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Han Van Den Heuvel

<hr><h3 style="text-align:center;">A PHOTO ESSAY</h3><hr><h4>HAN VAN DEN HEUVEL is an avid naturalist and photographer, and here he shares with us his love of the local native birds.</h4><hr>Ever since my retirement in 2016, I have been able to spend more time in nature doing what I enjoy – taking photos of birds and bees. I am very lucky to live in a house that borders on Allenby Park Reserve in the northern beaches district of Sydney. The variety of birds visiting our backyard is enormous. I sit on the back veranda with my camera and wait for the birds to come by. Believe me, it is not as easy as it looks to get a good picture!Planting natives like grevilleas in our backyard attracts birds like the Rainbow Lorikeet and the Red Wattlebird. Even at night I get visits from the nocturnal Tawny Frogmouth.Allenby Park is home to a flock of about 30 Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. They fly graciously through the park and make a lot of noise. Walking through the reserve, I come across the Eastern Yellow Robin, the Eastern Spinebill, and the Variegated Fairy-wren. I have also taken photos in the Pilliga Nature Reserve about 300 kilometers north of Sydney, and at Dee Why beach not far from our home.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Eastern_Yellow_Robin_ebcde668b3.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:35:26.143Z" alt="Eastern Yellow Robin">/p&gt;<h5 style="text-align:center;">Eastern Yellow Robin</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Eastern_Spinebil_7f5243476f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:35:26.393Z" alt="Eastern Spinebil">/p&gt;<h5 style="text-align:center;">Eastern Spinebill</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Sulphur_crested_cookatoo_2e64ec2c1e.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:38:43.130Z" alt="Sulphur-crested-cookatoo"><h5 style="text-align:center;">Sulphur-crested Cockatoo</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Laughing_Kookaburra_28cf2f143a.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:38:44.537Z" alt="Laughing Kookaburra"><h5 style="text-align:center;">Laughing Kookaburra</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Rainbow_Lorikeet_8c9b4866d3.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:38:44.487Z" alt="Rainbow Lorikeet"><h5 style="text-align:center;">Rainbow Lorikeet</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Australian_Magpie_0cac3bc876.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:38:44.554Z" alt="Australian Magpie"><h5 style="text-align:center;">Australian Magpie</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Baby_Butcher_Bird_fd540456bb.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:35:26.284Z" alt="Baby Butcher Bird">&gt;<h5 style="text-align:center;">Baby Butcher Bird</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Wattlebird_ec71cf9f77.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:38:44.579Z" alt="Wattlebird"><h5 style="text-align:center;">Wattlebird</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Royal_Spoonbill_fb3498cfe4.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:38:44.140Z" alt="Royal Spoonbill"><h5 style="text-align:center;">Royal Spoonbill</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Laughing_Kookaburra_closeup_198582e616.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:38:44.115Z" alt="Laughing Kookaburra closeup"><h5 style="text-align:center;">Laughing Kookaburra close-up</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Seagull_b1289b2aa9.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:38:44.278Z" alt="Seagull"><h5 style="text-align:center;">Seagull</h5><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Birds_of_Northern_Sydney_Variegated_Fairy_wren_db55346e14.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T12:38:44.373Z" alt="Variegated Fairy-wren"><h5 style="text-align:center;">Variegated Fairywren</h5><hr><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">A Photo Essay by HAN VAN DEN HEUVEL</h4><hr>

The birds of northern Sydney, Australia

Hans Christian Andersen 

The Most Wonderful Fairy Tale

Hari Venkatesan

<hr><h4>HARI VENKATESAN takes the approach of self-compassion towards self-improvement and managing emotions. Here he shares some tips from his own experience.</h4><hr>The pace of life has greatly increased with the advent of smartphones and wireless high-speed internet. Along with the convenience that these means bring, they also bring heightened expectations in terms of efficiency. We are expected to respond to messages and mails within hours, and sometimes even minutes. As human beings get used to this fast pace of life, it is all too easy to make mistakes.There is an ancient Chinese saying that says, “Hold on just a little and the winds and waves die down; take one step back and you are no longer in a corner.” In this age of 3-in-1 coffee, fast food, and instant messaging, one virtue that we are fast losing is patience: patience in the face of trials and tribulations, and patience in the face of our own emotions.Let us take the latter first. For example, you receive an unreasonable email about work, or someone makes a snide remark about you. You are compelled from inside to hit back instantly, and the matter quickly escalates. It is precisely at the moment when you are in the grip of emotions such as anger, rage, disappointment, frustration, and really feel justified to react sharply. Let a night pass and see how you feel about the whole thing the next morning. Very often, you will thank yourself for not having been too quick to react, and might actually see things differently. This might not seem possible at times, but even then, it would be well to make it a rule to never speak or act until the heart is calm. Heartfulness Meditation makes this possible naturally by making us aware even before we are about to act on impulse and presenting us with a choice to alter course.Just like an arrow speeds forth, words spoken cannot be recalled. As for those sent out in retort and reaction, chances are that they will do no more than challenge the ego of the receiver. The result cannot be anything other than two egos clashing and trying to prove the other wrong. When this happens, even if we see some point in the arguments the other makes, our egos will simply not permit us to admit it, making the conversation wholly useless. Especially when it comes to close relationships, awkward as it may be, it is much better to cut such a conversation short politely and let a night pass, with the promise to revisit it again. Once the grip of emotions is loosened, we will be in a much better state to forgive and understand. <a href="https://heartfulness.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Heartfulness Cleaning</a> helps enormously in pressing that inner reset button that makes this possible.When we feel depressed, frustrated, or disappointed about things, it is equally necessary to remember that if there is anything permanent in the universe it is change. This also means that whatever we face is equally destined to change. It is important not to give into the feeling of despondency, and focus our energies instead on what we can do. A lot of the time, problems are enormously magnified because of the amount of attention we give them.Is it not be better to focus energies on what we can do rather than wasting time on thinking about possible outcomes or mentally struggling with resentment and frustration? It is precisely these that tire us and enhance the struggle.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/sleep_over_it3_bb3ad59a14.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T04:53:56.619Z"><hr>&nbsp;In place of this tiring struggle of the mind, a much more positive vibratory input would be prayer. This does not refer to a formalized religious ritual, but to an appeal to the wisdom of the higher Self within to bring forth a wider vision of things. Since we have done our best, all we need to do is await the result. If there is more to be done, we can go ahead, but just remember to remove the struggle from the heart. It is this struggle that attenuates focus, weakens efforts, and tires us. The state where we simply focus on doing our best, and let things fall where they do, comes naturally as a result of prayer-meditation.As for how to be sure you did your best, accept that all you did yesterday was the best you could do yesterday. If there are a few hours remaining today, see what you can do to address the problems you face. But once the day is over, consider that you did your best today.Whenever you really feel like hitting back, reacting, or you feel like the world around you is going dark with little hope or relief in sight, sleep over it. You will not feel the same tomorrow.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/sleep_over_it2_607070d911.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T04:55:52.536Z"><hr>&nbsp;&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Article by HARI VENKATESAN</h4>&nbsp;<hr>

