by Lisa Marie Gutowski

There is a state of being, where all barriers dissolve, where grounded centered concentration flows from your being as easily as our bodies move through the air. This place is called Mu-Shen, a Chinese word meaning mind-no mind. It is complete poise, balanced perfectly between the physical world and the blank slate of spirit. It is where your mind creates your bodies movements before conscious thought can be acknowledged. Here, liberated from the chains of mental/emotional processes, the body joins in the flow of energy of all that exists. Suspended above the known world, vision is clear, the mind sharp, the body moves with grace and decision.

Mushen is brother to the Tao, one cannot adequately explain it with mere words. The Tao that can be told is not the true Tao. Tao is the path, way, method to enlightenment, and is different for us all. Like the Tao, to get to Mushen, you must let go of all preconceived notions and heavy baggage that ties us to this earth plane. Mushen is sister to Karma. It is a force of the Universe, a law unto itself, bordered by the mind and buffered by the spirit.

The key to the portal of Mushen is different for each of us. It could be a physical activity, a sport, yoga, tai chi, gung fu, martial arts, washing the dishes, that leads us into the deep connection. Meditation is a gift that deepens the relationship between all our levels of existence- and Mushen. Absorption into a ritual will alter a persons consciousness enough to enter Mushen.

By entering into Mushen, you expand, achieve Mushen even for the briefest of time, it is understood completely. It is the doorway to the all, that is opened by effortless effort.

In this time, knowledge is coming to us at an astounding rate. Questions that we ask have answers before we can form the questions in our minds. Knowledge of the things we never knew we needed to know are in our faces daily. Master Jesus declared, “The answer to your prayer is on the way even before you speak.”

The printed word, music, television, movies, the internet, overheard conversations- all synchronistic events designed to draw you closer to Mushen.

One such movie is “The Matrix”. It is about a man, Neo, who becomes the embodiment of Mushen to save the human existence. He becomes the doorway, the first like Usui in reiki, so that all may experience Mushen. For those who have never seen the movie, I highly recommend it. I will try to give a brief explanation, no explanation, however will give you fully the knowing you can receive by watching the film yourself. It is just one of those things where you don’t know that you don’t know until you know.

Like each one of us when we begin to awaken to the reality that there is something much more than just a physical existence going on here, Neo develops an itch that cannot be scratched by conventional methods. He rebels against the society that he lives in by being a black-market seller of bootlegged cyber material. The itch, temporarily eased by his defiance, increases instead of decreases.

He knows this itch, yet he doesn’t know how he knows, is the crux of the entire worlds problems. There is something wrong with the world. The powers in charge are behind it, and as he gets revenge on the powers that be by selling forbidden information, he feels slightly, briefly better. How many of us have used outside stimulation to dull our senses so that we cannot hear our inner voices speaking or feel our spiritual itch?

Neos itch is “What is the Matrix?” Our itch is “Who am I?”, “What is my purpose?”. It is the same question.

Through a series of synchronistic choreographed events, Neo comes into the acquaintance of the one person who he feels has the anti-itch balm, Morpheus. Morpheus knows about the itch, because he was once infected with it also. He holds all the answers that Neo has been asking. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. We are at one time all Neo, standing on the brink of discovering a new level of existence, not yet having full comprehension that other planes of knowledge have been available to us all along.

Neo is offered two pills, one that will put him to sleep so that Morpheus and crew can put him back in his own bed, believing it was all a dream, to live out his life in a state of flux. The other pill, one that imprints his cells so that the crew can find his physical body when it awakens from it’s slumber in the “real world.” We have the same decision. Free will is ours, a gift from spirit, yet before we know we are free, we feel bound because that is what society has conditioned us to feel. Know that that is not a good thing or a bad thing, it is just a thing, a tool for our learning. We are fully responsible for our blindness, and can open our eyes in degrees or fully anytime we choose.

Once Neos body is revived, there is a period of adjustment that is a necessity. It takes time to establish an equilibrium, between the faster moving spiritual energy that is enlivened by raising our vibrational rate in our energetic levels first, and our bodies. Integrating new knowledge is like upgrading a computer, it doesn’t just happen. The old system has to be reconfigured to make it compatible with the new technology. Master Jesus said, “You can’t pour new wine into old wine skins, the skins will burst. First, get new wine skins.” Well, we can’t exactly run out and purchase new bodies. As higher energy (knowledge) is being poured into us, our bodies need to become stronger, lighter, and cleaner to accommodate the incoming energy. Resting is a part of Mushen.

It is in the stillness, the cessation of activity, that spirit can be heard. Mushen is a dichotomy. Motion in stillness, movement without thought, mind no mind. In stillness we see how deep the pond goes that is fed only by love. Vast oceans of wisdom are ours for the asking.

Mushen is an art form, and as such a discipline. There are neural pathways in our brains that run like roads. They connect to every cell in our bodies, delivering our thoughts. With every command, the neural pathways deepen, like ruts in a dirt road, forming habits. Garbage in garbage out. Therefore, the more time spent in Mushen, the easier it will become for us to enter into this state when needed.

It was vitally important for Neo to know with no doubts that he could achieve Mushen. He was goaded into discovering this ability while sparring in a training session in a simulation of the fake world of the Matrix. Morpheus asked him, “Do you believe that is air that you are breathing?” Do you believe the illusion or the reality? He let go of his ego which bound him to the illusion, and all that would bind him to the physical reality, for he knew the training area was not where the real Neo could possibly be, it was not the real world. Neo was able to step into the quantum space of Mushen by letting go and simply being.

All things, even air, are made of atoms, at the quantum level are 99% space. If a hockey puck in downtown Detroit was a nucleus, then a house in Toronto Canada would be an electron, and another house in Dublin Ireland would be a proton, held together in the Ozone layer, which represents the containing field. The space between the solids (which are really just energy patterns themselves) inside the atom is where Mushen resides.

This is where time collapses. Have you ever concentrated so hard on a task that an hour feels like minutes? This is where reality shifts, where altering our energetic thought pattern create a differing reality. Quantum energy can move like a wave or a stream, and it changes when observed. By the simple act of passive watching, at the quantum level we change the way the energy moves. Here immediate, simultaneous results occur. It may take time in the physical to show, being a denser, slower moving energy, but eventually it will show.

