A new video about “The Need for Acknowledgment”

Namaste

shakti

Dear Shakti,

I would like to know what are your thoughts on homosexuality?
Is it a natural condition of the human race or is an unbalance of the body/mind?

Bst Rgds.D

Please see below shakti’s response in red

Hello D

From the point of view of evolution homosexuality can be considered as an “abnormal” as from that aspect only, the main role of all living is to reproduce and continue the race.

So anyone who is not serving the evolutionary purpose can be considered as “abnormal”.

You can add to this list people like me that consciously made a decision not to have children (I guess “my” group is “worse” as potentially we have the ability to fulfill our evolutionary role but consciously decide not too.)

Others on the “abnormal” list will be

People who are physically unable to produce babies (this is why it is so hard for most of the people in this category to accept their situation as subconsciously they feel “useless”)

And of course the gays and lesbians.

All religions’ demand to keep the order of nature as the human race must continue. This is the reason why the church condemns gays, lesbians and women like me as they are not fulfilling our “god-given” roles.

The paradox is, if god is all mighty, the power that creates everything, include people who are gay, to condemn gays (god’s creation) is to condemn God.

From the point of view of true spirituality all possibilities are in existence. If something is in existence it is perfect as it is.

The essence of spirituality is to rise above our evolutionary drive and make conscious choices with the understanding that we are much more than our bodies.

Interestingly enough many of the true spiritual seekers always had a tendency to go against the stream by becoming monks/nuns. The reason is that raising, taking care of, training and educating children takes most of the energy and occupies most of the adults’ life’s span. Spiritual seekers choose to channel this time and energy and invest in their practices towards realization. Even in the Roman Catholic church, one of the most fundamental Christian organization, the priests choose not to raise families with the intent to focus fully on their spiritual development (unfortunately with not much success on the latter) but in the same breath they insist that every one else should be busy with reproduction. The reason why gays are a problem for the church is because it doesn’t know where to fit them. After all you can’t not have children and still have fun; it just doesn’t make sense and should be forbidden ;-).

“Balance” is a very relative concept that evaluates from a certain point of view and often the majorities’ point of view.

Salvador Dali wasn’t a balanced man, he was considered borderline if not completely crazy because he didn’t fit in the mass definition. Put him together with other crazy artists and suddenly he appears as a normal person.

If a man feels attraction to another man without imposing himself ( no different then in a “straight” situation) how can it be wrong? Who can argue with such an attraction and feelings? How can mutual love, between two people, be abnormal? Who is to dictate what two consenting adults can and can’t do with each other?

The beauty of existence lies in the unpredictable not less then in the predicable and in the extraordinary not less then in the ordinary.

So be it.

Namaste
shakti

Dear lady, one is right to say that it is difficult to find a living human in modern society today that lives in pureness. It is not evolution’s goal to live in purity; evolution is just mother to infinite possibilities.
But it is spirituality’s goal to become ethereal (spiritual) even to a point we presume there is no separation at all. In this state of mind we come to experience oneness and oneness alone by actually being nothing/everything.The ultimate state of ether.

I am not here to lecture nor preach. I am a simple man with a simple life.
Preaching has never been a successful way of making one aware.
I do on the other hand have the gift of remembrance and of understanding that spirit flows through all that is created.
I also believe yoga teaching comes from the spirit and can be learned in infinite ways. A tree could become your teacher, an animal and even the raw elements of life could show you how we unite with the spirit.

The root chakra of man was created in this realm of existence by the separation of the ether in 4 levels. We call these the 4 elements and ether the 5th. (There are other creation patterns but I will use this one, feel free to comment me on this). Our whole human existence is based on separation from this source which never is or was an evil or bad thing.
Good and bad were values set at the root (gateway in the medulla oblongata) of the tree which created the left and right hemispheres of upper modern man’s brain (the tree of knowledge). These values became only malevolent by those who didn’t cultivate their heart chakra enough to understand oneness, but who sought to become Gods from knowledge alone. (Science without love).

These 5 elements distinguish themselves as basic geometric expressions in a globe genesis and can be registered with our senses. Through separation of the one into different vibrations they create the experience we call our reality. At the beginning there are no separations at all, but in this manifestation (genesis) separation becomes real. It creates the (square) root of our reality.
This was long before money was introduced.

