Grow and Glow with Conscious Intention Healing through Meditation
Part II
by Cindy Hively
Conscious Intention Meditation teachings and practices guide you to experience the place of true inner peace where the 'story' and distractions of life fall away leaving you with a life of wholesome health and happiness.
Conscious Intention Meditation is a simple and authentic self-empowerment and healing system that only requires your presence, intention and passion. It does not require any prior qualifications in energy medicine, meditation or spiritual philosophies. It is a modern and advanced system used by people such as Reiki masters, yoga teachers, psychologists, energy healers, social workers, accountants, school teachers, university students, musicians, parents , workers and people of all cultures and ages. It is one of the most evolved systems used in the developmental education of enlightenment since 2010, yet is as ancient as the first moment of creation itself. I would say the healing through CIM is on fire and the word is out and being taken seriously. More and more are paying attention, especially in the field of Mental Wellness because of the over whelming scientific evidence that conscious intention medicine factually works. This is great news for those of us who suffer from chronic illness/any illness, and especially brain disorders.
Traditionally in Western culture, we have sought relief from stress, anxiety and depression through medicine, alcohol or drugs. Now, in today’s modern world and the joining together of world cultures through technology and media, we can enjoy sharing and exploring scientifically researched and proven practices such as meditation to enhance the well-being of our lives naturally and authentically. This system of meditation is easy and simple and requires less and less effort the deeper you go into the process of letting go. Can you feel relief and a sense of empowerment knowing this? I am using this practice everyday and jumping for joy. Inside of our own being we actually have the power to heal ourself, feel as well as possible, and the medical field is getting it! That is truly a cause for celebration ...
Thoughts are the cause of all human suffering. Our thoughts are constantly comparing, searching, seeking, judging, organizing, controlling, manipulating and questioning life. Who Am I? Why me? How do I look? Why do others act as they do? Why am I happy? Sad? Lonely? Depressed? Why is there anger? Blame? Criticism and war? Where do I find peace in my life? Is it in my relationship, money, work, my home or my car? The list goes on. The mind is always “doing’ something or getting ready to take action in order to survive, keep safe, or feel loved.
Thoughts from the past constantly replay themselves from our subconscious mind. For example, fear of abandonment, need for approval, unworthiness and failure are patterns that repeat themselves throughout life—in relationship with ourselves, others, and community. These thoughts sometimes force us into feelings of confusion and depression.
We define ourselves and who we believe we are through family, media, religion, spirituality and society. Our natural state of being is stillness, peace and silence. It is as pure and innocent as it was the moment you where born. From birth you have been conditioned, controlled, manipulated and encouraged to believe you are different than this natural state. The need for safety, wisdom and education is an important part of human existence but we spend so much time working on survival that we have forgotten to give ourselves time to stay in touch with our authentic self.
Peace is always will be present. Silently sitting behind the activity of the mind like an ocean that calmly abides, it watches the waves arising before itself, and from itself, but not separate from its own essence. Meditation helps control the waves of thought that crash endlessly against all resistance to peace. Meditation is an authentic contemporary approach to spiritual practice and inquiry designed to bring about a total transformation of humanity. Conscious Intention Meditation creates equilibrium of the mind.
One of the most common misconceptions people have about learning how to meditate is that it involves trying to stop your thoughts or attempting to control or change the mind in some way. For this reason, many people see it as something difficult to do. In truth, true meditation is completely effortless. In fact, trying to stop your thoughts is an impossible task. The mind's job is to produce a constant stream of thoughts and we actually have zero control over the content or the frequency of the thoughts. The average adult has around 100,000 thoughts per day, 95% of which are the same as yesterday! No wonder we find so little peace. Giving the monkey mind our attention all day is absolutely exhausting! One of the most significant benefits of learning how to meditate is that it frees up a tremendous amount of energy. CIM is the philosophy and the technique which helps direct the 'Conscious Mind' to create a new perception of itself by dismantling old patterns, habits and addictive thoughts. These patterns of beliefs are what creates the obstacles to happiness in our lives. (Source: Robyn Collins, Coordinator, Conscious Life Teachings. www.consciouslifemeditation.com)
CIM creates new neural pathways within the brain. This can lead to improved concentration, a feeling of true contentment and peace, increased productivity levels and sensation of fulfillment, joy and happiness. This meditation process also allows for previous life difficulties to be brought unto a place where you are able to consciously with intention heal from past experiences.
Why Meditate?
Stress, pressure, fatigue, poor diet, alcohol, and drugs damage neural connections between the brain’s prefrontal cortex—or “CEO”—and the rest of the brain. When you are overtired or under intense mental or physical stress, the brain bypasses its higher, more evolved, rational frontal executive circuits—it starts using more primitive stimulus/response pathways. Consequently, you respond to daily demands without thinking; you make impulsive, short-sighted decisions. When the CEO goes offline, strong emotions, such as fear and anger, take over, adversely coloring your view of the world.
Stress signs
Rigid thinking
Impulsive, reactive behavior
Shortsighted decision-making
Poor working memory
Distracted attention
Drug and alcohol abuse
Unethical thinking and behavior
Stressed physiology
Fatigue
High blood pressure
Eating and sleeping disorders
Weak immune system
Imbalanced emotions
Low self-esteem and self-confidence
Worries, anxieties, and fears
Shallow, divisive emotions
Unstable relationships
Depression
People who practice Conscious Intention Meditation have reported improvements in various areas of their lives.
