On June 26^th, I posted a blog article (“Release!”) about my process of releasing all expectations and griefs that I have placed on any forms of the masculine. Very soon after writing that article, I became aware that I needed to not only release expectations and griefs that I had placed on external forms of the masculine, but I also needed to release all the expectations that I had put on my internal masculine. I reflected on how much I expected of my own masculine, and I saw that while my masculine side completely bowed to my feminine side, it was not a reciprocal bowing! My feminine side was completely frustrated with my masculine side and refused to bow to it.

In one of her teachings, Amma says the following about the unity of the masculine and feminine:

“By the merging of man and woman, Mother doesn’t mean on the physical level….Women and men contain both elements…. The woman is unaware of the masculinity within her and searches for it on the outside, in a man. Likewise, the man doesn’t try to nourish the qualities of forgiveness, compassion, and affection that lie hidden within him. He imagines they are to be found only in a woman. Both men and women should awaken the complementary powers and capacities within themselves. Completeness is the union of the masculine and feminine elements within ourselves…. Only through this inner union can we experience limitless bliss. The aim of brahmacharya is to realize that both the male and female aspects are contained within us, and that the nature of our true Self transcends any such duality.”

(Lead Us to the Light: A Collection of the Teachings of Mata Amritanandamayi, Compiled by Swami Jnanamritananda, M.A. Center, San Ramon, CA, 2002.)

After realizing that I was seeking union with the masculine outside of myself largely because I was unhappy with the masculine element within myself, I set the intention to seek harmony and balance with my inner masculine and feminine elements. Taking the brahmacharya celibacy vow for at least six months, I endeavor to focus within and find the true Bliss that comes from uniting Shiva and Shakti internally. Lalla, naked mystic of medieval Kashmir, sang of that internal Union:

I, Lalla, entered the jasmine garden,
where Shiva and Shakti were making love.

I dissolved into them,
and what is this
to me, now?

I seem to be here,
but really I’m walking
in the jasmine garden.

(Lalla: Naked Song, translations by Coleman Barks, Maypop Publishing.)

May all beings know the Bliss of Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

The Lovers image by Mara~ earth light, CC license

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Today is the one-year mark of when my teacher left his body. I honor him deeply and thank him for all that he taught me. (My spiritual memoir, The Rita Lila: A Western Yogini’s Journey to Bliss, chronicles my six years of learning with my teacher, who I now honor with the name Yogi Shambho.)

I am humbled by the passage of time. The incredible grief and very tough lessons of this past year have strengthened me considerably. After my teacher passed away, I felt like a daughter whose father had abandoned her, and for most of the year I made poor choices due to being in an out-of-control state. I regret some of those choices, so I am now working to make peace with myself. 

With his amazingly open and compassionate heart, my teacher would have very gently assured me that I am on the right path, despite the crazy things I did this past year. He would say to take a deep breath and go forward with confidence in myself. Once, he told me that he couldn’t cut me much slack because he could see that I had great potential. Although he was stern with me at times, I always felt how much he loved me. He told me that I was an adamantine jewel of clarity, that I was a rare gem…

I know that he would be proud of my writings on this Teja Blog… and he would be proud of my regular, daily spiritual practices… and he would be proud of me leading the weekly Radiance Rising circles…though I am sure from some distant star he is getting a kick out of how differently I lead the Om Namah Shivaya chant! He led it very slowly while strumming his guitar, while I lead it kirtan-style with my harmonium, accompanied by drumming.

I am proud of the good work I’m doing, too, but I still need to make peace with myself for the choices I made this past year. Lately I have been feeling impure and feeling the need to purify myself on all levels. To that end, I have taken the brahmacharya vow for the next six months. I intend to gain self-control in thought, speech, and action. I am proud of myself for taking that vow, and already I am feeling more pure in my being.

May all beings who are grieving find the comfort and solace they need. May they allow themselves to grieve, and may they find acceptance and peace.

