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5 Signs You are Smarter than ‘the Media’

5 Signs You are Smarter than ‘the Media’

The amount of hypnosis and mind-manipulation in the media today is staggering. Children have been a favourite target for long, and now we have a generation of adults that has been exposed to a whole lifetime of media hypnosis.

In my observation, apart from making people more addicted consumers, a constant exposure to the media dramatically reduces happiness levels .

Advertising is increasingly using hypnosis to sell products – the whole idea of advertising is mostly to sell you things you don’t need, so they have to create a demand first, by showing you how sub-standard your life is, without the product. The implications are vast, and effective – people are becoming increasingly body, fashion and brand conscious, mostly to their detriment. But what affects people more than anything else, is the hatred that is being spread in the name of news.

However, there are also people today who are more aware than before, and not everyone is brainwashed by the media. Here are a few signs you have remained above it all.

1. You don’t take sides

When you read the news merely to stay up to date with what the world is talking about, you are usually unaffected by it. Anyone who has had a close tryst with the media knows first hand how so much news is completely fabricated out of thin air, or in the very least, distorted beyond recognition. When you view the news with this knowledge, you know that it is foolish to be on one side, because what you are so passionately feeling about might not even be true.

2. It doesn’t stick on

If you spend the rest of your day thinking about what you saw/ read, then you know you’ve fallen for their tricks. This applies to news, series, reality shows, everything. Today the media is using stronger emotions because whether positive or negative, intensity is usually addictive.

3. You are not a mouthpiece for the media

When I was young, I’d hear this phrase a lot – any publicity is good publicity. Everytime you talk, share or tweet something, whether against or in favour of, you are directly playing into the hands of those who are trying to gather free publicity – this is exactly what they want.

If you look at it from an energy perspective too, the more you make an issue out of it, the more energy you send it. The more energy an issue has, the more it can affect you. Of course, we do the right thing when we can, but most of the times when we discuss – either verbally or through media – we are just providing people free publicity.

4. You are not addicted

Would you feel at peace on a vacation where you don’t use any gadgets? This is a common fantasy, but it does nothing to indicate an addiction or the lack of it. You know you are free when you don’t go back to media when you have ‘nothing to do’ or ‘are bored’. Spend a holiday at home just spending loving time with the family, without an insane desire to check your email or whatsapp just one more time, and you know you’re dong fine.

5. You are not a consumer

Consumerism is a disease that stems from an inability to be with oneself. We try to fill this gap through retail therapy, or over-stimulating ourselves. An inability to ‘be’ with oneself leaves one vulnerable to manipulation and deception. If you are satisfied with what you have, however, this is not possible.

The Dream of Life

The Dream of Life

As I played some background music today, I was startled by some words starting to play. And boy, I was hooked. It took some searching to find the original version. What a gift, to discover this video. I hope you all enjoy it too.

I also just realised that this is my 100th post! What a wonderful post to celebrate this milestone with!

Here are the words, in case you prefer reading it:

If you awaken from this illusion and you understand that black implies white, self implies other, life implies death or shall I say death implies life, you can feel yourself – not as a stranger in the world, not as something here on probation, not as something that has arrived here by fluke – but you can begin to feel your own existence as absolutely fundamental.

I am not trying to sell you on this idea in the sense of converting you to it, I want you to play with it. I want you to think of its possibilities, I am not trying to prove it. I am just putting it forward as a possibility of life to think about. So then, let’s suppose that you were able every night to dream any dream you wanted to dream, and that you could for example have the power within one night to dream 75 years of time, or any length of time you wanted to have.

And you would, naturally, as you began on this adventure of dreams, you would fulfill all your wishes. You would have every kind of pleasure during your sleep. And after several nights of 75 years of total pleasure each you would say “Whoa, that was pretty great”. But now let’s have a surprise, let’s have a dream which isn’t under control, where something is gonna happen to me that I don’t know what it’s gonna be.

And you would dig that and would come out of that and you would say “Wow that was a close shave, wasn’t it?”. Then, you would get more and more adventurous and you would make further- and further-out gambles what you would dream. And finally, you would dream where you are now. You would dream the dream of living the life that you are actually living today.

That would be within the infinite multiplicity of choices you would have. Of playing that you weren’t god, because the whole nature of the godhead, according to this idea, is to play that he is not. So in this idea then, everybody is fundamentally the ultimate reality, not god in a politically kingly sense, but god in the sense of being the self, the deep-down basic whatever there is. And you are all that, only you are pretending you are not.

