Its a hit!

So 2 months ago we gave making cheddar cheese a go. here is the blog from there.  "say cheese".

So today, to celebrate the arrival of my husbands brother, Alex, from the east coast we decided to dig in and see what its like.  and its AMAZING!

here are a couple of photos... the taste is not too strong. (we opened it up at the minimum time required - so i wouldn't call it "aged")  texture is good,  its flavorful, didnt get any diseases or mould or weird stuff going on.    i say its a huge success!... cant wait for this process to be a constant and normal part of Niwas life.

Clarity is King when Manifesting your Dreams.

Someone asked me last week if I would write a few words on being clear vs being cryptic with information around something you are attempting to manifest.

I believe there are 2 different perspectives to looking at this experience. They don’t contradict each other, they are synonymous, however, they do take different levels of consciousness to embody or act on.

The first perspective is from an individual living life, manifesting, and acting through the filters of karma. The second is what yogi's aspire too. Clarity vs. being cryptic through action comes down to the level of functioning of Manipura Chakra. This is the home of the present moment, shame, service, anger, contentment and action.

The individual’s paradigm of Manipura Chakra is to peak with personal power and personal wealth.We dream, we become discontent because we are not living that dream, we act towards the dream using our own will, we manifest what we wanted, we’re “happy” but usually only until the next aspiration or ‘want’ surfaces; then our discontent and the cycle of desire continues. This creates karma and does NOT bring a life of contentment but rather a life of continual craving and seeking to fulfill endless desires. In the West, the fulfillment of material desires typically defines success,. If the dream is not satisfied in the way we wish it to be, we get dismayed, throw a tantrum into regressive patterning (for example getting drunk) We see it as failure and give up on our dream.

Manifesting our dream is not magically going to take us out of suffering and make our life better. Self worth being built upon success in the 3^rd Dimension is like building castles on sand. As soon as we encounter difficulty it falls over. Our soul's gold (as opposed to self worth) is a life steeped in trust of the journey and the knowledge that we are always doing our best. This has the ability to witness difficulty and creatively solve issues as they arise. Because the problem and our worth are not synonymous.

There is, however, a higher purpose of Manipura Chakra and that is to live in service to THY will – thus leading to “non-doership”, and a life of surrendered contentment, rooted in trust. For example, each action of which we partake in is not done for its promise of a certain outcome to our liking, but as an offering with non-attachment to the outcome. We do not tell the Universe HOW to reach our goals, but rather trust that our goals will be met through our own hard work and effort when and if that goal is in the most high.

Both MY will and THY will are manifested and expressed through ACTION.

When our actions are clear they are steeped in power, Divine support (regardless of if it “succeeds” in 3D eyes). Cryptic action is steeped in shame and the fear of failure, which is the shadow side of Manipura's functioning. An example of unclear manifestation statement would be “I hope the universe manifests me a job that I love.” , state instead “I’m excited about manifesting a job that allows me to explore my love of creative writing. Universe show me where you need me!”

A yogi's manifestation in this reality is more a constant dialogue with the Divine rather than a bull headed dart to a desired outcome. We have a dream, this dream uplifts our spirit, we then need to act towards this dream.

But here is how the experiences differ. As yogi's we are taught to release “doership” and surrender to THY will. Doing this does not relinquish your dreams. Far from it, the Divine NEEDS you to dream. To dream love, to dream beauty, dream light into reality. But the dream is a portal into a conversation of what is THY will to be.

The dream, is the portal to conscious living. In my experience, it stems from intention of qualities rather than hard edged physical stuff. When your intention, your dream, is to embody a quality of compassion, or critical thinking, or kindness or problem solving, of service, then how this dream manifests itself is open to many options and angles.

So we dream, it starts with its quality, it then manifests in our mind how we think that it could make itself a reality; then we act. After the action we wait for a reply from the Divine. If yes... the energy will be there to proceed to the next stage, if the Divine does not support the path... the energy won’t be there for the next stage.

To only let manifest what is in the most high is a prerequisite conversation, one has with the Divine. “What is THY will?” Then the journey is to hone your senses of perception as to where the Universe needs to you to be in service.

When we aspire to THY will, this is Dharma; our destiny. This is how the Divine speaks. We cannot get hung up on how WE think it “should” look like in this 3D reality. Instead we move back and forth from the quality, to the action, then check in, to the quality, to the action. Always looking, checking, enquiring, listening to where the universe is going to support your growth.
Once you have dreamed and you know the qualities you are aspiring to manifest. Act, take a step with clarity. Then listen, and surrender and let the Divine show you how it can create something amazing through you.

