The Art of
Being Happy

Samadhi = settled in pure awareness; the progressive expansion of the selfWith Samadhi, we reach the essence of the concept of spanda (the creative pulse of the universe): that when we go in to the point of absorption, we begin again to open back up. The contraction leads to the expansion, the discipline to the freedom.

 

Georg Feuerstein describes this beautifully, here: “On that journey of growth, those moments involving the temporary
eclipse of the ego form important landmarks for the yogin. These are the
various states of ecstasy (samadhi) that can blossom through the agency
of meditation or that may overwhelm the practitioner suddenly during
the performance of rituals or in the midst of everyday activities. We
become, in consciousness, the bird we contemplate; we become the tree in
which the sap circulates and which stretches its ramified crown toward
the invigorating sun; we become the solar disk whose vivifying energies
pour over the planets of our galaxy; we become the universe in its grand
immensity and pulsating fullness. We may even become one with the
tranquil center in the depth of our own being, or unite with the
all-comprising wholeness of the supreme Being.” – http://breathelosgatos.com/blog/?p=1248

Our exploration of meditation and samadhi needn’t be esoteric, though the subjects can seem complex. We can look back to the Yoga Sutras for teaching inspiration and see that the first pada (chapter) is itself called Samadhi Pada! Scholars dispute whether the first section of the Sutra is about samadhi or nirodha (cessation of thought)… and whether some stages of samadhi can be possible paths towards nirodha, and therefore yoga. From Barbara Stoler Miller’s Yoga: Discipline of Freedom, a translation of Yoga Sutra 1.20: “For others cessation of thought follows from faith, heroic
energy, mindfulness, contemplative calm, and wisdom.” She says, “Most commentators say that these aphorisms refer to levels of contemplative calm (samadhi). Others, however, argue that they refer the cessation of thought (nirodha), and this is the interpretation I develop here. All of Part One of the Yoga Sutra seems to explore the meaning and means of bringing thought to rest; contemplative calm is given as just one of the states that can lead to cessation of thought.” 

DECEMBER POM & TOM
Our Themes of the Month are Dhyana (Meditation) and Samadhi (Absorption/Enlightenment).
“Patanjali’s ashtanga yoga includes eight components of practice (“ashtanga” means “eight-limbed” in Sanskrit), and dharana, or concentration is the sixth of these eight limbs. The seventh limb is dhyana, or meditation, and the eighth and final limb is samadhi, or enlightenment. These last three limbs are often studied together and are called antaratma sadhana, or the innermost quest.” – from http://www.yogajournal.com/article/yoga-101/seeking-samadhi/
Note: The practice of the final three limbs is also called samyama (according to Yoga Sutra 3.4)