• Meditators showed around 7% more grey matter, the largest published difference between healthy groups.
• As grey matter decreases with age and with most mental illnesses, this difference throughout the brain is associated with a younger and healthier brain.
• The grey matter difference was more marked in areas related to the control of attention and emotions.
An investigation on the influence of mental silence in the human brain has just been published in the magazine Plos One. The article is entitled: “Larger whole brain grey matter associated with long-term Sahaja Yoga Meditation: a detailed area by area comparison”. The original text is available at the following link:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0237552
It is said that, for more than forty thousand years, human beings have a language that allows us to communicate with precision, that language is reproduced within our brain as thoughts without interruption. When negative thoughts are repeated in vicious cycles, our mental health can be affected with issues such as stress, anxiety or depression.
Today there is plenty of scientific literature that shows that being with the attention in the present moment, in the here and now, is beneficial for our psyche and our general health. Unfortunately, thoughts take us out of the present moment and to stop the thoughts for a long time is not easy, especially when we are not doing tasks that demands much attention.
Yoga includes many different techniques, among which meditation (Dhayana in classical yoga) plays a leading role. The first yoga treatise, “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali”, mentions that “yoga is the suppression of the modifications of the mind.” In ancient yoga a higher state of consciousness has been described, called “Nirvichara Samadhi”, which can be translated as “mental silence” or “thoughtless awareness”. In this state, the mind is calm, with a feeling of inner bliss, and with the attention focused on the present moment. Sahaja Yoga Meditation puts into practice the goals of classical Yoga to achieve the state of Nirvichara or mental silence.
Researchers led by Professor Sergio Elías Hernández from the University of La Laguna in Tenerife (ULL), in collaboration with scientists from King’s College London University, Jaume I University of Castellón and Sermas of Madrid, have been exploring for more than ten years the benefits of the state of mental silence on the human brain.
The study was carried out at the ULL MRI scanner, where the researchers recorded the brain anatomy of 23 meditator volunteers, experts in Sahaja Yoga meditation, and 23 non-meditating volunteers. Both groups were made up of healthy volunteers and both groups did not differ in age, educational level, ethnicity, proportion of men and women, etc.
To better understand this study, we must mention that the brain tissue is classified, according to its appearance, into three types: grey matter, made up of neuronal bodies and interconnections, (dark grey in resonance images); the white matter, formed by nerve fibers or long connections between distant areas, (light grey in the resonance images), and the cerebrospinal fluid or watery substance that fills the interior voids and serves as protection and transport of chemical substances.
The study of brain anatomy showed that meditators had, on average, 7% more grey matter in the whole brain. This type of comparison of the grey matter of the brain has been made in recent years among other groups in: athletes, musicians, taxi drivers, Buddhists, mindfulness meditators, etc. In these cases, the analyses showed that the group studied had local differences, greater grey matter, in brain areas associated with their specific practice, but the difference was never in the whole brain as it is the case with mental silence. The difference of 7% larger grey matter is especially significant if one takes into account that our brain loses between 0.15% and 0.3% of grey matter per year and small differences in grey matter can mark whether or not we keep intact our cognitive functions. It should be also noted that diseases, typical of the elderly, such as Alzheimer’s, senile dementia or Parkinson’s are also associated with loss of grey matter.
An advance of this study was published in the same journal Plos One in 2016, but the available methodology did not allow a detailed study to be made to see how the grey matter differences were distributed in the different areas of the brain. Given the uniqueness of the group differences observed throughout the whole brain, the researchers had to develop a specific statistical method (ad- hoc) to be able to evaluate these differences, area by area. Of all the brain areas, the grey matter difference was significantly larger in meditators in the right temporal lobe, an area associated with emotions, and in both frontal lobes, areas associated with cognitive and emotional self-control functions.
Study authors: Sergio Elías Hernándeza*, Roberto Dortab, José Sueroc, Alfonso Barros-Loscertalesd, José Luis González-Morae, Katya Rubiaf
a: Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
b: Departamento de Matemáticas, Estadística e Investigación Operativa, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
c: Centro de Salud Jazmín, Sermas, Madrid, Spain. d: Departamento de Psycología, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain. e: Departamento de Fisiología, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain f: Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College, Londres, UK.