There is no time, there is no spoon, do you think that is air that you are breathing?

We, like Neo, must rid ourselves of all unconscious doubts and fears before Mushen becomes the power that it can be in our lives. Neo finally free his mind completely by dying, not on the ship where his body is, but in the arena of the mind, the Matrix. The body has no choice but to follow, for the body and the mind cannot be separated. It is when Trinity, a fellow freedom fighter, confesses her love to him, giving up her fear in response to the love, that he drops the illusion of death in the mind. His body revives in the Matrix, and he becomes a powerful weapon, fighting the captors who have trapped humanity in a deep coma for their purposes.

We, like Neo, can be a powerful force on this planet. With the conscious use of Mushen, we can morph hate into love, violence into compassion, disease into health, poverty into prosperity. By training our minds to not only accept the silence but to embrace it, we can access the vast supply of information that lies waiting for our use.

Reality is perception. This world is a holographic image formed from the collective unconscious (thoughts) of the participants in the drama. The arena of earth is a tool to be used for our learning. Until we develop a healed collective unconscious, where the stronger energy pull is one of love, not one that needs to see war for the mirror it provides for their inner-selves, we will have conflicts.

When the collective unconscious of the participants in poverty stricken areas raise to the degree that they must see the poverty within their souls, the healing will commence. When disease ravages a community, and whole Nations fall prey to its destruction, the collective unconscious of the Nation must hear what the disease is saying. It is there for a reason, it will not disappear until it is heard, it will only grow when ignored. All diseases/issues have a lesson and a voice.

By entering into Mushen, we not only are honoring what we brought to ourselves for the purpose of higher learning, but we can hear the answer to the questions “why are you here?’, “what must we do to heal?”, “how do we alter our perceptions in order to learn the lesson you provide?”

One person entering the collective unconscious via Mushen will set off a wave of change that affects the entire ocean of reality for us all. If the energy is positive or if it is negative, it will only reflect back to us in the physical what we have chosen. Let us join in Mushen, in the place where all can be changed, in love. Once we have chosen the greater path, the higher thoughts, we can then heal our own selves. By living in compassion space, we will choose love in Mushen, which will reflect back to us what we live on the inside- peace, joy, love, prosperity, unity, oneness. It is our choice, it is our power, it is our greatest lesson.

about Lisa Marie Gutowski
Windwalker Reiki was given life with this mission statement: The greatest master is not the one with the most students, but the one that creates the most masters.

A displaced native of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio now living in Dearborn, Michigan, Lisa Marie Gutowski lives in a renovated bungalow with her loving husband Art, the boys Daryll and Kyle, and Tyler the hairy flat coated retriever. After training in the martial arts for eight years and receiving a 2nd degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, Lisa Marie followed the persistent urgings of spirit to her divine purpose. Becoming healed and whole, the master of her own fate while assisting others to do the same is the focus of Windwalker Reiki. As a Usui master, martial arts and meditation instructor holding rank in Tae Kwon Do, Kenpo, and Tai Chi, Therapeutic Touch practitioner, Healing Touch student, Ordained Minister of Reiki Healing in the Taokan Temples International, Ordained in the Universal Life Church, and Tarot reader for healing, Lisa Marie was gifted the reiki system of Sei-Shin-Ki. Sei-Shin-Ki reiki raises the body’s vibration through elevating and clearing all levels (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) first, eventually activating all DNA strands for a oneness with quantum level knowledge. Realigning all spirit bodies, bringing back parts of spirit that has been dormant for lifetimes, and reintegrating lost parts of the self is what Se-Shi-Ki is about. An effective yet simple method for healing. Lisa Marie is currently writing a book of her collective knowledge gained from 21 years of spiritual experience.

You may contact her at gutowski@peoplepc.com

article copyright Lisa Marie Gutowski

by Shelley Lynne Cummins

***

The practice of forgiveness is explained very well in the teachings of Jesus from The Course of Miracles. Forgiveness is the act of honoring every being and their actions as an act of pure, innocent, source. The ignorance is simply a play of polarity, untruth, and completely an illusion. As you forgive anything and everything you are functioning from the one mind of source. The practice is taken a step further by seeing all as another yourself, all as a projection of your own mind seeking purification. The purification process is the forgiveness. This practice clears the will from separative thinking allowing for greater experiences of perfectness, unlimited abundance, and eternal life.

***

The practice of compassion is similar stemming from the Buddha’s teachings. Compassion is an act of right understanding from the one source mind. As we understand the truth of unity, we are able to release our attachments from the worldly play. As we disentangle from this illusion, we go within and dwell in source. From this all creative heart mind, everything is possible, all questions answered, and truth prevails.

In the compassionate practice of tonglen your sufferings are breathed into your heart on an inhale. The sufferings are transformed while holding the breath in the heart space with right understanding and compassion. On the exhale the sufferings are liberated and sent a blessing of compassion. After you have practiced tonglen on your own sufferings, the practice is done for all beings past, present, or future with any like suffering.

Compassion is sought for all sentient beings everywhere equally. Compassion like forgiveness is a way of living. As the practice is understood the layers of the illusive onion begin to peel. As the illusion has less pull, the will looses reality and often poses even greater battles. As the one heart mind of source is compassionate and forgiving of the will, the untruth dissolves even more.

***

Meditation is an art of becoming the source within. The Sanskrit word for meditation is dhyana, meaning the absorption of all there is.

The practice of meditation first entails finding and steadying oneself in the observer. The observer is an aspect of the one source mind. As we begin to observe our thoughts of the mind and worldly body, we experience detachment. This is a knowing that we are not these thoughts and are simply able to watch the play. This observing of the play of our mind also unveils that all is coming from thought. As we choose a thought, it is. As we change a thought, all realities are changed. As we think from source, all is made pure.

