alxindia

An eclectic spiritual & inspirational place to heal, learn, feel & expand. Heart & soul first. Miraculous experiences from India as well as the life & times of a spiritual healer/teacher in the U.S. Miracles, saints, sages, gurus, healing, life & death... and more...!

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

duality or non-duality? (to be -- or not to be....)


jagadambe (yog's)
Originally uploaded by alxindia.
that IS the question du jour! & people DO like to ask the question -- do you follow dualism (god in form/s) or non-dualism (god without form)?

I'm squarely in the middle of this (non-existent!) road.

hey, it's both! (it's a wave, nope, it's a particle! it's a particle, nope, it's a wave.........!)

this path I'm on is simultaneously dualistic (ie, to see and respect the dual opposites in the world, recognizing that they are part of the operating components of this creation, like life/death, good/evil, night/day, male/female, etc.) and not dualistic in the least (ie, inhabiting what lies BEYOND the pairs of opposites -- eternal, timeless, blissful, silent and unmanifest consciousness).

I think the challenge for me is doing spiritual practices that incorporate the dualities IN the manifest creation, but not getting caught up in the practices per se.

I mean, using them only as stepping stones, intelligently & deliberately, to transcend the duality and inhabit/embody the silent, eternal consciousness-awake-in-Itself quality of the divine.

it's a deep game.

in the Indian tradition, Shakti (or the Divine Mother, in various forms) is that energy of creation, of manifesting, of spinning off worlds within worlds within worlds.

She is the agent of the creation aspect of the divine, She is the motion in the silence, the pinch in the absolute formlessness that causes it to start creating (and separating Itself into) forms.

Shiva (or the Divine Father) is the silence, the sat-chit-ananda, the absolute unbounded awareness, consciousness, the pure potentiality of everything. the eternal.

how to access one to access the other? how to play with Nature in order to go BEYOND the limits of Nature? how to bend Nature (ie, create miracles in Her field of illusion) in order to transcend Her? how to balance both Shiva & Shakti? how to draw on them both to create manifestations of healing & blessing in this world?

fun!
.
.
.
.

state change...

sometimes the miraculous occurs as a simple, simple experience.

one day when I was in India, in the ashram in Penukonda, I was walking to the main temple in a complete rage.

I was really angry with someone, and although I knew that wasn't a great state to be in, I was in the midst of it, and dammit, I was angry. so, as I'm walking to the temple, along the path, I notice that my guru is sitting on his little cot by his fire pit, talking with some people.

in my mind, I thought, "oh, god, THIS is embarassing, walking by my master teacher when I'm in such a rage!"

and then I thought AT him, "hey, I'm SO sorry, please excuse the state I'm in right now. I really don't mean to be so angry right now and I'm sorry I'm walking right by you in this kind of a rage, since I know you feel these vibrations and they suck, but that's where I'm at, right now."

as I'm thinking this, I'm walking along and I pass the place where he's sitting, and as he's behind me, I hear him call my name, softly. I turn around, and I see Kaleshwara grinning at me from his fire, and he asks me about a beautiful friend who's also a student of mine, and then said some really nice things about my friend, who I love a lot, and it really warmed my heart.

it was, like, two sentences.

by the time that brief conversation ended, and I turned to continue my way walking toward the temple, I realized that my white-hot rage was completely gone. completely. no trace of it. instead, I was heartful and happy.

they say if you take one step toward the divine, it HAS to take nine steps back to you.

I recognized that there was a mechanism at play: because I'd made the effort to communicate on the subtle (ie, non-verbal) level with my teacher, as I was walking and fuming along, he was kind enough to take those nine steps to me, to wash out my rage, to 'eat' that rage, and to completely change my emotional state, there, flipped it 180 degrees in the span of two sentences.

transforming my fairly vibrant negativity into high positivity in the span of, oh, two seconds. that's a deep mechanism.

that's also the master's grace.

I walked on, grinning appreciatively to myself, thinking, "how did he DO that?"

.


.


.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

de-charging stress, strain, negativity...


pinkwithroundbordr
Originally uploaded by alxindia.
decharging is one simple technique I picked up in India from my master teacher, and is the often over-looked side of meditation.

