Raquel

Before you buy some useless gift with a bigger package than goods, or before you get a plastic bag to carry your products for 2 minutes of its (longer than yours) lifespan...or before you consume whatever it is!!! I hope you can take a moment (like when you get all high state of awareness ) and take responsibility for your own "invisible" pile of rubbish. Dear Santa, for this Christmas I wish Contentment to all ✨✨

It is true that some people get it straight away and others don't.. The factors involved in this are enoumerous and arguable... I can say from observation that some people are just not interested at all (or should I say their ego) and neither ready. The same way not all people can ge it as naturally, patanjali YS also mention that there is 3 types of practitioners: light, middle and intense... And of course this will add up in there journey to enlightenment. From a vedic point of view, human life has the sole purpose of self realization, so understanding this teachings are related with the soul stage on the wheel of rebirth (samskaras). You would be attached to the wheel of death-birth until you fully realize It.

Ask yourself several times a day "what is happening right now?". If you practice meditation, you might know by now that a constant state of awareness, is more important than your formal meditation session.... and that is because, being centered in awareness no matter what, IS what will truly harmonize your life. Simply because your emotions, problems and behavioral patterns cannot dominate you the same way anymore This question is meant to develop your awareness without having to sit or be alone for it, you only need to save some minutes, several times a day and the more you inquiry the easier will be for you to observe without judgments, recenter yourself into a expanded state of awareness and see reality as a soft touch of god. Sold it? Sorry if it seems that easy!

Some further inquiry on that... How can we tell what is oneness? How can you know that, that is not a dualistic experience? How can you know what is the ultimate reality? There is no ultimate reality, there are many ultimate realities as there are humans to reflect on them. Beyond that there is nothing else for us. If you can strech your mind a little further with those experiences then that becomes the extent of ultimate reality for you. And that depends on the extent of your acceptance... When the mind merges in infinity who is going to experience oneness? Who is going to see whom? How can you know the known by which you know everything?

Hey, I didn't want to be picking on the negative here, but I really think it's important to take a second to take a very very important note ,that is meant to be constructive: You want results, work for them! Dedicate yourself a lot! have discipline, lot's of it! Don't be lazy, the great teachings we take from anything comes from the moments we are struggling or trying to master something! When you do, do it without expectation, without waiting for reward, just do it because you know and feel that that's what you meant to do! Hey everyone, cut a bit with the fast rewards mindfullness... go for a slow no rewards emptiness ... Doesn't even have to sound good! Sorry this isn't about you as you see...

Knowning to act is also a skill you can develop. But that means you have to put yourself "out there", out of your mind mainly. Engaging in groups and communities with those action skills is a good way to start. You can get really inspired by people you interact on a daily basis. Monkey see monkey do, you know.

Hi guys, I starting doing intermittent fasting and would like to know what sort of teas or supplements would be best. Last times I only had water with a pich of sea salt. Some believe that if you have tea and supplements you are breaking your fasting..others don't.. Which are the ultimate nutritional needs while fasting? Thanks!

Hi, I thought would be interesting to share our thoughts, content, books, projects, life stories etc about society models. I dont know about you guys, but living in the big city in a cozy apartment where I dont even know my neighbors but I "know" people over a screen, tells me that something is really wrong. I changed that lifestyle and I have been experimenting with community living and shared work that benefits the group. Which can be difficult to switch to but now it fully fits me. I know that this also wouldn't suit everyone.. What is the human ecosytem that you live in and what would you change? Just listen this podcast and it's really interesting and worth to check.

I assume that you want to do karma yoga in a ashram, or do you want to pay for a program and join in? I would start by just going and spending some time in rishikesh (or wherever), rent a room and explore. Go to the ashrams, go to different yoga classes and everything that you feel drawn to... its super easy to connect with people and places once you are there and easier to find what is it that you are looking for. Also consider how much flexibility will you need to feel comfortable. Some ashrams can be a bit to strict about rules or "monastery" kinda style. If you never been in india before either you might just want to take your time to get to know the culture before. This is a decision that I would only make after spending some months analysing it and in India. Do your research "in loco". What works for me might not be the right place for you.. it really depents on your personal preferences and mindset.. Trust your intuition

I think you are being too carefull for no reason... I have no patience for games and go around in circles. Ye are two adults. You know whats happening and he also knows it, so just be honest. If he is conscious enough he will see that truth is the most attractive thing in a person. Give yourself some real focus, be fully present, detach from the conditioning of that interaction and see it from what really is. Rather than from a emotional and wavy state of mind. Than your intuition will know what to do exactly with no doubts..

Spirulina is the best!!!

Does also have the same benefits for women? I have been told by doctor that is not as beneficial for women. I don't know lots about it but I did my research and there are different opinions. I think the best is just try it out. Im in my fourth day of intermittent fasting, having dinner at 6 and skipping breakfast. So far I feel pretty tired after eating and also not very focused before my meal. Do you have any suggestions for good teas and supplements while fasting? Thanks

So many.. But at this moment I have been drawn to ancient teacher like patanjali. I'm carefully studying and decoding the meaning of the yoga sutras of Patanjali. It's so mindblowing that this human being that lived 2000 years ago, compiled the most rich guidance to reach awakening, and that this have been practicied for over 5000 years.

