Raising Consciousness

Don’t Lose Your Spark!

“I believe a lot of our lives are spent asleep, and what I’ve been trying to do is hold on to those moments when a little spark cuts through the fog and nudges you.”

- Rufus Wainwright

If you look at children, you’ll notice how deeply they are immersed in a magical glow of love and life. You can literally see it if you observe, that when kids grow up and become more self conscious, the intensity of that glow begins to fade. I have a theory that we all come from a magical world before we are born and humans can come closest with it when spending time with babies. Over time, like anything – things in this world begin to rust, fade, exhaust. I have found for myself that if I allow life to move me rather than setting my own intention and awareness, that I lose a bit of myself and my spark. What usually follows is impatience, grumpiness, and cynicism if really left untended.

Sometimes I have to remind myself to take some time – 20-30 minutes out of my day – to really connect to my inner source. To make a conscious intention of what I want in my life, how I want things to go. Amazingly, I discover that I actually have a right to do that and it’s so easy to forget about the birth given power that I had all along. It’s so easy to think ‘Well, this is what my life gives me so I have to be realistic and deal with it’. That is an intention as well, but an unconscious reactive intention that fuels events that are not necessarily asked for. I’m not promoting that life has to be customized to everything one wants, but I do think that when you take time to become more conscious then life becomes infused with meaning. Even suffering feels productive if it has meaning. Meaning is what gets us up every two hours to feed our newborns, it’s no fun but we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Everything that I choose to write in this blog has to have absolutely hit home in order for me to share it. It can be an aha that I feel becomes so much more meaningful when I get to share it with others. Maybe somewhere, someone will feel that it really validates how they feel and inspires them to listen to their souls just a little bit more than they have a minute ago. I’m sure everyone can relate to having states of consciousness in the past that were so magnificent and meaningful, like profound moments either traveling or spending time with loved ones. During these moments, one can feel that they are residing in a joyful alive glow that surrounds and embraces every part of their being. I understand that it may seem like circumstances can bring them that glow and vice verse – but I’m here to state the opposite. I think we are the ones that have permitted ourselves to glow and are also the ones that permitted ourselves to become dull because we have identified with a belief that it takes something or someone from the outside to bring our true glorious selves out. We can use those positive associations of blissful experiences to tap into that feeling through deep meditation and creative visualization which can work wonders. There have been studies done on athletes measuring their heartbeats while instructing them to imagine that they were actively moving and what they found was amazing – just by the mere thought of being active, their bodies responded the way they would if they were doing it.

Ways to get your spiritual mojo back could be taking a walk outdoors. If that is not possible, getting together with close friends, writing in your journal about your most inspired dreams and wishes – basically things that you used to do as a child, getting back to the idea that the possibilities are limitless.

I am going to share a meditation that I do to clean my slate and then decorate it with a magnificent glow.

Begin with your eyes closed, paying attention to your in breath and out breath. Do this for a few minutes. Then scan your body. Just observe objectively to notice any blockages of energy like tightness, constriction of muscle or breath. Just pay attention without really trying to change anything. You may notice that combining your awareness of breath with your awareness of your tension may spontaneously send a response to relax those areas. After a few minutes of that you can imagine raindrops of light and glow coming down and infusing every part of your body with peace and melting the tension away little by little. If you feel constriction, breath into that constriction. Keep this up until you can feel your body pulsating with energy and a sense of freedom. After this, see yourself basking in a warm protective light that surrounds your body and penetrates every cell and every part of your core. This light is infused with peace and intelligence. Imagine the light raising your awareness to how you felt at your best in your life and then even higher than that. Keep basking – as if it rained for days and this is your first encounter with the sun. Soaking it, recharging every part of your being, becoming whole again. May you feel that blessing and may this bring you to a higher place in your life.

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December 12, 2012

Wu Wei – Effortless Effort

“We convince by our presence.” -Walt Whitman

Wu Wei or non action, is a cornerstone in Taoist teachings. Wu Wei literally translates ‘without effort’. If you look at the natural world, little effort is needed to get it to function and thrive while at the same time there is amazing intelligence behind its design. By its innate nature, it is already programmed so there is no need to add. When we do add out of the flow of things, the process gets disrupted. I imagine that any feeling that one needs to add or control rather than cooperate with comes from the false idea of separation between individual and the universe. When you look at a cell, or a wave of an ocean – they work in harmony with their surroundings by simply existing, they are not going out of their way to do anything. They do only what needs to be done by being true to their nature, nothing more.

