Source Seminars

Life Companion Affirmation

Inshallah

Darkness October 2011

This blog will address unmarried and married folk who can be benefited by this affirmation.  So read on!!

One enthusiastic blog reader, dear friend, and Source Grad recently shared with me that he has been doing this affirmation so repeatedly that it is popping up all over the place: when he prays before eating, before EE practice, and so forth.  Suffice it to say, he is getting it done well over the five times daily minimum recommended.  It has really worked in his life as well: sparing him from a matrimonial wrong turn and magnetizing a spiritually supportive life partner who shares his spiritual path Home.  Why is he still repeating it, you might well ask.  Because his partnership is quite new and he chooses to be sure it is in alignment with his long-term Highest Good.

Yogananda, who created this affirmation, has said that if it is used repeatedly and correctly over a six month period, circumstances will be created that will reveal the character traits of the proposed life-mate (both good and bad) that one would choose to know before making a lifetime commitment.  He also said affirmation use will (usually) dissolve an incorrect prospective choice in relationship within 6 months (again, if done exactly as instructed.)  I did use this affirmation during my courtship with Dennis and as the years went along it was a strong signal that we were meant to be together.

I know people at this writing who tell me they are inconsistent in their application of this valuable tool.  To me this is Russian Roulette with one of the most important decisions one ever may have to make!  It could actually determine the outcome, success or failure, of the most important goal in life, Soul Liberation!!

Because you may be wasting time with the incorrect choice, your perfect mate may slip right through the portal of time designated for your finding one another!  This is not a long affirmation. It would be easy to do before retiring, upon awakening, along with your Prayer for food, and at your meditation or exercise periods.  If you incorporate your affirmation into these everyday activities, the sufficient number of repetitions can be easily attained.

If you are currently in relationship with someone who shares your spiritual path (ideal, methinks) do request that they do it also.  If they are reluctant to meet this simple request, that also gives you significant information about how they may show up once married!

The affirmation:

Heavenly Father, Bless me that I may choose my life companion according to Thy Law of Perfect Soul Union.  I add "and Harmony" on the end as it is resonant with my goal.

For those of us already married, I have modified the affirmation to fit that circumstance: Heavenly Father, Bless me that I may live with my life companion (I also add the names of my immediate family and closest friend here, and my Guruji) according to Thy Divine Laws of Perfect Soul Union and Harmony".

I have been saying this in my morning prayers for years.  If you are choosing to increase matrimonial or famial harmony or preserve the felicity you are experiencing, I recommend you begin using it as well.

During Darkness it became apparent that I, too, should be repeating the affirmation five times daily as well.  I am now repeating it each time I do the Peace and Harmony Prayer which also has a minimum five times daily requirement, in addition to retention of it in my morning prayers.

By the way, the Peace and Harmony Prayer is SUCH a great addition to ones life...most everyone has someone with whom they would enjoy more harmony!  I have been doing this since May and have rarely missed the five times...if I have, or even suspect I have, I make up the needed repetitions the following day.  I am ready to do this for the remainder of my life, if necessary!

Those of you seeking the Ideal life partner, those of you who are in relationship or married, have been informed of an incomparable tool to attract and maintain harmonious relationship with your perfect Soul Companion on the Journey HOME! USE IT!

More Adventures with the Spiritual Eye

Inshallah

Darkness October 2011

Since Paramahansaji says that maintaining ones Consciousness in the Spiritual Eye is the fastest way to reach Liberation, I am voting to write another post on this topic.

I have been endeavoring to keep my attention at the Eye for decades with little success at all.  I counted myself fortunate if I was able to keep it there most of the time during my Energization Exercises.  I can honestly say that I have had difficulty with consistent, proper, positioning of my eyes (upward) even during meditation.  No doubt this lack has taken its toll with sleepiness, mind-wandering, overall restlessness.  Granted, it is never easy to develop a new habit, and it is like that here in the Darkness as well.  There are so many less distractions here yet I have never made it a conscious priority to inculcate this habit.  THIS IS THE TIME!