Sleep over it

Harpreet Bhan

<h4>HARPREET BHAN experiments with some simple plays on words in order to explore the profound meaning that words can sometimes offer us.</h4><hr>The veil is lifting and all that is evil or vile in me is being expunged. As I am refined, transformed by the live transmission pouring into me, I finally begin to live.<hr>The above sentence has an interesting word play. The words “evil,” “veil,” “vile,” “live (rhyming with alive)” and “live (rhyming with give)” are all various constructs of the same four letters – e, l, i, and v.Just like these words, we are born with the same ingredients, the same alphabet letters. Yet we live different lives and create very different destinies, which can range from evil or vile to coming a-live and living life to its fullest potential. Just as a small difference in the arrangement of letters can change the meaning of a word completely, so the smallest of choices can lead to a series of consequences that completely alter the course of our lives.Drilling deeper into this word play, it is interesting to note that while we can find words that start with e, l, and v, there are none that start with i. And none of the words end with i. Isn’t it truly meaningful that nothing can start or end with i? There is clear inspiration for the i to find its right place within something bigger than itself, and place itself in a way that makes the whole more significant, powerful, and consequential. The final destination has no place for anything that starts or ends in i.Reflecting on other word plays, it is fascinating to see how something apparently small can have such a large impact on the entire meaning of a word. For example, in Sanskrit, Brahm means Reality, while Bhram means illusion, which is diametrically opposed to reality. Similarly, Brahman refers to someone who is realized, who has reached the ultimate destination, whereas Bhraman describes someone who is wandering. Just a small change in the order makes a monumental change to the meaning.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/word_play_1_b17034a813.jpg" alt=""><hr>Let me share one final reflection on the prefix “de.” Generally, we assume that adding “de” to a word will somehow reduce it. For example, value becomes devalue, and construct becomes deconstruct. In a strange way, an extremity of evil is “the evil” or “d’evil” or indeed devil. Then again, if you look more closely, there is a wonderful positivity that “de” can bring to certain words. “Vote” indicates we have a choice amongst several options, whereas “devote” is normally used to describe worship or something similar. Another way to look at “devote” is when it alludes to a “willing choiceless-ness” – an affirmation of “I choose not to vote. I choose to do so most willingly and joyously, as I remain de-voted to my beloved.” The choice is simply not ours anymore. Try this with another word “serve.” Deserve can be interpreted as “de-serve,” indicating a state of mind when we don’t even know we are serving, thus becomes deserving.<hr>

Word plays

Based in Dubai, Harpreet Kalra works in marketing and planning in the TV entertainment industry in the Middle East. For a while he has been interested in understanding the cognitive patterns of the human mind, and the science of meditation in achieving inner balance and harmony.

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Harpreet Kalra

<h4>HARPREET KALRA discusses the issue of victimization in the workplace, and his experience of what to do about it. How much responsibility are we willing to take to change these patterns?</h4><hr>It had been two months since I joined MCS Enterprises in their Strategy &amp; Planning department. I prepared the first draft of a financial model and submitted it to my boss Linda for her review. After a few hours, Linda called me to her room. “Did I ask you to make these assumptions?” she screamed. “No,” I said softly. “You are not at a level where you can make assumptions on your own,” scoffed Linda, walking out of the room.Conversations like these were a regular affair for me: in corporate jargon, business as usual.Micromanaging me, not giving me the creative liberty to think, unclear directions on how to go about a work task, harsh criticism, pretty much summed up my relationship with my boss at MCS.“When do I leave this job?” “Should I resign straightaway?” “Do I have the money to pay my mortgage?” were some of the thoughts that flooded my mind as I drudged back towards my desk.There are demanding bosses, there are difficult bosses, there are collaborative bosses, there are easy bosses, and then there are psychopaths. Research suggests that one in every five corporate bosses is a psychopath. I knew I was dealing with one at MCS.<hr>In some situations, I am the victim. In some situations, I am the one victimizing others. This is the reason I am suffering. The very same tendencies in Linda that hurt me are the ones present within me, although with different intensity.<hr>I believed most of my previous bosses were good, though they had a few traits that were unacceptable to me. After dealing with Linda, I indeed realized the goodness of my previous bosses. I would have gladly accepted all their unacceptable traits if I had had a chance.I was in pain, and slowly my underlying thought pattern started to shift towards self pity: “Why me?” “I am being targeted,” “I am being victimized.” In a short span of time, I was habitually wearing the victim hat. SO I BELIEVED!It had been a few months since I had started practicing meditation. One day, after my morning meditation, as I sat in a quiet contemplative mood, an inner voice within me echoed: “Every victim identity is a perpetrator of crime given the change in circumstances.” I could not fully comprehend my inner voice, so I wrote it in my daily diary and signed off. …&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;<h4>Read the complete article in Volume 2, Issue 1 &nbsp;</h4><h4><a href="//www.heartfulnessmagazine.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SUBSCRIBE &amp; DOWNLOAD</a></h4>&nbsp;<hr>&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Article by HARPREET KALRA</h4><hr>

Am I the victim or am I the one victimizing?

