Chavah Aima

I just returned from a trip from Colorado to Michigan. My flights took me through several airports in the Midwestern United States where I spent a few hours in between flights. Having a raw vegan diet, I know it is best to take food with me when I travel. I am also aware of the spiritual benefits that are derived from eating food that is sanctified by my own vibration, and not unconsciously prepared.

The vast majority of my fellow travelers in these middle-American airports appeared to be shockingly unhealthy. They were overweight and sick in a variety of ways; their bodies reflected the burdens of a toxic, world, overloaded with despair, separation and fear. I realized they were likely unaware of the subtle cultural and political forces that had beckoned them away from a natural, healthy life; exploiting their conditioned tendency to respond to everything but the eternal self. (more…)

I have been involved with many masters and teachers in a variety of spiritual traditions over the past 25 years, and have also been responsible for assisting hundreds of students during this time. Through this process I have learned much about the concept of authority.  For most people the idea of authority implies an unbalanced power dynamic wherein one person has capabilities or knowledge that the other does not. The one with greater knowledge in any specialized field typically holds a superior position in the relationship.

The dynamic of authority depends upon childhood dramas of powerlessness, during which most people have become conditioned to submit to all authorities. In most cultures, this conditioning is extreme enough to cause people to fear their own power. Being conditioned into the idea that one is powerless and must seek knowledge from a true authority inflicts a great deal of harm upon individuals, and keeps humanity as a whole operating at a lower level of consciousness. (more…)

Almost everyone has had at least a momentary experience of the meditative state, whether it was fully recognised as such or not. This state of consciousness brings a definite and blissful feeling of peace with oneself and the world. We can all remember at least one experience when we felt a moment or two of quietude and stillness of mind. For the spiritual seeker, these experiences are considered to be of great value in the quest, and s/he desires to attain them on a regular basis.

The ancient traditions of enlightenment insist that the ability to focus, concentrate, and quite the mind is critical to spiritual development. Yet, meditation is not the act of either concentrating or focusing the mind. Meditation is defined by esoteric practitioners as a “stream” or flow of consciousness that is always and endlessly in existence. By the practice of stilling the mind, we allow ourselves to experience the ultimate consciousness that underlies all of manifestation. We join our minds to this cosmic source whenever we limit the vibrations coming in from the outer levels of consciousness. (more…)

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…

Read the whole article

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…)