*Author for more information: Email: sehdez@ull.edu.es
This is a survey that I recently filled out for a Czech university student:
Hello, this survey was created to collect some information for my final work at school. Thank You for Your time and help. Anna
1. Are You male or female?
Male
2. How old are You?
Over 40
3. How long have You been practicing Sahaja Yoga meditation?
Almost 34 years (every day)
4. Were You born into a family practicing Sahaja Yoga meditation?
No
5. How often do You meditate?
I reach thoughtless awareness (meditation) many times a day
6. Did Sahaja Yoga meditation lower Your stress?
Yes
7. Did Sahaja Yoga meditation reduce some of Your negative personality traits?
Yes
8. Are collective Sahaja Yoga meditation activities important for You?
Yes, a lot
9. How do You participate in Sahaja Yoga meditation? (more answers possible)
I meditate alone at home
I attend seminars in my country
I attend seminars abroad
I attend programs
10. If You used to be a smoker, did You stop smoking with Sahaja Yoga meditation?
Yes
11. Had You ever been addicted (to alcohol, drugs, internet…)? Did it stop when You started practicing Sahaja Yoga meditation?
Yes
12. Is there a difference during Your day, when You were able to get into thoughtless awareness from the days You did not manage?
Yes. If I don’t attain thoughtless awareness often the stress and noisy thoughts build up in me. These dissolve very quickly in the thoughtless awareness state.
13. How did You get into Sahaja Yoga meditation?
A friend found it then told me. (I was one of the first regular 15 or 16 Sahaja Yoga meditation practitioners in North America in 1982)
14. How did meditation help You?
It has improved my life completely and improves it daily, in every way.
15. Try to describe how big importance Sahaja Yoga meditation has in Your life.
It is the most important happening in modern times, not just for me but for everyone, worldwide. Here is the last paragraph of my online testimonial, read already by hundreds of thousands of people: https://edwardsaugstad.com/reaching-the-top/
“In these few years I have met countless individuals from all walks of life — from London to Calcutta and from Moscow to Los Angeles — who have lived this miraculous metamorphosis and are using this natural power to transform themselves and others. It is my sincerest desire that anyone who reads these words will not judge the message mentally, but will make an honest, scientific investigation into the historic subject which now faces them. If their desire is pure and their determination for revealing the truth is undaunted, I have no doubt that they will also achieve this magnificent inner-awakening which is dawning to the human race.”
16. Did Sahaja Yoga meditation help You with some psychological disorder? What disorder did You have? How did meditation help You?
I was completely damaged by heavy recreational drugs (taken from age 14 to 24) and from a traumatic childhood. I was anti-social, unhealthy and miserably lost in life. Now I am a dynamic, popular global writer, artist and musician, loved and respected by those who come to know me.
17. Did Sahaja Yoga meditation or something related to it cause something negative to You?
It’s impossible for Sahaja Yoga meditation to harm a person. It is a completely natural, gentle and benevolent inner process. Only human beings can harm themselves and each other.
18. Did You feel any new sensation after You received self-realization?
My whole perception changed: clearer, more focused, more peaceful, lighter, more loving — and I am able, on my newly enlightened nervous-system, to feel the flowing divine Vibrations, like a cool breeze, that is only felt emitting from something or someone auspicious, constructive, beautiful, innocent and eternal. (The key to collective consciousness.)
19. Why do You meditate?
Meditation is not a hobby or pastime. It (thoughtless awareness) is a unique, essential state like waking, dream-sleep and deep-sleep. Anyone who does not attain meditation is living a fractured, unfulfilled life.
20. How is Sahaja Yoga meditation different, according to You, compared to any other meditations/religions/spiritual paths?
Sahaja Yoga meditation awakens the natural energy inside us whose only purpose is to connect us to reality, the pure, beautiful all-pervading Spirit. That is meant to be the very most basic and essential process of all spiritual paths.