At a certain point in meditation, there is a cessation of thought. This is the end of polarity. Consciousness no longer has anything to be conscious of. The cessation of thought is the act of living in unity. As one becomes the observer, one becomes the love of source. This experience of love teaches us how to be compassionate, forgiving, and love itself.

***

The next practice is rooting one self in the foundation of source. This entails viewing absolutely everything in our worldly play as an illusion. Living your life as a means of dissolving the illusion and uncovering the truth. Life goes on as usual, yet it is your alchemical playground. The unseen foundation of source through your love, forgiveness, and compassion encompasses your world. As this occurs, polar aspects of the mind become obsolete and therefore no longer part of your worldly reality. The process continues until your mind becomes one hundred percent causal, the cause of all, the source. The source within and without knows that you are perfect, fulfilled, healthy, happy, eternal, and free.

It takes a leap of faith to surrender into the not fully realized source within. It takes one surrender step at a time through the play of the world. Love, forgiveness, and compassion are a means to the end of polarity, delivering the traveler back home.

***

I wrote this article a couple of years ago while going through a challenging process of experiencing hurt from another. As I touched the supreme intelligence and love within me beyond worldliness I was able to go through a very gradual process of understanding, giving love, and liberation from the event. As more time passed and my persistence continued more and more understanding came. It has been such a blessing to plant these teachings into my life. The blossoms and fruits continue to flow.

Shelley’s Interview with Stuart

What does American Buddha actually mean? Is it a book about Buddhism?

American Buddha literally means Practical Awakening. It is not a book about Buddhism. American Buddha is a book about experiencing the consciousness of a Buddha or a Christ while living comfortably in the western world. It is a book about Grace, Miracles and Enlightenment. So we are all potentially “American Buddhas”.

Spiritual people often use the term Enlightenment or Awakening. What do these terms mean to you?

These are terms to describe an experience that is so extraordinary that language fails to be able to describe it. Yet, it is so ordinary, that you could be experiencing this state of consciousness and not even know it. To me, Enlightenment is a state where the “I” sense ceases to exist. It is a state of eternal freedom. Enlightenment is the normal state of human functioning and I believe that some sort of neurobiological anomaly is all that is preventing us from permanently experiencing this state. Because each of our nervous systems are different, there will be six billion completely unique Enlightenments.

You say in your book that our thoughts are not our thoughts, our mind is not our mind and we have no core personality. Can you explain this to our listeners?

We all commonly experience that, “these are my thoughts. They came from my mind. This body, that I am in, is mine as opposed to yours. And my personality is the unique expression of me. I oversee and am the core of these thoughts, the core of this mind, body and personality. They occur within me and they are under my conscious control”. But the truth is that there is nobody here. I am not here. You are not here. The readers are not here and this planet is completely devoid of individuals. This mind is not your mind. It is a universal mind which pipes an endless stream of thoughts whose source could be anything, anywhere. Your body is not your body. You are not conscious of repairing your cells or digesting your food or building a baby. The body has its own intelligence. This body is part of the body of the universe. Your personality is not fixed. Your point of view is in constant motion. There is no core you. Or, as I stated in the beginning, there is nobody here.

What is Grace and why do you feel that it is so important to spiritual growth?

Grace enlightens. Grace is that which transforms ignorance into eternal bliss. There are many spiritual technologies in this world. There are many paths but just one goal. Grace is that Divine quality which shifts us into the goal. This shift corresponds to an actual shift in the functioning of our brain chemistry, that is, Grace produces a measurable change in the brain.

How do we obtain Grace? Are there some useful techniques to obtain it?

Grace descends upon us. We cannot climb to it. There are ways to obtain Grace. Prayer is a wonderful way. Receiving the blessings of the holy is another time honored method. I personally believe that the “Oneness Blessing” is the most efficient systematic current method of obtaining Divine Grace.

You speak about miracles a lot in your book? Exactly what is a miracle? How is Grace related to miracles?

A miracle is a non-logical, unexplainable event which can’t possibly happen but does. Grace provides the fuel for miracles.

Are miracles related to Enlightenment?

Enlightenment is the ultimate miracle. I sometimes define Enlightenment as an unbroken string of miracles.

Is Enlightenment a kind of controlled thinking?

Enlightenment is out of the control of thinking. In Enlightenment, the mind becomes Disengaged from the process of experience.

Is Enlightenment a physical process?

Chemistry and consciousness are one. We experience through the chemical soup floating in the synaptic cleft between each nerve cell in our brain. Enlightenment is a soup with perfect ingredients. Only Grace can provide the secret recipe.

You often speak of the worm’s eye view and the bird’s eye view of a problem. Would you explain their importance to our viewers?

In Enlightenment, there are actually two points of views; the worm’s eye view and the bird’s eye view. In our normal consciousness, we are usually working only from the worm’s eye view. In the worms eye view we are constantly taking a position on an issue. Conversely, in the bird’s eye view, we experience the same issue but in a larger context. In the birds eye view, all positions are seen as co-created, co-existing expressions of the same experience. In the Enlightened, the opposing positions of the worm and the coexisting positions of the bird exist as one.

Is the materialistic life in the west opposed to the spiritual paths of the east?

Absolutely not! The eastern philosophic traditions were primarily interested in an internal path and they put tremendous emphasis on mapping out the internal landscape of Consciousness. And they did a great job. These traditions mapped out what I refer to as the territory of Self Realization. To me, Self Realization is personal Enlightenment. In Self Realization, one is Enlightened inside but the external world remains untouched by the experience. But I wish to distinguish Self Realization from God Realization. God Realization is an advanced version of Self Realization. In God Realization, ones personal Enlightenment extends out into the physical world. Most eastern traditions stop short of God Realization. They are content with the pursuit of a personal fulfillment. I mean, who wouldn’t be. But I am here to say that the world needs help and God Realization is an essential step that must be taken by all traditions, both east and west to relieve the suffering of mankind.

Finally, what is your prediction for the future of mankind?

I see our present way of existing changing radically over time. The values of society will shift to a more compassionate mode. People will begin to experience life on a deeper level and they will become quiet inside. Fewer thoughts will result in a marked decrease in wasted personal energy. Following this shift in mental activity, the population of the earth will spontaneously begin to experience that there is no separation between themselves and their environment. This singular experience will heal mankind. It will mark the beginning of the end of suffering. I am purposely hedging on a specific timeline for this. All I know for sure is that it will happen.

