Sri Vasudeva on Meditation

[Uma]

Day 28 of 40: April 22, 2016 (link)

"When the body is more balanced the nervous system is stronger and mind gets a chance to be more at peace."

~ Sri Vasudeva

The instruction sounds simple enough, but if you have been following my posts (or better yet Sri Vasudeva's workshops), you will see how he has been introducing each of the practice tools incrementally and gradually combining them all together. Today's talk was a synthesis of practice tools to quiet the restless mind and to deepen the experience so that it leads to enlightenment. Today Sri Vasudeva guided us through a holistic approach to meditation that incorporated everything he's talked about so far.

Terminology
When he says "holistic" or "wholistic" (I never know what the difference is) I think he is referring to everything the 7 chakras are impacting or being impacted by all areas of life in the human experience. When he says "balance" he is definitely referring to using all the chakras in synergy, using everything - all parts of ourselves - offering it all to God in alignment with Divine Will. These are not exactly the same meanings I normally hear about in the holistic health industry so I wanted to clarify.

Lethargy and inertia on the spiritual journey
Let's face it, he is reminding me again and again in these talks that real spiritual development is not going to happen by itself and participating in a retreat like this is not a spa-day, although it is a chance to get a great boost of inspiration to my practice. Meditation, for the serious aspirant, needs to be approached in a more proactive way.

So it's NOT like getting a massage. I mean I can do that but the benefit will be superficial only and my goal is to go all the way with meditation to enlightenment. The "massage" idea is only mindfulness the way I have observed it being practiced in the West as a psychological tool or by a lot of misinformed health instructors over here. Mindfulness is also a path to enlightenment, but that's if you use it in conjunction with the 8-fold path and the 4 noble truths as taught in Buddhism and practiced by monks.

Mindfulness alone is not enough. And I find that Sri Vasudeva's meditation techniques demand a tremendous amount of willpower, stamina and observation - discriminative, constructively critical observation. So in bringing my physical body up to par it's more like training for the Olympics so my physical body can maintain a strong posture and a stronger nervous system to allow for more life force energy to flow. And at the brow chakra, I need to have the kind of intensity of focus like a post graduate student who is studying to the limits - until I feel like my mind could explode. And at the heart chakra I need to share my love to every cell and to every being in the world with the undivided attention of a devoted and madly in love mother caring for her newborn. All of this is to calm my restless mind and to break through that barrier so I can get to the space where I really want to live.

Getting to the relaxation part
So I have been improving my diet, getting enough sleep and exercise and seeing the results. My meditation has been improving. When I maintain the self-discipline in every facet of my life that is necessary to calm my restless mind, I am then and only then ready to really take advantage of the gift of grace to take my meditation to a deeper space - to super charge it - and transform my ego finally. I'm talking about the gift of awakened Kundalini, the gift of using this divine timing where I can meditate in sync with this sacred period using that collective energy to boost my meditation practice, and to "invoke" more shaktipat from the masters. Well I am not merely invoking that is "asking for help" but I am earning it, I am attracting it, as long as I am doing my part to use ALL the tools…offering the ALL of me.

And now the heart
Today's meditation clearly took us through the initial steps to get to what I have referred to as the massage part of meditation - a nice calm quiet space but not particularly deep...and getting a lot of prana flowing so that the body sits up stiffly erect and excited in anticipation for what's to come next. Then and only then he took us deeper to the next steps. After all of that physical and pranic work to quiet the mind, I am ready to use the power of the heart. I love what he said for this part:

"You can further this development of the mind by opening up the emotional space to loving being, that is soul power, beyond the body (loving being). That's the posture of your soul using the heart. This is a step to liberating your soul from the darkness. In a charged body, a balanced body, open up the heart that you can liberate the soul from the fetters of karma, emotional karma - loving, forgiving, compassion." ~ Sri Vasudeva

