The Energy of Transformation

Tags

autumn, balance, exploration, transformation, walking

It’s autumn… and the forest welcomes me back…

It was an exhilarating return to the river reservation in the valley, after an entire summer of absence. The overcast skies and a light rain were not enough to deter me from visiting and checking on the health of my good friends. And so, I walked the wet and narrow fisherman’s trail by the river, and was welcomed with a familiar energy. It felt like a homecoming.

The transition to autumn was well underway in the forest, as there was already a thin carpet of wet leaves on the trail. The river nearby was calm and almost still, except for the the sound of raindrops falling steadily and sending ripples everywhere. The bright yellows on the trees were resplendent in the Noon hour, even under graying skies. The orange hues were beginning to emerge among the yellows and their stillness enveloped me, invited me to stand still so that the forest could do its work.

And so I paused, stood still, closed my eyes, and allowed the energy to do what it needed to do. The murmur of the river,

the play of raindrops on my head, the light scent of the lavender blooms, the holding of the earth beneath and the canopy of the trees and sky above – the cumulative energy and effect of it was all a bit surreal. Twenty four hours later, as I write about that energy infusion, my heart is still processing the experience.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t walked the particular part of the reservation, many many times before. And yet, this journey on a familiar path was transformative. I cannot explain why this experience was so different from all the ones I’ve had before. Maybe it feels transformative because this is the most recent experience and I have forgotten about the impact of my precious walks? Maybe it feels transformative because I have been diligent in my daily meditation practice, which in turn has made me more sensitive to the energy of the forest as it undergoes its own transformation? Maybe it is because I went into the walk without any expectation other than to simply walk, feel, touch, listen and immerse in the energy?

Perhaps the ‘why’ of the transformative energy isn’t as important as the direct experience itself. When does the energy flow around us become transformative? The first step is when we take steps to cleanse ourselves of the heaviness of anger, hate and energy-draining emotions – we balance our tamas, our propensity towards negativity. The second step is when we take steps towards proper actions in all our activities – we balance our rajas, our propensity towards outward activity. The balancing of tamas and rajas opens us to creating sattva or purity within, and allows for energy to reach deep into our heart.

In the perfect balance of our three propensities, we are ready to integrate, assimilate and propagate the energy which is forever flowing within and without us. On our spiritual walk, we now realize that every flower, every leaf, every drop of rain, every step on the trail, every living being, conveys energy to and through us. We awaken to discover that the door has been opened for us to transform into Shakti – that divine energy of protection, love, grace, and joy limitless.

And to think that it can all begin with a simple visit with a friend…

Kumud

P.S. Join us Sunday, October 10 at 9amET for our weekly gathering on Twitter in #SpiritChat. Sunday marks the mid-point of the nine-day Hindu festival of Navratri, which celebrates the ‘Energy of the Goddess’. Enjoy the transformation! Namaste – @AjmaniK

A station on the trail… time to pause and absorb…

The Heart’s Release

Tags

exploration, letting go, mission, release

We often talk about the idea and need of “letting go” in our weekly #SpiritChat conversations. One of my favorite analogies in this context is given by Osho:

To light a fire, we need a spark. A matchstick struck on the side of a matchbox can provide that spark. And yet, once the fire is lit, we don’t keep the used matchstick around. Its work is done. The fire’s work begins. – Osho 

Over time, our heart tends to become the repository of many such “used” matchsticks. We tend to hold on to them, refuse to release them, “just in case”. The result? Instead of sharing the light, the energy and the warmth that the fire has lit within us, we hold on to worry – what if the fire goes out and I don’t have any more matchsticks left? Maybe I’ll be able to use the burnt one after all.

What else may we hold on to in the heart, as we refuse to release?

We hold on to waiting and waffling, letting our mind convince us that we aren’t ready, aren’t good enough to share our light yet.

We while our time away watching and marveling at the fire, all the sparks emanating from it, hoping for it to change for the better, before we decide to share it. We hold on to procrastination. 