Do you have any healing stories that you can share with us?

In the course of my work, I have healed many people. Their problems may have been physical, like a cancer. They may have been psychological, like a depression. Their problems may have been existential like, “What is the meaning of life.” There is a common thread to all of the problems. All of the individuals with the problems saw themselves as individuals. That is their true illness. It is their archetypal dis-ease. There is a sense of ownership in their illness. To many, it is sort of a full time occupation. They go round and round to every treatment specialist trying to heal their suffering. And even if the suffering goes away, there is this sense of foreboding that it might come back. Why does the suffering leave? Simple! They have released it. I just set up the conditions that allow them to let go of the suffering. They are not actually letting go of the suffering, rather, they are letting go of the “I” sense that was holding onto the suffering. They are no longer allowing the suffering a home.

Today, I healed a lovely woman who was suffering a rare form of blood disease. As I looked into her eyes, I could see that her life force, which is the energy which animates the body, had begun the process of shutting down. Her energy had begun its final retreat back to its source. The time left after the retreat begins is no longer than one year. Could I change this? I could ask God to change the outcome but it is her call. There is a lot going on here than just the needs of the individual. There is a universe that is creating, maintaining, and destroying all of the time and this process occurs in perfect harmony. So a change from death to life would entail a Divine intervention. Even if the request for the change is not accepted there is much to be gained from Healing Grace. Healing Grace can solve the fundamental problem which caused this birth in the first place. The death is not the main problem. The sense of suffering every moment that we are alive is the problem.

So, what is suffering?

My definition is that suffering is not feeling the moment completely. Suffering happens when we are not completely our pain. If we were completely in the pain of the moment, we would notice that it contains a joy, a great joy just below the pain. The joy is very powerful and it actually contains the Healing Grace that is necessary to remedy the pain completely. But we are all frightened to the intensity of the pain and we yearn to escape it. Remember, if you can’t withstand the intensity of the pain, then you will not be able to withstand the intensity of the joy that is available to be experienced. Life is full of pain triggers. We encounter them all of the time. I encourage you to make an intent not to avoid them. The pain triggers are a valuable healing tool and they are also a direct vehicle to higher states of consciousness. Please know that you did not cause your pain. The pain exists of itself and is part of a universal hurt that extends back to Adam and Eve.

***

Stuart Mooney is truly an American Buddha. For more than 35 years, Stuart has taught yogic meditation throughout the world. He is a renowned teacher healer and spiritual guide. He has lectured on the subject of “Meditation and the Nature of Higher Consciousness” at more than 100 major Colleges and Universities. Over the years, Stuart has been authorized to teach more than 100 esoteric (privately held) meditation techniques. While he was living in South India, Stuart was used as a channel by the Siddha masters. He healed and transmitted Divine Grace or Shakti to thousands in the ancient temples there. Stuart has been trained to transmit the Oneness Blessing under the guidance of the renowned Avatars, Amma and Bhagwan. He has also been authorized to transmit Knowledge under the authority of the Shankaracharya of South India. This is a rare honor for a westerner. In 2004, Stuart underwent an authentic spontaneous Enlightenment, which has afforded him deep insight into the experiential nature the Awakened Consciousness.

Website: http://www.americanbuddha.net/
E-mail: americanbuddha@gmail.com

by Christan Hummel

What do the beating of a shaman’s drum, the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, stone monuments in Ireland, a Hopi medicine wheel, the ancient art of feng shui all have in common?  Each are attempts by different cultures to harmonize their space with their environment.  Temples throughout time, from Stonehenge to the Great Pyramid, attest to humanity’s desire to create sacred space, to open a doorway to bring Heaven to Earth.  For thousands of years, humans have been striving towards a sacred union of mind, body and spirit with the land itself.

In ancient Vedic times, it was the natural state for people to be in tune with the core of their innermost being, and thus a natural communion with Nature resulted.  Today, our modern cities are testaments to a world addicted to unbridled growth at any cost.  Electromagnetic stresses, pollution, and negative vibrational energy currents plague us in a manner unprecedented in human history.  Under these conditions, is it still possible to create sacred space?  Is it possible to apply the science of yoga and the wisdom of the ancients to promote harmony in our homes?

The ancient practice of yoga, of integration of mind–body-spirit can harmonize us, as well as our environments.  As in ancient times, the utilization of yoga techniques to become attuned to nature can help us regain this lost inherent wisdom of how to live in harmony with our environment.

THE EARTH AS HOLOGRAPHIC REFLECTION:

Many indigenous cultures throughout the world have viewed the Earth as a holographic reflection of the human body.  Ancient Chinese and Vedic medicine believed that humans possess a meridian system that carries the currents of life energy throughout our bodies.  When they are open, flowing and healthy, so are our body’s systems.

The earth contains these meridians as well.  They have been known by cultures all over the world for thousands of years.  More recently coined “ley lines” by Alfred Watkins in 1921 in England, this concept has now found its way into the common vernacular of our society.

While most homes do not exist on ley lines, there are all other energetic earth currents that influence our home environments.  Some of these “meridians” are polluted with electro stresses as well as negative vibrational toxins such as battles, massacres and the like.  These vibrations are stored in the records of the land itself, reflecting back to its inhabitants and causing serious illness, even death in extreme cases.  Fortunately, these energetic currents respond positively to spiritual impression.  As a result, the vibrational stresses of the average home can be transformed through the same yogic techniques that transform those stresses in our minds and bodies.

AS WITHIN, SO WITHOUT

To bring harmony and purity to our homes, we first have to understand that our external environment is only a reflection of our inner state.  In The Upanishads, one of the great ancient yogic texts, we are reminded:

“As is the atom, so is the universe.

As is the human body, so is the cosmic body.
As is the human mind, so is the cosmic mind.

As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm.”

From the atom to the cosmos, Nature’s laws and order are reflected.  All of life is connected to this same order: the human body, our homes, and the cosmos.