@Spacious no. Its eyes closed. But if you are not a totally beginner you dont need this. You can use any mantra, as long as you know its purpose: focus of the mind so you can achive meditation. Focus and meditation are diferent.

I did this course 6 years ago and it was very good for me as a beginner because it was 5 days one to one talking about meditation, questioning and correcting my meditation practice which as so great. And you can always recycle it for free. Besides that TM has manily a great marketing, is crazy expensive and yes they give you a mantra that is supposed to suit you. But then I discover that they only have a few mantras in the catalogue.

I like to see the misused as isolation and the proper use as solitude. Through the fluctuations of the mind, solitude can be an amazing tool that recharge us and bring us back to essence. Being able to be with others in a more pure way.

Regarding my own experience..during the early stages of self realization I felt such an abrupt shift in my consciousness that my body and my mind wasn't able to follow up and process it.. Confusion and isolation happened in the begining... especially when suddendly I stopped identifying with friends, colleagues, role models, neighborhood, work, etc..Felt like I needed to do a reset and connect again. And yes what better place to hide and go get some fast answers than internet, forums, docs, podcasts, self help books...Don't get me wrong this can be awesome but has it's pitfalls..addiction, isolation, more confusion, etc. It's a fixation on trying to make yourself feel better about yourself. Just a lot of mental masturbation disguised with fancy-wise dialogues that you dont need. And that is not consciousness work, that doesn't lead you to truly connecting. Throwing myself into experice and being out of my comfort zone constantly was what really made me understand and be love. And when you are love, there is noo way that you feel isolated or unloved.

This probably have been discussed or mention hundreds of times..or at least I'm sure most of us feel it... Awakening makes you highly sensitive.. and living in a completely desensitize society makes you even more sensitive! In a metaphorical way feels like someone peeled a layer that was surrounding me and now I'm more exposed to the world, but everything amplified inside me, leaving not much room to live in, so I moved out of my body to live inside all that my consciousness touches. I became very sensitive, extremely emphatic, and easily sensory overloaded. I left the city and moved to the countryside where I live with much less of everything I used to but so much happier.. Question: How can I have an awesome life if i'm fully aware that i'm everything that is..and this everything suffers, fears, it's messed up and dark? Maybe we have to define what is having an "extraordinary life" because for me it's not being in a mediative state, feeling happy all the time, it's not having a good family, good friends, good job... ! What is the next step for you..? If you tell me everything unfolds in the way that is suppose to. It just is. That I'm using my judgmental mind. To notice who is making this question. Well maybe that's right but I will roll my eyes to that

I agree with that but here is not much the concept of action but more of feeling.

"The untethered soul" and "the surrender experiment" are both amazing books by Michael Singer. They are easy to read and also very good for beginners. I usually offer this books to people because they are so to the point in such a captivating way that everyone will have a "aha" moment. Everyone I offer them loved them. I could really see in their eyes that they were finally understanding what I was talking about

Concrete: meditation, quitting the job I didn't like, voluntary work abroad, retreats, consistent yoga practice, move to the countryside, travelling and experiencing cultures, reading, cutting sugar, meat. Opening the spectrum of what I thought was my preferences, by experiencing everything that is presented to me..even if I thought I wouldn't like or I couldn't do it.

