Simple practical weekly inspirations to improve various aspects of your thought patterns, emotions, habits and lifestyle.

A WORD, A THOUGHT, A QUESTION

October 10 is World Mental Health Day, and this year the WHO is partnering with many organizations around the world to explore mental health@work. Mental health is a lot more than the absence of illness—it is an intrinsic part of overall health and well-being, and with that comes the need to integrate it into primary health care around the world.&nbsp;Mental well-being is dependent on happiness, joy, and love. So, this month our authors and artists have gravitated to these themes. Renowned author, Dr. Abraham Verghese, talks about his latest novel, The Covenant of Water, and we hear from Frederick Arment, Ichak Adizes, Manish Kulkarni, Melissa Connelly, Jason Nutting, Brian Barnett, Josh Bulriss, Sara Bubber, and Elizabeth Denley. Daaji shares two gems with us—one on tenderness and love, and the other on the benefits of a meditative mind. Each article contributes to mental well-being in wonderful and diverse ways, and we are sure some of them will resonate with you.We would love to hear from you, so please share your letters and stories with us at contributions@heartfulnessmagazine.com.

October 2024 Edition

<h2 style="text-align:center;">YES, YOU CAN DO IT!</h2><h4 style="text-align:justify;">DAAJI explores the softer side of life and its benefits, drawing from Nature to illustrate why tenderness is a mature approach to life, self and relationships with others.</h4>&nbsp;Dear friends,These days there is a growing realization of the need to become more humane, tender, loving, and accepting in an increasingly changing and complex world.We can learn a lot about this from Nature; for example, the trees that grow tall, sturdy, and strong, like mahogany, oak, and acacia, cannot easily be cut. Yet, they do not provide us with bountiful fruit. Compare them with chikku and mango trees, whose branches bend easily in a breeze. Though their wood is soft, they yield delicious nourishing fruit. Softness is associated with yielding and sweetness in life.At the human level, we can observe how women are generally more loving and tender. It is their inherent nature, which has been bestowed lavishly on them. It is love that makes them tender, and this innate feeling keeps humanity alive. Come what may, they go through it all with love and acceptance.Without love, we struggle to become truly humane beings. Having only limited love in the heart, we invest it in a limited way, and miss out on the broader scheme that comes with letting it expand to become universal. So, the flow of the river of love remains stagnant in our own backyard.Now, what if we could ensure that this river of love reaches the ocean? Meditation is the key! Heart-based meditation nurtures the qualities of tenderness, softness and love. Even reading or saying these three gentle words melts our hearts. When love shines supreme in the meditative heart, whatsoever it touches is alchemized. Inwardly remaining meditative and externally remaining focused on our daily work and activities, our inner loving state transforms the very nature of the work we are doing.Even so-called emotional toxins are transformed when we are meditative. Greater understanding develops that can transform the toxins into nectar. The heart becomes like a prism, through which anything that passes becomes nectar.At times we can be drawn to respond to revenge with revenge, or anger with anger. No doubt, the energy arising out of anger is unique, and anger cannot be destroyed, but surely it can be transformed into compassion if we allow a few seconds to pause, reflect and apply understanding with wisdom. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten is an old saying that works! Instead of instinctively responding with anger, when we are in a state of love instinctively the response is colored with compassion. This is evolution.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Meditation is the key! Heart-based meditation nurtures the qualities of tenderness, softness and love.</h4><hr><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/tenderness2_29cff7d533.jpg" alt="tenderness2.jpg" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_tenderness2_29cff7d533.jpg 245w," sizes="100vw"></figure><h4>Compassion and love</h4>We can try to transform ourselves to become instinctively responsive with love and a smile, or with a little joke, instead of sarcasm and insults. This small exercise can help to change from strong emotions in the heat of an argument, to compassion and love instead.<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Imagine a scene or evoke a memory where you were arguing with someone and responded with anger, or if you hurt someone with harsh words. What was the outcome?</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Now imagine yourself in that same scene, thinking that the person is there with you.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">During the argument you realize it is not going to lead you anywhere and will disturb your consciousness for the rest of the day.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">You terminate it in the middle, perhaps saying “I am sorry” and taking a step back. Pause and take a deep breath, connecting with a state of love and tenderness. Choose the wiser option.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">To help reinforce a more loving response to similar situations, you can note it in your journal, even rehearsing it so that it becomes more natural.</li></ul><h4 style="text-align:justify;">Remove the physical effects</h4>Anger and fear can also affect the physical body, so releasing physical tension eases the inner body, emotions and thought flow. Try this simple relaxation method to allow the flow of softness and love.<ul><li style="text-align:justify;">Sit comfortably, gently closing your eyes.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Relax your hands and fingers, feeling the tension reducing.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Let your shoulders drop.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Bring your awareness to your face, dropping your jaw and relaxing your mouth.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Feel all your facial muscles softening.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">Allow your breathing to naturally slow down.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">With each breath your mind is relaxing and letting go.</li><li style="text-align:justify;">When you are ready, slowly open your eyes.</li></ul>I recall advice once given by an associate to another who had been disturbed by negative gossip. Softly and gently, he said, “We must treat each other with tenderness and care.” So simple, universal, and profound in its application.Wishing you all the best, Daaji

