3 Levels of Non-Dual Reality

One of the things I harp on here and in a few other forums is stages of enlightenment. Like all other human development including puberty, it is a process marked with distinct stages. There are quite a few voices who discount such stages, either because their teacher discouraged concepts of stages (like Gangaji) as a barrier to living them. Or because they’ve not yet experienced such themselves. I fully agree that concepts of stages are not reality so should be held lightly. But not understanding the unfolding can cause other issues.

With spiritual awakening or Self Realization, the personal seeker falls away and there can be a sense of being “done”. Some drop practices then. However, this is a little premature. While the “me” does indeed fall away, it does not mean the growth is done. In fact, I would describe Self Realization as the kindergarten of enlightenment.

There have also developed several erroneous concepts around this. Like thinking inner non-duality with a separate outer illusory world is THE non-duality described by Vedanta. However, it most certainly is not.

Last fall, several people I know spoke on a panel discussion at the SAND conference (Science and Non-Duality) on this subject. By discounting stages, several points of confusion arise. People confuse recognition with awakening or awakening with being done. In the discussion, they make the following points:

1) Don’t mistake understanding for Realization
After some deep study, a profound understanding can grow. But it remains an understanding or set of concepts, not a lived experience. If there is a sense of rigidity or belief to it, you’re in the realm of concepts, not realization.

If some experiences are driving the understanding, the memory of those experiences can drive a seeker. If it changes them enough, they may consider it a realization. In one sense, that’s true. But neither a memory nor a concept are a living experience.

2) Don’t mistake realization for Liberation
Deep enough and we discover the truth of our being. That we really are an eternal Self. But a discovery, however profound, is not liberation. As long as the personal me remains as who you are, it is not Self Realization. Is the Self there 24/7, even in deep sleep?

(In the conversation, they use witnessing deep sleep as a marker for Self Realization or CC. But there are a few (like myself) who gained the witness prior to awakening. Is there still a me?)

3) Don’t mistake liberation for Enlightenment.
We continue our work and practice as the journey is not over even when the seeking individual falls away. Mark describes how when the person falls away, nature takes over. The process is no longer your personal job.

The non-duality of Vedanta is a Unity that encompasses both the inner Self and the outer world in oneness. If we’re experiencing the world as a separate illusion, this is duality, not full non-duality. We’re confusing an inner non-duality with a complete one. Holding on to the “world as illusion” and “experiences are maya” is another way to let concepts be a barrier.

It can be noted that renunciates may continue with a “world as illusion” model as a means of renunciation. The same rule should not be applied to householders who need to act in the world. I discuss that here.

They also note that some teachers become awakened without knowing how they got there. People then try to mimic their experience as a technique. But “description is not a prescription.”

Although the piece is titled the 3 Levels of Non-Dual Reality, they don’t explicitly state the 3 levels. They describe them and note points of confusion. To help understand what they’re speaking of, here is a brief review:

The first is inner non-duality, what is commonly called Self Realization or Cosmic Consciousness.
The second is with the awakening heart and refining perception, discovering Divinity  in the world. (while not technically a non-dual stage, it leads to the next)
The third is when the world and the Self are recognized to be one and the same and the observer and observed become one, leaving only seeing. This is the dawn of full non-duality, though it usually develops in stages of integration of all values of experience.

The second finds it’s fullness after the third in God Realization. Then we transcend Atman into Brahman, a stage they didn’t get into.

The Upanishads describe this as I am That, Thou art That, All This is That, That alone Is.
Davidya

Here’s the 45 min panel conversation with about 10 min of Q&A on Fora.tv.

Occupy Love

This evening, I saw Velcrow Ripper’s film Occupy Love. It’s the third in the series, after Scared Sacred and Fierce Light. It was held as a free showing in a local church, a rare showing in his home town. (the previous 2 had theatre runs) It was also crowd funded.

