Charles is a writer, philosopher, speaker and pioneer, who has been exploring the need for society’s transformation for some years now. He has focused light on our economic, social and political systems, and the need for us to move from a paradigm of separation to that of interbeing. His work can be found at charleseisenstein.org.


Charles-Eisenstein.jpg

Charles Eisenstein

<h4>
 Nature does not charge us anything for its abundance. Everything in
 nature is free, a gift. We are part of the same nature, so can we
 incorporate this principle in our own interpersonal relationships and
 interactions?
 CHARLES EISENSTEIN reflects on this
 beautiful principle through his story of Interbeing.
</h4>

 Why does the sun shine? 
 Is it a random result of coalescing gases igniting nuclear fusion? Or is
 it in order to give its light and warmth to Life?


 Why does the rain fall? 
 Is it the senseless product of blind chemical processes of evaporation
 and condensation? Or is it to water Life?


 Why do you seek to pour forth your song? Is it to show off your genetic
 fitness to attract a mate, or is it to contribute to a more beautiful
 world?


 We may fear those first answers but it is the second that carries the
 ring of truth.


 Every culture, as far as I know, has something that I call a Story of
 the World. That story is a weave of myths, meanings, narratives, words,
 symbols, rituals, and agreements that together define the world. That
 story tells us who we are, how to be a man or a woman, what is important
 and valuable, what is real, what is sacred, and what humanity’s role and
 purpose is on Earth.

<hr />
<h5 style="text-align: center">
 Every culture, as far as I know,&nbsp;has something that I call 
 a Story of the World.&nbsp;That story is a weave of myths, 
 meanings, narratives,&nbsp;words, symbols, rituals, 
 and agreements that together define the world. 
 That story tells us who we are, how to be a man or a woman, 
 what is important and valuable,&nbsp;what is real, what is sacred, 
 and what humanity’s role and&nbsp;purpose is on Earth.
</h5>
<hr />

 The world’s dominant culture, the one called modern, has a story of the
 world too. I call it the Story of Separation. I won’t go too deep into
 it now, because I bet you already know intuitively what I’m talking
 about. It is the story that holds us as separate individuals and holds
 humanity separate from nature.


 In the Story of Separation, giving does not come naturally. In fact,
 that story says our default nature is selfishness, down to the genetic
 level. If I’m separate from you, then more for me is less for you.


 In the Story of Separation, trust does not come naturally either. The
 world is our adversary, full of other competing&nbsp;separate
 individuals, human and otherwise, whom we must overcome to have a good
 life – weeds, germs, the Russians or the Americans, whatever. Beyond
 that, the forces of nature are adversaries too, because they are utterly
 random, and the whole universe tends toward entropy. There is no
 intelligence or purpose outside of ourselves. Therefore, to establish a
 comfortable human habitation in the world, we must dominate and control
 these forces, insulate ourselves from them, and harness them to our
 purposes. That’s what the Story of Separation says.


 Where in that story is there room for gratitude? Where is there room for
 gift? In the Story of Separation you basically have to rise above human
 nature, rise above the way of the world, to be selfless, generous, or
 altruistic. Becoming a good person, then, involves a sort of conquest, a
 conquest of self. It is the same domination of nature, this time turned
 inward.

<hr />
<h5 style="text-align: center">
 In the Story of Interbeing, life is a gift. 
 The world and everything in it is a gift. 
 We did not earn our lives. 
 We did not earn the sun; it is not thanks 
 to our hard efforts that it shines. 
 We did not earn the ability of plants to grow. 
 We did not earn water. 
 We did not earn our conception or our breath. 
 Our hearts beat and our livers metabolize 
 all on their own. Life is a gift.
</h5>
<hr />

 Now I have to say, this story is quickly becoming obsolete. Even its
 scientific dimension in genetics, physics, and biology are crumbling. In
 complexity theory, we understand that order can emerge spontaneously out
 of chaos, without an external organizing force. In ecology, we
 understand that the well-being of one is inseparable from the well-being
 of all. So let me talk about gift, generosity, and gratitude from the
 perspective of another story, a new and ancient story I like to call
 Interbeing.


 In the Story of Interbeing, life is a gift. The world and everything in
 it is a gift. We did not earn our lives. We did not earn the sun; it is
 not thanks to our hard efforts that it shines. We did not earn the
 ability of plants to grow. We did not earn water. We did not earn our
 conception or our breath. Our hearts beat and our livers metabolize all
 on their own. Life is a gift.


 <img
 class="has-img-center lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/gift2_76b60201de.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-04T11:04:26.378Z"
 alt="gift2"
 />


 What about all those things that did come to you through hard effort?
 You worked hard for your money perhaps, for your status, for your
 healthy body. Okay, but from where comes your capacity to work hard?
 From where comes your creativity, your strength, and your intelligence?
 Did you earn these too?


 When we apprehend these basic truths, gratitude comes naturally.
 Gratitude is the knowledge of having received, and the consequent desire
 to give in turn. It is primal. All beings, including human beings, have
 an unquenchable desire to pour forth their gifts. That is why if you are
 in a situation where your gifts are not valued, not received, or not
 useful, you will want to leave that situation, that job or relationship.
 No matter how much you are being paid, no matter how scared you are to
 leave the relationship, you’re going to want to bust out and develop and
 express your capacity to give to the world in service of something you
 care about.


 All beings are thus. That is why we should be living in a world of
 incredible abundance. The fact that modern society has constructed
 conditions of such pervasive scarcity is an impressive achievement! So
 much talent, such a rich world. How is it that so many live in
 insecurity, anxiety, and deprivation? Not even the wealthy are exempt
 from the fear of it.


 Nature is fundamentally abundant, even profligate. I am writing this at
 my brother’s farm. The birds sing all day, pouring forth their song as a
 gift to the world. Yeah I know about attracting a mate and marking
 territory, but come on, do they have to sing that much to do that? It is
 as if they are bursting with the desire to give their song, just like
 you are. You were born for it, whatever your song is, you were born for
 it. Do the wild black raspberries here have to taste that good to
 attract animals to eat them and poop out their seeds? And don’t you have
 that urge too, to do it better than necessary for the grade, for the
 boss, for the market? Don’t you have to yearn to make art of your work?
 Don’t you have the urge within you to create something beautiful, to
 expand your capacities to their full potential and express them in
 service to something magnificent?


 You are not alone. Imagine what the world would be if each person were
 liberated in this desire. Imagine what the world could be if we could
 sweep away the conditions that conspire to stunt and suppress our gifts.
 These conditions are political, they are economic, they are ideological,
 they are relational, they are psychological and they are spiritual. For
 civilization to transition into an Age of the Gift requires
 transformation on every level.

<hr />
<h5 style="text-align: center">
 Don’t you have to yearn to make art of your work? 
 Don’t you have the urge within you to create something beautiful, 
 to expand your capacities to their full potential 
 and express&nbsp;them in service to something magnificent?
</h5>
<hr />

 I’ve written extensively about the transition on an economic level, but
 what about the personal, relational, and spiritual? We need to deprogram
 from the habits of separation and scarcity to reclaim the primal state
 of gift. I don’t think that this happens through personal efforts,
 motivated by the desire to be a better person. It is rather something
 that happens to us. It happens, in other words, as a gift.


 The transmission vector of that gift is community. Generosity, you may
 have noticed, is infectious. When you witness generosity, you receive
 the message, “It is safe to give. It is okay. I’ll be okay.” Sharing
 stories and practices of gratitude, of generosity – and of the
 challenges and setbacks in stepping more deeply into gift – we generate
 a normalizing field that counteracts social programming toward
 competition, selfishness, and scarcity.


 <img
 class="has-img-center lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/gift23_8299d8c19f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-04T11:05:01.370Z"
 alt="gift23"
 />


 My small contribution to that ‘normalizing field of gift’ is an online
 course called Living in the Gift.While it touches on a few big-picture
 issues, mostly it is an immersion into the habits of gift, the
 perceptions of gift, the awareness of abundance, and the experience of
 gratitude. In doing so, we step outside the New Age abundance-thinking
 bubble to address the contradictions of our time: between money and
 love, service and security, community and independence, wealth and
 inequality.


 In case you are wondering, we offer the course itself on a gift model.
 Any payment is purely voluntary. Nothing is withheld behind a paywall,
 and there is no ‘upselling’ to paid programs. One of the habits of
 Separation, nearly universal in this culture, is to always be on guard
 against someone seeking to make money from you, to take, to extract.
 Economics even teaches us that basically, everyone is trying to get the
 best deal and maximize their rational self-interest. That’s the water in
 which we swim. So as much as I dare, I like to mess with that
 expectation of extraction.


 This small article draws from some of the introductory course material.
 I hope most of what I’ve written here seems obvious. My purpose here is
 to pluck an ancient chord of recognition. It is to invoke a memory, to
 activate a piece of knowledge long suppressed in the dominant culture
 but still alive somewhere in all of us. It is simply that life is a
 gift, that the world is a gift, that the cosmos operates on the
 principle of gift. Please bathe in your intuitive resonance with this
 truth. Beneath the cynicism we know: it is all a gift. Gratitude is our
 native state. Generosity is its maturation. Thank you for keeping the
 thread of this knowledge alive.

<h6>
 Republished with permission from the author:
 <a
 style="color: #98b53f"
 href="https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/living-in-the-gift"
 >https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/living-in-the-gift</a
 >
</h6>
<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: center">Article by CHARLES EISENSTEIN</h4>
<hr />

Living in the gift

The coronation

<hr class="vertical-space1" />
<h4>
 <spanundefined>In 2015, ERICK JOSEPH filmed
 CHARLES EISENSTEIN in a short
 interview for a younger audience. Charles wrote a short essay to accompany
 the film, which we have reproduced here.
</h4>
<hr class="vertical-space1" />
Dear Self,
<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <spanundefined style="color: #22a7e0">Your secret, lonely knowledge is true. Despite all you have been told,
 the world that has been offered to you as normal is anything but normal.
 It is a pale semblance of the intimacy, connection, authenticity,
 community, joy and grief that lie just beneath the surface of society’s
 habits and routines.

<hr />

 <spanundefined style="color: #e87676">Do not believe the cynical voice, masquerading as the realistic voice
 that says that nothing much can change. That voice will call your dreams
 by many names: naïve, unrealistic, immature, and irresponsible. Trust your
 knowledge that the world can be different, can be better. You needn’t sell
 out and live a life complicit in maintaining the status quo.

<hr />

 <spanundefined style="color: #1f9490">You have a magnificent contribution to make to the more beautiful world
 your heart knows is possible. It may not make you famous, but you have an
 important gift, an indispensable gift, and it demands you to apply it to
 something you care about. Unless you do, you will feel like you aren’t
 really living your life. You will live the life someone pays you to live,
 caring about things you are paid to care about. You can make a different
 choice.


<hr />

 <spanundefined style="color: #6a2a9c">When you follow your passion and come fully alive, your choices will feel
 threatening to anyone who abides in the dominant story of normal. You will
 be reminding them of the path they didn’t follow, and awaken in them the
 suppressed yearning to devote their gifts to something beautiful. Rather
 than face that grief, they may suppress it – and suppress you as
 well.


<hr />

 <spanundefined style="color: #22a7e0">You carry a deep yearning to contribute to the healing of the world and
 fulfillment of its possibilities. This is your deepest desire, and if you
 abandon it you will feel like a ghost inhabiting the mere shell of a life.
 Instead, trust that desire and follow it toward whatever service it calls
 you to, however small and insignificant it might seem.


<hr />

 <spanundefined style="color: #e87676">The most reliable guide to choice is to follow whatever makes you feel
 happy and excited to get out of bed in the morning. Life is not supposed
 to be a grim slog of discipline and sacrifice. You practiced for such a
 life in school, tearing yourself out of bed for days of tedium, bribed
 with trivial rewards called grades, intimidated by artificial
 consequences, proceeding through a curriculum designed by faraway
 authorities, asking permission to use the toilet. It is time to undo those
 habits. Let your compass instead be joy, love, and whatever makes you feel
 alive.

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <img alt="Letter-to-my-younger-self2" class="has-img-center lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Letter_to_my_younger_self2_22ebeaf25c.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T05:39:52.843Z" />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <spanundefined style="color: #1f9490">Powerful forces will attempt to make you conform to society’s normality.
 These will take the form of social pressure, parental pressure, and very
 likely, economic pressure. When you encounter them, please understand that
 they are giving you the opportunity to define yourself. When push comes to
 shove, who are you?


