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Perfecting Ourselves: Coordinating Body, Mind and Spirit
***REVIEWS***
««««« - From:
The Healing Breath journal - 2002-09-17
Aaron Hoopes offers a framework for
understanding the coordination of body, mind and spirit based on his own
practical experience of teaching Martial arts, Shanti Yoga and meditation.
I enjoyed the straightforward and uncomplicated
writing style, and the good quality paper and printing layout made reading
it a pleasure. Having read many books on the art of living, I realize that
this one contains the essence of them without frills or personal
anecdotes. Someone coming to the subject completely fresh will receive a
great deal of sensible advice and can start the journey towards self
understanding with comfortable reassurance that the author knows what he
is writing about.
Part One, the Body, introduces readers to their own physical
body and the basic requirements for it to function well. There will be
those who have no idea of what they should ideally eat and drink,
while for others it will be a reminder of why it is a good idea to
give up certain habits completely or at least adopt a policy of
moderation in them all. "The body in which we exist is our present
reality and that is the only place from which we can begin a quest for
perfection" the author says, and gives in detail well known ways to
keep it healthy. Avoid, of course, drugs, drink, and over eating, and
don't forget your aerobic exercise.
The section introducing Conscious
Breathing explains why it is a good idea to increase the lung
capacity through increased diaphragm movement. Many people have only a
vague idea that they should breathe properly, but do not know how. The
author describes what he calls Attention breathing and Abdominal
breathing. He includes a few Dynamic breathing exercises with photos
to illustrate the postures necessary for their practice. His own
strong convictions and belief in the power of developing breathing to
bring about harmony and a relaxed approach to life should inspire
readers to start breathing deeply and smoothly as they read on.
Next, three concepts are introduced: the Ordinary Mind, the
Universal Mind, and Quietism. The Ordinary mind is the world of the
Ego and unconsciousness and the one we function from most of the time
We are a mass of moving moods with the Ego controlling these.. For
someone in a state of confusion and wanting to learn to become
focused, just sitting still for five minutes is a starting point. The
next step is learning to accept all thoughts, without judging any of
them negatively.. From there you advance to realizing your real
nature, which connects to the Universal Mind, a way of thinking where
you see "the essential unity behind the changing experiences and
phenomena of life" and after practice you will have calmed the
Ordinary Mind and accessed this place of peace and tranquility.
"Quietism is the state of pure
calmness unfazed by the rapid pace of the world around and within
us..." The author advocates developing this beautiful state of mind
through the practice of focusing, or just watching and noticing, a
natural scene, such as the sky, trees, the sea, mountains or fire.
Concentrating on the qualities of the scene, such as fluidity, or
solidity, you become identified with the subject itself. Then the
focus is narrowed to a part of the body itself, aided by different
breath counting methods. The idea is to gain control over the mind
through these concentration exercises and attain a deep state of
Quietism within yourself. The author's tone is encouraging and it is
all made to sound attainable to anyone prepared to practice regularly.
You are then ready to develop spiritual consciousness.
The author links the elusive idea of spirit to the balance of
opposites, of yin and yang, with yoga exercises one way of achieving
this in the body. From his training in the practice of yoga,
Shiatsu, Qigong
and other martial arts, he offers a variety of exercises to coordinate
the body and mind, energize the body so that feelings of well being
and spiritual awakening can be felt. Finding your spirit may prove
overwhelming, so he provides a chapter on integrating the new
developments and enjoying your life much more. Meditation and
breathing practices are seen as keys to all the progress you make.
This is a gentle and wise guide to perfecting yourself, or in
other words, creating yourself as you would like to be, reaching your
potential, and living peacefully. You certainly need to have a certain
determination and focus to be able to follow the instructions to get
results, and to be motivated to do so. The book will be appreciated by
those seeking a practical Buddhist based approach to developing inner
strength.
««««« -
So Blessed to have Aaron Hoopes helping us!
When I picked up this book, I
couldn't put it down! Such common sense and wisdom! Following the
guidance in this book has really helped me become a more calm and
aware person. I highly recommend this book to all who seek more
peacefulness in their lives. People who have any amount of stress in their lives must read this
book. It reminds us how important it is to pay attention to and
understand ourselves, as that is the key to benefiting ourselves and
others and dealing with outside influences. It offers incredible
insight into the mind and how it works. I find the breathing exercises
extremely helpful. One of the best
"self-help" books I've ever read. Love this book! - Marci
Loffredo
«««««
Excellent! Change Your Life
Aaron Hoopes'
sincerity and compassion are apparent in his writing. Perfecting
Ourselves is not about achieving some illusive idea of the perfect
body, the perfect state of mind, or the perfect spiritual practice. It
is about practicing and achieving the best that we have to give to
ourselves and others each day, in order to reclaim the state of
perfection often felt in our most ecstatic moments. This reclamation
process involves the integration of a healthy body, a calm mind, and a
quiet spiritualism. Hoopes addresses the full trinity required for the
peaceful connection to a balanced and healthy life in a methodical,
easy to understand format.
