything you did throughout the day. Reproach yourself severely for all wrong deeds and be glad about the good ones.

• Remember about the law of cause and effect in your life.

• You are given the ability to overcome your passions: greed, laziness, lust, and anger; use it and restrain yourself.

• As for the misfortunes that are sent to people according to their destinies, you have to endure them patiently. Strive nevertheless to alleviate the pain as much as you can. And remember that the Immortal Gods never send to people trials which are above their strengths.

• Choose for yourself a wise friend; heed his advice and learn from his example; do not quarrel with him for trifle reasons.

• Listen to others’ advice and deliberate yourself. Only fools acts thoughtlessly, without consideration.

• And abstain from eating flesh: this is contrary to your nature and will prevent you from purifying yourself.

For the complete Verses, here are two translations of Golden Verses of Pythagoras:

• At Pythagoras.name, by the Russian E.P.Kaznacheeva

• At Sacred Texts by Florence M. Firth who in turn uses different translations
  

Here is my current view on it and some other information.

Vipassana Course as taught by S. N Goenka is not for me. Why

1. Mismatch of general philosophy and outlook

I do not believe in the most common refrain that more one does or achieves (Money, Career, etc) in the world, the more one is accumulating bad karma. This is typical of many Buddhist and Hinduism philosophy and also of Vipassana.

My current method seems to be a mix of Yoga (Moral Conduct, Asanas, Meditation as per Yoga Sutras by Patanjali), Law of Attraction\Intention manifestation, though I keep checking what my goals are and updating paths\methods accordingly (Ideas to think consciously about your spiritual goals and evaluating spiritual paths.)

2. There are enough of aches and pain in life on it’s own

In my opinion, in a Vipassana course, pain (in addition to diet detox, less sleep, minimal or no caffeine, deprivation of normal activities and stimuli, etc) is used to break down mental barriers and defenses to self exploration.

I would rather not go through acute pain and potential of injury for my spiritual path. This is more relevant being a computer programmer my body gets repetitive stress on a daily basis. and being in my 30s.

I will, in future seek courses\retreats which include Yoga Asanas to balance Sitting Meditation. Unless Yoga continues to help me in which case I might consider reapplying to a Goenka Vipassana course.

Vipassana Course as taught by S. N Goenka why it might be for you.

1. It is one of the non-controversial spiritual path and it is free.

At the core, it is kind of straight forward. You sit and meditate lots of hours for lots of days, insight happens.
It is free, donations are welcome at the end of the course. This compares well againsts the typical $100 per day at the other Ashrams such Sivaananda or Haridass ones.

2. You do not have acute pains or even better have a young body.

I personally know or saw 55+ year old people doing the course and of many young ones being in utter pain. I believe the course is better handled if you do not have acute pains or even better have a young and healthy body.

3. You have difficultly starting some spiritual practice on your own.

A retreat, any retreat is a good way to get a boost, a jump start and if the general Buddhist philosophy appeals to you, give a try.

Few other things

1. Retreats or meditation break\vacation are useful

They revitalize one’s path, resulting in progress and highlighting the benefits of a spiritual practice if one has been drifting.

2. If I ever get the temptation to get tough and try it out, I will remember to sit at home for 2 days or I might just try something else equally tougher like climb Mt. Rainier.
3. I found a disturbing trend is that some educational institutes (For example, MBA HR students at SCM HRD, Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development in Pune, India) are forcing their students to take the Vipassana course.

Nipun wrote about such a group in Vipassana Day 2: Dharma Works. Excerpt: “Right then, the director of the college calls just as a routine check-up. He is furious to learn of the plans of these 17 students (to leave early); he blatantly informs them that they will be expelled from college if they return.” and “if they get expelled, not only will they lose their valuable admission here but they won’t be allowed to enter another business school elsewhere.”, though they do not agree with it “And everyone at the meditation center here is in full agreement that such a scenario should never ever happen again. Fear simply can’t be the motivation for meditation.”