When a person comes to a state of allowing life to work itself out, it becomes the ultimate expression of what it means to exercise pure faith. When you truly let go, you are making a statement that you trust life’s ability to produce the most necessary outcome. You trust in nature, in the flow, and in the intelligence behind all things that has made itself so remarkable apparent to anyone who takes the time to notice. If there is such a perfect intelligence that works biology and nature with such precision that we as humans can only understand in fragments, then there must be an intelligence also running a much bigger picture that we cannot even pretend to comprehend from our vantage point. We don’t have many answers, but what we do know from experience is that if we come to our most aligned nature – mastering ‘being ourselves’ effortlessly, then we work at our best. Examples are everywhere. Look at athletes who get into the flow and begin relying on a different part of the brain than is typically used – they become the game, no separation. Artists create and get lost in a place where time stops, I experience this first hand. Amazingly, things come together so much sharper than when effort is put in. And because it requires little effort to be in this state of flow, it becomes more enjoyable and gives you more energy or a natural high! It’s symbiotic, you become a cooperative member of the endless, magnificent creative flow and you come out feeling more alive than you can ever imagine. By cooperating, you are also allowing yourself to be supported by a greater intelligence behind all of life.

Another thing I noticed, is that the most intelligent solution to any problem always tends to be the simplest one. Sometimes you can over think things and as soon as you let it go, the answer pops up like magic! We know that only a small part of our brain is conscious, but that doesn’t mean that the unconscious part isn’t working. By allowing life to move uninterrupted, the unconscious part can function at its best.

When my husband was younger, he worried about a test that he was about to take at school. His mother, a social worker at the time, told him to write down his worries and put it away in his drawer. After a month, his mother told him to look at the paper and see if what he wrote meant anything to him at that point. As one would imagine, everything ended up working out and his worry ‘expired’. For the most part, things have a way of working themselves out if you allow them to. I practice this a lot with my kids. I see them fight and my first reaction was to get involved and control the situation. But one day I needed to step outside and water my garden. I heard them fighting and couldn’t come inside right away, by the time I came back they were sitting happily talking. My being there would have probably just prolonged the process and created more frustration between them. Plus, what message would I be sending them? That they can’t handle their situations well unless I come and rescue them? Best to just let them learn to work it out.

One last thing I want to add is that effortless effort is not about sitting around not doing anything. It actually drains more energy from people to do that than to do work that feels natural. There is something that we are all born to do, which lies in the core of who we are. If we figure it out then I’ll bet there will be less of a need to get involved in drama or asserting control over things which we can’t change. I have heard many people say that when they found their life’s mission they felt an incredible sense of peace and effortlessness – they don’t consider it ‘work’. I have always believed that our feelings are navigation tools that we were given upon birth. They will let us know when we stray from our divine path by wrong actions, thoughts, or beliefs. I guess the best way to ‘get there’, is by ‘being here’ simply by being you!

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December 10, 2012

Love Your Self

Love your self

Despite what the world has taught you. Insist on yourself, honoring the unborn manifestation of your highest potential.

There is a rumor going around that loving yourself is selfish. I would like to argue that the opposite is true. When people learn to truly love themselves, their need to be selfish will diminish. The lack of self love and acceptance creates a lot of trouble for people and the world around them. The lack of self love is responsible for symptoms such as addictions, competitiveness, self medication, overachieving, self sabotage, and the list can go on and on. It creates a thirst that will look for just about anything to quench it. And the stronger the thirst, the more desperate the person becomes. The reality of it is that people with symptoms that come from a lack of self love cannot truly love another – they’re walking around with a deep void, and are looking at the wrong sources in order to fill it. Also, think about the discernment a person has when they are really hungry or thirsty. They stop caring what they use to quench it – everything begins to look desirable!

