Monday, October 31, 2005

Alaska Takes Off...

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Alaska got its first Sahaja Yoga public program last month. The name Alaska is derived from the Aleut word "Alyeska," meaning "great land." (www.solcomhouse.com/alaska.htm).

This is a groundbreaking event to treasure. The program was conducted at the ATOM (Ascended Teachings of Masters) Center. It was quite warm to see that the events director for the ATOM center openly invited any Sahaja Yogi to visit her when they are in Anchorage, Alaska. The heart widens with joy.

The yogini, Anna M. of New York, further wrote about the vibrational potency of Mt McKinley situated in Denali Park and the vibrations were strong as I read the report. Onward to Alaska on the subtle train. :)v

This Sahaja Life... in Nizhny Novgorod

Russians take photocopiers to public programs. Only Sahaja Yoga creates such a stir in public venues which is exhilerating and irreplacable. Anastasia, a yogini from the Collective of Nizhny Novgorod in Russia reports in the DSY forum

We, the collective of a Russian city, Nizhny Novgorod, would like to
share with you the experience...This time we were even more prepared: there were leaflets, a poster with a picture of Shri Mataji and the scheme of the subtle body, copies of the articles on Kundalini and sensitivity of hands, copies of Shri Mataji's public talk I Bow to All the Seekers. And of course (as usual) we had a Xerox machine (it is really irreplaceable!) and flowers on our table...

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Humor and Depth: The Oct05 Meeting 4/4 Report

There was laughter. There were stories. There were serious moments of contemplation. There were engaging retrospectives. There were touching moments at the Wednesday Sahaja Yoga Meditation Meeting in Ann Arbor.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Sahaja & Science: Blossoming in a Scientifically Aware Society

Sahaja & Science: Blossoming in a Scientifically Aware Society
Drawing inspiration from the work done by Australian scientists at the Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney, Australia, I decided to investigate the use and applicability of these preliminary findings. One of the first things I realized was, despite the preliminary finding being published in a peer reviewed journal, the road ahead was hard to negotiate. The question is how to inspire a seeker's confidence in an age where faith-based interventions have done their damage by presenting themselves as snake-oil peddlers?The CHADD Factsheet#6 is an excellent document which provides suggestions to treatment seekers against false treatments and doubtable interventions. It reminds me of an excellent series of lectures delivered by a professor in a Public Health post-graduate school, who critically evaluates alternate therapies and therapists and the motivating undercurrent. One interesting point brought up was that a certain category of Alternative & Complementary Medicine practitioners have established their reportoire through political lobbying. That being a means to the end of having patients legally bill the associated fees to their insurance providers. Money, thus, is the bottomline being fought over. When it comes to acceptance of meditation as a supporting activities, these hurdles should not matter, because meditation when offered as a no-charge activity by established practitioners should clearly establish its not-for-profit nature. Taking it another step forward, a not-for-charge service because payment does not guarantee the meditative experience. So why there should be charges?I hope the preliminary findings in Australia can blossom into a large body of validating studies before specific meditation practices can find their ways into the United State's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicines list of approved practices for the scientific cause. It might take another 10-15 years to produce appropriate evidence, as medical science seeks multiple studies to validate the effectiveness of an intervention or treatment.

The writer lives & works in a liberal college town in North America. This article is inspired by the slew of fly-by-night operators who have damaged the sensitivity of educated seekers through their empty promises. TheFactsheet referenced is "Assessing Complementary and Controversial Interventions" available via CHADD.org. CHADD is the Michigan Resource for ADD affected Adults and Children.

Links:Sahaja Yoga Meditation Sahaja Yoga Meditation in Michigan CHADD Scientific Studies Related to Sahaja Yoga

Thursday, October 13, 2005

What do you have to surrender?

[See Ppt Presentation]

"What do you have to surrender? A drop has to dissolve into the ocean

to become the ocean. And a drop cannot be greater than the ocean."

What is needed is "the surrendering of our conditionings, of our ego

and the artificial barriers we have built around us." We can approach

ourselves mentally, emotionally or physically. "We can approach

ourselves through mantras, through seeing ourselves, through knowing

ourselves.

"But one should know this is the greatest of greatest opportunities

for you, not for the Divine. If you are not available, the Divine can

find its own ways of fulfilling its last culmination of expression."





H.H.SHRI MATAJI NIRMALA DEVI

--Founder of Sahaja Yoga—



Sahasrar Puja, Vienna Austria, 4 May 1985