Siva Sutras - Disciplining the Mind

One common problem in the practice of any meditational exercise is disciplining the mind. The mind
has no natural ability to stay focused on one particular thought. The thought may be a sound, like a
mantra, or an object like a flame or a figure. The mind naturally keeps moving away from thought to
thought.

If one observes the process, there are two forces of the mind simultaneously acting. One is the
"attentive mind" and the other is the "monkey mind", that keeps running in different directions. During
meditation, everyone observes this process. It is the attentive mind that puts you back on the mantra
or the flame on which you are meditating. The attentive mind periodically kicks in to check the drifting
mind.

Neither the attentive mind nor the drifting monkey mind is under your control. The attentive mind
however, expresses your willpower to be in control. However, you are seldom in absolute control of
your will. The drifting mind is totally frivolous. You have no control over it at all. This does not mean
that the drifting mind is lawless. It keeps thinking predominately a few thoughts that are important to
you. Generally speaking, these thoughts revolve around your bills, money, career, and relationship.
Fear of failure and uncertainty about the future are like the two legs of the drifting mind.

Siva teaches a mantra to regulate both the attentive mind and the drifting mind. The mantra is
"Bijavadhanam." I have already introduced this mantra to you. "Bijavadhanam" means paying
constant attention to the seed.

The seed is the primordial thought. It is indeed the first expression of life or consciousness. I cannot
completely explicate the depth of the mantra "Bijavadhanam". I can only tell you that this mantra can
fix your mind. The mind force is a current that flows through your breath, the brain, and the chakras in
the subtle body. This mind force comes from Akash, the sky element.

Keep reciting the mantra. You will see miracles happening. "Bijavadhanam" is not like any other
mantra, which denotes an object other than the mind. "Bijavadhanam" is the mantra for the totality of
consciousness. The practice of "Bijavadhanam" will serve to strengthen your experience of the
primordial sound, "Om Nama Sivaya".

When you say "Bijavadhanam", you will see the mind remaining relatively stable. It will still keep
moving. Then over a period of time, you will see that you are gaining more control. The sound "bija"
will take you to the first thought of the first human being. "Avadhanam" will fix your mind in the first
thought. The purpose of the sound "avadhanam", which means attention, is to conquer time.
Avadhanam will dissolve the drifting mind. The movement of the drifting mind creates time. When the
mind does not drift, time ends. You will be timeless and blissful.

Siva says that you have to do this meditation with utmost ease. You should not fight with the attentive
mind nor the drifting mind. You simply sit. Say "Bijavadhanam" a few times, and let go of everything.
At this point, you stop meditating. You simply observe everything in an effortless way. Accept
everything that is happening to you, but do not be a party to the process. There is nothing good,
nothing bad. There is nothing neither superior nor inferior. Accept everything; abandon everything.

When you have such receptivity then you will fall into Samadhi. You will then participate and live the
mindless mind of Siva. You can do this meditation lying down on your bed as well.

Essential Principles for Finding Your Way to an Inspired Life

“Well, every man has a religion; has something in heaven or earth which he will give up everything
else for—something which absorbs him—which may be regarded by others as being useless—yet it
is his dream, it is his lodestar, it is his master. That, whatever it is, seized upon me, made me its
servant, slave—induced me to set aside the other ambitions—a trail of glory in the heavens, which I
followed, followed with
a full heart. . . . When once I am convinced, I never let go . . .”
— Walt Whitman

This chapter presents six principles that are important to observe as we seek an inspired life—they
are a blueprint to refer to as we reconstruct a life in-Spirit. I am listing them in no particular order of
importance because I believe that they are equally essential.

Principle #1: Be Independent of the Good Opinion of Others

In order to live in-Spirit, we must adopt Arthur Miller’s trust that the Source is always working within
us, or Walt Whitman’s belief that our ultimate calling “may be regarded by others as being useless—
yet it is [our] dream, it is [our] lodestar.” In other words, inspiration must be our master, even though
following it might disappoint others.
When inspiration makes its presence known, we must pay attention if our priority is to be who or what
we were meant to be. William Shakespeare’s famous query, “To be or not to be: that is the question,”
symbolizes the urgent choices that we have to make—that is, do we become what we came here to
be, or do we ignore that calling? In this oft-quoted soliloquy, Hamlet delves deeper by wondering,
“Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take
arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them? . . .” Suffering the consequences of
living according to someone else’s wishes does not make any sense; rather, we need to oppose the
external opinions that try to force us to be what we are not intended to be.

There are many well-meaning people in our lives who have ideas about what we should or should not
be doing . . . relatives tend to be specialists in this area! If we let them guide us with advice that isn’t
congruent with our inner calling, we’ll suffer the anguish—the “slings and arrows”—of an uninspired
life. Each of us can feel what we’re being called to be; when we pay attention, we can hear our own
impatient voices coaxing us to pay attention and complete the assignments we brought with us from
the world of Spirit. However, when we allow the opinions and dictates of others to determine what
we’re going to be, we lose sight of our objective to live an inspired life.
We need to determine for ourselves how much we’ve allowed others to decide issues such as what
we do, where we live, with whom we live, and even how we’re treated. We must know that absolutely
no one else truly knows and feels what we’re here to accomplish, so we must give ourselves
permission to hear our inner guidance and ignore the pressure from others. Regardless of how
absurd our inner calling might seem, it’s authentically ours and doesn’t have to make sense to
anyone else. The willingness to listen and act on our inspiration, independent of the opinions of
others, is imperative.