I'm sure almost 100% of people here feel the call to go to India... reason?...Could be a lot, but the ultimate goal is to feel more connected with the source or if you prefer Enlightened! I went to a little holy city in the north of India called Rishikesh. This place is like the Mecca for yoga and meditation practitioners, it's no doubt a very special place. I spent a month there where I did a yoga teacher training, participated in ceremonies, learnt a lot about Vedic science and Ayurveda, shared experiences with a lot of different people that became friends, met gurus, visited ashrams, went to the Himalayas, tried a hole bunch of meditation techniques, pranayama, satkarma, etc etc. We woke up everyday around 5 am and around 10 pm the lights turned off. The schedule was very busy and I almost never got time to be alone, but we still got time to visit a lot of places but most of my free time was for self study. When you come to a place like India for the first time, your senses are so acute. So many colors, poverty and beggars, skinny cows and dogs, monkeys trying to steal food, honks from cars and motorbikes every half second, so over populated, so many rubbish and dirt, so many incense and turmeric smells, so hot and wet climate...and when you look around with your head up , you see all this is wrapped up by the powerful Himalayas mountains and when you look down, there it is, the gangues river illuminating your gaze, so silent and peaceful. What a contrast this is...and everything is happening in your face, nonstop. This is seriously challenging for your inner stillness. To give you some perspective, I'm an active, disciplined seeker for the last 5 years, I meditate everyday, contemplate, read a lot, travel and experienced a fair bit, etc,.. So honestly I wasn't expecting to get surprised with much I would experience there!... I couldn't be more wrong! It's difficult to try to describe what happen during my time there because was a shift inside me that no words can describe. I can tell you though that they have so much to teach that I thought to my self "How I don't know this things already? How they have so much knowledge and nothing reaches the west? This is so powerful!" As I met people in town (locals and travelers) I started to notice how everyone was sort of vibrating in the same frequency... even the animals... the dogs behaved like cows.. the beggars where always smiling, even when I gave them nothing they would still be waving and blessing. Everyone there was in this fascination towards the present moment. As the weeks passed, emotions started to take over more than I was use to for a long time in my life, I would feel this strong swing moods.. sad/happy, too challenged/too relaxed, disconnected/connected, vulnerable/secure...I even started to stare at objects as though I was seeing something for the first time...I thought "Am I getting crazy? I shared a room with massive spiders and cokroaches, my bed was moldy and wet, the food was always yellow, the water impossible to drink and I was always in verge of getting sick.. and eventually I got really sick... and going to an hospital taking an injection was definitely not in my plans. But so it happened..! I was not in my comfort zone at all. I later started to realize that the contrast that I was experiencing in India between cruelty and humanity, dark and light, ugly and beautiful, chaos and harmony, silk and rag, tears and smiles, odor and perfume... this are so intense opposites, that they were also happening in a micro level, inside me. I was in a process of acceptance, until I had completely surrendered... That's when something in me started to change and I couldn't understand exactly what...It was something around my hearth. You know when you hear this things about "to open the hearth"?...Well I always thought "yes, yes my hearth is open, I can feel it"... No, no... I had no idea what that meant before! Your hearth can truly open in such a powerful way that will make you cry, laugh, shine, love....Love unconditionally...Wow I can't even tell you how liberating this is!! I dare to say that this is the most powerful skill you can ever hold. More than open your third eye, more than all the knowledge in the world, more than understanding life, feeling of purpose... more than everything because this is all that ...love is all that... It's what will bring you happiness. Now you ask "How do I know that my hearth is open to that extreme?" I don't know, only you can tell...Try closing your eyes and place your hands on your hearth and see what you feel. When I do this, I feel ecstasy running in all my body, like all my cells are excited to be here together, vibrating so fast... and they feel comfortable with everything around them, with no preferences. As weird as it might seem I feel I want to hug the hole world, everytime, especially when they look frighten or defensive at me. "How do you open your hearth?" Whatever works for you really... I found this worked for me: - Experiencing the opposite of what you think is your preferences and what you think you cant let go. - Being engaged in a likewise group where I let others helping me heal and also help others to heal through active listening. - Very important: meditated at least twice a day using pranayma tecniques and engaging bandhas before the meditation. I find this to be the most powerfull meditations!! - Danced or just had a fluid movement of my body. Do a yoga flow that you like and do it everyday with some music that you love - Be grateful for your body and mind, they are your temple. Instead of trying to avoid and camouflage the parts about you that you don't like, give them special care, like you would take care of a plant. - Also important, realize that whatever you are, you have a female and a masculine energy inside you that needs to be accepted and balanced. (I will do a post in the future about this) This are the first steps...Other aspects you need to know will unfold naturally within you. I hope you can feel inspired to take care of your hearth <3

@retardedhorse1 It seems that you are getting in a emotional spiral about these thoughts. Your ego is getting attacked and the way he finds to defend itself is by making you feel resistant to experience enjoyment. Not getting emotional about it will give you a more concrete perspective on this...will help you not get lost in this current of thoughts and instead, just become aware that your mind is having them (not you). Try question yourself very honestly, what is the root of this thoughts and why they make you feel sad. Keep questioning the answers you give yourself until you know the very deep root of it. Don't worry... having this thoughts and feeling "flat". It's a very common fase. Soon you will be experiencing a greater enjoyment than ever before! ?

In a more simple way than that, acording with pantajali sutras this is the limb that will prepare you for being in control of your senses. Pranayama uses breathing to influence the flow of energy in the body, yes, and by influencing the breath (which we can control) we acess other body functions that are automatic such as hearth beat, temperature, etc. You can experience a strengthening in the energetic body, detoxification, it calms the nervous system, clears the mind to the point of absolute focus and above all you notice life force itself, in the end it is like the breath that breathes us.. If breath is a string between the state of life and death...what would happen if you pull it and tighten it up? You will get closer to what..? Other thing, if you notice your left nostril and your right nostril, they are not always both open. Sometimes you breath more from the right and sometimes you breath more from left, but never both at the same time. This cycles change during the day. You can verify it. This will have influence in your hemispheres, therefore your state of mind. With pranayma you can clear both nostrils at same capacity...for the yogic tradition this means "being fully connected with the source". I personally don't know what it means but I know from experience that being in this state gave me the most powerfull, out of body meditation I have ever had. It contribute massively for my awakening..

According to to the exercise now I could think "Is it? No, what you think it is is not that...!but desire is existancial, search is existencial? No that's a theory, I'm not that" ?! ?