<hr />

 <spanundefined style="color: #6a2a9c">At a certain moment it will become necessary for you to go on a journey.
 It isn’t to escape forever. It is to find yourself outside of whomever
 your conditioning trained you to be. You must put yourself in a situation
 where you don’t know who you are anymore. This is called an initiation.
 Who you were becomes inoperative; then, who you will be can emerge.


<hr />

 <spanundefined style="color: #22a7e0">The old maps do not apply in these times of transition. Even if you try
 to follow them, even if you accept their bribes and heed their threats,
 there is no guarantee you’ll reap the promised rewards. The university
 graduates washing dishes and the PhD’s driving taxis attest to this. We
 are entering new territory. Trust your guidance. It is okay to make
 mistakes, because in uncharted territory even the wrong path is part of
 finding the right path.


<hr />

 <spanundefined style="color: #e87676">On this path, you are sure to get lost. But you are held, watched, and
 guided by a vast organic intelligence. It will become visible when things
 fall apart – as surely they must, in the transition between worlds. You
 will stumble, only to find overlooked treasure beneath your feet. You’ll
 despair of finding the answer – and then the answer will find you.
 Breakdown clears the space for synchronicity, for help unimagined and
 unearned.


<hr />

 <spanundefined style="color: #6a2a9c">None of this advice can be sustainably implemented by a heroic effort on
 your part. You need help. Seek out other people who reinforce your
 perception that a more beautiful world is possible, and that life’s first
 priority is not security, but rather to give of your gifts, to play, to
 love and be loved, to learn, to explore. When those people (your tribe)
 are in crisis, you can hold them in the knowing of what you know. And they
 can do the same for you. No one can do this alone.

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <img decoding="async" alt="Letter-to-my-younger-self3" class="has-img-center lazyload"
 style="width: 284px !important;"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Letter_to_my_younger_self2_22ebeaf25c.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T05:39:52.843Z" />

&nbsp;
<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <spanundefined style="color: #d67e1a">Reprinted with permission from
 <a style="color: #d67e1a" href="https://charleseisenstein.org/short-reflection-essays/letter-to-my-younger-self/"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noopener noreferrer">https://charleseisenstein.org/short-reflection-essays/letter-to-my-younger-self/</a>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: center">
 Article by
 <spanundefined>CHARLES EISENSTEIN Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL
</h4>

<hr />

Letter to my younger self

<h4>CHARLES EISENSTEIN challenges our current understanding of environmental sustainability, and asks us to reconsider our approaches and practices to environmentalism. He also dares us to realize that it will only work once we become nature lovers.</h4>If we are to focus our attention on a single substance, it should be not carbon dioxide but water. Beyond greenhouse effects, water is crucial in the ways the world maintains conditions for life to thrive.&nbsp;One function of water is as a vehicle of heat transport, part of the physiology of this living planet. Please watch the&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/B-oJyInmTTo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">animated video</a>&nbsp;about how plants influence local and global temperatures through the movement of water.This video, along with companion pieces on the&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/kKL40aBg-7E" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">biotic pump</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/Q8B4tST8ti8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hydrology</a>, comes from an emerging understanding among many environmentalists that we have made a scientific, strategic, rhetorical, and political error by reducing the ecological crisis to climate, and the climate crisis to carbon. Earth is best understood as a living being with a complex physiology, whose health depends on the health of her constituent organs. Her organs are the forests, the wetlands, the grasslands, the estuaries, the reefs, the apex predators, the keystone species, the soil, the insects, and indeed every intact ecosystem and every species on Earth. If we continue to degrade them, drain them, cut them, poison them, pave them, and kill them, earth will die a death of a million cuts. She will die of organ failure regardless of the levels of greenhouse gases.That is why, if I may be so bold as to make a prediction, that we will see increasingly dramatic derangement of weather patterns over the next few years. Indeed it has already begun. Floods, droughts, fires, anomalous heat, cold, wet, and dry at the wrong time of year will intensify, even in the absence of significant global warming. Such is already the case. I’m sure you’ve noticed. The weather has been weird the last few years; in some places, devastatingly so. Yet, global temperatures (according to the most reliable measure, satellite measurements of the lower troposphere) are about what they were in 2016. The overall trend since measurements began is definitely a warming trend (about 0.13 degrees per decade), but it has not been accelerating.Herein lies the strategic error. Having hitched the environmental wagon to the global warming horse, what happens if the horse stops running? It won’t mean that our environmental problems will have been solved. It won’t mean the crisis has been averted, if temperatures stop rising. That is because the core of the crisis is not warming, it is ecocide – the killing of ecosystems, the killing of life.The video and its companion videos illustrate clearly some of the ways this happens. Destroying soil and plant life, and all the other ecological actors they nourish and depend on, leads directly to flood-drought cycles that then get blamed on global warming. The complex, homeostatic feedback loops that maintain stability unravel. The loss of the Amazon can bring drought to Colorado. The loss of rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra might cause drought in China. The loss of the Congo causes floods in Nigeria. Everything is connected to everything else.<figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/environmental_movement2_ae2f711784.jpg"></figure><h3>Calculating our way to love?</h3>I was hiking yesterday near my home in the Carter Preserve. Dead trees are everywhere. Almost all the oaks are dead. Elsewhere in the state, tracts of old-growth oak have been clearcut to make way for utility-scale solar farms. Let’s put that in quotes, “farms.” Conservationist and entomology professor Douglas Tallamy has this to say, in response to industry advocates who claim that the ecological benefits of solar “farms” outweigh the benefits of a forest.“Cutting down an existing solar plant, which is a tree, in order to build an artificial one is just ridiculous,” he said. “It’s more than energy. Solar doesn’t feed a single bird, it doesn’t manage the watershed. The only ecological value is capturing energy from the sun, which is what plants do, but it’s not passing it on to rest of the food web. It’s the plants and animals around us that run the ecosystems that we all depend on. I know we want renewable energy, but we’ve got enough land that has already been leveled. Put the solar arrays on rooftops. Put them on all the destroyed properties we already have. Don’t cut down existing forests. It’s totally antithetical to the goals of conservation.”1What is the basis of industry’s argument that a solar “farm” is better than a forest? Carbon math, that’s what. They add up the sequestration numbers of a mature forest and compare it to the fossil fuel equivalent of the photovoltaic output. This is an extreme yet all-too-common example of what happens when we define “green” in terms of carbon dioxide. Further extremes are on the horizon. What happens if, as some think likely, carbon capture technologies reach economic&nbsp;<a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.iecr.0c04839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">feasibility</a>? Already, carbon math sometimes brings perverse results, as with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/18/revealed-forest-carbon-offsets-biggest-provider-worthless-verra-aoe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nearly useless</a>&nbsp;carbon offsets. Carbon math vastly underestimates the ecological utility of forests, given the role they play in the water cycle and Earth’s physiology. Inevitably, then, when carbon math defines “green,” the forests will suffer.None of this is to say that greenhouse gas emissions are benign. The degradation of earth’s ecosystemic organs renders her less able to cope with changes in atmospheric gas composition. The additional thermodynamic flux through an already unstable system exacerbates existing instabilities. Moreover, from the living Earth view, there are plenty of reasons to curtail fossil fuel development that have nothing to do with CO2 or methane. Strip-mining, drilling, fracking, burning, offshore oil development, and so forth devastate ecosystems, poison whole landscapes, destroy habitat, acidify rain, contaminate water, and risk catastrophic spills.<figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/environmental_movement3_f3fad7e9ed.jpg"></figure>The solution, though, is not to shift industrial civilization to another, equally or more damaging energy technology. We have instead to consider matters of scale and purpose. Scale: rooftop solar is different from utility-scale PV fields. Farm-based biogas reactors are different from <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/frameworks-of-fluidity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">industrial-scale</a> monocrop biofuel plantations. Micro-hydro is different from mega-dams. In each case, the former fits into an ecological relationship to the specific beings, human and otherwise, of a place. As for purpose, do we really need to produce more and more energy forever? Does it really contribute to human well-being? Bigger houses, more weapons, more stuff, the whole developmentalist technological program that separates us ever-further from life and matter… what does it serve? Ultimately, the “solution” to the ecological crisis is not technical. It comes from reclaiming basic values and changing our relationship to nature.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">One no longer needs be a nature lover to support the aims of environmentalism... The result is that environmentalism has been hijacked by people and institutions&nbsp; who are not nature lovers. We see where it leads: nature dies in the service of “sustainability.”</h4><hr>Commenting on the clearing of forests to build solar arrays, Tellamy wrote, “It’s totally antithetical to the goals of conservation.” Yes. The environmental movement needs to return to its roots. Conservation does not mean to “use more slowly” or to “save for later.” What the word really means is to&nbsp;serve with. To serve together. To serve what? To serve life. It is a rhetorical error to frame environmentalism in any other way than to make it about love of nature, love of life. No one becomes an environmentalist because of all the money they will save. No one calculates their way into love. And the changes that we will need to make to restore Earth’s aliveness from its current depletion will require a degree of courage and sacrifice that comes only from love. We will not be coerced or bribed into them.A veteran activist once told me of a meeting he attended in the 1980s in which a group of leading environmentalists decided to adopt the term “sustainability” into their core lexicon. “We wanted to sound scientific,” he said. “We didn’t want to use words like ‘love’ or ‘precious’ and be dismissed as tree-huggers. We wanted to give people a rational, hard-headed&nbsp;reason&nbsp;why we should protect nature. We thought that appealing to the beauty and sacredness of nature wouldn’t reach the people who were destroying it, so we tried to make it about their self-interest instead.”Around the same time, global warming entered the awareness of the environmental movement, growing over the years to become its defining issue. At first, global warming (now called climate change) seemed a boon to the movement. Now we would be able to force corporations and governments to do the things we’d always wanted, appealing not just to sentiments about nature’s magnificence, and not just to concerns over the health of some subset of people downwind, but to the survival of civilization itself. One no longer need be a nature lover to support the aims of environmentalism.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/environmental_movement4_365bb244b7.jpg"></figure>Let that last statement sink in. One no longer need be a nature lover to support the aims of environmentalism.The result is that environmentalism has been hijacked by people and institutions who are not nature lovers. We see where it leads: nature dies in the service of “sustainability.” Forests are cut for solar farms. Landscapes are sacrificed to pit mines to extract lithium, cobalt, silver, rare earths, etc. for decarbonization. There is an awful lot of money in the sustainability industry. It is the same story as before. Meanwhile, we neglect the priorities that are highest from the Living Earth perspective. The energy and funding and attention goes toward “saving the world” by reducing CO2. Neglected in comparison are the sea grass meadows. The peat bogs. The mangrove swamps. The beavers. The elephants. The whales. The sharks. Yet all of these are vital to planetary physiology.To be continued. Reprinted with permission by the author from&nbsp;<a href="https://charleseisenstein.substack.com/p/how-the-environmental-movement-can#footnote-1-110660236" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://charleseisenstein.substack.com/p/how-the-environmental-movement-can#footnote-1-110660236</a>&nbsp;<hr><a href="https://ecori.org/2021-6-2-for-better-or-worse-statewide-oak-tree-mortality-changes-ris-landscape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 https://ecori.org/2021-6-2-for-better-or-worse-statewide-oak-tree-mortality-changes-ris-landscape/</a>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4><hr>&nbsp;