Principle #2: Be Willing to Accept the Disapproval of Others

Logically following the last principle, this one note that we’re going to incur the disfavor of many
people when we follow our inclinations to be in-Spirit and live the life we came here to live. This isn’t a
selfish or cynical attitude: When we begin to follow our ultimate calling, there will be a lot of
resistance. In fact, the purpose of the “slings and arrows” sent our way is to get us to change our
mind and be “reasonable,” which translates to “Do it my way!”
However, as we gain the strength to ignore the pressure to conform, resistance will diminish and
ultimately change to respect. When we steadfastly refuse to think, act, and conform to the mandates
of others, the pressure to do so loses its momentum. All we have to do is endure some initial
disapproval such as dogmatic persuasion, anger, pouting, silence, and long-winded lectures . . . and
then we’re on our way to inspiration rather than frustration.
Here’s a recent example of this from my own life. I elected to have most of the royalties and all of the
advance payments for this book go to a scholarship fund, and there were people who tried to get me
to “come to my senses” and not “throw my money away,” which was how they viewed my decision. I
have an inner voice that is overwhelmingly powerful, and I trust in what truly inspires me. I’d known
for many years that one day I’d endow a scholarship fund at my alma mater, for instance—the
thought of young, financially challenged students having the opportunity that I’d received as a young
military veteran inspires me more than I can relate to you here in these pages. Therefore, I was
comfortable with, and able to ignore, the disapproval I encountered, giving responses such as, “I
know what I’m doing and why I’m doing it,” and “Don’t waste your time and mine attempting to
convince me otherwise.” And sure enough, the resistance I met was converted to acceptance.
The people who receive the most approval in life are the ones who care the least about it—so
technically, if we want the approval of others, we need to stop caring about it and turn our attention to
becoming an inspired being of sharing. One little note of caution here: When we raise our children
according to these principles, and they observe us living them on a daily basis, we’ll have to deal with
their determination to respect their inner calling. For example, when my daughter Sommer was about
11 years old and I asked to see her report card, I was a bit taken aback by her response. “Why do
you want to see it?” she asked.
When I said, “Well, I’m your father, and I think I should know how you’re doing in school,” she matter-
of-factly replied, “But these are my grades, not yours, and if I thought you needed to see them, I
would’ve shown them to you already.”
I assure you that she wasn’t being disrespectful; she simply had no need to share her grades with
me. Since I knew that she was doing very well in school, I let it go—and let her be who she wanted to
be.

Principle #3: Stay Detached from Outcomes

Inspiration doesn’t come from completing tasks or meeting goals; in fact, that’s the sure way to have
it elude us. Returning to Spirit, you see, is an experience of living fully in the present moment. Our
purpose in life isn’t to arrive at a destination where we find inspiration, just as the purpose of dancing
isn’t to end up at a particular spot on the floor. The purpose of dancing—and of life—is to enjoy every
moment and every step, regardless of where we are when the music ends.
Many of us are seduced into believing that having goals is necessary for a successful life, especially
since we’ve been brainwashed by slogans such as “If you don’t know where you’re going, how will
you know when you’re there?” and “Not having a goal is more to be feared than not reaching a goal.”
This kind of logic keeps us from feeling inspired because we live a life of striving while foregoing
arriving.
A more rewarding spiritual truth is that there’s only now—and when this moment passes, it will be
replaced by another one, ad infinitum. To use up our “present now” being consumed with a “future
now” that will only turn into a “then” is the prescription for the absence of inspiration. Since there’s
only now, learning to live in it and enjoy every present moment is the same as being in-Spirit, while
being focused on an outcome to determine our level of happiness and success keeps us out of Spirit.
Yoga master Sri Swami Sivananda offered the only worthwhile goal I know of when he said that the
goal of life is God-realization. Now here’s a goal I can live with! After all, this allows me to live in-Spirit
every moment of my life, while simultaneously thinking ahead to the next God-realized moment (and
the next). As the great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi once remarked, “There is no goal to be
reached. There is nothing to be attained. You are the Self. You exist always.” Now this is real
inspiration.
As I sit here writing, I don’t have a goal in mind, yet I trust that the book will be completed. I’ve seen
it, even though I’m months away from the final product. I live in the bliss of creating right here, right
now, and I relish these moments. I trust that the outcome will be handled by the same Source that
inspires these words to appear seemingly out of nowhere. I’m here now—in peace, in love, and in
awe—and my only goal is to stay in this consciousness and enjoy every moment, putting into practice
what I agreed to when I was in-Spirit before becoming the particle that began this glorious journey.

