When sound, breath, and awareness come together, it becomes light… So Hum meditation properly practiced leads to the union of the individual with the universal Cosmic Consciousness. You will go beyond thought, beyond time and space, beyond cause and effect.
Dr. Vasant Lad
Limitations will vanish.
In this body, a microcosm reflecting the macrocosm,
Siva Samhita, 2.1
the vertebral column (also referred to as Mt Meru) is surrounded by seven islands;
there are rivers, seas, mountains, fields; and energies governing these fields. External observable macro-phenomenon are internalized and have equivalents within one’s body. The outside world is within, in the form of rivers, channels, fire, self and others.
I shared with you highlights of a webinar I attended this weekend, part of my studies of Ayurveda, addressing aspects of modern science discovered many years ago from the context of our “subtle” bodies. What does this have to do with SILENCE?
Learn more about Kundalini Yoga here.
The Sanskrit adjective kuṇḍala means “circular, annular”. It occurs as a noun for “a snake” (in the sense “coiled”, as in “forming ringlets”) in a 12th-century chronicle. The Sanskrit feminine noun kuṇḍalī means “ring, bracelet, coil (of a rope)”, and is the name of a “serpent-like” Shakti energy.
In this video of Pancha Prana, we have introduced an interesting Story about Pranas mentioned in the Upanishads.
Theres are 5 winds or pranas in the body:
1.Prana– The Forward Moving Air Move in the body between heart and throat It is responsible for body activities of respiration, digestion, conversion of water into blood, urine and perspiration, etc. Directly related to Air Element & Heart Chakra
2.Apana “air that moves away,” Move in the body between Navel and feet. It governs the elimination of the stool and the urine, menstrual fluid and the fetus, and the elimination of carbon dioxide through the breath. On a deeper level it rules the elimination of negative sensory, emotional and mental experiences. It is the basis of our immune function on all levels It is related to earth element and the Root Chakra(Mooldhara)
3.Udana “upward moving air,” Move in the body between throat and vertex(top of the head) It moves upward and qualitative or transformative movements of the life-energy. It governs growth of the body, the ability to stand, speech, effort, enthusiasm and will. It is related to Space element and the Throat Chakra(Vishudhi Chakra)
4.Samana “balancing air,” Move in the body between Navel and Heart. It aids in digestion on all levels. It works in the gastrointestinal tract to digest food, in the lungs to digest air or absorb oxygen, and in the mind to homogenize and digest experiences, whether sensory, emotional or mental. It is related to fire element and solar plexus (Manipur Chakra)
5.Vyana “outward moving air,” Move in all parts of the body. It governs circulation on all levels. It moves the food, water and oxygen throughout the body, and keeps our emotions and thoughts circulating in the mind, imparting movement and providing strength. In doing so it assists all the other Pranas in their work. It is related to Water Element and Sacral Chakra (Swadishthan chakra)
Single handedly, what is the root cause, the infectious thing that creates a disease of the soiling of the environment, water, soil, air? To my understanding, one fundamental thing if we can tackle, will solve these problems. that is, regulate your thought pollution. How can you regulate your mind? Embrace spirituality. Meditate.
Daaji, Heartfulness Meditation
Just sitting with no deliberate thought is the important aspect of serene reflection meditation.
– Dogen Zenji
Single handedly, what is the root cause, the infectious thing that creates a disease of the soiling of the environment, water, soil, air? To my understanding, one fundamental thing if we can tackle, will solve these problems. that is, regulate your thought pollution. How can you regulate your mind?Embrace spirituality. Meditate.
Daaji, Heartfulness Meditation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4ZKMgLTCBI
We also watched this video form Swami Sarvapriyananda.
In this video, we delve into the common struggles faced by those on a spiritual journey, from dealing with others’ concerns and facing loneliness to navigating existential crises and inner doubts. These experiences, though challenging, are integral to facing life’s showerings with courage and for spiritual awakening.
Although consciousness looks through your eyes, it does not mean it is located behind your eyes. Where could it be located?
