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Find Your Life Purpose Even in Difficult Times
Can difficulties in life actually help us to find our purpose and step forward as our best selves? Author and spiritual teacher Stephen Cope takes teachings from the Bhagavad Gita as well as stories from the lives of well-known ordinary people to offer examples for finding meaning and purpose in our lives.
Stephen Cope is Scholar Emeritus at the renowned Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and the founder and former director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living. He is a Western-trained psychotherapist who writes and teaches about the relationship between Western psychological paradigms and the Eastern contemplative traditions, and is the best-selling author of such books as The Great Work of Your Life and Yoga and the Quest for the True Self and the book being discussed on this program, The Dharma in Difficult Times. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his work.
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: I loved how Stephen Cope described our individual dharma or purpose in life, as the intersection of our particular talents with the small corner of life that we can influence for the common good of all life on earth. He illustrated the idea of dharma in difficult times with his clear understanding of the teachings from the Bhagavad Gita and wonderful stories of well-known activists, artists and martyrs in such a way that was inspiring and thought provoking. I will always be influenced by Stephen Cope's inspirational way of talking about how we can find what is our's to do in today's world.
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: I enjoyed the richness of our conversation about “Krishna’s Four Lessons for Tough Times”, which are pulled from The Bhagavad Gita, and which Stephen illustrated with examples from people’s lives. The four lessons were: Take Refuge; Look for the Gift in the Wound; Personal Fulfillment, the Common Good Arise Together; and You Are Not the Doer. I was also touched by one of Mahatma Gandhi’s spiritual principles, that only love can overcome hate. Stephen writes: "Gandhi believed that if one consistently acts with love, he will slowly but surely bend the moral arc of the Universe”. To me, this is an essential message for our time.
Gratefulness and The Path to Freedom
How can the power of love, clarity about our divine purpose and gratitude transform our lives? Join Yogacharya O’Brian as she shares how we can connect to that power and set ourselves on the path of ultimate freedom.
Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian is the founder of the Yoga Hour. She is a spiritual teacher, writer, poet, and the founder and spiritual director of Center for Spiritual Enlightenment—a Kriya Yoga Meditation Center with headquarters in San Jose, California. She teaches nationally and internationally and has received several community service awards, including the Mahatma Gandhi Award for the Promotion of Religious Pluralism. She is the author of several books including Living the Eternal Way: Bringing Spiritual Meaning and Practice for Daily Life. She offers an on-demand online course, Live the Eternal Way which this book supplements. You can find out more about Yogacharya O’Brian, her many online classes, books, and videos at her websites.
LINK TO YOGACHARYA’S TALK: THE POWER OF GRATEFULNESS.
Center for Spiritual Enlightenment
YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: I thought that I knew all I needed to know about gratitude, but this program brought some new insights to me. I love that Yogacharya said that gratitude is a tool that offers us an opportunity to shift out of our narrow, egoic mind with attractions and aversions. It opens us up to the expansive mind, open to possibilities. That is the power of gratitude. Yogacharya O’Brian told us not to wait to practice gratitude, we have the opportunity every day to practice. She said refuse to let the small annoyances take away our peace and contentment. I found this program very inspiring.
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: I loved how Yogacharya O’Brian discussed the practice of gratitude as being important to all of the four branches of classical yoga: jnana yoga, the path of wisdom where we see the interconnection of all life and the ways we are divinely supported for which we feel gratitude; bhakti yoga, the path of love where all actions are imbued with love and gratitude; karma yoga, the path of service, where we are grateful for the opportunity to serve others because service is a vehicle for our own awakening; and raja yoga, the yoga of technique, where we are grateful for having a step-by-step path. We spoke about gratitude as affecting not only what is happening in the moment, but also the possibilities for us in the future. As Yogacharya O’Brian said, why wait? Why not begin a practice of gratitude each morning and evening right now?
Compassionate Communication: Creating Connection through our speech
How can we promote peace at home, at work and in the world through the language we use? Nonviolent speech is a spiritual practice. Join Judith Hanson Lasater as she offers a fresh approach for Nonviolent Communication based in yogic philosophy. She shares practical exercises to help improve and deepen all our relationships.
Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D in East-West Psychology, is a physical therapist, and has taught yoga since 1971. She is a founder of Yoga Journal Magazine as well as the California Yoga Teachers Association, of which she is President Emeritus. She has studied directly with Marshall Rosenberg, and has been sharing his Nonviolent Communication for years, incorporating her study of yoga philosophy into her NVC teaching. She is the author of 11 books on Yoga.
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: Judith Hanson Lasater started the conversation with a quote from one of her poems, “Words are my paintbrush.” Such a beautiful introduction to discussing the power of speech. What we say matters - speech changes the world. The question is whether we are going to speak intentionally or unintentionally. Judith shared many stories to give an insight into the power of speech. Through her stories she gives listeners insights on how to remain truthful (satya) and non-harming (ahimsa). I highly recommend this interview.