Principle #4: Know That We Need Nothing/No Things to Be Inspired

We came into this world of boundaries from a formless energy field of Spirit. We arrived here with
nothing/no things, we’ll make our exit with nothing/no things, and our purpose (God-realization)
requires nothing/no things. We are all that we need to be inspired and living on purpose, and the
things that continue to flow into our life are just symbols of the unlimited abundance of our Source. In
other words, these things have no value in and of themselves because everything in the physical
world is changing and will dissolve back to nothingness anyway.
The objective Universe is not made up of things—it’s made up of waves of motion that simulate the
things we’re taught to believe are real. Once we accept that, from an infinite perspective, everything
we see in nature isn’t really what it seems to be, we’re able to convert what we view with our eyes
into a knowing about all things. Then we can recognize that the objects we believed we needed to
feel inspired are nothing from Spirit’s perspective. This is what distinguishes the physical person from
the spiritual person, the inspired person from the uninspired person.
We’re beings of Spirit, living from mind (rather than the body with all of its inherent restrictions), so if
we communicate with God in the language of light and energy, we’ll see His tolerant amusement at
our preoccupation with the illusion of possessions. We don’t need more of anything to become
inspired; rather, we need to take our attention away from what we see and move into the miraculous
world of Spirit, where joy and bliss await us.

Remember: We’re already connected to everything that we think is missing from our life. Below and
above the ranges that our eyes and ears perceive, the entire activity of creation remains invisible and
inaccessible—but when we shift from sensory searching to trusting what we know, we discover the
folly of chasing after anything in order to feel inspired. All we need is a conscious realignment so that
our thoughts begin to match up vibrationally with Spirit, which we know is a part of us already. And
our state of inspiration is what allows for this realignment.
When we tune in to what we know rather than what we see, we immediately find that every thought of
God is repeated throughout the Universe. We can watch as some things enter our life and others
leave, all the while remaining in-Spirit, knowing that all of those things have nothing to do with our
state of inspiration. We need nothing more to be inspired, since we’re connected to Spirit already.
The ancient Persian poet Omar Khayyam offered us these words, which summarize this principle that
we don’t need another thing to be inspired—it’s all right here, right now:

Forget the day that has been cut off from thy existence;
disturb not thyself about tomorrow, which has not yet come,
rest not upon that which is no more; live happily one instant, and throw not thy life to the winds.

Principle #5: “Don’t Die Wondering”

This principle is extremely important in working toward an inspired life because it motivates us to
act—after all, we don’t want to be full of regrets because we failed to heed our ultimate calling.
Attempting to do something, even if it doesn’t succeed, is inspiring because we don’t tend to regret
what we do, we regret what we didn’t do. Even following a futile attempt, we’re inspired because we
know that we gave it a shot. It’s wondering whether we should or shouldn’t try something that leaves
us feeling stressed and incomplete.
When I’m playing a tennis match and being tentative in anticipation of losing a point, for example, I’ve
created a situation in which I’ll wonder what kind of a game it would have been had I really gone for it.
It’s in these moments that I remind myself, “Don’t die wondering.”
Inspiration has nothing to do with whether we win or lose; in fact, if we just play the game of life, we’ll
have plenty of wins and losses, regardless of our talent level. If we fail to even try because of fear of
rejection or doubt about our talent, we’re going to go through life wondering, and that’s what keeps us
from finding and feeling inspiration.
Most of us, myself included, can remember the intensity of our first romantic attraction—just as we
can recall what happened when we didn’t follow our inspiration. I’ve always wondered what would
have happened if I’d been able to act on that strong inner call in high school, when I had an
enormous crush on a beautiful girl named Janice Nelson. I wanted to ask her out, but I let my fear of
being rejected keep me from taking the steps to act upon my inner desires. On several occasions I
even dialed her phone number and hung up when she answered. I never overcame my foreboding
thoughts and, in effect, was left to die wondering.
Many years later, I danced with Janice at our 30-year high school reunion and told her how I felt back
then. I even confessed the way I’d hang up the phone because of my trepidation. Janice, to my
everlasting delight—and chagrin—said, “I always had a crush on you. I would’ve loved to have gone
out with you, and in fact I tried to leave you clues to call me. But you never did.” Ouch! That’s a
perfect example of regretting what I didn’t do.
Goethe, writing in Faust, provides a poetic description of the two souls living within us: ne, a spirit that
allows us to make the phone call and ask for the date regardless of the outcome, and the other that
clings to the world of fear, and lives to die wondering:

Alas, two souls are living in my breast,

And one wants to separate itself from the other.
One holds fast to the world with earthy passion
And clings with twining tendrils:
The other lifts itself with forceful craving
To the very roof of heaven.

If we lift ourselves “with forceful craving to the very roof of heaven,” we’ll never die wondering.