How the environmental movement can find its way again

<h4>CHARLES EISENSTEIN challenges our current understanding of environmental sustainability, and asks us to reconsider our approaches and practices to environmentalism. In part 1, he dared us to realize that environmentalism will only work once we become nature lovers. In part 2, he focuses on the way forward, offering ways to heal the environment and ourselves.</h4>All is not lost. There is in fact a way to “save the world.” I put it in quotes, because ultimately the choice we face is not about our survival, it is about what kind of world we choose to live in. One vibrant with life? Or a gigantic strip mine/waste dump/parking lot? So let us say there is a way to regenerate a world vibrant with life. The way is to enact a reverence for life in all its forms. This translates to three priorities for environmentalist attention and funding.<figure class="image image_resized image-style-align-center" style="width:50.13%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3properties_environmental_healing2_d077c1ff8d.jpg"></figure><h4 style="margin-left:0cm;">Priority 1: Protect Ecosystems</h4>The first recalls traditional conservationism. We must absolutely protect any remaining intact ecosystems from development, whether it is for oil and gas, minerals, lumber, ranching, suburbs, dam reservoirs, industrial-scale fishing, or biofuels. The few remaining intact organs of Gaia are its reservoirs of biodiversity and its memory of health. Note well that to “protect” does not usually mean to fence off and keep humans away. In fact, right human participation can enhance the health of ecosystems when those humans have intimate understanding and reverence for the places where they live.<h4 style="margin-left:0cm;">Priority 2: Regeneration</h4>The second priority is regeneration, the restoring of life to places where it has been depleted. Regenerative farming and ranching, agroforestry, marine preserves, beaver reintroduction, salmon reintroduction, dam removal, and water retention landscapes are just some of the ways to revitalize the organs of the Earth and bring them back online to stabilize the climate.<h4 style="margin-left:0cm;">Priority 3: Detoxification</h4>The third priority is detoxification. I suspect a lot of forest death (it isn’t just oaks) and insect collapse (in most places at least 80% of insects have disappeared) is due to the ubiquity of herbicides, pesticides, toxic waste, and other pollutants in the environment. It shocked me when I learned that vast areas of forest in the eastern United States are routinely sprayed to “control” pest insects. Dioxins, PFAs, antibiotics, pharmaceutical residues, and agriculture chemicals contaminate every ecosystem on Earth, every animal, every cell. They are detectable even in Antarctica.&nbsp;Add to these the aerial spraying of aluminum and other particles in geoengineering experiments, causing elevated levels of aluminum in places remote from any industrial source. And let’s not forget the little-recognized impact of electromagnetic pollution, light pollution, and noise pollution on ecosystems. All of the above harm the Earth on the tissue level, further weakening her already compromised organs.<hr>In fact, right human participation&nbsp; can enhance the health of ecosystems&nbsp; when those humans have intimate understanding&nbsp; and reverence for the places where they live.<hr><figure class="image image_resized image-style-align-center" style="width:50.13%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3properties_environmental_healing3_5100fcc786.jpg"></figure><hr>The ecological crisis and the spiritual crisis&nbsp; that we call “mental health”&nbsp; share a common source:&nbsp; denial of the Earth as a living being worthy of love, worthy of service.<hr>The soul of the environmental movementI do not worry that our system is not sustainable. I worry that it is. I am afraid that we can continue to lay waste to the living Earth indefinitely, ending up on a concrete world, so chronically ill physically and mentally that we must incorporate technological assistance into our very brains and bodies.&nbsp;I am afraid we will compensate for the lost connection to a living world with a burgeoning array of virtual substitutes, digital realities, and online adventures, tragically seeking something that we come to forget we ever had. Do you remember how loud the frogs were? Do you remember flocks of birds extending from horizon to horizon? Do you remember the clouds of fireflies that lit up the nights of my father’s youth? I am afraid we will forget we ever lived in such wealth and make do instead with Mario Cart.&nbsp;We are already far down this path to a concrete world, and far down the path of learning to cope with it. American doctors write every year around 120 million prescriptions for SSRIs, 118 million prescriptions for Adderall, Ritalin, and other ADHD medications, and 120 million for benzodiazepines (I got those numbers by consulting the oracle, I mean ChatGPT). That’s more than one psychiatric drug prescription per capita! No wonder people have never been happier.The inner desolation mirrors the outer. The ecological crisis and the spiritual crisis that we call “mental health” share a common source: denial of the Earth as a living being worthy of love, worthy of service. The conservationist draws from a well of truth: that the purpose of a human being is to participate in the flourishing of life. To serve with. Sundered from that purpose, we inevitably become sick. That inner sickness, that soul sickness, reflects the outer sickness of ecosystems. Could there ultimately be any doubt that the global climate reflects the social climate, the political climate, the economic climate, and the psychic climate?The three priorities I listed above are no mere technical tweaks to the project of engineering Earth. They occur naturally to anyone who beholds Earth as a living being with a complex physiology. Beholding Earth as a being, a magnificent being, a gorgeous being, a sacred being, we fall ever deeper in love. Here is where to find again the soul of the environmental movement and fulfill its destiny to transform civilization.Reprinted with permission by the author from&nbsp;<a href="https://charleseisenstein.substack.com/p/how-the-environmental-movement-can#footnote-1-110660236">https://charleseisenstein.substack.com/p/how-the-environmental-movement-can#footnote-1-110660236</a><figure class="image image_resized image-style-align-center" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/3properties_environmental_healing4_64d1b7002e.jpg"></figure>

Three priorities for environmental healing

<h4>CHARLES EISENSTEIN challenges our reliance on money to cater to all our needs, and asks, “What is the corollary to such a life?”</h4>A privileged person is somebody who doesn’t have or doesn’t need community because they can meet all their needs with money. If you have enough money in modern society, you don’t need anybody or anyone or anything. You don’t need the people around you because you can pay somebody else to do whatever they’re doing. You don’t need the ecosystem around you, you don’t need the soil around, because you can pay to import food from somewhere else. You’re completely independent of your relationships, except for the one relationship that matters in modern society to sustain life, which is money, or so it seems.&nbsp;But as studies demonstrate, it’s not actually true that we can meet all of our needs with money. What money does is replaces human relationships. So, in an Amish community, there’s no such thing, as far as I know, as insurance on your home. Because if your home burns down, the community will get together and build you a new home. That’s your insurance. And your insurance payment is all the times that you helped somebody else build their house. So you don’t need insurance in that community.&nbsp;Well, any society that lives in that way is a ripe target for development, as it’s called, for economic growth, because you can replace that community function with a paid service. So what’s happened in the modern era is that, one after another, human relationships have been replaced with paid services. Everything from growing food to taking care of children to making entertainment. It’s not just the survival needs, it’s also: What does it take to live well? To be fully human? And if you don’t make your own music any more but you download it from Spotify, then that’s another service that’s been converted into money. And also ecological services get converted into something that you purchase. And that strips away what actually makes life rich.&nbsp;So what to do about it? On the broadest level, it’s to reclaim, to restore, to recover, to regenerate the lost relationships to come into relationship again... but to turn that idea [of privilege] on its head and embrace the knowledge of what actually makes life rich, what makes life good, and to say, okay, it’s time to enrich ourselves again. It’s time to reclaim the lost relationships.Here is a corollary to my point. In a subtle way, the assumptions that the privileged take for granted are part of the very conception of privilege. The privilege discourse takes for granted the desirability of the lives that the privileged occupy. This is part of the ideology of development that imposes Western, modernist ideas of progress on the rest of the world. It approaches development with the smug certainty that our way of life is better than theirs.&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">In a subtle way, the assumptions that the privileged&nbsp; take for granted are part of the very conception of privilege.</h4><hr>Certainly the life of an affluent American suburbanite is preferable to that of a starving Somali villager, an incarcerated inmate, or a sex-trafficked Haitian child. But is it superior to that of the relatives of my Amish interlocutor? Is it superior to the lives of indigenous peasants in the remote Andes? Traditional villagers in Gabon or Bangladesh? If so, then why are people so often palpably happier in those places than in America, where prescriptions for psychiatric medications exceed one per capita?Consider an example of NGO philanthropic development work, the boring of wells for Africans living in remote areas. Everyone would agree that access to safe drinking water is a positive good for all humans. Is it, however, an advance to have running water in every home? From the perspective of an American, it seems obviously so, as we are reminded when a power outage cuts off the water supply. But traditional villagers say that the spring or river or well is central to village life, one of the primary gathering places, especially for women. Are we better off sequestered, each in our own homes, never needing to interact with each other to procure food, water, play, child care, or entertainment?And what about the wealth that is&nbsp;connection to non-human beings like plants, animals, wind, rain, and soil? Progress has distanced us from all those things. As money mediates our relationships to these other beings, it grows into our primary relationship with the material world. We end up alone.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/True_Wealth2_46f688b383.jpg"></figure>The privileged at least have money. The rest, living in a society of separation, suffer much of the same distancing from nature and community, and lack money as well. If we take the distancing for granted, then yes, to have money is better than not to have it. To be privileged is preferable to being without privilege.In a society where courts and police settle our disputes instead of village councils and wise elders, then it is preferable to be among the privileged races and classes that suffer less police violence than the poor and Black.&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">The first step is always&nbsp; a step back into connection.</h4><hr>Must we take all that for granted though? Can we envision a different kind of society? Some of us have seen it, in remote places or in remnants in developed societies. Some remains even in small-town America. It is possible, but the path from here to there disappears into the mist. The first step is always a step back into connection. Then we remember the wealth we have lost. Our sense of poverty within affluence is validated. We are no longer satisfied with the money-mediated, technology-mediated substitutes for what we have lost. We no longer tolerate the ongoing destruction of the species, habitats, places, and cultures where such wealth still resides. Our choices orient naturally to the recovery of true wealth for one and all.<a href="https://charleseisenstein.substack.com/p/notes-on-privilege?utm_source=substack&amp;publication_id=427455&amp;post_id=130521854&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;triggerShare=true&amp;isFreemail=true">https://charleseisenstein.substack.com/p/notes-on-privilege?utm_source=substack&amp;publication_id=427455&amp;post_id=130521854&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;triggerShare=true&amp;isFreemail=true</a>