In one of Rumi’s poems, he writes about “the sweetness that comes after grief.” It is with much gratitude and reverence for Time, that I now understand that phrase quite intimately.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja in the sweetness after grief 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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A few months ago a friend gave me a small deck of cards that contain some of Ammachi’s teachings. The idea is to pick one card for each day, though I have just been picking one every few days. For some reason (hmmm…), I have picked this card many times:

"Today, I practice offering myself to God,
surrendering without asking, demanding, or suggesting."

At the beginning of last week, I had picked that card and left it out on the table for several days. Then one morning I put the card back in the deck, shuffled, and picked it again! At that point even my rational mind surrendered and I said out loud, “Okay, Amma, I get it!”

That little card has put me through a major transformation process. One month ago I still had a “plan” even though I know we really shouldn’t have a plan. At that point, I was still telling God how I wanted the Universe to unfold things through me. But then, all of a sudden, I noticed that I had completely let go of worrying about my To Do list, and I searched inside and could not find my “plan”… where had it gone? I looked at that quote again:

"Today, I practice offering myself to God,
surrendering without asking, demanding, or suggesting."

I realized that I had finally understood what it means to not even suggest to God what we want to happen. When we let go of even suggesting, then we find ourselves in a more surrendered state, in which we can authentically chant the “i don’t know” mantra. After repeating “i don’t know” over and over, we can then go deep inside and allow our inner teacher to give us a true knowingness. The knowingness that arises from the depths of our beings is really different from the knowingness that we think we have when we are making all of our grand plans with our little monkey minds.

I love it when a spiritual teaching manifests in my daily life like this. After all, that is the whole point of being on a spiritual path: to gradually learn to actually live the wisdom of the teachings.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of  Orange Flower by Oneras – CC license

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What fills the heart with love? When I ask myself that question, so many images come rushing to my mind. Yesterday afternoon my heart was filled with love as my son showed me card trick after card trick… then in the evening, my heart was filled with love as the setting sun broke through the storm clouds and shone on the pine tree in my front yard. This morning, my heart was filled with love as I thought about my upcoming journey to see Ammachi. (www.amma.org.)

As my heart melted into the Love that is Amma’s embrace, I remembered this teaching: at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona, Spain (2004), Amma gave a speech entitled “May Peace and Happiness Prevail.” She said, “If in future, there is a Third World War, let it not be a war between countries, but rather a war against our common enemy, poverty. In today’s world, people experience two types of poverty: the poverty caused by lack of food, clothing, and shelter, and the poverty caused by lack of love and compassion. Of these two, the second type needs to be considered first — because if we have love and compassion in our hearts, then we will wholeheartedly serve those who suffer from lack of food, clothing, and shelter.”

So what can we do to increase the love in our hearts? Regular daily spiritual practices increase our love and compassion. One spiritual practice is studying spiritual teachings and applying them in our daily lives. Increasing the love in our own hearts does ripple out and brings more Peace and Happiness to others. Cultivating the Witness helps us to see all the things that block us from feeling the love and compassion in our hearts. Once we see and accept the blocks, they begin to dissolve right in front of our eyes.

May we each increase the love in our hearts today.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of evening sunlight on pine tree by Teja Shankara.

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Yesterday was Hanuman Jayanti, the Hindu festival day that marks the birth of Hanuman-ji, the monkey god who helped Lord Rama rescue Sita from the demon Ravana in the ancient Indian epic tale, the Ramayana. Before the modern age of television, all across India it was customary for people to gather in the evenings to tell the Ramayana. Listening to the enchanting stories from the 24,000 verses composed by the poet-sage Valmiki, people were inspired to remember who they truly were, deep in their own hearts. Night after night after night, they laughed, they cried, and they went home to dream of the Ramayana.

The Ramayana offers many teachings that are still valuable to us today. In this article I will share one way that we can each apply this ancient tale to our daily lives, but first I will explain my personal journey with the Ramayana and with Hanuman.

I first read the Ramayana about five years ago. The version I chose was short, and a bit dry, but I think it is a good introduction to the story. It is called Ramayana: A Tale of Gods and Demons, by Ranchor Prime. (Mandala Publishing, San Rafael, CA, 2001, 2004.) I especially like the sepia-toned paintings by B.G. Sharma that grace the pages of this thin volume.