<h4>HARPREET KALRA explores what is beyond judgement.</h4><hr>In mathematical calculus, the act of integration is done by reversing the act of differentiation. If we apply the same principle to ‘one world, one humanity’, then it is easier to integrate humanity by not differentiating. So, how can we avoid differentiating ourselves from others?Isn’t judging someone the greatest act of differentiation? Judging instantly sets us apart from the other person. Ten minutes into a conversation with a new person and we are done with the person. Either consciously or unconsciously, we have labeled and objectified the person. But does judgement alone lead to differentiation, or do we do something more to set ourselves apart?When we judge, our frame of reference is never absolute, it is comparative. “He is intelligent” is in comparison to myself or to someone else. The reason we judge others is to evaluate where we stand in comparison to the person we are judging. Then, based on our judgment, we act; rather we react. If we perceive ourselves to be superior we discard the other person. If we perceive ourselves to be inferior we try to impress the&nbsp;other person. On most occasions this is how we act. At the heart of judging lies our latent desire to establish a sense of superiority over others.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">The reason we&nbsp;judge others is to evaluate&nbsp;where we stand in comparison to&nbsp;the person we are&nbsp;judging.</h5><hr>So the question is: ‘Why would we stop judging?’ After all, isn’t the perception of being superior a reality in our minds? It gives our ego a boost, and even more, a sense of survival. The ego loves to do it. So why would it behave in any other way? Perhaps if it could be convinced that there is no merit in judging, because this judgment-based differentiated reality in our head is all an illusion.Someone who is good at soccer thinks he is superior to others until he has to play with Lionel Messi! Someone who has a flourishing business thinks he is superior to others because of the wealth he has amassed until he compares himself with Bill Gates.In any comparison and external benchmark, be it wealth, beauty, intelligence or wit, we will probably fall short compared to someone, but often we choose to look only at those who are not as good as us. We are happy being a big frog in a small pond, and herein lies a great danger.When we fall short in comparison with someone else, automatically, without any effort on our part, we feel inferior. We become either aggressive or defensive, either oppressive or a victim, either sad or happy. And this gives rise to perhaps the greatest bane of our life – the dual nature of our mind.<hr><h5>We can only achieve human integration if each one of us feels oneness with others. How will we feel this oneness if we are still stuck in prejudice and duality?</h5><hr>With time and repeat exposure, our tendency to judge strengthens and solidifies. Like a wound up coil or a keyed toy, the mind goes into an auto mode of judging, and starts operating on its own. Lo! We are stuck in duality. On so many occasions, we judge without wanting to judge. It is beyond our control.<img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/the_art_of_not_judging_img2_c1794667e9.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-31T06:55:11.792Z" alt="the-art-of-not-judging">So what is the harm in living in duality?The harm is that duality is divorced from reality, and only reality can perceive reality. We can only achieve human integration if each one of us feels oneness with others. How will we feel this oneness if we are still stuck in prejudice and duality?Fundamentally, we all are from the same source, and hence all the same. Even in our outer problems and aspirations we are the same – behavior of our spouse, children’s future, health, attitude of the boss at work, business expansion, investment returns, spiritual pursuits etc. Our desire for a comfortable and happy life is generally the fulcrum of everything about our lives.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">All judgements are rooted in past experience – either our own experience or that of others, from which we learn.</h5><hr>So if we want to move towards human integration, what do we need to do? Stop judging! In fact, doesn’t change in any sphere of our life only involve the washing away of just one or two dominant tendencies of the mind?How do we do that? By fully directing the mind into something that is not conditioned by time. After all, all judgements are rooted in past experience – either our own experience or that of others, from which we learn.It is the heart that is the most qualified candidate for our attention. If we are true connoisseurs of beauty, only the heart is worth looking at. Connected to the Ultimate Being, the magnificence of its splendor shines through in whatever form it takes – a loving heart, a joyful heart, a courageous heart, a soft heart or an angry heart. Everything about it is real. Even if it is a jealous heart, the jealousy is real; there is nothing false about it. No hypocrisy. The heart is always right.<hr><h5 style="text-align:center;">Article by HARPREET KALRA</h5><hr>

The Art of Not Judging

<h5>HARPREET KALRA had the job opportunity of a lifetime, but turned it down because his heart said no.</h5><hr>The job offer looked promising – an established brand, a healthy pay packet, a great role profile, and the location base of my favourite city, Mumbai. I should have grabbed the job straight away. It was a golden opportunity, and opportunities should not go begging, I was told. Yet, I was dillydallying in my decision. So, what was stopping me from taking up the job, against all odds of a favourable rationale premise?I was feeling very deeply to say no. Something within me wanted to let go of this opportunity; <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/zuris-guiding-light" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inner guidance</a>, the heart’s voice, a sixth sense, a gut feeling, whatever you want to call it. I prefer to call it intuition, my heart’s voice.My father always says, “When in doubt, refer to the heart.&nbsp; The heart is always right.” For a change, I paid heed to my father’s words and refused the job offer. Three months down the line, in a hostile takeover by a competitor, all the company staff was laid off. Backing my intuition had paid off.I believe that intuition can see what the mind cannot see. This is because the mind’s vision is myopic, as it is conditioned by space and time. Also, the mind relies on the five senses, which have their own limitations. For example, as human beings we can hear only those sounds that fall in a particular audio range, which the ears can catch. If the sound is outside that range it is inaudible to our ears. It does not mean, however, that the sound does not exist.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Something&nbsp; within me wanted to let go of this opportunity; inner guidance, the heart’s voice, a sixth sense, a gut feeling, whatever you want to call it. I prefer to call it intuition, my heart’s voice.</h4><hr>On the other hand, the heart can see through and through. Connected to the infinite Being, it is the seat of Divinity. Neither conditioned by time nor by space, it can see things from a higher ground. The magnificence of the heart’s splendour shines through in whatever form it takes.So, if intuitive decision-making can help us, the question is, “How can we develop intuition?” I believe, through practice. By trusting the heart and listening to it more and more. When we are having a conversation with someone, the more attentively the person listens to us, the happier we are to continue conversing with him. Isn’t it? Similarly, if we are willing to listen to the heart, the heart will be more than happy to speak to us. This has been my experience.Here comes the challenge. Often, however, the heart is not able to be heard, as we have been overpowered by the monkey mind, jumping from one branch of thought to another. It just doesn’t stop. It is in overdrive mode. We have become so addicted to the mental chattering and noise that the voice of inner silence scares us.So, how can we increase the capability to listen to the heart? I believe, by clearing up the mess in the head; washing away the clutter of the mind. How to do that? Through meditation. For thousands of years, meditation has been one of the most effective techniques to help us regulate our minds. No wonder, increasingly, worldwide, meditation is helping people find inner joy, balance and everlasting change in their lives.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Article by HARPREET KALRA</h4><hr>

