Thursday, September 6, 2018

Cultivating a Creative Life: What Do You Want?




There is a point in time where we rest in the womb of the Earth Mother. The soul happily  floats above it’s new vessel contemplating the cycle of the infinite, birth, death, and rebirth of  Sat Nam.  The soul asks, “Do I really want to go back and do this again? If so, what is it that I am to create in this finite time on this planet that ever so increasingly becomes more challenging to manage as generations come and go?” 

Creativity seemed to be the theme of my summer, particularly my trip back home to Portland. I go back here to rejuvenate, reconnect and consolidate my thoughts to see what is next in life. I have been collaborating and having sessions with the owner of the School of Cosmic Consciousness, Gurucharan Singh. He asks me a tough question, “What do you want?” We all get asked that question on a continuous basis. In a society of swimming through constant waves of desires, having the most opportunity compared to any other time in history to have anything we want at our fingertips, do we really know what we want? Most of us want a fulfilling spiritual life, a satisfying career, a loving family, friends and a roof over our head. I was raised to not ask for anything much because other kids in other countries were starving to death and the world was in constant state of war of some sort. If anything, it has gotten worse. So do we really have the audacity to ask for more with the amount of privilege already bestowed on us? The answer is yes. The bigger question, is what are you going to do once you get what you want? How will it create a legacy of healing and happiness for others?
Countless youtube videos, life coaches, teachers and authors share the ultimate way to get what we want. The question is, do we really know what we want to have a fulfilling and happy life? After a life of working, accumulation, collecting things and experiences what is left? How do we stay connected with our creative energy when we are continuously driven farther away from the creative source of nature itself with concrete jungles?  These questions I have continuously asked myself, often fumbling to figure out what is it that I am specifically here to do? With a curious mind I am seeing what creativity can be reborn through my consciousness.

 Focus on One Thing you want to create
The list can be daunting in regards to what you want to focus on creating. I first made 4 lists- What I was grateful for, a desire list, a short term goal list, a long term goal list. From there Gurucharan Singh helped me narrow down one or two things I wanted to focus on. There was a general theme of gratitude, desires, and short term/long term goals in regards to how I wanted to grow my business and grow in my marriage and family.
Imagine what Your Life Will Look Like
Close your eyes and imagine without hesitation the ideal life you would live. In the course, “Beyond Addiction: The Yogic Path to Recovery”, this is also known as imagining your best future self. Get as imaginative and detail oriented as possible. In the exercise I imagined myself being an effective healer having a large client base, traveling to other countries teaching Kundalini Yoga 3-6x/year to intermediate and advanced students but also able to sustain a balanced lifestyle. I also imagined being a mother and having an even deeper and meaningful relationship with my husband.

Use your Mind as a Servant
Imagine a whole ocean of treasure awaiting you. You can have anything to choose from; a sunken ship, a chest of treasure, a shoe, a tire, the infamous necklace from the Titanic movie. If you could have any one piece of treasure in what would it be? Search through the infinite material or immaterial possibilities that life offers.  The only thing is that you have only your mind to use as the net or special deep sea device to snatch it up. We use tools like Kundalini Yoga, prayer, the tantric tarot, mantra and meditation to focus our mind to find this treasure precisely. Create a prayer or affirmation in your mind and repeat it over and over again. For example my affirmation is, “Oh my mind, show me the infinite ways I can communicate with my husband so we can have an awesome marriage.”
For me, having a dedicated daily sadhana allows me to sift out the cloudiness by experiencing my full sensuality as a human be-ing.  Sadhana helps to sort through emotions that can confuse the clarity of what my soul really wants.  Start with a meditation or kriya that helps you cultivate this creative energy such as the Kriya for Creativity or the Meditation for guidance.


