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

A WORD, A THOUGHT, A QUESTION

Welcome to our first edition for 2025! This year, we'll be sharing with you a really dynamic approach to consciousness and the practices that support consciousness, starting with the powerful practice of prayer.We have a great line-up of contributors this month, including Daaji, Lynne McTaggart, Christianna Deichmann, Sanjay and Kyle Rajagopalan, Sarala Upadhya, Bhavna Khemlani, Megha Bajaj, V. Ramakantha, Saravanan Subramaniam, Alain Desvigne, Sulochana Santhosh, and Sara Bubber.We would love to hear from you, so please share your letters, articles, and stories with us at contributions@heartfulnessmagazine.com.

January 2025 Edition

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">In the first episode for 2025 on spiritual practices, DAAJI offers us an inspiring and scientific explanation of prayer and its importance on the inner journey. He demystifies prayer by going beyond the religious connotations to its true purpose and the benefits it offers us as a means of evolution.</h4>&nbsp;We offer prayer for many reasons: to repent for wrongs done, to reflect on defects and shortcomings, to resolve to do better, to seek help, and to find meaning through repeated reflection and contemplation. Ultimately, prayer is a very intimate way of connecting, communing, and communicating beyond this world. Prayer attracts the flow of the divine current, and in that flow a state of osmosis and oneness prevails. It immerses us in the love that is eternally springing forth from the Divine. In fact, Babuji once said that prayer is the most important and unfailing method for spiritual progress.&nbsp;So, prayer is not only asking for help, favors or gifts—in fact, that generally happens when circumstances are dire, when we have exhausted our own resources and have nowhere else to turn. Most of the time, prayer asks for nothing, rather, it gently directs the heart’s energies toward the Divine, and dissolves worries and wishes into an all-encompassing universal oneness—like small streams converging into a mighty river that flows into the vast ocean. As life’s worldly concerns fall away, a dynamic vacuum is created within the heart that naturally draws the divine flow, initiating the process of transformation.&nbsp;This sacred flow transforms our inner vibrations from human to divine. Just as water softens river stones, it gently refines and molds us. The process is simple and natural: humility, purity, and innocence create the vacuum in the heart, and the divine current flows into that vacuum.&nbsp;Prayer need not be a ritual or involve the chanting of words. Actually, it is most effective when it is offered in silence in a state of communion.&nbsp;The Heartfulness Prayer is offered twice daily, once before meditation in the morning, and once before sleeping at night. It is offered generously for all beings, not for us alone. You will find words like “we” and “our,” not “I” and “mine,” as we pray for the well-being of the entire universe.The Heartfulness Prayer is offered in silence, and the idea is that you get lost in the words, and go beyond them to the feelings, the vibrations, from which the words originated. Those vibrations continue to resonate in your heart, and the divine flow will carry on during your worldly activities.<h4 style="text-align:center;">Heartfulness Prayer</h4>O Master! Thou art the real goal of human life. We are yet but slaves of wishes putting bar to our advancement. Thou art the only God and Power to bring us up to that stage.Practicing this prayer at bedtime creates the most beautiful atmosphere for peaceful sleep and carries the connection throughout the night. Practicing it in the morning before meditation rekindles the same inner connection, enlivening meditation and the day’s activities. By beginning and ending the day with prayer, you will calibrate your connection throughout the day and night.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/beauty_transformative_nature_prayer2_d22ecc384b.webp" alt="beauty-transformative-nature-prayer2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_beauty_transformative_nature_prayer2_d22ecc384b.webp 126w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_beauty_transformative_nature_prayer2_d22ecc384b.webp 404w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;Prayer is also a potent way of offering your intentions, in which your focused thoughts are backed by the flow from the Divine; yet it is largely underutilized by many of us. It allows us to back any intention with both depth and subtlety so that it becomes potent and far-reaching. The subtler the better!Prayer keeps the heart open, and only when the heart is open and pure are we truly aware of the deep current of faith that flows at the base, where there is steadfast changelessness. In this prayerful state, the ego cannot get a hold on anything—so prayer is the perfect antidote to any sort of egotistical thoughts or actions.And prayer is also a support when circumstances in life challenge us. Sometimes we resist or react, for example, when we