Are We Intuitive Enough?

<h4>HARPREET KALRA discusses the issue of victimization in the workplace, and his experience of what to do about it. How much responsibility are we willing to take to change these patterns?</h4>It had been two months since I joined MCS Enterprises in their Strategy &amp; Planning department. I prepared the first draft of a financial model and submitted it to my boss Linda for her review. After a few hours, Linda called me to her room. “Did I ask you to make these assumptions?” she screamed. “No,” I said softly. “You are not at a level where you can make assumptions on your own,” scoffed Linda, walking out of the room.Conversations like these were a regular affair for me: in corporate jargon, business as usual.Micromanaging me, not giving me the creative liberty to think, unclear directions on how to go about a work task, harsh criticism, pretty much summed up my relationship with my boss at MCS.“When do I leave this job?” “Should I resign straightaway?” “Do I have the money to pay my mortgage?” were some of the thoughts that flooded my mind as I drudged back towards my desk.There are demanding bosses, there are difficult bosses, there are collaborative bosses, there are easy bosses, and then there are psychopaths. Research suggests that one in every five corporate bosses is a psychopath. I knew I was dealing with one at MCS.I believed most of my previous bosses were good, though they had a few traits that were unacceptable to me. After dealing with Linda, I indeed realized the goodness of my previous bosses. I would have gladly accepted all their unacceptable traits if I had had a chance.I was in pain, and slowly my underlying thought pattern started to shift towards self pity: “Why me?” “I am being targeted,” “I am being victimized.” In a short span of time, I was habitually wearing the victim hat. SO I BELIEVED!It had been a few months since I had started practicing meditation. One day, after my morning meditation, as I sat in a quiet contemplative mood, an inner voice within me echoed: “Every victim identity is a perpetrator of crime given the change in circumstances.” I could not fully comprehend my inner voice. I wrote it in my daily diary and signed off.&nbsp;<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">In some situations, I am the victim.&nbsp; In some situations, I am the one victimizing others.&nbsp; This is the reason I am suffering.&nbsp; The very same tendencies in Linda that hurt me are the ones&nbsp; present within me, although with different intensity.</h4><hr>I had a business visit to Paris lined up to meet our new research agency team, so as soon as I reached the office, I went to meet Priya, who was our office manager. Priya took care of the administrative work of MCS and the logistics of the MCS staff. “Have my tickets to Paris not been booked yet?” I asked sternly, my tone admonishing Priya for not having done her work. “I am trying to get the best fares. Give me some time. I should be able to get your bookings done by tomorrow,” said a somber Priya. “Really?” I said sarcastically, with a dismissive look as I barged towards my desk.In the evening, as I drove home, the office conversation with Priya that morning played out in my mind – the somber tone of Priya and the disappointed look on her face. Just the way my tone and look was when I was with Linda. Soon, the essence of my inner voice from the morning seeped within.In some situations, I am the victim. In some situations, I am the one victimizing others. This is the reason I am suffering. The very same tendencies in Linda that hurt me are the ones present within me, although with different intensity. In fact, the trait of Linda that pinched me the most was the trait most strongly present within me.That morning, I could not comprehend my inner voice. Perhaps I did not want to comprehend it. After all, I had an ego, and how could my ego without resistance cherish the idea of believing that it was laced with the very same behavioral traits and tendencies it loathed in others?When we feel for others, when we sympathize with others, we would like to believe it is out of genuine compassion. Is it indeed compassion? Or is it the ego veiled under a garb?What happens when things improve at the victim’s end? The body language and behavior of the victim changes. The person becomes confident, assertive and happy. And this changes our perception of the other person.Earlier, we had labeled the person a victim. Now we label the same person as someone with a lot of attitude, who is high and mighty. Worse, we become absolutely intolerant of even his slightest off-the-track demeanor.The moment the ego realizes that the other person is no longer going through pain, the ego no longer identifies with the other person. Why?Because now it is no longer on the same plane as the other person. Which plane? The plane of pain. As unfortunate as it is, the above behavior is seen in our most intimate relationships. Hence, relationships rooted in sympathy suffer a painful ordeal.As I became aware of this harsh reality, it was a matter of time before it’s acceptance seeped into my system. That acceptance though has worked very well for my overall well-being. It has substantially reduced my behavior of swinging like a pendulum, swinging between the emotional extremes of affection – harshness, sympathy – criticism, sadness – joy, etc.A sense of balance and calmness has seeped in, although it is not yet the permanent state of being I would like to have.The awareness and acceptance which subsequently led to balance and calmness has not come without effort. Much of the effort has been directed towards being aware of my thoughts, my emotions, my behavior - when I am alone with myself, and when I am with others.In this pursuit of change and happiness, my strongest ally has been meditation. How has meditation helped? By untying the knots I have been tying for so long. What knots? The knots of ‘I am’ and ‘I am not’ reflected against the backdrop of ‘he/she is’ and ‘he /she is not’.I am smart, I am not a CEO yet, my child is not obedient, my spouse does not listen to me, my boss is not supportive, Mumbai is bad, I deserve a better job.The list can, perhaps, fathom the entire Universe.Why could I not untie these knots on my own without meditation?First, I did not want to untie them. These knots defined me, rather, I defined myself through these knots. Untying them meant I had to let go of a part of me, a part of who I believed I was.Second, and more important, to untie the knots,I should have known in the first place that these were knots. How to untie them was secondary. To me, these knots were so internal to my system that I believed it was normal to live with them.With meditation, as the hyperactivity of the mind quietened, a clearer view of my relationships emerged, with people, with work, with health, with success. The knots started becoming apparent, paving the way for understanding how I behave, more importantly, why I behave the way I do.The knot of victim identification discussed here is one of many knots.