On tenderness, softness, and love

The Covenant of Water

<h3 style="text-align:center;">EDITOR’S BOOK AND FILM REVIEW</h3><h4 style="text-align:justify;">ELIZABETH DENLEY reviews the book, Amphibious Soul, and describes how Craig Foster’s experiences in the natural world, particularly the southern oceans off the tip of South Africa, helped her to understand aspects of her own life that can now be integrated into her soul’s journey.</h4>Recently I read Amphibious Soul by Craig Foster, the creator of the Oscar-winning documentary, My Octopus Teacher. I loved that film, having grown up next to the ocean in Australia and worked as a marine ecologist through my twenties. Foster’s story spoke directly to my own experiences with sea creatures and the beauty of the natural world. Like Foster, I had explored both land and sea ecosystems, loved the wild flow of nature, and felt boxed in by city life and the concrete jungle.I studied zoology, botany, and marine ecosystems at university, using a very practical experimental approach. I was energized by working in the field and by the scientific process of discovering patterns in the distribution and abundance of plants and animals, until one day that was no longer enough. I felt stuck in a particular worldview and wanted to break free. The scientific approach treated living creatures in a mechanistic way, and I needed to complement that with something more subtle and beautiful to truly satisfy a deep yearning to understand the natural world.When I turned my back on a career in ecology, little did I realize how important that phase of my life would turn out to be. And Craig Foster’s film and book were catalysts that helped me honor it and tie it all together.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Instead of the focus just being on external knowledge,&nbsp; I also found an awareness of insight, direct perception, intuition, communion, and learning by osmosis.</h4><hr>That is the beauty of non-fiction books and documentaries. The experiences and expression of another person can resonate and inspire, teach and give solace. Foster’s way of experiencing the world resonated so deeply with mine, that it allowed me to understand my younger self and move forward.But that is not all. My time studying ecosystems was not just about the data I collected in the field for scientific studies. Most days I was out on seashores, in kelp forests, helping associates with their fieldwork in the rainforest, on coral reefs, tracking whale migrations and bird migrations. Sometimes I would look at the animals and plants we were studying and ask, “While we are studying you, what do you think of us?” There was a genuine communion at some level, and that’s when I knew there was something more than statistical data and morphological descriptions. As a child, my favorite trees were dear friends, and dolphins were playmates, and I didn’t want to lose that connection.Five years later I discovered the spiritual practice known as Heartfulness, and immediately a light went on. Here was a method of discovery that held many missing pieces of the puzzle. Instead of the focus just being on external knowledge, I also found an awareness of insight, direct perception, intuition, communion, and learning by osmosis. It was a lifeline, literally. I felt truly alive for the first time in years, and became hopeful that this would bring the answers I needed so much at that time. It was as if a deep search for meaning was directing my life without my conscious involvement. I also knew from the beginning that spirituality would take me to realms way beyond this visible world, and that is a story more important than this one, but for another day.Looking back, I realize that all the fieldwork, the rigorous training and discipline of the scientific method, the refining of observational skills, the honing of an inquiring mind, and the mentoring of my teachers were just what I needed to embark on a spiritual journey. I had been very well trained. Not only that, but being in nature all those years allowed me to be at peace with the simplicity and dynamic flow of the natural world. I could love the Deodar tree in our front garden as much as a person or a frog or a colony of fire ants. The sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets were living beings worthy of love and respect, and in the bush our lives often depended upon them. Water was a living being, so was air and fragrance and the lifeforce that rose out of the Earth in the springtime. And they all communicated and listened. They all offered love and rejoiced in receiving it.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/ropes_to_god2_2d286220cc.jpg" alt="ropes-to-god2.jpg" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_ropes_to_god2_2d286220cc.jpg 199w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_ropes_to_god2_2d286220cc.jpg 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_ropes_to_god2_2d286220cc.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;When I read Amphibious Soul, another light went on, because Foster’s writing is so in tune with spirituality. At one point he says, “The tame world can distort our priorities, leading us to place too much importance on gratifying our egos. In the wild world, no one individual is more important than any other. When a San hunter brings a big animal home to feed the village, the people tease him: ‘Why did you even bother? Why’d you bring us this old bag of bones?’ They do this because they know the ego is a dangerous thing. They’ve had thousands of years to see how placing some people above others creates envy, jealousy, greed. And when our tame-world egos and desires grow too big, we begin to fight with one another and we devour our own home, our Mother, our sanctuary.”Spending time in nature keeps us in a state of surrender, because we are part of an ecosystem, we are not separate beings. The survival of each individual is dependent on the whole system. Humility develops naturally because we are such small specks in a vast universe. It is ridiculous to see ourselves as important when life is thriving all around, and when every species has its own specialty that we don’t have. We may have created the illusion of separateness in our glamorous houses, cars, and airplanes, but without the natural world we have no air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, or shelter to protect us.&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Spending time in nature keeps us in a state of surrender, because we are part of an ecosystem, we are not separate beings.</h4><hr>Also, our original state is to love the world, to feel her heart in everything. The ancients honored her in small but meaningful ways, like ritual offerings to the sun, with water, with fire, with earth, acknowledging the spirit of the universe. Many villagers still do the same today. We may smile at their quaintness, but deep down many of us feel the reverence of lighting a candle to our ancestors, or to whatever form of Creator we adore, even when our deity is materiality. And most of us feel refreshed in nature, because we feel the connection with the lifeforce all around us.The tagline to Foster’s book is “Finding the wild in a tame world.” Think of wild as God’s creation and tame as human creation. Which feels correct? The spiritual journey is all about removing our limited human creation to allow God’s creation to shine from within. Foster’s chapter on Love starts with, “Close your eyes and take a deep breath. As you breath in and out, take note of what you hear. Maybe it’s the sound of cars zooming past, your neighbor mowing the lawn, a plane soaring overhead. Reflect, too, on what you saw before you closed your eyes… Reflect for a moment on just how new the tame world is, how different it is from what thousands and thousands of your ancestors would have seen when they looked around them, what they would have heard. Now take a moment to experience the world as they might have. Can you see in your mind’s eye this wild world?”Nature teaches us about kinship, belonging, listening, taking only what we truly need, accepting discomfort, and respecting the roles of others, because without those things we do not survive in nature. The more we separate ourselves, the less we depend on those qualities and the further we stray from our natural humility and dependency.Thanks to Craig Foster’s beautiful documentary and book, I now see my childhood and scientific training as a wonderful preparation for the spiritual journey I embarked upon in my early thirties, which continues to sustain me beyond any possible imagining in deeper and greater ways.A lifetime has taught me that science and spirituality are not at odds. At one point I needed to create a separation in order to let go of paradigms that limited my consciousness and expand my worldview, but eventually the various pieces of the puzzle needed to be integrated. I am truly grateful that life has offered that possibility. Nature and God are complementary and interchangeable aspects of the lifeforce, and my soul is here in joy and gratitude to celebrate both and experience life in its purity.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Nature teaches us about kinship, belonging, listening, taking only what we truly need,&nbsp; accepting discomfort, and respecting the roles of others,&nbsp; because without those things we do not survive in nature. &nbsp;The more we separate ourselves, the less we depend on those qualities and the further we stray from our natural humility and dependency.</h4><hr><h4 style="text-align:justify;">Exercise</h4>Foster shares the following San practice called “Ropes to God.”“You go outside in the morning and a bird lands in a nearby tree. You make a thread to that bird, just a gentle feeling of connection, acknowledging the birds’ presence and its place in the world. Then you see &nbsp;a small insect climbing a branch. You make a thread to it. ‘I see you insect. I’m grateful for what you do for our world.’“You do this with all the animals and plants you see, building these spider threads of connection and love. Then one day the threads weave together and form a rope, a conduit to the source of all life.”&nbsp;<img class="image_resized" style="width:75%;" src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/ropes_to_god3_c1bc32eac6.jpg" alt="ropes-to-god3.jpg" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_ropes_to_god3_c1bc32eac6.jpg 235w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_ropes_to_god3_c1bc32eac6.jpg 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_ropes_to_god3_c1bc32eac6.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw">

