UNIQUE PATH TO YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF

 

Try to relax into your authentic self without the pressure of having to be ‘happy’ all the time. Ironically, when this pressure is taken away, we feel more content and fulfilled. We become more aware of our own patterns of behaviour, and the split between our material personality and our spiritual self is healed.

As our world becomes increasingly frenetic, it is ever more important to find inner stillness. Even when we go on a retreat or to a peaceful place, our surroundings may be quiet but we are not necessarily quiet within. My practices are based on embracing the whole self and trying to create a sense of humanity. This happens by accepting and transforming the lower three chakras, concerned with grounding, rootedness, mental and physical constipation, anger, sexuality, self-confidence, greed and lust. Your spirit or soul is already perfect and whole it does not require healing. All it needs is space for you to experience your highest self. You will accomplish this by clearing the physical and emotional pathways to it and ridding yourself of samskaras (the imprints in your personality of unused emotions from experiences

We constantly separate, classify and label everything in life religion, politics, society and so on and this creates conflict. The body, too, is viewed as something separate rather than as part of us.

People who think that meditation happens only in the mental body are running away from their present experience. I believe meditation happens through the body, and that in order for our awareness to shine, we must engage our senses and the body’s present state. The tangible body is a gateway into the non-tangible part of ourselves. Without it we cannot achieve total relaxation.

I grew up in a village in Eastern India, where people lived in a simple, natural way. Most of the villagers owned very little, but there was a strong sense of community. If someone had grown vegetables, they would always give some away. Village life was basic but there was an abundance of love and a sharing of resources. We were surrounded by nature, and the silence and stillness after sunset was profound. Mostly I saw unity in the simplicity of the villagers’ way of life. As time went on, people started toacquire televisions and other appliances, and the atmosphere changed. The village lost its sense of community because desirable objects became the focus of people’s attention rather than the relationships between each other. We can see this happening the world over. The material things, which are there to support us in life, become the primary focus of our life

When you embark on a new journey of yoga and meditation, it is easy to set yourself up to feel guilty if you miss a practice. Just be open to your own feelings and emotions – in other words, do not deny any part of yourself. The experience of finding the centre of yourself, your self-religion, is known as swadharma. From this place I feel centred to share my experiences and help others to heal on any level, whether the discomfort is physical, emotional or spiritual.

Many people have pre-determined and fixed expectations of what it is to live a spiritual life or one that is focused on material concerns. Many spiritual people think material people are shallow, and many material people think that a spiritual person should lead a very simple existence, liberated from earthly concerns, suppressing desires and being miserable

Finding peace at the physical level and not running away from yourself in your mind (which can often happen with still forms of meditation) is key. My practices will help you to find a long-lasting peace within yourself that allows you to be with all your emotions and feelings without the gloss of ‘positive thinking’. In this way you can be your true, authentic self, connected and compassionate with yourself as well as others. Many people have found the effects of the meditation practices

Be aware and be happiness