April - June 2021 Transformation

American Meditation Institute

Transformation April - June 2021

Bringing Yoga Science to Life

americanmeditation.org

Lesson of the Samurai Warrior

by Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev)

Lladró Porcelain Figurine

AMI Classes for April - June 2021

YOGA SCIENCE

FOUNDATION COURSE Live & Interactive with Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) A TRANSFORMATIVE & EMPOWERING SELF-CARE PROGRAM ON ZOOM

U NITING M IND , B ODY & S PIRIT INCLUDES 36 TOOLS FOR DEALING WITH ALL OF LIFE! American MEDITATION Institute Bringing Yoga Science to Life

Foundation Course Overview The curriculum for the FOUNDATION COURSE is based on the award-winning book, The Heart and Science of Yoga® by Leonard Perlmutter

Seated AMI Meditation • Mantra Science Diaphragmatic Breathing • Yoga Psychology Mind Function Optimization • Easy-Gentle Yoga Lymph System Detox • Nutrition • Ayurvedic Medicine YOGA SCIENCE––WEEK 1 How to use the mind for the best choices How to create new, healthier habits Understanding pain as an agent for healing Increasing energy, will power & creativity Antidotes for worry, stress and depression AMI MEDITATION––WEEK 2 Systematic procedure for AMI Meditation Diminishing distractions with mantra science Learning the one-minute meditation Building focus, fearlessness, and strength BREATHING TECHNIQUES––WEEK 3 Breath as Medicine How breathing irregularities foster dis-ease Complete (three-part) yogic breath 2

YOGA PSYCHOLOGY & AYURVEDA––WEEK 4 How the mind supports optimal health The power of the present moment Building and healing relationships Introduction to Ayurveda EASY-GENTLE YOGA EXERCISES––WEEK 5 Yoga stretches to benefit: muscles, joints, glands and internal organs Physiological benefits of yoga postures MIND /BODY SELF-CARE PLAN––WEEK 6 The healing power of prayer The practical benefits of contemplation Creating a therapeutic self-care plan for yourself Learning to budget your time Integrating spiritual beliefs into daily life

americanmeditation.org • Tel. (518) 674-8714

Taught by

Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) The AMI MEDITATION Foundation Course was developed and is taught live on Zoom by Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev). Leonard is a noted educator, philosopher, Yoga scientist and founder of The American Meditation Institute. He is the author of The Heart and Science of Yoga® and the mind/body medicine journal, Transformation. He is a direct disciple of Swami Rama of the Himalayas. Leonard’s lectures are enlivened by his inspiring enthusiasm, vast experience, humor and clear teaching style. He has taught at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, The New York Times Yoga Forum, Kaiser-Permanente and the U. S. Military Academy at West Point.

A MI MEDITATION: Case Study Results In 2008, AMI conducted a retrospective case study of participants who completed Leonard Perlmutter’s AMI MEDITATION Heart and Science of Yoga ® Self-Care Program.

The findings included these positive, life-enhancing, health-promoting changes: • Significant reductions in stress and fear • Improved energy levels • Reduced cholesterol levels • Decreased anxiety and depression • Increased creative capacity • Diminished or extinguished • Lowered blood pressure • Diminishment of migraine headaches acute and chronic pain • Lowered heart rate • Decreases irritable bowel symptoms • Weight loss • Improved restorative sleep • Enhanced happiness and optimism • Increased breathing capacity

FOUNDATION COURSE Schedule and Accreditation

Medical Accreditation PHYSICIAN ACCREDITATION (18 CMEs) americanmeditation.org/physician-cme This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of Albany Medical College and The American Meditation Institute. Albany Medical College is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Albany Medical College designates this Live activity for a maximum of 18 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

NURSING CONTINUING EDUCATION (15 contact hours) americanmeditation.org/nursing-continuing-education This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the American Nurses Association Massachusetts (ANA MASS), an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Registration Includes: Lifelong support, a 20-minute digital Guided Meditation, a copy of The Physiology of Easy-Gentle Yoga, and a subscription to AMI’s Transformation journal.

