Unleash your Beast: A journey from enlightenment to finding your life’s purpose

I was recently asked how I knew what my life’s purpose is and how one can find their life’s purpose. But to explain that in a short article, I have to first explain how I became enlightened and how this lead me to find my life’s purpose. Although there are many ways to find your life’s purpose there are only a few that resonate with my experiences. Ultimately, you’ll have to choose what is right for you because practicing yoga or meditation is not everyone’s cup of tea. My intention for all those reading this is that you will find your life’s purpose with the least bumps, bruises and scars as in my life’s journey.

I was in my first year of college when I first began to practice Ashtanga yoga a few times per month, purely on the physical level to help me with my poor posture. I did not care at all about the spiritual side of yoga and honestly I don’t remember if anything more than the physical postures were taught. I gave up my lessons due to my schedule change and finally moved away years later only to be reunited with yoga again. Only this time I began to practice the eight limbs of yoga. This is my opinion, is its most complete practice for the mind, body and spirit.

I began practicing yoga regularly for 2 years and finally a breakthrough that I had never expected happened. After practicing an intense what seemed like 20 rounds of the sun salutations, I was left feeling so exhausted that I felt I could almost melt into my yoga mat. I had never felt so relaxed before and as I laid down in savasana pose something magical happened. My mind’s chatter was no longer there and with no desire to move from exhaustion, I felt something come over me. My mind was now in a blissful state, my heart was now open and free to receive my true life’s purpose. I felt as if God had for those few minutes come over me, lifted away all my aches and pains emotional and physical and finally showed me what my life’s purpose was. In this dreamlike state that I was in, I was surrounded by a few yoga masters and one in particular held my hand and showed me what I had to do. He showed me that, when he leaves I must teach. I no longer felt lost and knew what I had to dedicate the rest of my life to after this. Later that day my teacher asked me if I wanted to become a yoga instructor. I said yes. “I am ready.”

I was also asked how I knew what my life’s purpose was once I became enlightened. I instantly knew this was right because it felt right in my core. Everything I felt that was missing in my life before was instantly filled with this purpose and I felt complete. I call the opposite of this complete feeling, “your beast”, because it runs wild inside of you like a huge animal until you set it free when you discover who you really are and just be.

If I had to describe the perfect formula to find one’s life purpose, I would say that intensity followed by silence equal finding your life’s purpose. For me that intensity came in the form of an energizing yoga practice followed by silence in savasana pose. But maybe your intensity could come in the form of running followed a short seated meditation on a bench nearby. I’ve tried this method also and it works nicely too. In a movie I saw, the Buddah also practiced yoga and all sorts of practices and finally sat meditating under the Bodhi tree where he became enlightened. Or maybe your intensity can come in the form of a great desire followed by a dream, all things are possible. So I will not say that one method is better than another because many methods exist but I will try to explain enlightenment a little better with the help of someone much wiser than I am, Goswami Kriyananda. He is a master at guiding students toward enlightenment.

Enlightenment is about quieting the mind and being present with what is. It’s a state of your pure being. What keeps most people from living a blissful, peaceful and enlightened life is the misconception of who they are. The only requirement to discovering who you are and just being is an intense desire to be free of fears and desires of everything except the ultimate truth.

When you are ready to come into stillness for a meditation, find a place where you can sit quietly, close your eyes and allow yourself to experience the pure bliss of everything being complete, right now. Flow with life and suffering will disappear. Pain and pleasure will pass, but what remains is the witnessing of them. Let go and just be. In this moment, you will see that even suffering can possess beauty. Clear your mind of all wandering thoughts and feel peace, peace, peace. Stay here for a few minutes and open your eyes when you’re ready. (For further guidance on meditation visit your local yoga or meditation teacher)

Now I’d like to share some thoughts from Goswami Kriyananda on enlightenment.  “Enlightenment… is the most auspicious moment in anyone’s evolution. Some people never come to an awareness of the thought. To attain enlightenment, you must defeat the enemy. The enemy cannot be defeated with anger, or with swords or lead bullets. The enemy can only be defeated with Wisdom (strength, understanding, and insight). Enlightenment is an awakening realization of where you will be tomorrow by simply looking backwards (referring to moment you were enlightened). Then explaining how to become enlightened he writes… Wisdom is gained not by merely reading books or by simply meditating. Meditation comes by revealing to you that which is within you; by your understanding this simple truth: you are the creative principle. It is through the fullness, the gentleness, and the wisdom of love that the tree and the blossom of the tree allow the fruit to fructify.”  When writing about how to solve problems, Goswami writes “Be happy now. Of course there are problems. But anguishing will not solve problems. The quietude, the serenity, and the peace, however will give you insight to more quickly and more harmoniously solve problems.”

I hope that this article will help you to better find your life’s purpose. Many blessing to you allJ

By: Cristina Tuazon 

Yoga Instructor/Practitioner

camtuazon@hotmail.com

Mother Earth

She's Alive... Beautiful... Finite... Hurting... Worth Dying for…

The word environment not only means our surroundings but also includes YOU... We can start by cleaning ourselves, and then our surroundings.  Mother Earth needs us and we need Her.  Do all you can to protect Her and everything that resides on Her! 

Definition of Mother Earth

Mother Nature, a common metaphorical expression for the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life.

Gaia (mythology), the mythological goddess personifying the Earth.

Definition of en·vi·ron·ment/enˈvīrənmənt/

 The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates. The setting or conditions in which a particular activity is carried on.

Activities you and your children can start doing to help save our Mother Earth:

·         Don't throw away plastic or polythene pouches any and everywhere. Throw them in appropriate containesr marked as plastic disposables dustbin.