“Occupy Love explores the growing realization that the dominant system of power is failing to provide us with health, happiness or meaning. The old paradigm that concentrates wealth, founded on the greed of the few, is causing economic and ecological collapse. The resulting crisis has become the catalyst for a profound awakening: millions of people are deciding that enough is enough – the time has come to create a new world, a world that works for all life.”

He asks “How can the crisis we’re facing become a love story?” The film explores the Alberta oil sands project, the Occupy movement where he spends time during the Wall St. protest, and several other events. He speaks with a number of participants and experts on social change. It shows the Occupy Movement from a different reference point than was common in the media. For example, they used horizontal organization which was foreign to those used to hierarchy. And love was a major theme. Did you know that?

The film speaks of solutions revolving around raising consciousness, changing paradigms, and love. In discussions afterwards, it was clear some attendees viewed these as abstractions rather than practical solutions. That was a good reminder. And we discussed how things have evolved since Occupy, such as with Idle No More. Non-violent or Compassionate Communication was also observed to be growing.

“We live in a time of record-breaking crisis, but it’s also a time of record-breaking vision.” Not “the 99%”, 100%.

Souls, Groups, and Flames

An interesting discussion came up in a forum and I thought it useful to touch on a few things around souls and soul connections. Not a topic I’d want to over-emphasize, but it’s useful to have some clarity.

Souls
I’ve discussed the soul on this site a few times, such as in Seat of the Soul or the Soul’s Past. There are other things people may point to and call the soul but to me, it’s the golden-white light in the heart space. It is connected to the divine with a silver thread out the top of the head and leaves the body when it dies. All life-forms have one to some degree.

The life force (prana, chi) expresses itself through various means, including energy centres and our physiology. As the first link above talks about, there is also a life-spark in the head. Yogananda called this the soul. To me, the soul is the larger light in the heart.

Name
Each soul has a name, an energetic or vibratory signal that may be heard or felt. It is quite unpronounceable with a mouth and is much more subtle than a spoken word. This has also been called the “true name” and our given names curiously often reflect phonemes from it. This is also distinct from different kinds of spiritual names but again, there can be a connection.

Soul Groups
While the karmic connections between souls are complex and intertwined, we typically will travel through lives with some people from a shared journey. Sometimes the connection is driven by resolving incomplete desires and feelings from prior time together. Sometimes, we’re brought together in shared purpose. Or both. We tend to feel a resonance or sense of connection with people in our soul group, like they’re familiar before we get to know them. But if not, circumstances pull you together until you do. If the connection is strong, it may bring with it expectations of who they are from the past. But their present life may or may not reflect that.

In his Essene Mirrors talk, Gregg Braden points out that attraction does not necessarily mean you should have an intimate relationship. It may simply mean there is something to resolve between you. Or they can bring you the key to the next step in your growth. Resonance with an awake person is also a great way to awaken spiritually.

Of course, there can also be relationships that show up to resolve karma that may not have a soul group connection. And you’re more likely to connect with your group when you’re living to purpose.

Twin Flames and Soul-Mates
I’ve heard a lot of nonsense and variability around these terms. Some use “soul-mate” to mean a good friend or wife. Or to mean our “one true love.” I use the term soul-mate to describe souls we have a strong, close resonant connection with. Someone we have a lot of ancient history with. As such, we can have several soul-mates. They may not become lovers. They may not be at the same point in life or even on the same plane of life as we are. But the connection will be strong. They may even push buttons for us and find us both attracted and repelled.

If we long for “the one true love”, I would suggest that is actually the Divine as no human can ever do more than be a vehicle for Divine love. A relationship based on that makes for a wonderful connection but we’re recognizing the Divine in each other, as the Namaste greeting represents.