face injustice, or have to compromise the principles we hold dear. It can be painful and sometimes we hurt a lot. The simplest way to handle such situations is to go into the heart, prayerfully—yield, vacuumize, and let go. It is also a salve when we hurt others knowingly or unknowingly, and especially when we hold onto guilt. By going into our hearts, and genuinely repenting, we are able to let go of heaviness, re-establish connection so that love can once again flow. Over time, self-mastery develops through this inner connection.What about praying or saying Grace at mealtime? This act of gratitude connects us with the Divine at the beginning of the meal, so that we can continue to hold that subtle connection while we are eating. It activates the divine current that is woven into the fabric of Nature, including every atom of the food we eat. Our prayerful thought combines with the food to promote physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. The channels of prana (energy) open up, allowing the happiness with which the food is charged to enter and purify the whole system. As a result, eating benefits our physical well-being and our spiritual progress. This is a very potent concept, which has huge implications for health, well-being, and happiness.In yoga, food is valued as a form of prana, and the effect of eating percolates throughout the whole human system, not just the physical body. When the Divinity at the center of every atom of food resonates with the Divinity within us, food becomes a potent source of goodness.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/beauty_transformative_nature_prayer3_2f654d5c29.webp" alt="beauty-transformative-nature-prayer3.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_beauty_transformative_nature_prayer3_2f654d5c29.webp 156w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_beauty_transformative_nature_prayer3_2f654d5c29.webp 500w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;Prayer invokes the parasympathetic nervous system, which brings calmness and stimulates the digestive enzymes. In a prayerful state, it is hard to be upset with anyone at the table, no matter what their mood or behavior. So there is peace and harmony, and this results in better digestion.What happens when you are upset or distracted during a meal? If you feel fearful, you may get indigestion, because your blood moves to your limbs and your body’s energetic processes are busy with other things; they are diverted away from digesting food. Your digestion is affected by the state of your emotions, and so prayer at mealtime helps us to remain balanced and let go of any tension and stress.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Our prayerful thought combines with the food&nbsp; to promote physical, mental,&nbsp; emotional, and spiritual health.&nbsp;</h4><hr>There is also a concept in yoga called sankalpa, meaning subtle prayerful intention, which is the foundation for all our spiritual practices and most of our goals in worldly life. We intend various goals and circumstances into being through the power of our thought. Setting an intention is like planting a seed, where the seed aligns our thoughts, feelings, and actions toward achieving our goals.Prayer can also be used in our interactions with others as a subtler, more effective way of communicating and responding, especially when we are tempted to give advice (please consider this especially in your relationships with your partner and children). The first Guide of Heartfulness, Lalaji, used to say, “Never offer advice unless invited, otherwise it is likely to yield bad results. If you find any fault with anybody, pray for his freedom from it.” I have observed over the years that advice is always tricky, because people generally want their own point of view confirmed, even when they ask for advice. It is such a sensitive thing. So, I like Lalaji’s second sentence, “If you find any fault with anybody, pray for his freedom from it.” And sometimes it isn’t the other person’s fault that will be removed by the prayer, but our own narrow-mindedness!&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/beauty_transformative_nature_prayer4_937c13add9.webp" alt="beauty-transformative-nature-prayer4.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_beauty_transformative_nature_prayer4_937c13add9.webp 156w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_beauty_transformative_nature_prayer4_937c13add9.webp 500w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">The subtler the feelings during prayer, the finer and more potent the communion and the effect pf the prayer, until it reaches the ultimate state where there are no feelings.</h4><hr>The subtler the feelings during prayer, the finer and more potent the communion and the effect pf the prayer, until it reaches the ultimate state where there are no feelings. Even before we reach such subtle states, however, we are reassured by Babuji that “When prayer is offered with a heart full of love and devotion, it shall never go unheard.” Once the connection is established, how could it go unheard?&nbsp;