Here are some of them:
Greater happiness
Inner Peace
Natural Spiritual connection
More mental clarity and creativity
Feeling less stressed
Improved sleep patterns
A more relaxed way of handling difficult situations
Improved energy levels
Greater self-confidence
A deeper understanding of life
Purposeful, flexible thinking
No impulsive, proactive behavior
Greater work focus & productivity
Farsighted decision-making
Excellent working memory
Settled, focused attention
No substance abuse or addictions
Ethical thinking and behavior
Energy and vitality
Fit cardiovascular system
Strong immune functioning
Self-confidence and secure self-esteem
Feelings of safety and peace
Compassion and empathy for others
Healthy interpersonal relations
Happiness and optimism
Practice is preparation. Without practice the human being is unprepared to meet the demands of life. Practice is, at its center, engagement. When you practice, you engage the various faculties that the chosen activity requires. The more you engage, the more prepared you become. When you took your first steps in life and began walking you most likely balanced tentatively, teetered and fell. Often. But with practice, as you engaged the activity of walking over and over, you became increasingly more competent, more proficient and ultimately more elegant to move about in the world and meet the demands of your life.
Without practice you often find yourself lacking the competence needed to meet the multifaceted challenges of life. Fail to engage in disciplining your mental focus and you are likely to find yourself in repeated dis-stress instead of focusing on real strategic priorities. Fail to practice attuning to your child and you are likely to find yourself unprepared in being able to connect with them as they grow. The practice of CIM is no different.
Without the repeated engagement of practice you are largely unprepared to meet the demands of your life. It is simple, practice is a necessity. But what happens when you engage life and acquire a certain level of competency that is satisfactory for you? To answer this question we must look more closely into what it means to engage.
Engagement is the conscious inhabitation of your body and mind. Practice is happening when your open awareness is moving with, in and through your embodied activity. Dedicating to practice is your conscious participation with your life. Engagement is the conduction of your free and open awareness through your activities, whatever they may be.
When you acquire a certain level of competence that is presumed to be working well, practice typically stops. As soon as ‘good enough,’ is achieved something subtle yet extremely powerful happens: habituation steps in. One of your habituation’s central attachments is comfort. Wherever you are comfortable, wherever ‘good enough’ is subjectively perceived, your habituation will invest vast amounts of resources to maintain this comfortable status quo. One way your ego achieves this is to stop practicing. Shoeing away the ego and continued practice of CIM will continue to cultivate your life in ways that keep you centered and grounded.
This inspired desire to cultivate equanimity for yourself, the inner imposition to develop and evolve your gifts, skills and unique capacities is nothing other than your Divine be-ing calling you forth into your greatest possibilities. Your desire to go beyond habituation, to reach into novelty and to liberate the constraints of your life is the beating heart of your true strength. When you free yourself from the ego’s grip upon comfort, I think you will find yourself realizing a necessity once again. If you are to actually face and embody the purpose of your life you need your strength. Without practice strength and cultivation rarely manifest. Ultimately, practice is part necessity and part inspiration. To understand and embody practice requires both.
“True fulfillment, peace and happiness can be found in the silence of the mind. Suffering is caused through the identification and definition of the body, the world and the question: who am I? Freedom is attained through transcendence. Conscious Intention Meditation is about welcoming the miracle, freedom and peace, found only in stillness”. ~Author Unknown
An Interview with Author and Therapist, Karuna Cayton
The Misleading Mind: How We Create Our Own Problems and How Buddhist Psychology Can Help Us Solve Them
Released by New World Library, 2012
I'm thoroughly enjoying this new "self-help" book by psychotherapist, Karuna Cayton. The title alone drew me in. What? We create our own problems? Of course we do, maintains the author, and he tells us why and how we can stop this debilitating cycle. We do it by getting to know our own mind thoroughly and by making new, wise choices (responses, not reactions) to people and life situations, as you'll hear him explain in this insightful interview.
In my own reading ofThe Misleading Mind,the pages are becoming heavily marked with yellow highlighter. I am applying what Karuna teaches (well, at least trying) and finding that his humor and boundless compassion invite me into personal investigation of some of the more "treacherous" places within my mind. I highly recommend this book to anyone (especially non-Buddhists) who wants to experience greater peace of mind and ease in their life. The tools and meditations the author presents are invaluable, practical, and truly invitational. The Misleading Mind spells relief and I am very grateful to now have this book in my self-growth library.
Leave a comment after the Interview and you'll be entered into a Giveaway Drawing to win this wonderful new book, courtesy of the publisher, New World Library.
Karuna Cayton, psychotherapist and author of The Misleading Mind,spent twelve years working with Tibetan refugees in Nepal and studying with Buddhist masters. His Karuna Group practice applies Buddhist psychology to individual and organizational clients. He lives in Northern California. Visit him online at www.thekarunagroup.com.
The ideas in The Misleading Mind are rooted in Buddhism. In order to reap their benefits, do your readers need to become practicing Buddhists? Will those with no real understanding of Buddhism be able to adopt your techniques?
The whole mission of this book, one could say my own life mission, is to be able to communicate the profound and useful ideas of Buddhist thought for any person in any walk of life. This mission is rooted in the idea that Buddhism is a system of thought and ideas rather than a religion or dogma. Albeit, religions and dogmas have been created from Buddhist ideas but I think Buddhism is more science and philosophy than religion. So, do people have to become “practicing Buddhists” to benefit from the ideas in this book? The answer is “yes and no”. They do not have to become “Buddhists” to benefit from these ideas but they do need to practice training their mind if they want to experience a positive difference in their mental health.
What are the similarities between modern psychology and Buddhism? What are the differences?
Well, this is a very big question. Simply, the similarities are with the intent of both seek to understand the mind and how it functions. Both propose a model of pathology or mental dis-ease. But they differ in their deeper explanation of the mind and they differ in their approach to long-term mental health. In handling short term mental and relationship issues they also differ since Buddhism, in some ways, has less concern on the short term, crisis management approach. Finally, in modern day psychology the primary mode of therapy has been talk therapy. This is presently evolving but Buddhist therapy is less concerned with talking and more concerned with training the mind primarily, but not exclusively through contemplative techniques.