Upon departing my bunk, I resolved to do my best to REMEMBER, TODAY!  After a couple of failures I began mentally saying, as I went through my morning ablutions, "I am keeping my Consciousness at the Spiritual Eye while I am brushing my teeth.  I offer my teeth-brushing to God and Guru."  "I am staying at the Spiritual Eye while I floss my teeth.  I offer my flossing to God and Guru." And on and on. 

I was getting a double benefit; I was staying Connected to my Eye and Higher-Soul Consciousness and by offering up my actions, I was accruing no karma.  Nothing I was doing was attaching to "I" or ego-consciousness.  You may say, "How much karma can be involved with teeth-brushing???" haha.  It's the HABIT I am building.  There are sundry ways our egos DO get involved...even in the little things.  Consider pride, frustration, disappointment because of being attached to a certain result or outcome.

When my shower cap fell on the floor, I had to locate it, pick it up, in the Dark.  There was no little mental muttering about wishing that hadn't happened or the difficulty in having to deal with it.  Dark or Light, little stuff like that happens continuously...and are we at Peace with it?

When Connected at the Eye, there is only THIS moment and the Soul is observing all without attachment or judgment of oneself or others!  The result is living a peaceful, mellow life with no stress!!

Because I had started this pattern, it was a snap to keep at the Eye during EE's and maha mudra.  Sitting to meditate, my Consciousness was already where it needed to be.  And WOW, what a difference it made in my meditation.  I went deep fast, and I stayed there.

When I was finished, after a long and great meditation, I contemplated holding my practice while preparing my first meal of the day...lunch.  I wasn't perfect but I kept at it.  I noticed an immediate slip when I began eating.  This won't surprise if you have been reading these blogs very long, haha.  What I DID notice was that the food and eating experience was actually more pleasant when maintaining the perspective of the observant Soul.  Instead of the ego dashing to finish, gobble gobble, I noticed several enjoyable nuances of taste I would have missed.  Eating also took longer, so the food was actually around longer to enjoy ;-).

I wasn't tense as I cleaned up the "kitchen", as I usually am in the Dark, and I didn't feel as wiped-out with the constant vigilance required. (If you absentmindedly put something somewhere you may not be able to find it again...or make a big mess when you knock it over accidentally.)  One moves slower, calmer, when in the Eye.  Accidents that can have major consequences don't happen.  Actually, many of these positive effects of keeping ones Consciousness uplifted would also play out in regular, lighted, existence.

I like how my mind is not in Future or Past.  It is right here enjoying the gift of the Present.  What I am beginning to feel is that the point between the eyebrows is "HOME": comfortable, safe, and joyous.  As I write this I feel a soft smile playing on my lips...not the intense, concentrated jaw-hold of "getting things done".

I pause and can hear AUM softly humming in the background.  Perhaps if I could stay out of my ego, It would always be available to me.  I do believe developing this practice will take very firm commitment and unceasing patience.  Yet, I can tell you, it is a very, very pleasant way to live your life. I can substitute so many adjectives for pleasant-effective, successful, peaceful, beneficial, and VICTORIOUS (best of all).

The Importance of the Spiritual Eye

Inshallah

Darkness October 2011

Most of you already know of the Spiritual Eye, aka Third Eye, the point between the eyebrows.  In India it is known as the kutastha chaitanya, Christ Consciousness center, literally, that Consciousness which remains unchanged.

One of my tenets or intentions for this time in Darkness is to keep the eyes uplifted to this Astral Eye as much as possible.  Yogananda has said that this practice is the absolute fastest way to God-Realization.  When mixing with people during worldly activities one doesn't actually have to uplift eyes to perform this practice.  We must keep our CONSCIOUSNESS S centered there.  Of course, this is easier to do if one is able to uplift the eyes as well.

In each of Yogananda's main meditation techniques, this practice is a primary component.  Why is uplifting the eyes to the point between the eyebrows so essential?  It is because it, and it's dual partner the medulla oblongata (found at the indention at the base of the skull/top of the spine,) are the gateway to the spiritual dimensions.  In fact, the spiritual eye, when seen, is actually the reflection of the powerful energy source/telescoping tunnel shining at the medulla. 