UPCOMING CLASSES Live & Interactive on ZOOM with Leonard Perlmutter Apr 3-May 8

Saturday Afternoon

1:30 -3:30pm ET, $595.

May 11-Jun 15

Tuesday Evening

6:30 -8:30pm ET, $595.

May 15-Jun 26

(6 WKS) (6 WKS)

Saturday Afternoon

1:30-3:30pm ET, $595. (6 WKS EXCL. 5-29)

Jun 29-Aug 3

Tuesday Evening

6:30 -8:30pm ET, $595.

(6 WKS)

Required Texts available at AMI Bookstore: The Heart and Science of Yoga ® The Art of Joyful Living Physicians $895; PAs, NPs: $795; RNs: $695

HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE Call us to discuss how your Health Insurance plan might cover this program.

Endorsed by Dean Ornish MD, Bernie Siegel MD, Larry Dossey MD, Dr. Oz 3

americanmeditation.org • Tel. (518) 674-8714

CALENDAR FREE: SUNDAY GUIDED MEDITATION & SATSANG LIVE on ZOOM every Sunday 9:30-11:00am ET with Leonard (Ram Lev) & Jenness • Link is on the website

APRIL 2021 APR 3 - MAY 8: AMI MEDITATION see p. 2-3 Sat. Afternoons, 1:30-3:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM

APR 24 & MAY 1: YOGA SCIENCE LAB

see p. 4

Sat. Mornings, 10:30AM-12:30PM ET (2 wks) Live on ZOOM

MAY 2021 MAY 3 - JUN 14: YOGA PSYCHOLOGY Excl. May 31, see p. 4 Mon. Nights, 6:30-8:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM

MAY 11 - JUN 15: AMI MEDITATION see p. 2-3 Tues. Nights, 6:30-8:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM

MAY 13: COMPASSIONATE BUDDHA see p. 5 Thurs. Night, 6:30 - 8:30 PM ET (1 wk)

MAY 15 - JUN 26: AMI MEDITATION Excl. May 29, see p. 2-3

YOGA PSYCHOLOGY BHAGAVAD GITA STUDY Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness Perlmutter

Live and Interactive on ZOOM LEVEL II: In continuous six week installments this course presents the profound teachings of the Bhagavad Gita as a handbook on the science of life and the art of living. If you are seeking a manual or guide for the supreme task of living well in the world today, this ongoing study will provide you practical wisdom, meaning and purpose for your life. Each week Leonard and Jenness will teach you how to reduce stress and confidently enhance your health and creative abilities, while providing you a fresh, positive perspective on all your family and business relationships. LIVE ON ZOOM MONDAY NIGHTS, 6:30 - 8:30 PM ET, $150. (6 WKS) MAY 3 - JUN 14 (EXCL. 5-31); AUG 2 - SEP 6

Sat. Afternoons, 1:30-3:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM

JUNE 2021 JUN 21 - JUL 26: SACRED JOURNEY see p.5 Mon. Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM

JUN 29 - AUG 3: AMI MEDITATION see p. 2-3 Tues. Nights, 6:30-8:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM

JULY 2021 JUL 10 - AUG 14: AMI MEDITATION see p. 2-3 Sat. Afternoons, 1:30-3:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM

JUL 10 & 17: YOGA SCIENCE LAB

see p. 4

Sat. Mornings, 10:30AM-12:30PM ET (2 wks) Live on ZOOM

AUGUST 2021 AUG 2 - SEP 6: YOGA PSYCHOLOGY see p. 4 Mon. Nights, 6:30-8:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM

American Meditation Institute

Bringing Yoga Science to Life

April - June, 2021 • Vol. Vol. XXIV No. 3 ©2021 60 Garner Road, Averill Park, NY 12018

americanmeditation.org \ Tel. (518) 674-8714 ami@americanmeditation.org AMI is a tax exempt, non-profit 501(c)3 educational organization. Donations are fully tax deductible.