Last April I had the good fortune to attend a kirtan (call and response chanting) retreat led by Jai Uttal (accompanied by tablas player, Daniel Paul), at Breitenbush Hotsprings. Each evening, after we finished chanting, Jai told us the stories of the Ramayana, adding hilarious modern-day touches along the way. I asked for his recommendation on which version to read next, and he suggested the one that I am now reading, by Ramesh Menon. It is called The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic. (North Point Press, New York, 2003.) In the introduction, Menon writes: "More than anything else, reading the Ramayana brings the reader close to the noble, holy, and living spirit of Rama. Regardless of which religion one professes, or if one is an agnostic or an atheist, the touch of Rama's spirit is a profound, healing contact." He goes on to say that reading or listening to the Ramayana purifies one's soul.

Almost one year ago I purchased Krishna Das' CD "Flow of Grace" which contains six versions of the Hanuman Chalisa, a 40-verse prayer that extols the virtues of the Hindu monkey god, Hanuman. I committed myself to chanting the Hanuman Chalisa at least once each day, beginning April 30th, 2009. Usually I chant along with the one that is only 8:22 minutes long. For about 8-9 months, I sang along with the CD while reading the Sanskrit words in the accompanying booklet, and then one day, to my pleasant surprise, I discovered that I had memorized it and could close my eyes and sing along with the whole 40 verses without looking at the words. I felt like a gleeful child who had just learned how to ride a bike with no hands!

So yesterday, since it was Hanuman's special day, I baked a vegan chocolate cake while chanting the Hanuman Chalisa the whole time. Then I took that cake with me to my weekly Radiance Rising Circle last night, and we had a festive Birthday Party for Hanuman. I read a story about Hanuman, then we listened to Krishna Das' "Ring Song" while eating the chocolate cake that was infused with Hanuman's qualities. Hanuman is first and foremost known for his extreme devotion to Rama and Sita. Rama (also called Ram) and Sita represent the eternally perfect union of the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine. Hanuman found this treasure of Union within his own heart, and this Union also exists within all of our hearts

In Hinduism, there is One Absolute Reality, that in the West we call One God, and that One includes everyone and everything in one continuous web of energy and vibration that is essentially Pure Love. This Love lives inside of all of our hearts all the time. The thousands of gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon are all different aspects of the One Love Reality. The different gods and goddesses are reflected in the many written scriptures and mythologies in India, and they are also actual energy states that can be invoked within and without one's being. So, through chanting to Hanuman, we can awaken his qualities within ourselves and in the environment surrounding us. Hanuman's qualities are devotion, super-hero strength and courage, and wisdom.

The Ramayana is a tale about the battle between good and evil, and it is a very moving love story, and it is full of multi-leveled spiritual teachings. Along with the Bhagavad Gita, it was very close to Gandhi-ji's heart. When Gandhi was a boy, his nurse gave him his mantram, and he repeated it throughout the many days of his life. Even as his assassin's bullet entered his chest, Gandhi-ji said it: "He Rama," which means "O God.

So how can we each apply this ancient tale to our daily lives? We can use this tale as a tool to help us remember who we truly are. One of the most beautiful themes in the Ramayana is remembrance of one's true nature. Even though Rama is an avatar, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and Hanuman is an incarnation of Lord Shiva, they still forget their true nature and need to be reminded of it. We also forget who we are and need to be reminded. We are spiritual beings who get caught up in this temporary physical realm. We do need to be in the world and do our part to make the world a better place, but we can do our part with the awareness that we are not just the body-mind. When we remember that we are one with our souls, and that we are one with all other souls, then we can do our part more efficiently, with more pure love in our hearts.

It is comforting to know that even a super-hero like Hanuman can't always remember his inner connection with Divinity. Like him, we forget and then we remember. Each time we connect with the Pure Love inside our hearts, we bring this radiant jewel forth and shine it in the world around us. When we remember who we truly are, we gain a quiet strength, a profound spiritual strength that enables us to take positive actions in the world. It was through the power gained through his regular daily spiritual practices, such as meditation, chanting, and studying the Ramayana, that Gandhi-ji was able to be such an instrument for change in India.