I think it is useful to point out that modern psychology is much more suited to handling severe mental disorders such as psychotic disorders, severe substance abuse disorders, and most disorders where a person’s actual mental functioning is impaired. Lama Yeshe once commented to me, when advising that a particular student needed a psychiatric intervention, that Buddhism was for “healthy people”. I do not think he meant merely the “worried well” but he did indicate that one needs a certain degree of ego strength and grounding.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Buddhist therapy and psychology has been tested for over 2500 years with thousands, millions perhaps, of success stories. It was created and developed by highly accomplished practitioners. It is not the latest craze. I’m sorry to say that modern psychology is hardly even formulated, it is not a uniform system of thought, and it is in its infancy. We are doing something very, very serious here by playing with people’s minds, people’s lives. So we should approach both Buddhist and modern psychology with caution.
You say that your book creates a gradual process of becoming happier, but isn’t everyone looking for a quick fix?
Yep. That’s the problem. This is another indication that we are in the nature of suffering. If our condition were not so intolerable, why would we need a quick fix? Quick fixes lead to quick breakdowns. They are not enduring. I understand that we need some quick relief sometimes. If we have a brain tumor we may need to take painkillers in order to just endure. But everyone would be aware that painkillers are not going to get rid of the tumor. I have to admit that I’m taking kind of the brutal approach of focusing on long-term solutions. As a result, short-term remedies like comfort and Band-Aids might not get much attention. The short-term problem just fades away anyway. But many of the techniques presented in the book can work on the short-term solution as well as the long term.
You say that it is important for us to befriend our problems. What does that mean and what does that look like?
I was quite sensitive and concerned when presenting that idea. Really, I would say that we need to befriend ourselves. Perhaps a clearer statement would be that we need to be in relationship with our problems. It’s like this: let’s say you have an unruly teenager living in your home. In fact, he is your own child. He is family. This is often similar to the problems that arise from our disturbing emotions such as anxiety, fear, irritation, and disappointment. In counseling teenagers and families I have found that the problem that exists between them is impossible to resolve if they don’t have some kind of relationship where they can talk and dialogue about the situation. So, first is to be able to build or rebuild this rapport between the parties. Then, communication begins and I have found when all the parties can begin to understand the other person’s experience and reality they can begin to create shared solutions. It works. Then, what can and does happen is the parties become “friends” or “allies” working against the problem together. This not some kind of wishful thinking. It happens.
And, likewise, we need to develop a kind of relationship with our afflictive emotions, engage with them, and learn from them. When we open up to our mind and all of its functions as a curious student, we become better and healthier. In that way, the mind helps us and it is as if we are friends.
One final point to this question. I think, in general, we are not friends with ourselves. When we notice a flaw or aspect of ourselves we do not like we often generate a kind of self-hate or self-dislike. I do not believe we should necessarily “love” our faults but we must rein in the kind of “emotional violence” we may inflict upon ourselves when our best qualities are not coming out.
You say that life means suffering. How so?
Well, we have to get very clear on our terms. I don’t really think the word “suffering” is particularly an accurate synonym for what the Buddha taught. Of course, he did not teach in English. The idea of suffering has a few different levels of understanding but the easiest way to understand what is meant by the term is that we are never satisfied. We are always on a kind of seesaw of up and down. We are not in control of our own destiny. A simple example is that you may decide, “I am going to be happy today no matter what,” and yet, we don’t really have control over whether or not we can make it through a whole day being happy. Anything can happen, will happen, and we will lose our balance and joy. I doubt that most of us can make it even through a whole day. What does that say about our life? That we cannot just decide and will our way to a whole day or two of happiness, security, being problem-free, let alone a whole lifetime. This is what is meant by suffering – having no real control over our destiny, our mood, our wellbeing. However, we do have the potential to have control. We just haven’t figured out how to access this potential. Anyway, this idea of suffering is huge and I can go on and on.
What is the primary cause of suffering in our lives and what can we do about it?
The primary cause of suffering is confusion. That’s all. From confusion all problems arise. What are we confused about? The way things really exist. That includes the nature of our own personal identity and the nature of how things themselves exist. Why does this matter? Well, it is like in a dream. If you are being chased by a group of thugs who want to harm you if you knew it was just a dream you would not be afraid. Or maybe a better example is the work of an illusionist like David Copperfield or David Blaine. When you know it’s just a trick you don’t worry that the actual Statute of Liberty has disappeared! So, things happen as problems because we see things existing differently than they are and then, due to habit, we respond.
What we can do about this situation is slowly train the mind to see things as they are. Then our habitual reactions will slowly cease and we will respond in an authentic manner that will be uncharged with all the emotional garbage we engage in at the present time. We’ll be quite relaxed and satisfied.
You say that enthusiasm is one of the most important positive emotions to cultivate in our lives. Why?
Without enthusiasm we get so heavy, too serious and too self-conscious. The opposite of enthusiasm is probably boredom. As modern people with a conditioning of stimulation we are very prone to being entertained and thus, when not entertained we become bored. Enthusiasm seems to arise from a vision, a mission. In business when the vision wanes or is not communicated well to the rest of the people then work becomes mundane. Training our mind, while at times of course can be a bit mundane, should not be mundane or boring the majority of the time. By having a vision of our own mental health and how we can positively impact others then we will maintain an enthusiasm that is infectious to others. That alone can change the world and, enthusiasm is a positive state of mind, a positive emotion. So it is healthy.
What advice would you offer to individuals who are dealing with challenging emotions like anger and rage?