Unfortunately, many children start out with a lack of love in the house and then grow up continuing the same treatment towards themselves. This is the only thing they have ever known and it’s a sad truth. Fortunately, if this is your story and you are reading these words, you must have an interest in this type of subject which means that you are looking to rise above your raising. The amazing thing about what scientist are discovering about the human brain is that we have the power to literally change its structure and the way it functions. Habits form very strong pulls in people to continue doing what they are doing – the more a behavior is repeated, the stronger the pull. Like a cyclone, it keeps strengthening itself.

Awareness is the single most powerful force that can disrupt habit. Habits are unconscious by nature so placing awareness in the center will at least weaken it enough so that you can think of something better to replace the habit with. The habit I am referring to is the lack of self love or the negative self talk that has sucked enough energy from your life. To start, you can begin talking to yourself in meditation or by affirmations expressing that you love and accept yourself as you are. I know, it’s a little awkward at first but keep doing it and it will feel more comfortable. Begin writing down all the negative thoughts so that you can become aware of what you’re telling yourself, and replace them with opposite positives which will become your affirmations. I have heard that acquiring a new behavior or changing an old one takes 30 days of repeating it daily. So you can affirm it in your chosen form as long as you do the work. These are seeds, that after time and care will sprout a healthy or unhealthy plant, depending on the care you chose to give it.

I have worked many years and still am working on this subject in my life. Accepting that my youth is fading, that I feel weaker than I want to sometimes, that I am simply an imperfect human being. I know my being here is proof that the universe wants me to be, just as you are meant to be alive at this exact moment in time. We all have an amazing purpose to fulfill, but anything other than self love will work as a road block to our highest potential. If you really think about it, it has no positive purpose so why carry it?

Book Recommendations:

You Can Heal Your Life

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind

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December 7, 2012

What is your Mantra?

Mantra: A statement that is frequently repeated

I previously wrote a post on mantras for meditation. This is an entirely different post. Here I am talking about the repetitive thoughts in our minds about life, oneself, people, etc.

I don’t know about you, but if I don’t remind myself to notice what I am repeating to myself, it becomes so subtle that I don’t even realize it’s there. All I notice is the resulting experience. One day when I reminded myself to notice my mantra, I discovered that I was repeating ‘I’m sooooo tired’ in my head. And I just kept dragging and dragging throughout the day. So I said to myself ‘self: you may be tired but how about changing that phrase to ‘I am waking up’?. I tried that and just like magic a few minutes later I began perking up and feeling refreshed. I know it’s hard to believe that something so simple can work, but this is one of many times changing my mantra shifted my experience.

Have you ever stood up in front of a class room to give a speech? Sometimes you may have seen someone laugh (not even at you) and immediately assumed it was aimed at you? Right away the mantra starts ‘I can’t do this’ and well, you know what happens. You freeze up and really aren’t able to get a word out of your mouth. What if you had everyone cheering you and you felt ‘hey, I’m cool I can do this’. Then you rock the speech. Many may conclude that it’s the audience’s reaction that gets you going but it’s actually you that decides that the audience reaction should dictate what you say to yourself.

Let’s put it this way. What’s the difference between a person who is successful at delivering a speech and another who is just as smart, better looking and freezes as soon as he/she looks at the crowd? What they repeat to themselves! Aka, their mantra.

Some mantras are conscious, but many are unconscious – they are lurking in the background and people can go lifetimes not even noticing them. Now that I learned this, I notice songs – ah, this is a great example of many unconscious repetition of sometimes awful mantras over and over and over. Then the music makes it catchy so you find yourself singing it over in your head…all day and even into your dreams! That’s why Indian mantras that are very conscious, very positive, and very powerful are often put into songs – those are the ones you want.

So as you go about your day today, think about whether you want to choose your own mantra, or if you want your mantra to choose you!