The beauty and transformative nature of prayer

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">LYNNE McTAGGART is one of the central authorities on the new science of consciousness, and the award-winning author of seven books, including the internationally bestselling The Intention Experiment, The Field, The Bond, and The Power of Eight. Here, Lynne is interviewed by PURNIMA RAMAKRISHNAN about the transformative power of intention, the profound impact of group intention, and the potential for individuals to create significant change in their lives and the world.</h4>&nbsp;Q: Lynne, welcome. You are known for your pioneering work in the science of intention in consciousness and healing. You’ve explored this science behind intention so deeply. Can you share how you personally define the power of intention?&nbsp;LM: Okay, well, first of all, it’s important to understand that our thoughts aren’t locked inside our heads. They’re trespassers, and they can go out and affect other people and things. We’ve seen that from countless studies on everything from single-celled organisms to human beings. In my own work, I’ve seen that we can affect everything from making plants grow faster, to purifying water, to lowering violence in war-torn and violent areas, and even healing people of things like post-traumatic stress disorder. And I’ve seen it in big groups and small groups. Essentially, thoughts are energy, just as everything else in the body is a collection of energy and energy fields of different varieties. And those thoughts can go out and affect things.I see an intention as a focused thought. You and I are having about 80,000 thoughts a day, and most of them are undirected, most of them are negative. And they oftentimes undermine our life because we’re focusing on negative outcomes, instead of intending for what we want.So, I always teach intention as a respectful and very specific request to the universe. And I find it gets amplified in small and large groups.Q: During your intention experiments, have you encountered any surprising results? Are there poignant moments, epiphanies, which have made you stop and think? What has defined or redefined your expectations of these intention experiments?LM: I think many of the peace intention experiments really surprised me. I wasn’t at all sure they were going to work when we started in 2007. We started with simple things, trying to affect the light emissions of a leaf. And then we moved on to seeds, trying to make them grow faster. And then we moved on to water, trying to purify water, then trying to lower violence in areas.My first experience of something mind-blowing was the seed experiments. I did my very first seed experiment in 2007 when I was speaking in front of an audience in Sydney, Australia. I worked with the University of California’s Dr. Gary Schwartz, a noted psychologist who has a special laboratory with the Laboratory for Consciousness and Human Evolution. He prepared four sets of seeds, each set with 30 seeds, and had his team photograph them and send them to me. And I showed these to the audience and allowed them to select one of the four seeds to send an intention to. So we sent an intention to seed group A for ten minutes. After we were done, I called Dr. Schwartz and told him we were done, but I did not tell him which seeds we sent the intention to. I told him as that was the cue for him to plant the seeds.Five days later they measured the seeds. After they’d measured them, I unblinded the study and told them which seeds we’d sent an intention to. And lo and behold, those seeds grew taller than any others.We did this five more times in different locations with different-sized audiences. And every single time the seeds that were sent an intention grew taller than the controls. But here’s the fascinating part—I was with my audience in Sydney, Australia, and the seeds were back in Tucson, Arizona, 8,000 miles away. Plus, we weren’t sending an intention to the seeds themselves, only to a photograph of the seeds, a symbolic representation of the seeds. So I realized from that very early time that we essentially create a psychic-internet when we make an intention in a group scattered around the globe. That I could see over and over again with the other intention experiments.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Essentially, thoughts are energy, just as everything else in the body is a collection of energy and energy fields of different varieties. And those thoughts can go out and affect things.</h4><hr>Another one that blew my mind was a Sri Lanka peace intention experiment we ran in 2008, when Sri Lanka was in the midst of a 25-year civil war. We did a peace intention for 10 minutes a day over eight days with 15,000 people participating from around the globe. Now, during that week, to my alarm, violence went up rather than down. And I had a professor of statistics doing the analysis. It then plummeted after that. But a more interesting thing happened. The government won a few decisive battles during that week that turned around the entire course of the war. For some time, both sides had been at a stalemate. Then, within a few months, the government was able to take back the north, which was held by the rebel forces. And a few months later, that 25-year intractable war was over.Now, did we do this? Well, it turned out that during the week of our intention pivotal battles occurred, and that was cause for an extraordinary surprise. When you do one experiment like that, it means nothing. There are too many variables in a war. But when you keep doing it and keep getting results, as we’ve done with peace intention experiments, they start becoming interesting.For instance, in 2017, we ran an experiment to lower violence in St. Louis, Missouri, officially the most violent place in America. And we chose a neighborhood called Fairground that was the most violent of all. We had very accurate police data. I once again asked Dr. Jessica Utz from the University of California to analyze data from several years beforehand to six months afterward, to look at the effect of our intention. She found that violence had been going up in all areas of St. Louis, and continued to go up everywhere except the neighborhood we intended where violence went down by 43%. And so it’s happened over and over again.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/intention_revolution2_38d89b0431.webp" alt="intention-revolution2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_intention_revolution2_38d89b0431.webp 110w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_intention_revolution2_38d89b0431.webp 353w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_intention_revolution2_38d89b0431.webp 529w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">I always teach intention as a respectful and very specific request to the universe. And I find it gets amplified in small and large groups.