(To begin doing regular daily spiritual practices yourself, check out my new pocket book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living. This book is now in print, and it will be discounted on this website store through April 10^th, 2010.)

As we realize that all of our hearts are connected in one continuous web of energy and vibration, then we understand the importance of going within to purify our hearts and minds of any negativities that might harm others. We each have a responsibility to raise our levels of consciousness. Peace on earth begins with each of us finding peace within. Studying the Ramayana is one way to cleanse ourselves and remember who we truly are, deep in our hearts. As more and more of us commit ourselves to this daily remembrance, the radiant light of our souls will warm and heal this world.

Happy Hanuman's Birthday to you!

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Flower photo by Blue Turban Photography, CC license.

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A long, long, long time ago, in ancient India, some wise being said, “The mind becomes that which it dwells upon.” Through the ages that sutra has been passed down from yogi to yogi, all the way into this present age, when my dear teacher Basil (who passed away in July, 2009), learned it and passed it on to me. Despite my many meltdowns, Basil saw clearly that I am in a relentless process of opening my heart, so he advised me (again and again) to keep my attention on the highest state of consciousness.

The mind becomes that which it dwells upon. If we focus on our problems, we become our problems. We have a choice in where we put our attention, and wherever we place our attention, our energies follow. Energies follow thoughts. So if we place our attention on negative thought patterns, then our energies will feed those negative patterns. Conversely, if we put our attention on constructive, positive thought patterns, then our energies will feed those positive patterns.

A friend recently sent me an article on relationships by Abraham Hicks. The following two sentences really struck me: “I have reached for thoughts that give me relief. And I have relieved myself all the way into my full connection of who I really am.” We do have a choice in which thoughts we focus our attention upon.

This blog post is a continuation from my last blog article, “Bliss and Grief: My Two Lives.” In that entry, I wrote: “When I get stuck in grief, no matter how bad the pain feels, I keep saying to myself, “There I am feeling grief again. This too shall shift.” I remind myself to keep putting my attention on things that expand me, and to hold onto my intention to be happy and open to all of life. When we are contracted – no matter how bad the pain feels – it is really important that we continue to hold our intention to keep opening our hearts.”

In order to keep our hearts open through all of life’s ups and downs, we have to learn to place our attention on things that expand us. The intention to be expanded is a choice. The intention to be happy is also a choice. Once we choose happiness, then we have to learn the skill of being happy. Happiness is a life skill that can be learned, practiced, and cultivated. Our thoughts largely (if not entirely) determine our level of happiness. Thus, watching our thoughts is one of the most important spiritual practices.

In my new book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living, I describe the spiritual practice of Cultivating the Witness. We can cultivate the witness part of our minds during meditation practice and also during our daily activities. The witness consciousness is simply that part of our minds that objectively watches everything we are. When we practice witnessing our thoughts, we get to intimately know our thought patterns, and then we can practice focusing our attention on the positive thought patterns.

This practice gradually re-trains our minds to be more careful about what they think! This is important when you consider that the mind becomes that which it dwells upon. Our thoughts create our realities. If we want to be happy in this reality, then we have to choose constructive, positive thoughts.

Since this is a gradual process, it is important to be accepting of everything that we witness within our minds. If we cultivate a lot of self-acceptance and self-love, then our minds will be more open to changing.

It can be helpful to first identify what things expand you. These might include activities, people, spiritual practices, time in nature, and so on. You can even write out a list to refer to when you are not feeling expanded. We have to consciously turn our attention toward those things, again and again and again, even when we feel despair or depression. If one thing doesn’t uplift us, then we try another thing, until suddenly we pop out of the funk and back into the happiness.

This week I witnessed a depressed state pass through my being. After a few days of trying several things which did not work, I sat down to do a 45-minute chanting practice that I do on Fridays (the 1,000 Names of the Divine Mother practice I learned from Ammachi), and during that chanting I experienced some heat moving around in different parts of my body. After the practice I ate some good, dark organic chocolate, and then I called a friend and expressed some things that had been upsetting me. As I talked, it felt as though the energies generated by the chanting (and by the chocolate) allowed an energetic fire to send the words out of my throat. After expressing my truth, the depressed state lifted and I felt blissful for the rest of the day.