Why People Judge & How to Deal with It

Why People Judge & How to Deal with It

We all point fingers. Some of us do it more subtly, that's all.
We all point fingers. Some of us do it more subtly, that’s all.

The millenials are an interesting generation. We want to share our lives with the public, and we want everyone to love us.  We seek approval quite compulsively, because we rarely have any real assurance that we’re doing ok. And this sharing and desire for approval comes with its shares of disasters. When you share your lives with the world, someone is bound to disapprove. And then all the troubles begin.

I’ve been seeing a spate of images like this, making rounds on facebook.

Judgmental remarks about judgmentalism
Judgmental remarks about judgmentalism

and it seems almost everyone is feeling this way.

What is ‘being judgmental’?

When someone starts to decide who or what someone else should be, we can say they are being judgmental. People are judgmental all the time – people are either too fat or too skinny, too dark or too pale, their hair is not right, they don’t raise their kids right, they don’t have kids, or don’t get married in time, the list is endless.

Why do they do it?

Yes. Why do WE do it? Have you ever met a non-judgmental person? That person is probably enlightened. And even they might have judgmental thoughts that they’re not paying heed to.

Why do we judge? We judge when our identity is threatened. We judge because in some way, the other has caused us pain. And if we chose to admit that we are all the same and there is no difference, then that would undermine the pain they are causing us.

Look at the images above, for instance. They are completely judgmental statements about judgmental people. By telling another not to judge, we are telling them they cannot be exactly who they are. Which is exactly what we are telling them not to do. And why are we doing it? Because when they judge us, it hurts us, and we feel a tiny bit smaller. One more person who doesn’t think we’re good enough. Who needs that kind of negativity in their lives?

We want people to accept us as we are. And we refuse to accept others as they are until they stop judging us.

We’re all doing the same thing

We all judge. Some are more open and verbal about it, and others are more sophisticated and quiet about it. We judge when we meet someone who challenges our description of what the world should be like. Everyone’s description varies, and that’s what makes things interesting.

We even judge ourselves, and sometimes we go one step further and judge ourselves for judging others.

How do we deal with it?

We start by recognising that judgment is a reaction coming from pain. Why would we ask a person in pain to change themselves? They’re in pain. And if they are projecting their pain onto us through their judgment, we take a metaphorical step back, and witness our pain. Yes, I feel hurt, yes I feel judged, and it is ok for this person to judge me. This is who they are, and I am what I am and we are both ok.

A beautiful woman had once told me, ‘lead by example’, and those words rung so true. Lead by example. Embrace the other along with all their flaws, even the ones that seem to hurt you. And bring just a little more love, and a little more joy into the world.

Dialogue: Spiritual Teachings

Dialogue: Spiritual Teachings

A Bylakuppe, near Coorg, is a beautiful, serene Buddhist monastery
A Bylakuppe, near Coorg, is a beautiful, serene Buddhist monastery

Absolutely any spiritual teaching holds the risk of being misinterpreted, especially when it is read by the wrong person at the wrong time. Just like religious texts have been misinterpreted and twisted to suit one’s convenience for centuries, anyone reading spiritual teachings must also beware that teachings will work against you if you read through the filters of your beliefs instead of trying to connect with the essence through your heart.

And here I present especially something that can be open to misinterpretation, but I do it anyway, because I believe it will still help those who are prepared. One of the most common traps on a spiritual aspirant’s pathway, is getting lost in teachings. I have found myself lost more than once, and I see many around me deeply trapped by their intellect – able to give an entire discourse if need be, but barely able to invest any energies in actually experiencing anything.

Spurthi contacted me recently during her stay at Bylakuppe, where she was attending HH Dalai Lama’s teachings. I would like to mention here that our conversations have nothing to do with Buddhism itself, but with the idea of listening to teachings.