Rupert Spira
We watched Rupert Spira speak on the difference between sensation and perception addressing a question that had arisen from our last gathering. How is it possible that you exist outside of space and time? Can the mind even grasp the idea that consciousness exists beyond your senses? Rupert explains that the body is the instrument through which consciousness perceives itself as the world but that doesn’t mean that it is located behind your eyes. The physical body is only a physical body from the limited point of view of perception. It’s made of mind — of thinking and perceiving. But that which is perceiving your current experience is perceiving through the faculties of sense perception, yet it is not located anywhere in the time and space that seems to be real in the waking state. The knowing with which we know our experience is dimensionless. It’s in another realm. Time and space are a manifestation of this eternal infinite realm of consciousness which has no dimension.
Although consciousness looks through your eyes, it does not mean it is located behind your eyes. Where could it be located?
Rupert Spira
No no no. There is no difference between the peace and sound.
Vasant Lad, Ayurveda Physician
Sound is peace and peace is sound, There is a great deal of peace
when you listen to the call of a bird, the cry of a child or a bell of a church.
That peace is your awareness.
You walk with peace, you eat with peace and you talk with peace.
Many blessings of the New Year! 2024 is here and we are filled with the aspirations and potential of what newness holds. Although we are in the midst and depths of the winter season, there is a renewed spirit of going back to what is rather than what it should be. As we step into a new year, SILENCE beckons…always. Ayurveda is a lens we will look though for the next few weeks as it beckons us to embrace a rejuvenated and vibrant life through the remembrance of our true nature and the root cause of our suffering. I share my learnings from the Ayurveda Institute.
To live in harmony with our true nature, our prakruti.
To live in harmony with the season in which we are in.
To live in harmony with our deepest aspirations and true intentions.
The transition into a new year presents an opportune moment to assess and realign our internal and external energies, ensuring a harmonious start to the upcoming chapters of the year. It is in these moments where we are able to pause and reflect on not only what brings us joy in our lives, but also what serves us the best on our path and journey–this can be in the way we spend our time, the foods we eat, the way we move our bodies. Taking time for self-reflection on our habit patterns of both external and internal activities allows us to find balance for our constitution.
The ultimate goal of Ayurveda is to be in balance with our natural state so that we are able to walk the path that brings us the most amount of happiness and joy in life. Below are a few questions to evaluate our daily routine and habits to realign ourselves with our truest and most vibrant selves.
Are the foods I eat sit well with me?
Do I feel energetic after eating?
Do I feel joy in what I am eating?
Am I distracted at meals?
Questions to Support My Prana:
Do I wake up energized to take on the day?
What do I spend my free time doing?
Do I have a sense of joy and peace as I go on about my day?
Do I find time to move energy and prana within my body?
Do I take the time to be in communion with nature?
Do I take time to process the day?
DO I TAKE THE TIME TO SIT IN SILENCE?
Do I have practices that support my peace?
Do I feel a sense of ease in my whole being?
In order to be fully present with my whole self, I must take the time to go inwards. It is in these moments that I become awake to what the universe is guiding me towards.
The reflection questions above are just a sampling of all the ways to understand ourselves more to truly live in alignment with our true nature, our peak potential. When we shift the way we live and the way we think, the ease in which we flow with the world around us becomes intuitive and natural. But, as we know, it takes just a small step forward to begin that understanding.
As we enter the dawn of a new year, Ayurveda can be one of our guiding lights towards a healthier, more balanced existence. By integrating its timeless principles into our lives from various rich traditions, ancient, contemporary and indgenous wisdom practices, we embark on a journey of self-discovery, well-being, and conscious living, ensuring that the chapters of the coming year are written with vitality, purpose, and fulfillment.
May this year bring you true joy, true happiness, true peace, and a true sense of self-awakening.
I have borrowed heavily from a message received from the Ayurveda Institute that inspires the topics to be shared in the upcoming weeks. And as always, I look forward to our sitting together in SILENCE wherein in true healing is unravelling eternally. WHAT DOES SILENCE HAVE TO DO WITH HEALING? To be continued….
Warmly, in deep gratitude for our sitting together,
Supriti (Atma Sindoori Ananda)
All apparently separate selves are always tending towards their source, their being, seeking peace, happiness, love and beauty.
Rupert Spira
In reality, of course, there is no real separate self either to seek happiness or not to seek. It is infinite being that, seeming to become separate, attracts itself back to itself.