-
Kathryn Lanier - Innerchange Magazine
Review
Title:
Perfecting Ourselves: Coordinating Body, Mind and Spirit
Author: Aaron Hoopes
Publisher:
Turtle Press
Details:
Paperback 211 pages
ISBN:
1880336685
Release Date:
2002
Price: $14.95
Available at:
www.amazon.com,
www.barnesandnoble.com,
www.bamm.com,
www.powells.com, and all fine bookstores.
Bulk Purchases:
www.turtlepress.com
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Read the Introduction
Perfecting Ourselves
INTRODUCTION
It is good to have an end to journey
towards,
but it is the journey that matters in
the end.
-Ursula K. LeGuin
Can human beings actually achieve perfection? Or
can they only aspire to it as an ideal by which to measure or test
implacable reality? Actually achieving perfection would seem impossible,
or fleeting at best, a transient state, easily wiped away by the constant
change and flux of life. Change is a given. One who reached perfection
would see change as the enemy, since it would inevitably undermine the
perfect state of being. Change, however, is life-giving. Otherwise
existence would be a stagnant condition and would not persist. Yet human
beings do strive for perfection, elusive as it is, and when along the way
they achieve something that is just right, finely balanced, and attentive
to basic human needs, they frequently, in satisfaction, refer to it as
“perfect.” It is the potential of achieving this kind of balance or
integration of body, mind, and spirit that Perfecting Ourselves
offers to its readers.
Let it be understood at the outset, therefore, that
we are not presenting here a grand ideal, nor a recipe for some kind of
metaphysical transformation. Our goal is to provide a framework for
understanding the potentials of self-integration and a set of basic
exercises and techniques for achieving it. The procedure we suggest is
simple. Indeed, in places it may seem even overly simple. Don’t be misled
by the simplicity. The substance of this book, as you journey through it,
is capable of producing a profound impact and changing lives.
First let’s define some parameters. Perfecting
ourselves is about each of us as an individual and what makes each of us
unique. It is about our physical body, our mind, our actions, and our
thoughts. It is not about perfecting our skills in making money. It is not
about surrounding ourselves with tangible things that we believe define
our existence or make our lives more comfortable. It is not about gaining
material possessions of any kind. It is also not, in a more ideal sense,
about developing the desire, much less the ability, to perfect the world
or the immediate environment in which we live. Perfecting ourselves is
about finding perfection within.
Everyone has had moments of perfection. A moment
of pure awareness when everything is bright, clear and vibrantly alive. A
moment where past and future no longer exist and all of our attention is
focused on the present moment. At that one point in time we weren’t
thinking about anything at all, we were simply existing. The problems in
our lives faded away, all of our wants, needs, and desires disappeared. We
had entered what can be called the flow of life. We weren’t holding onto
it or trying to analyze it, we were just experiencing it. Maybe it was
watching a sunset on the beach, maybe it was listening to music in the
park, or maybe it was during some physical activity when everything just
clicked. Whenever it was, at that moment everything was perfect. We were
perfect.
What if we could call that feeling back? Not
necessarily the actual moment, but the feeling we had in that instant. If
we could recreate that kind of special moment, we could be perfect again.
We could experience that feeling of being part of the whole universe,
vitally connected to and immersed in the flow of life.
We’ve already noted that perfection is fleeting,
the moment doesn’t last. The realities of everyday life soon yank us back.
But, what if we could string together a whole series of those moments in
which each in itself would be perfection. It would mean, first and
foremost, stretching out the amount of time we spent in them experiencing
perfection. And what would that mean? Getting closer and closer, of
course, to perfecting ourselves.
This book is a guide to reaching the state of
living in that perfect moment continuously. In order to achieve this we
must come to understand both the body and the mind. We must learn how to
influence and control them so that they work both together and for us.
Through integration of the body and mind we will be able to unlock the
secret of the human spirit which is the ultimate key to perfecting
ourselves.
In the first chapter we consider the body and how
to become more fully aware of and connected to it. Most of us live out our
lives without ever really knowing our bodies, only really beginning to
come to some understanding of them when they start to break down due to
illness or injury. But the body is our physical presence in the world. We
have no alternative but to live in it until we die. It makes much more
sense to live in harmony with it than in ignorance of it or, worse, in
conflict with it.
The first step is to learn the importance of
accepting the body we have. Regardless of all things, real or imagined
that you believe are wrong with it, acceptance is the only path that will
lead us to understanding. Then we need to examine certain behaviors and
the detrimental effect they have on the body, admitting to ourselves the
truth about our own behavior.