You have a choice. First you really need to see that anger is destructive of everything you want from the anger in the first place. It’s toxic and poisons your own wellbeing and those around you. So, the first thing is to see that. The second thing is to know you have a choice. While it is not easy to make a choice when we see that being under the control of the destructive emotions is like being a prisoner of our own mind then it is just a logical thing to make a stand against anger, against loss of control, and begin, slowly, to make a change. In the beginning we have to maybe just shut our mouths, go outside, get away from the situation. As we become better we begin to actively just watch the mind, the anger itself arise, abide and subside. Eventually, we can even harness the anger and turn it into energy to do something constructive or even generate warmth and affection. Anger is just energy that we hook on to in a particular way. Taking the hook out allows us to just reform, reshape, transform it. I’m not very good at it myself but I’ve done it once or twice and I’m encouraged.
What impression or thought do you want to leave with people? What do you hope to change?
We can be happier than we presently are. And the key to this happiness is only within you. We have to become our own coach or therapist and that the long term solution must include an understanding of how our mind exists and how it functions. This means understanding reality: How do I exist and how does the world exist? This not just a head trip. It sounds sort of intellectual but, in fact, it is spirituality in the purest sense. At least in my opinion. That is because spirituality, for me, means accessing and opening our potential. And our inner potential is limitless. What we see and know of the world and ourselves, reality, is so limited and erroneous that it leads to a level of happiness that is extremely basic and, ultimately, not satisfying in any way. So, it is not really happiness at all. We deserve better. But it does not just fall upon us from the sky, from God, from a therapist, from Buddha or a guru. It comes from us.
Remember, to leave your comment here for our Book Giveaway!
Eagerly, I set out on this beautiful spring day, camera at the ready, to find inspiration for this month’s theme, Nature as Teacher and Healer. Submission deadline was approaching and I wondered why I had procrastinated. I love being out in nature! If there was any assignment to attend to with little to no effort, surely this was it. Why had I dragged my feet? But now, this was my time.
So, here I was alert, anticipating that there would be some delightful grist for the Buddha Chick Life mill. My senses were keenly aware. I was expectant of finding something beautiful. Something true. Something good – just waiting to speak to me down by the whispering stream.
Wending my way down the path, I was charmed by the scattering of violets, and vigorous May Flowers springing to life. Down the hill, in the shadowy grove, dappled sunlight competed with bright Buttercups for attention. Sitting on a mossy wind felled tree, I surveyed this woodland scene with a grateful heart.
But then, I was distracted by a disturbing sight - clusters of the highly invasive, non native, Garlic Mustard plant made me realize that all my efforts from a year ago to eradicate this species from my neck of the woods had been in vain. My reverie was interrupted and I set out to get rid of them once and for all.
After a furious half an hour or so of pulling and uprooting some more, I was no closer to weeding them out than I had been last year at this time. Heaving a discouraged sigh, I plunked back down feeling defeated – for now the allotted time to complete the assignment had expired. All I had to show for myself was a pile of uprooted weeds. Disgusted, I sat there staring at those useless plants. What a waste of time, I thought, until something else caught my eye. A pair of woodland snails on the underside of a discarded leaf, moving ever so slowly. Hmmm. Might this be what nature had to teach me today? Holding that thought, I trudged back up the hill. Tired and discouraged.
Reflecting on this later, I realized, yet again, that Transformation takes time. Old habits having taken root choke out so much of one’s true self. Invasive inclinations tend to crowd out what is true, good and beautiful.
This transformation work of uncovering and living into and out of one’s authentic self cannot be accomplished with a frenzied, frenetic one time effort. I know that I may have to revisit again and again, places that I had already worked on, for there is always another layer to examine. Baby steps taken with self compassion, loving kindness and mindfulness will, in safe community, lead each of us here to a place of still waters where we can live clear, calm and wise.
Photo Credit of "Didactic Snails" by Linda Lyzenga
Linda, aka UBC @ Buddha Chick Life, is passionate about wholeness and healing and finds her sweet spot in the role of Spiritual Director. Married with two adult daughters, who have flown the coup – far from Western Michigan where they grew up, she’s home alone with her husband of 37 years. Linda enjoys baking, knitting, reading, writing, hiking and camping. At any given time while pursuing some of the above activities you'll find her camera close at hand.
Leave a comment here and you'll be eligible to win a copy of Living Fully, courtesy of the publisher, New World Library. The winner will be drawn May 1.
"In the Face of Uncertainty"
An Excerpt
As the saying goes, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” However, the ego thrives on routine and clings to what is familiar. In the face of uncertainty, ego is as skittish as a spooked horse. To move beyond fear, be aware of fear as it arises. Watch closely when the slightest stirrings of unease and apprehension begin to provoke alarm. Practicing this way, you will begin to confront your worst fears.
When you are one with the fear itself, you will experience luminous clarity. Facing fear with awareness, you will experience its shifting and intangible nature. You cannot quite pin it down. Fear can feel like an insurmountable barrier, but within this clarity, fear has no dwelling place. You might be meeting with your boss in the morning. On your way to work, you begin to ruminate about what you will say and how your boss will react. You begin to feel apprehensive. Recognizing these thoughts as baseless projections frees you from their grip and brings you back to clarity in the present moment.
Until you are one with this clarity, you will not be free from fear. However, this penetrating clarity can reveal a deeper level of fear, as you find yourself in uncharted terrain. The unconditional state of being is well beyond the domain of egocentric mind. We have no clue how to function in this vast and unstructured space. There is no role for the ego to play, and this can be very frightening. For some semblance of safety and security, we rely on ego’s reference points and cling to our concepts. With the practice of meditation, we can grow familiar with the groundless quality of fear itself.
We can empathize with others because we all experience fear. You cannot say to others, “Do not be afraid; it will be all right.” This is an approach that is both intellectually simplistic as well as crude and heavy-handed. When you say, “There’s no need to be afraid,” you imply you have no fear yourself. However, in truth, you are fearful as well. That is the reason you say such things. When you remain in the clarity of the fearless state, you can truly help to free others from fear. This is the way of the enlightened ones.