So moving now from the vital prana of the three lower chakras - regulated through the brow chakra (it's always the mind doing these things) - I can then bring a lot of love into my space. And then he took us to the next step…

Reaching for the crown
Through the body, through the heart and into the head space, he said "feel the peacefulness of the mind, and learn to cultivate a silent mind, a listening mind, an intuitive mind seeking to experience more and more of the Guru Principle within you - that guiding principle, that management principle, that self-mastery principle." He said we are "gurus in training" - the guru begins at the brow but is not complete until it rests permanently in the crown. As my brow reaches for the crown my mind becomes far more peaceful than when it became merely quiet. This mind is "centered in spirituality in the spiritual dimension of self" with an awareness of "the integration, the holistic experience of being" of all the chakras supporting below it and being nourished by the crown in a complete cycle.

Until that final step can manifest in fullness, I will continue to ride on his wings, sailing on the wind of his words and the shakti (personal energy) that comes with them:

"Now embrace the silence with me, using every tool that you know to come into inner space, the Guru space. You are a guru in training seeking to be a master of self and in alignment with the universe." ~ Sri Vasudeva

mmmm.....sweet

[Uma]

Day 29 of 40 April 23/16

Sri Vasudeva shared some really amazing esoteric concepts today!

Humanity's "here" and "now"
Continuing on the topic of self-mastery, today I contemplate that...

I am a soul creature
existing inside a physical-body-creature
that has its own evolutionary agenda,
(selfish, pleasure seeking, survival oriented, reactive...)
and
that I am existing at a moment in time
where divine qualities (sattvic consciousness)
may have begun to develop in me as an individual
but
have not yet come into being in the collective consciousness.

In this morning's talk Sri Vasudeva spoke about soul evolution and the great advantage that the human brain system (according to developmental biology and Darwinism) has given humanity over our animal/bird brothers and sisters by virtue of the higher brain - called "neocortex" - and its ability to (enable mind to) control our lower nature - the more primal drives of the survival instincts and emotions.

He also touched on the subject of the yugas, a science of the cycle of the spiritual ages (we see this knowledge in many ancient civilizations, such as the Mayan calendar system and astrology for example)

What's important for me to know is that we are now living in ascending Dwapara Yuga, a time when tamasic (gross/primal) guna is dominent and rajasic (transformative) guna is emerging. He focused on the Golden Age of Satya Yuga, when sattvic (peaceful) qualities will be the norm once again on a large scale - Paradise on Earth.

When I allow my sattvic qualities to drive my neocortex
As I evolve spiritually, and looking back at the old "me" that used to be, I see that my behaviour keeps on changing, my whole outlook on life changes and I'm becoming a better person all round because I'm expressing more and more of my spiritual qualities and less and less of the primal drives from the influence of lifetimes of incarnation. The body and this world have less power to influence me.

The sattvic or divine qualities are the ones expressed by the most evolved beings - Christ, Buddha, Krishna… He mentioned some of them: "peacefulness, harmony, unity, compassion, kindness, selflessness…" For most of us these are niyamas (things Patanjali said we need to do) but in the enlightened state, these qualities flow naturally. I just have to get out of the way and allow the flow...

The more my individual "I" recognizes that God is really the Doer creating my "I" experience and that I am That, and this That is the same That as in everything else - the more I realize that "survival of the fittest" is only a play in this world or dimension. I then feel more relaxed, knowing that God is in control and I can just float along doing my part like a puppet as He pulls my strings while I appear to be "doing". And in cooperating with That, I am rewarded with a flood of beautiful feelings of joy and expansion and inner strength. I then live in a bath of Love and Light where I don't have to do anything, but allow the sattva to flow in and through me. Therefore, striving for Satya Yuga consciousness is, in a practical sense, the moment-to-moment effort I put into my spiritual practice so that the flow of self-mastery will come when grace and karma allow. It's the principle of you gotta give to receive.

So then what happens to my brain?