That day was yesterday, and it happened to be Shiva Ratri, which is the most auspicious day of the year for honoring the Hindu deity, Lord Shiva. In the Hindu pantheon of gods and goddesses, there are thousands of different names and forms, but they are actually all aspects of the One Absolute Reality, which people in the West call God. Lord Shiva represents the universal aspect of destruction, but whenever something dies, then something else can be created, so Shiva is not just about destruction. He is about letting go of attachments that make us miserable, so we can exist happily in a creative, non-attached state.

This ability to exist happily in a creative, non-attached state is within each of us. We don’t have to wait until we die to experience the bliss of non-attachment. Rather, we can choose to witness our thoughts and let go of the attachment-based thoughts that cause us pain. We can choose to focus our attention on thoughts that bring us relief.

Tony Burroughs says it well in The Intenders Handbook: “The Intenders of the Highest Good are steadily raising our level of consciousness by keeping a closer watch on all of our thoughts. We’re learning to tame the negative thoughts and take our own power back. We’re choosing which thoughts we desire to put our attention on by envisioning only positive outcomes and turning the undesired thoughts around in mid-air, before they gain momentum.” (The Intenders Handbook by Tony Burroughs, Dolphin Press, Revised 2007 Edition.)

Take a moment to consider what thoughts bring you relief. As you practice turning your attention toward the positive thoughts that bring relief, keep in mind that changing your thought patterns is a gradual process. Be patient and gentle with yourself as you witness all the thoughts going through your mind. Accept and allow all the thoughts, and then gradually choose which thoughts to focus your attention upon.

The mind becomes that which it dwells upon. May we all choose to focus our minds on positive thoughts that bring us happiness.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of crystal reflecting orange light in kitchen by Teja Shankara.

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Bliss and Grief, Joy and Sorrow, Happiness and Sadness. Again and again, we open to the Light, and then we find ourselves back in the darkness. In my new book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living (which is going to the printer very soon and which is now discounted on this website store), I describe the spiritual process of expanding and contracting: “As we practice opening and closing, it is helpful for us to understand why we have to keep closing. Simply put, most of our systems are just not ready to open to the Full Bliss of the Universe all at once…. So, we open our hearts again and again, gradually expanding our capacity to be in the bliss state.”

Understanding the spiritual process of expanding and contracting is really important, especially for those of us in the West. We have to let go of our fast-paced mode of doing, and relax into a slower state of being. For most of us, changes within our beings occur very gradually over a long period of time. Once we begin to witness ourselves and we understand that the spiritual path is a gradual journey of opening the heart, then we can release the expectation that we will be happy all the time. Keeping in mind that it is our expectations that create our suffering, we can see the need to realistically approach our emotional states.

If we understand that expansions inevitably follow contractions and contractions inevitably follow expansions, then we can more gracefully navigate the shifts between joy and sorrow. We can even begin to see how these two states are really part of one whole circle. They even seem to touch each other at times, like when we laugh so hard that tears stream down our cheeks.

Kahlil Gibran describes this quite brilliantly in his chapter On Joy and Sorrow: “When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” He goes on to say that joy and sorrow are inseparable. (The Prophet, Pocket Edition, Alred A. Knopf, Inc., NY, 1973.)

When we cultivate the witness, that objective part of ourselves that simply watches everything we are, we intimately get to know the ways in which we open and close. Take a moment to reflect on the ways you open and close. When expanded, how do you feel? When contracted, how do you feel?

My expansions feel like sparkly Bliss. When my mind and heart open, I feel incredibly connected with All that is, and I feel so in love with everything and everyone. For me, the expanded state carries the quality of excitement. At times I feel so much Radiance and Happiness rising inside that I feel like I could just bliss right on out of my skin. In my memoir, The Rita Lila: A Western Yogini's Journey to Bliss (published under my pen name Rita Ann Shankara), I share my process with learning to hold more Bliss and with allowing all my emotions to purify me.