Look Inside the Fear
When faced with fear, we may be timid or we may be aggressive, but there is neutral ground where we do not have to act like wimps or bullies. Beyond the hesitation and defensiveness of ego, there is awareness and clarity. The essence of fear is fearlessness. This state is naturally heroic and does not require any reinforcement. How fortunate it is if we can recognize this natural state of fearlessness.
How does fear arise? Where does it come from? Where does it go? If you look inside the fear with the clarity of awareness, you will not need to resort to evasive tactics or aggressive maneuvers. However, for the most part, we are ill-prepared to handle fear. When faced with danger, if we are not fully present and awake, fear will overwhelm us. On the outside, we may look self-assured in an expensive suit or silk dress, but fear lurks within because there is very little awareness.
We may assume that a financial crisis or broken relationship is the cause of our fear and insecurity. In truth, we are fearful when we do not recognize the indestructible quality of our true essence. This essence is unborn and undying, and it is naturally fearless.
Every occurrence in our life, every thought and feeling, is simply the dynamic display of this essence. The experience of fear is also a display of this essence. But we attempt to cover up our fears and hide them under the carpet. We act with bravado, or we become aggressive. We imagine ourselves to be great soldiers, bankers, lawyers, or politicians. We can be terribly hard on ourselves. Time passes and we slowly lose our physical strength and mental acuity as we get closer to death. We waste our time and dissipate our energy pretending to be something we are not. We labor hard at boosting our image and enhancing our reputation, without ever discovering the inner beauty that is our true essence.
Don't forget to leave a comment here to be entered into the Living Fully, be eligible to win a copy of Living Fully, courtesy of the publisher, New World Library. The winner will be drawn May 1.
His Eminence Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche is the spiritual guide of Shyalpa Monastery in Kathmandu, the founder of the Tibetan Refugee Childrenʼs Fund, and the heard of Ranging Yeshe, Inc., a nonprofit that organizes teachings and retreats throughout the United States. Buddhafield, in Millerton, NY, is the future site of the Center for Enlightenment and Rinpoche’s seat in the US. He has lectured at Harvard, Yale, Wesleyan, and the Naropa Institute. He lives in Nepal and New York. www.shyalparinpoche.org
Leave your comment below to be entered into the Giveway Drawing for this book.
I would like to share with you my thoughts on the book written primarily by Master Steven CO, along with Eric B. Robbins, MD and John Merryman. The book, The Power of Prana, Breathe Your Way to Health and Vitality, I found it to be a text book to be used by the medical community and those that have difficulty with their own health. I love how Master CO bridges Eastern Medicine to our Western Culture.
I was hooked by this beautiful book in the Introduction. The question asked was, "Why Do People Have Low Energy?" We are lacking in our life force. We are depleted of energy and feel mentally and physically ill. During the Introduction as well, Master CO talked about our medical health system and shared what his experience had been during his residency. He talked about what the procedures would be when a patient would come in complaining of fatigue or lack of energy. The doctor would run tests to rule out health issues and if nothing was found to be wrong, the diagnoses may be, "It is all in your head or you are way over stressed." Wow, did bells start ringing in my own mind. Master CO was speaking to me, that is how I felt. I am a woman who manages Lupus, Fibromyalgia and four other auto-immune disorders. I was finally (after eight different doctors) given my diagnoses and use many Eastern, turned more Western techniques to manage illness and build my life force (energy).
The definition of Prana Energy as I understand it is allowing yourself to be guided by the invisible energies within yourself, one of which is using your breath. Before you know it, you will feel the flow of Prana or Life Energy within you and understand what is good for you and what you need to heal and grow and achieve happiness and inner peace. I have found the breath as a life energy in this book, The Power of Prana, to be of great value for healing and another practice I can richly benefit from. Knowing nothing about the subject or the word Prana, I also found it enlightening, and the perfect theme for further investigation. I use meditation, yoga, breathing rituals already in my healing and for equanimity. My reading intentions became clear and were quite basic for myself, to learn the "Nine Energizing Breaths" to simply enhance a healthier lifestyle of healing.
That's the beauty of this book. As Master CO points out, its applications are multifaceted. Everyone can enjoy the book for a variety of reasons--to help with low energy, as an alternative to medical treatment options, to satisfy curiosity or as a point of entry into more advanced esoteric study. I didn't expect a book chock-full of information, but it is. Rather than just heading to the exercise pages and skipping everything else (which you can readily do), I, instead, read the book cover to cover—actually twice. It is very organized, very explicit in directions, and goes above and beyond breathing basics. In fact, The Power of Prana touches base on a complete system of spiritual practices and meditations.
I am still practicing the Nine Energizing Breaths for my well-being. I have seen and felt change in the flow of my body. I am pleased to share with you that most anyone can learn this technique. Master CO explains each one and what it's purpose is and what the result can be. Another important learning for me was the step by step meditations he takes us through for body wellness. He teaches us what is happening to our being in the contemporary world we live in. I know many of us relate to the "never stopping syndrome." Master CO also teaches us in Part One of this book a spiritual and energetic framework for our contemporary world and how to heal. In Part Two, you will learn how to build your energetic foundation. In Part Three, the real fun begins as you learn the Nine Energizing Breaths and how they relate to your life. They are also joyous as a practice for keeping centered and healing. In Part Four, Master CO goes deeper and adds advanced practices for enhanced purification and sustained energy. This is where I learned meditations that went deeper into my being.
There is so much to this book, far more than you can see upon the surface except through the dedication of practice each day, for a few undemanding minutes, and then more and more as you come to peace, health, vitality, and awareness. These practices Master CO lends to us you will not find in a doctor's office, in a medication, or by reading a book. You must take responsibility to bring awareness to your heart and mind and this book will absolutely do just that. I started off by calling this a "text book" and that is exactly what it is. It is a book to be studied, practiced, to go back to again and again. I am thankful I have had the opportunity to read and now add the practice of Prana Power through the sacred breath given to me. I hope you, too, will take the opportunity to sit and experience many teachings and healings within your energy force.