The 5 elements can be channeled directly from the natural source by the skilled yoga master.
In the 3rd degree of spiritual evolution the neophyte becomes the philosopher begins to learn that everything is one, where in the 2nd degree he or she or it learned to use the power of division or to multiply itself through dividing (the creation of separation and the sexes (polarities). After this the philosopher comes to a point of understanding that none is simply good or bad, but everything is, which is true in that state of mind.
After a period of transformation, which could takes several human lifetimes, the 3rd degree aspirant takes up the full path of ahimsa and experiences that even if there is separation everything is one at the same time. The experience of “Oneness in many” and the understanding that we are one with the source.

The pupil becomes a scholar of the heart and lives in pure bliss.
After mastering this stage, the Christ is born and ascends to a more ethereal plane. The 5th degree.

But many of the Ascended masters return to a stage where all lower forms are also manifest.
In that way the Ascended master returns to a ‘fallen’ state without really being fallen but learns to descend into the dense realms with the full or partial experience of the ethereal realms (the return of the Christ/Bodhisatva/Mannuah).
He, she or it understands the higher meaning of the spirit but has taken a life in which not everything is spiritual, and understands that it is part of the nature of our reality.

By now one becomes a master of the 6th degree and learns to use the mind in ways to empower matter with the spirit. Here is where the Elohims come in, the co-creators of our reality.
Some of these Elohims chose to live in service of life and love itself (like our spiritual teachers and Mahatmas) where other chose to become supreme rulers and claimed themselves to be the one and only God(s) (false prophet$).

In the time of “the garden” which predated all the times you’ve stated before, there was no barter, no cattle, no cowrie shells, no metal money and coins, no modern coinage, no leather money, no slitting of noses (!) of those who were remiss in paying tax, no paper currency, no potlatch, no wampum, no gold standards and no electronic money. But there was abundance, happiness, no diseases that were permanent, no jealousy, no crime, no spiritual merchandise or barter.
We simply had no need of money because we lived in harmony with spirit and matter, and we were natural yogis for we lived in union. I know modern man has found evidence of this time and some have classified it into mythology and called it the golden age, the time of the Gods.

If someone can’t earn money or feel like it is in conflict with spirituality it might come from the fact they still do have remembrance of this ‘golden age’.
Since the beginning of the iron-age (kali-yuga) the reign of fear has taken over the root chakras of many inhabitants of the earth, therefore many have not been able to channel the elements that came directly from their natural source, instead they had to do this through sub-systems that sometimes weren’t meant benevolent or spiritual at all. It is difficult for modern man to oversee such matters for he has no real evidence about history that long ago.

I do agree everything can be seen as energy! But I do not agree that all manifestations are just simply energy, for they have value, form and expression in our world and were set with certain intention.

Example: if I was to say that an atomic bomb is just simply energy and I could use it for good, means it could be true but it has not been made with spiritual intentions.
I believe money could be used in a good way but it hasn’t been introduced with spiritual intent. Nor was the capture of animals that became cattle, nor was the raising of taxes. (and especially not the slitting of noses to force humans to pay such).

I do not pretend to be fully spiritual manifested (I couldn’t for I wouldn’t be able to live in human form), I know that my nature as a man has destructive sides, but I do not state that money is simply energy, for it is not, simply energy is simply energy and has no value or form .I call that pure prana, not the way we use it, but in its most simple form or no form at all. (Pure prana would not hurt anyone for it has no value yet!)

I am not constantly free of anger and hate, for the same facts stated above, nor do you.
We are human, we get angry whether we like it or not. But by learning yoga of the heart we overcome our anger and learn to master negative thoughts and transmute them into positive energy.
(Like you are helping me to do so now )

I do not like the causes of systems that introduced money. Even though we all are part of one big flow, we as conscious living beings have certain choices, and we have the right to judge within our momentary point of view and accept the karma that these actions cause.

Like I said manifestations of money were not made with spiritual intent. When someone gives us something with love we don’t have to barter. We can share, give, donate or even deny without expectations, the more freedom a system gives us the more the spirit will flow. Whether we see that as good or bad is a just an opinion.