21. Is there anything more You would like to say? Here is Your opportunity:
“Just over three decades ago, on Tuesday, April 20th, 1982 to be exact, I stumbled up out of a dark place and found myself filled with a permanent light and focus. I still can’t believe my luck. . . . I was born into a large family in a city in Canada. My parents were then chronic alcoholics and most of my memories, which reach back as far as my third year, are dark and fearful. I and two younger brothers were raised mostly by our older sisters. Our parents often fought. When my father left the family he was replaced by a man who I deeply feared as he treated us harshly and sometimes beat my mother. Twice, as a small child, I badly broke my right elbow. The second break was so severe that I almost lost my arm. My mother was not there that time to comfort me as she was being kept in a mental hospital, withdrawing from alcohol addiction. Throughout my early school years …”
Although this article may sound fanatically new-age-ish, it is basically a sound summary, but missing the most important point at the end: the individual members of the society that determine their own fate together must essentially be enlightened in order to avoid the same or worse mistakes in the future … http://www.naturalnews.com/032258_economic_collapse_2012.html
.
. (and, enlightenment/meditation/alert mental silence is not something achieved through reading or believing, but is an actual, simple state that can be reached and maintained by anyone, as explained here by Professor Katya Rubia)
Our world is in a rapid state of becoming, affected by each step and breath we take. What can we do to ensure that it evolves into something wonderful for generations to come?
As we enter a new year full of disappointments and encouraging surprises, here’s something important to bear in mind — and heart.
“The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.”
~ H. D. Thoreau
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My wife and I enjoy detective stories, especially those with humor, so it’s no wonder that we spend much of our precious time and attention investigating life itself. Although we have a lot of fun goofing around — talking in dialect, singing, dancing, spontaneous role playing, making funny faces — most of our conversations come out of our ongoing revelations about why we are the way we are, and what positive changes are going on around us. We’ve both practiced Sahaja Yoga Meditation every day for almost three decades, so most of what we feel is accurate, and if we get confused about ourselves, the condition doesn’t hold on long. But like most people in modern society, we’ve had to sift through mazes of childhood traumas to reach the state of solid health we’re in today.
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The problem is, most people don’t even know where to start when it comes to filtering reality from unreality inside themselves. If you consider sexual abuse alone, with at least one in four tragically affected, we’re living at a time when millions of human beings are staggering through life at a fraction of their capacity. That amounts to a lot of fear and insecurity. There are many who’ve managed to get a permanent fix on the point of light that leads out of the maze, and I sometimes feel myself part of an army of benevolent volunteers, many of them wounded healers, bravely opening the doors of hope for themselves and others. It pains my heart when I come across someone who is suffering, as he or she has a wheel dragging off the road without noticing or understanding why, causing chronic distress and self-doubt. When a person has been the victim of shocks in their childhood, they tend to become a control-freak, fearing the threat of losing themselves in spontaneous circumstances; avoiding fulfilling, creative processes. One often develops into a self-protecting, fanatical personality, who refuses to face certain inner complications, living in denial of these painful wounds. A tremendous amount of enlightened awareness, self-forgiveness and compassion is needed.
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There are many causes for these tragic pockets of inner darkness. I know three men, well known and respected in society, who lost their mothers when they were quite young (in two cases she simply gave her son away because he was an inconvenience, and one mother died). They are middle-aged now, and due to the fact that they’ve not been able to deal openly and clearly with their abandonment, they’re struggling for inner balance. Two of them have been very oppressive to their wives, who played the low esteem roles of suppressed objects all these years, sometimes suffering panic attacks. Each of these women, through deep introspection, meditation and research into common patterns of human behavior in similar situations, gradually grew out of their corrupted roles, learning to forgive and love themselves and their husbands for what they really are, leaving behind all the guilt and confusion. This can come as a shock for the spouse, who is suddenly disoriented by the new, joyful, liberated personality of his other half, while still refusing to see that certain things are stuck, unseen, inside himself.
.
I know a person with similar problems in a leadership position who sincerely believes that everything will fall apart without his participation, and I know others who panic because they feel they are victims of leaders who are ruining everything and somehow threatening their very existence. In these particular cases, both attitudes are based on haunting illusions. These are otherwise good and generous individuals, but they still haven’t faced all the handicaps from their personal pasts.
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I have relatives whose mother left them to ‘finally start her own life’. Both children became internally reclusive in their trauma, suffering untold pain, including illness (Bipolar disorder). Another girl I care about has found herself in the very destructive cage of malice between her divorced parents, living with their disgust of each other, neither of them having any time for her big heart and beautiful personality. A child isn’t meant to be burdened with these conflicts. She was recently left alone in her despair, and she fell, breaking her arm — this was not a coincidence. But she, like another young person who has seen two of his mothers permanently turn their backs on him, are part of a new breed of self-realized souls who seem able to bounce back with relative ease from deep emotional and genetic corruption. Each of them drew excited applause when they sang their hearts out independently on an international stage a few days ago. You can’t fake that kind of heart-power, and it announces hope for all the traumatized children of the world.