4. Vipassana course did and still does has that feel of being able to provide a way to go to the other side (Spiritual, More knowledge, etc) and make quicker progress, it is in sheer hours, equivalent of many months of regular meditation.
5. Do consider it when you are serious about a spiritual path. As I wrote earlier in Ideas to think consciously about your spiritual goals and evaluating spiritual paths, “Do not go knocking on doors you do not want opened or want to go through”.

On what to expect at a Vipasana Center and what to take

• Keep the items to take at a bare minimum, the place is rustic. You will not get a drawer or cupboard, so be ready to use your luggage bag as your cupboard.
• The beds are bunk beds with one of top accessible using a ladder.
• The toilets and bathrooms are rustic but more or less clean. The waterless ones in NorthWest Vipassana Center in Onalaska smelt pretty bad most of the time.
• Carry
• a water bottle and a mug, it will save you trips.
• a meditation cushion, though they do have some and provide a thin one for all.
• a light shawl\throw for the temperature change.
• Consumables like Soap, ToothPaste, Sleeping bag, etc
• The food is excellent, it is modern vegetarian with lots of whole grains, vegetables, etc.

Last updated: 2nd June 2007.


]]> http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-05/more-goenka-vipassana-course-thoughts.html/feed/ http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/yoga/2007-04/yoga-studios-in-bellevue-redmond-mercer-island-kirkland-issaquah-seattle-eastside.html http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/yoga/2007-04/yoga-studios-in-bellevue-redmond-mercer-island-kirkland-issaquah-seattle-eastside.html#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:37:42 +0000 Amit D. Chaudhary Yoga Work Health NorthWest http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/yoga/2007-04/yoga-studios-in-bellevue-redmond-mercer-island-kirkland-issaquah-seattle-eastside.html Custom Google Map: Yoga studios in Bellevue, Redmond, Mercer Island, Kirkland & Issaquah (Seattle Eastside)

I have visited most of these Yoga Studios.



Includes:

	Yoga Centers: Iyengar \ Hatha Yoga (Personal Favorite) 2255 140th Ave NE, Suite F Bellevue, WA 98005 Yoga
	Bikram Hot Yoga Bellevue (Personal Favorite) 626 120th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98005
	Yoga House of Bellevue: JivaMukti Yoga 12015 NE 8th St Bellevue, WA 98005
	Hot Yoga of Kirkland: Bikram and Power 434 Parkplace Center Kirkland, WA 98033
	Discover Yoga: Vini Yoga 16615 Redmond Way, Suite 201 Redmond, WA 98052
	Shakti Vinyasa East: Baptise 10245 Main St, Suite 104 Bellevue, WA 98004
	Hot Yoga of Issaquah: Bikram & Power 485 Front St N, Suite D-2, Issaquah, WA 98027
	The Sanctuary Spa & Yoga: Various incl. Hot & Power 8862 161st Ave NE, Ste 107, Redmond, WA 98052
	Yoga Bliss: Kripalu(Greg Owen), Power, etc 7650 SE 27th St, #134, Mercer Island, WA 98040 Yog


]]> http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/yoga/2007-04/yoga-studios-in-bellevue-redmond-mercer-island-kirkland-issaquah-seattle-eastside.html/feed/ http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-04/results-of-quiz-what-religion-do-you-fit-in-with-apparently-taoism.html http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-04/results-of-quiz-what-religion-do-you-fit-in-with-apparently-taoism.html#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2007 17:04:54 +0000 Amit D. Chaudhary Spiritual Entertainment http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-04/results-of-quiz-what-religion-do-you-fit-in-with-apparently-taoism.html Mostly for fun, I took this test. Needed to find the meaning of recant and gullible.
As far as I can be sure, I am more of a non-religious person, though spirituality in general is important to me, so it is kind of right, though I do find the “0% reason oriented” comment slightly offensive! they probably intended it to mean I am neutral towards reason.