Principle #6: Remember That Our Desires Won’t Arrive by Our Schedule

There’s an ancient aphorism that goes: “If you really want to make God laugh, tell God your plans.” In
essence this means that all we desire will arrive in our life when and only when we’re aligned
vibrationally with the energy of our Source. Our ego won’t be consulted or get to determine the
schedule—creation reveals Its secrets when It’s good and ready. Our job is to take the focus off of
the when and put it on being connected to our originating Spirit. Our job is to stop challenging and
demanding responses from God, and instead be more like Him. Our job is to understand and accept
that all of the things that show up in our life, which we often find contradictory or troublesome, are
there because we’ve attracted them . . . and we need to have these obstacles in order to clear an
opening for our true Spirit purpose to emerge. This may require a change in thinking patterns, which
is something Tom Barber knows all too well.
Tom is the head golf pro at Griffith Park in Los Angeles and owns and operates the Tom Barber Golf
Center in Southern California; his father, Jerry, was the PGA champion in 1961. Tom is a close friend
whom I can talk to straight about virtually anything. For example, he once admitted to me that
business had fallen off, and he was concerned about a deterioration in income due to fewer
customers golfing in an economy on the downturn.
He’d gone on for about as long as I was willing to absorb this kind of energy when I finally said, “Tom,
you’re approaching the whole issue from a perspective that almost guarantees that this financial
headache will continue to grow. Try affirming: What I desire is on its way. It will arrive precisely on
God’s timetable, not on mine. Everything that I’m experiencing now is disguised as a problem, but I
know that it’s a blessing. What I desire is on its way, and it’s coming to me in amounts even greater
that I can imagine. This is my vision, and I’ll hold on to it in a state of gratitude, no matter what.”
I received a letter from my friend about two months after our conversation, in which he wrote: “Thanks
for the pep talk. Once I started to say that the business I’m seeking and the finances I need are on
their way, everything started to turn around.” What happened is that Tom decided to align with the
unrestricted abundance of Spirit energy.
As you can see from Tom’s example, rather than making demands of God to follow our schedule in
order to feel inspired, we can let go, surrender, and remind ourselves that all is in Divine order. We’re
much more successful when we allow inspiration to flow in on God’s terms than when we’re impatient
and demanding. As always, our job in God-realization is to become more like God—that means
surrendering to the timetable that’s always perfect, even when it seems to be full of errors.

Keep these six principles handy and access them anytime you find yourself lacking inspiration.
Remember, too, that we’re called to this world of inspiration, which beckons us to “let go and let God,”
as they say in the recovery movement. I also love this advice, which was tendered by one of my
favorite teachers, Napoleon Hill: “If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way. Don’t
wait for great opportunities. Seize common, everyday ones and make them great.”

Some Suggestions for Putting the Ideas in This Chapter to Work for You

— Make a written commitment to be free of the pressures of people who try to dictate the course of
your life, such as: I intend to listen to my own thoughts concerning my life. I’ll be receptive to advice,
but I’ll do what my conscience dictates, even if I incur disapproval. By writing your intentions and
having them readily available to refer to, you nurture the inspirational energy to follow through on your
interests. The intention behind the words guides and reminds you to be steadfast about seeking your
own inspiration. Don’t employ anger or aggression as ways of being independent of others’
opinions—you’re Spirit energy from a field of love, and you must be love in order to be in-Spirit.

— Small steps will activate matching vibrations to what you desire. So if you want to live close to
nature, plan a visit to the place of your dreams and take the small steps to experience what it feels
like. If you can’t or won’t do that, or if you aren’t ready to go yet, you can read books or rent movies in
order to have the experience vicariously. But be alert to the vibrational energy of thought and action
that you offer Spirit.
When my daughter Skye wanted to produce a CD of her own compositions, it seemed like a daunting
task to write, perform, record, and arrange for all of the studio time and musicians. She continued to
shy away from what inspired her, so I encouraged her to take a small step and write just one song. I
gave her a suggestion for a title and gave her a deadline—and then I watched with joy and pride as
she sat at her piano, engrossed in her inspiration, creating. One small step put her on the path of
inspiration, as Napoleon Hill suggested.

— Instead of goals, make the commitment to live joyfully in the moment. Stop dreaming about the
future and get back to the only thing any of us have: now. Decide to live fully in the present,
withdrawing attention from past and future. Your desire for inspiration activates the world of Spirit
from which you came. Your imagined future, the stuff of goals, is an unnecessary way of squandering
the present moment. Be Here Now is more than a great book title by Ram Dass, it’s the essence of
inspiration. Being in the now is the way to remove anxiety, stress, and even some illnesses.
As I sit here writing, I can daydream all I want about completing this book, but in reality, all I can really
do (which is precisely what I am doing) is listen to my inner voice, offer a matching vibration to those
inner pleadings, and feel the joy of allowing the thoughts to come through me onto the pages. The
“goal” has been suspended in favor of being here now, living out what I’m being directed by my
“Senior Partner” to do. The end result takes care of itself, particularly since I see the end result in my
mind, and I use my present moments in harmony with that vision.

— Respect the silent and burning desire that’s within you—don’t scoff at it, and refuse to be critical or
judgmental. Create a sacred space within your home, some private corner where you can have an
altar for the symbolic residence of your inner vision. When you walk by this altar, offer a silent
blessing and express gratitude for the presence of inspiration in your life. The altar can have
photographs, magazine articles, artifacts, totems, crystals, jewelry, plaques . . . anything that reminds
you of your own passions. As “silly”or “far-fetched” as this might appear, it’s nevertheless true that
when you talk and live with daily reminders of Spirit, you become a vibrational match to your ultimate
calling.
When I was much younger, many people ridiculed and disregarded my vision of being a writer and a
performer, but I treated my inner vision with the veneration that the sacred deserves. Holding my
inner knowing in high esteem during my teen years allowed me to undertake writing a novel,
irrespective of what anyone around me expressed. When you trust in your inner vision, you’re trusting
the same wisdom that created you.

— Make an affirmation that whatever brings passion, enthusiasm, and inspiration to you is on its way.
Say it often: It is on its way, it will arrive on time, and it will arrive in greater amounts than I imagined.
Then look for even the tiniest clue that will help you be a vibrational match with your affirmation. You’ll
get what you think about, whether you want it or not!

