Art of Living

On February 19, 2006, in celebration of Art of Living's 25th anniversary, Sri Sri got together with 350,000 people in India to perform the long-form breathing exercise called "kriya." Other Art of Living centers around the world held simultaneous events. Gaurav (above) led the one in Manhattan at 6am. I told him I'd be there, but I was sleeping . . . peacefully. I'm confident he and several hundred thousand others managed to have a good time without me.

[Michael Kane] Tom seemed like a new man after his first course.  He had been stressed; I know he was fatigued when the course started.

By Saturday, Tom came home with a HUGE grin on his face.  I mean (and I don't mean this in a bad way), a stupid, silly grin on his face.  Peaceful and happy.  It was good to see.

After seeing how great it was for him, I decided to go myself.  Nancie was my instructor, and it was an amazing experience.  I started off expecting great things (but not knowing what they were).  She had us write down what we expected to get out of the course.  Then she told us to forget those things, and just experience whatever was in store.

Nancie made an analogy that the course can be like flying from Hawaii to LA.  She used to live in Hawaii and told us that, flying back to the mainland, there's a stretch where the ride gets really bumpy.  You might not know where things are headed, but it's important to just stick with it and . . as the analogy went . . not get out of the plane mid-flight.

She was right - for the first couple of days, I felt bitter and angry.  I didn't know why these negative feelings came up.  Nancie said that it was fine, to allow whatever was coming up to come up.  I was surprised that simply breathing could be so emotional!

One of my main concerns was that my life was unsatisfying; I was working too much (on Commontales, to be exact ;), and I wasn't enjoying myself enough.  On Saturday, Nancie gave me homework: "Go have fun . . . . even if it's not fun."  The class laughed at that.  I went to Chelsea Piers and hit some golf balls.

By the end of the experience, I felt so relaxed.  So peaceful and happy.  It was a very positive experience for me, and I thank Nancie, Carla, and Deborah for the work they put in to make it so.  I still do my breathing to this day :)  

[Nancie] I was actually one of those 350,000 people there in India with Sri Sri...Tom and Michael, we DID miss you! It was the most incredible experience of my rather exotic life so that's saying something....

The moment Sri Sri suggested that we all get ready for Kriya, if you can imagine, this huge airfield, that had been converted into an ocean of humanity,  some sitting in chairs, others camped out on their blankets, some 15,000 planted on a stage that included 4000 musicians, and of course Sri Sri himself, the whole place, just became pindrop silent. It was unimaginable that it would even settle down, let alone become so still and quiet-but it did. We all slipped into our breathing practice together and afterward, I was so still and peaceful, so totally content, I didnt want to ever open my eyes again.

But thankfully we did, because it was an inspiring evening of speeches and dances, and singing and music! At one point that night Sri Sri called for the Taiwanese and the Mainland Chinese groups to come sit on the stage, then India and Pakistan, followed by Israel, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran. They all came forward, each gently waving the flag of their Native Country and there they sat in peace and harmony with one another. When they came down from the stage the "warring" countries wandered throughout the assembly on the grounds below, flags still waving, singing, dancing, shouting and laughing together, as we do as children in the school yard. It was such a powerful, and moving sight-one felt as if they were watching world peace in the making! 

What is not possible when communities come together united in our common spiritual nature, in our common human values, in the commonality of our breath?!

Its impossible to imagine how powerful your breath can be in calming your mind, in settling your emotions, in uplifting your thoughts and making each moment an experience of wonder and amusement. Life can truly be entertaining, the vast majority of the time-if we just understand a few things about how our minds are functioning, and how to use our breath to manage our experience. Its an inbuilt mechanism for peaceful, contented existance, that most of us, have lost touch with...

Do yourself a favor, catch an Art of Living Course somewhere along your travels...it will make a good story somewhere along the line!

Oh, in case you havent guessed already-I was Michael's teacher...Nancie

[Michael Kane] I just finished my second Part 1 course, and this time it was with Dr. Brown (Tom's teacher).

Again, it was a great experience.  It's so interesting how much peace you can feel just by breathing differently.  So many times I've tried to think myself into a good mood . . to think myself out of some problem I felt.  And it never works.

It was good to see everyone else have such a good time, too.  Here's a picture of the group:

(full-size version)

And here's the "CRraaaZyyy" one :)

(full-size version)