It is a glorious blue sky day with warm sunshine here in Ashland. I'm sipping hot coffee (with a spoonful of maple syrup in it!), as I write this brief bit of news. Here's just a few of the things on my mind and heart ~

~ According to the Mayan Calendar, this Saturday and Sunday (July 17-18) is a really potent time for meditation. It is a portal in which to experience Unity Consciousness. A non-profit organization called Common Passion has information about this Conscious Convergence (including the many events scheduled around the world), on their website, www.commonpassion.org.

~ As I mentioned previously, I was scheduled to offer meditation sessions and Radiance Rising Circles at the Mystic Garden Party (July 21-26 in Corning, California), but a few days ago I went onto the Mystic Garden Party website to view the schedule, and I was dismayed to see that one of the focal points for the festival will be forums and presentations on entheogenics. (Entheogens are psycho-active plant based substances used for spiritual or religious reasons, such as ganja (pot), mushrooms, ayahuasca, peyote, etc.) I knew that people would be taking such substances at the festival, and although I prefer to not be around those vibrations, I planned to go anyway, so that I could soak in all the incredible kirtan (Dave Stringer! Bhagavan Das!), and the yummy yoga, and all the other delights.

If they were just offering one small workshop on entheogens, I would still have gone, but since entheogenics is going to be highlighted throughout each day and evening, I decided that I did not want my name associated with that festival. Ironically, I was preparing a brochure to bring that would explain the detrimental effects that ganja and other substances have on spiritual practices and on every aspect of healing. 

(Also, on February 28, 2010, I had posted a blog on this issue. You can read that post at: http://yogini-bliss.com/66-the-teja-challenge.html)

~ I am really enjoying writing the articles for this Teja Blog. Also, I am now posting my monthly newsletter (The Tejaswini Playground Press) on the Teja Blog, so you can either read the newsletters on the blog, or sign-up to receive the newsletters by email. 

(To sign up for the newsletters, go to: http://yogini-bliss.com/component/option,com_ccnewsletter/Itemid,61/view,ccnewsletter/)

~ In June I attended a program through Insight Prison Project, where I met two wonderful men who work for Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, an organization founded by Father Greg Boyle to help get gang members off the streets. Consider donating to this really great program: www.homeboy-industries.org

~ For those of you who live in the Ashland area, just a reminder that I still offer the Radiance Rising Circles every Monday evening, 7:30pm in the Jackson Wellsprings Community Room. We chant with my harmonium, sit in silent meditation, and share spiritual teachings. Free, open to men and women, and drop-ins are always welcome. (View the flyer at: http://yogini-bliss.com/Events-Calendar/2010-07-19/Radiance-Rising-Circles-with-Tejaswini-Rachel-Ann-Shankara/282.html)

~ Lastly, I am really enjoying Facebook these days.... find me there at: http://www.facebook.com/tejashankara

Well, sorry this wasn't as brief as I'd planned! Let's blame it on the coffee!

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini (Teja Shankara)

Photo of Teja by Teja Shankara.

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While driving south to attend the Insight Prison Project’s training, and also to see Ammachi, I delighted in the car’s Cruise Control function. What a relief it is once you put that cruise control on, and you can just relax and not have to think about the acceleration part of driving. It is such a cool feeling when the cruise control takes over and you feel the pedal pull away from your foot.

Somehow I managed to take a photo of the bright green cruise control light on the dashboard. (Perhaps I managed because I had less to think about with the cruise control on!) As I drove along appreciating the cruise control, I started thinking of it as a metaphor for the Guru or God. I thought, ‘Gurus are like cruise control – they carry you along at the right speed!’

The Sanskrit word “Guru” literally means “that which takes one from darkness to Light.” Some people take an external Guru to guide them, such as I have done with Amma and Neem Karoli Baba. Others find their Guru through Nature or through God or through other teachers. And, the guru function can come through any of us, anytime.

The ultimate goal of all Gurus is to lead us to our inner Guru, our inner teacher or guide. The external Guru merely puts up a mirror for us to see our own Beauty. All the true Spiritual Masters of the world have said and continue to say the same thing: we each have to directly experience that in our true essence, we are each one with the Light. As Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you.”

May we all be led from darkness to light. May we each experience the inner Bliss and the Self-Love that comes from directly knowing our inner Beauty.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Cruise Control by Teja Shankara

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One afternoon, while visiting Amma’s Castro Valley ashram, I sat on the hillside behind the hall, reading the Ramayana and enjoying the incredibly blue sky above me. I read the part where Sita gives a speech to Hanuman about fate, destiny, suffering, and dharma. She says, “No one, not Rama nor you nor I, escapes the fruit of karma, be they sweet or so bitter that they destroy us.” (The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic, by Ramesh Menon, North Point Press, New York, 2003.)