This discussion was meant as a tool for self-reflection and not meant to preach or to lecture about spirituality. I gladly share my thoughts, even if they are derived from collective thoughts, and I am always open to learn from doing so.
I would encourage you to find some time to take up a small survival pack and try to live for a while (a month, two or maybe three) without the use of money. It will help on the deeper spiritual path of yoga and learn your chakras how to channel into the elements of natural sources, independent of a system which uses money and which never been the basis for our existence.
In other words if one is to manifest spirituality one has to connect its roots to a system that is free in its nature.

Love and blessings!
May the spirit guide you!

LuX

Please see below shakti’s response in red

Hello again,

I am not going to relate to all the points you mention as there is no point.

Not because they have no value but it is all mind and more mind.

Being right is an indication of seeing reality from our limited point of view only. When you become the ultimate observer you KNOW everything is perfect as it is. You change what you can and you accept what you can not change.

Nothing is an absolute as a concept.

Your explanation on the different degrees of evolution is a high-rise of assumptions that is often developed by philosophers. Philosophy has nothing to do with reality as it is.

If you want to experience high spirituality you can not keep developing more structures, adding more concepts, or keep following systems. Everything should be dropped (as well the chakras concept) to make space for the experience.

You talk about:

the separation of the ether in 4 levels”

“the 4 elements”

“In the 3rd degree of spiritual evolution”

“where in the 2nd degree”

Everything that is divided into more than one is getting farther and farther from the absolute truth.

you say:

“…those who didn’t cultivate their heart chakra enough to understand oneness…”

How can anyone understand oneness by cultivating the heart chakra when it is the fourth chakra in a system of seven? How can the whole fit into a part? Once you experience oneness you do not create divisive systems anymore.

This is how all illusions start. The mind does not have the capacity to absorb the absolute reality so it starts to divide reality into endless concepts to store in the mind’s endless chambers.

You said: In the time of “the garden”

Since the beginning of the iron-age (kali-yuga)

Shakti: Why are you dwelling in the past, time that does not exist? What does the past have to do with this moment?

You said “I do not pretend to be fully spiritual manifested (I couldn’t for I wouldn’t be able to live in human form),

Shakti: To say you can not realize in a human form is a dangerous assumption that may turn to be a manifestation.

You said: “I would encourage you to find some time to take up a small survival pack and try to live for a while….

Shakti: I do appreciate your suggestion but the space I am in, in this moment is not about collecting experiences but being in service.

This is why one way of living that is suitable for one may not suit the other. I still rather to walk this coming Friday to the store, with money in my wallet and get 100 buns, cheese etc. so we can feed the increasing number of hungry people on the streets.

Namaste

shakti

Dear shakti

The statement: “MONEY IS JUST ENERGY!” IS JUST PURE PLAIN NONSENSE and an excuse for the spiritual bartender who is by some means not skilled enough or forced by powers of fear, unable to live from pure prana.

Money is a must in the world of capitalism that is consuming the free organic and etheric worlds.
A system that enslaves humans to pay taxes, fees and burns trees to make place for non ecological destructive (capitals) cities.

I do understand that in these time most of us are forced to live in this way, most of us do not live with Mother Nature anymore. We learn about her from so called organic- or some kind of new age philosophy (work) shops, but most of us lost contact with her long time ago. Simply because we are not allowed by the reign of fear to live freely with nature or because we fell into an other state of mind (the fall).

Instead ‘civilized’ people learn form mother’s tribes the knowledge of herbalism, yoga and energy and then enslave those innocent systems and hereafter sell the crap out of their knowledge, wisdom and resources to the people of the so called civilization.

Money can not be fed to a plant, animal or human; it is therefore not simply energy! It has a value set by a capitalistic system, which is expressed by symbols of the aristocrat society which introduced money in the first place.

There are pictures and symbols and cunning texts of imperialists, secret societies and other dominators that are set into precious metals, which should have stayed in the soil in the first place to enrich the soul of mother earth, or pressed on paper that comes from cutting trees. These resources should be left alone or could be used for far better things, things and ways that are in harmony with mother’s ecology and organic systems and her inhabitants.

Not to mention the use of gold bars in safe houses, the mining of diamonds for which people die every day in places that are hidden from society, and such.