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: I really appreciated Judith Hanson Lasater’s deep understanding of the power of what we say. As she writes in her book, “our words change the world every time we speak”. In combining the Yogic practice of truthfulness, the Buddhist practice of Right Speech, and the principles of Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication into what she calls “spiritual speech”, she provides some suggestions about how we can put these principles into action. Our discussion of the relationship between harmlessness (Ahimsa) and truthfulness (Satya) was helpful. I found her advice about self-compassion very powerful, and thought that the phrase she suggested, “how human of me” to be very useful as a way to practice that self-compassion.
Nurture Active Hope and Make a Difference
How do we ready ourselves to contribute to the great shift needed for social and ecological change? Join Dr. Chris Johnstone, co-author with Joanna Macy, of the book Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power; Revised Edition as he shares how we can navigate these difficult times without fear or despair.
Chris is the is a codirector of ActiveHope.Training, a nonprofit organization offering online courses that help people grow their own resilience and increase their capacity to make a difference in the world. His online classes and programs now reach thousands of people with participants in more than 60 countries. An activist since his teenage years, Chris first encountered Joanna Macy’s work while he was a medical student in London. He’s been a trainer in her program Work that Reconnects and has worked closely with her for more than three decades. He now lives in Scotland
Chris Johnstone’s co-author on the book Active Hope is Joanna Macy, is a respected voice in the movements of peace, justice and ecology, a well-known author, and founder of the Work that Reconnects which helps people transform despair and apathy into constructive, collaborative action.
DR. LAUREL TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: I really enjoyed having Dr. Johnstone on the program. I found his explanation that there are actually three stories happening now in the world very useful: the Great Unraveling, Business as Usual, and the Great Turning. We see evidence all the time of the Great Unraveling, as that is the narrative that is covered by news media. We see Business as Usual in the world and sometimes in our own lives. It was helpful to see that there is also evidence of The Great Turning all around us as well, if we look for it. Dr. Johnstone and Joanna Macy’s distinction between feeling hopeful (thinking that things will get better) and feeling hope (about how we want things to be), was very useful to me as well. Sometimes I may not feel hopeful, but I see that I can feel hope as I can see how I want things to change and that I can play a role in that (making it Active Hope).
Live Life to the Fullest: Thriving in The Third Stage of Life
How can our later years be the most vital time of life? Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian shares how Yoga philosophy and practice light the path for healthy, vital, and purposeful living at every stage of life. Learn how these spiritual teachings can inspire your life journey and help you prepare for and navigate your later years.
Yogacharya O’Brian is a western woman who teaches the riches of Indian philosophy in a fully accessible and inspiring way for newcomers and longtime practitioners alike. Ordained by Roy Eugene Davis, a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, she has been teaching Kriya Yoga philosophy and practice, and leading meditation retreats for more than four decades. On her author website EllenGraceOBrian.com she offers many online learning programs. You will also find many inspirational blog posts and other resources for your study. She is also the founder and spiritual director of The Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, a meditation center in the Kriya Yoga tradition.
The Third Stage of Life Retreat Online or In-Person October 6 through 8, 2022.
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: I thoroughly enjoyed the program and learned so much from Yogacharya about the stages of life as described in the Vedas and especially the third stage, that can be described in English as the retirement stage. She shared that these stages in life are related to archetypes that are within us all—at all times we have some level of all these stages within; the student stage, the householder stage, the retirement/hermit stage and the renunciant stage. All these stages are related to dharmic living, living our lives in the highest way with the higher purpose of Self- and God-realization. Yogacharya said that despite what our culture tells us about getting older, she sees it as an exciting time. It is a time to simplify and discover what is important in life; a time to let go and discover what connects me with my soul's joy and do that. This topic is so important to not only those of us in that third stage of life, but to everyone, no matter what age and stage they are in.
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: It was wonderful to have Yogacharya O’Brian as a guest on The Yoga Hour to discuss the four Vedic stages of life, and how to thrive in the third stage. She says that the anchor of all four stages is living a dharmic life, living with higher purpose. I appreciated her comments that the four Asramas can also be viewed as separate life paths as well as sequential stages of life: student, householder, hermit or forest dweller, and renunciate. Our conversation about how these four stages of life tie-in with the four life goals was illuminating: student with dharma(living with higher purpose), householder with artha (prosperity), forest dweller with kama (pleasure) and renunciate with moksha (liberation). Her final advice to listeners, that it is imperative to fall in love with your life, regardless of the stage, was inspiring.
EMBRACE THE POWERFUL, PEACEFUL AND PROSPEROUS GODDESS WITHIN - PART Two
Acharya Shunya is a renowned Vedic teacher and the first female head of her family teaching lineage. Join us as she shares that by learning about the goddess qualities within, women can step into their innate divinity and lead powerful, abundant, and wise lives.
Acharya Shunya is an award-winning and internationally renowned spiritual teacher and scholar of Advaita (nondual wisdom) and is a classically-trained master of Yoga and Ayurveda. She offers many courses and retreats and she is author of numerous books. Her new book, that is being discussed on this program is Roar Like a Goddess: Every Woman’s Guide To Becoming Unapologetically Powerful, Prosperous and Peaceful.