I am continually amazed by how I always seem to read the perfect teaching for the moment. As I read that section of the Ramayana, I was going through my own bit of sorrow and longing for rest. After a bit of unproductive ruminating, I took out my journal and wrote the following:

“I am doing the best that I can, given the intensity of sorrow that I feel in this moment. I can’t rest because I am too involved in external connections. Over and over, I keep writing that the only true Bliss channel is inside. I keep writing that with the intention to really GET IT! I intend to go within for my Bliss and my Light.

“I have so many moments of directly experiencing that the only true Bliss channel is inside, but then again and again I forget and indulge in the longing for union with an earthly man. Right now, while in the pain body, “Union with Lord Shiva” is just four words, devoid of meaning in my direct present moment experience.”

Still feeling blue, though not the blue of vibrancy like the sky, I continued cultivating the witness as I walked down to the pond. I spread a blanket in the sunshine, and delighted in seeing a black heron on a rock across the pond. I wrote this poem:

large black bird
spreads feather wings
under golden sun.
Tejaswini says
Fly, magical one,
Fly!
mirror freedom
for this sorrowing yogini.

As I sat writing down all my sorrows, and witnessing my inability in that moment to break free of the pain body, I noticed that there were three different musical groups happening in the meadow around me. Behind me, a circle of Sufi dancers sang to Ganesha; to my left a large kirtan gathering chanted to Krishna and Rama; and to my right an elderly couple sang songs along with a variety of instruments. Despite my best efforts to remain stuck in the pain body(!), all of that live devotional music was working on me. Gradually the music shifted my thoughts into more positive tones.

As I witnessed myself relaxing into the Love in my heart, I was pleasantly reminded of why I love chanting (singing) so much. Through the practice of chanting, I can and do shift states. Once I shifted out of the pain body, I felt the inner Bliss and remembered that I want to be a servant and shine my Light out to others. I want to live inside the chant!

Of course it doesn’t help to beat ourselves up for feeling sad, and there are times of sorrow that we just have to live through. At those times, we can cultivate the witness and watch ourselves grieving. While watching and allowing the grief to pass through, we can also do spiritual practices that help us shift into the Bliss of our true nature.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of blue sky at Amma’s by Teja Shankara

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This June when I traveled south to see Ammachi at her ashram in Castro Valley, California, I couldn’t help but think about all the gasoline I was using to drive hundreds of miles. I thought about the tragedy of the Gulf oil spill, and I wondered what it is going to take for us humans to stop destroying our beautiful mother earth.

During one of the evening programs, someone asked Amma the following question: “Amma, the Gulf oil spilling is distressing. Could you tell BP how to fix it?”

Amma’s insightful answer: “Pray that the people will be able to fix it properly. May Divine Grace bless them and help us all. The ego of human beings is becoming uncontrollable – when the ego gets bigger and bigger, and beyond control, then God will create such situations. It is God saying, “remember Me, I’m here – I’m in control of the Universe, not you.” So, such things will happen, it’s not unusual. The population is increasing, but the earth isn’t growing. In that process, things will go wrong sometimes. You can’t blame one person or one country. All the people are driving more cars, so they need more petrol, so then things happen like this. Become more expansive. Take a bigger perspective. We aren’t isolated islands – we are all part of the universal chain. We want others to change (like BP), but we have to change ourselves first, and if we change, then others will change automatically. We need to understand that there is a Power Beyond. There are so many factors coming together, so we need God’s Grace. So let us pray for Divine Grace. Incidents like the BP oil spill are like God bashing our ego. Good actions bring good results. Replace bad thoughts with good thoughts. Like adding pure water to salty water, the salty water will eventually become drinkable. Likewise, we can gradually think more and more positive thoughts, and then we will have less and less bad thoughts. Have sincerity, love, and dedication. Pray and be cheerful like little children.”

As always, listening to Amma talk from such an Expanded State, I remembered that for me personally, the most important thing I can do to help the earth is to continue doing my daily spiritual practices in earnest. When I pray and raise my vibration, that higher state of consciousness ripples out and affects the Whole. The simple act of sitting still in meditation for twenty minutes creates a healing energy that can be sent out with conscious intention. I intend that the healing energies created by my spiritual practices go out and help reduce the suffering on earth.

To read about the spiritual practices I do daily, check out my pocket book – a very easy summer read – Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living, available on this website store, where 10% of every sale and donation goes to Amma’s charitable organizations.

Amma often says, “Whether we laugh or cry, days will go by, so we should laugh. Laugh and remain joyful. Laughter is the music of the soul.”

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Amma’s land by Teja Shankara.

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On my recent pilgrimage to see Ammachi in Castro Valley, California, I went to see the chiropractor at Amma’s ashram. During the first session, while I was lying on the table and he was working on my body, Dr. Paul kept telling me to breathe and let the emotions go. I didn’t feel any emotions when he said that, but then he asked me to sit up, and as soon as I sat up I started crying. I didn’t have any ‘stories’ going in my head while I was crying, but it was a really deep cry. It was a huge release. He told me that I had just moved out a big layer, and he advised me to spend a lot of time in the sunshine and to go for a walk that day.