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YOGA SCIENCE LAB How to Practice Meditation-in-Action Valerie Chakedis, Mary Holloway MT Prerequisite: Yoga Science Foundation Course

Live and Interactive on ZOOM LEVEL II: In AMI’s Foundation Course, you learned that your thoughts are your most valuable asset. The Yoga Science Lab will help you examine your thoughts and expand your ability to focus your attention. The techniques learned in seated AMI Meditation are applied in every duty and responsibility throughout the day. This process is called Meditation-in-Action. As you experiment with the Truth reflected by your Conscience, you’ll develop decision-making skills that will enhance your confidence in all relationships. As you have already learned, to experience real freedom you must be centered in the present moment, know who you are, and follow your Inner Wisdom. Yoga Science Lab can help you achieve that freedom!

SATURDAY MORNINGS, 10:30AM -12:30 PM ET, $75.

APR 24 & MAY 1; JUL 10 & 17 (2 WKS) LIVE ON ZOOM

AMI Classes for April - June 2021

COMPASSIONATE BUDDHA

SACRED JOURNEY

The Healing Power of Thoughts

Living Purposefully

Leonard and Jenness Perlmutter

and Dying Gracefully

Live and Interactive on ZOOM

Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness Perlmutter

LEVEL II: (This course is offered once a year) The Compassionate Buddha, one of our most practical yogic teachers, prescribes the practice of meditation as mind/body medicine.

From the very first line of the Dhammapada, “Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think,” the Buddha explains what leads to joy and health, and what leads to disease and sorrow. Then he explains how to take our lives into our own hands. Without esoterica or metaphysics, without appeal to anything magical or superhuman, the Buddha encourages us to experiment with our minds; to coordinate the four functions of the mind just as Patanjali (the codifier of Yoga Science) suggests, so that we can experience lasting health, happiness and security.

Level II: To understand the purpose of life, we must try to understand the relationship between life and death. The two are partners––each providing a context for the other. Death is not the end, but merely a pause in an eternal journey. When both birth and death are understood and accepted as parts of the human journey, the fear of death subsides and life can be lived more fully and joyfully. Based on the ancient Katha Upanishad, this course reveals how to organize your life in a way that leads to expansion and growth. Every student with a body is encouraged to attend.

THURSDAY NIGHT, 6:30 - 8:30PM ET, $95.

MAY 13

MONDAY NIGHTS, 6:30 - 8:30PM ET, $150. (6 WKS) JUN 21 - JUL 26

Live and Interactive on ZOOM

Required text: Sacred Journey, by Swami Rama

An Invitation to Take Your Own

Sacred Journey Class begins June 21

“Out of the tumult of human life eventually comes the decision to look for lasting peace and joy within. This real treasure, the Eternal Witness (Atman), is buried under layers of ego, desires, emotions, habits and other imbedded thought patterns. But peeling away the layers of ego, emotions and habit patterns is not so easy. The decision to look for the treasure is only the beginning of the hunt. The debris that covers the treasure is identified as the illusion called maya. On account of the attraction and charms of the world, one is not conscious of the Real Eternal Self. To experience that Truth the seeker must begin the digging in earnest. This excavation process is the reason for worldly human existence. Knowing which tools to use and when to use them is the art of living. This work is life, and it is a magnificent adventure with our true Eternal Self as the treasure and goal.”

Swami Rama of the Himalayas Reprinted from the book “Sacred Journey, Living Purposefully and Dying Gracefully” by Swami Rama. Published by the Himalayan International Institute, India. It is available through the AMI bookstore or www.swamiramasociety.org.

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Lesson of the Samurai Warrior

by Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) From the award winning book, The Heart and Science of Yoga Lladró Porcelain Figurine

A bold and handsome young Samurai warrior stood respectfully before the aged Zen master and asked, “Master, please teach me about heaven and hell.” The master snapped his head up in disgust and said, “Teach YOU about heaven and hell? Why, I doubt that you could even learn to keep your own sword from rusting! You ignorant fool! How dare you suppose that you could understand anything I might have to say?”