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December 5, 2012

Vertical and Horizontal Knowledge

“Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”

-Albert Einstein

Something that I noticed for some time is that when people gain and share knowledge, it seems that there are two sources in which they pull it from. There is the type of knowledge that is passed on from person to person (horizontal knowledge) and there is the type of knowledge that is inspired from a vision, idea, or a dream (vertical knowledge). Stories about inventions and discoveries always fascinated me because a lot of them happen from dreams or some type of altered state. Einstein drew a lot of information from inspired ideas. Many inventors were known to have dreams of their inventions. Here is a list describing horizontal and vertical knowledge:

Horizontal Knowledge:

Learned directly or indirectly from another person or people
Can be diluted or changed over time (think of the game telephone!)
Plays an important role in passing on information
Is innately how the majority of us learn today

Vertical Knowledge:

Inspired from within
Can be brought about by a meditative state
Needs some amount of faith to access (doubt crushes inspiration)
Need confidence to express (usually met with rejection by familiarity seekers)

Both are there for a purpose. Even though horizontal knowledge seems less original and exciting, its purpose is to continue spreading the inspired, vertical knowledge. The problem is – the majority of knowledge absorption depends on books, tv, news, schools which are not always dependable and even worse, imaginative inspiration is considered ‘hu ha’, ‘fu fu’, ‘out there’, ‘not based in reality’. Not only does that increase doubt for the inspiration receivers (especially in young students) but it also takes away the very ingredient needed in order to take an idea onto its next stage of expression – validation.

I started experiencing my own bouts of inspired knowledge (including the idea of horizontal and vertical knowledge) from meditating. I’m sure I’m not the only one who ever thought of this – but I think these are bits of information that are floating around for our antennas to pick up. We can’t tune in if there is too much noise, the information tends to come in very subtle vibrations from my experience. We can only pick it up if we train our minds to listen. Even when our mouths are closed our minds might still be yapping away. So even when we’re quiet we’re still not listening. Though I sit in meditation daily, the moments when I get into quiet receptiveness are few. But when I do…I can literally feel my brain being downloaded with light waves of clear information deep into every cell. It’s pretty powerful but without literally giving yourself a chance to experience it, what I say here will sound alien. To me, it’s the closest place to my truth as I sit here and share this.

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December 4, 2012

Thoughts have substance

Even though I have known the powerful effects of positive thinking for a long time, I still have to remind myself to think positive sometimes. When I was in my twenties working at my first corporate job in architecture, I was unaware of the power my thoughts had over my life. I thought it was good to complain and be honest about my negative feelings – I was half right. Though it’s healthy to express negative feelings sometimes, it can have an adverse effect if we focus only on that side of life. And that’s what I did. It’s as if the more I complained in my mind and to my friends, the more my work situation proved me right. And then I began to take notice to people who had a really good outlook on life. I began noticing that they didn’t necessarily have a glamorous life but they seemed really happy and I also noticed that they connected better with the people around them. Also, they seemed to always find luck when they needed it. I noticed that, but it wasn’t quite enough to convert me into a positive thinker. I took a few months off traveling in Europe and really saw from moment to moment how having a positive attitude impacted my experience and the quality of the time I had. It was like I gave myself permission to be positive since I was ‘away’ and on vacation. So when I got back and needed to find a new job, I dreaded the idea of feeling the way I did before. That’s when a friend of mine (I don’t believe in coincidences!) had mentioned that she was reading a great book. I asked her about it and she told me it was about the subconscious mind and how it is a powerful force in the outcome of our lives. It was Dr. Joseph Murphey’s book ‘The Power of the Subconscious Mind’.

This book hands down has changed the course of my life! I love it when books do that – not many do but when they do it becomes transforming! It confirmed the observations that came in and out of my life, about how positive thinking brings about an uplifting air in your days and just makes everything better. But it also does more than that – it’s like giving gasoline to your dreams so that they can reach their potential and manifest.

My proof of that was a little more personal. I was at a point in my life where I enjoyed my freedom of being single and have done affirmations (one of the assignments of the book) for better well-being, strength, confidence, and a great job. I found a great job and I felt that I had embodied those qualities but decided to give the relationship part a go. When writing an affirmation it is best to write it as if it is happening in the present moment. So I began it with ‘I am married to my soul mate…’ I wrote every quality that I wanted – humorous, brilliant, fun, we explore the world together, super compatible… Then I completely forgot about it. One day my friend asked me if I want to go to a NYC club with her. She had a friend that brought his roommate. The roommate walked over to me and we just talked and talked and talked. Of course I wasn’t thinking ‘This guy is going to be my husband’ but today he is. He ended up having every single quality that I put on my list and much more! I don’t remember throwing that list out, but it’s as if it vanished into thin air when my affirmation manifested.