Similarly, some describe our “twin flame” as the one true love. That is rather idealized, unfortunately. Love is boundless and eternal so is never limited by this or that form. Along with the twin flame concept is the idea that our souls were split in 2 and will never be whole unless we find our twin. Again, it is spirit that will make us whole, not a person. And the soul is a focus or spark of the Divine. It is never divided, spilt or broken. It may become lost to our awareness, but it is never lost to itself or the Divine. This is similar to the idea of “soul fragments”. We may certainly feel unintegrated, like parts of ourselves are spread about, our energy scattered through time and space. But the soul itself remains undivided. (“he who should not be named” included)

While I’ve not experienced this fully, the experience suggests your twin flame is born together with you as a pair and your lives flow juxtaposed and balanced. Just as there is a thread that rises out of your crown to connect you to the Divine, so too there is a thread from the heart connecting you with your pair. This does not however mean you’ll spend a lot of lives together. Only that you’ll balance each other. As another observed, we’ll usually be better able to serve apart from each other or we won’t be balancing. One fellow suggested you’d know each other in only about .3% of lives and have an intimate relationship in a fraction of those. Can’t speak to the accuracy of that and I’m sure it varies, but it gives you an idea. Another idea is that the twin flame shows up in your final human lifetime.

It’s worth noting that some people are “fallen” angels. As such, their twin may be an angel. That certainly limits the relationship possibilities. 

Again, this does not mean you cannot have profoundly intimate and loving relationships with a soul-mate or 2. But if we really want the eternal juice, we’ll only find that in the Divine.

Guardians
Guardian angels are other beings that we have a long soul-level relationship with. Friends Forever we can count on. They are themselves part of groups or teams with a hierarchical structure rising to the Divine. But their work is with us. Clearly, life is a sea of interconnectedness in a field of oneness.

How could it be otherwise? 
Davidya

Feeling is Believing

Recently, I did another workshop on working with your energy centres with Nancy Shipley Rubin. It was part 2 of the “solution field” process we learned last fall.

While the workshop covered all chakras, I’ll focus on the 2nd here. It plays a key role in our experience of life and our ability to create what we’re seeking. The second is the main energy centre for our emotional sheath, also called the astral or vital body. It’s also where we tend to carry the most baggage. The related third drives the lower mind and will, that which names and judges. It is also the lower protector or guardian.

Unmet Needs
Much of our disappointment in life is from unmet emotional needs. Out of touch with ourselves, we unconsciously project our needs into the world and seek them externally. Expecting others to somehow mind-read what we don’t recognize in ourselves, the world fails us repeatedly.

When someone else is projecting on us, it takes a lot of strength not to get caught in it. Ironically, if we close our energy in protection (common for most of us), our energy will amplify their projections, reflecting it back. This of course amplifies conflict and discord too. To just be able to see it as their projection of unmet needs profoundly changes relationships. (not that I’m well-practiced at that)

Many relationships fail because of unconscious needs that cease being fed by the other person due to changing circumstances and growth.

Yet if we can learn the simple ways to resolve internal conflict and repressed feelings, we can clear the way to meet our emotional needs internally. For example, we can’t project when we’re grounded and present. And wouldn’t you like to be happy for no reason? Happiness is part of our nature and will arise if we cleanse the emotions.

This is not to say we shouldn’t love and express feelings, only that this is a giving and sharing rather than a co-dependency. When we don’t depend on another for basic emotional needs, our inner life settles markedly. But this requires skills, like learning to tell the difference between our old baggage (unmet or unresolved) and what we’re feeling now (new).

What we feel, we believe
Like seeing is believing, what we experience directly we tend to believe. However, events can trigger emotional memories that feel real but may no longer be true. Like that we’re bad or unworthy. They have a kind of “magnetic” quality, due to embedded desires. They are the story of what was not met in the past. And they continue to filter our perception of ourselves, others and the world. In some ways, beliefs are named emotions with ideas attached.

This causes us to live driven from the past and from avoidance rather than from what is here in front of us. It also tends to create life dominated by what is unmet (used to want) rather than what we want now. Emotional literacy helps us become aware of our internal dynamics and differentiate between a triggered memory, resistance, and what is actually here now.