The old man went on and on, becoming 6

even more insulting, while the young swordsman’s surprise turned first to confusion and then to hot anger, rising by the minute. Master or no master, who can insult a Samurai and live? At last, with teeth clenched and blood nearly boiling in fury, the warrior blindly drew his sword and prepared to end the old man’s sharp tongue and life. At that instant, the master looked straight into his eyes and said gently, “Now, that’s hell.”

At the peak of his rage, the Samurai

realized the importance of this teaching; the Master had hounded him into a living hell of uncontrolled anger and ego. The young man, profoundly humbled, sheathed his sword and bowed low to this great spiritual teacher.

Looking up into the wise man’s beaming face, he felt more love and compassion than he had ever felt in his life––at which point the master raised his index finger as would a schoolteacher and said, “And that, my son, is heaven.”

Yoga Science reminds us that our rigid attachments cause pleasure and pain––both of which limit our range of action. When we become habituated to our likes and dislikes (raga/dveshas), we cut ourselves off from the free flow of pranic energy and diminish our intuitive creativity. As a consequence, relationships suffer, the immune system becomes depressed, and we lose the joy of life.

The wise and loving person, however,

guided by the philosophy of non-attachment, is ever aware of the true Self, and is able to enjoy the unchanging bliss and fullness of That which is perfect freedom. Vairagya teaches us how to love and be loved, whether things are going our way or not. If we can constantly remain in the witnessing state and learn to practice vairagya at all times––in every relationship––the promise is that we will be liberated from all forms of sorrow, here and now, in this lifetime, and that everything we need will come to us.

Through abhyasa and vairagya, we go beyond a mere intellectual understanding of Yoga Science. Each of our thoughts, words and actions becomes a powerful expression of that sage prescription for lasting happiness––namaha Shivaya: nothing belongs to me, everything belongs to Thee. Everything is here for me to use and enjoy, but not to possess nor to be possessed by.

“In your search for life’s greatest treasure, would you look to your Conscience first . . . or last?”

Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev)

“YOUR CONSCIENCE” A new book from Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) Release date: September 7, 2021 7

SACRED JOURNEY

Living Purposefully –– Dying Gracefully A Study of the Katha Upanishad with Leonard and Jenness Perlmutter LIVE AND INTERACTIVE ON ZOOM The Vedas are universally recognized as the earliest recorded spiritual revelations in the history of mankind. There are four Vedas: Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva. Each Veda contains mantras or inspired hymns recited by the rishis (seers) of Truth. The Katha Upanishad is derived from the Yajur Veda (Krishna Yajur Veda), and is estimated to have been composed between 1,400 and 1000 BCE. The oral tradition from which the text is derived dates back many thousands of years.

The Upanishads are repositories of the perennial wisdom. The Sanskrit term Upanishad is a compound of the words upa (near), ni (down) and sad (to sit). It means to sit down near a spiritual teacher (guru) in order to receive instruction that will destroy ignorance by revealing the knowledge of the Higher Self, Atmavidya or Brahmavidya (knowledge of Brahma, the Creator).

The Vedic scriptures declare that Brahman (the Supreme) became the “Many” in order to realize Its own glory by experiencing the infinite number of possibilities. The diversity of the manifest world is a transformation assumed by the Absolute which, in Its totality, remains the One without second.

The Upanishads teach spiritual aspirants how to escape from samsara, the ceaseless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. This liberation, known as moksha, requires giving up attachments that conflict with inner intuitive wisdom. As St. Francis of Assisi taught, “It is in dying (to the small, separate sense of self) that we are born to eternal life.”

Samadhi––the merging of the individual Self (Atman) with the fullness and bliss of the Supreme Reality (Brahman)––is, therefore, the goal of life. And this moksha can be experienced only through skillful action while still alive––not after death.