Spurthi
I am in Bylakuppe for Dalai Lama’s teaching.
Ashwita
great, how’s that going for you?
Spurthi
Very good… it’s awesome to be in his presence.. very peaceful. I experienced similar first in your presence.
He covered how to realise emptiness and impermanence, origin of dependence
Ashwita
oh, sounds wonderful
Spurthi
It helped in my intellectual understanding, I need to do lot of work to surrender fully. Hope 2016 helps me better
Ashwita
Yeah I find that the one risk in Buddhism is getting lost in the intellect
Spurthi
Yes.. tats why HH stressed direct realization is must
Ashwita
yeah, that can also be a very intellectual statement 😀
Spurthi
Teaching should only be a signpost
Ashwita
See all these things come in when you want to ‘get’ somewhere
Yes – signposts are needed when there is a journey. A journey is when you are not happy with where you are. Just sit down, there is nowhere to go. Stop trying to be better, and surrender will happen naturally. Otherwise you will end up with a fake intellectualized surrender
Spurthi
Hmmm … how can surrender happen wen my mind still complains / resists
Ashwita
Surrender to that state of mind. It is only the mind that is telling you how the mind should behave. Let that layer go first
Spurthi
It still wants to take control of things and induces fear of future by negativity
Ashwita
That is the only ‘work’ you need to do – witnessing the mind and not heeding its madness
Spurthi
While witnessing I somehow get lost with it and stop being witness..
Ashwita
practice practice practice
Spurthi
I need to practice
Yes tats the way.. should be more patient.
Shouldn’t give up practice
Ashwita
that’s all 🙂 there is nothing else you need to actually know
Spurthi
Right… Thanks a lot Ashwita for the way i want to discuss more with u.. now going to attend one more teaching from a Buddhist monk.. it’s so true as u said there r lot of chances here to get lost intellectually.
It’s easy to start seeking …
Ashwita
yeah. The real teachings fit in half a page. Anything more than that has a potential to mislead you
Spurthi
Exactly!!! Mind will be more than happy to resume it’s work after half page
Ashwita
gooood girl 🙂
Spurthi
🙂

At the beginning of a spiritual journey, it is usually of much help to be able to heal some deep wounds through therapy or some sort of spiritual healing. Until one reaches this stage, there might be some desire to ‘reach somewhere’. But eventually one reaches a point where all the basics have been learned, and practice is all that is required. One needs to steer clear of intellectual masturbation and focus on the only real thing on the ‘journey’ – simple, boring practice.

Is World Peace a Distant Dream?

Is World Peace a Distant Dream?

It is OUR earth, every inch of it. Can't bomb one part and think it isn't hurting US, ultimately.
It is OUR earth, every inch of it. Can’t bomb one part and think it isn’t hurting US, ultimately.

My heart is aching. I don’t watch the news, but some bits of them come blaring, into our lives anyway. I heard about the blasts in Paris first thing in the morning on the 14th, and then started to realise that it wasn’t just Paris that was bleeding. Lebanon, Syria, Iraq… the list is endless.

But what hurts more than anything else, is the violence I see in day to day life, and the encouragement of more violence. Nobody seems to be talking about the fact that this was a retaliation by those who were upset that Paris was bombing Syria. Not that that makes it any less painful, but how is it that we didn’t care about dead Syrians or express our solidarity by changing our profile photos – are some lives less valuable than others? Can the Westerners go around funding and selling arms to whoever they support, encourage mass murders and then be alarmed when they experience a fraction of the same horror? Is this what you support?

Are you Contributing?

Do you really want a peaceful world? It is sometihng we talk about, but I’ve observed that it is hardly something anyone really wants. We’d rather see severe, brutal punishment. We’d rather see Paris retaliate with bombs, because the media has convinced us that Muslim lives are worthless and they’re all violent terrorists.

There were hundreds of responses to this image, applauding and celebrating the bombs. Are these people any different from the ‘terrorists’ that bombed Paris out of fear and anger?

So, whose side are you on?

Are you taking sides again? Are you filled with hatred and anger towards the killers? Do you realise that by doing this, you are helping the world remain a violent, horrible place to live in?

What can you do?

The violence in the world is nothing but a reflection of the violence inside our hearts (read more). We can blame the ‘selfish’ politicians, the terrorists – who are really just people tortured by the West and trying to fight back, no different from the Western soldiers who are sent to bomb their wives and children – or anyone else. But really, we are contributing by allowing the violence to seep inside our hearts, and by sending it back out into the world through our words, thoughts, and now social media posts.

Let go of your beliefs

Yes, a large part of the wars are motivated by greed, but they are supported by ideologies. Every citizen that supports the war, believes that his side is right, his view is perfect. Don’t you, too? If you’re taking sides, you can come up with dozens of reasons why it is ok to kill innocent people on the other side – but can something like that ever really be justified?

If we want a peaceful world – if at all we choose to make it a priority before we ourselves stand to lose everything we love – we need to stop taking sides. We need to stop making it about ‘them’ and ‘us’. There is no separation, not really. The worst monsters in the world are a reflection of our own inner darkness. We can choose to dive into that darkness and create more bloodshed. Or we can send them love, refuse to take sides, and hold the space while the earth starts to heal.