(I used to wonder why most meditators were fairly cranky, often irritable people. same with yogis, ie, Hatha guys and Iyengar yoga practitioners. I thought they were supposed to be calm and balanced, ha, ha!!!!)

in meditation, we CHARGE the soul -- which starts purification running in us. once the purification is running, it means, whatever blocks and crap we have in our astral and causal bodies (storehouses of karma) gets shaken loose and unless we decharge it, we act out of it and get stuck with it and digest it all over again!

for healers, the situation is even more dire. many healers believe (because their tradition states it) that they DON'T need any form of 'decharging' or 'grounding' -- after they've spent a day working for hours on peoples' bodies, hearts (like psychotherapists, for example) or souls (like energy healers).

this is why most healers get sick after a few years of doing really inspired, charged, wonderful healings -- they're taking on the stress and strains, the illnesses, and fatigues and worries and karmas of the people they're healing. whether they notice it or not. it's like the principle of fire -- whether you 'believe' fire will burn you if you stick your hand in it, or you don't believe it will burn, guess what? if you stick your hand in a roaring blaze, you'll get burned. it's the nature of fire.

same with healings. whether we believe as healers that we're taking on stuff or not, we are. (I was a Reiki healer and master for many years, and didn't think I was susceptible to all the energies I was receiving and processing for other people. nonsense.)

not only formal healers per se, but many people in responsible positions at work (ie, being a shoulder to cry on for colleagues or the person everyone unloads on) burn out really fast because they're absorbing all the negativity and stress of the people around them. not only their OWN stress, which as you know is more than enough, but everyone else's, too.

de-charging is so so so simple, I can give you one great technique, try it and see if it works, if it appeals to you.

every time you take a shower or a bath, when the water's running on you in particular, think consciously, with intent, "right now, I'm decharging ANY stress, strain, pain, negativity, whatever I picked up today, with or without my awareness, into this beautiful water. thank you, (god or universe or whatever divine name you like), for creating the water element."

stay there for ten, fifteen, twenty minutes, with the intention of using the water element to decharge all that stuff. see how you feel. my guess is you'll feel it all draining out of you, and you'll feel a lot lighter after the shower.

it's a simple but powerful technique.

you can do the same thing, holding a handful of roses or any cut flower -- just thanking the EARTH element, not the water. if you hold them in your hands for about fifteen minutes, you'll feel the stress pour into the flowers.

afterwards, make sure to toss them into some bushes, back into nature where they won't be picked up by someone else -- or in the garbage (but better in nature).

and where you work -- keep cut flowers, like in a vase or a bowl of water, on your desk. you'll be amazed how rapidly they wilt if the atmosphere is super-stressful.

flowers absorb negative energy from the surrounding environment -- it's one of their functions in this creation. they're happy to do it, by the way -- no need to feel guilty!

hope these simple techniques help....!

when the need is greatest...

... the rescue is closest. -- Berthold Brecht

what is healing?

(from the archives, but worth resurrecting)

SOMETHING ABOUT HEALING
I can say a few things -- I have learned that physical healing is easy -- treating someone just by looking at them, or touching them for a few minutes, can be enough to heal them of a dreadful disease, injury, or other condition.

I've also learned that all problems people are facing -- whether it's physical problems, emotional, relationship, financial, whatever it is -- really DO have to do with karma, and a great healer is someone who is willing to eat (that is, consume) the unfortunate karmas that someone else is carrying.

that's a soul healing, a real healing, much more at the root of all the surface problems we're experiencing.

it means, yeah, reincarnation is real, we DO go from lifetime to lifetime, making our share of mistakes and experiencing profound triumphs -- and everything we do, good or bad, creates karma. when you have enough unfortunate karmas accrued that are ready to be paid off -- illness or accidents or some other trauma usually strikes.

the real healing, then, isn't physical -- that's the surface level. it also isn't emotional -- the next layer down.

real healing happens at the soul level, cleaning out the closet of rotten karmas we've accumulated. once the soul is a bit clearer, it can then go about the business of healing the whole system.

that's why I fully agree with that everybody has the innate ability to heal -- it's just that most of us are so covered over at the deep subtle levels, that we've lost the capacity to recognize or access that ability. either for ourselves, or others.
that's kind of the nutshell explanation of healing, as I understand it today.

Sunday, June 12, 2005

homa pit in India


homa pit
Originally uploaded by alxindia.
just for a little perspective, though, this is a homa (fire ceremony) pit after an incredible ceremony at Kaleshwara's ashram in India.

homa fire in LA


homahighMeganBrig
Originally uploaded by alxindia.
now THAT's a jumpin' fire!

this one was in LA.

does anyone else see a dragon in the flames?

May homa, singing after the fire...


A&J bhajans 1
Originally uploaded by alxindia.
a later homa (fire ceremony) in Santa Cruz, at the home of two dear friends, Laura & Robert. about 40 people came -- I think everyone felt the healing energy and the potency of that fire.

it was something else.

after burning everyone up (hah!) with the fire, we cool it all down by singing sacred songs, bhajans.

Alx at fire


Alx at fire
Originally uploaded by alxindia.
the great saints love to use the fire element to do their work & healing.

Shirdi Baba was an expert with the fire. my teacher Kaleshwara is often found, especially late at night, sitting in front of his dhuni, or firepit. a lot of times they'll set up a cot for him, outside under the stars, near that pit, and he'll sleep out there, all night, next to his fire.