One of the most inspiring examples of this understanding is presented in the Katha Upanishad. The scripture tells the story of Nachiketa’s visit to the Land of Death to speak with Yama, the Lord of Death. The archetypal seeker, Nachiketa (representing the personality) asks the immortal, realized teacher, Lord Yama (representing the realized higher Self), “What is the purpose of life, given the certainty of death?” With great love and insight Lord Yama replies by explaining how every earnest seeker can come to know the deathless Self.

To understand the purpose of life, we must try to understand the relationship between life and death. The two are partners––each providing a context for the other. Death is not the end, but merely a pause in an eternal journey. When both birth and death are understood and accepted as parts of the human journey, the fear of death subsides and life can be lived more fully and joyfully. Based on the ancient Katha Upanishad, this course reveals how to organize your life in a way that leads to expansion and growth. Every student with a body is encouraged to attend.

Monday Nights, 6:30 - 8:30pm ET, $150. (6 WKS) Jun 21 - Jul 26 Required text: Sacred Journey, by Swami Rama 8

24th Annual Appeal The American Meditation Institute We Still Need $54,189 to Reach our Goal of $150,000 We urge you to thoughtfully consider the value that AMI has brought to your life, and to give generously to help us recover from the financial damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We understand that you too may be suffering financially, yet we must count on you to help us achieve our goal of $150,000. No gift is too big or too small, and we thank you sincerely for your ongoing love and support.

Leonard (Ram Lev) and Jenness

Help Us Keep Bringing Yoga Science to Life!

Call (518) 674-8714

Donate Online at: americanmeditation.org/annual-appeal 9

The Story of Blackie and Our Transition to Vegetarianism

by Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev)

It’s an age-old truism, “You are what you eat.” In fact, the quality, quantity, timing and combinations of food and water you consume do recreate your body, in a particular way, from the inside out every day. Your health or dis-ease is, in large measure, the consequence of what foods you’ve chosen to consume. In our own experience, a vegetarian diet––guided by the principles of Ayurveda––has enhanced our overall health, boosted our immune systems, and provides abundant sustained energy and a reliable access to our intuitive, creative resources.

Increasing numbers of people are experimenting with a vegetarian diet these days.

Whatever the motivation––to lower cholesterol, to lose weight, to demonstrate concern for other living creatures or revulsion over flesh putrefying in the colon for two to three days at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or to deepen their spiritual practice—more Americans are making the switch to a meat-free diet.

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Jenness and I made no sudden decision to become vegetarians. Like most aspects of our sadhana, the transition to vegetarianism followed a slow, logical progression. Our diet began to change in the mid-nineteen seventies, when, like many other young Americans, we became part of a “back to the land” movement. In 1975, we bought a house in the country. For thirty thousand dollars we bought not only a comfortable home (which has now become AMI), but five acres of land, a barn and a tractor.

We had learned that most commercially available vegetables contained harmful pesticide residues and that edible flesh was riddled with hormones, antibiotics and often, disease. We studied the writings of Patanjali, the codifier of Yoga Science, and encountered the idea that happiness could be experienced by adhering to the practice of saucha: the purification of body, heart, mind and environment. Furthermore, neither of us had

ever found the normal American diet physically comfortable. So, serving our desire to make pure, wholesome food choices an integral part of our sadhana, we decided to plant an organic garden and to raise and slaughter our own animals. From 1975 through 1978 we raised a calf (named Maide after the farmer who sold it to us), numerous goats and sheep (among them, Day, Trudeau, Rain, Eva, Rosa, Bonheur, Leafy and Amana) and lots and lots of chickens (including Duke, Chuck, Russell, Blackie, Red and Egypt).

When the chickens grew to a size fit for eating, Sunday afternoons were spent replaying a familiar ritual. Following the instructions from “Homesteading” magazine, we made a killing cone out of an empty plastic gallon milk jug. This method of slaughter, referred to as kosher killing, was supposed to be the cleanest and the most humane. The bottom of the milk jug was cut out to accommodate the inverted body of the bird, and the neck of the jug was enlarged just enough to allow the butcher to pull the chicken’s head through. The killing cone was nailed to the side of the barn, upside down. Once the chicken was placed upside down within the confines of the killing cone, it was effectively immobilized. The mouth of the bird was opened, a sharp knife was placed inside the throat, and with one quick movement of the hand the bird’s jugular vein was severed from within. The heart pumped the blood from the body painlessly until the chicken died quietly, without a struggle.