We make deep dives into the mind’s spaces, wondering about the ‘why me’, ‘what now’, ‘what if’, ‘what about’ and ‘is it really my purpose to share’ questions. We hold on to the never-ending wondering. 

We keep looking at the wishing well in wistfulness and get swamped by uncertainty about the purpose and possible impact of our sharing. We hold on to a lifetime of inactive wishes while we let the heart accumulate ever-new desires, as the fire dwindles.

All this worrying, waiting, waffling, whiling, why me-ing, what now-ing, what iff-ing, what about-ing, wishing and more. All the while, the fire has now gone out, the embers have gotten cold, and we are still holding on to the burnt matchstick in our hands. 

And yet, there is a bright path, which can be walked by us, if we allow the heart to release the matchstick of our dogmas, our vanities, our hubris, our anger, our hate, and that is burning us out from within. It is akin to letting go of the weight of the hundreds of thousands of parts, systems, and engines that have served their purpose, and brought us this far on our journey. We are grateful for all them, including the sky-crane which has finally set our wheels down ever so gently on a new planet.

And yet, the sky-crane needs to be released too, or will be forever frozen in time and space, unable to move, to explore, to search for life. It’s time to release the final matchstick. 

In releasing with gratitude, all that has brought us here, we create space for our heart’s new mission — whatever we may choose it to be. In the heart’s release, we become free to leverage our spirit, opportunity and curiosity. Freedom allows us to appreciate and acknowledge our journey, and engage our wheels to begin our work.

A new world beckons. Let’s release our light. 

Kumud

P.S. Join us for our weekly conversation with the #SpiritChat community on twitter – Sunday, February 21 at 9am ET / 730pm India. Bring your wheels, ready to explore! – @AjmaniK

In a final act of release, a skycrane lowers @NASA’s Rover, Perseverance, on to the Martian Surface on February 18 2021. 

Spirituality and Big Questions

Tags

exploration, perspective, questions, spirituality

One frequent bonus of working at a national aerospace agency is that one gets to meet their fair share of ‘space travelers’. On completion of their missions, they visit the center, share their wonderful stories, photos and anecdotes from their travels. One purpose of their visits to the center is to thank the workforce for contributions to the completion of their successful mission. A related purpose is to provide inspiration to scientists and engineers, young and old, to continue their work in the support of space exploration and related missions.

I have been fortunate to meet my fair share of astronauts over the years. I rarely let an opportunity go by to meet one, get an autographed photo, or even get a photo taken with them if possible. To merely be in the same rarefied air with them and listen to their enthusiasm for humanity, the earth, and for exploration, often fuels me up with enthusiasm for my work.

Needless to say, when the opportunity came to meet lunar explorer and moonwalking astronaut Harrison Schmitt, I didn’t hesitate to sign up. I thought it was going to be similar to my past experiences with meeting astronauts, but I was “oh so wrong”. There was a unique energy about Dr Schmitt of Apollo17, the last Apollo mission flown by NASA in 1972, almost fifty years ago. He literally had the energetic “new baby” like bounce and the “overflowing child-like joy” that both my wife and I clearly felt.

I marveled at the fact that he was so full of enthusiasm, four decades and more after the tremendous feat of Apollo’s final twelve day lunar mission. It made me ask several questions. When I get to his age of 84, what events will I remember from ten or twenty or thirty or forty or even fifty years ago which will fill me with child-like Joy? What am I working on today, which will make a difference for future generations (of life explorers) in future decades? What can I do today, individually and as part of a team and community, which will inspire the future in some big or even small way? How am I making good use of my creative energy on a daily basis to advance humanity’s future?

Yes. Some of these questions may seem “big-picture” like — even grandiose. And yet, they were inspired within me by being in the presence of one of four remaining humans who have walked another celestial body. I share the ‘big questions’ with you in the spirit that some of the inspiration of Dr Schmitt — a geologist turned jet-pilot turned astronaut who just “happened to walk on the moon” — also rubs off on you.  I am not sure of the answers, but my hope is that these questions will cause us to pause in the midst of our daily challenges, some small and some seemingly big.