Ask for Help
We have guides like the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, angels, ascended masters and ancient teachers to show us the infinite ways we can utilize our mind towards this steady focus. I received a healing session lately from fellow healer and Kundalini Yoga teacher, Samantha Brown. Like other healers have said in the past, she stated that I have a lot of angels and guides available to support me but I don’t ask them for help. Now I am giving them practice and ask them for help in my day to day life. The results are interesting and effective to say the least. Thanks angels!  It may take longer to find exactly what you want with the more focus you have or it might take you straight to the golden ticket you desire. Think of this process when visioning conceiving a child or manifesting a conscious partner/relationship.  Sometimes it takes time calling in that one special soul into your life and sometimes it doesn’t.
On a more earthly realm you can ask people in your support network for help in supporting you in this process. Get involved in a meet-up group or ask someone out for a cup of tea after a yoga class. Choose people that will not only be your cheerleader in helping you keep focused but also those who will help keep you accountable. I have a few select people in my life I know will cheer me on but also give me a good kick in the ass to help me keep track on my long term goals.  Only thing is you have to be willing to accept both forms of support.

Enjoy the Process and Find Balance
In the past and even now I have fears about wanting something too specific. Sometimes we ask ourselves, “Why try when it might not manifest as the thing we want?” Then we end up binging on Netflix and not doing anything out of fear of failure. The thing is the Divine already knows what is written in your destiny but also beckons you to be a playful collaborator in the process as a co-creator. Perhaps this is why a person who is confident that they will get the big job promotion, pass the test, or get a client will actually get it versus the person who resorts to constantly being cautiously optimistic when an opportunity comes and usually isn’t happy. Sure, perhaps it won’t turn out exactly how you thought it would, but the journey is what matters most as long as your soul is in the driver’s seat.
My first year of Traditional Chinese Medicine school last year was more or less brutal mentally and physically, mainly because of my outlook. I was so intently focused on ‘succeeding’ and getting good grades while trying to manage a very busy life.  I forgot the big picture of my goal that expanding my knowledge of eastern medicine would legitimize my past and future higher education degrees and nearly 20 years of  healing skills. While getting wrapped up in old belief systems on how I ‘should’ learn I lost site of the legacy I wanted to create as a healer and the legacy I wanted to create with my husband. I focused so much on comparing myself to other students and lost track of all that I was doing  right.

Focus on the ‘WHY’
Towards the end of my last term of the first year of school I focused even more on the ‘why’ I am going back to school. The ‘what’ and ‘how’ serves as a tool helping me achieve my desire. I ended up getting about the same passing grades even though I studied less and had far less stress compared to the previous terms. I still had consistent thought patterns that said I “should” be doing more, but I chose not to give them leverage as I was already doing so much.  I was happier and so was my marriage.

What this all boils down to is transforming uncertainty and surrendering to the mystery that we must all continuously look at with a curious mind.



Are you interested in more information about creativity? Visit The School of Cosmic Consciousness to learn more.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

21 Stages of Meditation (Stage 6) For Absorption in the Crystal Being

This meditation comes from the 21 Stages of Meditation Book (p.112-120). This meditation can help to banish depression, energize, become crystal clear to absorb into your highest version of yourself, and make the unknown become known. The first seven parts are taught in full time. The original (suggested) time for the last part is 31 minutes. I decreased this last part to approximately 8 minutes. In this video I'm teaching this meditation to my peer group from the 21 Stages of Meditation Course.


Friday, March 9, 2018

"The Time is Now" Kundalini Yoga Class: Full Moon Class with Sodarshan Chakra Kriya


I'm grateful to share this video from the most recent 40 Day "Take out the Garbage Series" at Lotus Yoga Centre. Recorded on Jan 31, 2018. It was held on the full moon. Every time I teach is truly a gift. I felt that teaching on this day in particular had special meaning considering all the fluctuations going on in the world. The blessing at the end of class felt like it came directly from the Divine.

The Kriya is an old gem taught by Yogi Bhajan. It's a vigorous kriya for sure. Just do your best. It is so old the kriya was just called, "Kundalini Yoga". This kriya was received from the Beads of Truth Publication, No  33 &34.  To purchase other classes from this challenge with various teachers (including my videos) please visit www.lotusyogacentre.com.

Monday, February 26, 2018

Beyond Love....