Besides this story, I have heard other people sharing the same type of stories of when they decided to put down an intention to bring about positive changes. And of course, those many sayings ‘just my luck’, ‘only me’ – when I hear that I feel like saying ‘nooooo, you don’t want to say that!’ but I can’t tell people how to live. I just feel like I know too much now to ignore it. If anyone isn’t sure that it could work, I suggest starting an experiment with something simple like a banana or thinking about a person you haven’t spoken with in a long time. Imagine person / thing very vividly and see if they pop up in a day or two. And then write your story below in the comment box!

Book Recommendations:

The Power of your Subconscious Mind by Dr. Joseph Murphey: The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires by Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks: Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires

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December 2, 2012

Mantra Meditation

Mantra meditation is a technique used for centuries to quiet the mind and strengthen concentration. The mantra chosen is repeated over and over in one’s mind as the meditator is instructed to favor the mantra over any thoughts that arise. Most mantras tend to end with a vowel and an ‘m’ such as Om, Hum, Shalom. Studies were done showing a relaxation response when monitoring a meditator’s brain who was engaging in a mantra meditation that ended with an ‘m’. Interestingly, studies showed adverse effects when the meditator repeated mental words that ended in ‘ick’, so the ancients seemed to know what they were teaching before any technology validated their practices!

Mantras are used mainly as a vehicle to move a person’s consciousness from thoughts to focused presence. Once the person who is meditating can train his / her mind to move away from thoughts and learn to ‘prefer’ the mantra, then the pull of thinking is lessened and a person begins to have more power over their mind and habits.

Picture the thought as a spiral movement – the more attention you give it, the stronger it gets. Especially if emotion gets thrown in – then the wind speeds up and it becomes like a hurricane or a tornado, you get sucked in and it becomes very hard to come out of. You become a prisoner of your thoughts and that spiral has the potential to take over and destroy everything you come into contact with.

That’s where the mantra comes in. The mantra acts as a steady, rocky mountain that disrupts the wind pattern – but you need to be an active participant in order for it to work. So, are you ready to do a mantra meditation? I am going to list a few mantras for you to choose from and then provide instructions for your meditation.

Om – Most common mantra among yogis and meditators. This is a mantra that is all encompassing – the original sound of the universe.

So Hum – Means ‘I am that’ – similar to the ‘I am’ meditation. So on the inhale, Hum on the exhale.

Shalom – Hebrew word for peace and whole. Many people have used this to meditate because of the meaning and calming sound.

Ram – Fire energy. Very powerful and works on the solar plexus chakra.

Shrim – Prosperity, creativity, and induces truth.

I am – A very powerful mantra to repeat. Brings attention to the source of being.

Hum – Clears out negative emotions, protective.

Klim – Strengthening, sexual vitality.

Hrim – Cleansing and purifying.

(Source of many of these are from Dr. David Frawley’s book Ayurveda and the Mind)

Sit comfortable in a cross-legged position, kneeling, or in a chair. Make sure that you are not interrupted for at least 20 minutes – ringer off, door closed. Close your eyes, and for a few minutes pay attention to your breath or any sensations in your body. Begin repeating the mantra you chose in your mind. When you find yourself getting lost in thoughts, acknowledge the thoughts and then gently bring yourself back to the mantra. Continue to return to the mantra anytime a thought arises. Watch the thoughts like passing clouds, allow them to pass by without engaging them. After about 15-20 minutes, give yourself a few minutes to get silent in your mind and focus on your breath before coming back to your daily activities.

Please feel free to comment about your experience doing the meditation – I would love to start a dialog and hear of your experience. Also, feel free to ask any questions.

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December 1, 2012

Triggers: Fertilizers for Spiritual Growth

Those darn triggers – they show up everywhere! The road, at work, at home, on the phone, during holiday shopping. What most people aren’t aware of is that if you are interested in personal growth, triggers are the best fertilizers out there!