***

The words of a man who was both a philosopher and a Roman emperor will close this chapter.
Marcus Aurelius disdained thoughts of violence and refused to go to war; in fact, he presided over his
empire with a philosophy of peace and respect for all of his fellow men. Below, he speaks of the
things we’ve forgotten when we’re uninspired or not focused in-Spirit.
When thou art troubled about anything, thou hast forgotten this, that all things happen according to
the universal nature; and forgotten this, that a man’s wrongful act is nothing to thee; and further thou
hast forgotten this, that everything which happens, always happened so and will happen so, and now
happens so everywhere; forgotten this too, how close is the kinship between a man and the whole
human race, for it is a community, not of a little blood or seed, but of intelligence. And thou hast
forgotten this too, that every man’s intelligence is a god, and is an efflux of the deity; and forgotten
this, that nothing is a man’s own, but that his child and his body and his very soul came from the
deity; forgotten this, that everything is opinion; and lastly thou hast forgotten that every man lives the
present time only, and loses only this.

Use his words as an inventory of things to remember as you seek to find your way back to inspiration.

WHAT WOULD MY HIGHER SELF SAY ABOUT THIS? by Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.

You are not alone. Everyone has a down-time occasionally. We lose sleep as we obsessively think
about a situation that upsets us greatly. We forget to notice the beauty of the day as we listen to the
voice of our Lower Self driving us crazy. It is at just such a time that we need to ask ourselves "What
would my Higher Self say about this?"

"Susan", you may be asking, "How do I know what the voice of the Higher Self sounds like?" That's
easy. If it is a positive, loving, caring, creative and confident voice, it is the voice of the Higher Self. If
it is the voice of anger, upset, gloom and doom, it is, of course, the voice of the Lower Self. Aren't you
happy you have a choice between the two? And you definitely have that choice.

Let me give you an example: If your head is filled with gloom and doom as you obsess about having
lost your job, you are definitely living in the arena of the Lower Self. It sounds like this...

"I can't believe my bad luck. A cutback and I'm the first to go. I'm really angry at my boss. I'm such a
loser. I'll never find another job in this economy. How will I pay my bills? It looks really bad on my
record that I lost this job." (And on and on and on in a self-defeating manner.)

It is at just such a time that you need to pose the question, "What would my Higher Self say about
this?" And the peaceful and comforting answer from your Higher Self would sound like this...

"Not to worry. I am a creative and talented person who can always find another job. I trust that I will
find exactly the kind of job that I need. I'm simply on the path to an exciting new adventure. My job
does not define me. My life is rich and full. It's all happening perfectly." (And on and on and on in a
life-enhancing manner.)

Just the other day, I was feeling very upset about a particular business issue of my own. I had lost
sleep the night before as I obsessed about the situation at hand. When I got to my desk the following
morning, my tired eyes focused on the little card that I had placed on my desk months earlier that
says, "Susan, what would your Higher Self say about this?" (Yes, we ALL need reminders!)

As I focused on this all-important question, I was prompted to do the following exercise: I sat down at
my computer and first composed a scenario of my Lower Self speaking. It sounded something like
this...

"I feel very angry about what he has done. I would really like to punch him in the face and sue him.
I'm calling my lawyer tomorrow. I have lost my respect for him and realize for the first time that he has
absolutely no integrity. Oh, I can't believe he did what he did!"

(Note that this is a mild version of what I actually wrote! The real version is unprintable!) As you can
see, this was definitely a lose-sleep kind of attitude. I then asked myself the all-important question,
"What would my Higher Self say about this?" I got a very different answer, indeed! I then typed into
my computer the following words from my Higher Self...
 "I trust that he did not do this intentionally. A lawsuit is not the answer. I respect his work and trust
that we can lovingly reach an amicable solution that will correct the situation at hand. We will make it
a win-win situation for both of us. It's all happening perfectly. One step at a time, and it will all be
handled beautifully."

Wow! Read these two versions again and you can see that the Higher Self offers much better
solutions to any problems that may come up and definitely guarantees a better night's sleep! What I
did next was to print out my Higher Self response and every time I started thinking about the troubling
situation, I simply read it a few times to keep me in a positive, powerful and loving state of mind.
Magic!

One of the suggestions that I offer in Feel the Fear and Beyond, is to create ten or more post-its or 3
x 5 cards, to put on your mirror, in your car, on your desk, in your diary, and anywhere else you will
see them that says...WHAT WOULD MY HIGHER SELF SAY ABOUT THIS? Then when you find
yourself in a Lower Self state of mind, you will be reminded to sit down and take a little time to write
down a Higher Self way of seeing the situation.

To practice this valuable tool right now, think of something that you are worried about in your life and
ask yourself what your Lower Self would say and then what your Higher Self would say.

I AM WORRIED ABOUT _____________________________

What would my Lower Self say about it?

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

What would my Higher Self say about it?

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

A big difference, indeed! I trust you can now see that you can have choice in the way you think about
upsetting events in your life. I guarantee the thinking of the Higher Self, the best of who you are, will
always make you feel more positive, loving, safe, confident, caring and powerful. What a wonderful
way to go through life!!!

This is just one of the many, many tools that are available to help you in your Journey through life.
And these tools are meant to be used for a lifetime. Yes, every day of our lives can bring us difficult
and frustrating and hurtful and scary experiences that can put us in the realm of discomfort and fear
and give us sleepless nights. You can imagine the fear I felt when I was told that I had breast cancer
many years ago. But because I had my precious bag of Spiritual tools, I was able to transform what
could have felt like a tragedy into a triumph. No matter what life hands us, these Higher Self tools are
there to remind us that "All is well. We will handle it all."