Distortions arising in our physical environment are symptoms of minds and emotions that are out of synch with this natural order. As the ancient science of Sthapatya Ved says:

As is the human body, so is the cosmic body.

As is the human body, so is the body (structure) of the building.

As is the body of the building, so is the cosmic body

As is the building plan, so is the cosmic plan.

So by demonstrating harmony in our inner environment, outer environment will begin to reflect that harmony as well.

HARMONIZING OUR HOMES WITH YOGA:

While yoga can restore the flow of Ch’i through our bodies, the same yogic practices of meditation, sacred movement, sound, and ceremony can also create balance, flow, prosperity and peace in our homes.

Our ancient ancestors knew that meditation, ritual and ceremony were an essential part of keeping in balance the harmony between humanity and Nature.  They routinely practiced a kind of yoga with the land, to keep life in balance.  While this is a tradition lost to most of us in our modern culture, yoga holds a key to its revival.

The following yogic practices, when used with intention, will do much to restore balance and harmony to any home, making it a peaceful sanctuary where Heaven and Earth unite:

Clear the Mind:One of the first steps in any yogic regimen is to clear and still the mind.  This begins to align us with the Source of our Being.  Similarly when we clear our homes of the external clutter, we allow the vibrations of a natural order to permeate our surroundings.

Breath: Perhaps one of the most powerful tools in yoga is the use of the breath to bring our consciousness back in tune with the Divine Cosmic Breath.  This Cosmic Breath is the rhythm of Life itself.  The cycles of the seasons represent the inhale and exhale of Life itself.  In the winter, when the force of Life is receding, it is not a good time to start new activities, but to dissolve old attachments and connections, to go within and recede as well.  In the spring, when Life is bursting forth with abundance, it is a time for new projects and activities as we are aligned with the flow of Life at that time.  By synchronizing our home activities with the timings and cycles of Nature, we align ourselves with that Cosmic Breath, or pulsation of Life.

Balance:Achieving balance of mind, body and spirit is a core aim of any yogic practice. In our homes, this is achieved by paying attention to the five elements: earth (body), water (emotions), air (mind), fire (spirit), ether (prana or sound).  Become mindful that your home has a balanced representation of each of the elements.  A home that is predominantly governed by one of these elements over the others will bring its inhabitants out of balance due to the undue influence of that element.

Movement:In yoga, certain movements of the body can stimulate the production of certain hormones, and restore the flow of Ch’i in the body.  Likewise, homes that incorporate aspects of sacred movement will rejuvenate the environment.  For instance, in properties containing labyrinths, there is a curious absence of negative earth energy currents on those properties.  Similarly, rituals such as sacred dance, like the twirling of the Sufi dances, when done with awareness and intention, can transform negative vibrational energies on a property.

Sound:Nada Yoga means “union through sound.”  It is the ancient spiritual art and science of inner transformation through sound and tone.  Russill Paul, author of The Yoga of Sound, states, “Through Nada Yoga, we can fine-tune our bodies and our minds to resonate with the harmony in all of creation, from atoms and cells to flowers and planets.”

The healing uses of sound date back to ancient Greece, when the playing of the flute was used to relieve the pain of sciatica;  and in Biblical times when David treated King Saul’s depression with the playing of the harp.  Today, there is a growing recognition that certain sounds influence health, mental states, emotions and consciousness giving birth to new fields of healing through the use of vibration and sound.

Pythagoras declared that there existed a “music of the spheres,” a harmonic order of the cosmos. When we align with those harmonic sounds of the cosmos, we create a vibrational link to those higher dimensional levels through sound.  Throughout the world, temples have employed sound to vibrate heaven into the sacred meridians of the earth.

The Vedas state that mantras chanted continually have the power to purify and rejuvenated the environment.  When we offer sound as vibrational medicine for our homes, the result is a harmonizing of our environment with that “music of the spheres.”

Form: The asanas of yoga were first devised to mirror the forms in nature.  In so doing, our bodies and minds were put into tune with that natural order.  The same is true of architecture that patterns the harmonics found in Nature.  Nature does not have straight angles, it flows in curves and spirals, and so when we see examples of spirals, like a winding staircase, or the flow of water in a waterfall, we feel an instant harmony in environments that pattern Nature.  Certain mathematical harmonics attuned to Nature achieve similar results.  The mathematical harmonizing with nature was a main key to the building of the Cathedrals and temples throughout Europe, China, Egypt and India.

Ceremony: In yoga, the yajnas, or fire sacrifices, are a ceremonial bridge between the inner and outer worlds, between human and the divine.  Fire transforms all things into their most subtle essence.  Whether applying the spiritual fire of spiritual practice (tapas) or the actual fire of a candle flame, fire transmutes and refines both our inner and outer environments.  The ritual of placing a problem at the fire of a candle each night relieves the mind of the problem and one awakes feeling refreshed and relieved of the burden offered to the sacrificial fire.  Yagnas like Agnihotra, dedicated to the god of fire, are known to purify the environment on physical as well as subtle levels.  They have been shown to lower pathogenic viruses, pollution and even crime in areas where performed. Imagine the effect of yagnas performed in our homes.  Sacred blessings of the land, releasing of the energies and traumas of the past, giving thanks to the ancestors, releasing all prior spirits on the property, all are ceremonies which purify and cleanse the vibrations of our homes when done with mindfulness.

While times have changed, basic principles have not.  Ancient yogic techniques of nada yoga harnessing the subtle vibrations of sound, asanas designed to mirror Nature’s perfection, yagnas to purify and redeem the past, and meditation tuning us into the divine current of life around us—these techniques work not only to refine our own inner subtle vibrations, but also the vibrations of the space where we live, and our planet as well.  Now is a crucial time to make our homes our temples–places where the sacred vibrations radiate out to heal our families and communities.  While our modern times have created more complex problems, they have also created different solutions to the same age-old quest:  creating sacred space on earth.  By harmonizing the vibrations of our space, and creating sacredness among the mundane, we can transform our homes into sanctuaries of harmony.