HARRIET is a New York City Climate Hero. She is a sought after speaker, recognized as an influencer and connector in the climate movement, and in 2019 was a featured speaker at the Global Engagement Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Harriet is the Executive Director of ClimateMama, an online community in over 110 countries. As a leader and mentor with The Climate Reality Project, Harriet chairs the NYC Metro Chapter and was the recipient of the Climate Reality 2017 Green Ring Award. Harriet is also profiled in former US Vice President Al Gore’s 2017 book: An Inconvenient Sequel, Truth to Power.

Harriet’s book, Talking to Your Kids About Climate Change, Turning Angst to Action, was released in the spring of 2020. She teaches World Sustainability and Climate Change and Society at Ramapo College in New Jersey.

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Harriet Shugarman

<h4>HARRIET SHUGARMAN&nbsp;was interviewed by PURNIMA RAMAKRISHNAN from the Heartfulness Institute in 2020, the same year she was selected as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.humanimpactsinstitute.org/nycheroes">New York City Climate Hero</a>.&nbsp;She is a sought after speaker, an influencer and connector in the climate movement, and in 2019 was a featured speaker at the&nbsp;<a href="https://unausa.org/events/global-engagement-summit/">Global Engagement Summit</a>&nbsp;at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Harriet is the Executive Director of&nbsp;ClimateMama, an online community in over 110 countries. As a leader and mentor with The Climate Reality Project, Harriet chairs the NYC Metro Chapter and was the recipient of the Climate Reality 2017 Green Ring Award. Harriet is also profiled in former US Vice President Al Gore’s 2017 book: An Inconvenient Sequel, Truth to Power.</h4><h4>Harriet’s book,&nbsp;Talking to Your Kids About Climate Change, Turning Angst to Action,&nbsp;was released in the spring of 2020. She teaches World Sustainability and Climate Change and Society at Ramapo College in New Jersey.</h4><hr>Q: Welcome Harriet.HS: Thank you for having me here.Q: Tell me a little about how you got to write this book.HS: It’s been in my head for a long time, and for many years it seemed far away from me. In the early 1990s I worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The IMF was on the preparatory committee for the Earth Climate Summit that took place in 1992 in Brazil, so I worked on that committee. At the conference, we had heads of state and government from around the world, and the importance of the reality of the climate crisis was recognized, but it still seemed far away. Scientists were warning us of the urgency, but for me personally it seemed to be taking place perhaps “over there.” I didn’t even think about where “over there” was. It seemed that it was many generations away.Climate models weren’t as exact as they are now. Our understanding of where we were with our Earth was not clear. She was crying out then, and she was telling us that we were doing things to her that were causing her to change, but we weren’t listening.In 2007, I trained with the Climate Reality Project and former Vice President Al Gore, after his film An Inconvenient Sequel, Truth to Power came out. He founded an organization to help others, which is called the Climate Reality Project. It is an international organization that raises awareness of the climate crisis in our local communities. After the training, I recognized how personal this was to me and my two small children, to their future. I was meeting parents and people in the broader community who didn’t understand the urgency. Within two years, I had founded ClimateMama and we were one of the first organizations to specifically educate parents about the climate crisis, how to talk about it, and how to learn from each other about it.All of a sudden, it feels like the world is listening – the corporate world, the international community, where I live here in New York, and across the country. Youth are being invited to the table and they are being heard. Parents are asking, “What do I say to my kids? They are asking me about the climate crisis, and I don’t have the words, and I don’t have the understanding.” So, it is the right time for this book to come out, and I partnered with New Society Publishers, who really walked the walk on sustainability, from how they print and the materials they use, being a corporation that is run by the people who own it. I am pleased to be working with them and to have my book come out this past spring, even during this strange time on our planet. So, thank you for asking and that is the story.Q: Congratulations on the release of your book!How can we come to terms with the grief which we feel when we understand the reality of the climate crisis? How can we give hope to our children and hope to ourselves first? How do we come to terms with all these emotions?HS: Our natural instinct is something called motivated avoidance and cognitive dissonance, where we separate ourselves from the reality of what is happening and the grief. It can be dire, but once our eyes are open – and I think that’s a critical part of being able to talk to our kids – we can understand what’s happening and what we need to do. This is the premise of ClimateMama.There are three principles:1. Tell the truth2. Actions speak louder than words, and3. Do not be afraid.They are hard to come to terms with, but they shouldn’t be. We can be honest with ourselves and with our children, and when it comes to grief, specifically, we should feel sad. What our species has done is tragic. It is awe-inspiring in certain ways, that a singular species has put all other species at the brink of extinction, because that is how serious the crisis is. And it isn’t something that will ever be fixed in our lifetime, but hopefully we get to a place where the climate crisis becomes chronic, something our planet can live with. Also, be resolute that we are moving forward, and through our actions and how we advise our children, we will be able to face the future without fear.&nbsp; &nbsp;<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Global_warming2_d5b2d0058f.png?updated_at=2023-04-06T07:46:56.692Z" alt="Global-warming2"><hr>Q:&nbsp; What is active hope and how do we build upon it?HS: We can find ways to be hopeful, but with the climate crisis, it’s hope in a vacuum. It sits there. Active hope comes through taking action, whether talking about climate crisis, showing our children by example at home, having a plan, community action, talking to elected officials, or planting gardens. By doing things that are active, we will build hope, and active hope is a practice. It is similar to Tai-Chi. It requires physical and mental work – our thoughts and our practical acts to move it forward. It isn’t easy. Once you put it into practice, and show your children how to do it, it’s something to hold on to, to move us forward.Q: What would you do to help children tap into their passions, and how can this actively lead us to find solutions for climate change?HS: The climate emergency that we are living in is all encompassing now. Had we addressed it in 1992 when we had the first summit, with the urgency required at that point, we would be in a different place now. We didn’t. We can’t go back there. We need to go forward.The opportunities that arise aren’t the #1, #2, #3 things that we can do that will solve it or make it better. There are an infinite number of things that need to happen. In motivating, inspiring, and empowering our children, whatever drives their passion through the lens of the climate crisis will help. Are they an artist? Do they want to be a farmer? Are they fascinated with the science of growing seeds? Encourage what it is that is moving them forward. Help them see that we need artists, we need musicians, we need farmers, we need engineers, we need teachers, we need philosophers.2020 is a time of transition in so many ways and from different angles. How we move forward after lockdown is important. It seems like it will never end. It will end, but the climate crisis will not. It is here, so we need our children to feel empowered to be part of that solution. Whatever their passion, there is a way that it can help us move forward through this climate emergency.Q: I read from your book that you give recommendations grade-wise. I was wondering if you would like to share a few recommendations for kindergartners, preschoolers, and toddlers. How are we going to inspire them to help the world doing their passion?HS: I think regardless of age, we begin with the premise of telling the truth, because they know when we are not telling the truth. Our children are truth seekers, and they speak the truth. They do not see the veil in between. So, answer them directly when they ask questions, be true to your emotions. If you are sad about something, share it with them. You don’t need to go into detail about the reasons, but if you are sad or anxious, they feel it anyway. Making it a part of your conversation with them is important.Being in nature with children, showing them the wonder of nature and how amazing and special it is, whether you are digging in the dirt, planting a garden, or going for a walk in a park or down a city street – those are awe-inspiring moments for children. Those are important things that help them to love nature. That love of nature, the importance of nature, of our natural wealth, and the wonders of our planet, are important.Scientists tell us that we are in the sixth mass extinction, which we have put in motion. If we don’t know what’s disappearing, we won’t know when it has gone. The web of lies is beginning to unravel. How will we know if its missing if we don’t develop love for it and value its importance?Where I live, some of the children think that their food comes from the grocery store. They don’t understand the chain of how it grew from the Earth. Exposing our children to that from a very young age, is very, very important.