·        Don't waste too much water unnecessarily as bathing under the shower for 10 minutes can waste up to 70 gallons of water, while we can bathe in 2 buckets of 20 liters. 

“We are All Connected Through the Water” -  Grandmother Aggie. (Grandmother Agnes Pilgrim of the 13 International Indigenous Grandmothers).  She was 86 years young when this video was done, she is now 88 years young and still going strong and continues to speak about the need to thank the water and be grateful for the water each and every time we use it!!!

·         Don't drain any chemicals or hazardous wastes in municipal drainage systems. It will harm the river organisms, as mostly these drainage waters are discharged in the rivers.

·         Don't destroy the grass covering around your house completely. The insects and microorganisms will suffer. Also soil erosion will occur heavily in absence of grass.

·         Don't cut big trees around your house for letting in more sunlight. You can prune the branches. By doing this you may suffer the consequences in the summertime.

·         Don't drive too fast. It will lead to more fuel consumption. Also make sure that your vehicle does not pollute the environment.

·         Don't use inorganic fertilizers or pesticides in your garden and try to treat the plants by organic materials. This will maintain the soil fertility.

·         Make your friends and relatives aware of the environmental issues and spread the consciousness.

·         Stop using deodorant sprays as much as possible. Don't extinguish stoves suddenly. It exerts huge CO2.

·         Don't buy any illegal wildlife products (fur, bones, nails, feathers). Also stop buying meats of tortoise, shark, dolphin, etc., as when buying stops, the killing stops too.

These are really some very common things we should do but still are not followed.

Other things we should include are:

·         Stop using AC. It is a heat pump that pumps out heat from our room to the surroundings. Thus not only increases the atmospheric temperature, but also adds to water vapor (a green house gas). The energy consumption is also very high. Alternatively, we can use khas-khas or other traditional cooling processes that will vary from region to region.

·         Save power. It can be in form of electricity, petrol, diesel, firewood, etc. whatever it may be, we are getting it on the expense of natural resources, so optimum use of power will boost not only our economy, but also our environment.

·         Take steps for hazardous waste management or segregation of waste. The biodegradable ones can be composted, if you have a terrace or a garden. It is a brilliant fertilizer if you are fond of plants. The segregation is difficult if there are unfeeling family members, but all of us have fights in the family for so many things and I am sure a fight for a good cause is worth it.

·         Stop drinking Coke, Pepsi and such soft drinks. For one thing, they are horrible violators of human rights, and for another, they make you pay for goods, which are bad for your health. There are much healthier options available nowadays in both packaged and non-packaged versions like Rose and Khas sharbat.

·         E-waste is a newly recognized hazard in third world countries. These are mainly causing trouble in poor countries due to transboundary shipment of used and junk electronic goods by the developed nations. 

Excerpts from: http://hubpages.com/

Mother Earth is our HOME… Watch, LISTEN, and Learn.  Watch this video with your children, they are the future of Mother Earth, THEIR home and future…

These are two great videos about our Mother I would like to share: http://youtu.be/nGeXdv-uPaw and. http://youtu.be/jqxENMKaeCU.

Mother Earth does speak to us, we just need to LISTEN to Her, she is very wise.

By: Renee Ukena 

Her facebook page!

http://www.facebook.com/onewhogatherstribes

Oracle Reading for 12:12:2011

The Lady of the Gift

"The Lady of the Gift brings a message of tithing. To be your Ally, she requires you to look at the nature and method of your giving to others. The world is your church, and you only need to distribute 10 percent of wealth to others to ensure that the flow continues.

Yet this doesn't necessarily mean giving money away, nor does it imply a direct action of charity, even though the tradition is material. In fact, the kind of tithing the Lady asks of you isn't tangible or material at all. She's asking you to look at all human beings as important in the Divine scheme of things and show others that you believe in them. Pay attention to how you treat people; and be mindful of your perception, even of seemingly "poor" strangers. If you see others as successful and abundant, and act as if they have value, blessings all around are assured. Your belief in others has greater value than you could fathom. This alone guarantees your success long-term. Remember that you can only keep what you're willing to give."

The synchronicity of this reading with today's celebration of the Divine Feminine is so beautiful. Today, and every day, we honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother Mary, Kwan Yin, Green Tara, and the spirit of mercy, compassion, gentle protectiveness, truth, and righteousness. In the spirit of the Divine Mothers, The Lady of the Gift has come to us to remind us to remain in a constant state of gleeful giving! Sometimes it will be material and helping out a friend or family member, or donating to a worthy cause. Sometimes it will be feeding a stray animal or watering a withering plant. Sometimes it will be picking up trash you see, even if it's not yours. There are so many ways and means to give. But – AT ALL TIMES – we must transmit (give) the energy of love to all people, especially the seemingly poor, those who most of society has deemed as undesirable.

When you look into the eyes of a person, no matter their color, creed, faith, social status, economic bracket, or state of health – see yourself. Rise to the level of Oneness Consciousness that does not allow you to distinguish yourself from another person, or from the Earth, or the heavens, or the deities, the angels, the unseen realms, or the Almighty Creator. Do not accept duality! Accepting duality prevents showing true mercy and compassion. The world we see today has accepted the notion that life forms and people are separate – that is why it's so easy to invade, oppress, and destroy people, animals, and plant life. Believe in yourself and the power of the Divine inside you – the power to Will a new world into existence. Every time a person reaches this level of awareness, we are closer to Oneness – closer to bringing Heaven to Earth – that will be the gift that is returned to you.

This is the purpose of the rise and return of the Divine feminine – to restore balance and peace to the Earth. Be a part of the mission by sharing your love and wisdom with everyone you meet. Blessed Be.

Dava