When our attention is focused at the Eye, we are anchored in the spiritual dimension, the Kingdom of our Soul and Spirit.  We have severely compromised ties to world and ego, and the Soul is in charge.  It is difficult, if not impossible, to think ego-based thoughts or perform selfish actions if one is truly anchored in this safe harbor of the Soul.  This 'Seat of the Soul'  is where we must learn to retreat, seeking sanctuary and amnesty from the carping ravings and incessant demands of worldly desire and sense-based snares.

However, if our habit is strong in looking outward to the vapid mirage of materiality, it can be difficult, indeed, to reign in the five sense stallions, calm the scorpion-mind of wild and erratic thoughts, and bring our Consciousness back to Home's Beacon once more.

Today during meditation I noticed the only real necessity for Hong Sau was to stay in the Spiritual Eye.  When doing so, both thought and breath became still and the heart very quiet as well.  Practice of Aum technique was quite similar.  For me, it is more difficult with Kriya because the technique requires some thought and observation/visualization to perform.  Still, the more the eyes were anchored in upliftment at the Eye, the better! 

I am writing this because you may have forgotten this essential element of your techniques, and hence have been missing the major impact this practice has on their efficacy.  If you can just STAY at the Eye you will not be plagued by thoughts and mental wanderings during meditation!!  Your posture will also more easily remain erect and aligned.  When things are 'in order' above, they seem to be 'in order' below as well!

Beyond meditation periods, fixing one's Consciousness at the Eye can reap generous rewards, not withstanding the greatest prize of all, GOD-REALIZATION.  One cannot perform wrong actions which will induce pain to oneself or others, at that moment OR in future, if one is resting in the domain of Spirit!  There will be no gossiping, profanity, wrong sense-indulgence or thought if  one is in this Holy Haven.  We are in direct Connection with Source and with our Guru.  Their Guidance, Direction, and Protection can flow easily and instantly into our Consciousness!

It is even suggested both partners remain in the Spiritual Eye when endeavoring to conceive a child.  Yogananda has said this greatly increases the chances of attracting a Soul with deep spiritual inclination.  We did this when our daughter was conceived and amid a raft of spiritual positives, she is also the youngest member of our Core IV...a group committed to assisting oneself and one another to full Liberation in this lifetime.  Keeping one's attention at the Eye during conception has definite spiritual ramifications!

Life can be Ease and Grace if we create the Divine habit of keeping our attention at the Spiritual Eye.  My heartiest wish for you and me is that we employ strong and consistent effort to developing this habit NOW!

Likes and Dislikes

Inshallah

Darkness October 2011

When I began Darkness this time I set up some intentions and ground rules.  One of these was recognizing and avoiding likes and dislikes.  Why?  Because true non-attachment, accepting whatever "is" with an even mind, brings true contentment.  If one has no "druthers" what's not to like?  Pretty consistently I have been catching myself as I respond with a desire for something to be other than it is.  I just mentally label it "likes and dislikes" and move on.  This has been incredibly freeing.  It doesn't mean I always flow easily with it (remember the salad?) yet at least it is clear I am the one who is creating the experience of life as less than perfect!

When I was fasting I broke my favorite juice-drinking glass.  I enjoyed that glass because my own self-created value declared drinking from it was a celebration of the of act of drinking regardless of what was in it.  I was really disappointed when I broke it shaking out excess wash-water too close to the counter-top.  It's pitch black here, remember.  I said "likes and dislikes" and considered the mug that would be it's replacement.  "Maybe this will work out O.K." I thought.

When it came time to use the mug it served me substantially better as a Darkness drinking vessel.  It was much easier to accurately pour into and it made the juice seem more abundant as well.  Sometimes (more often than we expect, I proprose) our likes and dislikes can really be off-base, if not downright destructive.  The self-sabotaging relationship choices of several folks I know come quickly to mind.

I am thinking that an honest assessment of our habitual likes and dislikes and how these are impacting our chance for true happiness could be very wise.  Indeed, Darkness doesn't lie.  May what it contributes to the growth of my life flow into yours as well!