</h4><hr>Perhaps the one that amazed me the most is an intention experiment I did that same year, at the end of 2017, with eight Arab cities and a large audience of Israeli Jews. I had special equipment so we could put cameras in eight different locations in Arab cities. Each different Arab city had an audience there. And the ninth camera was with an audience of Israeli Jews. I asked them all to make an intention to lower violence in an area of Jerusalem that was suffering from a high degree of violence.Before that, I had to broker the entire thing, as nobody was speaking to anyone else. They started talking, because I could call on the different places. They would talk to me, and then they would also communicate with the people in all the other locations. And they started sending love to each other, they started sending “Your God is my God,” talking about beautiful visions of people coming together from both sides. There was a big love fest. I found that every time I put together polarized and hated enemies, they seemed to come together after these intention experiments.Since 2008, I’ve run 41 intention experiments, and 37 have shown measurable significantly positive effects. I also surveyed the people involved, and for those who responded, about 40% have reported more peace in their own lives. They’re getting along better with estranged partners or parents or children. They’re getting along better with bosses and coworkers. They’re feeling more love for everybody, and around 50% consistently report they feel more love for everyone they meet.Essentially, they’re hugging strangers and peaceful things happen in their lives. Also, about one-third have reported an improvement in a health condition or a downright cure. So that is the biggest and most amazing effect, the mirror effect of these intentions: the people who are sending intentions are being healed as much as the targets.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">So that is the biggest and most amazing effect,&nbsp; the mirror effect of these intentions:&nbsp; the people who are sending intentions&nbsp; are being healed as much as the targets.</h4><hr>Q: I was blown away by the seed experiment. How has the scientific community embraced this, or conversely, what are the challenges you’ve faced to try to share this with them?&nbsp;LM: I'm not interested in the scientific community because they aren’t going to accept it. Scientists are supposed to be explorers and very few of them really are. There are a lot of reasons for that. People lose their positions at universities for stepping out of the accepted paradigm. So I don’t need to convince scientists. There are enough scientists who are true explorers, who are fascinated by my work, and who have helped to measure the work.I work with people at prestigious universities to run the intention experiments—Princeton, Penn State, University of California, University of Arizona, and others in Europe. I choose people who are open-minded enough to do decent research.There are skeptic organizations who attack my work, but they attack it in the flimsiest of ways. My book, The Field, had more than 400 solid scientific references. I had interviewed exhaustively—frontier physicists, biologists, etc.—and had them check every last fact in that book to make sure I had written it correctly. The skeptics have said the book was based on nothing more than Star Wars, which is just incorrect, close-minded, and ignorant.So, I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in getting this information out to people so they can understand that we have extraordinary capabilities waiting to be unleashed, and we are very different from what we are told in mainstream orthodox science.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/intention_revolution3_b56b5be71b.webp" alt="intention-revolution3.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_intention_revolution3_b56b5be71b.webp 214w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_intention_revolution3_b56b5be71b.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_intention_revolution3_b56b5be71b.webp 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;Orthodox science is only 300-plus years old, and new studies and discoveries are being found in universities, in little pockets of academia here and there, that are completely transforming the way we think about ourselves and our world. And we’re far greater than we’ve been told!Q: Thank you for that very candid response. For someone who’s intrigued by your work, who’s curious about your work, and who wants to start applying this power of intention in their own life, how can they begin?LM:&nbsp;They can join my community and my website. When they join, they receive some basic tools and information about how to do intention and how to form a group. They can also read my books. The Power of Eight, the last book published on this topic, has basic descriptions of how to do intention in a group. For people who really want to learn more, I have a whole series of foundation courses.I also have a <a href="https://lynnemctaggart.com/courses/intention-masterclass/the-power-of-eight-intention-masterclass-2025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">year-long masterclass</a>, my kingpin course, where I work with people live and interactively for a year. Participants start working in groups after six weeks, and each group meets once a week. Under my instruction, they use intention for relationships, for health and healing, for finances and career, and for life purpose. There’s specific information and instructions, and I coach them throughout the year.So there are all kinds of things at all kinds of price points, including free, and every intention experiment is free. I feel everybody should be able to participate.Recently, Gaia released a documentary about my work with large and small groups, The Power of Eight, plus the intention experiments. They interviewed the various scientists who’ve worked with me, and numerous people who have had extraordinary healings with The Power of Eight, too. And it will culminate in an intention on February 1, 2025. I’m going to have a live audience at Gaia’s headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, and we’re also going to livestream it around the world.It's an invitation. So everyone can take part by going to <a href="https://lynnemctaggart.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://lynnemctaggart.com</a>, where there are instructions.Q: I am really looking forward to it.To be continued.