Ropes to God

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The difference between trust and respect

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">MELISSA CONNELLY is an author and therapist. Her recent novel, What Was Lost, explores trauma and redemption, risk taking and self-care, shame and acceptance. Here she shares her experience as a new writer and the importance of sharing story.</h4>&nbsp;My novel, What Was Lost, concerns two traumatic events in the main protagonist's life: Marti is disfigured by an accident when she’s seven years old, and at age fourteen her art teacher grooms and sexually abuses her, leading to a pregnancy. It’s a dark, disturbing journey for Marti as she confronts her history.I’ve worked as a child therapist, but I’m no expert on trauma, any more than anyone else is. As Marti says, “Everyone has their own trauma.” No one gets through life unscarred. Of course, there are degrees; some people suffer and survive inconceivable tragedies and heartbreaks repeatedly throughout their lives. Others seem beaten down by the smallest of occurrences. We sometimes call these people complainers. But there’s no reason to judge someone’s inability to get back up. Even if what’s upsetting them seems minor to us, it’s their reality; they feel what they feel. Some crumble whereas others rise. It could be because of a history of neglect, abuse, or early childhood trauma. Or it could be their chemical makeup. People can be blessed with resiliency, and others not so much. Feel lucky if you have grit; it's a kind of hell without it.One thing my own experiences have taught me is that just like we’re doomed to repeat history if we don’t learn from it, we’re doomed to live in trauma if we don’t confront it. It can be too much to deal with initially, and sometimes we’re given the grace of shock for a while. But eventually it needs to be faced or it will linger in some deep, musty corner of your core and come out and smack you when you least expect it.Marti tries to lessen her trauma’s impact by replicating the experience through dangerous choices she makes. This is common among sexual abuse victims: “It’s okay. Didn’t affect me. See? I did it again!” She also tries to stay with her abuser. She does this because her shame is so great that she feels safe only with him. As contrary as this seems, it’s common among victims. It’s why sexual and physical abusers are often let off the hook. She stayed with him, so it couldn't be that bad.I’ve lived through traumatic events in my life and one of the ways I coped was to talk about the experience. The more I shared every single, perhaps hard-to-hear, little detail, the more my hurt dissipated. But Marti doesn’t have that luxury. She feels complicit in her abuse. Shame births the secret, and that secret shame is how perpetrators get away with their actions.Someone said to me, “Your memoir is coming out?” I corrected them, “No it's a novel.” They responded, “It’s autobiographical though, right? Aren’t all first novels?” I've received many comments like that, and have felt a strong urge to correct them. There are some parallels in my life to Marti’s—I left home and high school very young, just as Marti does. But her story isn’t mine; I wasn’t sexually abused by a teacher at fourteen.I wanted to correct this impression because I felt Marti’s shame. This realization made me sad and a little disappointed in myself. After all, I wrote the story to show there’s no shame in it. My discomfort gives me a small taste of what it’s like to walk in her shoes and now I feel a greater need to defend Marti.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Writing is cathartic even when it isn’t your story,&nbsp; because in some ways it always is.&nbsp; It's the human story.</h4><hr>My defense is both arrogant and unnecessary; Marti defends herself just fine. After burying her experiences for thirty long years, she faces them. She grows from victim to survivor. And now that Marti is launched in the world, I need to go on my own journey of acceptance, by allowing people to assume it’s my story. I wrote it and so I own it.&nbsp;I’m growing alongside Marti into a new understanding of the issues I wrote about—and of myself—as I advocate for the troubling, unsettling book I’ve written. Writing is cathartic even when it isn’t your story, because in some ways it always is. It's the human story.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:25%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/writer_transference2_51e2a259a4.jpg" alt="writer-transference2.jpg" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_writer_transference2_51e2a259a4.jpg 101w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_writer_transference2_51e2a259a4.jpg 323w," sizes="100vw"></figure>