On the days I ventured outside to catch and slaughter one or two of our free-range chickens, Jenness was busy boiling an industrial size pot of water and covering the kitchen floor with newspapers. When I returned with the dead birds we dropped them into the boiling water for a couple of minutes to loosen their feathers. Then we sat together cross-legged on the kitchen floor while we plucked the carcasses clean. Finally, on an old-fashioned maple cutting board, we carefully separated each bird from its internal organs. These were not jobs for the squeamish. Many of the animals had become pets and our attachment to them, together with the gruesome sights and smells, proved increasingly difficult to deal with.

Most of you already know that ahimsa is essentially the Golden Rule. And its meaning is quite simple. To experience unbounded happiness, human beings must do onto others as we wish to have done unto us. In order to be led for our highest and greatest good, every thought, word and action is to be noninjurious, non-harming and non-violent. The underlying philosophy of ahimsa is based on the realization that––on the highest level of consciousness––the entire, ever-changing universe of human, animal, plant and mineral is a divine manifestation of one eternal, Supreme Reality. Therefore, if we think, speak or act injuriously toward any “other” form (an animal, for instance) that injury eventually comes back upon us. This is the law of karma: “as we sow, so shall we reap.”

Our growing respect for and practice of ahimsa––in mind, action and speech––had made us increasingly dubious about the necessity of taking a sentient life in order to sustain our own. By early 1978 we were meditating once a day and our growing understanding of ahimsa had led us to eliminate all red meat. Still, we continued to slaughter and eat our few remaining chickens. But that ended abruptly. That year we experienced an epiphany that completed our transition to vegetarianism.

For three years we had kept a very athletic chicken we called Blackie. She spent her nights in the hayloft of our barn and flew to the back door every morning for a hearty breakfast of cracked corn. Her amazing aerial feats and my consistent inability to catch her combined to make Blackie an elusive prize.

Finally, one Sunday morning, I caught her.

Pride in my accomplishment, however, was tempered by my respect for Blackie’s independence and the recognition that age had slowed her down.

With Blackie held firmly in my arms, I marched to the barn for the slaughter.

Respectfully, I placed Blackie’s body upside down into the killing cone and pulled her head through the opening. Then, as was my normal routine, I held her head between my left thumb and index finger as I delicately maneuvered the knife blade into her mouth.

As the blade came into position for the kill, my eye met Blackie’s eye in a moment of 11

truth. Before my hand could move the knife, Blackie let out a shriek that vibrated every cell of my body and carried my attention to my very core. It was a sound so intense and fraught with meaning that it had the very same effect on Jenness––inside the house some hundred yards away. At that instant I knew that I could not kill Blackie, nor would I ever again consciously choose to take another animal’s life to sustain my own.

Irrevocably changed by that profound experience, I released Blackie from the confines of her death-trap to live free and safe for the rest of her natural days.

Since that day, Jenness and I have never knowingly eaten anything with a mother. In our homesteading years we had unexpectedly come to know, first hand, the suffering and

violence that are inherent aspects of a fleshcentered diet. Through the study and practice of Yoga Science and philosophy we began to consciously make changes. Have we missed eating beef, fish or chicken? Not at all.

Unequivocally. When a transition to vegetarianism is based on your own inner wisdom, and the needs of your body are being met, the desire to enjoy more wholesome foods grows very strong. When you act on your intention to purify the body and to become an instrument of ahimsa (non-injury), the universe supports your effort by enhancing your health, energy and creativity, and by reducing your attraction and attachment to those foods that do not serve your long-term well being.

Now YOU can help publish Leonard’s new book and support AMI every time you make a purchase!

When you visit smile.amazon.com, you will need to select the American Meditation Institute from a list of qualified 501(c)3 charitable organizations. Then, each time you make any purchase through AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of your purchase price to the American Meditation Institute.