CAN you make a difference?

One of the most common excuses is that one person cannot change anything. Yes, you can. You have no idea how many thousands of others you will join, and maybe if we’re all lucky, you will help us cross the critical mass. There are dozens of scientific studies that have shown how group meditations have brought down crime rates. You CAN make a difference. Will you?

Lighting the Inner Lamp

Lighting the Inner Lamp

Diwali is my favourite time of the year. I don’t so much know why, because it is the festival I do the least in. Maybe something to do with the lights.

In India, Diwali can seem like the festival of pollution and explosions, more than light, but to me, it really is the festival of silence. Despite all the noise. The outer chaos only makes the silence louder, if only one chooses to tune in to it.

Light is very significant. My favourite lines about it, I read in an Osho book.

Wise Words by Osho in his book "Intimacy"
Wise Words by Osho in his book “Intimacy”

As a healer, for years I was stuck with a belief that once I am completely healed, I will be happy. But even months and months of therapy later, I still felt messed up. It felt like digging an infinite well.

And then, one day, it dawned on me. Light up. That is all it takes to dispel the darkness. The healing will happen automatically, for guess what – it is what eventually fuels the fire. You will burn. Joyously.

Just like the oil in a lamp, or the wax in a candle, every bit of your ego – your sense of separation from the source – will burn away, lighting up the world, until absolutely nothing remains, and ‘you’ have gone back to the source, burned away.

Stop trying to be a better person this Diwali. Stop trying to burn away all your inner trash, stop trying to heal a little more so that you can one day be happy. You can’t remove the darkness. You can only bring in the light. Burn away, my dear ones. Burn away.

Shit Happens

Shit Happens

Vietnamese countryside

When we planned a trip to Vietnam, one question bothered me vaguely, at the back of my mind. ‘Why are we going to a country that was so devastated by war? Will it be too much to handle?‘ Luckily for me, I was too busy to actually think about it.

Places where trauma has happened almost scream back at you. In Berlin especially, one can feel the intensity of pain where the concentration camps once were. The Jallianwala Bagh still vibrates with intense pain, so does Cherokee, an American friend on this trip mentioned.

And yet, as we landed in Hanoi, I was struck by the absence of any such vibration. Indeed, all I could feel, was peace. I was very surprised. This country thrives. And it isn’t even the commotion that many people use to mask their pain. It was simply quiet. One normally finds stillness only in temples or sacred places. As far as countries go, Vietnam is the most ‘still’ country I’ve ever been to. It was amazing to see such hard working people, not driven by a desire to

Our surprise intensified when we visited the War Museum in Saigon (It is called Ho Chi Minh City now, but I somehow still prefer Saigon, like many of Southern Viets). This museum showcased thousands of photographs taken during the Vietnam war, showing how people suffered. The Americans violated international laws and agreements and flooded their rivers for 10 years, with highly toxic chemicals. Not only did this destroy the lives of many alive at the time, but also deformed babies that were being born. The result is handicapped people, still being born decades later.

A former nurse, next to her 23 year old disabled son. Between 2-5million people were directly affected by the chemical, and many more continue to be affected, as these people have children. On the right, is a picture of indiscriminate bombing, by B-52 planes, or 'Whispering Death' as they were called.
A former nurse, next to her 23 year old disabled son. Between 2-5 million people were directly affected by the chemical, and many more continue to be affected, as these people have children. On the right, is a picture of bomb craters left behind, by B-52 planes, or ‘Whispering Death’ as they were called.

I have a fairly small threshold for intense stuff, and I spent most of my time in this museum trying not to burst into tears and resisting the desire to run out. It was hard not to hate the Americans by the time we left the museum, even more so because they still continue to hurt entire countries. Even so – if we found it hard to forgive after a couple hours of seeing photographs, how could these people, having directly borne the atrocities, move on?

The USA still spends money on Vietnam war veterans – apart from everything else, they needed therapy for years. How did Vietnam move on? We finally asked someone.

‘Everybody wants to win’ she said, explaining away all the horrors of the war. ‘We just focus on the present. Now we have welcomed Americans and Australians into the country, and hugged them. We treat them as friends.’ There were no traces of bitterness or hatred in her voice, or on her face.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It couldn’t be that simple. How does one simply move on, deciding to work on building a better future? As a therapist I know that just that much would only lead to suppression, and an eventual need for therapy. It couldn’t be the complete story.