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Global_warming5_7bd1611dfe.png?updated_at=2023-04-06T07:48:01.201Z" alt="Global_warming5"><hr>Q: What would you recommend for middle schoolers?HS: When middle schoolers were younger, they were excited to be with you and do things with you. As they get older, they feel an authority growing in themselves. So, I think it’s important to again go with honesty. There are so many people all around the world addressing the climate crisis. Show them other children who are working on solutions, and videos of young people taking action in their communities. Even if they are too young to vote, or too young to act, showing them that other young people are taking action is very powerful.Listen to their opinions. They have strong opinions and they often have new ideas we haven’t thought of.One thing I talked about in the book is developing a climate plan for your family. When you have your family meetings, sitting around together, decide what is your plan – both from an emergency perspective and a solutions perspective. Where I live in the United States, there have been some terrible fires of late. If you live in a fire zone, does your school have a plan? Let your children know that you are doing things too. Our children want to learn more. We are not teaching them about the science and the intersectionality of the climate crisis. Are you talking to their teachers? What is being taught in their school? Show them that you are taking action. They may pretend that they are not watching you, but they are seeing what you are doing.Involving them in family solutions, supporting what they are doing, and acknowledging their feelings is very important.Q: It was very insightful when you said to involve them in our discussions. It gives them a very important sense of belonging and decision making. What would be your recommendation for high school kids?HS: I have found in many of the high schoolers and beyond I speak to that they feel the weight of the crisis is being put on their shoulders to solve. Remind them that this is an intergenerational issue, which is something that everyone must work on. Let’s help them share their stories by listening to them.Some of our children want to be out front and center. &nbsp;High schoolers in particular lead marches, lead activities and climate strikes, and we support them, but that might not be all of our children. Some of them are just coming to understand – as maybe we are – the realities of the crisis. Recommend where they can search for information that is factual, studies that have been peer-reviewed, if they are interested in science. Give them some ideas because maybe they don’t want to listen to their parents only. Show them where they can find more information on how to take action and on the science.Q: With the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot has changed in the world. Involvement from children is not as straightforward as it was earlier. So is there something you would like to share which could help families handle the climate crisis in relation to the current public health crisis?HS: It’s such an important question and I am so glad that you asked it.In the world right now, we are all experiencing this global pandemic, this health emergency. In my book, I share a moment in time when the world came together in 1968 when the first Apollo mission went out into space, and it was the first time that we as humans on the planet saw Earth as this pale blue dot rising above the surface and we were mesmerized by it, the world over. There have been a few moments pre-Covid, where we all would come together as a community and witness something, that inspired us to take further action. In a strange way, Covid has given us lessons for addressing the climate crisis. We have supported first responders by making meals, by making masks. We have done really hard things for the community, for our grandparents, for the people around us. And we can continue to do hard things. We can remind our children that they lived through it.Prior to Covid, I would get asked all the time, “What are the three things we can do?” We need to be in involved in the democratic process, because we are seeing how Covid is threatening. We have to make sure that the people who are in positions of power do everything they can. We were doing harm before; we need to lessen the harm to our planet. Finally, we need to plant seeds, both literally and figuratively, of the active hope we can create.Q: As you said, climate reality is not just a stand-alone thing, and processing and handling emotions is a big part of the whole conversation. What can we do with our kids regarding their feelings, and how this can affect climate change, the future? How can we harness their feelings in a more positive and constructive way?HS: The climate crisis is there. It’s not in isolation. It is connected to social and racial injustice, to global health issues, to all of the Sustainable Development Goals that were set in 2015, when the world community came together and said, “How are we going to alleviate poverty, how are we going to ensure education for all?”Health is one of those Sustainable Development Goals, as is climate crisis. They are all so closely connected. As we said earlier, children can be involved when we help them see and lead with their passions, lead with what they feel strongly about, and inspire them to move through their emotions, recognize them, feel them, and be allowed to feel grief and sadness. Then they will express their real emotions, positive feelings, and positive ways to be able to move forward, knowing that it’s not a linear path.With regards to the climate crisis, we are on a train, and we are heading toward the cliff, but we don’t have to go over. If we come together, if we harness the emotions, if we stay actively positive, we can slow things down. That is what science tells us. 1992 was a different place to now, and things have progressed much faster than scientists thought they would. We need to be jumping in wherever and however we can. Processing emotions, so that we can take the next stage of action, is something we can help our children do.&nbsp;Q: Often, &nbsp;the origin of these problems is our thoughts. What do you think about thought pollution?HS: Personally, working many years on the climate crisis and understanding the reasons behind why things are happening, there are a lot of data to show that 90 companies are responsible for the majority of the greenhouse gas emissions, and we have known that for decades. Many of them are in the fossil fuel industry. If they know what is causing the problem, why are they doing it? Its greed. It’s about corporate profits, it’s about sustaining an unsustainable way forward. Those thoughts are not the ideas that drive success. And this concept of GDP, of constant growth, is like cancer. Constant growth is what cancer is: It isn’t healthy. It isn’t healthy for our bodies, it isn’t healthy for our planet, and we are seeing that.It is critical to tell the truth, speak to the truth, and cut away all the thought pollution. I am hearing from politicians and others that we have to make a decision – is it the environment or the economy? Well, there will be no money on a dead planet, no growth, no economy, no personal wealth or family wealth. I am not saying we don’t need that, but if we don’t take care of the planet, remove those kinds of thoughts, recognize the interconnectedness, and work toward that, we have no hope. It’s important to recognize that thought pollution is part of physical pollution as well in a very visceral way.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Global_warming4b_f20dd67ca0.png?updated_at=2023-04-06T07:48:51.202Z" alt="Global_warming4b"><hr>Q: Do you have any closing thoughts?HS: Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to have this conversation with you. There is no one path. We need to use our emotions, we need to use every ability we have to move forward and help our children. I am grateful to you all at the Heartfulness Institute to help guide us as well along this lifelong journey. Thank you very much.Q: Thank you so much Harriet.Watch the webinar at <a href="https://youtu.be/tqx_blDVH50">https://youtu.be/tqx_blDVH50</a><hr><hr><h4>Interviewed by PURNIMA RAMAKRISHNAN</h4><hr>