WEBSITE: AcharyaShunya.com AwakenedSelf.com social media @acharyashunya
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: In Part Two of this interview with Acharya Shunya, we learned more about the Goddess Durga and how Durga’s goddess powers apply to our own lives today. I loved how Acharya teaches us that the Goddess Lakshmi is said to bestow grace on us that makes our lives so much easier. She says Lakshmi bears auspicious tidings with a wealth of cheerfulness and a sense of peace with what we have and with our relationships. The Goddess Sarasvati represents the freeing of knowledge, feminine intuition, artistic inspiration, music and spiritual insights. There is so much more to learn about how we can embrace these goddess qualities in our life and live a life that is worthy of us.
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: I really appreciate Acharya Shunya’s deep knowledge of the Vedas and how she tells us that qualties of the goddesses are who we are as women. We just need to recognize these strengths in ourselves. In Part 2, Acharya Shunya shared the importance of understanding and embodying the goddesses within, particularly at this complex time in our world as we come out of the pandemic and face challenges of climate change, concerns about racial equality and other conflicts. We discussed Rosa Parks as displaying Durga energy when she refused to give up her seat on the bus. We also discussed Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, and Sarasvati, goddess of wisdom.
The Healing Power of Writing Your Life Story
How does writing about life events bring magic and healing? Nancy Slonim Aronie, author of Memoir as Medicine, says that everyone has a story to tell. Join us as she shares how writing through where we have been provides a pathway to deep understanding, profound healing, and unexpected joy.
Nancy Slonim Aronie is the author of Writing from the Heart and the book we are discussing in this program, Memoir as Medicine. She has been a regular contributor to National Public Radio's All Things Considered. She was recognized for excellence in teaching all three years she taught at Harvard University for Robert Coles. Aronie has joined with physicians and writers from Columbia University's program in narrative medicine to lead workshops using her Writing from the Heart.
Website: ChilmarkWritingWorkshop.com
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: This conversation with Nancy Slonim Aronie about writing is extremely motivational. She acknowledges that while everybody has every excuse in the world on why there isn’t time to write, we need to get stuff out of our system. “Get the rage on the page.” We all have secrets, mysteries that no one has seen before. Nancy says write it down without worrying what other people think. Be honest with yourself. Writing can acknowledge what hurts. Truth heals. Her book, Memoir as Medicine, has short chapters each with a prompt at the end to help start the process. The chapters that are discussed here (Why Write, Insights, Solitude) definitely wet my appetite to pull out my pen and start journaling. There was a comfortable free flow to this conversation with the many “aha” moments.
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: It was intriguing to me to discuss how writing about the events of our lives can be healing, and can allow us to see things in a new way. We talked about the importance of writing through our emotions, even those that are challenging to us. As she write in her book; "But the biggest healing and the biggest teaching, the most surprising thing: I would not have known how exquisitely beautiful the whole trip was. That’s how I know writing is medicine.” Writing helps us with the Kriya Yoga practice of Self-Study. Nancy and I discuss several prompts for listeners to write about that I hope will be inspiring to them.
Embrace the Powerful, Peaceful and Prosperous Goddess Within - Part One
Acharya Shunya is a renowned Vedic teacher and the first female head of her family teaching lineage. Join us as she shares that by learning about the goddess qualities within, women can step into their innate divinity and lead powerful, abundant, and wise lives. Acharya Shunya is an award-winning and internationally renowned spiritual teacher and scholar of Advaita (nondual wisdom) and is a classically-trained master of Yoga and Ayurveda. She offers many courses and retreats and she is author of numerous books. Her new book, that is being discussed on this program is Roar Like a Goddess: Every Woman’s Guide To Becoming Unapologetically Powerful, Prosperous and Peaceful.
THE YOGA HOUR TEAM COMMENTS: In Part One of this two part interview, Acharya Shunya's shares about the tools of the mythology of the Divine Goddess in the forms of Durga, Lakshmi and Sarasvati. She wants to encourage women and all those who identify as feminine to embrace their divine power unapologetically. Dr. Trujillo shared that Yogacharya O'Brian wrote a review for the book saying “the book is not about the Goddess; it is the voice of the Goddess, bold and clear, with a message ancient and ever new: You are That.” As Acharya Shunya explained, we have these qualities of power, abundance and peace within us, but we allow outside forces and traditions to tell us that we are not worthy. Most of this first program focuses on the Goddess Durga. She is the one who exemplifies power and who protects us from our own negative thinking, addictions and limitations that we feel have been placed on us or that we place upon ourselves. I really enjoy Acharya's outspoken style and how she brings the example of the attributes of these goddesses to us so we can learn about and embrace these qualities in ourselves. I am looking forward to tuning in to Part Two.
DR. TRUJILLO’S COMMENTS: In this program I appreciated Acharya’s comments about the need to be unapologetic in claiming the goddess power within. We discussed several of the goddess qualities: being bold rather than fearful, abundant rather than scarce, and joyful rather than sorrowful. It is helpful to me to think about the different goddesses as all being facets of the One goddess Shakti, different aspects of the One. In this program we discussed the Goddess Durga as being powerful, not for power’s sake, but in the service of the greater good for all.