In our  search of the answers to our own big questions, we can re-frame our vision of the world. With new perspective  and new vision, we can rise above the urgent and focus on the truly important . With new vision, we can then ask some big questions related to spirituality. How do we know that a ‘greater power’, It, exists? If It does exist, what is its nature? Do we have ‘personal experience’ of It, or is it a belief that was given us? How do we allow It to influence or effect our lives, or do we?

Kumud

P.S. What are some ‘big questions’ that you often ask your own self? Share them with us in our weekly gathering in #SpiritChat on twitter, Sunday Nov 17 at 9amET / 7:30pm India. I will bring some questions, along with tea and cookies. We may even ask the big question – tea or coffee? Namaste – @AjmaniK

Astronaut Harrison Schmitt speaks about his adventures, asks some big questions, shares his photos from Apollo 17

Of Storms and Landings

Tags

chandrayaan, exploration, hurricanes, remembrance, storms

It would be an understatement to say that the East coast of the US and the entire eastern Caribbean has been feeling the effects of hurricane Dorian over the past week — some, like the Bahamas, suffering a lot more than others. Even with all the latest technologies and forecasting models, the exact paths and timings of storms of such rapidly changing intensity, momentum and energy are extremely difficult to predict accurately.

While hurricane Dorian had the Eastern seaboard in its sights, hundreds of millions halfway across the world in India stayed up into the wee hours on Saturday morning. They had their eyes, hopes and prayers focused on an audacious lunar landing of India’s first ever rover on the South Pole of the Moon. The landing sequence was all going according to plan, until about 2km above the lunar surface, contact was lost with the lander. Slowing down a lander from 3000mph to zero from 250,000 miles away is perhaps as difficult a task as trying to predict the path, let alone slow down a hurricane a few hundred miles offshore.

Such is the nature of life’s storms and landings. Those who are in the path evoke the concern, the prayers and positive energy of those watching from a distance. The outcomes, while uncertain, remind all involved of the messiness of life, and a reminder that Life itself is meant to be lived in the eye of the storm. It is in dare greatly in our explorations to other worlds and the worlds within, that we risk landing in unfamiliar territory, bruised and bartered, suffering loss of contact and communications with our “home”.

And yet, it is through the journey into the unknown, the struggle to ride it out or to leave, the decision to attempt a landing or to simply fly by, the facing of the fear of loss of all that we hold dear, that we can find our Truth.

It is in that inner discovery of our core, assisted by our all-seeing inner eye, that we remember our innocence, our simplicity, our purity, our silence and our stillness — and our destiny.

Our destiny may be as simple as to remember to choose direct experience — to remember that we can be whole with joy, to dip our toes in the water once again; to remember that we can keep daring greatly, and attempt new landings once again.

Kumud

P.S. Join our weekly chat on twitter, Sunday Sep 8 at 9amET in #SpiritChat ~ we shall talk about storms and landings, toes in the water and daring greatly. Namaste – @AjmaniK

Spirituality and Exploration

Tags

discovery, exploration, realization

Our existence is closely connected with our spirit of exploration. Ever since we were born, or ever since we developed an awareness of our individuality in the universe, exploration has perhaps been an integral part of that which defines us. The inquisitiveness of infants is essential to their learning and education and identity. The discovery of cause and effect, colors, shapes, patterns, textures and the like, become the toddler’s playground.

As we grow a bit older and traverse through grade school, middle school, high school and college education, our desire for exploration of the world around us often expands. The more we know, the more we often want to know, for we discover that we know but little. It is this innate internal programming which is connected to our survival as a species, that inspires us to send probes, robots, and humans to explore space, our own moon, moons on other planets, and the planets themselves.

Fifty years ago, in what was then a ‘race to the moon’, we saw human beings and human teams undertake an exploration journey that still inspires many. The landing of Apollo 11 on the lunar surface was an event that crossed national and continental boundaries in its impact. Humanity at large, believed a bit more in themselves, in their ability to dream big and achieve those big dreams. The event brought us closer to the stars. More importantly, when the lunar explorers looked back at earth from far off distances, their photographs of earth brought us greater awareness of our own planet.