Inversely, if we’ve repressed our feelings and don’t feel the dynamics, we’ll tend to try and force things, striving and pushing against what is. This is more common for men. ‘Real boys don’t cry.’ And if you can’t relate to this, numbness is an emotion too, a good sign of long-term overwhelm.

Where do we feel it coming from? What is the “tone” of the feeling? Does it feel forced or resistant? Is it a natural response to circumstance we can let flow through us? If it’s not clear, a reality check may be helpful. Talk it out with someone not involved for perspective. It can take time to resolve an emotion fog. But it’s more than worth it.

One belief we do want to have is that feeling good is safe. Many such beliefs are quite healthy. But many messages we got out of anger or to correct childhood behaviour may no longer serve us.

Conflicting Beliefs
We all experience areas of life that move well and other areas that are bumpier. These bumpy spots indicate we have unresolved emotional dynamics (aka karma) that create a conflict between our higher and lower selves. Nancy called this a “warble.” Where our higher self is open to what is unfolding but our lower self is hesitant and blocking that flow. In a way, we hold both the problem and the solution in a duality rather than letting the solution through. Old past belief-experiences get in the way of solution. But curiously, even familiar suffering can feel safer than the change of opening to happiness. With the familiar, we feel safe and in control even if we feel bad. Or nothing.

Feelings, even fear, are not the enemy. They are life’s richness. Fear and anger are often a form of protection. They are not a problem in themselves. It is the attempt to resist, suppress and control emotions and not let them resolve that makes them an issue. This doesn’t mean dwell in the muck but rather allow them to complete and leave. When we face a large trauma or change, it is natural for it to take time to heal. But we need to give it that time and not repress.

Because we often experience others as emotionally fickle and unable to meet our needs, we may come to distrust love. I’ve met many in my age group who have become ambivalent. But love isn’t a second chakra emotion. It’s the divine in focus and flow. Love is simple and unattached. What we love will grow in our hearts. Love based on needs is not really love. This is why we can love someone but not like them.

When the higher and lower are in sync, we experience the smooth flow of the formless into form. What we know the feel of, we can create. Do you know what hope actually feels like? Safety? Feeling is the energy before form and what sustains our world. What do you feel?

These points were only a small part of the other chakras we also discussed and experienced. But they are key things to get to know in ourselves. Especially for a guy. Real guys do cry – especially out of happiness.
Davidya

Some Quotes

Ran into a small stash of good quotes today

“Even after seeing the pain and sorrow of people, merely saying, “I am  the Self. I am beyond all this,” instead of trying to console and help them, is not Advaita. Such people are neither Vedantins nor religious. Any Vedantic study or religious belief is meaningless unless it moves one to console the distressed, to wipe away their tears, and, forgetting oneself, to offer oneself as their support and shelter.” ~  Amma

“Everyone sees the unseen in proportion to the clarity of their heart, and that depends upon how much they have polished it.” ~ Rumi

“Completion comes when we not just wake up from all form, from all identification, but when love causes us to re-embrace it all.” ~ Adyashanti

“Not all awakening is the same. There are different qualities of awakening. Not everybody awakens to the same thing. The idea that everyone awakens to the same thing is sort of a myth. A misunderstanding. It’s actually quite rare that someone awakens to the whole of Reality all at once. Usually we get a piece of it. Of course any piece of the whole feels like the whole. If you bump into any aspect of reality, every aspect feels complete, because in a certain sense, every aspect is complete.  So reality always comes with it. A felt sense of completeness. Of totality. That unequivocal sense of “This is it”. That’s how it feels. And also that can lead to certain misunderstandings. We often awaken to certain aspects of reality. Rather than awaken to the whole of it all at once. The deception is that each aspect feels like the whole. And so you may just get attached to an aspect and think it’s the whole. See what I mean? It’s like getting hold of a foot of an elephant and thinking you’ve got hold of the whole elephant.” – Adyashanti

Who?