The real answer occurred to me a couple of days later. It really boils down to a deceptively simple phrase. Shit happens.

Sounds trivial, doesn’t it? Reducing all of that pain and healing, to two words? But when you really understand and integrate this phrase into your life, it can make a world of a difference.

Our story isn’t meant to be perfect. Nature didn’t intend for life to be a bed of roses. Life isn’t fair. But growing up listening to fairy tales with ‘lived happily ever after’ endings teach us something else. ‘Good things happen to good people’ is a dangerous lie we grow up with. No, they don’t.

We’ve formed a wide set of belief systems in a bid to find some security in an unpredictable world. We convince ourselves that if we act a certain way, things won’t go wrong, that there will be no suffering. This is all a lie, and if anything, it only creates more suffering. Won’t one just be left asking ‘But I pray everyday/ go to church every week/ I’ve never hurt anyone, why did this still happen to me?’ A lion doesn’t ask a deer about its moral conduct, before it kills it. There is no real insurance against misery.

And having battled outsiders for many decades, maybe even centuries, it is only natural for the Viets to know this. She was right. Everybody wants to win, and wars of all things, are not fair.

When we learn to accept the calamities of life as a part of life, we don’t cry out in pain asking ‘why me?’ There is no sense of entitlement, something the current generation across the world is infected with, explaining the growing need for therapy and the increasing incapacity of people to function effectively. And without this sense of entitlement, there is no need to place the blame – either on others’ or one’s own shoulders. One can just move on.

The ‘Nice Person’ Syndrome

The ‘Nice Person’ Syndrome

Many years ago, either a book or a person caused me to ask myself ‘would I rather be a good person, or a spiritual person?’ The answer to me, was obvious. Good person, of course, wasn’t that the point of spirituality, after all?

All these years later, I’m not so sure it is. I’m more inclined to believe that spirituality is about being in our natural state, becoming who we really are, and not good or bad.

There is no such thing as a nice person. We all have our bright and dark sides, and have a tendency towards one of these sides, that is all. The ‘bad’ people are more identified with their darkness, the ‘good’ people, with their light. In both cases, there is identification, and where there is identification, there is misery. Haven’t we all heard the ‘good’ people wailing from time to time, about how all the bad things seem to happen to the good people?

I remember harboring a doubt for a long time after meeting Jacqueline. If a person was a murderer, would becoming spiritual mean he becomes a murderer without remorse? I never mustered the courage to ask, somehow, but over time the answer presented itself.

Our bright and dark sides are nothing but aspects of our personality. Both sides are needed, and both sides can be strengths or weaknesses. So, a person who has a strong tendency to kill anyone who violates him in some way, may still have that tendency, but spiritual practice will lift him above the grip of that tendency on him. He might want to kill someone, but he will have a choice – a real one – to kill or not. And anyone who really has a choice makes the sensible one.

As I mentioned, it is not only our vices that trap us. We are more often trapped by the desire to be a ‘good’ person. This leads us into trouble when we have to look bad in front of others by saying, or doing something that makes us look bad. As a result, most people in the beginning stages of spiritual growth end up having their personal space violated quite frequently.

A dis-identification with the ‘nice’ person within, would leave us free to be a ‘bad’ person when the situation requires it, for example if a person is trying to cheat us, or trying to take advantage of us in some way. A person who is trapped by identification will respond either by being submissive or aggressive. When we let go of the fear of being a bad person, we will find that more and more, we are simply assertive, and actually a better person than we were before.

Why the Law of Attraction is Hurting your Spiritual Growth

Why the Law of Attraction is Hurting your Spiritual Growth

The universe responds to your inner state of being.
The universe responds to your inner state of being.

When the book and the movie ‘The Secret’ came out many years ago, it created quite a stir. It helped people realise that they were capable of walking out of those lives steeped in misery. It helped, and still helps people come out of a state where they’re blaming everyone else, or life, for their problems.

The basic premise of the law of attraction is true – “You create your own reality“. But as with most sacred scriptures, this one is also open to blatant misinterpretation. And the ego has twisted it quite wildly out of context.

You Create Your Own Reality

Of course you do! But what reality are we referring to, over here? Imagine that you are waking down a path. On one side, there’s a barren, dry land, maybe with a few dead animals. On the other side is a beautiful forest, you can hear the birds chirping, and smell the wild roses.