It is human nature to stretch, to go, to see, to understand. Exploration is not a choice, really; it’s an imperative – Michael Collins, Apollo 11 Astronaut

And that is the serendipity of exploration. The lunar missions were primarily focused on going further than humans had ever gone before. They were, in a sense, outwardly directed, away from earth. However, the farther outward they traveled, the greater awareness, appreciation, and reverence they developed for ‘home’. Many an astronaut has often remarked about the sense of Oneness that they feel with Earth when in orbit. This cognitive shift in awareness is called the overview effect. Exploration is perhaps akin to having a spiritual realization, a kind of enlightenment, about the connectedness of it all. It ought to be no surprise that those who have traveled beyond, are often the greatest proponents of exploration.

As we celebrate Apollo 11 fifty years on, it is reasonable to ask – why did we stop? Why haven’t we returned, or even gone beyond? Did we lose our desire, our will to keep exploring? Perhaps it is no different than when we reach a certain ‘milestone’ in our inner exploration. We start thinking that we have ‘arrived’, and that we don’t have much more to discover. Distractions and complacency sets in, hubris grips us, and ‘fifty’ years may go by before we realize that we took just one small step… an important step, but it is time to awaken and take the next giant leap.

Kumud @AjmaniK

P.S. Join us for our weekly gathering on twitter – Sunday, July 21 at 9amET in #spiritchat. We will share stories about exploration, discovery, the explorer’s spirit, and much more. Namaste – Kumud.

“We set out to explore the moon and instead discovered the Earth.” – Bill Anders, Apollo 8 Astronaut (‘Earthrise’ photo by Bill Anders)

The Spiritual Seekers

Tags

exploration, spiritual path, transformation

As I parked the car in a clearing on the parkway to begin my lunch hour walk on Friday, to coincide with the second upcoming meeting with some #spiritchat folks on Zoom, a question crossed my mind. What is it about the people who make the choice to (regularly) associate with others who are on the spiritual path – either in person, online, or through other mediums?

The first part of the answer started to emerge a few minutes later, as I joined the video meeting hosted by Christy (@IntuitiveHeal) and led by Lucille (@sageandsavvy) on the topic of “The book(s) that most influenced our lives”. Every person who chose to be present, shared their favorite book(s), why they were impactful to them, and how they influenced their life’s journey so far. The diversity of backgrounds, of experiences, of journeys was apparent from the diversity of books and authors that were shared by about a dozen folks.

The second part of the answer emerged later in the evening, as I attended a lecture by a visiting monk from the Vedanta center of Toronto. I observed as the room slowly filled up with people from all walks of life to listen to the topic of “Transformation of Personality”. Sitting in the front row on the floor, the spiritual force of the lecture, the energy of the speaker, seemed to wash over me again and again. There were revelations through the stories told by him, and even some tears.

After the event, while serving food, I struck up many short conversations with the some of the new faces at the event. I was particularly intrigued by a new person who said – “I want to know more about the volunteering opportunities that you mentioned during your emceeing at the podium”. I immediately thought to myself – here is a “seeker”. I talked to him at length, and found that we have families in the same town in India. New to this side of town, he came to the lecture because he saw a flyer at one of the Indian grocery stores. Random chance favors the seekers of the universe.

T

he events of a single Friday, one online and the other in person, had a common thread. Both events were energized by the willingness and the determination of the “seeker” who was seeking change. Both events were made possible by each individual seeker who acted upon their inner desire for change. And perhaps, that is what defines a “seeker” in all fields of life – they are the ones who are willing to open up to change, take action, and stay determined to stop not until the goal is achieved. The “seeker” is perhaps like the fish in the ocean who eats, breathes and sleeps the water of their spiritual journey.

Are you a seeker? If so, what are you seeking? What actions are you taking today to move closer to that which you are seeking? Who is guiding you, inspiring you, influencing you, keeping you company on your seeking journey?