The results:




You fit in with: Taoism Your ideals mostly resemble those of the Taoist faith. Spirituality is the most important thing in your life. You strive to live by all of your ideals, and live a very intellectually focused life. 20% spiritual. 0% reason-oriented.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com


]]> http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-04/results-of-quiz-what-religion-do-you-fit-in-with-apparently-taoism.html/feed/ http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-03/results-of-quiz-what-dd-character-am-i-apparently-a-monk.html http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-03/results-of-quiz-what-dd-character-am-i-apparently-a-monk.html#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2007 03:07:16 +0000 Amit D. Chaudhary Spiritual Personal development Entertainment http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-03/results-of-quiz-what-dd-character-am-i-apparently-a-monk.html Interesting personality quiz for fun

The What D&D Character are you? Test



Note from the quiz: Ok geeks, listen up! We all have our favorite characters. Some of us pick the character who can do the most damage; others choose to play a character they can roleplay really well. So, come on, see who you really are in the fantasy world.

My results as a gamer though , it is atleast partially off the mark, still was fun and worth trying

Fighter! Victory! You scored 41!

The clash of steel, the heat of battle, the chaffing of your chainmail bikini. Looks like you’re the fighter. You are tough, strong and have cool head about you. You’re disiplined and tactical. You tend to think with just your muscles though and sometimes you have to get a little help from your more scholarly friends. But don’t worry; somebody’s gotta knock down the door later and smashing’s what you do best. So layeth on the smackdown good warrior and may thine boot find thine opponent’s ass verily.

My results as how I look at life are below, though again it off the mark

Monk! Victory! You scored 3!

“It is time for you to leave Grasshopper.” You travel. Work. Sleep when you can. You’re a monk. You are contemplative, simple and quiet. However, the second anyone gives you shit you fly into a furious whirlwind of martial arts mayhem. Your friends give you the space you need and you only speak when neccessary. However, you’re a mystery to most. You’re most likely to end up wandering the frontier, barefoot with the sun beating down on your ragged hat and on the run from someone. It’s all good though. With any luck, you can get into one of Quentin Tarantino’s films.


]]> http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-03/results-of-quiz-what-dd-character-am-i-apparently-a-monk.html/feed/ http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-03/a-story-on-skeptics-and-psychics.html http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-03/a-story-on-skeptics-and-psychics.html#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2007 05:31:15 +0000 Amit D. Chaudhary Spiritual Entertainment http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-03/a-story-on-skeptics-and-psychics.html I am a believer in “Three distinct qualities in approximately equal measure: Common Sense, Skepticism and Openness” and yet explore methods as an experiential basis, these have included Law of attraction aka The Secret and Vipassana.

After sufficiently quoting myself as a friend pointed out some bloggers tend to do, I would like to recommend a Novella (kind of a long story, but much shorter than a novel) which is also a 2006 Hugo Award winner:

• Inside Job by Connie Willis

The complete online version is made available by the Asimov SciFi magazine and a book is also available from Amazon.com

It is a story of a skeptic meeting a channeler, a very nicely balanced work and has extra appeal to the science minded (Due to the puzzle, it is indeed a strange loop) and the supernatural minded.


]]> http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-03/a-story-on-skeptics-and-psychics.html/feed/ http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-02/the-secret-and-law-of-attraction-some-practical-next-steps.html http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-02/the-secret-and-law-of-attraction-some-practical-next-steps.html#comments Mon, 12 Feb 2007 03:56:03 +0000 Amit D. Chaudhary Spiritual Personal development http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-02/the-secret-and-law-of-attraction-some-practical-next-steps.html The Secret, a movie (spiritual pseudo documentary, if you prefer) on a topic which will help one achieve success as on my list after I read Steve Pavlina’s The Secret review. I ran into it last weekend when I was at a local Barnes and Nobles after going through aisles and aisles of computer books. On a hunch, I decide to purchase it and watched it over the weekend.