 Unleashing our extraordinary capabilities

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">CHRISTIANNA DEICHMANN is the Director of Education at the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH), where she educates both professionals and parents on fostering the most nurturing environments for welcoming new life into the world. She is based in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. With a multidisciplinary approach, Christianna blends Craniosacral Therapy, massage, and prenatal and perinatal psychology into her holistic practice. Her work uniquely combines science and spirituality.</h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;">In part 2 of this interview, Christianna continues to shares her expertise with DR. SNEHAL DESHPANDE, a Developmental Therapist, PPNE, and the Director of Heartfulness Family Connect Programs, offering a rich dialogue on Birth Trauma and Obstetrical Intervention.</h4>&nbsp;Q: Christianna, when fostering the connection between mother and newborn baby, how can we recognize signs of PTSD in both? Mothers and babies may be experiencing these problems without even realizing it. Often, it’s an issue of connectivity, where mothers feel overwhelmed but don’t recognize the root cause. In what ways might these expressions of PTSD manifest or be felt, particularly when the bond is disrupted?CD: Babies communicate with us through their bodies. They communicate to us with their cries. And I see all the time that people are just not aware that babies are conscious and sentient, that they have emotions. Maybe they’re the most basic emotions, but they’re the key emotions. Am I safe? Am I loved? Do I have the right to have needs and have somebody care for me? Do I have the right to feel supported? And society has it that babies are not conscious. Our fast paced life is not attuned to the sacredness or the holiness of human development. So the first thing that you can do in order to connect more is to connect with yourself through mindfulness practices, mind-body practices, and slowing down.The easiest thing is to breathe. We don’t even breathe consciously. When we consciously breathe, three deep breaths reset the nervous system. As a mother, when you are feeling a little overwhelmed, let your baby know, just as if they’re an older person. Think that they understand because they do. And say, “I’m overwhelmed right now, but this isn’t your fault. This is just me having my own personal feelings. You can let that go.” When you have that kind of two-way conversation with your baby, whether in the womb or right after the birth, it takes a lot of anxiety off your shoulders. You will recognize that your child understands you and really just wants to love you.There’s a lot of need for education about how babies communicate and what their cries mean. Babies have different types of cry for different needs. Mothers can come to understand what those cries are for. Usually if their physical needs are taken care of—you've given them food, you’ve changed their diaper, they’re in comfortable clothes—and they are still crying, then there’s something emotional happening and the emotional needs of the baby have to be addressed. They have a story to tell. I envision a day when we have a world where mothers have returned to the understanding that birth matters and the story that happened continues even after they’re born. It takes time for them to heal from that trauma and all they want to do is share it with somebody.You asked how we know that mothers have postpartum depression or anxiety. There’s lack of sleep, you feel really frustrated, you’re overwhelmed, you’re angry, you don’t want to deal with anything, or you just want to disappear. These are all signs that you need more support. It is the biggest thing we need to do in the postpartum world. In olden times, it took a village. There’d be a circle of women around a mother, and they would mother the mother after she gave birth, so she could focus on recovering the outpouring of chi, her life force. She could focus on her baby and have the team of people around her cooking, cleaning, doing rituals to restore her body, and that for the large part doesn’t happen today. Our postpartum care is mostly to take the baby out of the home in the car to the doctor’s office to check their weight. If you want my opinion, doctors should be making house calls to our most vulnerable population, so mothers don’t have to leave the sacred hearth of their home for those first 40 days after birth. There’s so much disruption that can happen just in the simple journey to go to the doctor’s office in those first few weeks.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">It takes time for them to heal&nbsp; from that trauma and all they want to do is share it with somebody.</h4><hr>Q: &nbsp;In the past, the way we welcomed babies was beautiful and made them feel wanted. What you’re discussing is a continuation of that tradition, which is truly remarkable. I have a question related to Kendall-Tackett’s research. How do you think her work has influenced the current understanding and treatment approaches for PTSD related to birth trauma?CD: I love Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, she’s brilliant! She focused on symptoms women were experiencing from seemingly simple things like breastfeeding. Through her research, we’ve come to understand that when a mother is unable to breastfeed, or if the initial bond between mother and baby is interrupted, there’s a domino effect of symptoms that can appear in both. Kathleen realized that these symptoms resemble PTSD. Women could have flashbacks to their birth experience, break out in sweats, and experience thyroid issues, which are quite common among postpartum women. Anxiety, disrupted sleep patterns, and other signs also emerge.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Our fast paced life is not attuned to the sacredness or the holiness of human development.&nbsp; So the first thing that you can do in order to connect more&nbsp; is to connect with yourself through mindfulness practices,&nbsp; mind-body practices, and slowing down.&nbsp;</h4><hr>Kathleen found that many mothers experience these symptoms without getting help, and often they don’t voice their struggles due to societal expectations that they should “just deal with it.” The nuclear family model and the prevalence of single motherhood mean women often don’t have enough support.Today, women are managing full-time jobs, marriages, and motherhood, which are each huge responsibilities, but they’re doing it without the support of a village. This stress has been shown through scientific evidence to be a toxic, detrimental factor during pregnancy, leading to mental health issues, obesity, and other health problems. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett helped lift the veil, showing the scientific community and psychologists that our most vulnerable population—babies—are coming into a world where their mothers are under-supported and burdened with overwhelming stress on their nervous systems.Q: It’s clear that we need to start building communities because, as the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. We need to take care of these beautiful souls and create a shift in both mindset and community. So how do different healing modalities such as Craniosacral Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, and Body-Mind-Spirit Awareness help with recovery from birth trauma? And do you think integrating Heartfulness practices into prenatal care can help prevent birth trauma?CD: I believe people should start Craniosacral Therapy even before planning to get pregnant. It helps clear the nervous system and return to what we call the “zero point field” or the original blueprint. It’s similar to Heartfulness practices. If we teach people how to reflect on their day and take regular breaks with mind-body exercises, like breathing, we can slow the nervous system and align ourselves with natural rhythms. Craniosacral Therapy is one example, but we now have biofeedback and many psychosomatic and energetic modalities that help individuals enter more conscious states—where they are open, curious, and connected to their heart.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/sacredness_human2_12c0b984b2.webp" alt="sacredness-human2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_sacredness_human2_12c0b984b2.webp 159w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_sacredness_human2_12c0b984b2.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_sacredness_human2_12c0b984b2.webp 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">This, I believe, is the best way to deal with today’s challenges—by going within,&nbsp; learning who we really are, and knowing what truly matters to us.</h4><hr>It’s an exciting time to be alive, as quantum physics is now influencing therapeutic modalities, offering tools for all of us to return to our inner selves. This, I believe, is the best way to deal with today’s challenges—by going within, learning who we really are, and knowing what truly matters to us. The more we do this, the more creative and productive we become. I love integrating Heartfulness because anyone can do it, and it can be a daily practice for everyone. In the United States, the HeartMath Institute is showing us the benefits of creating brain-heart coherence, and that’s what Heartfulness is about—connecting mind and body, macrocosm and microcosm, by going within to find the answers that are already inside us.Q: Thank you so much, Christianna, for being with us and braodening our awareness.&nbsp;

