This morning my boyfriend woke up earlier than usual and was awake and up for my morning routine; deep breathing, a cup of tea, the occasional oil pull, and asanas and pranayama. 


His comment got me thinking how taking care of our bodies is our job we need to do every day.  I believe that the body is a temple; it is home to our mind and our soul, the true significance of our life.   It is our duty to exercise our body so that we can improve our mind and nurture our soul to continue our development as spiritual beings.  Our bodies are not to be abused or neglected; they should be treated as something that is sacred and the house to life.

Yoga is my way to keep my body a healthy temple.  The idea of the body as a temple stems make to the earliest stages of yoga; respect for all, including the body.  Through the practice there is constant evidence that yoga is a way to treat your body as a temple.

Asanas work to keep the physical body healthy and strong.  I look at daily asanas as daily upkeep, keeping the house clean is a daily task and so should your body.  Practicing ayurveda gives us a little more than asanas and makes for a routine of self-care. 

Through daily yoga practices and a healthy lifestyle we can achieve the four purusharthas; dharma, living life’s purpose; artha, the prosperity and wealthy needed to live well; kama, the enjoyment and pleasure; and moksha, the spiritual liberation. 

We are born into untouched bodies that experience every stage of life with us.  If we do not take care of that, our experiences stop and we can no long evolve our minds or our spirit.  The way you treat your body effects your soul and who you are as a human being. We shouldn’t just focus on keeping our body active and physically healthy, it is equality as important to nourish the body with spirituality and wholesome nourishing food.  Surround yourself with people who life your spirits and challenge you.  Stay positive and your body will thank you.

Your body is your temple, take care of it.

Namaste.
Anita

I believe that everything has an aura and an emotion it gives off.  When I walk into a room I can sense the emotion or aura within the room and from the people inside.  By understanding your aura and the meaning of different auras, I am able to act and react to situations in a manner that is comforting and pleasing to myself and those around me.

The definition of an aura is; the distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place or a supposed emanation surrounding the body of a living creature, viewed by mystics, spiritualists, and some practitioners of complementary medicine as the essence of the individual, and allegedly discernible by people with special sensibilities.

I read Life Colors: What the Colors in You Aura Reveal by Pamala Oslie many years ago and completely related.  I knew that everything gave off an energy and aura but wasn’t sure exactly how to read it or respond.  It was a great book that I highly recommend.

I believe that the human aura is the release form the soul of the person it surrounds.  I view it as a form of energy and not so much matter.  The human aura is made up of numerous elements that are present with the soul of the person.  Each person has their own unique aura that varies in some degree.

When I am observing the aura, each color represents a particular thought, mental state, and emotion of feeling in the soul.
Here are a few auric colors and their meaning-

Auric Colors

1. Black indicates hatred, malice, revenge, and low feelings
2, There are many shades of grey that mean different things

• Bright grey indicates selfishness
• Ghastly grey indicates fear and terror
• Dark grey indicates a melancholy emotionGreens also have different meanings for the shades

3, Green

• Bright lively green indicates diplomacy, worldly wisdom, tact, politeness
• Dirty muddy green indicates low deceit, falsehood, trickery of a low order.
• Dark dull green indicates jealousy, envy, materialism.

4. Red is the color of passion, but yet again the shades have different meanings

• Bright flashes or lightning indicates anger
• Crimson red represents love and different shades of red and crimson indicate different kinds of love

5. Brown represents avarice and greed
6. Bright orange represents  pride and ambition
7. Shades of yellow represent different forms of intellectual power
8. Blue often indicates  religiousness or spirituality


Obviously there are many other colors and shades that represent different emotional, personality, and mental auras.  My primary auric color is blue meaning I am a sensitive, intuitive, and sometimes can sense large events before they happen.  Peaceful situations make me the happiest.  People with blue auras are often spiritual, calm, and generous.

There are many, many online quizzes that say they can read your aura.  Although they seem great; they are often incorrect because you are taking the quiz and as we grow older we suppress our natural instinct and often answer questions the way society formed us to.  If you want to know you aura, I suggest doing some reading about auric colors and in no time you will be able to sense your color and others around you.

Namaste.

There is something about a book that can move you and make you really think about your life, beliefs, and spirituality.  I recently finished reading The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by Howard cutler.  It was such a great read making me feel assured that I am where I want to be in my life.  It was inspired by the Dalai Lama and his spiritual joyfulness.  The book talks about the importance of finding happiness in everyday life through your own mental state apart from outside factors.  It really spoke to me on an intimate level and highly recommend it for anyone regardless if you have spiritual rules or religious guidelines.

I shared this book with a friend and she is finding it just as captivating as I did.  I want to share with you a few other of my favorite books that really ignite my mind and help me discover my spirituality.
The books have inspired me to change for the better and continue to be the human I am today.

• Cutting through Spiritual Materialism by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche made me evaluate the nature of spiritual materialism.  It gets to the details by clearly highlighting the most common pitfalls spiritual people fall into now and again.  It is hard hitting but also very compassionate.  It makes the reader dig deep and analyze their spiritual path.



• Finding Freedom by Jarvis Jay Masters is one of the most honest spiritual books that I have read time and time again, and find something new each time.  The book was written by Masters who has been a death row inmate since 1990.  He was prisoned 9 years before death row after being convicted of collaborating with two inmates in the murder of a prison guard.  In the book he insists he’s innocent and showcases supportive material.  The book was written from inside the wall of the prison and will provoke all sorts of emotions on his journey to find spirituality.



• A Gradual Awakening by Stephen Levine, describes how to meditate and gives simple instructions that were very beneficial to me when beginning my journey.  It outlines the importance of mindfulness and the spiritual stages and developments.  Although the book is based on Buddhism and Vipassana meditation, I believe it is a great read for anyone interested in meditation regardless of their beliefs.



• A Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilber is a phenomenal book about his thoughts about men and women’s place in the universe concerning sexuality, spirituality and many other topics.  He somehow connect religions and spiritual traditions into the arts and business.  It is very inspirational and captivating.


I enjoy reading books that spark question and curiosity.  If you have books that bring joy and spirituality to your life, I would love to hear about them so I can engage with you as well.

Namaste.