DO NOT TELL ME MONEY IS JUST ENERGY! That is simply an excuse for the state of mind ‘modern’ man has fallen into and which is destructive to the human soul and the soul of our planet.

Money could therefore be used as a temporary survival method along the path of one who seeks spirituality!

Dharma’s are collective thoughts and therefore not possessions.
The goal of yoga is to meet with the pure spirit, which is connected to the matrix of pure prana and has nothing to do with money at all! The TRUE SPIRIT is free, as is LOVE which connects it with MATTER (Mother)!

We are on our way to become true spiritual beings and we have to find the strength to look within ourselves and to admit we somehow lost being it along our path of evolution. But never give up to find that true union with the pure spirit, which is YOGA!

LuX

shakti’s response is below in red.

Dear Lux
The meaning of the word yoga is union. Any spiritual practitioner or a yogi will easily preach to you about “union” and “oneness” but rarely will you meet one that actually lives it (Maybe the reason is that the ones, who live it, don’t preach about it).

When most of the new age yogis talk “union”, they talk about the union of every(thing), as long as “the thing” falls under their approval as a pure, good or a positive thing, otherwise it is dismissed as part of the oneness. Manifestations such as capitalism, ‘civilized’ people, aristocratic society, materialism and MONEY are not part of the New age-union or New age-oneness. This is how, paradoxically, the so called “spiritual” or “conscious” people, often create greater separation then the ones they judge for doing “bad” or “impure” things.

Talking “pure” is the most dogmatic way of practicing spirituality. The moment you distinguish one thing as purer then the other, you are the one creating a sheer separation and destruction. Objectively, everything is part of the flow of existence. Of course, as individuals we all have our point of views as well, perceptions and choices of how life should be conducted, but none of the phenomena in existence are outside of the big flow, no matter if our small self approves of them or not.

You talk about love. You Said “The TRUE SPIRIT is free, as is LOVE which connects it with MATTER (Mother)!

Easy enough to say, however, you may want to check with yourself how much love you have for all the people that don’t see life in your way. You may want to check how much compassion you have for people that may not have the capacity to see things from your point of view or for the ones that do get driven by the fear of surviving.

Now, if everything is part of existence, everything is energy. Everything is vibrating in different capacities and frequencies, from your thoughts to a 10 dollar bill.

Money is not an opinion, it is a fact. Money is a part of an exchange that takes place in our human tribe the same way as language. Neither my opinion about it nor yours, matter in the big picture if either one brings more separation.

Prana is the vibration in everything.

When you talk with hatred about money you are vibrating it at that level even more. You actually negatively empower it more then those who use money dispassionately. When Mother Theresa accepted donations to feed the hungry, she vibrated the coins to their highest energy. Likewise, the reason why you talk so passionately and angrily about money is because it is prana and it vibrates you in this manner. Any form of prana can be changed to any frequency by the one who chooses to use it or not use it.

And last:
You talk about “pure prana” as the ultimate form of living (unlike other filthy forms such as money etc). Those who engage in the yogic practice of Pranayam know that even the so-called pure prana, if not used and mastered properly, can unbalance you in a severe way. This demonstrates that nothing, objectively, is an absolute of good or bad. The same with money, it is truly all one; it is just a matter of mastering it all. How to master it and not get mastered by it is another discussion.

With love and respect

shakti

There is a misguided perception that money is the evil side effect of modernity, the truth is that money has been around for thousands of years.

The History of Money

In the Beginning: Barter

Barter is the exchange of resources or services for mutual advantage, and may date back to the beginning of humankind. Some would even argue that it’s not purely a human activity; plants and animals have been bartering — in symbiotic relationships — for millions of years. In any case, barter among humans certainly pre-dates the use of money. Today individuals, organizations, and governments still use, and often prefer, barter as a form of exchange of goods and services.

9,000 — 6,000 BC: Cattle

Cattle, which include anything from cows, to sheep, to camels, are the first and oldest form of money. With the advent of agriculture came the use of grain and other vegetable or plant products as a standard form of barter in many cultures.

1,200 BC: Cowrie Shells

The first use of cowries, the shell of a mollusc that was widely available in the shallow waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, was in China. Historically, many societies have used cowries as money, and even as recently as the middle of this century, cowries have been used in some parts of Africa. The cowrie is the most widely and longest used currency in history.