================================================

Christan Hummel is the creator of the “Do It Yourself Space Clearing Kit” and an international lecturer and workshop leader.  She has taught thousands around the world how to create sacred space in their homes and cities through connecting with the divine in nature and ourselves.

For information see:
http://www.earthtransitions.com/

by Sai Sastri (Craig Edwards)

The Vedas are the ancient cognitions of seers about truth and reality that have been passed down for thousands of years to the present day. The Vedas are too difficult for most people to understand their meaning. So, the ancient seers and rishis produced many ancillary scriptures and practices that made the truths of the Vedas easier to understand. The Puranas were written, which tell stories about people. They are easy to understand illustrations about how nature works. The Upanishads, Yoga Sutras and Bhagavad – Gita were composed, which are eas(ier) to understand philosophical treatises about Vedanta and other areas of life. Hundreds of thousands of spiritual exercises, such as variations of meditation and yoga techniques are practiced in order for people to understand the truths of the Vedas. And practical sciences arose, such as Ayur-Veda, the science of maintaining good health, and Jyotish, or Vedic Astrology, through which people could better understand their purpose and destiny on earth.

Jyotish describes how past karmas (actions) return to a person in their present life. A good Jyotishee (Vedic astrologer) can plot a roadmap of a person’s life and give a fairly accurate description of a person and their tendencies, likes and dislikes, propensity for education, wealth, spousal happiness, and so forth. Jyotish alone is not enough to solve problems in these areas, however. The seers and saints devised another system to rid people of problems. This system is called yagnas. The best translation of yagna is “sacrifice”. What are sacrificed in the yagna are a person’s negative tendencies. Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple performs monthly yagnas to help remove problems from negative karmas. What follows are questions and answers on yagnas prepared for Vedic astrologers during the September, 2005 American College of Vedic Astrology conference in Kauai, Hawaii.

Questions and Answers Regarding Yagnas

What is the purpose of the planetary yagnas?

The purpose is to either strengthen positive planet(s) or to neutralize or appease a planet causing mischief in a person’s chart.

What happens during the yagna?

The yagna is a traditional Vedic ceremony. It’s most basic component on the visible level is the offering of ghee and other substances like herbs and grains into a fire while mantras are chanted.

How can yagnas help my clients?

It is often apparent to the astrologer that the source of a client’s problems comes from one or two planets. For instance, a poorly placed Venus may mean a lack of wealth. An afflicted Saturn may mean a tendency towards depression. Certain placements of Rahu can lead to a greater likelihood of drug addiction. A poorly placed Mercury may cause speech problems, and so forth. As an astrologer, we can often see clearly what the source of a particular problem is. The yagnas are designed to mitigate challenging energies radiating from the planets.

Can the karmas coming from the grahas (planets) be avoided?

Karmas are very difficult to avoid. However, their effects can be mitigated. If we introduce a strong positive force through the yagna then the negative force is lessened. Think of a big wave coming to the shore – if another wave is created going in the opposite direction, the wave coming to the shore is reduced, negated, or may even start traveling in an opposite direction.

How could I explain the yagnas to others?

We all have some good karma, and some bad karma. For instance, when the U.S. sends food to help hungry people in other countries — that is good karma. It has a positive effect. When the U.S. sells arms to other countries so that they can kill people, that creates negative karma, because it brings destruction. Just like that, we all have good and bad karma, because we perform some good and some bad actions in our life. Our actions ripple out through the universe towards infinity and eventually return to us in this or a future life. The horoscope is a static picture of the karmas we face in this lifetime. Although the karmas may be fixed by the chart, how we respond to the karmas is not so rigid. We can use our willpower and take remedial measures to overcome karmas. It is like the weather. It may be predetermined that it is going to rain today, but if we are wise, we can get out of the rain and stay dry.

Why are ghee and other substances offered into the fire?

One way to look at life is to say that it is all made up of vibrations. Saint Kaanada cognized some 20,000 years ago that the universe is made up of micro-atoms, which are like little solar systems spinning through the universe. In Sanskrit, these are called paramanu, or prakriti. When the micro-atoms are creative, they are called Brahma, when they are in maintenance phase they are called Vishnu, and when they are in a destructive phase they are called Shiva.

The Sun is the ruler of our world. From the Sun comes all the energy that sustains us. This energy grows plants. The plants are eaten by cows. The cows produce milk, further concentrating the solar energy which was absorbed in the plants. This milk is refined into cream for further concentration of the solar energy. From cream is made butter. Butter is refined and separated further into ghee. This ghee is used in the yagna and is a super-pure source of solar energy. When the ghee is offered into the fire along with the Vedic mantras, the solar energy is released into the atmosphere and influences the micro-atoms in a positive way. Depending on what mantras are used, we can affect any of the micro-atoms as we desire. In addition to ghee, other items such as roots, plants, grains, fruits, nuts, honey, herbs, and other items related to the specific planetary energy are offered into the fire. This is the outward process of yagna, and how it influences the world around us.

What is the inner process of yagna?

On the inner level, those involved in performing the yagna should be abandoning the three dimensional world and imbibing their hearts with love and respect for the deity being propitiated. Love is the unifying force of the universe. When love is present, then God and man can unite and become one. Miracles are possible.

What is the ultimate purpose of the yagnas? Can they bring enlightenment?

The yagnas help cleanse the awareness. They are like a vacuum machine for difficult karmas. The yagnas will not bring moksha (final enlightenment) but they start the process of cleansing that allows a person to move towards liberation. Yagnas bring benefits to all levels of life – physical health, mental and emotional well-being, physical comfort, and so forth. For many people, it is only after these goals are satiated that a thirst for spiritual development grows.

What is the significance of the mantras?

Like the fire, the mantras are central to the yagna. From a scientific standpoint, we might say that the mantras are the specific formula that invoke the energy or vibration one desires. It is very important that the mantra is pronounced correctly. If we consider the mantras as specific, scientific formulas, then we must use the right formula to get the right result. We don’t want to be like the dyslexic man who worships dog! Few of us are Vedic pundits, so it is best we use simple mantras so as not to butcher the language and end up with poor or even negative results.