"Spiritual consciousness allows us to use more of the brain and to use more of the neocortex, which is the intellectual part; to refine the emotion (limbic brain) and to arrest the reptilian brain and to use it only as necessary when under control. That is what the neocortex allows, when there is spiritual expression there."
~ Sri Vasudeva

All these explanations maybe sound so technical and complicated but once I knew what divinity feels like I understood in an instant:

"Understanding Self is all. The more you understand how you're made up, the power that you have, the more you can enjoy the human experience and master it."
~ Sri Vasudeva

[Uma]

Day 30 of 40 ~ April 24, 2016 (link)
Where I live it's a beautiful spring day - time to smell the flowers and really appreciate Mother Nature!

I remember when after years of meditation I began to communicate with Nature, starting with the trees and rivers. I even shared some of this (link). But this relationship is at the level of mind only and today Sri Vasudeva is urging me to get really close-up and personal with the very classical elements of Nature itself/Herself. In the Hindu system these are called: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space/Akash

Purification of the elements
Today Sri Vasudeva introduced us to a simplified version of a yogic practice called Bhudha Shuddhi focusing on meditation on the elements and senses associated with the six chakras we use in everyday life:

He simplified it by focusing on the elements and senses only, offering this practice NOT for the purpose of awakening Kundalini but for those of us who already have Kundalini awakened, to help deal with the unfinished business of the lower chakras and to help the 3rd eye open more, but also to drive the physical body more masterfully and powerfully, and to connect with Nature (Prakriti) in a deeper way. He often says he greatly regrets neglecting his own physical body in his youth while seeking enlightenment - living in the head space only, although he is in great shape now in his 60s. That's why I think he is warning us not to repeat his oversight. I really saw the wisdom of it when he said:

"My greatest joy in living in the human experience is that I can romance with the elements. I can experience the elements in my body and I can honour them in Nature. It makes life so joyful to see the power of the Prakriti and to harmonize with it! This is the joy of the human experience - really understanding who we are in the context of the human experience and seeing the beauty of Nature, and seeing the potential we have to harmonize with Nature, not to abuse Nature but to harmonize." ~ Sri Vasudeva

I'm thinking what a wonderful world it would be if we were all so in tune with Nature - that there would be no more pollution, no more global warming, no more unsustainable harvesting of the Earth's resources, and no more cruelty to our animal brothers and sisters. When I walk my dog by a lake or forest I am not only exercising my body enjoying the scenery, I am doing my pranayama too and engaging my physical chakras in a powerful way - and feeling my body as a gift from Nature through the elements. I want the yogic practices to be a moment-to-moment thing - and he said after a while it happens naturally. There are times when I just want to belly breathe and automatically use ujai breathing to direct the prana where I want it to go...

Magical properties of the elements
Shamans have been around at least since Paleolithic times when humans lived very much in harmony with Nature and the elements. Shamans are really advanced meditators who are able to use the power of the elements for magical purposes such as psychic healing and prophecy. I don't think Sri Vasudeva is suggesting we use chakra meditation for that purpose, but rather for self-mastery - of both the soul and physical body, not neglecting either.

My take-away from this, as an aspirant, is that it is too easy to just get blissed out and forget to live.

[Uma]

Day 31 of 40: April 25, 2016 link

The wonderful world of my Navel Chakra / Manipura मणिपूर - City of Jewels - the brains behind my physical body soul vehicle:


Fully in this world but not of it
Sri Vasudeva continues in his (loving) rant of the last couple of days to remind spiritual aspirants not to live in the clouds only - that meditation practice is also about being fully grounded, fully engaged, and fully charged up to meet each day in a vibrant, radiant body.

"What I want in this is to have my body glowing
and to have my spirituality shining through my senses,
to have my association with the elements like a romance
I want to sport with them
I want to enjoy the elements
I want to enjoy the eating
I want to enjoy my relationship with the Earth
I want to enjoy breathing the air in my lungs
I want to enjoy the vitality of the body
I want to run
I want to jump
I want to be excited about life when I wake up every morning.
I don't want to live in a body that's lame and handicapped and depleted and drained."

