AWAKENING WITH Contributor

How can we begin to heal the world?

September 5, 2019November 18, 2019 by AWAKENING WITH Contributor, posted in Yoga Healing

If we are to help heal the world, we need to remember that it is a sacred place.

Our actions need to be positive statements, reminders that even in the worst times there is a world worth struggling for. We need to find ways to keep the vision alive, to acknowledge but not get caught in the dark side. To remember that even the worst aspects of suffering are only part of the whole picture. We need to enter lightly.

Entering lightly means not ignoring suffering but treating it gently.

We don’t want to ignore another’s pain, but our becoming depressed or angry about it doesn’t relieve it and may increase it. The delicate balance is in allowing ourselves to feel the pain fully, to be sad or angry or hurt by it, but not be so weighted down by it that we are unable to act to relieve it. It is a matter of ends and means again: to create a caring, loving, peaceful world, we need to act with care and love and peace.

Easy to say, you may think, remembering your heavy hearts, tears, and anger when you first saw babies in Ethiopian refugee camps dying from malnutrition. But it is exactly at these times – in the presence of pain, injustice, and horror – that our equilibrium is most needed. How can we keep it? Meditation can help; singing or walking can help; talking with people we respect can help; simply being quiet with ourselves can help.

It is the continuing work of life: of learning to trust that the universe is unfolding exactly as it should, no matter how it looks to us. We learn to appreciate that each of us has a part in nurturing this interconnectedness whole and healing it where it is torn. Discovering what our individual contribution can be, then giving ourselves fully to it.

Demanding as that sounds, it is what, in the spiritual sense, we are all here for, and compassionate action gives us yet one more opportunity to live it. It is an opportunity to cooperate with the universe. To be part of what the Chinese call the great river of the Tao. It is not a coincidence that Hanuman, who in the Hindu cosmology is called the “embodiment of selfless service,” is the son of the wind god. When we give ourselves into becoming fully who we are by doing fully what we do, we experience lightness. We are like kites in wind, we are on the side of the angels, we are entering lightly.

This article was originally published on RamDass.Org

Ram Dass is an American spiritual teacher and author of many books such as Be Here Now and Walking Each Other Home.

Unconditional love as the essence of yoga

May 22, 2019November 18, 2019 by AWAKENING WITH Contributor, posted in Yoga Healing

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By Ram Dass

Unconditional love really exists in each of us. It is part of our deep inner being. It is not so much an active emotion as a state of being. It’s not “I love you” for this or that reason, not “I love you if you love me.” It’s love for no reason, love without an object. It’s just sitting in love, a love that incorporates the chair and the room and permeates everything around. The thinking mind is extinguished in love.
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If I go into the place in myself that is love and you go into the place in yourself that is love, we are together in love. Then you and I are truly in love, the state of being love. That’s the entrance to Oneness. That’s the space I entered when I met my guru.

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Years ago in India I was sitting in the courtyard of the little temple in the Himalayan foothills. Thirty or forty of us were there around my guru, Maharaji. This old man wrapped in a plaid blanket was sitting on a plank bed, and for a brief uncommon interval everyone had fallen silent. It was a meditative quiet, like an open field on a windless day or a deep clear lake without a ripple. Waves of love radiated toward me, washing over me like a gentle surf on a tropical shore, immersing me, rocking me, caressing my soul, infinitely accepting and open.
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I was nearly overcome, on the verge of tears, so grateful and so full of joy it was hard to believe it was happening. Opening my eyes, I looked around, and I could feel that everyone else around me was experiencing the same thing. I looked over at my guru. He was just sitting here, looking around, not doing anything. It was just his being, shining like the sun equally on everyone. It wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. For him it was nothing special, just his own nature.
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This love is like sunshine, a natural force, a completion of what is, a bliss that permeates every particle of existence. In Sanskrit it’s called sat-cit-ananda, “truth-consciousness-bliss,” the bliss of consciousness of existence. That vibrational field of ananda love permeates everything; everything in that vibration is in love. It’s a different state of being beyond the mind. We were transported by Maharaj’s love from one vibrational level to another, from the ego to the soul level. When Maharaji brought me to my soul through that love, my mind just stopped working. Perhaps that’s why unconditional love is so hard to describe, and why the best descriptions come from mystic poets. Most of our descriptions are from the point of view of conditional love, from an interpersonal standpoint that just dissolves in that unconditioned place.
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When Maharaji was near me, I was bathed in that love.
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This article, initially titled “How does unconditional love help us rediscover our souls?” was originally published on RamDass.Org

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Ram Dass is an American spiritual teacher, yogi, and author of many books such as Be Here Now and Walking Each Other Home.