True wealth for one and all

<h4>Author and cultural critic CHARLES EISENSTEIN opens a two-part series exploring how virtual substitutes for real experience have created a profound sense of alienation in modern life.</h4>Anyone who has attended a great concert will agree that recorded music can never replicate the experience of a live performance. Yet the essential difference is hard to pin down. It isn’t just a matter of being together with other people. You could gather a thousand people in front of giant speakers and play a recorded album, and it wouldn’t be anything like a live concert.The essential and irreplaceable element of great live music is that the band is singing to the audience—to this audience, in this moment. The music is the vector of a unique, personal communication. To be sure, sometimes the band gives a rote performance, oblivious to the audience response; invariably, the audience feels at least a tinge of disappointment. The band wasn’t on today, they might think. But at its best, live performers are in a dialogue with the audience, responding to their energy, playing differently than ever before or since. Both band and audience remember a great concert fondly, and what makes a concert great isn’t a premier sound system or the musicians’ technical accuracy. Hand the recording of that performance to someone else, listening at a different place and time, and the effect may not be the same.&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">The essential and irreplaceable element of great live music is that the band is singing to the audience—to this audience, in this moment. The music is the vector of a unique, personal communication.&nbsp;</h4><hr>&nbsp;“You had to be there,” we say.A mere century or two ago, all music was performed live. Singing in the pub. A lover’s serenade. A lullaby. Gathering after dinner around the piano. Work songs in the field. Children’s songs on the playground. Operas, chamber music, barbershop quartets, church choirs, symphony orchestras. In each of these circumstances, someone was playing or singing to someone else.Today, such experiences are a rare dish in the musical diet of modern society. That diet does not nourish the human being. It fosters a kind of confusion, even a sense of betrayal. A million years of experience says, “Someone is singing to me.” There must be a band inside the radio, but no. The song was sung at a place and time completely disconnected from me. And so, I feel a little cheated.Please don’t misinterpret this to mean that we shouldn’t listen to recorded music. It can entertain, give joy and inspiration, generate emotions, or evoke memories. Indeed, it is better than no music at all. However, when it supplants live music, life empties just a little bit more than it already has in the modern world. It empties of reality. When someone plays live, even if it is just my son practicing his scales, the loop from source to ear and back to source—there he is!—is complete. What my ear tells me is here, is actually here. I am not “hearing things.”One might call recorded music “virtual music.” It has all the auditory appearance of music, but no instruments are being played, nor are any notes being sung. This is all the more true for music produced with synthesizers. Not only is there no hand strumming the guitar right now, there never was.What’s true of music is true of all recorded sound. As I write this, I am toggling my attention sometimes to the crickets chirping outside my window. My ear follows them out into the night. Would my experience be any different if I were listening to a recording of crickets? The difference might be indistinguishable to the human ear, except that crickets don’t chirp the same way all the time but speed up or slow down according to the temperature and other variables. The practiced ear might notice different tones early or late in the season, or after a rain. And real crickets stop chirping when some person or animal draws close. A careful listener can learn a lot about what’s going on outside from listening to crickets. That experience embeds the listener more deeply in the world, immersing them in a matrix of connections. One can “close the loop” by going outside and finding the cricket.High-fidelity recordings are available of the sounds of the Amazon rainforest. It is as if you are in the middle of the jungle—but you are not. The operative words here are “as if.” As if you are in the jungle. Your ears tell you you are there. Listen, a jaguar is prowling close. But no, it isn’t. When I listen to such recordings, something holds me back from full immersion—the same instinct, perhaps, that makes me wary of internet scammers. One senses the presence of a lie.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/virtual_intelligence2_66c192e983.webp" alt="virtual-intelligence2.webp"></figure>&nbsp;All of the foregoing applies equally to images. I treated this topic in depth in an earlier essay, “Intelligence in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” an homage to Walter Benjamin. Watching YouTube, the eye tells us, “There is a kitten there.” Look, it bats a ping-pong ball. But there is no kitten. This was, of course, true of oil paintings as well, but the painting itself remained a unique physical object. (One could also, before recording technology, mimic sounds.) In any case, with computer-generated images and video, what we see on screen is not merely separated in space and time from ourselves; it never existed in the first place. The eye tells us one thing (kitten), while reason tells us something else (no kitten).Through AV recording technology, and even more through <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/chatgpt-gamechanger-or-hype" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">generative AI</a>, we learn a habit of distancing ourselves from what we see and hear. These are among the senses that establish our presence in the world. It’s no wonder so many people feel lost here.&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Immersion in a world of virtual sounds and images induces feelings of alienation and loneliness. &nbsp;</h4><hr>&nbsp;The person who lives in an environment of ubiquitous deceit learns not to trust anything. This lack of trust has dire political and psychological consequences. A serious political consequence is that we no longer trust photographic or video evidence of crimes against humanity. That distrust endows the crimes with a shield that allows them to proceed in full view of the public. Automatically, we discount whatever we see on screen, knowing on some level that it isn’t real—in the sense that there is no kitten cavorting right there; that whatever we are seeing isn’t happening right now. (Or, in the case of computer-generated images, happening at all.) We have, in other words, grown inured to whatever the screen is telling us.That habit originates quite sensibly, since most of the violence and drama we witness on screens is indeed unreal. If we took all those TV gun battles and car chases as real, they would fry our nerves. So we discount them—discounting along with them images and stories that are real. The eye and ear cannot easily distinguish which is which. They all present the same. That habit of discounting digitally transmitted information makes the public relatively unresponsive to horrifying events. It has been habituated to assume, unconsciously, that this isn’t really happening.Immersion in a world of virtual sounds and images induces feelings of alienation and loneliness. When we see and hear things that are not there, a dreadful “de-realization” ensues, in which one wonders, “Maybe I am not really here either.” It isn’t usually an explicit thought; it is a feeling, a sense of phoniness and meaninglessness, of living in a simulation. Naturally, we stop caring about what happens to something that isn’t real anyway.It’s not just mass-produced sounds and images that contribute to modern de-realization. The mass production of commodities preceded and prefigured them. As with a recorded sound, a commodity, as a standard, generic object, carries no visible trace of the social labor that formed it. It comes as if from nowhere, detached from its history and the social and ecological effects of its production. There is no story attached to it, except maybe where you bought it and how much it cost.Before the industrial era, material objects were also vectors of relationship. Either you made it yourself from local materials, or someone made it for you, someone with whom you were connected in many other ways. Economic relations were interwoven with social relations. Food, clothing, and everything created by human hands circulated in gift networks, anchoring giver and receiver into a web of relationship. They confirmed: you are here. You are connected to the world—a participant, not just a consumer. You are part of the web. Objects that appear out of nowhere, through Amazon’s one-click purchasing, do not connect you to a human being, a place, or a community.The commodity thus bears a kind of unreality. Despite its material solidity, it contributes to a pervasive sense of phoniness. Here it is, yet no one actually made it for me. It is a material object that appears without undergoing any visible process of material production. Here is an exquisitely intricate design on a dinner plate, yet no artist painted it, not at any rate on this plate. Subjectively, it has no history, no relations, mirroring the loss of “aura” that Walter Benjamin ascribed to mechanically reproduced artwork, and mirroring also the scripted performances of those who occupy society’s standardized roles. Such roles are impersonal. Their occupants seem not to be real people, in the same way as commodities seem not to be real objects. Therefore, cultural sensitives like J.D. Salinger were able to identify phoniness as a defining feature of modern society some 70 years ago, well before the age of computer-generated sounds and images.Today, we have not only machine-produced objects, sounds, and images, but also machine-produced personalities. The AI chatbot gives every impression that a human being is writing or speaking to you, hearing you, responding to you, understanding you, feeling you, and being there with you. Underneath the words, though, no one is feeling anything. Appearance and reality diverge yet again, and in the end, we are left grasping electrons.Editor’s Note: In next month’s issue, Eisenstein examines how these patterns of virtual substitution reach their most intimate and potentially dangerous form in artificial intelligence, where machines not only simulate music or images but also simulate the experience of being understood, cared for, and known by another conscious being.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/virtual_intelligence3_d99547c33d.webp" alt="virtual-intelligence3.webp"></figure>&nbsp;

Virtual Intelligence

Virtual Intelligence - Part Two

Charlotte has worked for over 20 years in the field of international cooperation. Today, she is an independent consultant, works with the 4DS group, and bridges Yoga with sustainable development through her social enterprises Narayan, Listening Inspires, and the Listening to the Earth campaign.



Charlotte-Dufour.jpg

Charlotte Dufour

<h4>CHARLOTTE DUFOUR is a veteran in the fields of international cooperation and sustainable food systems. In part 3 of her interview with KALPANA SAI of the Heartfulness Institute, she focuses on our relationship with the outside world and the environment.</h4><hr>Q: When we open our hearts, being sensitive to what’s really working for us and what’s not, we build a connection with our inner world. At the same time, we need to connect spiritually to the world outside. How can we do that?CD:&nbsp;It’s a very good and difficult-to-answer question, because it’s quite personal. I am finishing my training to be an instructor of meditation, so I have a little bit of experience. As trainers, we position ourselves as channels for the wisdom. It’s not me, Charlotte, teaching, it’s the Source. So, our own alignment, which is our own practice, is very important for us to be connected.I try to listen very attentively when I’m guiding a Yoga class. I try to be very attentive to what’s happening inside me, in terms of the sensations of energy and how it flows. I invite those with me to be open to their sensations, knowing they will have their own experience.It really helps to be guided by someone. All the great masters had their own gurus, right? They needed gurus even if they were realized masters; they needed guidance and we need it too. If you have a guide, you can constantly reinvite them. Their guidance will help with the outer connection. They hold the key to the inner world.I’m doing things like journaling, and awareness of the body,in order to recognize physical and emotional tensions. We have a variety of tools at our disposal, and it’s a never-ending journey. You can constantly go deeper. Every time I go on a meditation retreat, I feel, “Wow, yet another level.” I have friends who’ve been meditating for thirty or forty years who are still going deeper and having new experiences. It’s an exciting path.Q: This builds on our previous conversation about finding a community, now adding the importance of having a guide who can help, including how to connect with the world around us.CD: When we are ourselves connected, when we deepen our meditation, then the connection with others becomes more fluid.When we’re connected to ourselves, we can be more empathetic, our intuition and our ability to feel where people are, and what they may need, deepens. I’ve also found that by deepening my meditation I’ve become much more aware of connections to nature. I’ve become much more nurturing.In fact, my meditation practice led me to become one of the founders of “<a href="https://listeningtotheearth.world">Listening to the Earth</a>.” It led to the realization that the challenges of our time are due to humankind’s separation from the Earth. We are now reminded that we are one with Nature, the divine creation. We are invited to be in a relationship of love with Nature and our environment.A friend of mine recently said, “When I choose myself, I choose us.” I think this is true because there is always a part of us that is connected to the whole universe.<hr><hr><h4>When we are ourselves connected,&nbsp; when we deepen our meditation,&nbsp; then the connection with others&nbsp; becomes more fluid.</h4><hr><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/learn_manage_ecoanxiety2_700x752_c984cd8db6.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T10:31:46.753Z"><hr>Q: Elaborating on this, what is eco-anxiety and what is the significance of connecting to Nature?CD: A lot of news tells us, “With climate change, we won’t be able to feed ourselves, there will be huge disasters, it’s too late as we’ve passed the tipping point.” So, there’s a lot of fear. But we should ask ourselves, “Wait a minute. Who do we think we are?” There’s something much greater than us, much wiser than us. When we look at the wisdom of Nature, our body cells, the way everything works, it is mind-blowing. When a woman is with child, she is not doing anything, and yet the cells in her body are multiplying. A being is formed and she’s not consciously doing that.The power that lies in this creation is far beyond our understanding. Science has so much yet to discover, and that gives me hope. I think there’s a far greater regenerative capacity in the world than we think. With the challenges we face now, there is an opportunity to remind ourselves of our deep feelings, connection to the rest of creation, and it’s part of the evolution of human consciousness on this planet.<hr><hr><h4>I believe that acting from a space of love&nbsp; and joy can happen through our inner connection&nbsp; and the connection to others.</h4><hr><hr>We’ve formed an NGO called “<a href="https://www.listening-inspires.world/blog">Listening Inspires</a>.” We offer workshops on eco-anxiety and a big part of what we offer is, “How can we act from a space of love and joy, rather than a space of fear?” There’s a lot of fear and anger in the world, and those are the forces that block us, hurt us. They are the opposite of love.I believe that acting from a space of love and joy can happen through our inner connection and the connection to others. I truly believe we will make it as humanity. It’s just a massive learning opportunity. We’ve never experienced it before on a global scale, as is happening in this stage of human evolution. But we will be guided, and we will be supported.Q: Thank you. Is there anything else you would like to offer or to add?CD: I was just thinking of my gratitude for this conversation. In this phase of our evolution, if we show gratitude and respect, our hearts will be full. Practicing gratitude is key for heartfulness and well-being. Thank you. My heart is full and I’m filled with a lot of gratitude.<hr><hr><h4>Interview by KALPANA SAI Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4><hr>

Learning to manage eco-anxiety

<h4>CHARLOTTE DUFOUR is a veteran in the fields of international cooperation and sustainable food systems. Here she is interviewed by KALPANA SAI of the Heartfulness Institute about the role of Yoga and spirituality in mental health and wellness. She shares some solutions for a world that seems more anxious and disconnected than ever.</h4><hr>Q:&nbsp; Welcome Charlotte. How would you define mental health and spirituality?CD: Mental health is very much about feeling a sense of joy and lightness of alignment between the way we lead our lives and the aspirations of our heart. When we feel purposeful and mentally well, we feel happy and grateful.Spirituality is about connecting and nourishing the connection to the Higher Self or soul, and about learning to disentangle ourselves from the fears and attachments of the ego. I like to think of it as an expansive source of love that animates the whole world. We can call it the Divine. And the journey of spirituality is about nourishing that connection.Q: How has spirituality shown up in your life?CD: Spirituality has always been present in my life in some shape or form. I grew up in a Christian family with a very devoted grandmother, and with no pressure to conform to practices. So, it was always there, but I really discovered what it meant when I was struggling with physical and mental challenges – there were some very difficult events. I was regularly close to burnout, and sometimes flirting a bit with depression. Then there was a turnaround, when I found a Yoga and meditation retreat in a community in Italy. And that was just a whole mind- and heart-opener.The practice of meditation changed my life. A beautiful teaching that helped me is the notion that our soul has eight qualities of peace, calm, wisdom, power, love, joy, light and sound. And when you think of mental well-being, these are all things we aspire to. Our deep self and the spiritual journey are about reconnecting with those.Through meditation, I started experiencing that peace and well-being – not only mental, but everything. The term “Heartfulness” speaks deeply to me because when I am in deep meditation it’s mental wellness, but it’s also heart-based wellness in every sense of the term.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/love_animates_the_world2_700x459_a76b021a71.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T11:28:40.888Z" alt="love-animates-the-world2-700x459"><hr>I feel we need that more than ever. Our world is very shaken up and everything’s speeding up. Many of us feel that we’re in times of deep transition, which lead to deep insecurities. We have massive inequities within societies and around the world. I mean, Climate Change, Covid, they’re revealing all these tensions. So, I think we’re shaken in our core and it’s frightening. The anxiety that’s growing, including among the youth, is very concerning. Now, more than ever, we are being given opportunities to find a deeper level of peace and harmony. And as many masters have been telling us, it’s within us.<hr><hr><h4>Mental health is very much about&nbsp; feeling a sense of joy and lightness of&nbsp; alignment between the way we lead our lives&nbsp; and the aspirations of our heart.</h4><hr><hr>Q: What kind of impact do you think meditation and Yoga can have on mental health?CD: Meditation brings so much. It’s an everlasting journey of deepening.One thing is in helping to find that inner peace when you’re going through very turbulent times. I think that many mental health problems are connected to a wound, a soul wound. I remember reading a book that mentions soul wounds such as humiliation, abandonment, injustice, and betrayal, and the author describes how each soul chooses to be challenged in a particular incarnation. And when these wounds go deeper, all of them have a commonality. They’re about a breakage in love, a feeling of not being loved. And when you go deep in meditation with devotion, you find this mother with infinite love, and I think that’s the space we’re invited to touch through meditation.At the very practical level, meditation also helps you to be discerning, to make decisions, to find the right path. What is the right choice today? When you’re faced with a sea of confusion and everything seems so hard to decide, you get lost. But through meditation, you cultivate your intuition and the choices you make are guided from a deeper space.<hr><hr><h4>Through meditation, you cultivate your intuition&nbsp; and the choices you make are guided&nbsp; from a deeper space.</h4><hr><hr>Very recently, I was really knocked out of my equilibrium, and I wasn’t meditating as much and going deep. I was feeling very stressed. As soon as I was able to nourish my meditation routine, the days became so much easier. Things just started to flow. The people I needed to meet just showed up in my Inbox or called. The meetings that were crowding out my schedule: “Oh, sorry. Can we postpone this?” It was as if I had this magic, aid coming my way. And I think that comes when you’re aligned with the universe and with what wants to happen through you.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/love_animates_the_world3_700x751_1ccce91d8e.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T11:29:32.646Z" alt="love-animates-the-world3-700x751"><hr>The notion of Karma Yoga has also helped me lot. It’s not us doing. We are channels, and at the service of something greater than ourselves. Meditation enables us to put ourselves in that position where we can be channels, we can receive guidance, we can be carried, etc. Things that are supposed to happen become effortless, because they’re exactly what wants to happen through and with us.<hr>To be continued.<hr><hr><h4>Interview by KALPANA SAI&nbsp; Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4><hr>