~ Sri Vasudeva

As my body ages I am naturally more drawn to keeping it healthy. I have done volunteer work with frail elderly hospital inpatients and noticed how there are people over 100 years old in better shape than a lot of the 70 year olds. I also notice that they have a better attitude than the others - they make the extra effort to take care of themselves and have a more self-confident and positive glow about them. These super seniors inspire me more than the youth when it comes to living the vital life - the fully lived life.

Sri Vasudeva referred to the wisdom of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the emphasis on the lower tantien in Chinese health practices and of the hara in that of the Japanese. To get an idea of the power of the navel chakra I looked up the meanings of two Sanskrit words he used to describe it - they give an idea of its scope of power and consciousness:

tejas तेजस्
dignity, vital power, prestige, marrow, brightness, fiery energy, bile, spirit, brilliance, gold, efficacy, aura, person of consequence, radiance, fire, brain, spiritual or moral or magical power or influence, lustre, heating and strengthening faculty of the human frame seated in the bile, energetic opposition, ardour, point or top of a flame or ray, tip of flame, fresh butter, bright appearance of the human body, splendor, impatience, essence, authority, semen virile, flame, glare clearness of the eyes, venerable or dignified person, majesty, light, fierceness, beauty, sharp edge, glow, glory

and

agni अग्नि
fire, gold, fire of the stomach, mystical substitute for the letter r, digestive faculty, in the kAtantra grammar name of noun-stems ending in i and u, sacrificial fire, number three, bile, god of fire

~ http://spokensanskrit.de/

A daily regimen
This morning I automatically got out of bed at 4:30a.m. I think this is because I am attuning more and more to the 40 Days Observance and to do that my Inner Guide (my higher Self) must be prompting me to start the day as they do in the ashram. Sri Vasudeva told us that he begins his day with 15 to 20 minutes of physical and pranic energization exercises: hatha yoga pranayama exercises such as bellows breathing (bhastrika) and breath of fire (kapalabati) and a few stretches. When I start my day like this I feel wide awake and loaded with confidence and vitality. It usually lasts until around 2pm when my batteries need recharging again.

Consciousness & power of the gut
Ever heard of people lifting a car to save someone stuck under it? Core strength is incredible and I want to learn to tap into it more. Yesterday I spent several hours cutting down weeds that had grown into trees and I kept my mantra going as I did so and used ujai breathing - so I was making a conscious effort to tap into my core power, fully grounded in the body. The result? I felt exuberant - I was amazed how much work I was able to finish - and I am in no way in top shape fitness-wise. My body was tired after many hours, my legs were like jelly but I felt fantastic! The meditation afterwords was amazing too - I could feel the prana really hot coursing through my body.

Another time I had a more mystical experience associated with the gut where I experienced myself the size of a cell moving around inside my body. I guess this is what Patanjali meant when he wrote: "by focusing on the navel chakra your intelligence and awareness of your body system will increase." There are people like the qigong masters who can project their vital energy out through the palms of their hands - they can light fires and knock people over. I don't care to knock people over lol but I am convinced. The manipura is amazing - far more amazing than I could have imagined. It's not just about digestion!

Gut-centric meditation
Here Sri Vasudeva summarized the main points of today's talk. I have only touched on a few things above.

I centre myself in that Supreme Vitality, the Cosmic Prana, that I may be recharged at every level, bringing radiance to every level of my being.
I am a centre of my vitality. I align myself to that Cosmic Power that can recharge my every centre associated with the body.
I open my awareness to harmonize with the elements of nature. I want to be in harmony with all the elements: the earth, the water, the fire, the air, and the space - I want to be in harmony through my chakras.
My soul harmonizes with the space around me.
I want to be intelligent at every level: mental intelligence, emotional intelligence, gut intelligence.
I want all of my intelligences awakened and developed for this wondrous human experience.