There is another respected theory that if the mantra is chanted with love and devotion, God will make up for the mistakes. There is undoubtedly merit to this theory. Perhaps if there is enough love in one’s heart God will make up any deficiency.

Our considered opinion, however, is that it is important to use correct pronunciation for correct results. If you go to the post office, and put the wrong address and postage on the letter, chances are it won’t reach the correct recipient. It is the same with the yagnas.

To get miraculous results, one should have both correct pronunciation and a full heart.

What is the significance of the fire?

In the Vedas, the flames of the fire are sometimes called “the tongues of God.” Agni (the fire deity) is frequently referred to as “the Messenger of the Gods.” He accepts the oblation into the fire, and after taking his portion, conveys the rest to the deities in heaven. The deities, pleased with man’s offering, shower blessings on the world – timely rain, abundance of crops, wealth, and so forth. We might call this the “religious” explanation of the yagna. The more “scientific” explanation is that when ghee and other substances are offered into the fire then their solar energy, accompanied by the correct mantras, is released into the universe creating a powerful vibration that brings the desired result. Both explanations are correct, they are just looking at the same thing from different angles.

Does someone need to attend the yagna in person?

It is good if someone can attend in person. But we’ve also seen many miraculous results when the person is not attending.

How were you trained?

Panduranga Rao Malyala, President of the Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania trained me in India to perform simple yagnas. We have been working together since 1995.

What does yagna mean?

One translation of the word yagna (which is variously transliterated as yajna, yaga, yagya, and so forth) is sacrifice.

What is sacrificed?

What we sacrifice are negative thoughts and tendencies. In this sense, our whole life should be a yagna.

Can yagnas be done for children?

Most definitely. Any time after birth.

Can yagnas be done for people who don’t ask for them?

Most definitely. Our temple performs yagnas for the welfare of people all over the world every year, even though people aren’t aware of it! So if you have a sick relative, or a friend in need of help, or for instance, you are concerned about the mental state of a world leader, it is okay to do a yagna to help them with or without their knowledge.

Is there anything the client should or shouldn’t do during the yagna?

Yes. We suggest three things. 1) No sex for 24 hours before, during and after the yagna.
2) No non-prescribed drugs or alcohol during the same period. 3) No meat or eggs during the same period. This will improve the effects and make the yagna smoother for your client.

If they want to practice extra meditation or contemplation during the yagna day, that is fine.

Is there anything else one can do to make the yagna more successful?

We usually ask the client to do some charity during or after the yagna, such as giving 21 or more loaves of bread to a homeless shelter or food bank. Charity has a wonderful effect on the giver. It opens the heart and brings good karma. Yagna means sacrifice. Charity or service is the best sacrifice available.

If the client is amenable, we can suggest they do charity specifically related to the planet. For instance, if we are suggesting charity to appease Saturn, the charity should be done on a Saturday. Black beans might be given, since Saturn’s color is blackish. The beans might be given to a laborer, as Saturn’s nature favors laborers. We might also suggest a black or bluish dress be given to a young girl or lady. If we were propitiating Jupiter, we would suggest a different grain and a yellow dress, and so forth.

There are a number of websites that make suggestions on these practices, such as the “Remedies” section on Digital Jyotish’s website, which is at: www.astroiq.com/remedies/p1_sun_toptab.aspx

Even feeding the birds with seed or ants with a few grains of sugar will help carry a client’s worries away, with or without a yagna. Don’t underestimate the value of charity. It can produce miracles. Your client may not want a yagna, but if you can convince them to do a little charity (or better, regular charity) you will have helped them considerably.

If we want to do mantra recitation ourselves, how do we find the correct pronunciation for mantras?

Unless we are a masters of Sanskrit and Vedic recitation, we should stay with simple mantras so as to avoid mispronunciations. James Braha’s website shows how to pronounce some planetary mantras:http://www.jamesbraha.com/mantras.html

The Digital Jyotish website mentioned above also includes mantra pronunciation for the planets. Also, pronunciation can be found at:

www.hinduastrology.com/mantrasaudio/index.asp.

And you can purchase many CD’s with planetary mantras. My favorite is Sree Ma’s Mantras of the Nine Planets at:

http://www.shreemaa.org/.

My client sponsored a yagna and complained of no results. In my experience, if ten people begin any spiritual practice, be it yagna, yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, and so forth, one or two of them say that it “changed their lives”. Most of the others will note some benefit, and one or two complain of no results. So this is normal. Sometimes it only takes a little yagna to produce miraculous results. Sometimes the karma is so strong that it would take a tremendous amount of effort and yagna to resolve a problem. If the client is blessed with faith they may continue performing yagnas and other practices in order to remove their karmas. If they are not so blessed, they will become discouraged and stop.

What do people experience during and after the yagna?

While the yagna is being performed, some people feel a sort of catharsis going on, maybe some emotional roughness or physical discomfort. Some people feel very blissful or happy. Others feel nothing at all! It is the same with the results. A majority experience some immediate identifiable benefit. But some cannot identify any immediate benefit. And sometimes the yagna precipitates some crisis followed by a benefit. (For instance, one decides one hates one’s job, quits, then finds a better job.)

From our study of Jyotish, we know that some karmas are mild, and some are very deep. Someone who already has strong yogas for wealth may just need a little yagna to obtain great wealth. Someone who has great yogas for poverty may take a lot more work. In either case, we do experience that everyone benefits from the yagnas. As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita “even a little of this knowledge relieves a man of great fears.”

Some examples of how people might benefit:

Some people participate in the yagnas for general upliftment. But others are looking for a resolution of a major life crisis, such as a troubled marriage, problems with debts, health problems, and so forth. For these people, we look for a resolution or improvement in the major life challenge the person is facing either immediately or in the weeks following the yagna. For instance, if a client is troubled by drug addiction caused by a poorly placed Rahu, we would a perform Rahu yagna to relieve that affliction, and look for some turning point in the addiction: the client returns to AA meetings, goes into rehab, realizes they have a problem, and so forth. If someone is having trouble at school due to a poorly placed Mercury, we might perform Budha and Gayatri yagna and expect to see improvement in their school grades. We recently performed a Saturn and nine planets yagna for a teenage girl who had attempted suicide and was confined in a mental hospital. Following the yagna, she told her father that “she no longer wanted to be a fashion model,” apparently a source of her anorexia that had led to a suicide attempt.