Let’s talk about climate change

hazrat_inayat_khan.webp

Hazrat Inayat Khan

I bow my head in humility

Knowing the Mystery

Heartfulness practitioners

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 <h4 style="text-align: center;">What brings you happiness in life?</h4>
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 <h4 style="text-align: center;">Do you feel joy in giving or receiving? Why?</h4>
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 SIDDHARTH 
 Musician, illustrator and teacher 
 Hyderabad, India
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Recognizing the inner connection with all life fills me with wonder; tapping into this
 space of oneness, within and around, brings me joy. It may be as simple as observing nature from my balcony: a
 bougainvillea blooming amidst thorns, a moneyplant creating roots to crawl its way up a wall, a tree spreading its
 roots deep before spreading its branches wide, birds singing their songs, clouds floating unmindful of the world
 beneath them, and crimsonhued skies. Each of them exudes a sense of joy and contentment that comes from being in
 tune with what they truly are.
When I stay in touch with who I truly am, I feel a deep sense of joy within. It may be
 as simple as having a heartful conversation with someone, a nourishing meditation, 3questions ON HAPPINESS
 connecting with young hearts in a classroom, reading a book that speaks to my heart, or expressing my inner
 inspirations through words, pictures, art or music.
The moment thoughts start revolving around myself, this inner connection is instantly
 affected and I am dissociated from oneness. The ego then shows up in all its faces – anger, fear, confusion, lack of
 confidence, feeling closed, worthless, victimized – the list goes on and on. At that moment, the way I bring back
 joy is to shift focus back towards my heart and remind myself to practice acceptance and gratitude. It is not easy
 most of the time, but is a work in progress. A quick cleaning of my mental space almost always helps me. And
 sometimes a good book, a melodious song or an inspiring talk are enough to bring back perspective.
Do I feel joy in giving or receiving? In one way both; neither in another. It is based
 on perspective. The truest joy I feel in receiving something is during meditation. The unbounded inflow of
 Transmission brings love and joy; nothing matches that feeling. And the truest joy I feel in giving is also during
 meditation; the process of submitting the heart is a beautifully negating experience.
A flower doesn’t know it is exuding fragrance; it must not know. So I try to focus on
 staying open and allowing whatever I receive to flow through my heart. That is what brings me utmost joy.
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 RICHARDS 
 Retired teacher 
 Dunedin, New Zealand
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Often the most joy comes from the little things in life: happy times with family and
 friends, the laughter of a small child, witnessing an act of kindness, and puppies tumbling over each other in play.
 The perfection of nature shown in its myriad ways also brings joy: the countryside covered in newly-fallen snow with
 that hush snow brings to the world, a fragrant flower opening to the sun, the drowsy hum of bees in a summer garden,
 and the trickling sound of a mountain stream. I find that joy is greatest when my heart is open and filled with
 gratitude and love. Then my heart really sings.
Those acts or feelings which close us down are the ones that banish joy in a second.
 Negativity, harsh words, unkindness, envy, prejudice, mean-spiritedness, fear, discontent, resentment and revenge
 are just a few.
Some feelings open us up and others close us down. The ones that close us down close us
 off from the part of ourselves that would enable us to get more enjoyment from life, and also close us off from
 others. At worst we feel isolated and alone.
Joy can be found in both giving and receiving, particularly if the feeling behind the
 giving is heartfelt. But I have noticed that there is perhaps more joy in giving. I think this is because it moves
 us away from focusing on ‘me’ and ‘mine’, and opens us up to others.
I particularly remember an annual event in my childhood. My siblings and I would go into
 a big shop in town with our few pennies of pocket money and buy Christmas gifts for our parents and grandparents. It
 took us forever because each present had to be just right and each item was chosen so carefully, and of course we
 were limited in what we could choose by our budgets. Then there was the joy of wrapping them in secret (all fingers
 and thumbs and giggles and laughter), so they would be a surprise on the day.
Like joy, generosity comes from an open heart. On those occasions all our hearts sang
 with joy.
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 THIYAGARAJAN 
 Business analyst 
 Hyderabad, India
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When there is a disturbance within, the one thing which soothes me is to go out and
 spend time looking at the birds and trees, sitting down under a tree. Automatically I see the condition changing
 within. It gives me a feeling of contentment and happiness.
Joy is different: it’s a condition that prevails or emanates from inside. To be in a
