It’s raining outside, the sound of the water beating against the pavement is very calming. I have finally had a good night of sleep last night, after a few days of little sleep.
A project that I had been working on for a few months now has kept me very busy lately that I did not have the time to update my blog. It involved a lot of reading on subjects that I like so I cannot complain.
Still when I finished, I found myself feeling happy to be free to read more things unrelated to the topic of my project. Days like today, when I wake up rested after a tired period, I feel blank. It is a pleasant feeling. After having to be focused on something for days, once it is finished my brain seems to relax and by going blank breaking me away from my regular life.
It is a good state to meditate.
I have been a Sahaja Yogini since 1998 yet sometimes, I still find my friends asking me if I continue my yoga practice. I’ve been practicing since college and it has become a life style for me since then. I used give free of charge, Sahaja Yoga classes in college. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, who is the founder of Sahaja Yoga, always explained that sharing love should not be charged for and established the whole organization as a non-profit entity.
Yoga means “Union” It is a way to unite with the whole, call it Divine, call it Universe…depending on one’s spiritual beliefs the terminology might change but through Yoga we connect. The western world seems to have a misconception of the word Yoga assuming that it is about body postures. This is mainly because the west was introduced to the idea of Yoga mainly through practices such as Hatha Yoga, which involve a lot of body postures.
It matched the western culture’s idea of achievement, because when you evolve your physical abilities everyone can see it. So you have proof that you are better at it and can even secretly compete with others should you wish to do so. Whereas spiritual evolvement should make one stop competing with others.
Training the body to bend a certain way also helps one be thoughtless, as one is very much focused on the position, so like some other sports, this type of posture involving yoga relaxes one.
Then again, there is so much more to uniting that seems to be missed in these modern, posture involving westernized yoga classes. The silence of meditation pulls us back into the reality. Especially, if we have lives with a fast pace, to elongate the moment in between two thoughts and go thoughtless might not seem easy at first, but there is a tremendous calming effect once achieved that state.
That blank state breaks us away from all the things that seem to matter and lets us feel the pure joy of THE MOMENT. Although it may differ from culture to culture our conditionings, make us want to mold into a certain form that we feel is acceptable and desirable. Then there are material things that we believe help us have the right look for how we want to be perceived.
Not that I see anything wrong with material achievements, my concern is more on the price that sometimes comes with it. By material, I do not necessarily mean a car or a house but even a position among society.
I feel that as long as we feel free spiritually, it is OK to chase after our dreams of achievement. How we know whether we are free or not is simple. If we are able to feel inner joy, we are good.
However if the price comes at becoming a sort of dry person, with the inability to enjoy the simple things, there is a problem!
The ideal state should be to make it, (whatever it is we desire to make) while maintaining the ability to feel inner bliss.
One of the keys to that is getting over our conditionings. The ability to have a flexible perception on how things ought to be opens a whole new door. Still there is more to it than the fact that it makes one, a solution finder in situations where people in the box cannot step out.
The best part is that the invisible strains created by our surroundings cannot capture us. In other words, it becomes hard to make us feel bad about who we are, according to the measurements of society. Those silent moments where we unite with the whole on a spiritual level, helps us see everything from a different angle when it comes to the encounters with the rest on a mental level.
The clouds of thoughts and shapes disappear, leaving us with pure joy, the way it is with children. Children have the ability to tremendously enjoy playing with something as simple as a gift’s wrap, not even the gift itself. Since no one entered this world as an adult, we were all like that and the ability is actually still there.
Although it may sound, like a far away state to be in, when I try to describe it through words, it is like a type of food that one has never tasted, and understands the actual taste of it, better than any of my explanations once they have a bite of it.
Lately a girlfriend at my gym, catches me after a swim and asks me help her meditate. I love that it happens so spontaneously and it has been while since I’ve given yoga classes. We sit next to the whirlpool where it is usually quiet and go thoughtless, while the kundalini clears out the catches on our chakras, we just enjoy the moment. Those moments of silence are not only rejuvenating but while we enjoy the moment, our world gets re-aligned.
After twenty minutes, she tells me how relaxed and good she feels. Whatever was pulling her down disappears. Of course the actual experience beats, me telling about it. What is happening is that when we are in balance, our surroundings also fall into the right balance. It is not only our perception that gets fresh eyes but also the detachment from whatever it is that is on our mind, takes away its hold on our state of mind.
The alignment that takes place during our silent moments makes things suddenly start working. Those silent moments might seem inactive but it is our connection with the whole, it is the yoga state. In other words our power to create change is not limited to our physical action.
So we do not have to choose between a joyful state and worldly achievements, they are certainly not mutually exclusive but set-backs which are a natural part of working towards a goal, will bother us less when we have the inner joy on our side.
I should probably give a little more information on the type of yoga that I practice for those readers who might desire to achieve the above explained state.
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi
Sahaja Yoga
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi started Sahaja Yoga in 1970 by awakening the kundalini of masses. In the presence of an awakened kundalini, another one can be awakened, should one desire. This realization helps us re-connect with the whole, in a spontaneous way. Sahaja Yoga means “Spontaneous Union”.
The Kundalini resides in the sacrum area of our body, and it is a female energy that we are all born with. Once our conditionings start as we grow up, she assumes a dormant position, thus upon her re-awakening we become able to have the state of joy that we had in our childhood. As the kundalini rises, she works through our chakras, and unblocks them. This spontaneous clear out, has a transforming effect on our whole being. Of the seven chakras (energy centers) each has a negative and positive quality. So if the chakra is clear the positive quality comes out and if it is blocked the negative quality manifests.
I will not go through all of them but as an example, when our center heart is blocked we might feel uneasy and restless for some moments. Some people resort to alcohol or other substances to subdue that state when it happens. Air is the element of this chakra and proper breathing while meditating is a way to clear it out instantly. Once the chakra is cleared, calmness and peace replaces the previous state of anxiety.
This “clear out” is possible during meditation, so other than the inner bliss, there is a practical side to it that helps us evolve while enjoying.
If I caused you to be curious about Sahaja Yoga, you can simply go to any one of the centers that might be in your area, free of charge, as sharing love should not cost money.
Enjoy the bliss 🙂
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