We believe that as a good astrologer, you need to use your intuition as well as your intellect. Usually one planet will “pop out” of a chart as needing attention in someone’s life. While this is usually correct, after we begin the yagna we sometimes find that another planet needs more attention. During a nine planet yagna, this sometimes becomes more clear.

As in any spiritual practice, a little faith is a valuable thing. When I was sixteen, I decided to start the practice of meditation, but promised myself that I would definitely quit unless I achieved cosmic consciousness within two years! More than thirty years later, I’m still working at it! This is because I believe in the process and have seen progress along the way.

One needs good karma to come into contact with these yagnas. One must have even better karma to have faith and perform them regularly.

What else should we know about the planets?

Each of the planets is an expansion of a particular aspect of God. During the yagna we also perform homam (make offerings) to these aspects of God, called deities. The offerings are made not only for the benefit of those sponsoring the yagna, but for the welfare of the entire universe.

The nine planets and their rulers:

Many astrologers will also be interested to know that there is a yagna for the nakshatras (either one day or 27 days for each of the 27 nakshatras). Please contact us if you are interested in having this yagna performed. It works on a more subtle and powerful level than the planetary mantras.

Does the Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple perform other yagnas?

Yes. There are generally six types of problems in human life, for which six different yagnas are done. These are:

From time to time, we will do extended yagnas for one of these areas. For example, in May and July this year we performed a nine and a seven day yagna to Mahalakshmi – Kubera. Those on our e-mail list are informed of these yagnas.

An expanded list of yagnas available through the Pittsburgh temple is available at

http://www.baba.org/

How is it best to refer a client to the Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple?

Many people are intimidated to call a Temple for a ceremony they know little about. If you as an astrologer are willing to arrange the yagna on behalf of your client, this is an additional service you can provide that will help them. We will also include your name at the beginning of the yagna (sankalpam) so you can benefit from the yagna.

If you contact us for a yagna, please provide us with the name and the moon’s nakshatra (birthstar) of the client and yourself. If you want to provide us any additional information about the nature of the client’s need, it sometimes helps us tune into what is needed for the client.

How are donations made?

Yagnas are paid for by donation, according to a person’s ability to pay. For those asking guidance on the amount of donation, a (tax-deductible) donation of $108 per yagna is standard, or $504 for all nine planets over seven days. Donations can be made by check or money order via the postal service, or credit card, using the postal service, the phone, or fax.

How does the moon calendar relate to yagnas?

In the Vedic way of thinking, certain days (generally calculated according to the lunar calendar, distinct from the solar calendar normally used) are most auspicious for performing certain types of worship. For instance, Saturn is best worshipped on “Sani Trayodasi.” Sani Trayodasi means a Saturday which falls on the thirteenth lunar day of the bright or dark half of the lunar month. Another example is that each planet rules three nakshatras. So, for instance, if we find that the Moon is in Rohini on a Monday (Rohini being one of the Moon’s three nakshatras), then this is an especially auspicious day on which to perform a Moon yagna.

Most of the Hindu holidays are based on the Moon calendar. As an example, Shiva is worshipped for good health, relief from mental illness, and so forth. It is most auspicious to worship Shiva on the fourteenth day of the dark half of each month. If Friday (Shukra) day falls on a full moon, it is most auspicious to worship Shukra and Mahalakshmi on this day. And so forth.

If you are on our e-mail list, we try and alert you when such special opportunities arise.

Where does the money go from these yagnas?

Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple is a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation. The primary uses of money from these yagnas is to 1) fund large world peace yagnas in India each year, and 2) support two schools in India where Vedic pundits are trained.

Can you describe the results expected from specific yagnas?

The effect of any particular planetary yagna on a person is specific to that person’s particular chart. Mars and Saturn are generally considered as the two greatest “malefics”. But on the other hand, a well placed Mars provides one with great energy. A well placed Saturn allows one to be a steady, strong worker. But a poorly placed Mars can make one aggressive or even violent, and a poorly placed Saturn may mean a lot of difficulties and struggles. We don’t believe that the energy from the planets is ever malefic – it is just reflected on a particular person as being negative in the context of that person’s life.

Study of a person’s chart, as well as extensive knowledge of each of the nine planets is helpful in describing the benefits of a particular planetary yagna for a particular individual. Here are some broad descriptions:

Surya, the Sun: This yagna provides good health and illustrious intelligence.
Chandra, the Moon: This yagna provides peace of mind and stability of emotions.
Mangal, Mars: This yagna reduces aggressive tendencies, and makes one a capable leader.
Budha, Mercury: This yagna increases intelligence, helps learning, improves speech, and so forth.
Brihaspati, Jupiter: This yagna provides balance, stability, and restores order to a person’s life.
Shukra, Venus: This yagna provides material comforts, physical beauty, and so forth.
Sani, Saturn: This yagna reduces difficulties and makes life easier.
Rahu, North node of the Moon: This yagna smoothes out problems in one’s life.
Ketu, South Node of the Moon: This yagna helps spiritual development and removes shadows from one’s awareness.

Aum Sai Ram.

Universal Prayer

May the wicked turn good
May the good attain peace
May the peaceful be freed from all bondage; and
May the liberated redeem others
May all be happy
May all be healthy
May all see auspicious things
O God (O Sai Baba) – Lead us from:
Darkness to Light
Ignorance to Wisdom
Mortality to Immortality
Give us:
The courage & Strength
To live together
To love together
To work together
To prosper together
May everybody surmount difficulties
May everybody have good fortune
May everybody realize his or her ambitions
May everybody rejoice everywhere
Aum peace peace peace

For questions on planetary yagnas, he can be reached at:

www.saiaustin.com

His wife Sai Yogini (Jill Edwards) is a Vedic astrologer and will read charts to prescribe planetary yagnas. She can be reached at the above email as well.