On Raising Intuition

Tags

belief, experience, faith, heart matters, intuition, trust

It is the kind of spring morning where the Sun shining on your back warms you just enough to be comfortable in a t-shirt as you watch the blackbirds flit back and forth across the lake between the rows of cattails that line either side of the water channel leading away from you. There is an ineffable feeling of peace as you feel the breeze waving its silken scarf across the lake’s surface to send the slightest of ripples adrift among the floating patches of green algae.

The two boys on the other side of the lake are blissfully swinging away without a care in the world as they launch their legs upwards towards the stars to go a bit higher with every swing. Your gaze scans the bank of trees on your right and you notice that they are much greener and fuller near the sky than they are at their roots. A blackbird has discovered that it’s safe to sit on the fence and pick on the block of suet hanging off of the fence post, even as the puppy walks the fence line right below her.

And so it goes. The mind occasionally wonders about the reasons for being, about the causes and the effects, while the heart says – hush, observe, feel, absorb – tune into your intuition to discover depths of capacity that you could or would never fathom if your mind were in charge. Feeling without clinging or grasping allows intuition to shine through our translucent heart. Intuition sets our heart free to feel so deeply that we raise our level of feeling. And so goes the cycle of life.

As my daughter reminded me on her birthday this week, and I quote: “Life is not linear. It is actually more non-linear than we want to accept or admit”. The mind has trouble with non-linearities, but the intuitive heart rarely does. The heart probably uses every experience of non-linearity, every unexpected happening, every serendipity, to slowly raise its level of intuition. Try this, experience that, adjust this, try again.

And then, one day, you wake up to an awareness that you have raised your intuition, step by step, to progress from belief to trust to faith. How may we have such faith? We sense a permanence of light and lightness within, a deeper intensity, an expansiveness, a sense of wholesomeness and wholeness in our heart. 

What may be the effect of such faith? It propels, even compels us, to spread goodness through empathy in action. It inspires others to be more empathetic, connected and trusting. In loving and living through intuition, we can forever change the orientation of our hearts, and connect more deeply to the seekers around us.

Namaste, intuitive seekers. May we all find joy in the raising.

Kumud

P.S. Join us for our weekly twitter chat and gathering with the #SpiritChat community on Sunday, April 11 at 9am ET / 630pm India. Bring some intuitive experiences to share – I will bring some tea and cookies, and yes, questions. – @AjmaniK

On EnLightening the Heart

Tags

faith, leaders, leadership, light, lightness, restoration, trust

From the very beginning on Saturday morning, I sat with colorless tears in my eyes that sealed my eyelids shut at the edges — perhaps not wanting to see any more darkness, perhaps mourning the state of a country ravaged by disease, death, destruction, despair, discrimination and disintegration.

And yet, after relaxation and prayer, there was the ever-present invitation to focus on the light within the heart…

After a few minutes, lightness came as a reminder of what many of us may need to do to cross the street safely – blinded as we may be right now by anger and despair and helplessness or even rage. What we may need to do is to hold on to the person in front of us… just like I would see the kids do at the school for the blind  which was virtually across the street from my high school in New Delhi, India. In a show of great trust, they would each put a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them. In a show of great hope that the person leading the line could actually see where they were going, they would safely cross the road towards light. 

Enlightened, emboldened, encouraged and empowered, I closed my eyes even tighter. Another thought came to lighter the heart. Perhaps all we need to do to walk the lighted path, to lighten the heart, is to be like toddlers holding on to the hem of the divine mother’s garment as we navigate these new worlds around us. By having child-like faith that the divine knows what’s best for us, and is lighting the heart path that is best for us, we can take another light step.

We take a step forward in a faith that has stood us well through previous trials and dark times. We take a step towards light and lightness, even though that path may occasionally lead us through some seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We take another step forward, even though the path may be filled with the thorns of divisiveness.  And yet, we need not despair, for we know from previous direct experience, that within all of us is planted the reservoir of love and light.

And if the reservoir of love, light, lightness is within us, then it is within them too. They may be unaware of the reservoir, but it is there — for its absence in them would violate the natural law of existence, of fairness, of divine justice. There is the existence of  love within, so that we may learn to lead with it. There is the light within, so that we can turn inward towards it in those dark nights when there are no stars or moons to guide us as the storm rages around us and within us…

Light and lightness within the heart grow trust and faith. They are good defenses against the heaviness of cruelty and injustice. When we add the personal practices of mercy, empathy and kindness, we become the blooming flowers that give light and soil and water to the next generation of leaders. With our example of an enlightened heart, we encourage a new generation of youth  to lead with a sense of fairness, empathy and justice. We construct a brand new world with a brand new generation of heart-centered leadership.

As a gardener, I know that it is often with the dregs of past growth, often called ‘organic matter’, that a brand new lawn or garden can be created. We spread soil mixed with organic matter over a barren land. We use good, enlightened seeds infused with great heart potential, fertilize them with hope, water them with trust and let them be warmed by the sunshine of divine grace. Then we step back and watch a new, kinder and gentler individual, family, community, society, and nation emerge.

It all begins with one heart full of light. An EnLightened heart. One heart that upholds truth, fairness, and yes, even justice — particularly justice. A heart that understands, respects, even reveres natural laws. How can I be so sure that a new lawn of leaders can be seeded? It has been said that “The divine is no respecter of persons”. My interpretation of this is that if it has been done by person, one set of people in space and time before, then it can surely be done by another person and another set of people again.