~ Sri Vasudeva

…so that's the gist of today's very inspiring talk!

[running]

Originally Posted by Uma

Day 31 of 40: April 25, 2016 link

The wonderful world of my Navel Chakra / Manipura मणिपूर - City of Jewels - the brains behind my physical body soul vehicle:


Fully in this world but not of it
Sri Vasudeva continues in his (loving) rant of the last couple of days to remind spiritual aspirants not to live in the clouds only - that meditation practice is also about being fully grounded, fully engaged, and fully charged up to meet each day in a vibrant, radiant body.

As my body ages I am naturally more drawn to keeping it healthy. I have done volunteer work with frail elderly hospital inpatients and noticed how there are people over 100 years old in better shape than a lot of the 70 year olds. I also notice that they have a better attitude than the others - they make the extra effort to take care of themselves and have a more self-confident and positive glow about them. These super seniors inspire me more than the youth when it comes to living the vital life - the fully lived life.

Sri Vasudeva referred to the wisdom of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the emphasis on the lower tantien in Chinese health practices and of the hara in that of the Japanese. To get an idea of the power of the navel chakra I looked up the meanings of two Sanskrit words he used to describe it - they give an idea of its scope of power and consciousness:

A daily regimen
This morning I automatically got out of bed at 4:30a.m. I think this is because I am attuning more and more to the 40 Days Observance and to do that my Inner Guide (my higher Self) must be prompting me to start the day as they do in the ashram. Sri Vasudeva told us that he begins his day with 15 to 20 minutes of physical and pranic energization exercises: hatha yoga pranayama exercises such as bellows breathing (bhastrika) and breath of fire (kapalabati) and a few stretches. When I start my day like this I feel wide awake and loaded with confidence and vitality. It usually lasts until around 2pm when my batteries need recharging again.

Consciousness & power of the gut
Ever heard of people lifting a car to save someone stuck under it? Core strength is incredible and I want to learn to tap into it more. Yesterday I spent several hours cutting down weeds that had grown into trees and I kept my mantra going as I did so and used ujai breathing - so I was making a conscious effort to tap into my core power, fully grounded in the body. The result? I felt exuberant - I was amazed how much work I was able to finish - and I am in no way in top shape fitness-wise. My body was tired after many hours, my legs were like jelly but I felt fantastic! The meditation afterwords was amazing too - I could feel the prana really hot coursing through my body.

Another time I had a more mystical experience associated with the gut where I experienced myself the size of a cell moving around inside my body. I guess this is what Patanjali meant when he wrote: "by focusing on the navel chakra your intelligence and awareness of your body system will increase." There are people like the qigong masters who can project their vital energy out through the palms of their hands - they can light fires and knock people over. I don't care to knock people over lol but I am convinced. The manipura is amazing - far more amazing than I could have imagined. It's not just about digestion!

Gut-centric meditation
Here Sri Vasudeva summarized the main points of today's talk. I have only touched on a few things above.

…so that's the gist of today's very inspiring talk!

I get growth from exercising. The energy it seems has a function and pushing myself makes me expand especially in the heart and stomach. I do pranayama when i run and it helps facilitate the expansion. I wonder often if i get more out of that than i do meditation. But doing all three i feel has a synergistic effect. Pranayama, physical exercise, and meditation. I never got into mantras but many people do and i assume it helps them.

[Uma]

Originally Posted by running

I get growth from exercising. The energy it seems has a function and pushing myself makes me expand especially in the heart and stomach. I do pranayama when i run and it helps facilitate the expansion. I wonder often if i get more out of that than i do meditation. But doing all three i feel has a synergistic effect. Pranayama, physical exercise, and meditation. I never got into mantras but many people do and i assume it helps them.

Hi running,
Wow - that's awesome! I guess running might be another way you do meditation...getting into the zone... runner's high...these are legitimate ways too...expansion that's what it's all about. Now I'm thinking about Sufis spinning around and becoming one with the spinning.