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When I went to an osteopath for the first time many years ago (I’ve been to several different ones, gaining various insights) I learned that childhood traumas are often stored in our organs. My wife and I have also picked up valuable information from various therapists using the Family Constellation method to reveal malignant attitudes arising from longstanding relationship complications in our families. More recently, with the help of a very sensitive, large-hearted kinesiologist (Applied Kinesiology), it was possible for me, after unearthing countless hidden problems from my past over the years, to zoom in on the original cause for the weakness in my stomach. My condition had already improved steadily through insights and healing while practicing Sahaja Yoga Meditation. And now, almost by chance, this specialist, having found that my body was exceptionally strong and healthy, hit on the point of my state as a newborn baby. When I mentioned that my mother had been an alcoholic with several other young children to care for, and had had little time and attention for me, both of us — the kinesiologist and myself — suddenly felt the traumatized state I had been in as a tiny baby. Her otherwise rosy, motherly smile paled, and my body started shaking from my stomach, as if I was too cold. I had no fear now, as I had already evolved to the extent that I could handle this new inner revelation, and was instead amazed by the important discovery.
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This is a very abstract matter to deal with*, but I was then able to use this knowledge the next morning in my meditation, by implementing my enlightened imagination to take my baby-self out for joyful strolls in the nature; or, when he was a bit older, to go hand-in-hand through Disneyland where we had lots of carefree fun; or to simply be involved together in my daily creative work routines. In short, bridging that threatening gap of insecurity and helplessness, and allowing sweet healing to enter in. On the part of the young me, I feel joyful and fascinated to be part of the fulfilling grownup adventures; and on the part of my grownup me stepping in to comfort and uplift little me, I feel like a benevolent superhero — what a great team! Later, I was able to meditate on the oneness between that tiny, abstract part of me and my present self, realizing that little Eddie has miraculously made it to secure health and happiness, and never has to fear again. (A few nights ago, I found a little blonde boy wandering, crying for his mommy in the dark parking lot of a campground. I picked him up, cheerfully reassuring him that we would find her, which we did a few minutes later. I can still feel his sweet, cuddly form against my heart, and the mutual comfort of that.) Every successfully conquered challenge in us opens up new healing pathways for all.
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For those who are not directly affected by these horrors, you can lend your stability and understanding. For the survivors, it’s freedom time my friend.
After experimenting with various meditation techniques (in one case for over eight years), I tried something that I’d never heard of. Back in those days, Sahaja Yoga Meditation was only practiced by a handful of people on my continent, having been recently introduced there. My early experiences ranged from numb but hopeful regular practice, to waves of lightness and clarity that I previously could only have dreamt of. I had been a heavy drug user, and that, combined with the fact that my subtle system had been brutally short-circuited by incompatible overdoses of questionable meditation techniques, rendered me somewhat insensitive at first. But as the weeks progressed, I realized that I had stumbled upon something universal and essential – something which I had spent most of my life digging for.
One of the many significant changes that happened to me was the strengthening of my immune system. I rarely catch a cold now (at the most, once a year), and sometimes I can feel a virus enter my body – that is, I feel a slight over-sensitivity to cold, and the right side heats up as the liver works to filter the intruder – but it doesn’t actually manifest as cold symptoms. On such occasions my attention automatically focuses at the top of the head where the important opening to collective consciousness is established after self-realization, thus helping the nurturing kundalini energy in the spine to ascend and protect the entire system. This is clearly not a ceremonial effort based on belief in a theory, but a natural reflex occurring out of inherent comprehension of specific, internal phenomena. Because I’m familiar, due to the fact that my kundalini is active, with the various sensations and effects of my inner workings through regular meditation, I spontaneously take the appropriate action, if action is needed. Simply putting a hand (presuming one feels the flow of cool vibrations from the hand) on a discomforted place can quickly relieve the body from harmful imbalance and tension. One need not have a degree in medicine to heal many of the simple complications that trouble us. There are of course a wealth of other useful methods, but the two important things that we need to begin are the sensitivity to subtle vibrations, and frequent freedom from thoughts, both of which come naturally through self-realization (awakening of the kundalini) and regular meditation to maintain the yoga, union.