Co-Evolution

July 13, 2018November 18, 2019 by AWAKENING WITH Contributor, posted in Creative Writing for Healing, Sacred Sexual Healing

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In the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, there is the philosophy and practice of the tantric consort relationship. Rarely, remarkably, in a flash of miraculous lightning, a person appears in our lives who is so perfectly suited to us that all others pale in comparison. When we meet this partner, this dear sacred consort, we must recognize all that this relationship asks of us. We must bow before it, surrender.
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The practice of tantric consort is a lifelong practice. It is blissful, sublime, yet incredibly challenging. It is nothing less than a path to enlightenment. If we are blessed to have met such a person and if we have the courage to surrender to the transformative power of this relationship—to all that it can teach us and to all that it can change within us—then there is the possibility for a real merging of souls to occur. There is now not two people, but one. In this sacred togetherness, the notion of a separate self, or a separate ego, drops away. In its place is pure unity and love.
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In the following poem, Alistair J. Kraft dives into the waters of such an all-encompassing, unifying love. Kraft asks us, as readers, to drop our defenses, recognizing that some bonds are more powerful than our individual will to resist … some bonds thrust us into pure being. Some bonds, some paths, we have no choice but to follow.
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I hope you enjoy this beautiful poem.
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–Anya Light
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♥♥

CO-EVOLUTION

There is a pathway into

my heart that only you

are shaped to follow, forged

by the sum total of our lives,

experiences, bringing us inexorably

inevitably

fatefully to each other’s arms we co-

evolved to fit together with a

blinding perfection, heart to

heart, soul to

soul and from that we both

find a place to call home, someone

to touch those places no one else

is shaped to reach in our depths.

Of all the possible lovers in a life

this is your home in my soul, only I

am this home in yours.

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Alistair J. Kraft is a poet, author, professor, part-time pagan, and animal lover based in Cincinnati, Ohio. He spends his spare time contemplating social justice, comedy, and how cute his rescue animals are. He can be found on Facebook at Alistair J. Kraft, or on Instagram and Twitter @poetofcats

Daily Miracles: The Way My Sister Walked

January 4, 2018 by AWAKENING WITH Contributor, posted in More Goodies!

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By Reverend Rhonda Sheryl Lipstein

The miraculous story I would like to share is the story of my sister, Elana Jody Lipstein-Waldman.

Elana was diagnosed with Stage 3C Ovarian Cancer when she was the very tender age of 32.

According to statistics regarding this diagnosis, Elana was given less then a 30% chance of surviving more than 2-3 years, and this was with the most advanced treatments currently known within the allopathic medical industry.

Amazingly, instead of choosing to believe the statistics given by her doctors, who were touted as some of the absolute best in their field, Elana chose instead to alter her perception of her diagnosis and her condition.

Instead of seeing the diagnosis as death sentence, she saw it as permission to enjoy life to its fullest. She began to view her condition not as fatal but rather as a chronic condition that simply had reoccurring flare-ups that needed treatment.

Over the next years, Elana was treated with over 100 chemotherapy treatments, radiations, test trials, injections, specialty diets, fitness routines, and lifestyle changes.

Even though these treatments helped, in reality it was her PERCEPTION that gave her the gift of life. She lived EIGHT YEARS beyond her diagnosis!

My sister walked the walk of Namaste Love and, as a result, was gifted the greatest miracle of all: life.

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Reverend Rhonda Sheryl Lipstein is an empathic holistic healer & intuitive mystic. For those seeking more pearls of love’s wisdom, please visit RhondaSherylLipstein.com

Playfulness

September 10, 2017September 10, 2017 by AWAKENING WITH Contributor, posted in More Goodies!

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When people think of spiritual practice, “playfulness” is not usually the first word that comes to mind. We might think that dancing on a beach or rolling around in the grass is playful, but that a spiritual practice must be the opposite: serious. I often see many people who follow a spiritual practice become very serious. If you think or practice something slightly different than what they practice, they even can become offended or angry. In a way, instead of finding spaciousness and freedom in their practice, they have put themselves in yet another box, the spiritual box.

We might begin a spiritual practice to step out of the boxes we put ourselves in during our daily life. But often we just replace that tight box of our normal daily life with a new tight box of a spiritual practice. We trade one rigid, constricting way of being for another rigid, constricting way of being. And because we call the new way spiritual practice, we may tell ourselves (and others) that this is great, this is better, this is how and who we want to be in our practice and in our life.

But in reality we practice a spiritual practice to lay bare our innate light. Many different traditions use the metaphor of light: clear light, great bright light, inner light, and light of life, just to name a few. This light can not be boxed in; it is the light of spiritual freedom and playfulness.

Look outside and see how the natural light plays through the leaves of the tree, how it glitters on the waves in the lake and how it dances around the streets. This natural light touches everything with a playfulness and with equality. No distinctions are being made, no labels are being placed, no judgments are being made by this light. Even if a big storm is brewing, the light plays and dances around and within the storm, the light dances freely in a playful manner.