Reality = Perception

Now which side you choose to focus on, will determine your reality. If you choose to keep looking at the barren land and wonder why it is so dry, and why there are so many dead animals, you’re obviously going to be quite miserable. If you focus on the lovely, thriving forest, your life is happier.

The MISperception

The whole law of attraction propaganda has us believe that a completely flawless life is possible. That if you work in the right direction, you can attract the perfect life. And this is where the trap lies, because this is complete hogwash.

So today, followers of the law of attraction, religiously spend night after night making vision boards, setting targets, and willing their wildest fantasies to come true.

If they’re lucky, they’re disappointed sooner than others and wonder where they went wrong. If they’re luckier, they find out.

Why the Law of Attraction is unspiritual

The moment you start to wish for something in the future, there are two inherent flaws in your approach.

1) You’re postponing happiness

You’re not in the present anymore, but in the future, in the common but insane hope that something in the future is going to make you happy some day. If you aren’t happy right now, what you’re doing in the hope of being happy, isn’t going to make you happy either. The more you move away from the present, the more unhappiness you create.

2) You’re creating more karma

What is karma? Karma is doership. Attachment to the outcome. Real spirituality involves nonaction (not to be confused with inaction), where we do what is required of us without any attachment to the outcome. The law of attraction is anything but this. You’re always dreaming about the outcome.

The real ‘Secret’: You reap what you sow

It doesn’t matter so much what you do, but why you do it. If you’re spending days visualising your ideal life while believing strongly that your life at present is far from perfect, you can never create a perfect life, because you’re acting from inadequacy. Actions taken in inadequacy, will only bring you more inadequacy, not fulfillment.

If, on the other hand, you’re visualising from a feeling of fulfillment… now wait a minute. If you’re feeling fulfilled, why exactly would you waste your time visualising? If your life was perfect, right at this moment, would you really be fantasizing about a happier tomorrow? No. You’d be immersing yourself into this moment, trying to experience it as fully as you can.

Yes, you create your own reality. Right now. And your investment in right now, creates the next right now. If you live this moment in complete awareness, complete surrender, the next one will be perfect too, And the next one. And the next. And maybe, once in a while, life will gift you with a vision, and make that come true for you. That’ll be exciting and fun, but also just another addition to an already perfect life. Which you are living. Right now. And that’s the real law of attraction.

New Moon Meditation

New Moon Meditation

A little over the last two months seem to have been tough for many I know. And I can see that it is really cleansing, some sort of flushing of old accumulated toxins that is happening, but these processes are never easy. This is only one of many rounds of purification that we have been going through, and it is bound to continue, whether we like it or not.

Two people in just the last 2 days, have told me that they don’t want this anymore ‘I just want to be a normal person like everyone else’. This is something we’re all going to feel at some point in time or another, and it is ok to feel this way. These are powerful times, and the soul often ends up choosing more than it can comfortably handle, much like going a bit crazy and buying more than we can carry, at a supermarket with an extraordinary sale. It hurts, but just stay with it.

The New Moon

New moons are special, and this one especially so, because it is associated with the release of accumulated trash, as well as a ‘ghosts of the past’. In some cultures in India, people throw out the trash tomorrow morning, chanting something to the effect ‘let the old go out and create space for the new’ – something that sums up the essence of the new moon.

Burn It

Fire is a great tool for transmutation. It alchemises base, fear based emotions to those based in love. It has the power to transform and heal. Using fire to burn away old patterns can hasten the process. The next time you witness a fire, just gaze into it deeply and surrender into it everything you wish to let go of. Even better if it is a sacred fire.

What to Burn?

One thing that often accompanies cleansing, is some sort of illness. Cleansing is rarely a cause for illness, the resistance to it, is. Absolutely any illness is possible only where there is some sort of resistance at a mental or emotional level.

There is a common tendency to want to get rid of everything we don’t like – like disease or discomfort, but these are the result, and surrendering them to the fire can only help so much. On the other hand, if we surrender our attachments, and our resistance to what life brings us in the present moment, we will find a lot of problems vanishing quite quickly.

Meditate

I experience a lot more thoughts and disturbances during new moon times – so much more comes up for resolution. Meditating with fire can make it easier because it gives the mind something to focus on. Here’s a meditation that uses fire to transmute past baggage.

It makes references to mango wood and ghee, materials that are used for sacred fires in India. Ghee is clarified butter. Best to meditate at sunset time during a new moon, but it will work just fine at any other time as well.