It’s no wonder that Sahaja Yoga Meditation is now practiced in over a hundred countries, and has transformed countless lives, being passed on easily and cost free from one person to another. I was fortunate to catch an early glimpse of this essential transformation, and am truly happy to say that, unlike so many things in life, the benefits of this don’t diminish – these positive changes steadily increase. Everyone is hoping there is a simple, universal secret to reaching a joyful life. There is, and it’s purposely built in to each of us, eagerly waiting to be activated and nurtured.
Hum-dee-dum, tra-la, tra-la . . .
Now, where were we – oh, my gosh! Is it so late already? Almost eight years passed the twentieth century? How time does fly when you’re having fun.
When I was young, I earnestly believed that a pandemic of fun could save mankind. Funny – now that I think of it – I still do, although my outlook has become somewhat more refined. The youthful images of reckless abandon have been replaced by a majestic movie in which every person shines with a child’s countenance, bubbling with the champagne of wise innocence. In this age of global communication and friendship across all borders (let’s just ignore the racists, fundamentalists, fed-up-ists, megamerger-swallowtheworld-industrialist-capitalists and political-power-activists for the moment) we find the ideal setting for the kindergarten birthday party utopia, where care is no longer an ulcer-giving demon in the back of the mind, but a magical, benevolent whim that spontaneously brings luck to others. By ‘fun’, I’m of course referring to the stuff that shines from the pearl of joy, not its wannabe, temporary copy that sometimes emits from the fickle happiness/unhappiness coin. (More on that somewhere below: Just scroll down this site to investigate.)
Things were a lot different back in the days of my great-grandfather, Reverend Christian Saugstad. Not only were those guys bereft of Internet, I don’t think even fun had been invented yet! Imagine leading your followers over one-and-a-half thousand rugged miles to a new, puritan home in the wilderness (from Minnesota to British Columbia). That was hard work back in 1894; no jumbojet-getaway! But I’m sure they experienced something resembling fun after the men spent the first fall and winter on the freezing coast chopping trees, shoveling snow and building log cabins, and then all their wives and children ferried up from the capital in the spring thaw. Well, I guess if reincarnation is the norm, we all bin there; dun that. I ain’t sayin’ that the plastic smell of computers is more inspiring to collective understanding and integration than a five hundred year old cedar rainforest, but the invention of mass-communication terminals and networks have brought us a long way in appreciating each other. Old Rev. C. didn’t even want his people to marry non-Norwegians, not to mention Muslims, Hindus or Jews (although they did somehow manage to get in among the more enlightened aboriginals). His son, my grandfather the sea captain, was more evolved in this respect. He brought home his bride from Devon after WW1, Norwegian or no. Why, she wasn’t even a conformed Christian. Surviving witnesses in the old Vancouver neighbourhood may still recall the public argument she had one day across the picket fence with Mr. Bible-Thumper next door, insisting that reincarnation of human beings is a natural and inevitable process (“and-you-can-jolly-well-put-that-in-your-pipe-and-smoke-it!”). And that was well before the New Age Revolution began in the sixties. Um . . . Grandma’s reincarnation> Devon> Sea captain> Indians> the old Rev.> . . . ah, yes – the Internet: It’s obvious to me, after twenty-five years of daily personal subjective, and international objective experience in Sahaja Yoga, that this new level of global communication is a result of an accelerated inner process of collective consciousness. Naturally, these deep, evolutionary, spiritually powerful, expanding awareness thingies do tend to find ways of manifesting appropriate tools, so it’s no wonder that super-fast, super-portable, super-affordable gadgets and systems have sprouted into common use for the greater goodness of getting everyone universally chummy. I’m also convinced (und ich wuerde meinen rechten Arm darauf verwetten) that as soon as all this evil and bullying and perversion and smug complacency has been played out, that wave of – yes, in your face – LOVE is going to wash over the stage, and we’ll be in for one hell-of-a (oops), I mean, one wonderful show!
You may sayyy I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one . . . And whatever desire you hold on to, is the direction you move toward. It seems we’re shifting into a whole new mode*.
(Stay tuned for further fun ‘n’ fascinating features . . .)
Now, I really must get back to my wood chopping. (I do find it fun!)