writer-transference.jpg

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">The Master Yoga exhibition, held at UNESCO House in Paris from June 14 to 21, 2024, marked the 10th anniversary of International Day of Yoga proclaimed by the United Nations. Organized by the "Yoga for Unity" collective under the aegis of the Heartfulness Institute, the event brought together around twenty partner organizations and thirty renowned teachers. CLAIRE BIGAND was the exhibition coordinator, and here shares an overview of the week-long celebration.&nbsp;</h4>&nbsp;The visual exhibition covered an area of 600 square meters and attracted over 5,000 visitors. Visitors were able to explore the various philosophies, histories, and fundamental texts of yoga, reflecting the plurality of practices, through richly documented and illustrated panels.A full program of lectures, meditation workshops and yoga sessions, led by different schools, was on offer, and this varied approach gave the exhibition a creative, immersive, and educational dimension, captivating a large audience with a passion for the spiritual and physical disciplines of yoga.Interviews with top sportspeople explained how they practice yoga in their quest for performance, with testimonials from free diver, Alice Modolo; Anne Lejot, who works with players at Lens football club; and footballer Ada Hegerberg.A projection area also featured an interview with Daaji, spiritual guide and leader of the Heartfulness movement, an extract from the documentary film Respire by Stéphane Haskell, and a teaser for Brighter Minds, an innovative educational program aimed at developing children's cognitive and emotional capacities.These elements enriched visitors’ experience by offering a variety of perspectives on the impact of yoga in different areas and on different personalities.At the heart of the exhibition, a statue of the Great Master Babuji guided visitors into the meditation bubble built from recycled materials, including bed slats. This unique space welcomed passers-by with Heartfulness Relaxation sessions, offering a haven of peace and rejuvenation.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Babuji_8f74f392b3.webp" alt="Babuji.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_Babuji_8f74f392b3.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_Babuji_8f74f392b3.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Babuji_8f74f392b3.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Meditation_space_7c01d646a1.webp" alt="Meditation space.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_Meditation_space_7c01d646a1.webp 145w, https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_Meditation_space_7c01d646a1.webp 1000w, https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Meditation_space_7c01d646a1.webp 2000w" sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;A wheel of postures was designed to inspire children to practice yoga by imitating different animals. This fun and accessible activity was a big hit with the youngest visitors and their parents.The 8 pillars of Ashtanga yoga according to Patanjali were presented in an educational and structured way in a thematic panel. The aim was to provide visitors with an in-depth understanding of the fundamental principles that guide this age-old discipline.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Ashtanga_Yoga_d269938b38.webp" alt="Ashtanga Yoga.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_Ashtanga_Yoga_d269938b38.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_Ashtanga_Yoga_d269938b38.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Ashtanga_Yoga_d269938b38.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;Jocelyne Capuano from the Viniyoga Foundation said, “A wonderful tribute to yoga, presenting its very essence and its origins, which are little-known to most people, and above all giving it a place in the future for and by future generations.”June 14 saw the launch of Master Yoga at UNESCO House in Paris. It was a wonderful evening hosted by Guila Clara Kessous, UNESCO Artist for Peace, bringing together the partners, sponsors, presenters, and volunteers, without whom the exhibition would not have been possible.Among those who shared their thoughts with the guests were H.E. Vishal V. Sharma, Ambassador of the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO; Gabriela Ramos, assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences; Vera El Khoury Lacoeuilhe, Chair of the Executive Board UNESCO; Alain Desvigne, President of the Heartfulness Institute; Paule Porruncini, President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission France; and Pierre Ravan, musician.Alain Desvigne said, “Yoga permeates every aspect and dimension of our lives when we commit ourselves to it wholeheartedly and with intensity. Everything we think, everything we do, everything we are and, ultimately, everything we become is yoga... Thanks to the daily practice of yoga, changes in consciousness occur, so that our perception of and interaction with the world around us change.