“We are afraid to lose who we think we are.
To really receive, “I love you,” is to be the love that is loving, and in that there is no room for who you think you are.
 
When there is a surrender to the hugeness of love, to the annihilation of who you think you are, then you are intimate with yourself as what is here, as the whole universe.”
- Gangaji
recent newsletter, from A Conversation with Gangaji, Ep. 5

What is Consciousness? – Part 2

< Part 1

Higher Stages

Going beyond the individual ego-sense moves us into several stages of development of consciousness itself. First as the observer, then with the observation of the world becoming, and then united as oneness. Then we move into stages beyond consciousness.

These stages of consciousness may be a new field in the west but it’s one with a rich history in the east. However, history is full of lost understanding. A great teacher or revivalist comes along with not only the understanding but also the means for people to have the direct experience themselves. For several hundred years, there are many adepts and much advanced development. Buddha, Jesus, Shankara, and many others light the pages of history. However, with time and generations, the means are somehow distorted and the development withers. Within a few generations, the understanding becomes conceptual rather than lived and then becomes dogma. What was once alive becomes instruction into what to believe. This is true of many of our traditions and religions today, east and west. The truth is there but it’s been misunderstood by minds trying to understand what they have not experienced. How can you understand the taste of a dragon fruit if you’ve never eaten fruit?

As with any human development, the process is not linear and tidy but rather unfolds uniquely for each person. Puberty is a good example. The same underlying process unfolds for all to the same general result. But how it is experienced varies widely and it helps to have a sense of what’s going on.

While there are many experiences and sub-stages that may arise, the first major stage is known as Self Realization or Cosmic Consciousness. In this stage, we shift from identification with the individual self or ego to the cosmic Self. Other traditions may refer to this as a shift to no-self. Many describe things like “awakening to their true nature.” The inner awakeness of consciousness is continuous throughout the daily cycles of waking and sleep. We are a witness or observer to all and ever awake, even in deep sleep. Science confirms that in witnessing sleep state, the EEG alpha waves of alertness are blended in with the delta waves of deep sleep.

This shift is often characterized by a sense of freedom or liberation and being unlimited or boundless. We are a deep inner peace and silence. As the lively edge of consciousness is bliss, a profound inner happiness will arise. Thus, it is the Buddhist nirvana or sat chit ananda, absolute bliss consciousness. As noted above, this unfolds in steps uniquely for each person.

Another characteristic of this stage is that we now know ourselves as unchanging, limitless being. The inner world is stable and real and the outer world comes to be seen as an illusion or mirage. Thus it can reverse our sense of what is real.

For a long time, it has been thought that such development was a high ideal, only possible with many lifetimes of arduous practice and austerity. However, times are changing. Many thousands of people have had this shift in recent years and the numbers are growing rapidly. For example, there are now several weekly interview shows that chat with the “ordinary awakened.” Most such people are quietly going on with their lives, deepening into silence and bliss. But if the millions of meditators are having the effect they are, imagine the effect of thousands enlivening consciousness all the time.

Coming back to the opening question, we now know ourselves as consciousness but what is it? Those living this may have a nice answer like “limitless aware being.” But even here, we are still inside the house, getting to know the rooms of consciousness. Many beautiful expressions of this stage exist but all point only to the lived experience, not the deeper source of it.

Living this stage, we are effectively meditating 24-7. Progress often rapidly accelerates. A new stage dawns as the focus of development shifts to the refinement of perception and the awakening of the heart. In ayurvedic terms, we are living atman (Self) so now we develop more sattva (purity/clarity).

While the prior and later stages start with a realization or shift in our sense of who we are, this stage can begin earlier or later and has its realization at the climax instead, after the next stage of unity. This climax is known as God Realization.

All those layers of the world between the source of thought in consciousness and physical objects gradually become known: sound/vibration, geometry, fields, and form. We come to literally experience that the fine vibrations in consciousness that give rise to thoughts and feelings are the same fine vibrations that give rise to form and the apparently solid world. With our senses, we perceive quantum mechanics in action and watch and hear the world being continuously formed before us. The world shifts from being seen as an illusion to being recognized as Lila, a play of the divine.