Thank you to Master CO for your wisdom, love of Eastern medicine that applies to our current world, and for writing The Power of Prana, Breathe Your Way To Health And Vitality.
Namaste,
Cindy Hively
Don't forget to leave your comment below to be entered into the Giveway Drawing for this book. The winner will be drawn May 1.
Master Stephen Co is a personal student of Grandmaster Choa Kok Sui and one of only two Certified Master Pranic Healers in the world. He is a senior instructor at the World Pranic Healing Organization and has taught thousands of people throughout the world, including the United States, Asia, and Europe. He is the author of The Power of Prana (Sounds True, 2011) and Your Hands Can Heal You (Free Press, 2003).
I am learning to celebrate the feminine by slowing down, breathing more deeply and Savoring all life has to offer me, one precious moment at a time. I am on a new “orgazmic diet” in my life. I seek foods which give me great pleasure when I eat them, sending chills and shudders of ecstasy throughout my entire body! A friend and I had dinner the other night. We told the waiter we could barely speak to each other, we were so busy having one “food orgazm” after another after another!! Now that is what life is all about!
My feminine loves Savoring Nature, feeling bare ground beneath my naked feet. Sensuously sensing the pressure of the grass, tiny stones, roots of trees pushing against me as we connect deeply, skin to skin, making love. The breeze embraces me, tracing my body with hers, twirling my curly hair around her fingers. I imagine she is as aroused by my body and hair, as I am by the air she is, and as I breathe in deeply, we become one with each other, pushing and pulling, exciting the strands of music we are as life plays us together. Ecstasy fills me when I stand naked in a thunderstorm, water rivering my naked body, lightening crackling and dancing as my hairs stand up straight on my skin! I inhale the smoke in the air and shake with delight so fully pierced by its magic, love overflowing every pore of my being!
My orgazmic diet includes sensuous delicious massages, long baths in fragrant waters, warm coconut oil rubbed on my skin. Sitting in the sunshine, nibbling on some fresh greens picked from my own little garden on my deck brings me great pleasure. Taking photographs of nature brings me even closer to the beauty all around me, providing me different perspectives and ways of finding beauty regardless of what I see. Writing my juiciness onto the page, takes me deeper into knowing and loving myself and everything around me.
I celebrate the feminine by embracing everyone and everything, welcoming what comes and resisting nothing. Loving for the joy loving brings, free of expectations of any kind. Open, vulnerable, receptive, giving as nature is to me every day of my life. Every flower and tree, every bird, rivers and mountains, the sun, moon and stars being themselves without question, whether they are noticed or not. The more I seek Pleasure the more it seeks me and I go where I am guided to be. Being Me, authentic and free.
Morgine Jurdan is an Animal & Nature Communicator, Writer, Photographer, Artist, inspiring Coach, learning to Live As Love more deeply every day. "The Divine, for me, is experiencing Itself as All That Is, so every moment of my life now, I am engaging with it. Every face, every particle of creation is in love with me at some level, and me with it. We are in an orgazmic dance, as I remember who I truly am." You can learn more about her here: http://www.MorgineJurdan.com
Not the love born of romantic tales and movies, but a soul enrapturing love that takes up residence in your heart.
Its the kind of love that moves into the room behind your eyes and stays there. Somehow, somewhere, because of something in particular or nothing at all, you woke up one day to realize that everything was different. Love had moved in and you were seeing everything—everyone—through the lenses of love.
That’s the kind of love that’s difficult to capture in the sentiment of a Hallmark card. It’s a wordless sort of love that comes upon us when we have walked and searched and filleted ourselves open to life as it has presented itself—flowers and thorns, all. It's the experience of “full catastrophe living,” that mindfulness teacher, Jon Kabat-Zinn describes.
By giving ourselves over to life as it is, we surrender into the beauty and pain of it. And what’s so incredibly ironic—through the walking, the falling, the getting back up again—we change. For the better. We actually live into our true nature which is love, which is joy, which is basic goodness.
Who knew.
American writer, Peter Matthiessen, put it this way:
“Soon the child’s clear eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions and abstractions. Simple free (being) becomes encrusted with the burdensome armor of the ego. Not until years later does an instinct come that a vital sense of mystery has been withdrawn. The sun glints through the pines, and the heart is pierced in a moment of beauty and strange pain, like a memory of paradise. And that day ... we become seekers. “
Seekers of love.
And I suspect this search is a search for love with a capital “L.” We long for that all-compassing, consuming, indescribable, forever kind of love. We seek it in one another, in God, in friends, in activities, nature, and pets. We even seek it within ourselves if we’re lucky enough to realize that self-love is the doorway to “other love.”
And yet ... and yet ... often our search comes up empty-handed. It’s the searching too hard for, the grasping, and hanging on to for fear of losing it that seems to create such an elusive companion. Love, the “never found.”
But it can be found—and fully ours—if we can simply let go. Let go.
If we can simply stop looking for it ... stop hunting, comparing, judging. This is it. No, it’s not. It must be over there.
If we can relax into this breath, into this moment, open our eyes and see—really see—all that is here right in front of us, Love is here.
This is the love of life of which I speak. The “Great Mystery” of life. And Matthiessen was right. At that vital moment of piercing, the experience of this is all so new to us (yet also so deeply understood on some level—a soul remembering, if you will), that we can drift in and out of it for years unrecognized. Feeling the connection, not feeling it, certain that it still lies outside of us—somewhere, out there—so we strive to “capture” it again.
Let go ....
Each of our writers this month expresses in her unique way what being “In Love with Life” can mean—without all the searching.
