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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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…)

Phase One: 3 Day Juice Fast

Over the course of one to two weeks, gradually reduce the amount of cooked food you eat each day. You may begin by eating only a large raw salad at midday or evening. Next, replace your morning meal with all fruit, followed by the addition of raw vegetables for the remaining meal. You may also drink fresh organic juices.

When you have eaten raw food solely for three days, substitute a glass of freshly juiced organic vegetable juice for the midday salad. The next day, have fruit juice in the morning, drink vegetable juice at midday, and have the raw salad at night. You can also eat a little raw fruit or vegetables between meal times if you feel the need. Finally, replace the evening salad with another glass of freshly juiced vegetable juice.

At this point, you can take three to five glasses of juice daily. It is recommended that the majority of juice be vegetable, with smaller amounts of fruit juice being taken in the morning. Don’t forget to continue drinking pure living water too! You may also drink organic herbal teas. Meditate as much as possible – this is important every day, but especially during any type of fasting.

When you have taken only juices for three days, you may return to a combination of juice and raw foods. If you choose to add cooked food to your diet, make at least 50% of your diet raw, living food. From this time on, choose one day a week as a juice fast day. (more…)

Fasting is an advanced spiritual discipline that purifies the physical body, and creates increased awareness of the subtle spiritual force. This spiritual force is always present, though perceived in varying degrees by each person. Through the process of fasting, we re-focus the cellular consciousness of the body, and increase the life-force streaming within us. This increased light-flow brings a feeling of great bliss, lightness, and connection to sacred source. When done in the context of living an enlightened life, fasting speeds spiritual evolution, and ultimately shows us the truth of immortal life. (more…)

The world in which we live is filled with light and shadow, the side effects of manifestation. One may either be an unconscious participant in the shadow play, or a seeker of the light of higher consciousness. Every human being contains varying degrees of both qualities within themselves.

Your physical form, the body that you as consciousness inhabit, also contains a mixture of shadow and light. The same is true for your mental and emotional bodies, from wherein powerful thought-forms are created and played out in one’s life. These thought forms are the concepts and beliefs that guide one’s actions and define oneself. In this way, one’s life unfolds in accordance with these underlying ideas about what is true. (more…)