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.