“And where do these changes take us? Ultimately, they increase our desire to co-create a paradise here and now, rather than waiting for it or dreaming about it after we die. This is the main reason why we chose UNESCO for this unique experiential exhibition.”The afternoon of Saturday June 15 was dedicated to little yogis. Teachers from the Viniyoga Foundation, Research for Yoga in Education (RYE), and Heartfulness Institute offered seven workshops combining stories and postures, mandalas, relaxation and breathing, and preparation for the illustration and writing competition. Children aged 3 to 18, accompanied by their parents, happily discovered yoga in a fun and festive atmosphere. The day ended with the prize-giving ceremony for the competition, presided over by dignitaries including Natasha St. Pier, Stéphane Haskell, Guila Clara Kessous, and Catherine Dumesnil.The Brighter Minds method for children was presented in a film shown several times during the exhibition, enabling many people to discover it. A primary school at the Quai d'Orsay took part in a discovery workshop led by Brighter Minds teacher Alicia Fest Kindler, and the students and teachers greatly appreciated the demonstration.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Sports_round_table_888a9aef45.webp" alt="Sports round table.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_Sports_round_table_888a9aef45.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_Sports_round_table_888a9aef45.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Sports_round_table_888a9aef45.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure>On June 18, top sportspeople and mental trainers came together, including &nbsp;Ophélie David, Camille Bruyas, Anne Lejot, Jean-Yves Ogier, and Karine Fontbonne. All testified to the benefits of the diverse practices of yoga, which are sometimes atypical in circles like football. Bernadette de Gasquet also shared her valuable experience of working with Olympic champions.On June 19, the Yoga, Leadership and Governance Masterclass took place. The participants were invited on a journey to discover yoga as a path to true leadership, through the expertise, testimonies and practical experiences shared by an inspiring panel of business leaders, political leaders, leadership consultants, and yoga practitioners, in interaction with the audience. The participants will have the opportunity to continue their exploration through workshops at the Heartfulness Center in Paris in the coming months.Cine-meditation is a concept developed by Heartfulness over the last ten years: offering a free 20-minute relaxation-meditation session before or after an inspirational film. Heartfulness has had the great pleasure and privilege of working with Stéphane Haskell for several years. Stéphane generously presented his film Debout, which was screened on June 20, followed by a great question-and-answer session.June 21, International Day of Yoga, was marked by a formal session of inspiring and committed talks. Present were H.E. Madam Simona Mirela Miculescu, President of the General Conference, UNESCO; Madam Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director General for Education, UNESCO; H.E. Mister Vishal V. Sharma, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of India to UNESCO; and Madam Fumiko Ohinata, Secretary of the 2003 Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage, UNESCO.To finish the exhibition in style, in the evening, musician and DJ Pierre Ravan and musician Habib Meftha thrilled us with a mix of house music, traditional instruments, and a meditative pause that deeply moved a captivated and receptive audience. It was an authentic experience that will live long in the memory.See more at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SCNBdXaF_Q<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Music_and_dance_02d9fa510b.webp" alt="Music and dance.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_Music_and_dance_02d9fa510b.webp 145w, https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_Music_and_dance_02d9fa510b.webp 1000w, https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Music_and_dance_02d9fa510b.webp 2000w" sizes="100vw"></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Music_f215f612ec.webp" alt="Music.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_Music_f215f612ec.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_Music_f215f612ec.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Music_f215f612ec.webp 2000w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Photographs courtesy of HEARTFULNESS INSTITUTE</h4><hr>