Love animates the world

<h4>CHARLOTTE DUFOUR is a veteran in the fields of international cooperation and sustainable food systems. Here she is interviewed by KALPANA SAI of the Heartfulness Institute about the role of Yoga and spirituality in her own mental health and wellness, sharing tips from her experience.</h4><hr>Q: There are many opinions about when Yoga should be practiced, specifically, the time of the day. What is your take on this?CD: I’m tempted to say everybody should work based on what suits them. I like to do it in the morning before my meditation. I find Yoga to be a preparation for meditation, in terms of feeling the energy flow more smoothly in your body, so that you can go deeper within, while calming the mind.You can be very creative about how you fit Yoga into the day. I find with my own practices that I so love it when I can have a long session, but the reality of my schedules is not always that. So, I’m constantly reminding myself that five minutes is better than nothing. The bare minimum is three pairs of sun salutations. It takes five to ten minutes, but it makes a big difference. So, adaptation to our schedules is quite good.Q: How did you inspire yourself to have a dedicated practice? How did you become consistent? And what are some things we can do consistently to show up for ourselves and enhance our well-being, physically, and especially, mentally and emotionally?CD: Well, it’s not easy. Yoga does take time and discipline. Willpower is a very important element of the spiritual journey. Quoting Yogananda, “The stronger the will, the stronger the energy.” He talked about this inner battle. Of course, the ego will do everything to distract you from meditation. Everything else will be a priority.<hr><hr><h4>I think a big part of bringing Yoga in a daily routine is to stop and breathe.&nbsp; For example, take five minutes before a meeting&nbsp; to do a few yogic breathing exercises.</h4><hr><hr>The first important thing is the environment. I find it much easier when I’m living alone and completely a master of my time. I think it’s harder when you have a family. I really admire mothers with children who continue to practice. You eventually understand that the environment is stronger than willpower. So, it’s about finding the right environment and the right community of friends that support you in your practice.I also regularly go back to our ashram, as it is easy to dive deep into the practice and remember how much I love it. It’s hard to do alone. I would say regularity and good company. Sometimes you need to go through a phase where you lose your practice. I confess, in recent weeks I very much lost it, and I was not well. I was not even aware of the tensions I had, but as I started practicing Hatha Yoga, it was like, “Oh!” Then, when I started opening up to what my body actually feels like when it’s well, I was more aware of what’s bad for me, in terms of diet and breathing. I think a big part of bringing Yoga in a daily routine is to stop and breathe. For example, take five minutes before a meeting to do a few yogic breathing exercises.Q: Is there anything else you would like to add? What are other things we can focus on, especially, after the repercussions of the pandemic?CD:&nbsp;You mentioned physical disease, and that’s where the other paths of Yoga are. I read a book that explains how many of the physical illnesses we have happen when one of our soul wounds is activated. When you are able to identify how a particular event has reactivated a wound, you can address it. I remember one time my lower back got stuck, and I observed, “This seems to be around the second chakra. What does this mean? Okay, X is probably what triggered this back pain.” So, on one hand I worked on the Yoga postures, to open up the energy flows and bring the second chakra back into balance, and on the other hand I also worked on the emotional trigger for the back pain. I think this is why we say Yoga is very much about consciousness, awareness, and self-awareness.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Be_open_to_whevever_comes2_46bc2a971b.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-26T11:03:32.751Z" alt="">&nbsp;<hr>Q: I agree. A lot of people talk about awareness as the first step to knowing, because once “you know,” everything else seems to fall into place organically.&nbsp;In a more general sense, what kind of advice would you give someone who is trying to build a spiritual connection with themselves, or embarking on a journey of self-acceptance, self-love, or just wanting to have a relationship with themselves?CD: Well, the answer is so personal. I would say, be open to the cues, because when you start wanting to engage in this journey the universe is responsive. You’ll start having a conversation with somebody who gives you an idea or a book. A turning point for me was when somebody shared a book that opened my mind to the idea of reincarnation, souls coming and going, and life having a purpose. But it was later that I found the path of Yoga. So, there were little seeds along the way. When I finally arrived for the self-healing course in Ananda Yoga, it was an incredibly moving moment for me, especially when I found myself in a temple with pictures of all these masters, and reading Jesus.&nbsp;<hr> &nbsp;&nbsp;<hr><h4>Yoga is very much about&nbsp; consciousness, awareness, and self-awareness.</h4>&nbsp;<hr> &nbsp;&nbsp;<hr>I am moved even thinking about that moment because I felt it was waiting for me. And I think we have an image that Yogananda shares, “It’s good to try the water from different wells; they all go down the same source, the same aquifer.” Once you find the one that feels right for you, stick with it and go deep. There’s being open to what comes your way. What resonates? Where does your heart open? You might retrospectively recognize the signs.For example, I had such an interest, but at first I hesitated to practice Kriya Yoga as taught by Yogananda. I asked myself, “Do I go into that practice? It’s a certain commitment,” but I was starting to meet people out of the blue from completely unexpected sources who were either doing it or who gave me a book that mentioned it. So, be aware of the signs. Listen to your heart. You know. And if you are having a challenge in your life – be it a personal one, like a divorce or an illness – that might be a cue that it’s a good time to search. I’m so grateful to live in this great time of spiritual opening.To be continued.<hr><hr><h4>Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4><hr>

Be open to what comes your way

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Chief Seattle

We Belong to the Earth

Chinese Proverb

Planting trees

Learning

Chirag Kulkarni

<hr><h4>CHIRAG KULKARNI, Co-Founder and CMO of Medly Pharmacies in the USA, speaks with RISHIKA SHARMA about creating a regular meditation practice, so as to make it a habit. He also shares how meditation has benefited both his personal and professional life.&nbsp;</h4><hr>Q: Hi Chirag. How did you get into meditation?&nbsp;CK: My parents have been practicing meditation since before I was born. I saw a lot of the values first-hand. Growing up, we used to go to the meditation center on Sundays; a lot of my life revolved around the Heartfulness practice, so when I had the opportunity to start meditation for myself, I thought it was well worth it and gave it a shot.&nbsp;Q: We often try things because people we look up to, like family members and friends, are doing it. You were basically surrounded by people who practiced <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/the-forgotten-art-of-journaling" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">meditation</a>. What made you stick with meditation for yourself?&nbsp;CK: I spent a good while in India, and learned from one of the Heartfulness teachers, Chariji. Learning from him first-hand was a good introduction, but I think what made me stick to it was slowly seeing some of the benefits that meditation offered.&nbsp;Like with anything, when you start something, what keeps you going are the small wins that you see on a daily basis. In the beginning, it was probably the ability to sit for a few more minutes, from five minutes to ten minutes to twenty minutes, and more. I really started seeing the benefits of meditation after three to four months of practicing consistently. Small changes, like focus. I would get frustrated very quickly, and that started to improve. I noticed my patience starting to increase.&nbsp;In the grand scheme of things, what really helped me was writing a diary, because I was able to look back and analyze what my thoughts were when I started <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/from-attention-to-attraction" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">meditation</a>, what I was feeling when I was meditating, and compare them with what I was feeling three months, seven months, and ten months later. I saw slight improvements even in the way I was behaving.&nbsp;Q: Did those small wins help cement meditation as a tool that you would utilize?&nbsp;CK: Yes. Those small victories led to larger improvements over a period of time.&nbsp;Q: What is it about the Heartfulness practice that makes it so unique? Why would you recommend it to young adults?CK: Self-care for some people might be baking, taking Sunday off and reading a book. Self-care might be doing face masks with your friends, or listening to music. There are so many examples of self-care, and the whole purpose of self-care is that you’re caring for yourself. With meditation, your focus is not only on caring for the mind and body, and all of the related aspects that fit into who you are as a human being, but also the element of the spiritual quotient that people really tend to ignore on a daily basis.&nbsp;Heartfulness is a spiritual practice. Initially, I was less interested in the spiritual aspects, and more interested in the material benefits, like deeper sleep, more focus, getting less angry, getting less agitated, getting less irritated.&nbsp;<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/habit_meditation2_bdb28b6a10.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T06:45:28.352Z" alt="habit-meditation"><hr>Q: It’s almost like meditation is a full cleanse.&nbsp;CK: I think meditation attacks a situation at the root cause. It’s like getting rid of weeds in your garden: one way is to cut the weed, but the most effective way is to take them out by the roots, so that they don’t grow back. It’s similar with meditation. You’re trying to fix what is happening at the depth of yourself.&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;<hr>An open mind is important. The moment you set expectations around what meditation should be, you limit what it can be. Openness and a growth mindset are two related things that are necessary.&nbsp;&nbsp;<hr><hr>Q: Incorporating any new habit is a challenge. How did you learn to make meditation a priority in your life?&nbsp;CK: With anything in life, you have to start by figuring out what the benefit is. Once you figure that out, then you can figure out what priority it has in your life. In the beginning, meditation might not be a priority, but for me it was an important thing to stick to for a variety of reasons: First, there were people around me who were interested in it, and second, I knew the benefits, both from people who were practicing and from what I was seeing.&nbsp;The question of creating a habit first comes down to having interest. Then, once you have interest, it’s important to talk to people who have made the habit a part of their daily life, and figure out how they did that. From there, it comes down to a willingness to do it. If you prioritize it, you’re going to figure out a way to make it regular. Then it becomes a habit. It becomes second nature, just like brushing your teeth. &nbsp;The thing about habits is that you don’t consciously think about them. For me, meditation became habitual in nature when I really saw the benefits, which was probably in month four or five. Being in an ashram helps you cultivate that regularity that you need to create habits. From there, coming back home was the real test of how to make it a part of my day-to-day life.&nbsp;<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/habit_meditation3_ea7f340b1c.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T06:45:28.268Z" alt="habit-meditation"><hr>Q: What were the roadblocks to meditation becoming habitual?&nbsp;CK: One roadblock is the habit of doing something else instead of meditating first thing in the morning. The second is just natural hindrances that come in the way and prevent you from meditating on a morning-by-morning basis, like getting up ten minutes before your first meeting and not having enough time to get ready. It’s an element of time management, prioritization.&nbsp;Q: How did you overcome those roadblocks?&nbsp;CK: When I talked to people who had made meditation a part of their daily routine, one piece of advice they gave me was to give at least three hours in the morning to focus on yourself, to do things that promote self-care. That’s how I help myself calibrate and decide the time I need to get up to meditate. That develops a level of regularity, like waking up at the same time every day.&nbsp;Q: You must have had interest, as well. What was it about meditation that was so compelling that you had to wake up in the morning to do it?&nbsp;CK: I think interest comes when what you’re seeking is fulfilled. For me, it was seeing the benefits, feeling the peace and calmness after meditation, the refinement of my anger. Those were the things that I was really happy with. Seeing those benefits strengthened my interest in the practice.&nbsp;Q: With what kind of mindset should you approach meditation?CK: An open mind is important. The moment you set expectations around what meditation should be, you limit what it can be. Openness and a growth mindset are two related things that are necessary.&nbsp;<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/habit_meditation4_901a99541b.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T06:45:28.219Z" alt="habit-meditation"><hr>Q: Do you think willpower is important?&nbsp;CK: Hopefully, meditation is something that you enjoy, and because of the benefits that you see when you start practicing, you enjoy those benefits because they bear fruit. I do think it’s natural to exercise a certain amount of willpower throughout a meditative practice, but not necessarily in meditation. The practice of cleaning requires willpower, because you are consciously cleaning something, and that is not as natural as meditation.&nbsp;Q: How did a combination of interest, willpower, and openness support your practice?&nbsp;CK: I think in the beginning, there was some level of willpower required. I wasn’t necessarily seeing the immediate benefits of meditation. I trusted based on what I observed in other people around me. It was important to just get in the chair and sit. That is willpower.&nbsp;Q: Has having a consistent meditation practice impacted your approach to your career and professional life?CK: Yes. There are a variety of different decisions that need to be made. I think having a practice allows you to make decisions in the workplace, and cultivate a working style and environment that support everyone’s mutual growth.&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;<hr>I would say that it’s a constant practice of connecting with your heart and, as a result, allowing your heart to guide you to make decisions.&nbsp;&nbsp;<hr><hr>Q: How has meditation impacted your interactions and relationships with other people?&nbsp;CK: Meditation, for the most part, has allowed me to become more empathetic. It has helped me to pause, and that leads to more empathy.&nbsp;Q: Interactions between friends and family can be very different from interactions with people in the workplace.&nbsp;CK: I actually think of them as very similar, because in the workplace, you need to be very empathetic. You also need to be empathetic in social situations. You need to be decisive in the workplace, just like you need to be decisive with friends.&nbsp;Q: We’re often told to follow our hearts, but to take our minds with us. What is it about heart-based meditation that has helped you listen to your heart?&nbsp;CK: I would say that it’s a constant practice of connecting with your heart and, as a result, allowing your heart to guide you to make decisions. The mind is fickle, and with that fickleness can come wrong decisions. By tapping into your heart, you create a practice that is more unifying.&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;<hr>Meditation, for the most part, has allowed me to become more empathetic. It has helped me to pause, and that leads to more empathy.&nbsp;&nbsp;<hr><hr>Q: What is it about Heartfulness that keeps you committed to it?&nbsp;CK: I think it’s the lightness inside, and the pranahuti. There are so many aspects that make Heartfulness compelling.&nbsp;Q: Why are inner peace and refinement important?CK: We live in such a chaotic world that if we focus on the chaos we can get lost. To be able to go within is really important because we all need that space to recharge, regroup, and refocus, especially nowadays. Introspection is important because it is easy for us to do things on a daily basis that are wrong. By stopping and introspecting, we strengthen our ability to make the right decisions.&nbsp;Q: What would you say to anyone who is interested in trying heart-based meditation, but doesn’t know where to start?CK: I would say just sit in a chair and try it. Allow yourself to meditate on your heart for a few minutes, and observe how you feel.&nbsp;&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Interviewed by RISHIKA SHARMA llustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4>&nbsp;<hr>