The sacredness of human development

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Gingko

The devil’s tree

The joy of unity

The meaning of life

The dance of light and shadow

Parenting: a purifying experience

Becoming a mother

The first imprint: understanding PTSD

Trauma as disconnection from the heart

From annoyance to serenity

Become prayer

Unlock your potential

The intrinsic goodness of the heart

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Love and surrender

The tipping point

Inner potential

Seven of us

Once upon a Saturday

Nothing lasts forever

A course of action

Meeting phenomenal women

Beyond the beat

The best and most beautiful

Finding our way

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<h4 style="text-align:justify;">DAAJI offers us a guide to daily living and human transformation. This series is based on a book written more than 75 years ago, by Ram Chandra, called Commentary on the Ten Maxims of Sahaj Marg, which is still relevant for anyone wishing to evolve to their highest potential in today’s world.</h4><h4>Origins</h4>Some 75 years ago, a holy man in a remote town in Uttar Pradesh in the north of India decided to to put into words some amazing truths that he had received through direct perception from the universe. As a result, he came up with a method by which people could completely transform themselves and reach the highest level of consciousness possible, and go beyond. This method was based on taking the essence of the ancient practices of Raja Yoga, and modifying them for the present era of humanity. His name was Ram Chandra, and we know him today as Babuji.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/babuji_5a8f005eed.webp" alt="babuji.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_babuji_5a8f005eed.webp 115w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_babuji_5a8f005eed.webp 369w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;Here is the preface to his first book, Commentary on the Ten Maxims of Sahaj Marg, which was originally written in the Urdu language, and has now been translated into over 30 languages worldwide:<h4>A Word</h4>In this book I have endeavored to put up in words those spiritual secrets which have up till now come down from heart to heart. But since they relate to direct perception, which depends upon the study of Nature and can be revealed by means of vibrations, it is not only difficult, but almost impossible to express them adequately in words.“True love cannot be expressed by words. This is the very reality which is inexplicable in any way.”In this respect, I may therefore say that it is proper for the readers to try to reach up to the real spirit, ignoring the defects of expression and language, and be profited, and help others to be profited by it.Ram Chandra 8 December 1946He was eager to share this knowledge with everyone, to help us all experience those elevated states of consciousness that he had experienced. Being a householder he knew that <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/spirituality-in-daily-life" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spirituality</a> and materiality are like the two wings of a bird, and no one can soar on one wing alone. He was a humble man of simple means, but in the spiritual field he was a giant, the like of whom no one had seen before. His concern was not for himself, or for humanity alone, but for the whole universe. In order to bring positive change, peace and growth to suffering humanity, he knew that inner transformation was needed. He had developed a simple method that was easy to practice, and that was available to everyone, irrespective of culture, race, age, class, religious belief, education, and sex.<h4>Direct perception through superconsciousness</h4>The discoveries Babuji made were simple but revolutionary in the field of consciousness, much like the discoveries that Einstein made a few years earlier in the field of physics. In some ways these two men were alike. Their greatest ideas came to them through direct perception or inspiration. More importantly, unknown to each other, they were both exploring similar phenomena—one from the perspective of spirituality and the other from the perspective of science. Through his now famous equation E=mc2, Einstein proposed the interchangeable nature of mass and energy, creating tremors in the world of science. But Einstein was limited to the manifested world of physics. Babuji was able to express the inexpressible, and he gave us an understanding that transcends the aspect of interchangeability of mass and energy, writing in a letter to one of his associates:The energy itself in the long run returns to the Absolute—the cause of the power. The whole of matter, every particle of the body, becomes energy and then goes to its absolute.Einstein only knew the method to convert mass into energy, and not beyond it. In short, I can say that energy can also be converted into mass and this is a very easy job.Having only studied up to high school level in rural India, Babuji would not have been taken seriously by those scientists in the evolving field of quantum physics, yet the discoveries he made through direct perception were literally mind-blowing. He not only perceived directly that matter and energy were different vibrational states of the same manifestation, but that consciousness was the basic stuff of creation: Everything created since the Big Bang has emanated from consciousness.There is a sweet story of a meeting between Babuji and a physicist in London in 1972, through a mutual friend. The physicist did not consider Babuji worth listening to, as an uneducated simple man from rural India, until Babuji proceeded to describe to him in detail the intricate structure and movement of the particles in an atom. The physicist was astounded and asked Babuji how he knew this, to which Babuji replied, “I penetrated matter and I have described to you what I observed.