When following this path, by the time our dream has manifested, we are no longer interested in its 3D rewards. The process shows us that the feeling of connection, communication, being a medium for THY will and being intimately in conversation with the Divine is in fact, living the dream. 

This weeks Ity is.....

So last week our Ity was Simplicity.  In some ways this was fairly easy for me, as we live a fairly "simple" life here at Niwas.  Until the water pipe froze, and outwardly it seemed to get complicated, and yet,  there was a part of me that said. "You lived for 5 months with no running water.  Just do that again."  and my internal response to the problem seemed again to be inwardly - simple.  Even if the outside needs extra planning, extra actions, and complicated organization of getting water bottles etc.

It seems to me, that a mind of Simplicity dose not denote that life is uneventful.  But it does seem to me to parallel with the teaching of Non-doer-ship.  To identify with doing an action is to create karma,  to perform that action with the attitude of non-doer-ship, to be a medium for the Divine, (to the best of your ability) really takes the pressure off the "success/failure" paradigm that the ego likes to bind itself too.  When things go sideways from an outside perspective, we then look for the blessing, see the experience as a gift.  and then let go to the perfection in the moment...  for it is not us doing this after all. This pattern of relation to situations is indeed, Simple.

So this weeks Ity. is...... Nobility.

Sivananda's Definition is... NOBILITY

"Shun mean-mindedness as dung and poison. Never look into the defects of others. Always appreciate the good qualities of everyone. Be dignified in bearing. Never stoop to ignoble thoughts, words and actions."

Here we go!

Please comment below on either your experience of simplicity or thoughts on nobility below!

Vak It - Words To Change Your Life

If we realized the amount of power we yield as a humans, that every word we ever think, let alone speak, forms ripples that create our reality, hopefully, we would stop talking the amount of garbage we do.

Our 3D reality birth is through the portal of Swadhisthana chakra. It is through the waters that we come screaming into this world. Swadhisthana is the home of emotion, the right to feel. These feelings, conscious and unconscious, are the waves upon which we filter our perception of reality; being highly emotional, leads to big waves. No one can see the clear picture of the reflected moon when the water is too choppy. Embodying equanimity and transcending the pull of emotional reactions allows the water to calm.

This does not mean you do not have emotions, or express them, it means you allow them to flow from the perspective of the witness.  This enables you to clearly see the reflection of the moon (the mind) and accurately discern this 3D reality we are born into. It is our identification of these emotions as real that creates the waves that distorts our perception of truth and makes our reality.

Swadhisthana has a twin, a mirror, Vishuddhi chakra, the throat, which is the portal into the 5D reality. All portals reflect one another. This is why the practice of mantra is so important. Mantra purifies and refines the frequencies of the mind, through the portal of words, both mentally and verbally, which in turn purifies the portal of the emotions. It's as though the Sanskrit words used in mantra are a flush of clean steam, that then condense into water and aid in the purification of our emotions.  What is happening in one centre of perception is mirrored in the other. 

Vak, translated as 'fine speech', is the boon to be able to speak things into manifestation. That means: what you speak, you manifest. The higher frequency of vibration you can embody the faster and clearer your words will become manifest. This is why it is experienced so often as yogic masters say something, and boom, there it is! For those of us who not embody that higher frequency, it still happens (but luckily) with less punch, and more time delays. It is extremely important however to well work the muscle of speech- manifestation before you get to the mastery stage.

As I write this I am frustrated that we choose to be so careless with our words. We profess unconditional love, rainbows and intentions in one sentence, only to spew how we hate someone we have never met in the next. We use our language passive aggressively, thinking that it is non violent. I disagree - it is violent.

Here are some “key” words to avoid when we choose to more consciously communicate at higher vibrations. Over time I have watched my own experience of matching my choice of words, with the filter of my feelings at that time. Upon reflection, if I’m upset, even though I may seem happy to the outside world, my words reflect the true perspective I’m functioning from. We never speak violently to ourselves or others when we are in a true state of love.

Should. Anytime you feel the need to say to yourself or someone else that they “should” be doing something... Stop. And ask yourself, “Who am I to proclaim that someone should do something? Can I see their karma? Their dharma? Do I fully understand why the other person is acting in this way? Am I coming from a place of judgment to the current situation?” Chances are, if you really do understand and see a situation from a high vibration perspective, should won’t be how you phrase your advice. If you need to use should you may benefit by checking your own motives.