1,000 BC: First Metal Money and Coins

Bronze and Copper cowrie imitations were manufactured by China at the end of the Stone Age and could be considered some of the earliest forms of metal coins. Metal tool money, such as knife and spade monies, was also first used in China. These early metal monies developed into primitive versions of round coins. Chinese coins were made out of base metals, often containing holes so they could be put together like a chain.

500 BC: Modern Coinage

Outside of China, the first coins developed out of lumps of silver. They soon took the familar round form of today, and were stamped with various gods and emperors to mark their authenticity. These early coins first appeared in Lydia, which is part of present-day Turkey, but the techniques were quickly copied and further refined by the Greek, Persian, Macedonian, and later the Roman empires. Unlike Chinese coins which depended on base metals, these new coins were made from precious metals such as silver, bronze, and gold, which had more inherent value.

118 BC: Leather Money

Leather money was used in China in the form of one-foot-square pieces of white deerskin with colorful borders. This could be considered the first documented type of banknote.

800 – 900 AD: The Nose

The phrase “To pay through the nose” comes from Danes in Ireland, who slit the noses of those who were remiss in paying the Danish poll tax.

806 AD: Paper Currency

The first paper banknotes appeared in China. In all, China experienced over 500 years of early paper money, spanning from the ninth through the fifteenth century. Over this period, paper notes grew in production to the point that their value rapidly depreciated and inflation soared. Then beginning in 1455, the use of paper money in China disappeared for several hundred years. This was still many years before paper currency would reappear in Europe, and three centuries before it was considered common.

1500s: Potlach

“Potlach” comes from a Chinook Indian custom that existed in many North American Indian cultures. It is a ceremony where not only were gifts exchanged, but dances, feasts, and other public rituals were performed. In some instances potlach was a form of initiation into secret tribal societies. Because the exchange of gifts was so important in establishing a leader’s social rank, potlach often spiralled out of control as the gifts became progressively more lavish and tribes put on larger and grander feasts and celebrations in an attempt to out-do each other.

1535: Wampum

The earliest known use of wampum, which are strings of beads made from clam shells, was by North American Indians in 1535. Most likely, this monetary medium existed well before this date. The Indian word “wampum” means white, which was the color of the beads.

1816: The Gold Standard

Gold was officially made the standard of value in England in 1816. At this time, guidelines were made to allow for a non-inflationary production of standard banknotes which represented a certain amount of gold. Banknotes had been used in England and Europe for several hundred years before this time, but their worth had never been tied directly to gold. In the United States, the Gold Standard Act was officialy enacted in 1900, which helped lead to the establishment of a central bank.

1930: End of the Gold Standard

The massive Depression of the 1930′s, felt worldwide, marked the beginning of the end of the gold standard. In the United States, the gold standard was revised and the price of gold was devalued. This was the first step in ending the relationship altogether. The British and international gold standards soon ended as well, and the complexities of international monetary regulation began.

The Present:

Today, currency continues to change and develop, as evidenced by the new $100 US Ben Franklin bill.

The Future: Electronic Money

Digital cash in the form of bits and bytes will most likely become an important new currency of the future.

From Nova PBS

Dear shakti,

What if you fall in love in with your teacher? How is it possible to make the difference between the two: the master and the lover?

Kind regards,
“A”

shakti’s response is below in red.

Dear “A”,
It is not rare that a student may have strong feelings and attraction to her* spiritual teacher. When a teacher carries immense prana, (energy or life force), he may glow with a charisma that may be very attractive. If the teacher experiences oneness he may generate a field of the energy of unconditional love around him which the student will long to bask in permanently. If the teacher lives a healthy and clean lifestyle he may radiate physical beauty which appears to shine from within.

In addition, the teacher becomes the provider for the hungry student. He holds the most nutrition (“food for thought”) that the student craves. As a provider of wisdom, depth, and direction, the teacher may present the ultimate parent figure that most of us always yearn for but never had. When these exceptional qualities affect the student (who is in a constant state of lacking energetically) the only thing the student wishes for is to merge with her teacher. When the student finds herself physically attracted to her teacher an internal conflict arises between the “ordinary” feelings on a man-woman level and the wish to keep the connection outside and above the ordinary.

