Chavah Aima

From LA Yoga Magazine, March 2010

The Sanskrit word guru has several meanings; the most common is teacher. Gu means darkness and ru is the light. The spiritual teacher referred to as a guru is one who can take away the darkness of ignorance and bring down the light of wisdom. Traditionally, the guru is someone who serves as a sacred conduit for spiritual force that she or he uses to guide others. However in modern times, and especially in the Western world, the word has become associated with anyone who acquires followers in virtually any field.

While there are many reliable spiritual teachers who are real gurus; there are also some false gurus and even good gurus who have lost their way. The student-teacher relationship with a guru can be highly rewarding, ideally resulting in the release of old habits and conditioning, and the establishment of greater awareness, success and happiness in life. For this process to be successful, the teacher must be a true guru, and the student must follow the guidance given. Discerning a true guru from a false one, however, is not always easy…

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From Kinetics Magazine, March 2010

“Do away with the old way of living and with the old self, which are corrupted by erroneous desires; and be renewed in the spirit of your soul,” Ephesians 4:22-23

As a planetary species, humanity has arrived at a critical crossroads. The times we are living in have been described in the ancient prophecies of many spiritual traditions. We are faced with a serious choice to either ignore the harm we see and witness further and irreversible damage, or take up our mantle of stewardship with each other, the earth and our Creator with renewed courage and commitment to a whole new way of life.

A Revolution of Consciousness

We must use our collective resources wisely, on every plane, to prepare a new way. To turn the tide from materialism toward spirituality requires a renewal of not only our lifestyle and culture, but a renewal of consciousness itself within each person. Wise people know that global systems are presently functioning in a way that is far too separate from the people they are meant to serve; too focused on material life, greed, and self-interests; and inherently limiting to individual personal expansion and harmonious life on earth, which is now at risk from these dysfunctional systems.  Read more

The philosophy that underlies all meaningful enlightenment methods is that of Unity or Oneness. Creation takes place upon the stage of manifestation, the lowest arc in the descent of divine energy. Consequently we experience a multitude of forms and images, and construct an endless array of mental concepts while we are engaged in incarnate life.

Form is an outcome of force, a congealing of energetic essence. By viewing the immense number of forms on the physical and astral planes, we begin to get some sense of the limitless light vibration that has created and endlessly continues to enter into all of these objects, images and ideas. Yet, we can never fully grasp the concept of this limitlessness with the limited human mind.

The purposes of the appearance of duality are many: spirit dances out the drama of life for the sake of experience and expansion, drama leads to opportunities to open the mind and heal the heart, duality can be used consciously and deliberately as a spiritual method to lead one into unity. This last idea - using duality as a mechanism to attain enlightenment - begins with a focus on our own form, the physical body. (more…)

Register early to save - Sacred Alchemy Retreat

Alchemy is a spiritual tradition that has many interpretations and applications for its wisdom. In outer alchemy, it is a science that depends upon the world of nature for the raw materials the alchemist uses for food and to create elixirs for healing and spiritual awakening. This approach stimulates the intellectual and reasoning powers of the alchemist. Outer alchemy requires the practitioner to physically take specific steps to attain each goal. By following the plan, and ingesting the right substances and foods, transmutations take place within the body-mind. These alchemical processes lead to balanced states of well being and enhanced spiritual awareness.

The symbolic language and images of Alchemy also use the world of nature to point to an inward process of spiritual transformation. The forces to be found therein are more subtle and potent than those used in outer alchemy. This inner alchemy draws upon mysticism, intuition, and imagination for its power to transform the human into the divine. These are the gifts of wonder that beckon one to rise above manifest nature and prepare to become one with the divine energy that holds it in creation. (more…)