[Miss Hepburn]

I did the Sufi dancing once...wow, I really got into an altered state
or my brain waves went into Alpha or 'something'...
I loved it.

[Uma]

Day 32 April 26, 2016 link

I had to post later than usual this morning because I had to rush my beautiful chocolate Labrador Retriever to the hospital because of a bad limp in her hind leg. It turns out she has a torn ligament and will need surgery, really expensive surgery. She is getting old (she's 9 years old), has occasional seizures and now arthritis in the front leg as well. I want to make sure she has a pain-free high quality life now that she is in her senior years. I'm just sharing this because I had to immediately put into practice what today's talk was all about before I even heard it, once again, attuning to the 40 Days Observance...

Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence, as Sri Vasudeva has taught me, is about allowing my higher consciousness to rule my lower consciousness. It's about engaging my brow chakra to manage my heart chakra and, if I can, to tap into my crown chakra to expand my consciousness to bring wisdom into the brow and to bring infinite unconditional love into the heart. It's about not only observing what I am feeling, naming it, rating on a scale from 0 to 10, and observing what thought or reactive response has initiated that feeling - that's all textbook stuff. But he is talking about also being able to change it in the moment - or better yet - be so self-aware that even before the emotion has a chance to come up I can get centred and circumvent it - and after years of training I have changed conditioned patterns that were deep in my psyche but no longer manifest as they used to. I had to do this in the vet's office this morning just to keep from tearing up when I heard the news and by the time I got home, realizing how this event is so karmically tied to what's going on my astrology chart, I knew that all is in Divine order - it's all a karmic play, an illusion…that's what he calls seeing the big picture - seeing the divine intention behind it. So I did not cry at home either and I am still composed and still seeing a bigger picture. I'm still saddened that her carefree days are now over, that another chapter has closed, but I am ready to face the next phase bravely with the realization that everything that I'm attached to in this world is perishable. We souls are just ships that pass in the night in this gross physical world.

Spiritual evolution of consciousness is the secret to emotional intelligence
Having been trained to do psychotherapy I could talk about using my intellect to engage the neocortex to manage my limbic brain and reptilian brain. I've learned how to use Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to do this scientifically. I've learned how to use Hypnosis to go deeper into the subconscious roots of behaviour change. I've learned all the usual tools of the trade. These are all fine and good and useful tools - but no ordinary school has ever taught me such magical emotional intelligence as Sri Vasudeva. Through his words, through the grace of the power of his presence, I have changed in ways no therapy ever could. Why? Because it's all about spiritual evolution, about shifting into higher consciousness, about tapping into divine help from within. It's fundamental and permanent change.

I'm not talking now about runner's high or sufi dancing. I'm speaking of change that takes place at the core of my being - changing my whole identity, my personhood because as my teacher says:

"Your brain can be stimulated chemically to have some experiences but whether they will really transform your consciousness spiritually is another story. They may give you a kind of 'high' for a moment but they cannot really transform your consciousness in a meaningful way." ~ Sri Vasudeva

I want more than bliss. As I grow spiritually I get tougher and I can handle more. But as I grow in consciousness I also become more hypersensitive - so it's a Catch-22 kind of thing for me. As I work with my Inner Guide I am tested more and more with greater challenges to my ego-resistance. But things that used to phase me don't anymore. And to me that's pretty amazing!

I'm not saying there aren't times anymore when I need to eat that bowl of chocolate ice-cream or rant to a friend or reach for ordinary support when I go into "contracted ego" mode and I feel like God is totally ignoring me and doesn't get me at all. My kids will attest to the fact that I'm not good at emotional intelligence at all when I'm tired and stressed out or running a fever and the karmic play starts creating dramas in my life at 2 o'clock in the morning... all these things can and do happen but the more I reach for grace, the more it supports me. Even through all the testing situations grace is supporting me. And if I'm so upset the support can't reach me from inside, it will come from the outside - through a phone call or email that lifts my mood. Even the testing situation becomes grace (but that's another teaching for another time).