There is no need to separate the master from the lover. Masters often conduct their teaching to their students with the passion of a lover even when physicality is not involved. At the same time lovers should take the role of being a master:

Mastering the art of making love,
Mastering the art of serving,
Mastering ones own lust, etc.

If the Master/teacher brings his high frequency vibration to the love affair and is able to lift his student’s/lover’s energy to his frequency, this relationship will be free of:

Emotional abuse,
Jealousy,
Manipulation,
Demands,
Expectations,
Attachments,
Pain and suffering.

The problem arises when the teacher lowers his frequency to the student’s vibration and the relationship originates from an engagement of two small needy minds. This can end with pain and heartbreak, as the student and teacher are not in the same place of power. The student is often in a fragile and confused state.

Sometimes the so-called “teacher” never operates from a high frequency of consciousness. The teacher simply appears wise, but is actually just as needy as his student. This is when you hear about cases of spiritual teachers preying on the weak and gullible disciples for their own selfish satisfaction.

The bottom line is:

It is pretentious to say that a spiritual teacher should not have a love affair with a student, as life is a dance and most teachers interact mainly with students.

If you engage in a love affair with your teacher, make sure it is a master who walks his talk; otherwise you will end up with a low frequency love affair that brings about all the suffering and pain you already experienced in your past relationships.

If and when you do engage with a teacher romantically do not dismiss yourself by following blindly without questioning, as you are not less a master yourself.

True love will never cause pain.

Namaste,
shakti

*As the question came from a female my reply is from the point of view of love affair between a male teacher and a female student. Please feel free to reverse the sexes in any way it suits you as the spirit is the same for all other combinations (female teacher, male students etc), as long as all those involved are adults and coherent!

Dear shakti,
I have just moved to a smaller town and the teaching opportunities here are MINIMAL. There is a yoga studio in town but their classes now are not that full as it is. During these few years while I am here (I’ve moved to go back to university) should I be concerned that I won’t be teaching as often as I was before? My instincts tell me that it will pass and that it will all unfold as it is supposed to… and I’m ok with that. I just thought that I would turn to my teacher for some guidance in case there is something I am not thinking of.

I hope this finds you well. I love the new hair cut!

With love,
Joanne

shakti’s response is below in red.

Dear Joanne,
Do not waste your time by assuming what is coming or by being concerned as a result of comparing your future that is not in existence yet, or with what occurred in the past that is not in existence any more.
Assumptions and concerns are what freezes us from being creative and authentic, as you already set the tone in your mind for how things should unfold in reality.

Do what ever needs to be done.

Teaching one class is like teaching the whole word.

Be creative and come from the right intention, quality and love, versus quantity.

You said you are going to university. University is already a great opportunity for teaching. You have endless students that need yoga. You may need to educate them about the power of yoga. Do it step by step. Maybe you can offer in one of the many university events an open class introducing yoga. Maybe you can write in the university news letter about yoga. Offer classes to the staff members. Place posters on the boards. Enhance the yoga benefits for students: increasing concentration, relaxing the nervous system, helps to sleep better etc. Create one evening where people can come and meditate together. Become the yoga expert for your university. The sky is the limit.

Start teaching one class and the rest will roll on its own.

Love shakti

The 10 Commandments of Finding the Right Yoga Teacher Training

1 ) Find a Spiritual Teacher

Avoid taking training from teachers that emphasize their teaching on the physical aspects of yoga only. It is important to have a teacher who can give you a full understanding of the spiritual (as opposed to religious) aspect of yoga. The teacher should not be a scholar who knows his/her information from reading books and taking workshops. The teacher’s teaching must arise from direct experience. Such a teacher will be able to deal with all of the spiritual concerns that the student may have with no hesitation.

2 ) Make Sure to Experience Direct Transmission

Do not settle for teacher training run by novice teachers who show the teachings of their master from a DVD. Do not settle for the said “master” to only occasionally appear in the course. Every student in the course needs to have direct contact and experience with the spiritual teacher, as the transmission of the knowledge and wisdom often happens on the energy level.

3 ) Bigger is Not Better

Often you see teacher training with 60 to 200 students in a course.