Uncovered Buddha Chick experiences it as the joy of moment-by-moment transformation. Laura Hegfield sees it in the smallest elements of life—raindrops, twigs, leaves. Kaveri Patel partakes by loving herself more. Lisa Erickson invites us to embrace heart energy through our body/mind system, the chakras. Danielle Rutledge witnesses it in her children as they turn their own faces inward and engage the Light within. And there are more ...
Our February issue of Buddha Chick Life is a raiment of many colors, resplendent with the multi-hued ways we can live in love with life.
Poet Ingrid Goff-Maidoff seems to have summarized our relentless search for Love best in her poem, “Love Your Life.” She writes:
“Now, moving in this world, you know that love is the greatest fortune. Only, you will not amass it: you are it.”
May your journey seeking Love end today. May it end here with this realization that, indeed, you are It.
The lines in this poem say, “Love your Life.” They ask us to love our life as if it were our beloved; to love our life as a lover would love—not as an end-point receiver of all good things, but as an intimate partner, a loving participant. The poem asks us to approach our life with curiosity, pleasure, appreciation, forgiveness, compassion, playfulness, awe—to love as a lover in the deepest sense of the word.
Love Your Life
And a voice will come from the stillness to give these words: Love your life. You will know from its deep urging to let go the well-worn list of all you thought you first needed. Begin here, freely, from this muddy place. It doesn’t matter if you are broken, empty-handed, shabby. Go now, into the day: the open fields, markets, the long trail to the sea. Find all the ways a lover loves the Beloved: each hidden bloom, unspoken wound, vagary of heart. Become a brave and willing traveler in a wild, forgotten terrain ~ a realm of intimate tender relating, infinite mystery, un-tethered joy. Now, moving in this world, you know that love is the greatest fortune. Only, you will not amass it: you are it.
Many of us started our spiritual journeys with Shakti Gawain by our sides. Her landmark book on spiritual awakening, Living in the Light, gave us permission to walk bold new life paths.
Shakti was a pioneer in this field, along with her creative partner, Marc Allen. Together they formed one of the premier spiritual growth publishing companies in the world—New World Library—all at a kitchen table with just a few dollars in their pockets and conviction in their hearts.
Living in the Light was the book that guided us as we came to know ourselves as spiritual beings. Along with her other book, Creative Visualization (published in the 1970s), we felt well armed to move through the world in a more authentic way, opening to our inner wisdom, living with divine guidance at the fore. This book was important then and it may be even more important now, evidenced by Shakti's recent statement about her book:
"What I write about in Living In The Light, in some respects, feels even more timely and relevant than when I wrote it. I believe we are in a global healing crisis on many levels; financially, emotionally, spiritually and physically (as a planet). We are struggling with how to resolve the multiple levels of chaos we are experiencing. The path through is the same, to become conscious of how we are living and in the choices we are making. We can do this through connecting with our inner guidance and to also look honestly at what is holding us back from that connection.
Big changes can feel out of control and disastrous. However, these changes can bring attention to what has been hidden, can bring light to what has been swept under the rug, and ultimately can be our path to freedom. This is true healing, which is to reveal the issue or problem, to acknowledge it, and then accept it and bring balance and consciousness to the process. Our inner guidance it what leads us through this process and brings us into balanced living."
We are delighted to help Shakti and New World Library celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Living in the Light.
We are Giving Away one copy of the keepsake, 25th Anniversary Edition. Leave a comment and you'll be entered into the drawing to win!
Contest runs through Feb. 29. A winner will be chosen on March 1st.
We're also pleased to feature a choice excerpt from Living in the Light for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
"Becoming a Creative Channel"
An Excerpt from the 25th Anniversary Edition of Living in the Light
by Shakti Gawain
To whatever degree you listen to and follow your intuition, you become a “creative channel” for the higher power of the universe. When you willingly follow where your creative energy leads, the higher power can come through you to manifest its creative work. When this happens, you will find yourself flowing with the energy, doing what you really want to do, and feeling the power of the universe moving through you to create or transform everything around you.
In using the words creative channel, I am not referring to the psychic process of trance channeling. Trance channeling involves a medium who goes into a trance state and allows another being to speak through him or her. When I use the term channeling, I mean being in touch with and bringing through the wisdom and creativity of your own deepest source. Being a channel is being fully and freely yourself and consciously knowing that you are a vehicle for the creativity of the universe.
Every creative genius has been a channel. Every masterwork has been created through the channeling process. Great works are not created by the personality alone. They arise from a deep inspiration on the universal level and are then expressed and brought into form through the individual personality.
A person may have great technical skill, but without the ability to connect with a deeper source, his work will be uninspiring. The difference between a technician and a channel was clearly demonstrated in the movie Amadeus. The composer Salieri knew how to write music but he didn’t know how to tap into the creative source. Mozart wrote music that was both technically perfect and wonderfully inspired, and he did so easily, spontaneously, without thought or effort. From his early childhood on, music just seemed to bubble up and overflow from within him. I’m sure he had no idea how it happened and could not have explained to anyone else how to do it.
Such genius has always seemed mysterious and unexplainable, a God-given talent possessed by only a few. It seems to come and go at will — sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not. Because of this, many creative people fear their talent will suddenly disappear. They don’t know how they got it so they have no idea how to recover it if it vanishes. Creative people often function as channels in only one area of their lives (such as one of the arts, science, or business) and may have no idea how to do it in other areas of their lives. Thus, their lives can be terribly out of balance. (See the section “Highly Intuitive People” in the chapter “Trusting Intuition.”) This is one reason that we often equate genius with emotional instability.
I believe we are all geniuses — each in our own unique way. We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or other people’s models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open. Through trusting and acting on our intuition, it’s possible to bring our natural creative inspiration into every moment, into every area of our lives.When I speak of a channel, I have an image of a long round pipe with energy flowing through it. It’s somewhat like the pipe in a pipe organ, with the music coming through.