We may infer from this that consciousness IS the unified field of physics.  However, let’s be a little more precise. The lively inner surface of consciousness is known subjectively as universal mind and objectively as the unified field from which quantum fluctuations of the vacuum arise. As such, it is universal mind that is the subjective equivalent to the unified field. But universal mind is non-separate from consciousness, just as waves are one with the ocean. We could say this is the difference between surface dynamics and the quiet depths. In fact, this field is often described subjectively as an infinite golden ocean. To quote Donovan’s song, “There is an ocean of vast proportion, And she flows within ourselves.”

These fine levels we’re getting to know directly are where artists find their muse and scientists get breakthroughs. You’ve undoubtedly had some experience of getting “downloads” or a sudden understanding or “aha!” This stage is like that, only more so. Unlike occasional experiences, once a value opens to you it remains available at all times. More and more values or “rooms” open to our perception. It is the awakening of the inner guru.

In this phase, there are two primary modes. Through the intellect (impersonal) we experience and understand the fundamental laws and principles of nature. Through the heart (personal), we see these same laws personified, hence the many ancient stories of gods dreaming the world into existence and angels managing creation. The mode is just a chosen orientation. Each mode has its  advantages.

We can see that this phase is the most variable subjectively due to the wide range of prior refinement, orientation, cultural factors, mode, and simply where we put our attention. In the mind-dominated west, the refinement is often happening later than historically. But in any case, the profound love and intelligence at the foundation of creation becomes unmistakably recognized.

Personalized, the love and intelligence are described as the divine Mother-creator and Father watching over. In the east, they are Shakti and Shiva. From them, Narayana (first born) and all experience and creation arise. In this, you may recognize a variation of the Holy Trinity of Christianity. In other words, not just something to believe but something that can be directly experienced.

Part 3 >

Culturing the Feelings

In another forum, I made the following comment as some of the “enlightenment fundamentalists” were categorically discounting energy work.

I think it worth noting an observation. In India, they have historically had a profound devotional culture, along with rigorous intellectual exploration. In the west, we’ve focused largely on the second, mind over heart.

As a result, many have a much more muted version of God consciousness (or the more politically correct Refined, Glorified, or Celestial Con.). There simply isn’t the refined feelings nor acceptance of the celestial aspect. Some even deny the stage exists even though it is mechanically required.

While I certainly agree that the majority of what’s out there is nonsense, it can be profoundly useful to recognize our feeling dynamics, how to work with our energy bodies (and kundalini), and have some familiarity with experiences that may arise. It’s much more fun if we understand what’s happening.

There are very practical reasons for this as well. Ideas like “nature’s support” and “environmental cooperation” hinge on our feelings. The laws or devas work in the feeling/ energy range so if we’re culturing negative or dismissive feelings, this is what we’re feeding. It will attract things we don’t want and weaken those we have.

(note that it’s natural to feel the full range of emotions – the point is – note what you’re  dwelling on)

You’re welcome to take this as woo-woo hooey, but I’d invite you to try an experiment. For a month, for one minute each day, think of something different to be grateful for. Really open and feel it. Monitor what happens. Most find their whole feeling tone climbs, so their enjoyment of life and relationships increases. Plus, this tone supports and welcomes those who help make things happen. Most will notice more coincidences or synchronicities arise.

This will give you a taste of what a profoundly open heart can accomplish. And what if you had a direct relationship with the doers and shakers of the world?
Davidya

New Lorne & Lucia Clips

Lorne and Lucia have posted some new, short videos on Youtube.

Give Up, Mind

Let Being Speak

Unbounded Love

Devotion (Lucia) – the source vs form

If you value such talks, they have a large selection of audio recordings from prior satsangs plus a few videos available via their web site.

To browse prior videos and links here, see this page.