(And I truly do admire the seeking spirit of my fore-fathers/mothers, including my own parents, whose appetites for shared goodness and truth, in times of such pervading spiritual darkness, have been encouraging.)
There are a lot of concepts about meditation. But for those who’ve experienced the real thing, it’s obvious that meditation is the state in which all limited concepts are exposed for what they are, and a new kind of insight becomes the norm.
Meditation is the state of thoughtless-awareness reached when the human attention rises above the mental turmoil to perceive everything as it really is, above thoughts. This state allows one to experience in a direct, actual way, without the filter of conditionings and projections. That may sound over-simplified and unlikely, but it is in fact a very natural, essential evolution of our consciousness.
Even after twenty-five years of daily moments of meditation, I’m still often surprised and delighted by my personal experiences, which sometimes come unexpectedly and in new, varied ways. One becomes aware of the subtle ‘vibrations’ that emit from persons, places, things or occurrences. The other day I sat behind a mother playing with her laughing baby on a public bus. My mind was filled with clear silence, and my body became light, joy-filled and pleasantly cool. In contrast, as I later strolled along the sidewalk and passed two angry motorists exchanging hot words over a minor accident, I experienced a short but vivid wave of heat, tension and noise inside. On such occasions, I usually take a moment to direct the very subtle, cool vibrations, that indicate and can even activate a deeply healthy and constructive state, into the fray, so to speak. This can be done with a simple implementation of the attention, or by using the hands. Once, when confronted by a raging clerk who had grown impatient with my innocent questions, I simply asked her to hold out her hands, palms up, to see what she feels. Taken aback by my request, she spontaneously complied and shortly replied that she felt waves of heat pouring out of them. I put my hand above hers, mentioning that we all have a special energy in the sacrum bone at the base of the spine, which easily rises at contact with certain cool, subtle vibrations, clearing stubborn obstacles to our well-being. Suddenly, her hands emitted a soft, cool breeze, and her tense face broke into a lovely smile. She then felt the same cool wind coming out of the top of her head, indicating that this energy, kundalini, had risen up the spine to the fontanel. We were mutually grateful for this wonderful moment, which had bonded us in a way previously unknown and unreachable to average human beings.
In the simple practice of Sahaja Yoga meditation, which I and my family have enjoyed daily for over a quarter century, a natural process unfolds within the body, expanding the normally dwarfed human awareness. This is easily verifiable by anyone with an honest inclination to feel truth – and I don’t mean emotionally. Once the human nervous system is enlightened, it’s possible to literally feel the difference between goodness and harmfulness, constructiveness and destructiveness. It’s the closed, biased circuit of our personal thought processes that keeps us in the shell of insecurity and ignorance. The benefits I’ve experienced and seen would (and inevitably will) fill a book. I find it shameful – indeed tragic – that a handful of malicious persons invest their time in defaming this unprecedented, universal gift, thereby misleading earnest seekers. It’s an old story, I guess. History is full of the scars from dark hearts which couldn’t stand the light – individuals who cleverly don the robes of would-be righteousness. It’s always been easier to rally under the banners of hatred and suspicion, than to proudly plant the flags of common goodness. At last we’re able to equip ourselves with the inner tools to perceive reality and establish clarity. Now that we all stand on the threshold of a beautiful, new opportunity, I sincerely hope that you will recognize the difference when your moment comes.
You can try, just now.
Open your hands, palms upward, and ask quietly in your heart
for your Self-realization.
You can close your eyes or else look at the picture above this text.
Within a few seconds you should feel something in your hands
and on top of your head.
Take a few moments to enjoy this change.
This is the beginning.
I was visiting friends the other day. Their daughter, who I know since babyhood, just graduated from high school. She is now tall and smart, but just as much a free-spirited child as she always was. She has always nurtured her spiritual ascent, meditating regularly to enjoy the daily inner clearing and centering effect that this inbuilt connection, this sahaja yoga, has on her. Her classmates never showed any particular interest in her. But on the last day of classes, she was approached by the other girls who had been shocked to hear that she was not going with them on the graduation field trip. She was moved to tears when they started crying with dismay at the prospect of never seeing her again. They probably didn’t know themselves why they were so overwhelmed with emotion at this loss. The subtle vibrations that emit from such a person, like a comforting, familiar fragrance, sooth the energy centers and channels in others. This is not a theory, but a well documented phenomena which has been occurring with increasing frequency. I remember when another born-realized toddler made friends with an elderly lady on a return flight from India. Leaning against her knees, he sweetly smiled up into her face, radiating joy and thoughtless awareness. Then he played nearby, sometimes involving her in his games. By the end of the journey, the woman was beside herself with mirth. As they wheeled her from the plane, she was heard to exclaim, “I don’t know what has come over me. I feel so good!”
