Book Review of "Living Dangerously" by Osho

This is a third blog post which leads thematically from I met a Monk: Running as Meditation and Running and the Dantien which deals with topics of a spiritual nature. This post, in contrast to the experiential nature of the last two, is a book review, however it does relate to my prior experiences with running and meditation. How I got this book is a story in itself, but I will keep it brief: I had arrived home after a spiritually healing visit to the islands of Reunion and Mauritius when, on my return to London, a good friend (and empath) gave me a present - I ripped off the wrapping paper to find this book "Living Dangerously". I began reading it and it literally blew my mind.

The Book Review: Living Dangerously: Ordinary Enlightenment for Extraordinary Times (2015);
When you realize that Osho was once described as "the most dangerous man since Jesus Christ" then you know that what lies in your hands aint gonna be a Wayne Dyer or Marianne Williamson lovey-dovey sort of book...it's going to be spiritual dynamite. The title is provocative and the preface spell binding...and I tend to miss the preface and introduction in most books! But this book is just captivating.

In the introduction of his book he relays a profound truth which gets things rolling along:

"Thoughts create clouds around you... When thoughts disappear, when there are no more clouds around you...clarity happens."

Such a statement primes us for a whirlwind of a spiritual / philosophical treatise which touches on many topics. I say "treatise" as if Osho himself wrote the book, but he did not - this is a collection of talks that were recorded and transcribed of the man himself, prior to his death in 1990. However these transcriptions have been packaged under a charming cover in a paperback format, and the "book" is surprisingly a page-turner; each chapter leads on from the next in a pleasing if eclectic manner.

He begins speaking about meditation, a sense of clarity of no-mind or not-thinking. The mind-he tells us - can do a lot of things but it cannot meditate, when you meditate you have switched off the mind. Or at least rebooted it to a different level of functionality. Hence I suppose the almost addictive sense of peace that people can find in meditation.

We can sum this up in Osho's own words as "'Drop Thinking"'

Or to use an analogy:
Thoughts muddy the stream.

"...sit on the bank. You wait. There is nothing to be done. Because whatsoever you do will make the steam more muddy...watch indifferently. And as the stream goes on flowing, the dead leaves will be taken away, and the mud will start settling because it cannot hang there forever. After a while, suddenly you will become aware - the stream is crystal clear again."

"So just sit. Don't try to do anything. In Japan this 'just sitting' is called zazen...one day meditation happens...it comes to you."

"Suddenly clarity is attained. Then you can see clouds a thousand miles away, and you can hear ancient music in the pines. Then everything is available to you."


And that was just the introduction! It made me gasp with a feeling of wanting that peace of the crystal clear stream. The rest of the book is diverse, thought provoking...even life changing. With chapter titles such as "The Golden Rule Is That There Are No Golden Rules" and  "Doing Good, Serving Humanity, and Other Roads To Hell" you know that you are lighting the fuse of your own TNT explosion of insight, awareness inevitable change.

Verdict
The book must rank as one of the most illuminating books I have ever read. If you have the sort of mind-set which questions everything and anything, and you are searching for spiritual meaning in your life -and you don't mind the controversial nature of Osho - then this is the book for you. If you have a religion. and are fervent believer and have total faith then this is really not the book for you. This is a book for those who Doubt and want to Develop themselves and Evolve.

Thank you for taking the time to read my book review.

Running and the Dantien

According to the Eastern Tradition a conglomeration of energy is seated a couple of inches below the navel, and a few inches into the body. It is called the Dantien in Chinese and the Tanden or Hara in Japanese according to wikipedia is is "the reservoir of vital or source energy ". The word Hara we find in the ritual self-disembowelment by Samurai called Hara-kiri or Seppuku. The Tanden or Dantien is an extremely important concept in Chinese and Japanese spiritual and martial arts including Tai Chi, Reiki, and any number of the Martial Arts where acrobatic movements abound.

Since I have been working toward incorporating a "mindfulness" into my running - which has made running a more enjoyable endeavour akin to a form of meditation, I thought I would also explore the practical use of the Dantien or Tanden.

Whilst running I focused of becoming aware on the pelvis and concentrated on twisting the pelvis slightly forward - I assisted this by performing this movement in the mirror before hand (whilst no one was watching of course!). By incorporating this pelvis tilt and by running in my Skora Form with a forefoot strike I found an increase of energy in running - a noticeable (and surprising) increase in energy: the run was easy.

This is of course not a new concept to anyone who has read the book Chi Running by Danny Dreyer especially the bit where the author says that the pelvis "contains" Chi energy, like a cauldron contains liquid, you need to keep it straight otherwise you tip the Chi from the pelvis. Whilst I have read the book I found it more useful to come to the same conclusion from the opposite direction, not because I am being told to do it from a book but because I slowly "discover" the right way...in other words a self discovery via experiential learning. To me this has more value but it may be I am just stubborn and need to verify things for myself, and in my own time!

But did it work? Despite a bad back I literally flew through my trail route which I kept to a lowish 6 miles as I am recovering from a flu virus - I took a moderate to slow pace alternating between counting my breaths (breathing meditation) and focusing on my Hara (and tilting or rotating the pelvis forwards (and keeping the whole body relaxed and not all tensed up). It was an easy run and I felt I could have run a few more miles despite recovering from illness and a bad back. The after effect of the run was a total sense of relaxation and a tremendous sense of balance - both physically and mentally. So much so I will be incorporating "mindfulness" into all of my runs from now on. It really does make running a sort of meditation.

I Met A Monk: Running as Meditation

It was whilst in transit at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam international airport, Mauritius, that my wife Ex-wife (5 months after writing this blog post she left me...in Nov 2016) bought me a book, thinking it was the Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, in fact she had forgotten the title (not uncommon) and only remembered the "monk" part of it. She had bought I Met A Monk by Rose Elliot and was pleased as punch when she handed it to me. I was not amused. "Great another book that I wont read." and "I'm not interested in becoming a Buddhist" were two of the thoughts that ran through my mind.

But I did read it. And I even started trying the mindfulness meditation. This is specifically concentrating (counting) ones breaths in and out. No incense or statues of Buddha are required, no dogma and no religious texts, just counting the breath in and out and clearing the mind of commentary. I was impressed at the sense of peace that I found. I even started to do this on my lunch breaks at work, finding a quiet spot in nature and sitting for ten minutes doing the breathing meditation. On inclement days I would walk and do the breathing meditation at least for part of the time. And then I wondered if this could also apply to running.

So I tried it and it was strangely relaxing and oddly compulsive, addictive even. I want to try it again. Can  you believe it - Running Meditation!?

Basically just run and focus on your breathing trying counting every ten or twenty breaths, try to clear your mind, as thoughts come in focus again on the breathing and clearing the mind. Try to stop the mental commentary. It's not easy and you go through moments of mindfulness and then lapsing into mental chatter, but it is quite extraordinary the sense of peace you feel - a mixture of endorphin, dopamine and a little mental stillness.

You don't need to get all religious about it, or even spiritual, in my opinion, spiritual things are a reference to the mind - I suppose in the French sense of l'esprit rather in the English sense of ghosts or paranormal stuff. In fact the origin of the word "spirit" is from "breathe" (spirare).

 The Mind and the Body well exercised = health.