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/introduction2_4f58b14f82.webp" alt="introduction2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_introduction2_4f58b14f82.webp 245w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_introduction2_4f58b14f82.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_introduction2_4f58b14f82.webp 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;During this same period, quantum scientists were spooked by the observer effect—the fact that an observer can affect the outcome of an experiment. Some held the view that it could be because everything is fundamentally made up of consciousness, so the consciousness of the observer will influence the consciousness of the object of the experiment. This idea did not initially go down well with the scientific community and even today scientists are divided on this issue.The subject of consciousness is now being researched and debated not only by scientists, but also by people in all fields and walks of life. We have come full circle, in fact, as this was also the case in ancient times in many cultures.<h4>The discovery of the Center and the mapping of consciousness</h4>In the meantime, back in the 1940s, Babuji not only demonstrated that we can change our consciousness by a special <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/become-faster-emotions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">method of meditation</a> on the heart, utilizing Pranahuti or yogic Transmission, he also went on to discover and map the various incremental levels of consciousness, and what lies beyond consciousness.Spiritual scientists from ancient India were familiar with the seven chakra system of energy consciousness, and most believed that the crown chakra was the pinnacle of spiritual achievement. Babuji was to change all that. Along with his teacher, another great sage of the 19th and 20th centuries, Lalaji, they together described a more complete chakra system, culminating in the 16th chakra, which Babuji called the Central Region, the source of everything. They had opened human awareness to an entirely different dimension of existence.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/introduction3_f306287e27.webp" alt="introduction3.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_introduction3_f306287e27.webp 204w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_introduction3_f306287e27.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_introduction3_f306287e27.webp 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/introduction4_b33ec8246f.webp" alt="introduction4.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_introduction4_b33ec8246f.webp 245w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_introduction4_b33ec8246f.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_introduction4_b33ec8246f.webp 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/introduction5_ec9163f705.webp" alt="introduction5.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_introduction5_ec9163f705.webp 164w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_introduction5_ec9163f705.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_introduction5_ec9163f705.webp 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;Lalaji transmitted the knowledge of the Central Region to Babuji, and also taught him the techniques to master that Region. Based on his own personal research and experience, Babuji then mapped the stages of consciousness, from the most solid levels of matter to the Center. This was the first time in the history of humankind that anyone was able to accomplish such a task.<h4>Meditation is a quantum experiment</h4>Babuji taught a simple method of meditation on the heart, rooted in the ancient traditions of Raja Yoga, yet simplified and modified to meet the needs of modern life. He explained why meditation is the best way to change and expand consciousness. And unlike traditional methods of yoga that took years of austere practice to bring the mind to balance, Heartfulness gave instantaneous results, because of the revolutionary use of Pranahuti.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/introduction6_4f295ef50e.webp" alt="introduction6.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_introduction6_4f295ef50e.webp 234w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_introduction6_4f295ef50e.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_introduction6_4f295ef50e.webp 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;What happens in meditation? In the last fifty years, scientists have made impressive strides in understanding how meditation impacts our physiology, especially the brain. This has been made possible by advancements in measuring technology, like brain scanning and its ability to pinpoint what function of the brain is improved with meditation. Some of the conclusions are that meditation reduces stress, improves sleep, reduces blood pressure, improves learning and memory, and increases happiness. The human brain is an amazingly complex system and science has only taken small steps in understanding it.Yogic scientists have known the value of meditation since ancient times. They knew about the observer effect