This channel image has three important features:
1. It is open and unobstructed inside so that the energy can move through freely.
2. It has a definite physical form; a structure surrounds the open space so that the energy is directed in a particular way. Without this structure, the energy would be free-floating, without any focus.
3. It has a power source — something that moves energy through the channel. In a pipe organ, the power source (the organ) sends energy through the open pipes. The particular combination of open space inside each pipe and the structure — the size and shape of the pipe — causes a certain note to be sounded. The power source is the same for all the pipes and the energy moving through them is the same, but because each one is a different shape, each one makes a unique sound.
We can think of ourselves as channels similar to these pipes. We have a common power source (the universal life force), and the same creative energy flows through each of us. Our body and personality form the structure that determines the unique direction and function of each of us as a channel. It is up to us to keep our channel open and clear and to build and maintain a strong, healthy, beautiful body/personality structure as a vehicle for our creative energy. We can do this by constantly tuning in, asking where the energy wants to go, and moving with it.
A strong body/personality structure is not created by following anybody else’s rules or good ideas about what you should eat, how you should exercise, or anything else. It is created primarily by trusting your intuition and learning to follow its direction. When deciding what to eat, how to exercise, or anything else, gather information from reliable sources, then check in with yourself to see what feels intuitively right for you, and do your best to follow your own inner guidance.
Shakti Gawainis a bestselling author and a pioneer in the field of personal growth and consciousness. Her many books have sold more than ten million copies in over thirty-five languages worldwide, and she has facilitated thousands of individuals in developing greater awareness, balance, and wholeness in their lives. She has appeared on such nationally syndicated shows as Oprah, Good Morning America, and The Larry King Show and has been featured in Cosmopolitan, Time, and O magazines. Along with Marc Allen, Gawain co-founded New World Library in 1977. She lives in Marin County, California. Visit her online at http://www.shaktigawain.com.
It our pleasure to announce that one of our gifted columnists, Kaveri Patel, has just released her first book of poetry: An Invitation. And what an invitation it is, one that I'm certain each us hopes we can accept with as much passion and determination as Kaveri has.
This soulful work contains 51 poems that take us on a remarkable journey " in" as we reconnect with our True Nature. Kaveri shows us the way—with courage and grace—how we too can passionately plunge into our own vasts depths to re-discover who we really are, as well as who we are meant to be.
Affectionately dubbed "Mermaid" by some of her friends (and suitably so), Kaveri leads by example, sharing her journey of diving and resurfacing; healing old wounds, cultivating loving-kindness and self-compassion and, ultimately, embracing the Sacred Feminine, a healing, unifying force like no other.
We hope you enjoy this interview with Kaveri. May it inspire you to embrace your own wisdom found in the waves of life ...
An Interview with Kaveri Patel
First of all Jan, thank you so much for the invitation to share my book on Buddha Chick Life. I respect the writing and music of so many BCL contributors and feel honored to share this sacred space with you all.
1. What led you to the writing of your book, An Invitation? I attended a women's writing retreat where I came across a book of poems by Mary Oliver. Something about the book called to me so I bought it. A few weeks later, I watched a movie called "Listen to Your Heart" and realized life is too short to wait for the 'right' time to publish a book. I began to visualize the cover art work and layout and intuitively knew I needed to give birth to my own book of poems.
2. How long have you been writing poetry? I wrote my first poem about apartheid in the eighth grade in response to Alan Paton's Cry, The Beloved Country. I've been writing off and on ever since. My first poems were mostly romantic in nature, seeking that so-called other half of my missing soul that would complete me. Through postpartum depression, suffering, and a series of awakenings, I began to realize that my house of trust had to be built on a foundation fashioned from my own faith.
3. How has writing in this way impacted/changed your life? Through mindfulness and compassion practice, I've learned to connect with a loving presence who has been there all my life. She's been the spiritual shaman retrieving all unwanted parts of my fractured soul that I banished from consciousness. Writing helps me to pause and remember her. I can stay present with the mud of messy thoughts and emotions without getting stuck in them. Releasing them into the wide open space of a kind and caring heart, I identify with something larger than my small self. I become her, Infinite Love.
4. What do you perceive is the relationship between writing and spiritual growth? And healing? As women, we often look to the external world, our partners, our children, our family, friends, and coworkers for validation and acceptance. After reading Peggy Tabor Millin's book Women, Writing and Soul-Making: Creativity and the Sacred Feminine, I began to trust my own body and intuition to write and discover my own truths with Mother Nature as divine witness. When we pause to listen deeply with kindness and curiosity, our Sacred Feminine intuition will always guide us to true healing- a place we can safely call home.
5. What do you hope the reader will gain from reading your book? My sincere wish is for all women, all beings who read these poems to catch a glimpse of their True Nature and savor the sweetness of their own being. I know that's a tall order. I ask readers to look beyond the waves, all the stories of small self, beyond the labels given to us by parents, teachers, spiritual teachers, and others to the ocean's bottom for the pearl of wisdom they seek. Only by diving into the depths of our own being with patience, courage, and faith as our guides can we find the love we always sought elsewhere.
6. Do you have a favorite poem in the book?
Wow, that's a tough question! I'm not sure I have a favorite poem, but some of my favorites include: "Mornings", "Planting a Poem", "Leap of Faith", "Boddhisattvina", "I'm in Love" and "Thank You."
An Invitation can be purchased by contacting Kaveri directly:
Beginning June 1, join us for "Writing for the Health of It," our new online course. 5 minutes a day, for 30 days, to write yourself into a happier, healthier you!
Receive a daily dose of compassion, mindfulness, and loving-kindness sent directly to your Inbox or by Twitter. Subscribe today!
Join us for an upcoming online course, retreat, or special event that will help you live with inner calm, clarity and wisdom.
RSS Feed