Beyond love for your loved ones
Beyond love of being right
Beyond the love of being in love
Beyond love of seeking for your awakening
Beyond judgement
Beyond the confinement of religion
Beyond the collective fear
Beyond the material and immaterial

Love your Self
Love every corner of your spirit that aches in the smallest way with longing to be at Home within the Self.
Love every thought knowing the mind is not the master.
You already embody the Divine, sensual and sensitively to know when you are not responding in Love, especially for Self.

For in Love the cosmos reveals your reality
And the spirit will rest in the womb of being in peace
Comparison cannot live in love
Be the space between words and breath
Welcome the imperfection within the perfection and the uncertainty
For God’s sake Be You
Because God is Love
Because Love is Love
And everything is made from that

By: Bir Kaur Khalsa

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

New Upcoming Conscious Relationships Workshop!

Conscious Relationships Workshop
with Bir Kaur and Nirmal Singh 
  Sunday, March 18, 2018
1:30pm - 4:00pm


In this workshop you will learn what it takes to start and commit to a conscious relationship. That relationship begins with yourself. This workshop is primarily a meditative experience focusing on how to manifest your ideal partner and work through blocks that keep you and your partner from growing. You will begin to learn what it takes to transition from serial dater to a committed, lasting, loving and conscious relationship or marriage. You will experience the powerful effects of the So Purkh and the Bhand Jammee-ai mantras in addition to Venus Kriyas (partner meditations).
This workshop will benefit you whether you are currently in a partnership or are looking for one. You don’t need to bring a partner as the class will be paired up. Nirmal Singh and Bir Kaur will also be sharing their unique personal experiences of marriage.
Location: 
Lotus Yoga Centre
100 Harbord Street, 2nd Floor
Toronto, ON, M5S 1G6

Pricing

$35 + HST Early Bird Price by March 13th 

$40 + HST Regular Price

$30 + HST for Members

or come with a friend/partner for $60 + HST

Visit the Lotus Yoga Centre website to sign up 




About the teachers:

Nirmal Singh is a lead Kundalini Yoga teacher trainer. He owns and operates The Wellness Path which produces Kundalini Yoga related programs including sacred chant concerts, Kundalini Yoga teacher training, retreats and other programs by internationally renowned teachers.

Bir Kaur Khalsa is a Certified Kundalini Yoga teacher and owner of Warrior Spirit Healing Arts. She offers healing and teaches people with chronic pain how to harmonize their mind, body and spirit through Kundalini Yoga and Zero Balancing.



Saturday, December 16, 2017

Martial Arts Warm Up Exercises

Yogi Bhajan highly encouraged those who practice Kundalini Yoga to also train in martial arts. This is a series of gentle martial arts warm up exercises called Tao Yin that uses regulated breath and movement to facilitate the movement of qi/prana in the body. Noted the series is being facilitated quickly for the primary purpose of showing the sequence. Each exercise should be performed 2-3 x's slowly to receive full benefit. If you turn up the volume you can hear the instructor guiding the specific breathing for each exercise.

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Upcoming Workshop in December 2017!

Relax, Renew, Be You:
Holiday Stress Reduction Workshop

Date : Sunday, December 10    Time: 1:30 – 4:00 pm   

Location:  Lotus Yoga Centre: 100 Harbord Street, Toronto

‘Tis the season to be more stressed…or not? In this stress reduction workshop, you will learn valuable and practical tools on how to decrease your stress long after the holiday season is gone. Come prepared to experience engaging Kundalini Yoga kriyas, meditations and pranayamas.

Kundalini Yoga reduces stress by strengthening your parasympathetic nervous system, the part of your nervous system that allows you to relax and stay calm despite challenges you face in the moment. It also balances all of the energy systems (chakras) and endocrine system so all parts of you are working in harmony.

Shamanic drumming and gong sound healing is included. Give yourself the gift of self-experience and a moment to pause this holiday season. Intermediate and enthusiastic beginning students welcomed! No previous experience with Kundalini Yoga is necessary.

Register at the Lotus Yoga Centre website

$35 + HST Early Bird Price by Dec 5th

$40 + HST Regular Price
$25 + HST for Members