 

Food Part Two

Inshallah

Darkness October 2011

I was analyzing my likes and dislikes (more on that another blog) and began with food, which is a big area of contention for me.  Sadly, I realized nearly all of my favorite foods are unhealthy...at least the options from their menus I choose and enjoy.  My favorite cuisines are Italian, Mexican, and Indian.  Shucks!  There are raw foods I do like and Peace Pies Raw Food Restaurant in Leucadia can be recommended as well as Haggo's Organic Tacos, also in Leucadia, which actually is NOT typical Mexican, using all locally grown organic ingredients and much less cheese, if any.

Looking deeper, I realize that much of my food focus has zero to do either with appetite or hunger.  Most of my pull towards food is totally EMOTIONAL.   The idea to eat pops right up when my ego chooses soothing because it has chosen to believe it's current external experience is: FRUSTRATING, BORING, TAXING, or preferably, TO BE AVOIDED.

Food offers a delectable pause before having to face an unappealing present-time reality again, and presumably having to deal with or do something about it.

Granted, things are much less complicated here in the Dark, mostly because I only have ONE ego to deal with, my own!  Still, the "Let's eat" thought comes in and I am valiantly endeavoring to put a new rule into practice: ONLY EAT WHEN I AM HUNGRY!! 

By the way, you may wonder what could be stressful in Darkness.  Much...as all has to be accomplished without sight.  Also, there are no "diversions" that worldly life offers.  The closest thing would be listening to the wondrous sounds of my Himalayan bowls.  They are AWESOME.  Still, in the Dark, it's largely a 2-part menu: sadhana or body-care.  This is exactly what makes the Dark stellar for spiritual and psychological growth and discovery.  So I am living the No Hunger, No eating prescription. I have one small caveat...a tiny bite of cheese at meal-end for "dessert".  Paramahansaji always recommends balance, you know :-).

I am also gearing up to having few meals weekly of the Italian-Mexican-Indian trio.  I will definitely require Den's support on that and he actually seems more ready than I.  Sometimes social obligations must predominate and certainly Holiday Celebrations have their special agenda.  I can roll with that...balance remember ;-).

Food Part One

Inshallah

Darkness October 2011

I have been waiting all "day" (who knows?) to be hungry again after breaking my 3 day fast.  This "morning" I had brown rice cereal with banana and found it incredibly filling.  In the Dark everything seems much larger than it actually is.  I'm not sure why.  I always lose weight here as I only eat two meals daily and they seem large...but after I get out of the Dark I notice portions I thought were large just are not.

In the Light I break fasts with foods I enjoy...regardless of how at odds these foods may be as fast-breakers.  This habit has very rarely caused any digestive problems.  Apparently attitude is everything, haha.

I am considering having salad now and the fact that it will be cold is not very appetizing.  My pyche is telling me, "I'd rather pass".  Still, if we all ate what was available rather than what was desired, do you realize how much less obesity there would be?  If we were able to re-train our palates and only craved what was good for us, we still would be thin because those wholesome foods jsut don't make anyone fat!

The Dark definitely allows me to examine my relationship with food.  Doing so, I desire to change it.  Because of both the ample spiritual sustenance available and the time and ability for excellent self-care (daily hatha yoga, 6 rites, bodyworking tools, sound healing, good sleep and good nutrition, and even a delightful daily bath time) the desire for unhealthy external soothing definitely subsides.  Instead of satisfying addictions (food, sex, excitement, retail therapy and endless outer pursuits) perhaps it's past time for us to pause and consider what about our lives leaves us so empty that we feel compelled to fill them with stuff, activity, sense satiation.

I know I can fix this.  It requires pushing the pause button and taking honest inventory of how I am living my life.  It IS my life, after all, I do get to choose how I spend it!  If I am needing anything "out there" I am not taking care of myself in both large and small ways.

Living so simply here, yet so happily, I know I can create happiness and peace "out there" as well.  I must put my spiritual needs first and my healthy self-care second.  I will be totally capable of whatever my karma has in store for me, or my Guru has arranged for my continued upward growth.  Perhaps that salad has a place in my near future.  I'm thinking about it, haha.

P.S. The salad was FANTASTIC.  Who would've thought?? Of coruse, it was created under Sri Yukteswar's fabulous direction and He does everything GREAT.  It was so wholesome too!  Taste buds can be trained apparently, haha.