Just. Just is a word people like to describe one thing, and one thing only; their own discontentment. When manipura chakra is out of balance, and discontentment is clouding how we see the current moment, not as the gift it is, (that’s why it’s called the present) but as something less than perfect, then we come to just. For example “if I could JUST have this, I would be happy” “If you could JUST stop doing that I wouldn’t get so angry” JUST means you’re not looking at your own part in your discontentment, instead you are trying to project it onto something outside of yourself.

Struggle. So many people describe their situation as “I’m struggling with...” and my answer is always the same. “Well of course you are...” If your perspective is that you’re struggling, then there’s little hope. Struggling is like drowning, you’re all but given up and you’re looking for someone else to swoop in and save you.

What if, instead of struggling, you were challenged? To be challenged by a situation that is causing you discomfort, means you have not given up. It means you’re rolling up your sleeves and you’re going for it. There’s success, a transformation, an opening within reach. Changing this one little word, from struggle to challenge is a small and easy way to shift an overwhelming problem into an opportunity for growth.

Can't. It’s simple, if you say you can't, then you won't. Evolution does not happen if you don’t get out of your own way and be open to ‘what if?’ Can’t, stops the flow of energy regardless what the topic is. “I can't understand” at a higher vibration becomes “I would like to understand but its challenging me”. “I can’t do that” becomes “I don’t currently see how that would work, but I’m open to possibilities”.

But. A lot of manifestation and communication is about flow. Flow is something you might not always be able to see, but every word you say definitely guides, aids or hinders the process. In a conversation saying “but” completely negates whatever the other person has just said, and implies that you are right. Many times it has the air of: “I’m not actually digesting or hearing what you’re saying, because I want to put my opinion to you again so you can agree”.

When we turn “but” into “and”, there is flow. And, does not negate what has already been offered, it simply adds and offers more, or something different into the mix so the flow can continue.

Suffer. Pain is a part of life, suffering is optional. To speak about yourself as suffering will only prolong the experience deemed unpleasant. “I’m suffering from a cold” says that it’s you against the cold and the cold is winning. But what if a cold was a gift of purification for higher knowledge? (the sinuses – ajna chakra) Would you interact with the experience differently? Yes, you may be uncomfortable, but to suffer, is to miss the point.

If we are interested in evolving, then we need to up our game, not just on our yoga mat, but in our life. We need to be able to give ourselves every opportunity to bring in and embody as much light as possible. To bring more awareness to the words we speak, and to speak what we truly want to manifest, will allow us to make leaps and bounds towards embodying the beings we truly are. Amazing.

Watch how you feel and own how you feel. Don’t project it to be someone else’s problem. Manifest the life you want with your thoughts and From this place speak your truth.Your reality will change, like magic.

An Ity bit of effort goes a long way...

Well here we are for the 1st January 2014.  And while i'm a fan of resolutions/sankalpas I think its all too easy to say you will do something, and not follow through.   I, you, we all need accountability to help us stay the course and follow through on something.  So you, this blog, is my accountability for my sankalpa.

This year I thought it would be great to take a journey through Sw. Sivananda's 18 Ities starting with today, and having a new one every week until i'm through all 18.  You too are welcome to join me, in fact, it would be great to compare notes at the end of the week (Wednesdays) to see what our experience is.  After all, its not about getting something right or wrong in your life, its about bringing more awareness to qualities that can aid us in our development as humans, as evolving souls.

So i have a set of Ities, much like angel cards.  and this week I have pulled SIMPLICITY.

Simplicity, to me, is about paring down an intention, an experience, until all that is left is what is really important.  Most of the time what is important to start with isn't what we think it is when we start.

It can mean being more present, in the moment,  only doing one task at a time.  (hard for a mama sometimes).
It can mean pulling out the quality in a task (kindness, compassion, honest...) and putting all our energy into fulfilling that quality. Watching in the process how many of the actions we thought that task needed just melt away...

Ive often watched at how the mandates of spiritual life simplify as we walk further down the road.  We start with all these techniques, ideas... only to find that to SERVE, LOVE, GIVE is the way.  It simply is that...  not saying that it is always easy.  but it is simple.

Do you make tasks more difficult, more complicated than they need to be?  for one week, can we shine a light on it? make new choices and see what happens?

So heres to a week of simplicity.  Simple eating, simple actions, simple intentions...