Create the habit of meditation

Chitra is an Indian-born American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. Her short story collection, Arranged Marriage, won an American Book Award and two of her novels, as well as a short story, have been adapted into films.

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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Meeting phenomenal women

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Chitra Madhavi

<hr><h4>CHITRA MADHAVI shares a young person’s perspective on relationships.</h4><hr>The word ‘relationship’ can mean many things. It may be the bond between a mother and son, sister and brother, friends or acquaintances. It may be a romance, a teacher-student relationship, a professional relationship, or even a connection with a person we meet once in our life, or speak to over the phone. It encompasses all the connections people share.It is also a term used to describe the way in which people treat each other. Each relationship shared is unique. For example, the way we behave with a teacher is definitely different from the way we behave with an aunt. But also the way we interact and feel around two different teachers can also be very different. For any relationship to develop in a healthy way, we need to trust, accept, be open-minded, loyal, kind, make good memories, wish well, respect, be reliable, communicate, understand and of course love the ‘other’ in the relationship. But thankfully, all these qualities need not be forcefully imbibed; they can become a part of us naturally as we spend time with the other person.When we think of relationships, we usually associate them with others. We rarely consider a relationship with ourselves. I believe it is one of the most important bonds we can have, as it becomes the foundation or basis for all the other relationships we have.To maintain a healthy relationship with ourselves we need faith in the choices we make, we need to love ourselves and learn to enjoy our own company. How to empathize with ourselves when things don’t go the way we expect? How to communicate with ourselves, in the sense of not being afraid to live according to the values we feel are important? How to accept our flaws and not try to hide them? And as we learn to respect ourselves we discover who we truly are, and begin to use our abilities to the full potential. Then our so-called flaws don’t hold us back at all, but make us original. Truly and simply extraordinary.<hr>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Article by CHITRA MADHAVI</h4>&nbsp;<hr>

Relationships

Chloe Powell is the Senior Editor at Revivalist Magazine. She writes about wellness, beauty, and self-care to help readers feel their best. Through her work, she shares honest, helpful advice for living a healthier, happier life.

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Chloe Powell

Chris is a clinical psychologist and lecturer at Harvard Medical School. He is a co-developer of the Mindful Self-Compassion program, author of a number of books and a founding faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School.


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Chris Germer

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">DR CHRIS GERMER is a clinical psychologist, meditation practitioner, author and teacher of mindfulness and compassion in psychotherapy and everyday life. He is the co-developer of the Mindful Self-Compassion training program. Here AMIR IMANI interviews him during a webinar for mindfulness practitioners.</h4>An informal definition of self-compassion is: Treating ourselves with the same kindness and understanding as we would treat a dear friend in the midst of suffering.Q: I am very happy and delighted to have you with us Chris, to speak about Mindful Self-Compassion.CG: Thank you. It’s an honor to be speaking right now with everyone.Q: You’re a psychotherapist. You teach and lecture at Harvard University, and you are the co-developer of Mindful Self-Compassion with Kristin Neff. I hear that you and Kristin have also released a new workbook on self-compassion.&nbsp;I have been reading your book on self-compassion and it gives me the feeling of how important it is in our lives. Somehow personally, when I’m reading your book, I feel that mindfulness that is not softened by self-compassion is dry and clinical without heart. So to me this is such an important topic to cover, and I’m happy you’re here to talk to us about it.CG: Thank you, Amir. Well, I appreciate Saki Santorelli’s expression that love, kindness and compassion should be echoing through our awareness, through mindfulness. And as you were talking about this, it was clear to me that it is echoing through your awareness. I appreciate your sensibility about this.What I have found in my own personal life is that sometimes when we’re confronted with really difficult situations, really difficult emotions, we need to actively practice compassion and self-compassion, or else we cannot be mindful. As a clinical psychologist, all the time we’re dealing with really difficult emotions – with shame, despair, dread, fear – intense emotions. And when they come up, in order to be able to live within our own bodies and selves, and with others, we need a lot of compassion.Rumi once said: Close your eyes. Fall in love. Stay there.It’s such a beautiful thing to say! Sometimes when we close our eyes and we see something good, we fall in love; in other words we have appreciation for the miracle of life. But when difficult emotions come, like when we feel shame or despair or fear, then we actually cannot stay in love, because we feel disgust. We want to get away. In other words, we can’t fall in love and stay there. So what does it take to actually stay there in our own experience? That’s self-compassion practice.<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/self_compassion2_7e2edb3e33.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T11:29:24.292Z" alt="self-compassion2">It’s a great struggle sometimes to remain compassionate toward oneself and toward others at such times, because we do feel intense emotions, but I do think that selfcompassion can help. In order to grow in compassion for others we actually first need to grow in compassion for ourselves. That means:We first need to know what we’re experiencing in a spacious way. That’s mindfulness.We also need to be able to see that we’re not alone. That’s what we call common humanity: a sense of ‘we’re together’ and ‘just like me’.And then the third part is self-kindness. In other words, we actually need to learn to be as kind to ourselves as we are to others.So these are the three components of self-compassion that have been identified by Kristin Neff who began the scientific study of self-compassion in 2003.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">An informal definition of self-compassion is:&nbsp; Treating ourselves with the same kindness&nbsp; and understanding as we would treat&nbsp; a dear friend in the midst of suffering.</h5><hr>Self-compassion is not new; it’s been with us as long as humanity has been here. But it is now more clearly understood as an inner resource, like mindfulness, that allows us to be healthy mentally and physically and to thrive. And the three components of self-compassion that Kristin identified are: mindfulness, common humanity, and self-kindness.In this series you’ve been learning a lot about mindfulness, which is generous, spacious, moment-to-moment awareness; to be with things as they are, in a steady way. That’s the first part of self-compassion – knowing when we’re struggling. What’s really important, though, is the element of self-kindness when it’s hard to be mindful. So an informal definition of self-compassion is: Treating ourselves with the same kindness and understanding as we would treat a dear friend in the midst of suffering.I would like you to think for a moment, as a mental reflection, about those times when something goes wrong in the life of a dear friend or someone you love. They suffer, or they fail, or they feel inadequate, and you have just a few moments with this person. What do you feel inside when you discover they are struggling? What is your attitude? And what kinds of words are you likely to say to your friend at that time? Take a moment to think about it. I think you can get a feeling for that.The next question is: Think of a situation when you are failing, when you suffer, when you feel inadequate, or when something really doesn’t go right. How do you treat yourself? What kinds of feelings emerge towards yourself? What kinds of words do you say to yourself? What is your posture? How do you sit when you have failed or you’re suffering? Take a moment to think about it.You probably notice a difference. The vast majority of people are so much kinder to other people when they’re suffering than to themselves. Usually we beat up on ourselves, we feel alone, we feel ashamed and we distract ourselves. We can’t take it when it’s us.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">What I have found in my own personal life&nbsp; is that sometimes when we’re confronted&nbsp; with really difficult situations, really difficult emotions,&nbsp; we need to actively practice compassion and self-compassion</h5><hr>So self-compassion simply means being able to have that same attitude toward ourselves as we do toward others when they’re struggling. Now, this is not so easy to do. And the reason why it’s not so easy to do is because we are so closed to ourselves. In other words, we don’t have space. When we’re with a friend, we have a little space, but when we’re with ourselves there is no space, so we just react in a fearful way.Self-compassion really is a very humble undertaking. All we’re doing is including ourselves in our circle of compassion. In the same way we treat a family member or a friend or a pet – any living creature that we’re kind to – we treat ourselves the same way. This is all we’re doing.Still, we will always be more compassionate toward others. There are obstacles to self-compassion: some people think that it will make them selfish, that it will make them lose motivation, become absorbed in self-pity, or make them weak or self-indulgent. These are common myths about self-compassion, because the research shows that it’s actually the opposite.There are now 1,600 articles in the scientific literature on self-compassion. Over and over, it has been demonstrated to be a very powerful factor for mental health, for physical health, for reduced anxiety, for reduced depression, for healthier habits, better relationships and even wisdom. People who are high in self-compassion are also high in wisdom.<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/self_compassion4_91893d215d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T11:30:01.065Z" alt="self-compassion4">More specifically, people who are high in self-compassion have emotional resilience. When things go wrong they bounce back more easily. When they make mistakes, they’re also more likely to admit their mistakes and work hard to fix them. In their relationships, they are actually more compassionate to others. They are not more selfish; instead they’re more compassionate to others.Most interestingly, people who are high in self-compassion are more motivated to achieve their goals. In other words, their standards are as high as people who are low in selfcompassion, but they have more motivation to reach their goals because they’re motivating themselves with kindness. They’re not beating themselves up with a stick. So selfcompassion is a very, very good thing even though we often worry that it isn’t. And if you practice selfcompassion, you’ll actually see how it will improve your life.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">People who are high in self-compassion are also high in wisdom.&nbsp; More specifically, people who are high in self-compassion have emotional resilience.</h5><hr>So then the question is: How do I practice self-compassion? Many people think, “Oh, I need to meditate,” and actually meditation helps. Meditation is one method – like when you want to strengthen your body, you go to the gym and lift heavy weights. You focus on developing the skill, like the skill of Mindfulness or the skill of self-compassion.You can also practice self-compassion in daily life. The way to do it is to ask yourself a question that you’re likely to ask somebody whom you truly love. That question is: What do you need? When somebody else is suffering, the words will come: “What do you really need?” When we’re suffering we usually don’t ask ourselves that question, but if we do, and answer it from the heart, we will be practicing self-compassion.But people usually think, “I don’t know what I need!” Then we can break it down a little. For example:If you’re feeling afraid, ask yourself, “What do I need to feel safe?”If you’re physically under stress, you can ask, “What do I need to soothe myself?” Maybe I need to take a warm bath, or maybe I need to exercise.If you’re emotionally stressed, you can ask, “What do I need to comfort myself emotionally?” Maybe you need to walk in nature. Practice kindful resting. Being in nature.Or maybe you need to listen to music to comfort yourself emotionally or to soothe yourself physically.Another way to ask the question, “What do I need?” is to ask, “What do I need to do to validate myself?” In other words, maybe you need to acknowledge that “This is really hard.” Maybe nobody has ever said that to you. Maybe you’ve never said that to yourself. So, what do I need to comfort myself, soothe myself, validate myself?But that’s only half the picture! That is the area of nurturing and nourishing. Sometimes you will need to support yourself to move into the world. Here you can ask, “What do I need to protect myself?” Maybe you need to say, “No!” That’s often a very compassionate thing to do.Or to provide for yourself, maybe you need to eat well or care for your body or sleep more. You can ask, “What do I need to provide for myself?”And sometimes we need to ask, “What do I need to motivate myself?” Sometimes the best thing we need to do is to get out and do something that we’ve avoided. How do we do that? With self-compassion we do that with encouragement. With self-compassion we invite, we talk to ourselves in a way like, “You can do this. You definitely can do this. You’ve done things like this before. This is not easy, but you can do it.”So, what do I need?Behavioral self-compassion is the foundation of selfcompassion. Actually, how are you accompanying yourself in your daily life? As a friend or an enemy? We want to be a friend – that is self-compassion.Now those of you who have a contemplative attitude and would like to meditate, there are many different meditations you can try for free, that you can download from my website, <a href="https://chrisgermer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.chrisgermer.com</a>, and this new workbook also has a lot of things. But what I would like to do is introduce you to a brief practice called the Self-compassion Break. It takes five minutes. It is an exercise that you can do any time of the day or night. It consists of the three components of self-compassion: Mindfulness, common humanity and self kindness.In daily life you can also do just one of these components: the mindful part, the common humanity part, or the selfkindness part. What I will do now is give you an experience of using language to activate self-compassion within yourself.<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/self_compassion3_7ce3886193.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T11:30:42.351Z" alt="self-compassion3"><h4>SELF-COMPASSION BREAK</h4><a href="https://chrisgermer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://chrisgermer.com/</a>When you notice that you’re feeling stress or emotional discomfort, see if you can find the discomfort in your body. Where do you feel it the most? Make contact with the sensations as they arise in your body. Now, say to yourself, slowly:“This is a moment of suffering.” That’s mindfulness. Other options include:• This hurts. • Ouch! • This is stressful.“Suffering is a part of life.” That’s common humanity. Other options include:• I’m not alone. Others are just like me. • We all struggle in our lives. • This is how it feels when a person struggles in this way.Now, put your hands over your heart, or wherever it feels soothing, feeling the warmth and gentle touch of your hands.Say to yourself: “May I be kind to myself.” Another way of saying this is, “May I give myself what I need.” See if you can find words for what you need in times like this. That’s selfkindness. Options may include:• May I accept myself as I am • May I learn to accept myself as I am • May I forgive myself • May I be strong • May I be patient • May I live in loveIf you’re having difficulty finding the right words, imagine that a dear friend or loved one is having the same problem. What would you say to this person? If your friend would have just a few words in mind, what would you like those words to be? What message would you like to deliver, heart to heart? Now see if you can offer the same message to yourself.To be continuedEdited for publication. Listen to the full interview at https://m.facebook.com/pg/cfmin/videos/<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Interviewed by AMIR IMANI</h4><hr>

