Moment-HUM

"Like a fish that is drawn from its watery abode and thrown upon land, even so does this mind flutter." -Bhagavad Gita

It’s a very common cause of accidents and the most annoying thing that can happen in the experience of driving. RUBBERNECKING. You’re backed up in traffic for the longest time only to realize that everyone tapped the brakes to sneak a peak (or rubberneck) at what can be the silliest thing on the side of the road. A traffic cop said that just one person’s tap on the break to sneak a peak can cause a traffic backup for 25 miles down the road. The frustrations of driving!!

So what’s the point? While it’d be nearly impossible to solve the problem in traffic, there’s another kind of rubbernecking that is much more manageable. When one learns to be present and hold the MOMENT, you achieve a certain rhythm and pace that puts you in touch with opportunity and synchronicity. When you achieve this pace of being in the moment, you feel a certain “hum” as you would in a car’s engine. Let’s call this “MOMENT-HUM.”

It’s hard to gain “moment-hum” when we’re so easily seduced by simple stimulations and influences. In other words, most of us (myself included) rubberneck in traffic and in life. To just be a little more focused and achieve a little more control of the mind enables us to build immunity to unhealthy influences and stimulations. When you limit the rubbernecking, you gain “moment-hum.” And the yogis will tell you there are tremendous rewards to riding the moment on the wave of life.

Following are some tips to achieve “moment-hum” and the rewards that are sure to come your way:

1. How to Slow the Mind

In order to stay in the moment, you need to slow the mind. Every human being takes approximately 20,000 breaths every day. Yet we will go days, weeks, months without paying attention to the sound of one breath. Dr. Andrew Weil (NY TIMES #1 Bestselling author) says that there is no greater health tip than to take some deep breaths everyday. Just a few deep breaths in the morning can totally put you at ease while soothing the mind and relaxing the body.

2. Effects of Slowing the Mind

Advanced meditators show us the amazing power of being in the moment. Research proves that such meditators stimulate affects similar to those seen in the hibernation of perennial flowers that bloom only once a year, or bears that fade out in the winter, or birds that engage in deep diving. Various studies confirm that Tibetan monks in freezing cold conditions were able to focus the mind and generate such body heat as to dry wet sheets on their back.* Similar studies tell of a yogi who went into a state of deep relaxation and lowered his metabolism to a point where he was able to remain in an airtight box for 10 hours with no ill effects.* Granted holding your breath for 10 hours is not a good idea but just the most basic attempt to quiet the mind can yield powerful abilities you might not have thought were possible.

3. Rewards of Slowing the Mind

When one reaches a critical mass of present moment awareness (in other words when one is present more often than not), they acquire an energy the yogis call “shakti.” When you meet someone with lots of shakti, they make you want to stand up and celebrate life. You want to love such person. You want to work with such a person. You want to be such a person. If you’re not rubbernecking at your cell phone or at the TV or at the computer, you will become a person who’s deeply present with plenty of “moment-hum.: And you will acquire shakti-power! Opportunities will increase, synchronicities will abound, and felicity will become the name of your game.

The most famous story of shakti took place in 1893. A swami from India had a vision to come to the United States and spread the gifts of yoga in order to raise money for the poor people of his country. He decided to debut his message at the World Council of Religions in Chicago. Nobody knew this Swami Vivekananda but when he went to the stage to begin his talk, all 7000 people in the audience stood up to give him a 3 minute standing ovation. Granted nobody in the room knew who Vivekananda was. It was an eerie moment as few in the room had ever been around a person who’d spent so much time in the present moment. They were so uplifted by Vivekananda’s energy they couldn’t help but be swept to their feet by his “moment-hum.”

• Roses & Clover ALO
• Yellow Coldplay
• Stay (Wasting Time) Dave Matthews Band
• Good Excuse John Butler Trio
• Cream Prince
• Piece of My Heart Erma Franklin
• All of my Love Led Zeppelin
• Fast Car (acoustic) Tracy Chapman
• Tunnel of Love Bruce Springsteen
• Night Moves Bob Seger
• The Slow Life Chris Pierce
• Black Peter Grateful Dead
• Exile Geoffrey Oryema
  

*http://physiologyonline.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/13/3/149

**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Vivekananda