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Sunday, February 9, 2014

Manifesting a New World


 

We do not have to think about creating a better world. The better world arises naturally out of the awakened state.  – Eckhart Tolle

 

The phenomenon of manifestation has caught on lately.  The idea is that if you can visualize, feel and believe that you can get what you want, you will.  It sounds great however many of us have become frustrated and cynical in attempting this process.   A friend who had been out of work for some time finally got an interview for a great, well-paying job.  He was using lots of “positive thinking,” but when they failed to offer him the job he became discouraged and complained that, “this stuff doesn’t work.”  

When we look at the suffering, selfishness and stupidity of the world around us we can easily fall into despair and resignation.  At the same time we are struggling with our lives in a “failing economy,” possibly health issues, relationship problems, problems at work, etc.  It is easy to feel lost and powerless.  However change really does come from within.  Nothing will change if we don’t.   Usually we go on trying the same worn out ego strategies we have been using for years. 

As we begin to awaken at anahatha (the "heart") chakra we encounter the Kalpa Taru, or “Wish-Fulfilling Tree”.  Anahatha represents the transitional point from fate to free will.  At this point in our consciousness evolution we begin to have the power to influence the circumstances of our lives.  This is a tremendous blessing but also a profound responsibility.  Our external reality is based upon our awareness.  As Anita Moorjani writes in Dying to Be Me, “We’re all co-creating this world and our lives within it through our emotions, thoughts and actions.”

Until we awaken at the level of anahatha however this creative process is unconscious.  When we operating from the first three chakras we tend to see life as something happening to us.  We complain at times that it is unfair and at others feel lucky.  Even at manipura which is about control, we are trying to manipulate an external world which seems separate from our own inner thoughts and emotions.  As we awaken at anahatha we begin to see that the outer world is a reflection of our inner worlds. 

This might seem far-fetched and too good to be true.  However when we really start to catch on the typical response is “ouch!”  The truth is that we spend a great deal of mental energy trying to deny our responsibility for the current state of our lives.  There is a story that Swami Satyananda Saraswati relates in Kundalini Tantra which helps illustrate this:

“Once a traveller was sitting underneath a tree. He was feeling very tired and wanted to have a drink. So he thought of a clear stream, and immediately he heard the trickle of water flowing beside him. After drinking some water, he thought he would like to have a little food to satisfy his hunger, and that appeared beside him also. Then, as he was feeling tired and thought he would like to rest, there appeared before him a nice bed, and so he went to sleep. The foolish man did not know that he had come to rest beneath the wish fulfilling tree. In the evening when he awoke, the sun had already set and night had fallen. He got up and the thought came to his mind: 'Oh, it is terribly dark, perhaps the tigers will come and eat me', and so they did.”

It becomes very important not to let our thoughts and emotions run on “auto-pilot.”  We have to be aware, to be on guard against negative and self-destructive thoughts.  And we have to cultivate positive and loving thoughts.  In order to do so we have to go beyond thought, we have to let go of limited beliefs and habitual responses to open to the silence that is our unlimited self-potential.  When we allow our mind to become quiet and focus on the energy of our heart we open to unconditional love, unlimited potential and universal consciousness. 

Yoga teaches that we awaken to soul, to Atman, or Self at anahatha chakra.  We get a basic sense of who we really are.  The ego is based on conditioning.  It is the story that we have come to believe about ourselves.  We can become attached to this story and defend it viciously if threatened.  However, it is just a thought construct, a schema.  Our essential being is pure awareness, unconditioned by thoughts.  Meditation allows us to connect with our essential self and allows us to let go of limitations.  The ego is a cognitive schema, the Self is our essential nature beyond thought.  It is pure presence, loving awareness.

Essentially we must go beyond ego in order to manifest effectively.  Ego is based in fear, separation, limitation, competition, comparison, judgment, etc.  It gets in the way of creating anything truly positive in life.  Co-creating the world is not based in some arduous struggle but through the art of allowing loving awareness to flow forth into the world.  This is the Wish-fulfilling tree.  This is the key to relationships in our lives – letting go of ego and allowing love. 
     The Self, who is none other than each and every one of ourselves (albeit also beyond) wants nothing more than for us to experience joy and happiness, peace and fulfillment, abundance and love.  This is the true goal of evolution: the manifestation of a conscious universe.  It is happening in and through us right now when we drop our resistance.

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