The power of self-compassion - part 1

Self-compassion

The power of self-compassion - part 2

Chris Mills is a practitioner and instructor of Heartfulness Meditation, which he has been practicing for nearly three decades. Chris has traveled throughout North American and Europe facilitating meditation workshops to enhance innovation, creativity, and conscious living. Chris also consults with businesses on development of relaxation and meditation programs as part of their overall health and wellness initiatives. Chris is a Director of Marketing at Anthem.


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Chris Mills

<h4>In this interview, CHRIS MILLS shares with us his ideas on bringing heart back into corporate culture.</h4><hr><hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">I don’t approach work, family life and spiritual life as being separate and different from each other. It’s all part of the same stream. My meditation and spiritual life interact closely with my relationships at work and at home. For me, it’s not ‘material’ or ‘spiritual’ – it’s really just who I am.</h5><hr><h4><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Chris_Mills_HR_img_36d3cf1d3d.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T11:14:14.159Z" alt="ChrisMillsHR">Q: Tell us about your everyday working,&nbsp;family life. How do you spend your time?</h4>CM: I am married with two growing children and three poodles that bark a lot. And I’m the marketing director for a large healthcare company, so that means I spend a lot of my time shuffling between work and raising my kids. I am also a teacher and facilitator for Heartfulness meditation, which I have been practicing for over 20 years. And if there’s free time, I like to walk on the beach and spend time in nature whenever I can. I also like to read a lot about spirituality and metaphysics – it’s certainly an interesting time to be alive from this perspective.<h4>Q: You mentioned meditation. Why do you meditate?</h4>CM: The main reason I meditate is because it makes me feel centered, calm and balanced. There is a peace that comes with meditation that cannot easily be explained, but it certainly can be felt. When I started practicing meditation back in the ’90s, within a few weeks I began to foster a feeling inside that was ‘more-ish’ – I simply wanted more and more of that feeling. Back then I also developed this single idea that has never left me: meditation is one of the primary keys to figuring out life. I believe this concept more now than even back then.With meditation, complexities began to drop off – for instance anger has reduced and I think I’m easier to live with. Meditation has calmed me down and at the same time it’s made it easier for me to get things done. All of this&nbsp;has given me more confidence in dealing with life.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">Meditation directly affects the number one issue for the corporate employee, and that is the cumulative negative effects from constant pressure to perform in what can be a very difficult work environment – stress.</h5><hr><h4>Q: For you, is there a duality in having an&nbsp;everyday working life and pursuing self development&nbsp;through meditation? How do&nbsp;they go together?&nbsp;</h4>CM: There is part of me that would love to run off to a mountaintop and just meditate while over-looking the earth. But we have responsibilities down here at the bottom of the hill. So I don’t approach work, family life and spiritual life as being separate and different from each other. It’s all part of the same stream. My meditation and spiritual life interact closely with my relationships at work and at home. For me, it’s not ‘material’ or ‘spiritual’ – it’s really just who I am. And I think that is reflected in my approach to work. Did you see the original Karate Kid movie? There was a scene when Mr Miyagi had the Karate Kid complete simple tasks – ‘wax on’ and ‘wax off’ – until the boy perfected these very simple movements with poise, love, respect and skill. That is how I try to approach whatever responsibility I have. It may be a presentation to senior executives, building a quarterly budget, or just washing the dishes. Wax on. Wax off. Meditation has made me a bit more ‘Zen’ in my approach to life. I experience the beauty and harmony in relationships and task at work and at home – even if it does not seem perfect on the outside.<h4>Q: What are some of the greatest challenges for the corporate world in the 21st century?</h4>CM: For the past year we have been working with corporations on corporate meditation and relaxation programs. These programs have been very well received by both management and employees. The reason they have been well received is because meditation directly affects the number one issue for the corporate employee, and that is the cumulative negative effects from constant pressure to perform in what can be a very difficult work environment – stress. Most employees are faced with nearly overwhelming challenges. For instance, you take a vacation to relax and you come back to hundreds of emails. And there are constant pressures from competitors, cost-cutting&nbsp;measures and ongoing changes that keep people unsettled. As employees, we are expected to thrive in this culture. I think stress may be the greatest challenge for the corporate employee in the 21st century. But there is one simple practice that can directly reduce stress, and that is meditation. The science is out on that.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">I think it is by cultivating love – and by becoming love. And we learn to do that by connecting with our heart. And we connect with our heart by meditating on the heart. Let’s put some love and heart back into work. That will change the work environment. It will change our relationships.</h5><hr><h4>&nbsp;</h4><h4>Q: The corporate world has a pretty bad reputation for being a place of aggressive competition and heartless self-promotion. How do you see putting heart back into the environment, given that people spend so much of their lives at work?</h4>CM: I immediately think of a quote from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran: “Work is love made physical.” And how do you work with love, particularly in a corporate culture? I think it is by cultivating love – and by becoming love. And we learn to do that by connecting with our heart. And we connect with our heart by meditating on the heart. Let’s put some love and heart back into work. That will change the work environment. It will change our relationships. It will change how we answer the phone… how we check our emails…how we interact with people, and it will change how we interact with our own selves. Wax on. Wax off.<hr><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Interviewed&nbsp;by&nbsp;ELIZABETH DENLEY</h4><hr>

Wax on. Wax off.

Christian is Professor of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, Dresden, Germany. He studied painting with Maria Lassnig in Vienna, and lived in Rome and Berlin before taking up his current post in Dresden. He is a Heartfulness trainer.



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Christian Macketanz

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The content of my paintings has always been our human traits. The best human qualities are found as well as our
 basest weaknesses; simply everything that affects us both externally and internally.



The people in my pictures are making honest efforts, often in spite of enormous obstacles, so I truly feel for them.




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Sometimes their strivings are so grotesque that it feels ridiculous. Even so, I’m not in a position to help them.



It’s not up to me whether their efforts are successful or not. This lies in the eye, the mind, and especially the
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So, the fate of the people in my paintings is decided, and their story is created, by the viewer alone.



Patience and looking closely are necessary … especially because these are not motion pictures.



Painting has always been a means for me to go beyond the limits of knowing and understanding.



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From the simplest graffiti to the most elaborate painting there is always someone behind it who has left the realm of
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Again and again, I’m amazed at how modest the undertaking of painting can be. It requires only minimal materials,
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<h4 class="has-text-align-center">Art by CHRISTIAN MACKETANZ</h4>



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Patience and observation

<hr><h4>CHRISTIAN MACKETANZ is an artist and Professor of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, Dresden, Germany. He shares his love of Nature and creativity, and how they both relate to the spiritual aspect of existence.</h4><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/creativity_art3_eb3351ab61.jpg" alt=""><hr>As a boy, I spent a lot of time in nature in my northern German homeland. Whether with my friends or alone with my dog, I spent hours after school in the forest or in the wide fields. I always felt a deep connection and a kind of equality or oneness with the trees, plants, animals, insects, and even the air in which everything moved – the wind and the rustling leaves, the Earth – simply all the phenomena of nature. When the wind came, I could hear how it first went from the East into the pine forest, then into the mixed forest, and then over me toward the West into the leafless beech forest, creating its own specific sounds.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/creativity_art4_70eef77a4d.jpg" alt=""><hr>The wide sky and its colors always filled me with a kind of wanderlust that I was later to identify as spiritual homesickness. I never felt lonely in Nature but instead found comfort in it.As a young student in Vienna, I went by tram as often as possible to the undeveloped nature at the city limits, which calmed my restless, agitated, and electrified mind.A little later, in my mid-20s, after starting a heart-based meditation practice, I lived for two to three years in a farming area 60 kilometers from Vienna. I helped with the harvests, fed the ducks, wild boars, and deer daily, and lived with the natural rhythms of Nature, as there was little to no electricity in my dwelling and studio. Whenever the weather allowed, I meditated outside under a tree.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/creativity_art5_03dc4842fe.jpg" alt=""><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/creativity_art6_e6662cb2c2.jpg" alt=""><hr>By this time, my first exhibitions were quite successful, and I regularly delivered paintings to the gallery in Vienna. But otherwise, I had little to no contact with the mechanisms of the art market, and the demands on young artists to propagate and communicate creative processes, artistic will, and its ambitions. Instead, I developed the understanding and awareness that there is only one real “creativity” in the literal sense, and that is Mother Nature.Indeed, it is only here that real creation takes place, at which we can marvel and witness with constant fascination and admiration. What we call creativity, or art par excellence, seems to me to be more a play, or perhaps an interpretation of our world of experience and knowledge. Perhaps a mixture of both, interwoven in the web of opposites and their references. In this respect, it could perhaps be considered a modest, interpretive creativity.&nbsp;<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/creativity_art7_bd54779b99.jpg" alt=""><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/creativity_art8_c077c71310.jpg" alt=""><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/creativity_art9_a284fccba2.jpg" alt=""><hr><hr><h4>I developed the understanding and awareness that&nbsp; there is only one real “creativity” in the literal sense,&nbsp; and that is Mother Nature.</h4><hr><hr>Immersion and surrendering to an interpretation of our world of experience and its insights was what the ancient Greeks called the “visitation of the daemon,” the divinity, the inspiring force, and in ancient Rome, the “company of a genius.” There is a kind of humility in these formulations that reflects the hierarchy of creative forces. The daemon was later demonized, and the genius still later demoted to the artist’s ego. And now we are again in search of our role in the relationship with the creative force.There is a beautiful story about a painter-monk in the monastery of Kiev in the late 13th century. A duke commissioned him to paint an icon of Holy Mother Mary. Due to severe illness, he could not leave his cot and even after several inquiries if the painting would be finished in time, he was unable to get up. The night before the arrival of the duke, a celestial light filled the monk’s small cave and an angelic being began and completed the icon. It is said that this is the most beautiful and vivid image of Mother Mary.Now, the question arises: who painted the icon?In my experience, the true answers are often of stunning simplicity. The great saint, Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, known as Babuji, once said, “The heart is the playground of Divinity.” So, it seems that we must dive deep into the heart to join and enjoy the creative play of Mother Nature.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/creativity_art10_c3ab799cf0.jpg" alt=""><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/creativity_art11_ad0a0c0082.jpg" alt=""><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/creativity_art12_4b35c7a11f.jpg" alt=""><hr><hr><h4>Babuji, once said, “The heart is the playground of Divinity.” So,&nbsp; it seems that we must dive deep into the heart to join&nbsp; and enjoy the creative play of Mother Nature.</h4><hr><h4>Artwork by CHRISTIAN MACKETANZ</h4><hr><hr>