That afternoon I lay in the sunshine, breathing and relaxing. I thought of how Dr. Paul had said to let the sun’s energy into every cell of my body. I allowed my cells to drink in the sunshine while I ate a spicy Indian lunch, wrote in my journal, and drank a cup of hot black tea. Then I remembered to take a walk… So I climbed a little hill under the setting sun, and gazed out at Amma’s sun-drenched land. Suddenly, something – it felt like Something Beyond – pulled my gaze to the ground, and I was looking right at a snake skin!

As I bent over to pick up the skin, I was shaking a little. Even though intellectually I knew that the living snake was no longer inside the skin in my hands, I still felt afraid because it looked so real.

I had never seen a snake skin before, and I was so amazed that I had found it, after having that big layer move out during the session with Dr. Paul. It seemed so symbolic of my process. Snakes shed their skin layers, like I was shedding emotional and energetic layers! I tucked the skin into my bag and gave thanks for that medicine.

Life is ever new and awesome, when we see it that way. I am so grateful for this healing journey of release that is leading me deeper into self-love and ecstatic Bliss.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of snake skin by Teja Shankara.

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Ammachi, popularly known as the “hugging saint,” is one of the world’s top religious/spiritual leaders, alongside the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Grand Rabbi of Israel, the Grand Ayatollah, and the Dalai Lama. Her international ashram in Kerala, India, is home to more than 3,000 people, and her humanitarian organization, Embracing the World, serves the poor and suffering in India and around the world. Twice each year, Amma tours the U.S., where her main center is located just outside of San Ramon, California. (www.amma.org)

In June, 2006, I began seeing Amma and receiving her darshan ~ literally the word “darshan” means a vision of a holy person, and with Amma it also means a hug!

Over the course of the eight pilgrimages I have made to receive Amma’s darshan and blessings, I have noticed a cumulative effect with her hugs, with her spiritual teachings, and with her Grace appearing in my life.

It is difficult for me to explain my relationship with Amma. By now I have many darshan stories to share, but for this blog post, I will just tell one story. Of all the meaningful embraces with Amma, this one really blew me open.

It was during the Devi Bhava night, the special night when Amma dresses as the Divine Mother and many people stay up all night watching her give hugs until the morning light. At midnight I sat in the snack shop drinking coffee and laughing with other devotees. Then at 3:30am, it was time for my darshan, so I got in the line heading up to the small Indian woman adorned in a purple, gold, and orange sari. (Usually Amma wears white, but on Devi Bhava nights she wears a colorful shimmering sari.)

When I first got into the darshan line I didn’t feel at all nervous. I was enjoying the bhajans (devotional songs with traditional Indian instruments), and I felt really connected to everything and everyone. But, as I got closer to the stage, my hands got sweaty and my heart was beating faster, and I was shaking. I felt like the force of Amma’s Shakti (spiritual power) could blow me off the stage into outer space! I suspected that there would be some special shakti in this particular darshan experience, and I was right.

As they plunged me into the fragrant carnation garland around her chest, I heard Amma saying into my ear, “My daughter, my daughter, my daughter,” and then it all happened so fast: Amma gave me an apple, and the attendants rushed me to take the prasad (a blessed chocolate kiss and rose petals) from Amma, and then all of a sudden, without planning to, I looked at Amma and said, “Can I touch your feet?” Amma said, “Okay,” in the cute voice that an innocent child might use, and I delighted in the sound of her voice in English. (Usually she speaks Malayalam and the Swamis translate into English.)

I went to the side and bowed, then sat down to eat the chocolate kiss. Still shaking, I kept thinking, ‘Amma gave me an apple! Amma gave me an apple!’ And then a flood of other thoughts: ‘Why did she give me an apple? Can I really receive an apple from the Mother of the Universe? Do I really deserve this apple?’ and so on… Later a friend told me that Amma probably gave me the apple as a way to recognize all of my hard work.

It took me a couple of days to eat that apple. Sitting in the sunshine by the pond, I slowly ate the apple. I saved the seeds to plant someday.

As I continue my daily spiritual practices, I feel hugely boosted by that time with Amma. Though I don’t understand yet fully with my mind, I sense that she gave me a whole lot more than just a piece of fruit when she placed that apple in my hand. I am so grateful for all that I have received, and all that I continue to receive from Amma.

Ten percent of every sale and donation on this website store goes to Amma’s charitable organizations. With the dozens of humanitarian projects of Embracing the World, there are no paid staff members, so all of the money goes directly to help the poor and suffering.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja with apple from Amma by Teja Shankara.

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