What to do when all hell breaks loose on the inside
In moments of weakness, when I can't get my act together through meditation, I pray, as he suggested today:

"Grant me more wisdom. Grant me more understanding. Let me learn to manage my emotional nature. Let me learn to be more emotionally intelligent in the play."

and then going deeper into the emotion of it…

I am Yours Oh Supreme and Infinite Love within me! I am Yours!
Let my ego melt in You! Let me become Your perfect instrument in this play! I hold my body that You may drive away every bit of darkness that may be within me!

…until the separation between "I" and "Thine" starts to thin a bit…and I'm holding my beautiful dog in my arms reiking her with love and pulling more Divine Love though my crown chakra into my heart chakra and out through the chakras in the palms of my hands stroking her sweet little head feeling Sri Vasudeva's words from this morning filling my being with these hot fluttery prana angels…

"I am a friend of all.
I wish everyone well
and I centre in harmonious co-existence with the Elements of Nature
and with all creatures in this existence.
I centre in harmonious co-existence.
In this harmony I feel free in my soul, unburdened, unfettered.
I know that the wings of my love are powered by You.
You are the Wind beneath my wings of love!
Let my every thought be a thought of Love.
Let my mind offer You the most beautiful thoughts, fragrant with Love.
I adore You in all of creation.
Your Love makes me adore You.
How can I exist without You?
I am Yours oh Supreme One - all of me: body, mind and soul!
Bless me, hold me in Your Being that my every moment will be filled with You!
To You my soul bows again and again!
Om peace, peace, peace
ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्ति

I know in my heart that everything will be alright...and somehow I think my dog knows it too.

[running]

Originally Posted by Uma

Day 32 April 26, 2016 link

I had to post later than usual this morning because I had to rush my beautiful chocolate Labrador Retriever to the hospital because of a bad limp in her hind leg. It turns out she has a torn ligament and will need surgery, really expensive surgery. She is getting old (she's 9 years old), has occasional seizures and now arthritis in the front leg as well. I want to make sure she has a pain-free high quality life now that she is in her senior years. I'm just sharing this because I had to immediately put into practice what today's talk was all about before I even heard it, once again, attuning to the 40 Days Observance...

Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence, as Sri Vasudeva has taught me, is about allowing my higher consciousness to rule my lower consciousness. It's about engaging my brow chakra to manage my heart chakra and, if I can, to tap into my crown chakra to expand my consciousness to bring wisdom into the brow and to bring infinite unconditional love into the heart. It's about not only observing what I am feeling, naming it, rating on a scale from 0 to 10, and observing what thought or reactive response has initiated that feeling - that's all textbook stuff. But he is talking about also being able to change it in the moment - or better yet - be so self-aware that even before the emotion has a chance to come up I can get centred and circumvent it - and after years of training I have changed conditioned patterns that were deep in my psyche but no longer manifest as they used to. I had to do this in the vet's office this morning just to keep from tearing up when I heard the news and by the time I got home, realizing how this event is so karmically tied to what's going on my astrology chart, I knew that all is in Divine order - it's all a karmic play, an illusion…that's what he calls seeing the big picture - seeing the divine intention behind it. So I did not cry at home either and I am still composed and still seeing a bigger picture. I'm still saddened that her carefree days are now over, that another chapter has closed, but I am ready to face the next phase bravely with the realization that everything that I'm attached to in this world is perishable. We souls are just ships that pass in the night in this gross physical world.

Spiritual evolution of consciousness is the secret to emotional intelligence
Having been trained to do psychotherapy I could talk about using my intellect to engage the neocortex to manage my limbic brain and reptilian brain. I've learned how to use Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to do this scientifically. I've learned how to use Hypnosis to go deeper into the subconscious roots of behaviour change. I've learned all the usual tools of the trade. These are all fine and good and useful tools - but no ordinary school has ever taught me such magical emotional intelligence as Sri Vasudeva. Through his words, through the grace of the power of his presence, I have changed in ways no therapy ever could. Why? Because it's all about spiritual evolution, about shifting into higher consciousness, about tapping into divine help from within. It's fundamental and permanent change.