© 2007 Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.

Sylvia Brown and Lakshmi's Mantra

Sylvia Browne is one of America's most celebrated psychic and spiritual teachers today. She
channels a spiritual guide, Francine, who aides her in psychically seeing the past, present and the
future with such accuracy that it "blows the minds" of people everywhere. Sylvia also uses her own
altered levels of consciousness to predict the past and the future. Sylvia helps police to investigate
criminals with great accuracy. She uses her psychic abilities to help people heal from serious
diseases. She puts people in touch with their deceased loved ones and helps people to unravel their
psychological problems through past-life regressions.

Sylvia is able to visit what she calls as "the other side". The other side is the domain to which a spirit
retires after death or temporarily visits during sleep . . . [It is a realm] that appears to have no
physicality of its own although its form is perceptible to spiritual sight. As a spirit, Sylvia has unraveled
a wealth of material about the other side.

Sylvia's experiences provide validity to some of the teachings of Hinduism. For instance, the practice
of mantras is a very important tool to connect with the divine within Hindu worship. Each god and
goddess has his/her own mantra. In fact, the mantra is the very essence, the body of the divine so to
speak. The mantra is often a two to three syllable sound that carries the energy of a god or goddess.
In Sanskrit, the mantra is known as a seed (bija). Just as a seed carries the whole tree within itself,
the mantra carries the deity's presence and qualities within its structure. The mantra practice is based
on the theory that if one continually chants the mantra, either quietly or out loud, the deity is expected
to appear before the practitioner. The theories about mantras are indeed very complex. However,
everyone familiar with mantras knows this much - to get help from a particular deity, you have to
chant the deity's mantra.

The important question to ask is, "Do mantras belong to Hinduism or are they a universal,
transcendental phenomenon?" From reading Sylvia Browne's writings, it becomes evident that
mantras belong to all souls in general. In her book, Sylvia talks about her visits to the Hall of Tones
on the other side. The following is a description of the Hall of Tones:

"The Hall of Tones

When each of our souls was first created, we were given our own individual Mantra - a specific word
or series of syllables - to which our spirits will eternally resonate. Every mantra starts with Om, which
is a word of affirmation and ascent, followed by a tone that is typically made up of two syllables. Mine
is 'Shreem'. (I didn't light up with instant recognition at the sound of my mantra, however.) Apparently
and sadly, their divine resonance gets drowned out too often by the noise of our conscious minds
here on earth." (Life on the Other Side by Sylvia Browne, P.111.)

Sylvia Browne's channeled information is very useful. Shreem, which is Sylvia Browne's own mantra,
is the mantra for Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Similarly, the mantra Kiri is the sound for Kali, the
ferocious goddess who kills demons. I am sure that from what I know of the writings of Sylvia Browne
that she herself is not aware of the Hindu background of the mantras. Some of the explanations of
the mantras that come from Sylvia are quite profound and esoteric. For instance Sylvia says that the
mantra is the sound of "affirmation and ascent". Very few people will understand the depth of the
statement. It is not the place to discuss it in this small article.

However, it is interesting to follow Sylvia's thoughts about the Hall of Tones. She says that the
mantras will put you in touch with your genetic lineage. As a matter of fact, you can accomplish a lot
of your material goals through the use of mantras. The success of Transcendental Meditation
worldwide is due to the use of mantras. Sylvia herself has given a guided meditation to find out
everyone's mantra. If you can't find your own mantra, you can use specific mantras for a specific
result.

How To Change The Impossible Relationships

Relationship is fundamental to human life. It is because man is a social animal. You will be terribly
bored if you are alone. We are not born to be lonely. I am not against loneliness. In fact, it is the best
that can happen to anyone, if one understands it and experiences the bliss in loneliness.
Unfortunately, this is not the reality of most people.
Everyone wants relationships of some sort with the individuals or groups that they deal with. But then
there are challenges in every relationship. In this brief note I want to give some uncommon remedies
for relationship problems.

Gender Relationships

Plato's "Symposium" discusses why are men and women attached to each other. It is because man
and woman, in primordial time, were just one androgyne, and they were sliced by Zeus, to become
two. Since that time the separated part is seeking to unite with each other. This is the reason for the
attraction between the two genders.

Tantra, the Hindu and Buddhist spiritual science of sex, affirms Plato's notion that sexual attraction is
a spiritual phenomenon. Jesus's disapproval of divorce is also based on a similar assumption.

"Yes, yes. We approve of the sacred nature of sex. But, how do you solve the innumerable
relationship problems?"

I have several answers for your question, but the most important part is the remedy that I will
suggest. First, the following are some key problems in relationships:

1.. You like the guy, but he doesn't like you or vice versa.
2.. We like each other, but we constantly fight.
3.. I am always the one to make compromises. I am tired of it.
4.. There is no love behavior, but the physical part is good or vice versa.
5.. Fear/economics is the reason why we are together.
6.. I don't know why we are together. It is hell.
In a matrimonial relationship, you check your natural charts for compatibility. Recently I was looking
at a couple that is married and hated each other. I found out Rahu the snake planet was in the
seventh house of the girl's chart. Accordingly there was constant bickering and poisonous exchanges
between them. There is a simple remedy for the problem. You go to a Snake temple dedicated for
Rahu and do a ritual for your birth star. This simple act will help prevent a lot of agony,
psychotherapy, physical illness and a host of other problems.