In an intense 200h course, as a result of the intense practice, students often go through physical, mental, emotional and spiritual crisis and may face multiple challenges. As a result of being in a large impersonal course, the student and their needs get lost in the crowd.

4 ) Avoid Religions, Cults and Worship

Avoid trainings with even a hint of worshipping the spiritual teacher. Yoga practice is a process to transform the novice to become a free master and not to become a sheep, following without knowing.

5 ) Practical Teaching

Make sure there is plenty of actual hands-on teaching experience for you during the course so you don’t end up with theoretical knowledge but are unprepared to actually teach. Knowing the asanas (yoga postures) inside and out won’t make you know how to teach them. Yoga teacher training is not a yoga boot camp of doing the asanas all day. You need to learn communication, the psychology of the mind, body language, how to correct by using hands-on techniques, and how to give mental and energetic support to your students in the future.

6 ) Yoga is Not Gymnastics

Remember that 90% of your students out there are beginners! Most of the people in the West are dealing with physical limitations and health conditions. Avoid vigorous acrobatic styles of yoga. Choose a style of yoga that can walk beginners safely into the practice. Otherwise you will join the endless number of yoga instructors who make the students feel (after their first class) that they are not flexible enough to practice yoga.

7 ) Restrictive Yoga Facilities

Avoid styles that constrict you and your students to a specific teaching facility environment (hot rooms or facilities with too many yoga gadgets). The essence of yoga practice is to be able to conduct it in any place and any time. Your students should be able to take the teaching you convey and practice on their own anywhere without dependency on a facility.

8 ) New-Age Yoga

Be careful of flakiness and new-age nonsense.

Knowledge of energy and the chakras is powerful, but there is much more to the yoga practice than just the chakras.

9 ) Connection With the Teacher After Course is Done

Make sure that the teacher will be available to you to answer questions after the course has ended and to guide you in your first steps of your teaching if needed. You should be able to find spiritual support from your teacher outside the course as your practice must continue after your certification.

10 ) The Power of Transformation

Let your heart, not only your mind and wallet, be involved in the search for the right teacher and teaching. Avoid being influenced by trends and burgeons. The teacher is the vehicle for the teaching that may resonate in you forever.

True teachers will expand your capacity to receive wisdom that arises from beyond your programmed mind.

Namaste,
shakti mhi

Examining Self Perception

Inner Silence

Hi shakti,

Here is the first of my many questions:

I want to know what the purpose of existence is? Is there a purpose? Everyday is a new day with new experiences, there are ups and downs, etc. but really what is the purpose? I feel like I am just living day to day until my time is up. What are we all doing here?

Thanks,

****

shakti’s response is below in red.

Dear ****,

Let’s say you will be guaranteed that there is no purpose to existence and it simply is what it is, in any moment.

Image credit: http://www.universaluv.com/ 

Would you, as a result:

* Not care about anything any more?
* Not bother to breathe?
* Not bother to love?
* Stop being curious?
* Stop appreciating the beauty of a sunrise?
* Stop seeing the magic in rainbows?
* ……Kill yourself?

Let’s say you will be guaranteed that there is a purpose for your existence

Would you, as a result:

* Stop worrying?
* Stop being afraid?
* Free yourself from all attachments?
* Stop reaching out for recognition?
* …..Become the free self that you are?

The tree never says “my purpose is to create shade” While we sit under the tree we perceive its purpose in that moment as giving us shade.

Because the answer depends on who asks the question (us or the tree) and on who gives the answer (us or the tree), it makes neither the question nor the answer relevant, as it makes the questioner disappear…

Now go and have cup of tea* and drink it as if it is the last one you’ll ever drink, and you may find out that being fully in the experience doesn’t leave space for questions.

Love
shakti

* I very much recommend jasmine tea. *

Dear shakti,

Thank you for your response. And I happen to love jasmine tea.

I don’t fully understand your repy (yet) and am trying to understand what you mean.

When I am fully in the present, I realize how empty and meaningless my life and life in general is. Yes, I appreciate the beauty of a sunrise and in fact, I appreciate so much.

Is the answer to just be and embrace this emptiness?

Thank you,
****

Hi ****,

First I would like to ensure you that the matter we are discussing is beyond the mind gymnastics. This is the reason why in the beginning of our search for spirituality (meaning: discovering reality beyond “the making sense”) we are mostly in confusion.