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Chief Seattle’s Letter to President Franklin Pierce 1855 “My words are like the stars–– they do not set.”

A letter, sent by Chief Seattle of the Suquamish Tribe in Washington State to President Franklin Pierce in 1855.

THE GREAT CHIEF in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. The Great Chief also sends us words of friendship and good will. This is kind of him, since we know he has little need of our friendship in return. But we will consider your offer, for we know if we do not, the white man may come with guns and take our land. What Chief Seattle says you can count on as truly as our white brothers can count on the return of the seasons. My words are like the stars – they do not set.

How can you buy or sell the sky – the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us.

Yet we do not own the freshness of the air or the sparkle of the water. How can you buy them from us? We will decide in our time.

Every part of this earth is sacred to my people.

Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing, and every humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people.

We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land is

the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on. He leaves his fathers’ graves, and his children’s birthright is forgotten. The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the redman. But perhaps it is because the redman is a savage and does not understand.

There is no quiet place in the white man’s cities. No place to listen to the leaves of spring or the rustle of insect wings. But perhaps because I am a savage and do not understand––the clatter only seems to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lovely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night? The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind––itself cleansed by a mid-day rain, or scented by the pine tree. The air is precious to the redman. For all things share the same breath–– the beasts, the trees, and the man.

The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench.

If I decide to accept, I will make one condition. The white man must treat the 13

beasts of this land as his brothers. I am a savage and I do not understand any other way. I have seen thousands of rotting buffaloes on the prairie left by the white man who shot them from a passing train. I am a savage, and do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive. What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beast also happens to the man.

All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth.

Our children have seen their fathers humbled in defeat. Our warriors have felt shame. And after defeat they turn their days in idleness and contaminate their bodies with sweet food and strong drink. It matters little where we pass the rest of our days – they are not many. A few more hours, a few more winters, and none of the children of the great tribes that once lived on this earth, or that roamed in small bands in the woods will remain to mourn the graves of the people once as powerful and hopeful as yours.

One thing we know that the white man may one day discover. Our God is the same God. You may think that you own him as you wish to own our land, but you cannot. He is the Body of man, and his compassion is equal for the redman and the white. This earth is precious to him, and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its Creator. The whites, too, shall pass – perhaps sooner than other tribes.

Continue to contaminate your bed, and you

will one night suffocate in your own waste.

When the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses all tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with the scent of many men, and the view of the ripe hills blotted by the talking wires, Where is the thicket? Gone. Where is the eagle? Gone. And what is it to say goodbye to the swift and the hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.

We might understand, if we knew what it was the white man dreams––what hopes he describes to his children on long winter nights, what visions he burns into their minds––so they will wish for tomorrow. But we are savages. The white man’s dreams are hidden from us. And because they are hidden, we will go our own way. If we agree, it will be to secure your reservation you have promised.

There perhaps we may live out our brief days as we wish. When the last redman has vanished from the earth, and the memory is only the shadow of a cloud passing over the prairie, these shores and forests will still hold the spirits of my people, for they love this earth as the newborn loves its mother’s heartbeat.

If we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it as we have cared for it.

Hold in your memory the way the land is as you take it. And with all your strength, with all your might, and with all your heart––preserve it for your children, and love it as God loves us all. One thing we know––our God is the same. This earth is precious to Him. Even the white man cannot escape the common destiny.

Chief Seattle, born in 1786, was an ancestral leader of the Suquamish Tribe. His father was Schweabe, a Suquamish Chief, and his mother was Scholitza, a Duwamish woman from a village near present day Kent, Washington. Seattle was six years old when Captain George Vancouver anchored his ship in Suquamish waters off Bainbridge Island in 1792. Seattle achieved his status as chief of both the Suquamish and a confederation of Duwamish bands, after he planned and executed an attack strategy that saved the Central Puget Sound people from a sneak attack devised by upriver tribal forces from present day King County. Seattle, who was in his early twenties at the time, devised a plan calling for felling trees across the White (now Green) River above Renton that would capsize and disorient the raiding party, allowing Seattle’s forces to attack and capture them. The plan worked and the people were so impressed that he was promoted to Chief and the former leaders became his sub-chiefs. Chief Seattle witnessed the transition of his people from their ancient aboriginal life ways to a new one brought by the arrival on non-natives and imposed on them by the United States Government.