Kumud @AjmaniK

P.S. Join us Sunday, May 5th at 9am ET / 630pm India as we continue our seeker’s journey in our weekly #spiritchat conversation on twitter. I look forward to wandering, exploring and seeking with all of you. Namaste – Kumud.

The Seeker’s Playground…

The Spirit of Exploration

Tags

exploration, spirichat, spirit

I was ten minutes late to the seminar.

I had no idea when I walked into the monthly “innovation forum” that the speaker was going to be discussing interstellar flight. The fifty odd scientists and engineers – or should I say, explorers – gathered in the room sat with rapt attention as the speaker from the British Interplanetary Society talked about travel beyond our solar system. To near and distant stars. While on the surface, this may sound like the stuff of science fiction and Star Trek, I decided to go along for the journey with the speaker for a little while.

“I had the ambition to not only go farther than man had gone before, but to go as far as it was possible to go.” ~ Captain Cook

He talked about being inspired as a kid by the likes of Jules Verne and Arthur C Clarke and Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov. He discussed the heydays of interstellar flight research in the 1950s and 1960s, when concepts and fission and fusion energy gathered steam. He showed a lot of artists renditions of moon-landers and cities on distant planets – these renditions gave life to the elaborate vision. There was mention of Breakthrough Propulsion Physics and warp drives and what it will take to get to the nearest solar system in, say, the next 100 years.

“We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share.” ~ President John F. Kennedy

As I sat there listening, I couldn’t help but marvel at the energy and belief, drive and passion of the speaker. It reminded me of the saying ~ “You catch a dream by hanging out with big dreamers”. He took us on an exploration journey into the future, where the future was made believable. Or at least, it seemed feasible, if the challenges could be overcome. He painted a vision, a dream that was so huge and so big, that it made the technical problems that I work on every day very minuscule. And, once again, I was led to re-examine my place in the universe. It made the ninety minutes that I spent in the “energy field” of that seminar very worthwhile.

So, why do I tell you about this experience? And what does it have to do with #SpiritChat? Well, the exploration of what lies without, the vast cosmos, has a close connection to what lies within. Or so I believe. Those of us who gaze at the stars and wonder what lies beyond, who explore the connection between the suns, the moons, the planets and the galaxies, are perhaps also explorers of what lies within. We know that we may not physically be capable of interstellar flight, but the flight within can perhaps give us a glimpse of that experience.

“A religion old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science, might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge.” ~ Carl Sagan

I invite all star-gazers and spirit-explorers to come on a brief journey of exploration, as we traverse the frontiers of the spirit within ~ the beauty that we will see, the surprises we will encounter, the lessons we will learn. And perhaps answer the question ~ why do we explore? Join us February 10th, 9amET/2pmGMT on twitter.

Be well. Dream big. To the stars…

Kumud

Update:Here are the filtered transcripts for Qs 1 to 8 only. You may find the entire chat at full transcript version – Enjoy! Thank you to all who shared!

Questions asked during the live chat on Exploration. Please use the link next to each question to respond, and add #SpiritChat to your response so the entire community can see your reply. Thank you! (You can respond in the comments below too, if you prefer. Thanks!).

Q1. The Spirit of Exploration. What feelings does this invoke within you? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/300606532293386240

Q2. Where does our desire to explore come from? Where do we truly feel it? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/300608470959411201

Q3. What do we risk by NOT undertaking our journeys of exploration? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/300610232697114624

Q4. Unguided or Guided exploration. Which do you prefer? Why? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/300612248261505024

Q5. How do we prepare for, handle the storms that we may encounter during exploration? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/300613897776406530

Q6. The experiences of exploration are personal, can’t be shared, even if we try. Agree/disagree? Why? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/300615378005020672

Q7. Exploration will lead to discovery. What may we discover? What will we do next? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/300616926315544577

Final Q8. What new frontiers are you exploring as part of your life mission? Please share. #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/300618143221575680