The mind perceives reality in formulas.
For example: for the mind 1+1 is always equal to 2.
But when you experience reality beyond the mind, 1+1 may in one moment be equal to knowing and in other moment to a void or the infinite or nothingness.

So instead of trying to understand, figure out, or make sense of my words to you, simply let them resonate in you until your “sixth sense” will wake up and be activated to pick up on the endless possibilities that you may not be aware of in this moment. The most important is to be playful. Be sincere, but not too serious.

One of the greatest zen sayings is “form is emptiness and emptiness is form”.

“Form is emptiness” – Nothing has a meaning but the meaning that we pour into it in each moment.

“Emptiness is form”- like everything else, emptiness is just another form with a meaning of emptiness.

Most of the spiritual seekers are looking for a formula, recipe, structure, or path that will answer all of the dual questions that the mind raises. Most of the seekers are not willing to take the seat of power by giving a meaning to their moment; and in the same time not being attached to this meaning otherwise it turns to be a dogma instead of an experience.

The answer for the mind’s questions lies outside of the mind, in the experience. The experience takes place outside of the mind, while the interpretation and evaluation of the experience lies inside of the mind.
For example, taking a shower is an experience that takes place outside of the mind.
The shower was fun, too short, too long, too warm, unsatisfying etc, are all the mind’s evaluations and interpretations of the experience.

In other words we can say that the answer revealed itself when the question ceased.

You are asking if there is any absolute meaning to existence…..

In the time between the two emails you sent me I managed to fall from a high balcony, break my spine and shatter my arm. In the moment of the fall when my body hit the rock I couldn’t breathe, it took me extreme effort to force air into my shocked lungs. In that split second the meaning I gave to my moment was all about breathing and keeping my body alive. When finally the air entered my suffocated lungs, I was fascinated by my ability to breathe as I wasn’t sure if it was ever going to happen again. Next was to check if I could feel my legs, as I knew my spine was injured badly. Feeling my toes was a very meaningful moment. I won’t keep inventory of all my moments from that point on, but I was making sure in each of them that I stay out of my mind that often raises meaningless questions as “Why me?”;, “What will happen now?”, “Am I going to live?”, “Could it have been prevented?” etc.

Throughout all the moments I went through in the last two weeks: surgery, pain, discomfort and others, I was making sure that I am in the experience and not in the evaluation of it.

Even though all the above moments were absolutely meaningful in my direct experience, I cannot say they represent the absolute meaning of existence, as in the time of laying injured on the ground waiting for rescue, you may have had a cup of jasmine tea or a talk with a friend or had a moment of silence with your self.

If you would like to reveal the true nature of existence you have to move away from your familiar ways of perceiving reality, for example knowing that opposites such as meaning and no meaning dwell in the same moment, while for the mind it is always either this or that.

So to conclude all the above and future words:
If you need to have a confirmation that there is absolute meaning in order to have a meaning in your life, your life is meaningless.
If you do not have a space left in your moment to wonder about meaning because it is filled by your experience, your life is meaningful.

With love,
shakti

I recently read something about Ch’an Buddhist Doctrine, and I found a statement that says: “If you will somehow meet Buddha in your spiritual journey, then kill him!”. How would you interpret it?
- Sebastian

shakti’s response is below in red.

Dear Sebastian,

This is one of the greatest sayings of Zen Buddhism. If you would like to experience reality beyond mind and find out who you are beyond description, you must drop all concepts. Concepts reflect glimpses of reality only, the same as pieces of broken glass reflects bits of the sky.

Neither the concepts nor the pieces of glass can capture the whole picture. Everything held in the mind is a concept as well as the mind itself, as well as realization and everything else that Buddha symbolizes. If you meet the Buddha and bow to him you are still separate from the Buddha. By killing the form of Buddha you kill the duality which you perceive as a separation of there being a “you” and a “Buddha”.

Buddha is the symbol for the highest state of consciousness only when you yourself dwell in ignorance. Once you experience reality beyond all concepts of good and bad, high and low, holy and unholy, there is neither Buddha nor consciousness.

There is only experience

What is, is what is.

Love shakti