Thus, we can start to see if we are practicing our spiritual practice in the truest way by looking at ourselves and seeing if we are still in our tight box, or if have we stepped out of the box and are becoming more playful. Look at the Dalai Lama, Shunryu Suzuki, Thich Nhat Hanh, Daehaeng Kun Sunim, and Mingyur Rinpoche, who have laid bare their inner light. Deep spiritual practice has not made them sober or serious; their eyes have a perpetual twinkle. They are so playful and their playful light has touched thousands of people. Their teachings are full of laughter, playfulness, and direct non-complicated wisdom. Due to having laid bare their innate playful light, they teach in a playful, joyful, and light manner. Whether we imagine them (or ourselves) rolling around in the grass or sharing wisdom in a class, the light and playfulness can shine through.

Frans Stiene has been a major influence on global research into the system of Reiki since the early 2000s. His practical understanding of the Japanese influences on the system have allowed students around the world to connect deeply with this practice. Frans is a co-founder of the International House of Reiki with Bronwen Logan (Stiene). He has also co-authored with her the critically acclaimed books The Reiki Sourcebook, The Japanese Art of Reiki, and A-Z of Reiki Pocketbook.

“Playfulness” was originally published on International House of Reiki blog.

Touch

August 13, 2017November 19, 2019 by AWAKENING WITH Contributor, posted in Reiki Healing

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Touch is such an important element in healing and also in our daily life. But how do we touch?

One of the most important elements to touch in the right way is our mind, because if our mind is not in the right space, touch can become very different, even hurtful.

Let’s look first at touching ourselves because if we do not know how to touch ourselves, then how can we touch others in the right way?

In the context of healing, we need to touch ourselves with the intent that we receive whatever we need. There is no need to have a very specific, boxed in intent, like “this or that needs to be healed”; in truth we do not really know what we need. We might think we do, but if we look honestly at ourselves we do not really know. So by setting a very open intent, our mind and energy also become more open and thus allow a more free flowing energy. For example, say you have a pain in your knee. If you just touch your knee with the intent that your knee gets healed, you are setting a limited intent. And thus your touch is limiting, because maybe the pain in your knee comes from your sciatic nerve. And that issue might come from a tightness in your kidneys due to pent up anger. If we set a more open intent when we touch our knee, the healing can take place on a much deeper level and our touch becomes something very different.

In our daily life we often are told from our parents or from society not to touch ourselves; thus we have created an obstacle through which our mind and energy don’t flow. Touching our own body can be very healing and freeing. But again, we need to touch it with the right state of mind. What is this state of mind? This is the state of mind of no anger and worry or fear, a state of mind in which we are grateful for how our body looks and feels no matter what. And we have to couple our touch with our innate love and compassion. Therefore, if our touch is without anger, worry and fear, and is infused with gratefulness and compassion, then we have the right touch. By being mindful when we are touching ourselves, which means our mind is not being distracted by past, present and future issues, we are therefore completely focused and open at the same time when we touch. This kind of touch, due to being completely free, brings a deep kind of healing, peace and even inner joy and bliss.

Thus, through knowing and learning how to touch ourselves with the right state of mind, we learn how to touch others when we perform a hands-on/off healing session, or just in our daily life.

When we touch someone during a hands-on/off session, we need to touch without anger, worry and fear and in a state of mind of gratitude and compassion. Often people touch with the intent of a specific outcome, that the person might be healed, feels something, has no more pain, or is happy. But in reality, this mindset comes from worry and fear; we may worry and fear that the client is not healed, does not feel anything, or still has pain and is not happy. If our mind is completely free of any specific intent, it therefore is completely open. In this place of openness, we can touch the person in a spacious state of mind. This means that the space is so open that the energy can flow freely through both practitioner and client without any obstacles. This in turn creates a deep state of mind for healing to take place and even for inner joy and bliss to occur.

When we first start to experience this kind of deeper touch it might start to feel very intimate. So to be able to do this kind of touching we need to stay centred and grounded. This kind of intimacy has nothing to do with sex; rather it is a remembering that the person who is touching is also being touched at the same time! Thus during this kind of touching a mutual state of healing will take place.

This kind of touching is also very important if we want to keep our relationship healthy with our partner. Often we may touch our partner, when we make love for example, in a distracted state of mind. Our mind is not focused and open. It is thinking about the past, present and future. But when our mind lets go of the past, present, and future, our touch becomes something very different. Now it is devoid of anger, worry, and fear; it is infused with gratitude and compassion. This kind of love making can trigger deep forms of inner joy and bliss which will heal many wounds that are often created in relationships. When we touch each other like this during our love making, then love making becomes magical and healing. Something very deep and intimate takes place between two people, an opening, a spiritual experience, a sense of peace and inner happiness.

Thus to really touch we need to stay very mindful and focused, not distracted by past, present and future. To help us to embody this state of mind so that we can touch in the right way, we can practice things such as yoga, meditation practices, the system of Reiki, Tai Chi, Buddhism…all of these help us to focus and open our mind. And by having an open spacious mindset our energy starts to flow freely through our whole being, which will result in a touch full of love, compassion and inner bliss and joy.

“Touch” was originally published on International House of Reiki blog.