Such is the nature of the higher state we are approaching – a state of boundless benevolence that benefits everyone, regardless of race, age or social class. Its range of influence is limited by only one factor: human free will. A person with an honest and humble desire to attain freedom from blinding conditionings and misleading ambitions – one who feels, or at least hopes, that there is something more to life than what we’ve known so far – is destined to attain this treasure. It’s easy to reach, but sometimes a challenge to maintain in this chaotic world. At work and school we have to engage our brains in mundane, and often frustrating, routine. And the landslides of thoughts that bury our attention don’t vanish of their own accord when we come home to rest*. This key to freedom from random mental chatter is only ours to use when it once rises from its hiding place at the base of the spine to open the highest door at the top of the head. With minimal daily effort of the newly enlightened attention, you can permanently escape the burdens of the past and future, and settle into the playful present. If this is such a universal principal, why don’t we learn it in school and practice it in the workplace, you might justly ask. This knowledge and technique is now being implemented in many such institutions, but you know what they said about the early inventions of radio and television (and the later innovation of Apple digital devices): amazing, but will they ever be accepted into common use? Sometimes we humans stick to the old familiar and try to ignore the improvements we could embrace. May the essential joy and inner peace become the familiar that we get hooked on, leaving behind the dead-weight and noise that holds us down. Absolute freedom is just a breath away.
(*In sleep we can step out of this mental traffic, but the third state, that of meditation, is by far more deeply nurturing and liberating, in a permanent way.)
The two most crippling attitudes in our so-called advanced culture are guilt and un-forgiveness. These are the two sides, one dark and the other glaring, of an unlucky coin. The more guilty and insecure we feel, the more we try to justify our existence through unnecessary aggressiveness. On returning home to Vancouver after fifteen years in Vienna, I was surprised to discover how many old friends had completely stopped talking to certain family members because of some minor disagreement between them. When a sliver of inferiority is imbedded deep inside of someone, it’s impossible to maintain the flow of love that would normally generate in the heart. (The internal energy center in a human being that is directly handicapped by guilty feelings, the left vishuddhi chakra, is located just above the heart.) This is how most marriages shatter. When your own unconscious image of yourself is that of a kicked dog, it’s difficult to feel the goodness in others. Once the raging motor of ego kicks in (right agnya chakra), the chances of slipping back into a natural state of benevolence are not likely. Wouldn’t it be great to have a button to push, that would shift your machine back into a smooth gear? You have one.
There is a benevolent, motherly energy in each of us that, once awakened, nurtures the intricate affairs of our subtle insides. With the simplest sincere wish to know ones true self, combined with the slightest contact with the subtlest vibrations, the subatomic building blocks of Creation which can be felt via the human nervous system as a cool breeze, one can instantly reach the state in which we are linked to the all-pervading power that will constantly recharge our worn batteries. You change from a closed, stagnant system, to a plugged-in instrument with all the same valuable attributes as that unlimited Source. This is the first button. Then you get a whole range of active keys and switches that were previously only dormant.
One of these keys is that which selects a healthy, constructive self-image. Normally, an affirmation or prayer is something spoken (with good intentions) into a disconnected phone. After self-realization, you have your own, personal connection to the inexhaustible reservoir whose nature it is to answer promptly and fix without cost – more efficient and user-friendly than the best on-line device! I’ve been married for twenty-one years, and sometimes I’d like to give my wife a brain transplant when she’s disagreeing with me. Sometimes we walk away angry. But, with a childishly simple correction of the vibrational imbalance, fun and humor can be instantly restored. (And when I’m driving, there are moments in the line of fire of an aggressive motorist when I wish I had a James Bond car that fires rockets. But, with a wave of the hand and a gentle re-orientation of the attention, the cool, calming balance washes in, dispelling the fiery illusion.) It’s very easy to decode subtle obstacles to well-being with an enlightened nervous system. As soon as the inner festive tree-lights are turned on, all your beautiful decorations are discovered. It only takes a few minutes a day of regular meditation to feel and learn how to use all the inherent tools that are built in. The key that removes unnecessary feelings of guilt has many options, and can lift you out of countless complex dead-ends. The same with the switch that deals with your sometimes naughty Mr. Ego. These methods are possible because the hands and the attention become powerful instruments that are capable of directing these vibrations to correct any troublesome problem. Sounds too easy? When you’ve tasted the juice of thoughtless-awareness, a fruit like no other, you’ll never go back to cheap soft-drinks. Just try it and see what happens after you’re connected. The difference will overwhelm you.