My thoughts on the movie:

The secret is law of attraction. It goes something like “Everyone attracts everything in their life that happens including wealth, health, relationships, emotional states, etc and it can be used to attract anything else one wants”.
Overall, I found the movie to be well made and still it was kind of vague and not useful for someone who is somewhat aware of the concept.

• It does not point out notes or reasons from the past about why, how, when the secret was discovered and how it was concealed or suppressed. The suppression part is hard to digest as the best seller “Think and Grow Rich!” was published around 70 years back and has been in wide circulation.
• It fails to point out practical steps to try it out. It does suggest the following. Use Gratitude, for what you already have. Visualize as if you have already have what you want to attract to your life, do this everyday. Love yourself. Energy flows where attention is.

Personally I would recommend the movie to someone who is not aware of law of attraction, especially if they prefer a visual (Movie) medium.

Alternatives:

Alternatively, I would recommend the following audio lectures from the Pavlinas

• Steve Pavlina’s Podcast #016 - The True Nature of Reality (~70 min) On what is the law of attraction and how it affects your reality?
• Erin Pavlina’s Podcast #017 - Placing Your Order With the Universe (~10 min) On why we fail to manifest (attract) the things we visualize
• Or I would recommend one of the two books below.

Some practical next steps:

Better than the movie, pick either of these books and use the practical advice in them

• Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised by Napoleon Hill. This book particularly covers what actions are needed to make your wishes come true.
• Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life by Shakti Gawain. This book focuses on visualization and shows steps to increase your manifestation capabilities.
• Finally, if you did like the movie and want to stay with it, another option is to follow one or more of the Secret Teachers, the previous link contains brief bios and links to the teachers websites.

Updates:

• Newsweek has an article on the topic: The Secret, this new thought may just be new marketing and an excerpt from The Secret book.

]]> http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-02/the-secret-and-law-of-attraction-some-practical-next-steps.html/feed/ http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/yoga/2007-02/bellevue-bikram-hot-yoga-class-schedule.html http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/yoga/2007-02/bellevue-bikram-hot-yoga-class-schedule.html#comments Sun, 04 Feb 2007 08:16:39 +0000 Amit D. Chaudhary Yoga NorthWest http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/yoga/2007-02/bellevue-bikram-hot-yoga-class-schedule.html Bellevue Hot Bikram Yoga website uses flash, so it means 2-3 clicks to get to the class schedule. I thought I will put up a schedule copy here to make it easier for myself and others to bookmark and access. The Teacher information below tends to be stale and change often, so please use it only as a guideline.
I wrote earlier on Bikram Hot Yoga: Introduction to Hot Bikram Yoga and Review of Bellevue Hot Bikram Yoga

MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
6:00 9:30 12:00 4:30(Erica) 6:30(Erica) 8:15(Elliot)	6:00 9:30 2:30 4:30 (Katy) 6:30 (Katy) 8:15	6:00 (Jamie) 9:30 12:00 4:30 (Katy) 6:30 (Katy) 8:15	6:00(Jamie) 9:30 2:30 4:30 (Elliot) 6:30 (Elliot) 8:15	6:00 9:30 12:00 4:30 (Hilarie) 6:30 (Hilarie)	8:00 (Hilarie) 10 (Hilarie) 5:00	8:00 (Hilarie) 10 (Hilarie) 5:00

Times Last updated: 4 May 2007


]]> http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/yoga/2007-02/bellevue-bikram-hot-yoga-class-schedule.html/feed/ http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-01/more-feeds-work-and-spiritual-items.html http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-01/more-feeds-work-and-spiritual-items.html#comments Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:20:27 +0000 Amit D. Chaudhary Spiritual Work Life http://blog.rajgad.com/spiritual/2007-01/more-feeds-work-and-spiritual-items.html Other than the main feed, there are now separate feeds for Work related blog items (Technology, Software development, etc) and Spiritual items(Yoga, etc). Miscellaneous items such as Personal Development, Northwest are still only in the complete feed.

Here is the list.

• Complete blog feed
• Work items blog feed
• Spiritual items blog feed

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