Creativity and art

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">CHRISTIAN MACKETANZ offers us an insight into how an artist creates a peaceful work of art, and how true peace goes beyond that possibility.</h4>&nbsp;The instruments of art are opposites, dualities, and complementarities. Light versus darkness, color complementarities, etc. We perceive visually through opposites, and the artist plays with these ingredients.If we perceive any artwork as harmonious or peaceful, it is due to the interaction and ultimately the balance of the dual concepts.Experiencing peace and harmony does not mean that everything runs smoothly and without challenge or friction. Peace and harmony mean recognizing, accepting, and integrating diversity and opposites. It is a momentary, balanced state of consciousness that we can experience, appreciate and actively create within ourselves through meditation. Then the outer world may begin to reflect peace and harmony, and our ability to see the beauty in everything is the beginning.For true peace—inner peace—we transcend and go beyond duality into the inexpressible state of being, where its natural expression is only love.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/instruments_of_art2_32f14c6d66.webp" alt="instruments-of-art2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_instruments_of_art2_32f14c6d66.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_instruments_of_art2_32f14c6d66.webp 851w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/instruments_of_art2_32f14c6d66.webp 851w," sizes="100vw"></figure>Life-concert shows Buddha, Jesus, and Lord Krishna with Mirabai in concert.&nbsp; Painted in Dusseldorf, Germany, in 2024.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/instruments_of_art3_8bca93a711.webp" alt="instruments-of-art3.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_instruments_of_art3_8bca93a711.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_instruments_of_art3_8bca93a711.webp 600w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/instruments_of_art3_8bca93a711.webp 600w," sizes="100vw"></figure>First Mystery shows an image of Saint&nbsp;Therese of Lisieux, with cosmic elements&nbsp; of destruction, creation, and beauty, including a hint to Lord Krishna— the arrow and Krishna wheel. Saint Therese&nbsp;suffered physically a lot,&nbsp; but was a personification of love.&nbsp; Painted in Dresden, Germany, in 2015.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">For true peace—inner peace—we transcend and go beyond duality into the inexpressible state of being, where its natural expression is only love.</h4><hr><figure class="image image_resized" style="width:75%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/instruments_of_art4_9206a3b346.webp" alt="instruments-of-art4.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_instruments_of_art4_9206a3b346.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_instruments_of_art4_9206a3b346.webp 1000w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/instruments_of_art4_9206a3b346.webp 1000w," sizes="100vw"></figure>Saraswati or 5 meters is a&nbsp;westernized&nbsp;image of the river-goddess Saraswati,&nbsp; who represents many things like&nbsp;education,&nbsp;science, art, speech and words.&nbsp; In the Rig Veda, she is the mother of the Vedas. She is generally&nbsp;associated with&nbsp; the river of life, and symbolizes great wisdom and the creation of the universe.&nbsp; Painted in Dresden, Germany, in 2020.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">&nbsp;Artworks by CHRISTIAN MACKETANZ</h4><hr>

The instruments of art

Christianna is the Director of Education at the Association for Pre and Perinatal Psychology and Health. With a multidisciplinary approach, Christianna blends various natural therapies and pre- and perinatal psychology into her practice in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. Her work combines science and spirituality.

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Christianna Deichmann

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">CHRISTIANNA DEICHMANN is the Director of Education at the Association for Pre 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. &nbsp;She is based in Charlottesville, Virginia. With a multidisciplinary approach, Christianna blends Craniosacral Therapy, massage, and pre- and perinatal psychology into her holistic practice. Her work uniquely combines science and spirituality.</h4><h4 style="text-align:justify;">In this interview, Christianna 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.&nbsp;</h4>&nbsp;Q: When I graduated as a pre- and perinatal educator, I realized that PTSD is big in mothers who have recently delivered, and in babies. It came as a big revelation to me, like a veil that was removed from my eyes. So what is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? And why is it important to understand it in relation to birth trauma?.CD: I think we really have to understand who we are and where we come from. When we intersect with the spirit realm, our soul, and how it incarnates on this planet, it’s important to understand that we are deeply connected to nature. When we walk in nature, we often feel restored, refreshed, whole, and at peace, yes? We understand that we are intricately linked with nature. Then we observe where the world is today, how mechanical we are, devoid of this sacred respect for our innate connection to nature, then we can really start understanding what trauma is.We look at trauma from a textbook standpoint, that it’s anything that overwhelms the nervous system, anything that’s too much, too fast, too long, or not getting our emotional needs met. But it’s really at the foundational level. Trauma is when we are disconnected from our blueprint, from our soul, from our heart. This is what is so beautiful about the Heartfulness Institute; you get us to go within and connect to the spiritual nature of ourselves, the invisible nature that we can’t see or touch, but we can experience firsthand.I see that every human being has had trauma at the most foundational level, because it is traumatic leaving the spiritual realm. Even if we have the most nurturing, loving environment, let’s say a natural birth, and the mother is so supported and empowered, and the baby is born vaginally, that is still a hardship on the baby and the mother, because there’s a death and a birth all at once.Anyone who’s witnessed a birth feels the power of this energetic portal that opens, and anyone who’s become a mother for the first time understands that something deeply profound happens to their being when they give life, and they let go of part of their own life. That is a trauma.Q: Babuji Maharaj, one of our Heartfulness guides, describes birth as a separation. The soul feels separated, so our life is the journey back toward the source from where it has come. It is sacred; we have to treat birth and the environment around the baby in a very sacred way.As a developmental therapist, I’ve been working with children who are born with problems. As a therapist, if you asked me a couple of years back, the definition of trauma would have been C-section, baby not crying immediately at birth, or the mother undergoing problems. Now, I have walked into pre- and perinatal education. In India we treat the womb as a place where the soul or the consciousness evolves. When this journey has been so sacred, how can we define birth trauma in the dimension of pre- and perinatal psychology?CD:&nbsp;Birth psychology recognizes that babies are conscious. Science has had it a little bit backwards in the last few hundred years; scientists thought that babies didn’t have consciousness, that consciousness comes from brain development. They thought that since babies are so underdeveloped, and as they need a lot of developmental time, that consciousness emerges almost as a hierarchical development of the brain.For eons, mystics and spiritual teachers have known, and other people learn through their life’s journey of remembering who they are, that consciousness is infinite. It doesn’t have a start or a stop. And the womb space that you’re talking about is where this divine spark can individuate from the unified field of consciousness, and then come to experience consciousness separate from this unified field. And that’s our soul’s path, our soul’s journey, our purpose here in life, and our own unique gifts.So babies have consciousness before they’re even conceived. When you can heal any trauma, or let’s say a conditional force that happened, they go on to thrive because these experiences at the beginning of life, our earliest experiences, are what make the hierarchical brain.And what makes our belief system and how we interact with the world? Birth psychologists believe that since babies are conscious, trauma really happens when we don’t recognize that babies are, of their own volition, initiating birth, and that we’re really the servants of babies.Babies should be treated like royalty. Oftentimes, my job is to educate mothers, who haven’t been brought up in the traditional ways of ancient and indigenous cultures, that they are giving up a piece of themselves for the baby to come in. And it’s a dance. It’s a dynamic dance between the mother and the baby.When a mother can listen at the level of the heart, the soul, to her baby, she will take a second seat. Then the baby knows what to do. Nature knows what to do if we can really trust and connect with that. So from the standpoint of birth psychology, trauma is when this bond between a mother and a baby is not recognized as a duo with deep consciousness.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Anyone who’s witnessed a birth feels&nbsp; the power of this energetic portal that opens,&nbsp; and anyone who’s become a mother for the first time&nbsp; understands that something deeply profound&nbsp; happens to their being when they give life, and&nbsp; they let go of part of their own life. That is a trauma.</h4><hr>In today’s world, oftentimes women are not given agency to birth. They are assisted by the staff or the doctor, and the doctor manages the birth. And that’s completely out of order. In and of itself, it causes trauma, it disempowers our children from their own independence and their sense of accomplishment and how they come into the world.A lot of interventions take place today that rob children of this. And a lot of psychological illnesses and lack of health starts from birth, our relationship with how we come in, and how we are designed. I hope this answers your question about what we consider trauma.Q: Absolutely. I see a lot of kids with autism, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, and sensory processing disorders. That aroused my interest to do the PPNE. I wanted to look beyond and I knew that the roots of what I’m seeing now did not exist.Now, as you said, it was somewhere when the mother and father even decided or did not decide to have a child, both ways. Sometimes it is an “accident”; parents come to me and say, “We didn’t plan the conception.” So, not planning the conception is again not planning the journey for your baby. And it’s a very sacred journey. It is all about your attitude at the time of conception and before conception.If we want to change the world, we really need to change the bond parents and families have with the babies to come in. How do you look at this? And what are the key benefits of fostering a very strong baby and mother bond very early?&nbsp;CD:&nbsp;This is a big question and you brought up deep topics, so let’s see if we can approach it from Daaji’s perspective. I love that he says it’s all about the attitude at conception. And I study Hermetics. It guides my journey through life. From the Hermetic standpoint, when we think of worth, it actually means to be prepared. One of my teachers in craniosacral therapy, John Chitty, who’s now passed, said that babies are royalty.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Babies should be treated like royalty.&nbsp;</h4><hr>If you have the king or queen coming to your home, what will you do? I live in the United States, and if the president comes by, there’s a whole entourage with secret service protocols. You can’t imagine how much preparation and strategy goes into every move the president makes. Now, do we do this for babies? I think not.The morphogenetic field in which a baby develops is influenced by sound. And every vibration we put in and around a mother, whether it’s electromagnetic fields from a 5G cell phone, to ultrasounds at the hospital, which are constant, are part of the whole protocol, because we don’t trust the body’s ability to grow a baby.&nbsp;<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/the_first_imprint2_f682aa0190_a25d6bcc74.jpg" alt="the_first_imprint2_f682aa0190.jpg" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_the_first_imprint2_f682aa0190_a25d6bcc74.jpg 120w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_the_first_imprint2_f682aa0190_a25d6bcc74.jpg 386w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;We’re in a world of mess because I’ve heard doctors say that by 2035, 85% of children will be on some form of the autism spectrum. That’s wild. That’s scary. Could you imagine our workforce? What will be the gross domestic product if the population is largely debilitated? So, it brings up really important questions of how we connect at a soul level, at a heart level, from the very beginning. We have to prepare how we bring children into the world.To be continued.

The first imprint: understanding PTSD

Trauma as disconnection from the heart

<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?<ul class="todo-list"><li style="text-align:justify;"><label class="todo-list__label"><input type="checkbox" disabled="disabled">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 <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/mindfulness-heartfulness" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mindfulness practices</a>, mind-body practices, and slowing down.</label></li></ul>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 <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/asana-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mind-body exercises</a>, 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;

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