Whatever may be the outward reason for your relationship problems, metaphysically there is only one
reason. Your relationship karma is screwed up. You work out your karma through your planets. Your
seventh house rules your relationship. One nature of the house, the nature of the planet that rules the
house and the planet that is housed in the house--all cumulatively contribute to a good/bad
relationship. Astrologically speaking, unless you take care of the planet that causes the problem, you
will not have a lasting solution. You will continue to play games in your relationship.

Divine Help is Ever Available

Divine help is ever available. Nevertheless the problem is no one knows how to access it. It is
something like you have money in the bank but you do not know that it is there. First of all you should
understand what divine help is.

Divine help is providential and miraculous support during the time of need. A time when there is
nobody out there for you. When you have no money, no job, and no relationship. You cannot even go
out because you do not have nice clothes, a nice car, or even the money to go to a decent restaurant.
You want to change everything around you, but you do not know how. Logically speaking, it is almost
impossible to change things within the near future. That is how broke you are. You are angry and you
want to cry. In your anger and desperation you want to put the blame on the people around you. You
blame it on your parents, friends, and oftentimes, on the guru or personal God. Finger pointing is not
going to help. At best maybe you may satisfy your ego.
What you really need, at this point, is divine help. Divine help is from above, help from Gods and
Goddesses. I define God as an alien with a tremendous amount of energy and intelligence to change
your job, your finances, and your housing and relationship structures. This alien, or God, has the
ability to perform a lot of these feats in one stroke. It is something like winning the lotto.

This alien, though invisible to the naked eye, has been waiting to help you. Like you, he has
restrictions too. He does not know how to contact you because he is invisible. Sometimes he comes
and pulls your jacket, or makes an electric bulb blowout, just to indicate his presence. But you have
no clue what has been going on. It is very important to learn to communicate with these aliens.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks Krishna, how can I make quick money? In modern times the Wall
Street gurus are recommending different kinds of investments, particularly real estate investments, to
make quick money. However, Krishna has nothing to do with human methods for making money.
Krishna says that you can get help from the aliens. He also tells what the aliens like to have from
humans. The aliens want to have a cordial relationship with the humans.

I want to give you some tips to attract the aliens to come and respond to your prayers. The aliens like
fragrant flowers and the citric acid in fruits. They also like milk and sweets. The Old Testament says
that aliens are attracted by what is called "burnt offerings". The barbecue smell is something
irresistible for the aliens. It may appear naïve to talk about offerings to the aliens, but if you do careful
research of all the traditions around the world, you will understand that these spirits and Gods do like
human things. The Egyptian pharaohs took their jewelry with them. The belongings of the king were
interred in the tomb along with the king's body. This was also the practice of the Chinese and
Japanese, the Mayans and the Incas.

By simply offering a flower, or a lemon, or a cup of orange juice, you can really get an alien to help
you with some impossible tasks. He will help you to land a huge business deal, a healthy relationship,
or to buy a beautiful home.

OM NAMA SIVAYA

The purpose of Om Nama Sivaya is very meaningful. Om is the primordial sound. The whole universe
both animate and inanimate is contained in Om. Om is the equivalent of Amen. Om has three
sounds: Ah, Oo, and Ma. The Ah sound has to be chanted at the root chakra. Ah represents the
waking state of consciousness and helps to take care of this world. Oo has to be chanted at the heart
center. Oo represents the dream plane and the other world. Oo gives us divine awareness. Ma has to
be chanted at the throat chakra. Ma creates sleep and material things. Ma has to be chanted
minimally.

Nama Sivaya has two units. Na Ma is to be chanted at the root chakra and the navel chakra
respectively. Nama represents lower worldly realitites like earth and water and the karmic and
egocentric life. Sivaya is the second unit which represents higher life and Si Va Ya has to be chanted
at the heart, throat and 2 eyes respectively. Sivaya gives the awarenes of the divine existence which
is the right of every human soul.

The chanting of Om Nama Sivaya does the following. Om when practiced in the above manner,
cleans up the consciousness. Nama awakens the lower realities necessary for earthly existence.
Sivaya helps you to be grounded in awareness of the divine. One should chant Om Nama Sivaya
with this full understanding.

Time Management

Always ask the question,"Who thinks these thoughts? Why should I host these thoughts?" You need
to keep a calendar

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Another important factor for your consideration is the management of time. Time has a good side and
a bad side. The good side of time is when something difficult gets accomplished easily and
effortlessly. Time in this case acts as the bringer of luck. When a surprise gift of luck is offered, take
it. It is usually a result of Divine Providence.

In its bad aspect, time is like a thief who steals life. When one becomes lethargic, one experiences a
bad aspect of time. When lethargy is there, one feels unable to work or be productive. You suddenly
realize that a long span of time has passed, even ten or twenty years, and you are about to retire.

Another bad aspect of time comes in the form of habitual negative thinking. You experience this as a
constant internal struggle, a constant battle with negative thoughts. This aspect is not as bad as
lethargy because thought usually leads to action. The problem is that negative thought leads to
actions that are limited or unrewarding. So, constantly check your time management. Time and
thought are both synonymous. When you become aware of your thoughts, you also become aware of
time.