The human heart is a highly underestimated instrument. It’s quite famous for pumping blood – sometimes uncomfortably fast or slow. It is indirectly responsible for countless love songs and romance novels. It is the source of unforgettable emotional stimulation, i.e., the ecstatic falling-in-love, and the somewhat less agreeable heart-break (falling-out-of-love). And it is universally notorious for the part it plays in the guaranteed end, when, with dramatic finality, it stops, to usher in the mysterious state of death. But what do we really know about our precious hearts?
Without getting too esoteric, there is a simple way of getting to really know your best friend, that rhythmic pal in your chest that channels life and love. The first important step is to establish the actual connection with your self. That sounds like a lot to do, especially if you’ve read countless spiritual self-help manuals. In fact it is easy, quick, and infinitely enjoyable, and happens spontaneously when a certain benevolent energy, designed and provided exclusively for that special purpose, eagerly rises from the ‘sacred bone’ at the bottom of your spine to the fontanel bone at the top of the head. But don’t take my word for it; try it for your self. (For the Web-disoriented, that was a hint to click on the underlined phrase, try it 😉 )
Now, once you’ve gotten to that all-important link (no pun intended) with your self through the awakening of kundalini and it’s subsequent ascent up to the sahasrara chakra, there opens up for you a whole new realm of hither-to unexpected possibilities. You will inevitably find, through the simple, regular practice of sahaja yoga meditation, the proof in the universal pudding that you are much, much more than you ever guessed you are. As the limited human attention steps out into the endless fresh air of pure, unlimited Spirit (as your kundalini spontaneously opens the seventh center at the top of your head), an amazing thing happens. Your heart, a normally clouded mirror, starts to clear and catch more reflection of that joyful sky or sea of absolute love that, although supporting all life, is usually just beyond our perception. Through the carefully designed instrument of your central nervous system, your spiritual modem, you get a first concrete glimpse of the Divine Internet. Don’t be surprised to discover that there is no noise and chaotic chatter there: that connection will fill you with beautiful Silence, the source of all creativity. And That is your very own.
Oh, yeah – this was supposed to be about joy and emotional intelligence. But reading about joy is about as en-joyable as being told about a delicious club sandwich – it just doesn’t hit the spot. Joy has to be lived – and emotional intelligence inevitably follows. Try it. You’ll love it.
(Spirituality = Inherent Joy. It is not a commodity to be bought or sold or in any way controlled by a third party! It can only be a direct connection.)
quickly relieve the body from harmful imbalance and tension. One need not have a degree in medicine to heal many of the simple complications that trouble us. There are of course a wealth of other useful methods, but the two important things that we need to begin are the sensitivity to subtle vibrations, and frequent freedom from thoughts, both of which come naturally through self-realization (awakening of the kundalini) and regular meditation to maintain the yoga, union.
His son, my grandfather the sea captain, was more evolved in this respect. He brought home his bride from Devon after WW1, Norwegian or no. Why, she wasn’t even a conformed Christian. Surviving witnesses in the old Vancouver neighbourhood may still recall the public argument she had one day across the picket fence with Mr. Bible-Thumper next door, insisting that reincarnation of human beings is a natural and inevitable process (“and-you-can-jolly-well-put-that-in-your-pipe-and-smoke-it!”). And that was well before the New Age Revolution began in the sixties. Um . . . Grandma’s reincarnation> Devon> Sea captain> Indians> the old Rev.> . . . ah, yes – the Internet: It’s obvious to me, after twenty-five years of daily personal subjective, and international objective experience in 
Suddenly, her hands emitted a soft, cool breeze, and her tense face broke into a lovely smile. She then felt the same cool wind coming out of the top of her head, indicating that this energy, 
Self-Help 