Let’s break it up – the typical perception of triggers is that they are annoying, hold you back from doing what you desire, are uncomfortable, disruptive, and not supposed to be happening right now! i.e, resistance, resistance, resistance! But who’s resisting? If you really want to dissect it, your resistance to the triggers is what is annoying, holding you back from doing what you desire, uncomfortable, disruptive, and does not really feel like being in the now. Just watch a few reality shows and pay attention to the people who become resistant. It is a guaranteed free ticket to the downward spiral ride. I want to note that I am not talking about the type of resistance that keeps you out of danger or away from creepy people – that’s just your instinct and I suggest you always listen to it. I am talking about the daily, benign, annoying, not-what-you-want-to-be-happening-right-now type of triggers.

So let’s break it down further. Now that we really see where the resistance is coming from (you) and that it is not vital to be resistant since it’s not a life and death situation, then we can move forward to ask the most liberating question. Can I change this situation? Sometimes you can by having a nice, non reactive conversation with a co-worker which can clear up the frustration. Sometimes that co-worker just doesn’t want to cooperate and finds your triggers fun to play with. Whatever the case may be, there is absolutely nothing you can do to make him / her stop being a schmuck. So what’s left? Do you give him / her the pleasure of playing an award winning symphony on your trigger strings? Or do you become aware of the fact that all you can control is yourself and choose to claim that power? Even though the answer is super obvious – it doesn’t feel that way when you get into automatic, reactive, unconscious of what’s happening mode. All it takes is a little bit of attention to what is happening inside, a few questions to yourself about what you are feeling and why, and a whole lot of repetitive practice of changing your paradigm about it.

The best part of changing your perception about triggers is that it becomes something that has purpose. People throughout history have willingly put in amazing effort and work, if they knew it was going towards a greater purpose. We have been conditioned to think that triggers are just frustrating and have no purpose but to disrupt our plans. When you realize that triggers can actually bring your attention to some wounds that have been dormant, and by doing so heal them over time – they become much easier to tolerate. You realize that you actually gain much more than you lose from those stinky fertilizers!

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December 1, 2012

What is Meditation?

To many, the topic of meditation seems very mysterious and foreign. I have heard many people say ‘I have tried meditating but I can’t seem control my thoughts’. I want to first say that meditation is not about controlling thoughts or stopping them. It is also a topic that no one can really define in words because of its subjective nature – the experience that a person goes through can be compared to a fingerprint – very unique and individual.

But there are a few ways to describe what the act of meditation does. If you can imagine sitting in a dark room looking out of a window. Then imagine living your whole life looking out that window so much that you forget that you are standing in a room. When the room gets uncomfortable, you don’t associate it coming from the room but from outside the window – where your attention is glued. So then you blame every feeling of discomfort on what is outside the window not realizing that it’s coming from where you stand and has little to do with what you think you see. I liken the act of meditation to taking a flashlight and turning it back into the dark room.

At first you become aware of the mess and the accumulation of matter (thought) that you were not aware of for so long. How do you think you would react at first? You’ll want to run the other direction! Or go back to looking out the window because then you don’t have to own your clutter – at least not in your mind. More comfortable? Well if you think about the suffering that results from living unconsciously, doing a little clean up ends up costing much less in terms of personal energy and quality of life.

One type of meditation is called ‘Vipassana’. Translated, it means to see things as they are. The practice of Vipassana is to observe the breath as it enters you body – usually at the point of the nostrils. Sounds simple right? until your thoughts start chatting away! Well, as I said before the goal is not to stop thinking but to bring back the focus continuously on something repetitive – like your breath. There are other types of meditation techniques that focus on repeating a mental mantra so that you have something to keep coming back to if your thoughts try to lure you into a suspense drama. Over time, you learn to acknowledge your thoughts but come back to your object of focus. This will eventually release the hold that your thoughts have over your mind and the identification with thoughts will diminish – thus allowing you to experience your true self and become more present.

A book that I highly recommend if you are interested in learning Vipassana is called ‘Mindfulness in Plain English’ by Bhante Gunaratana. Here is a link: Mindfulness in Plain English: 20th Anniversary Edition

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