Always ask the question,"Who thinks these thoughts? Why should I host these thoughts?" You need
to keep a calendar.

It is very important to see how you spend your time. If you have a calendar, you will be able to clearly
see how your time is spent. It is good to keep track not just of the days, but also the hours. You can
then become aware of when you have wasted a large block of time. Perhaps you watch television or
talked on the telephone or played a game.

So, it is important to regulate your awareness of time through the calendar.

Universal Thinking

A technique to bring your consciousness to unlimited thinking is to move from individual

consciousness to universal consciousness. Why does this work? Let me give you an example.

One day around the deadline to file income tax returns, I was watching TV. A reporter asked the
President if he filed his return. The President told the reporter that he did not know. How did he not
know? Because he gave someone else that job. His time was more precious.

By contrast, most of you just spend time taking care of your own personal needs. In the case of the
President, he moved from personal consciousness to universal consciousness. The President plays
an important role nationally and internationally. He concentrates on the large concerns and must
leave some of his personal business to others.

It is very important to think beyond yourself. When you begin to have that type of thought, your
consciousness expands to make your thinking universal.

Once while riding in a car, a devotee of mine asked, "Siva Baba, what is the craziest thing you have
done in your life?" I told her that the craziest thing I that I have done is the way that I have spent my
last moment. I know the stupidity of it. I am conscious of every moment and regret spending the
moment the way I did. That is crazy.

The Source of Pain

The bulk of humanity is in pain. When will we find a permanent solution to the pain? This pain is
related to matter. Matter is the source of pain. The body is the material source through which we
experience pain. The body is also a source of pleasure. The pleasures that arise from the body are
short-lived. The pain is long-lived.
We cannot deal with the pain successfully until we have transformed the nature of matter. Let me
illustrate this idea. I said that the body is the source of both pleasure and pain. We are willing to take
the pleasures that come out of the body, but we do not want the pain.

How can we deal with pain? Not certainly through painkillers which provide only temporary relief. We
have to find a permanent solution. We won't be able to end the pain until we have dealt with matter
itself. We must learn matter's nature, and then we must raise that nature to a higher dimension. So,
any loss of pain will coincide with the evolution of matter.

When matter sheds its negative nature, it sheds the properties that cause decay which is the source
of pain. So, the body will no longer be a source of pain when we reach a dimension where the body's
decay is stopped.

The Purpose of the Human Race

How can we evolve the body to a level of non-decay? We can do this by turning the body into finer
elements. If we turn the body into light, it transcends the boundaries of matter and enters into an
unlimited dimension.

The body's evolution should not stop with light but should continue to evolve into the dimensions of
air and then ultimately ether or "akash," in Sanskrit. Akash is a very fine vibration. Once we vibrate at
the level of the akash, we reach a tremendous speed and have the freedom of unbound nature. And
that is the purpose of the human race.

Time

Time affects matter more than it affects spirit. Spirit is timeless and unaffected by the ravages of time.
Like all matter, the body is a victim to time. Time causes the involuntary decay in aging of the body
without the body's permission. Time is tied to karmic law.

Ease

It is effortless to get anything done when one is at ease. You experience a situation more easily and
openly when you are not tense. There is a natural tendency to complication. The mind has an innate
need to introduce complication because the mind expects time to pass for actions to be completed.
The mind will think, 'It is impossible for anything to happen easily.' The mind fights ease because
when one is at ease, the mind disappears. The mind experiences the concept of ease as something
that threatens its survival. So the mind fights.

Ego

I have seen many spiritual people who are very, very poor. What I have found in common in all of
them is that they have a very strong ego. It is as if the only thing they have is their ego. These people
may not have next month's rent or have money for their current bills, but they have an ego, which
puzzles me.

Their ego is not consistent. Whenever they are threatened by situations that bring them to reality,
they stoop down and give up their ego and self-esteem to get things down. If they have to pay the
rent, they will beg, borrow or steal. Once the rent has been paid, their ego will shoot up to the moon.
This is what they have to perceive. Once they can see what they are doing, it is possible for them to
turn their life around.
Manifestation and Dreaming

Manifestation is just dreaming. There is a very close relationship between getting rich in a dream and
getting rich in reality. Both are dreams. You think that only the dream at night is unreal. But the reality
you experience in the waking state is also a dream. When you realize that, you are enlightened.

Now, what you might want to consider is how to dream in the waking state reality. How, say, you can
dream a house or a relationship or a job or whatever you want into your reality. Carlos Castaneda
talks about his master who taught him the art of dreaming. His master tells him, "Just start dreaming
and dreaming and dreaming to understand a great deal of the secret of the relationship between
matter and spirit." All that you need to do is to live in this dream state, even while you are awake.

How? Just remember the dream. You make your cells remember that you are living the dream. Or
say you are sitting at a dirty table eating breakfast. You may as well want a nicer table. And then you
see a servant bringing your breakfast. You look up and around and you see a magnificent French
crystal chandelier on the ceiling and paintings of famous contemporary artists all over the walls. While
you eat, you imagine yourself looking out the window and you see one of your gardeners working on
the grounds. So your dream of a mansion begins to take on form. And you begin to live your dream.

Learn to substitute the positive dream for the negative dream. This is very important

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