I used to watch the priests in Penukonda, the village where the ashram is located, in the temple there, doing homa (fire ceremony) after homa. I thought it'd be great fun to be a pujari, but since women in India aren't usually pujaris, it never crossed my mind I would ever actually DO such a thing.

in America, however, I'm finding that being a pujari, or maybe the feminine, 'pujarini' is awesome fun.

this is early on in the homa, when the fire is just beginning to get underway.

healing through homa fire


Alx prehoma
Originally uploaded by alxindia.
talking about homas, fire ceremonies, here's some photographic evidence of a healing homa that Jonathan & I did in San Jose in April of this year.

we built the pit from fire-proof bricks, covered it in turmeric, kum-kum (the red powder Indian women wear on their foreheads), and roses...

that's me, flailing to get some incense open so that everyone could hold a few pieces, and a rose, and chant a healing mantra, in this case the Gayatri mantra, 108 times out loud together.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

"what kind of healing do you DO, anyway?"


perfectpinkinleaves
Originally uploaded by alxindia.


people have been asking, "what kind of healing do you DO, really?" and it's a tough question to answer because on the one hand the response is simple, and on the other, it's a little complex.

being a vehicle for divine energy means just that -- nobody ever heals, actually, another person -- it's always the divine doing its work through the appointed (or accidental) healer. this is true whether it's a physician, dentist, acupuncturist, massage therapist, spiritual healer, whatever.

being a spiritual healer means knowing how to tap into the divine energy that's always available, all the time, and having different angles (or channels or flavors) to access and use, depending on the need.

some of the many tools at my disposal:

* the Five Elements (earth water fire air sky), any of them individually, or all of them together to treat particular conditions.

* the Sri Chakra yantra, the home of the Mother Divine, for healing in person or for healing someone at a distance.

* mantras that evoke a particular kind of healing for a specific condition, cancer, for example.

* yantras (sacred energy diagrams) that evoke a particular healing, that people can put in their homes to keep affecting them and lifting their health or smoothing out conflict.

* hands-on healing, like the Sai Shakti channels (similar to Reiki but more powerful).

* distance healing -- even for people I've never met. as long as I know their name and/or have a photograph, it's enough.

• vaastu consulting -- looking carefully at peoples' homes, and the relationships in their home shape, property shape, and room/furniture placement, and helping them change where necessary to promote good health, prosperity and happiness in relationships. vaastu has to do with the relationship of the five elements in the four directions. 80% of the people who come for healing have vaastu problems, and it's evident within the first ten minutes of talking with them what those problems are. (www.kaleshwaravaastu.com for more information on this profound and helpful subject)

* homas (fire ceremonies) to accelerate spiritual healing and manifestation of whatever people want to create in their lives. the fire element is the most transforming of all the elements, and it amplifies healing or manifestation for people. sitting in a homa fire (which takes about an hour and a half) is the equivalent of meditating intensely, like 8 hours a day or more, for a month or two.

* giving out processes people can do themselves -- like learning how to decharge negativity, stress and strain after a hard day or a difficult conversation or experience, or healing heartbreak through using a fire process, which I explained in an earlier entry.

* teaching people how to heal themselves and others -- through learning meditation practices and systems of charging these same tools in themselves, so they can turn around and heal other people.

* meditation healing -- lifting peoples' lives and illness conditions, enlivening their souls, and removing negativity, just by meditating together.

there're tons more of access-points into healing, but these are at least a few of the ways and modes through which I've been doing healings....

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

the Christ


jcearlylight
Originally uploaded by alxindia.
something that really didn't hit me, didn't permeate my consciousness, until this last week in Los Angeles -- that the Christ is a term for an energy in creation, the impulse of creation, that is infinite and immortal and has always been and will ever be.

Jesus, a sainted soul born in the Middle East, attained the Christ state through his hard work and pure open heart -- attained it more thoroughly than any other divine soul in history, which is why he's the number one healer who ever walked this earth.

hence he was called Jesus the Christ.

but the Christ state is always possible to connect with and, at the higher levels in spirituality, merge with and operate from, or become it, while still in a human form.

I'd been reading different enlightened masters talking on this same concept for years and years and years and breaking my head over it, all along. somehow I just couldn't wrap my -- mind? consciousness? shoestrings? SOMETHING! -- around the idea.

it finally clicked into place this week, and opened up a whole new level in my understanding and inquiry.

under construction


under construction
Originally uploaded by alxindia.
yup, this photo is of Jonathan and me in India, in about 2001, I'm guessing, because of the scaffolding behind us which ran the entire length of the apartment building where we live(d).

he had to shave his head at one point for an energy process; I thought it would be funny to make my braid his moustache.

anyway, now that we're back in America, we can be found under construction in a different way -- as teachers and healers conducting workshops and healings, consultations (yes, we make house calls!) and homas. and more.

our new website, kindly kludged together by students, is:

www.freewebs.com/alxandjonathan/


we've got updates on our courses and up-coming events, in LA and Santa Cruz and, soon, Portland.

keep checking the site -- you never know when we'll be coming to a town near you!