With that sense of faith and hope, let us heed the call to EnLighten our own heart. Our lighted heart full of warmth is needed to create a new landscape where flowers of truth and justice can bloom again. The woods may be dark now, but we need to keep waking and walking. “We have promises to keep” to those of the next generation holding on to us, as we lead them cross the street to light, just like we held on to the generation of light-bearers before us.

Raise the banner of love. Arise, awake, and stop not until the goal is achieved! – Swami Vivekananda

Kumud

Saturday, May 30 2020. 640am. 

P.S. I invite you to join our weekly conversation in #SpiritChat on twitter, held together by the glue of love and light. This week, we will gather at our usual hour of 9am ET / 1pm UTC / 630pm India. Come and share some practices, some stories, that help you EnLighten your heart. Namaste – Kumud. 

After the rainstorm – light and lightness of raindrops on flowers

A Spirit of Trust

Tags

spiritchat, spiritual goals, trust

We began the third year of our weekly #SpiritChat conversations last Sunday by having a discussion about New Beginnings. It was a dynamic dialogue, and one theme that emerged in the context of “what factors prevent us from making new beginnings” is what we will expand on this week – a Spirit of Trust.

Our daily lives may invite us to experience, examine and practice trust in our small and big decisions. At some level, we invoke trust in even the smallest act – say, that of turning on the tap and trusting that the water will flow, be available. Before we talk more about trust, maybe we can try and define the word, trust. The dictionary defines trust as:

Trust – a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something

Belief. Reliability. Truth. Strength. Those are some powerful words. And when we connect those words to a someone or something, they have the ability to energize us. And when we raise our energy levels, it helps us focus on the goodness, the positive in our lives and the lives of those that surround us, in our community, and in the world at large. According to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (in his book titled “The Art of Stress Free Living”), this propensity, to look and focus, and stay focused on goodness in the world, is one of the paths which leads us to higher Trust.

So, how do we raise our energy levels, and keep them in an elevated state, so that we are continually strengthening our Trust in that someone or something? What happens to our spirit when we perceive that our Trust has been compromised, or even broken? What is the best way to find out if we can trust That someone or something? If our ability to trust requires courage, how and where do we find more courage? How does our connection with community – physical and virtual – affect our ability to trust?

I hope some of these questions energize you, your mind and your spirit. If so, I invite you to join the #SpiritChat community on Sunday, August 4th on twitter, for a discussion about trust – a space where we can gather, raise our energy levels, and believe that little bit more in each other.

Thank you for reading – Namaste, and Be well.

Kumud

Update: Here are the questions asked during the chat. Enjoy, and feel free to answer in the comments… The full transcript and statistics are available at http://bit.ly/sc-tr-0804

Q1. Trust. visualize it, listen to it, feel it. What do you see, hear and feel? #SpiritChat

Q2. Trust in someone or something. Why is it important for us to trust? #SpiritChat

Q3. Our Spirit may say, trust. Our mind may say, wait. How do we decide? #SpiritChat

Q4: How do we balance trusting too much and not trusting enough? Do we need to? #SpiritChat

Q5. We hear “Trust yourself”. Does that prevent us from trusting others? Why or why not? #SpiritChat

Q6. What are some ways that we can build trust – in ourselves, in others? #SpiritChat

Q7. “Trust, once broken, is tough to fully restore.” Agree or disagree? Why? #SpiritChat

Q8: What is the connection between Trust, prayer and meditation? #SpiritChat

Final Q9. Action step. I will practice more trust in my life by… #SpiritChat

On Healing through Perseverance

Tags

healing, perseverance, spirichat, trust

The two topics that we have discussed so far in our weekly Sunday morning conversations in the month of April with the SpiritChat community have been – Spontaneity and Patience. The discussion about patience last week (April 14th) was vibrant and lively. Little did we know that the events that were to follow in the week would be a huge test of our spiritual strength, and patience. (I refer to the events in city of Boston, which affected a lot of my friends. I am sure a lot of our readers and #SpiritChat community members have were affected by these events too).

When traumatic events happen, and we try and process the news, images, videos, tweets and other information that come our way, it is easy to get overwhelmed. We may tend to go through a range of responses which vary and transition between shock, dismay, anger, sorrow, grief, and many more. Some of us may look for reasons, ask questions like “why or how could such an event happen” and so on.

Once our emotions and questions subside, we may look towards moving forward, helping others who are suffering, and perhaps even revisiting some of the areas which provide us safety, strength and warmth. This is where a community of friends like #SpiritChat can step in, and possibly help. My good friend Jon Mertz wrote a wonderful post on one quality that could start the healing process – endurance.

In order to gauge the pulse of the community, I asked for feedback for a #SpiritChat topic on Friday evening. I was made aware that the need may be of “facilitating healing, restoring trust after the trauma” (via twitter user Barbara Oliver). Or, as Christa Gallopoulos said – we may examine “tolerance”. Louise Rooney suggested that we could examine “discernment”, and how we (did or did not) practice it. Thank you all – I will weave your thoughts into the chat questions and future topics.

It was Meredith Bouvier’s suggestion of “perseverance” that seemed to speak the loudest to me. I also happen to believe that perseverance is closely tied to patience, and is a fundamental part of the healing process. So, this Sunday, April 21st at 9amET – I invite you to come and share your thoughts on “healing through perseverance”. What does perseverance mean to you? Is perseverance just another name for stubbornness? How do we develop perseverance? How does it influence our spiritual journey, our core strength?

I wish you all inner peace, a return to equanimity. Till we meet again… Be well. Namaste.

Kumud