In the second section of this chapter we suggest
ways to counter the detrimental behaviors that have been catalogued in the
first. Through the concept of moderation we learn the importance of easily
managed changes to free us from the detrimental behavior we are imprisoned
in. Moderation here is a response that eschews radical behavioral change
and focuses on the subtle power of minor, incremental change. We also
examine dieting and how simple, common sense ways of eating and
concentrating on our food are a better way of controlling our intake than
yo-yo or fad dieting. In addition, we learn the importance of motivation
and how movement of the body expands oxygen intake and stimulates blood
circulation. This section also offers a few easy exercises to enable us to
quickly feel a change in the body.
The third section of chapter one is devoted to
breathing exercises. It contrasts everyday unconscious or subsistence
breathing with dynamic, conscious breathing and explains how awareness of
the breath can bring immediate benefits such as increased oxygen supply
and improved circulation as well as more gradual benefits such as general
good health and long life. Next we discuss importance of posture when
doing breathing exercises and offer the most effective postures for
practicing them. There are postures for everyone at all levels, from
beginner to advanced postures, either sitting, standing, or lying down,
there is a posture that is comfortable for everyone. Finally we discuss
five basic breathing exercises. Attention Breathing teaches us to
concentrate on our normal breathing. Awareness of our normal breathing
pattern is paramount if we plan on changing it. Abdominal Breathing
teaches us how to control the inhalation and exhalation process by using
the lungs and muscles of the body to take full, deep breaths. Reverse
Abdominal Breathing is a more advanced method of controlling the breath
and a way of building strong breathing habits. Nose Panting illustrates
the importance of breathing through the nose and is an exercise that can
be performed any time. The Complete Breath is a method for putting it all
together in a way that makes it clear that deep breathing exercises and
conscious awareness of the breath constitute a major pathway to physical
health and well-being.
The second chapter examines the nature of the
human mind and the need to gain better control over our thoughts and
feelings. Most of us live our lives without, in a sense, paying
attention, without assessing how the emotions which sweep through us – our
moods, desires, opinions and the like – govern our mental processes. We
find ourselves carried along at what is often a frenetic pace, rarely
stopping to ask whether that is in fact the way we want our minds to work.
The result is a mind too cluttered and stressed out to examine itself, and
too seldom calm and at peace. The mind bent, in our context here, on
perfecting itself, needs to slow down, take stock of the forces that
impose themselves upon it, and find a means of asserting control. These
aims will be pursued by distinguishing between what we will call the
Ordinary Mind and the Universal Mind.
We will look first at the Ordinary Mind and, from
a more or less traditional psychological perspective, consider the role
played by the ego. We will examine the disabilities and the stresses that
life, especially the post-modern high tech life we currently lead, imposes
on us and how these are manifest in the flux of emotions we experience and
the sometimes driven, sometimes anarchic thought processes we are prey to.
A critical distinction here will be between thoughts that come unbidden
into the mind and those which characterize our conscious thinking process.
We turn next to the Universal Mind. The Universal
Mind is the thought process that is primarily concerned with our own
individual existence, who we are and what our purpose in life is. It is a
way of thinking that is separate from the everyday concerns of the
Ordinary Mind. But, only when we have quieted the Ordinary Mind, can we
begin drawing out the Universal Mind. This can be done by understanding
and placing a positive value on silence or the simple reduction of the
excessive input we experience in the life we normally lead. Hand-in-hand
with this is a slowing down of the thought process, which enables us to
focus on the quality of our actions, regardless of what we are doing.
Sticking our attention to the task at hand enables us to become fully
immersed in it and bring quality to even the most humble of endeavors.
The third section of this chapter discusses the
state of Quietism. Quietism in this text refers to a state of calmness in
the mind, unfazed by the chaos of the world around. Quietism is a state of
mind where the thoughts have been corralled so that we are able to think
clearly and calmly. By helping the mind to pay attention to the world
around us we can ease the hectic pace of our thoughts and reflect on the
real beauty of life. We also discuss exercises for focusing our thoughts
and learn techniques for concentrating the mind on a certain point. It
also discusses methods of fixing the mind to the senses and thereby
releasing our grasp on our thoughts.
The third part of the book considers the spirit
and how we can become more aware of our spiritual existence. It brings the
breathing of the body from the first chapter together with the calmness of
mind from the second chapter and discusses how we can fully enter into the
flow of life. It shows how, by breathing in a state of Quietism we can
become aware of our existence in every moment. It discusses meditation and
how it is not some mystical practice, but simply a state of being when we
are quietly breathing. It emphasizes the point that meditation is not a
regimen of practice that has to be strictly followed, but is merely
becoming aware of the body and the mind in your own time. Our spirit
manifests itself in the perfection of each moment we live. As we become
aware of ourselves in each moment, we begin to realize our spiritual
nature. And by connecting those perfect moments together we, ourselves,
can become happy, healthy and perfect.
This book is a journey towards finding out who you
truly are. At times there may be moments when you don’t want to know
certain things about yourself. The purpose of this journey, however, is to
come to understand your whole being, not just the good parts. Have no
fear, simply by embarking on this journey you have taken the most
difficult step. The path lies before you…perfection awaits.
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