Other mentions can be found by selecting the CaLLL category on the right.
Enjoy!
Davidya

Meeting What You Need

I’ve spoken here a number of times about the importance of allowing, of letting ‘what is’ be there, of letting emotions arise and complete. When we resist the flow of energy, we don’t see what is, our feelings and intuition get blocked and it consumes a lot of our energy. We find ourselves “in our heads” or in a drama of reactivity.

When we allow life to be as it is, we move into the flow and find life full of little miracles. We heal our old wounds. Allowing or surrender is also the key to spiritual awakening or enlightenment. This is a natural state that cannot be reached by force or resistance.

Allowing does not mean we should be passive or should not act. Only that we should learn to act in tune with the flow of nature rather than against it. Capturing the wind with our sails is much easier than paddling upstream.

Recently, I attended another of Nancy Shipley-Rubin’s workshops. This one was themed Creating Intentions that Work.

We again explored the experience of being energetically/emotionally open & closed and how closed would amplify conflict with others while open would diffuse it. Also the difference between a healthy (open) no and an unhealthy (closed) no. These are basic skills for life that surprisingly few people know. And yet how we hold our energy has a profound effect on our experience of life and relationships. Because our energy system is distinct from the mind, the mind is often the last one to recognize these dynamics. It requires new skills.

In this workshop, she added something more to the allowing I mention above. Allowing lets us release old emotional traumas and let go of our resistance to recognizing how we feel. Once we have a sense of how we’re feeling, it begins to open us to our power to create.

Often our will, which serves as a protector, creates a barrier between our upper energy centres and our lower ones. Between our love, intuition, & imagination and our vitality & ability to manifest. Many people live in their heads or in ungrounded spirituality. They’re out of touch with how they feel and thus their creative power. Or, they’re caught in an emotional drama of internal conflict that has no ending.

With allowing, many emotions will complete & dissolve. But some will keep coming back as they’re expressing an unmet need. This requires taking it to the next level.

Nancy asks us to notice what we’re feeling. Give the feeling a name. Ask what need the feeling calls for. Intend the feeling from the 6th (not the mind; make it simple and clean like “safe” or “happy”). This instantly creates the field to meet the need. As mentioned above, mind may be the last to recognize the effect though.

Notice how simple it is. The most powerful techniques often are. The results can be immediate.

To put this another way, most of our emotional needs can be met internally. This unencumbers relationships burdened by expecting others to meet our needs. It also illustrates the habit of seeking outside of ourselves. With this process working, we can meet not just our emotional needs but most needs by directly manifesting our intentions.

The trick is, we first need to do some allowing to clear the deck enough so we can sit comfortably with how we feel. It also helps a lot to have a spiritual practice that grounds us in something deeper and supports allowing. If we find we’re making a lot of story & explanations & objections or processing/ churning, that’s the mind – probably trying to control it. Come back to open allowing.

If it’s not working, we either need to clear a little more or there is a lack of congruence between the upper intention and the lower feeling/instinctive body. The feelings don’t believe it or the protector at the 3rd is acting as a barrier – the mind isn’t accepting it and we don’t feel safe. But we can intend safety too.

This is where an experiential workshop is very useful. A good teacher can guide us into correct experience and past the pitfalls of the mind second-guessing and feelings playing their hiding dance.

Being dissonant between our intentions and feelings creates fear. But curiously, it’s the protector that is creating this fear, not the vital (emotional) body. This fear is a little more subtle and unconscious. It responds with force or with uncertainty: that’s a key to recognize. If you’re trying to force this in any way, it’s not going to work. We have to start from open allowing. Perhaps unexpectedly, therein lies our power.

The lower fields are what power our lives so developing internal congruence can be very beneficial. But we’re typically driven by old habits and automatic responses. Most of us walk around closed, wondering why the world is so grumpy. To make this work, we have to be congruent and the intention grounded.

Of course, there was much more. Nancy gives rich, experiential workshops to help you learn this stuff.
Davidya