All spiritual practices are designed to purify our minds and hearts. In the Bhakti Yoga tradition, all emotions are viewed as fuel for the purification fire, so all emotions are embraced and offered to the Beloved. I practice this with my emotions, but I notice that I have to be careful not to get stuck in the sorrowful feelings.

My contractions sometimes feel like a grief so deep that it could stop my heart from beating. I tend to cry easily and often, as anyone who has read my memoir can attest. I have a lifelong pattern of releasing my emotions through tears. I can remember feeling things quite deeply, even as a small child. In my baby book, my Mom recorded an incident from when I was two years old. It was the middle of the night, and I stood up in my crib and called out, “Daddy, Teja’s crying!”

A few days ago, after crying over something, I called a dear yogi friend of mine, and I said, “I was just crying because” and right then, he interrupted me and declared, “You were just crying because that’s what you do!” I laughed and said, “You are right. I was just crying because that’s what I do.” We then joked that I could be the crying saint. I said maybe I could put a video of me crying on my YouTube channel, and he dared me to do so.

But who would really want to watch me lying on the floor sobbing in front of my altar? Wouldn’t people rather watch a video of me laughing? (If you have an opinion on this, you can post a comment at the end of this article.)

Crying can be spiritually purifying. Sometimes people feel relieved after a good cry. But, as I said before, we have to be careful because crying can also lead to a state in which we get stuck in the pain body, that emotional mass of energy which holds all of our pains. For me, when I am in the pain body, I lose my connection with the Light, and I feel stuck in an isolated bubble of contracted energy.

Also, I sense that the Universe can’t hear us when we are stuck in our pain, because the pain can block our connection with the Universe. Yet, once we fall into the pain body, it can be difficult to find our way back out of it. That is when it is good to remember that we are not our pain, but rather we are the one witnessing the pain that is passing through us. It is also good to remember that we are not isolated in our pain. We can think of all the other people who are feeling pain at the same time, and send love to all their pain bodies.

The Buddhist path focuses on the “middle way,” which means accepting and allowing our emotions without repressing them and without indulging in them. Pema Chödrön, a Buddhist nun, describes tonglen, a practice in which we breathe in whatever feels bad and send out whatever feels good. (I did not mistype that sentence. Tonglen is actually a practice in taking in pains and giving out relief from pains.) She writes: “People everywhere feel pain – jealousy, anger, being left out, feeling lonely. Everybody feels it in the painful way you feel it. The story lines vary, but the underlying feeling is the same for us all. By the same token, if you feel some sense of delight – if you connect with what for you is inspiring, opening, relieving, relaxing – you breathe it out, you give it away, you send it out to everyone else.” (Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion, by Pema Chödrön and Emily Hilburn Sell, Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2002.)

Cultivating the witness part of ourselves helps us to stay in the middle, just watching, accepting, and allowing our emotions. So with grief, for example, we simply allow the grief to pass through us, without repressing it and without indulging in it. Repressed emotions get stored in the muscle tissues, which can cause illnesses, so it is important to allow ourselves to feel our feelings. Yet, we have to learn the art of feeling the emotions and then allowing them to release.

When I get stuck in grief, no matter how bad the pain feels, I keep saying to myself, “There I am feeling grief again. This too shall shift.” I remind myself to keep putting my attention on things that expand me, and to hold onto my intention to be happy and open to all of life. When we are contracted – no matter how bad the pain feels – it is really important that we continue to hold our intention to keep opening our hearts.

Sometimes during a bout with grief, if I cultivate the witness part of myself, then I pop back into the Bliss state, in which I experience self-love, inner harmony, and compassion for all beings. The witness part of ourselves is one with the Bliss of our Inner Beings, so tuning in to the witness helps us to keep a bigger perspective. If we visualize our pains in the context of the vast cosmos, then we can (sometimes) laugh at how tiny our pains are compared to the vastness of the stars.

Bliss and Grief. My two lives. Both are true, and that beautiful circle of joy and sorrow is leading me ever deeper into the vastness of my beating heart. May we all come to know the healing self-love that arises when we accept all of ourselves. May we all experience more and more happiness, even as we journey through the pains of life.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of crystal reflecting green light in kitchen by Teja Shankara.

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