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YOGA SCIENCE NEWS Medscape recently released its 2021 report on National Physician Burnout, Depression and Suicide. Over the past five years, consistently high numbers of physicians – spanning diverse specialties, age groups and genders – have reported feelings of burnout. An alarming 20% of physicians in the survey define themselves as clinically depressed. It is estimated that 300 physicians annually commit suicide and that 13% of all physicians have had thoughts of suicide. More than 12,000 physicians from 29 different specialties participated in this most recent study.

Burnout remains at a critical level. The added stressor of the Covid-19 pandemic has made the struggles with burnout even worse.

When asked if their burnout began before or after the Covid-19 pandemic began, 79% of respondents identified as before; 21% identified as after. Feelings of happiness among physicians have been dramatically impacted since the onset of the pandemic––from 69% pre-Covid-19 to 49% now (those who responded very happy or happy).

Influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, the physician specialties that have the highest rate of burnout this year are: critical care, rheumatology, infectious disease, urology and pulmonary medicine. According to survey results, 75% of millenials (25-39 years of age), 74% of GenX (40-54 years of age), and 66% of Boomers (55-73 years of age) report that burnout has a negative impact on their personal relationships. Additionally, 10% of respondents find their burnout severe enough to consider leaving medicine. The report states the obvious: Work problems don’t stay at work; they spill over into every aspect of life.

Professionally, physicians report that burnout is having a negative impact on their patient interactions and approach to work.

38% report that they are exasperated with patients, and 33% say they are less careful with patient notes. Physicians remain united in naming bureaucratic tasks such as charting and paperwork as the leading contributor to burnout. Nearly 55% indicated this was at the root of the problem. More than one-third of

doctors say that spending too many hours at work is an important burnout issue. There is no work/life balance. Among the other issues contributing to the burnout epidemic is a perceived feeling of disrespect coming from administrators, employers, colleagues and staff. Nearly one-third (32%) also list insufficient compensation/reimbursement as a contributing factor as well as a lack of control or autonomy (28%).

Women physicians have been consistent in reporting a higher percentage of burnout than men, but this year with the pandemic, the disparity is greater than usual (36% men; 51% women). “Many women physicians are in families with children at home,” says Carol Bernstein, MD, psychiatrist at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx NY. “It’s already known that women assume more responsibilities in the home than do men. The pressures have increased during COVID-19 with the addition of home schooling and very limited child care options.”

Physicians reported using a variety of coping strategies to help combat burnout.

These include: activities and hobbies (66%); exercise (65%), talking with friends and family (63%), adequate sleep (49%) and healthy eating (45%). However, reports of unhealthy strategies when faced with burnout – such as alcohol use (24%), binge eating (33%), and self-isolation (43%) – were also significant.

Activities listed as helpful included participating in sports, spirituality and religion, meditating, re-imagining my career, self-care and writing.

In recent years, increased attention has been given to an organizational-level approach to combating burnout. Although an important movement, the challenge with a top-down approach is that change is historically slow in the healthcare industry. That may be why two-thirds of physicians still claim they handle their burnout symptoms themselves and do not seek outside help.

A balanced approach to burnout combines self-care practices with resilience, education and organizational support and programming.

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Only 35% of respondents indicated their place of employment offers a program to address stress and/or burnout. The survey also shows that smaller groups and organizations are less likely to offer programs that address burnout and stress. A research study published by the Mayo Clinic noted: “The most

efficacious strategy to alleviate physician burnout will target organization-directed changes rather than the level of the individual.” To slow or reverse the burnout epidemic, physicians and healthcare organizations must continue to work together to make and support meaningful change.

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