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Master Yoga 2024, UNESCO Paris

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">SWAMI MUKUNDANANDA shares his thoughts on the responsibility of each one of us to bring about change in the world, and the need to create a culture that is based on tolerance, inclusiveness, wisdom, and inner cultivation.</h4>&nbsp;All of us, as members of one human race inhabiting our planet Earth, have the combined responsibility of ensuring peace at the world level. Yet even though we realize this noble and cherished goal, it still remains elusive.In the last 5,000 years of recorded human history, at least 5,000 wars have been fought. The worst of these came to an end in 1945 when unitedly the world realized the need for world peace and established the United Nations. Yet, despite that, wars have continued.&nbsp;The world is not an indivisible entity; but it is constituted of individuals like you and me. World peace comes through peaceful pieces. When each piece is peaceful, it will ensure world peace.&nbsp;Is it possible to achieve a peace that is independent of externals—that will be retained despite adversities, that nobody can snatch away from us? It is possible, and it is what the ancient books of wisdom have taught us. They say peace has to be discovered inside, within your mind.This mind is bondage, and the cause of liberation. The mind is such a powerful thing: it can make heaven in hellish circumstances; and in the most celestial circumstances, you can experience the torments of hell. That is why this mind is the key to peace.There was once a businessman in Hyderabad who wanted to become detached, so he left his home and work to live in the Himalayas. He went to a monastery where he was given a hut, and there he started a spiritual practice. He&nbsp;had reached a reasonable level of proficiency when the monsoon came, and along with the rain came the sounds of nature—the frogs and the crickets were making merry. The man was disturbed while sitting in meditation, and when his tolerance was exhausted, he opened the window and screamed, “Silence!”Now, because his spiritual practice&nbsp;had reached such a level, Nature also listened when he spoke, and so the frogs and crickets became quiet. He went back to his meditation, but discovered that he was still not able to meditate. Another voice was disturbing him, and this time it was from inside him. The voice of his conscience was saying, “What I did, was it right?” No matter how much he tried, he was unable to silence it. So finally, he again opened the window and said, “Begin!” The frogs and the crickets all resumed making a racket. He went back to meditation and this time found perfect peace, the peace from within him.That peace is irrespective of externals, and that peace nobody can take away from us. So, the mind is such a powerful instrument. We need to purify it. The essence of spirituality is the purification of the mind. And how do you purify the mind? By attaching the mind to the all-pure, to the Supreme. When we were little children, we heard the phrase, “No God, no peace.” Where there is no God, there is no peace. And “Know God, know peace.” When you come to know God, you will come to know peace. So, when we attach our mind to the all-pure, we will achieve purity of mind. And that purity of mind will help us achieve true peace.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/crossroads_modernisation2_8cb26f570a.webp" alt="crossroads-modernisation2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_crossroads_modernisation2_8cb26f570a.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_crossroads_modernisation2_8cb26f570a.webp 322w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/crossroads_modernisation2_8cb26f570a.webp 322w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">When we attach our mind to&nbsp;the all-pure,&nbsp; we will achieve purity of mind.&nbsp; And that purity of mind will help us achieve true peace.</h4><hr>Today, India is at a juncture, the crossroads of modernization. We are the fifth largest economy, soon to become the third largest. We are destined to take our place on the world stage. And, as a world leader, we will soon become a thought leader of the world as well.India has a heritage of tolerance, inclusiveness, wisdom, and inner cultivation. Two and a half thousand years ago, Jagadguru Shankaracharya, asked the question, “Jagat jitam kena?”, meaning, who shall conquer the world? And the answer he gave was, “Mano hi yena,” meaning, the person who conquers their own mind. So, if we wish to achieve peace, we need to declare war. Not a war fought on the outside, but a war fought within ourselves—the war against the demons lying within ourselves.Excerpt from a talk given at the Global Spirituality Mahotsav 2024