I'm not talking now about runner's high or sufi dancing. I'm speaking of change that takes place at the core of my being - changing my whole identity, my personhood because as my teacher says:

I want more than bliss. As I grow spiritually I get tougher and I can handle more. But as I grow in consciousness I also become more hypersensitive - so it's a Catch-22 kind of thing for me. As I work with my Inner Guide I am tested more and more with greater challenges to my ego-resistance. But things that used to phase me don't anymore. And to me that's pretty amazing!

I'm not saying there aren't times anymore when I need to eat that bowl of chocolate ice-cream or rant to a friend or reach for ordinary support when I go into "contracted ego" mode and I feel like God is totally ignoring me and doesn't get me at all. My kids will attest to the fact that I'm not good at emotional intelligence at all when I'm tired and stressed out or running a fever and the karmic play starts creating dramas in my life at 2 o'clock in the morning... all these things can and do happen but the more I reach for grace, the more it supports me. Even through all the testing situations grace is supporting me. And if I'm so upset the support can't reach me from inside, it will come from the outside - through a phone call or email that lifts my mood. Even the testing situation becomes grace (but that's another teaching for another time).

What to do when all hell breaks loose on the inside
In moments of weakness, when I can't get my act together through meditation, I pray, as he suggested today:

and then going deeper into the emotion of it…

…until the separation between "I" and "Thine" starts to thin a bit…and I'm holding my beautiful dog in my arms reiking her with love and pulling more Divine Love though my crown chakra into my heart chakra and out through the chakras in the palms of my hands stroking her sweet little head feeling Sri Vasudeva's words from this morning filling my being with these hot fluttery prana angels…

I know in my heart that everything will be alright...and somehow I think my dog knows it too.

Your sharing about your lab reminded me of a german shepard i used to have. He is still with me in memory and keeps me laughing. He once had a limp. Just before he began limping my brothers dog hurt one of his legs. For about a day or so my brothers dog was limping. We gave him a lot of attention over it. And it wind up being really minor thankfully so we didnt have to take him to a vet. And about the next day the limp was gone.

But then my german shepard began limping around. By about the second day we began to worry. We gave him a lot of attention over it. Then he made a fatal mistake. That leg miraculously healed and now it was the other one he limped on. Lol. The dog was a brain and realized we caught on to his act. The new limp went away miraciously and he was fine. But he had us going for a bit. Lol. It was pretty funny at the time. Im not implying your dog is faking it. It just reminded me of what mine did.

He was on his way to the dog pound cause the previous owner could no longer have a place for him. I never wanted a pet because i was so busy with my business. But i couldnt see him going to the pound so i took him in. My brother was working for me and moved in with his puppy. The puppy was out of control. Lol. But thats how puppys can be and it was no big deal. He was a blast. So i bring the german shepard in to the family and instead of extra work having another dog it was the opposite. The dog trained the puppy to behave, and let him in and out of the house when he wanted out. Whenever the puppy got out of control the shepard would walk over and put the puppys head in his mouth gently. Hold him there until he calmed down. Usually maybe a minute. After a short while the puppy was no longer out of control. The back door we kept ajar enough so the dogs could push it open to go out. The puppy couldnt figure it out. So he would walk over to it and make some noise. Previously we would open it for him to let him out. The shepard decided to take that job and when the puppy wanted out the shepard would walk over and kick it open for him. He was the greatest! I once seen him in the spirit world so i know he is still with me. I feel very lucky to have had him.

[Ilovecats]

Thank you for your beautiful posts Uma.

Your writing is really inspiring for me. I feel such a nice and warm energy while reading it.