long before science figured it out. In fact ancient texts like the Vedas and Upanishads could describe the various stages of consciousness in meditation that correlate with the brain waves now identified by EEG machines at each stage. For example, the ultimate depth of meditation, a stage called Samadhi in yoga, correlates with the very slow delta waves produced by the brain during deep sleep. Typically it takes many years of meditation to achieve a deep delta state, but Babuji enabled his students to experience Samadhi when they first started meditating.Each one of us transmits his or her vibration to the universe, and an evolved master of caliber, who is in osmosis with the Center, can transmit the essence of that Center, Pranahuti, into the heart of a student, thus enabling the student to advance faster and more effectively. This is what happens in the Heartfulness tradition.Yogic scientists also recognized the role of the Central Nervous System in a much wider context than just the brain. The heart, the spinal cord, the connection between heart and brain as two aspects of the spectrum of consciousness, and the consciousness at the cellular and atomic levels, have all been vital components of physiology in yogic science, which modern scientists are now starting to understand.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Each one of us transmits his or her vibration&nbsp; to the Universe, and an evolved Master of caliber,&nbsp; who is in osmosis with the Center, can transmit the essence of that Center, Pranahuti, into the heart of a student, thus enabling the student to advance faster and more effectively.&nbsp; This is what happens in the Heartfulness tradition.</h4><hr>Babuji perfected the method of Heartfulness and the science of yogic Transmission as a means to help human beings evolve through the various incremental stages of consciousness. But he was equally clear that this was not enough. Without working on personal development and character, this would lead nowhere, as there would be no integration of the physical, mental and spiritual bodies of the human being. Spiritual transformation is an internal transformation of the vibrational field of consciousness, whereas personality transformation is equally important for the process to be complete.As a result, his first book, Commentary on the Ten Maxims of Sahaj Marg, is a practical guide for both—how to live our lives in harmony on a daily basis. The maxims follow the 24-hour daily cycle, starting with waking in the morning, and finishing with going to sleep at night, guiding us in all areas of living. For that reason, this series is called “Heartful Living.”It &nbsp;may surprise you to know that at the time Babuji wrote his book on the Ten maxims in the 1940s, there were just a handful of books published in the area of self-help, including the hugely popular Self-Help by Samuel Smiles, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Babuji was the first author in this era to give us a comprehensive guide to living by incorporating the five key elements of self-development: an effective practice, essential values, regulative behavior, leadership, and continuous improvement (see diagram 1). Within those five elements there are also ten principles. Even today, only a handful of books offer such a rich and all-encompassing road map to a fulfilling life.<h4>The five elements and ten principles of self-development</h4>The ten principles for living follow a daily cycle and inherent sequence, which unfolds like a flowering. At the center of this unfolding is the practice. It is the practice that triggers the flowering of consciousness. And it is the first thing that we do in the morning, preparing us for the day, setting the tone, and centering us for what is to happen. As consciousness expands, and purity and simplicity emerge, we are able to peek into our essential nature and start relaxing into our inner being. Our thoughts and actions are then guided by the essential values of the heart.The next segment of &nbsp;the unfoldment is behavior. When we are established in the state of being, our behavior resonates with that state. As being and doing reinforce each other, our consciousness evolves naturally to a level where we want to help others. Hence the capacities and qualities of leadership unfold naturally. The last segment of the unfoldment is continuous improvement which consists of daily review and corrective action before sleeping at night. This framework is dynamic and fluid. All the segments are co-emergent and seamless. It is holistic, a complete system, a living guidance. As we grow, our work itself becomes our teacher.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/introduction7_d15486016e.webp" alt="introduction7.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_introduction7_d15486016e.webp 161w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_introduction7_d15486016e.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_introduction7_d15486016e.webp 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/introduction8_1e07863a37.webp" alt="introduction8.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_introduction8_1e07863a37.webp 125w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_introduction8_1e07863a37.webp 402w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_introduction8_1e07863a37.webp 603w," sizes="100vw"></figure>

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Heartful Living

<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>

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A writer’s transference