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The crossroads of modernization

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">DR. JOSEPH HOWELL is the founder of The Institute for Conscious Being in the US. During his keynote address at the Global Spirituality Mahotsav, he guided the audience through an exercise to help them find spiritual connection by connecting to their inner child.&nbsp;</h4>&nbsp;For a moment, if you will do this for me:Gently close your eyes and picture in your mind’s eye the home, the dwelling, the apartment, the house in which you spent the earliest part of your life. &nbsp;Now, look at that dwelling. You were one year old, two years old, three years old, maybe four. And as you look at it, look at the windows and the doors, look at the colors.&nbsp;Now, look at where you played the most. Was it on the grass, was it in a playground, was it in your private garden, was it in the common area of an apartment building?&nbsp;As you picture this in your mind, look at the little being who is you, playing in those places. Look at that beautiful little child with expressive eyes, with excitement, with tenderness, with vulnerability, with awe, with surprise, and only two wishes: to love and to be loved. Hold me and let me hold you. This little child with those beautiful eyes is sitting in the playground or the yard or the garden, full of hope for what life is to be. And the child radiates that hope.&nbsp;Sadly, that little child—our soul child—has to go under a crust because the demands and harshness and woundings of this world will not allow that precious innocence to survive in all its purity. So, by age five or six, sometimes seven, we have put on a layer of protection, and it is called the ego. We must have an ego. It gives us a way to move through the world. It gives us protection from the wounds that our little vulnerable self could not bear.&nbsp;And as that child grows, the ego grows with it, with you and me. At one point, we became a defensive personality that said to the world, “You can’t hurt me because I’m powerful, or because I’m okay, or because I’m right, or because I’m giving.” We decided what our ego-strategy was going to be.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/reconnecting_innerchild2_7c736705a1.webp" alt="reconnecting-innerchild2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_reconnecting_innerchild2_7c736705a1.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_reconnecting_innerchild2_7c736705a1.webp 492w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/reconnecting_innerchild2_7c736705a1.webp 492w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Put your hearts together, and let them beat in coherence. Join with your soul so that your life can face any shock point, and do it with dignity and compassion, and holy strength and holy faith.</h4><hr>Then, by midlife, and for some of us sooner, there was a shock point. That shock point took us into a land of pain and suffering, because we realized that the ego never did have a way to successfully block the pain, suffering, shame, anger, and alienation.&nbsp;When we were teenagers, we were searching for an identity. Instead of going back to our soul child, we found our identity in groups. And now, so many are finding their identity in social media. What a false self we are presenting for our children to embrace.&nbsp;What is it that we can be if we are not the ego? Who is it that we can be that brings hope again, that brings love again, that brings light again? The answer is our soul. The soul now has a purpose, a meaning, and a way, with the ego’s help, to be protected, because the ego can now serve the purpose of the soul.&nbsp;So, I’d like to tell you how to find the qualities of your soul again. Well, in my tradition, the great teacher Jesus Christ said, “You cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless you become as a little child.”&nbsp;In my opinion, we have to return to our first identity, which is our true nature. That’s found in the little being you saw in that yard or playground just a few minutes ago.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/reconnecting_innerchild3_db4df0c3e8.webp" alt="reconnecting-innerchild3.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_reconnecting_innerchild3_db4df0c3e8.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_reconnecting_innerchild3_db4df0c3e8.webp 800w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/reconnecting_innerchild3_db4df0c3e8.webp 800w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;Close your eyes again. I’d like for you to picture that child one more time. Look into her or his eyes. See the purity, the beauty, the willingness to love and be loved. Now feel the heart of that child. And now, if you will go to that child and sit by them, and put your arms around that little being. Put your hearts together, and let them beat in coherence. Join with your soul so that your life can face any shock point, and do it with dignity and compassion, and holy strength and holy faith.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Illustrations by LAKSHMI GADDAM</h4><hr>

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Reconnect with your inner child 