 state of joy, I need to be connected with my own self internally, and that brings me joy no matter what is happening
 outside in the world around me.
Also when I see people around who are happy and joyful, I feel joy. We have a helper who
 always greets us with a smile. That smile is not superficial; it comes from within. When I see her, it gives me so
 much joy. Her husband is no more, and there are so many other things going on in her life, but in spite of all that
 she comes with a big smile. When I see such contentment in an individual, I feel very, very joyful.
When we are not connected within, when there are expectations, there is no joy. Joy is
 forgiveness, selflessness and unconditional.
Do I feel joy in giving or receiving? Both! The moment I feel I’m giving something,
 there is no meaning to it. The importance of giving goes. When I receive something I feel very grateful, because I
 experience what I am receiving. When I give someone what I like the most and see the joy or happiness on their face,
 I feel content and joyful.
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 VALENTINE 
 Academic editor 
 Atlanta, USA
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What brings joy? Community, cooperation, unity. When people come together for something
 they love – something they share and believe in. When hands and minds are creating, eyes are alight, hearts are
 open. When something that must be Love permeates everything. And engagement – work, learning, helping or just
 enjoying – is important, because joy is not passive. It emanates from the collective hearts, flows through each
 individual and again back to imbue the whole, bringing with it the best that each individual can offer. So, it is
 about working and sharing together from the heart. I can experience peace and serenity on my own, but joy, for me,
 comes from community.
What takes joy away? Isolation, judgment, comparison – on my part. I worry that I’ve
 failed at x, or I wish I could do y, or I hope that z will happen. All things that have to do with me versus life,
 fate, the world. Things that create a sense of separateness, and along with it worry and other forms of fear. When I
 feel this condition, I tend to react to life as if it’s something that is happening to me, not something I am part
 of. And I realize that what I need to get past it is completely internal. It may take some time apart, some
 reflection or cleaning away of negativity, but I have to reconnect with that unitive place within my own heart, and
 the sense of separateness leaves.
It’s easy for me to feel joy in giving; I’m trying to learn the joy of receiving. In
 fact, I became aware of this mystery recently, when several people helped me with a project that was important to
 me. They gave so freely of their time and talents that I felt I couldn’t repay them adequately. I found myself,
 though grateful, also uneasy – and I wondered at it. Because I know in my heart that, as the Buddhist teaching goes,
 ‘There is no giver and no receiver.’ So, what was resisting in me? I pondered it and felt it was my ego; it saw the
 equation of giver and receiver as separate and, ideally, even. But when I looked into my heart, I could see that in
 love we are united and in balance.
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 POLSTON 
 Therapeutic bodyworker, reflexologist &amp; polarity therapist 
 Langley, B.C., Canada
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As I age, whenever I see a sweet baby or observe animals – dogs, cows, horses etc. – it
 immediately fills me with joy and my heart feels lighter. Being with my lovely amazing daughter and listening to her
 life stories brings happiness. I actually feel joy from food by eating a healthy vegan diet. On the spiritual side,
 when I see another human being grow and change it fills me with joy for them and their success.
I’m just discovering joy, so really it is a new aspect. I’ve felt peace, profound
 spiritual conditions, but joy eluded me. I’ve not missed it; I just never knew exactly what it felt like. Joy is not
 ‘taken away’ by anything. It’s more allowing it to happen and appreciating it as we become simpler and in tune with
 our own Nature.
When I give to another, regardless if the action is big or small, by supporting another
 person it can bring unexpected joy. This in some ways actually seems stupid to me, as giving to another is a very
 natural thing to do!

3 questions on happiness

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 <h4 style="text-align: center;">What do you feel is the relevance of science in the field of spirituality and
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 <h4 style="text-align: center;">How are the discoveries of neuroscience changing our perception of
 consciousness?</h4>
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 Psychologist and social worker 
 London, UK</h4>
In ancient times, science, spirituality and Yoga were often treated as one, and science
 was viewed in a more holistic sense that included spiritual aspects as well as the mundane. More recently, you could
 say that there is a reunion of science and spirituality, as both can compliment one another with different
 perspectives, illuminating our vision of the world across multiple spectrums.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the growth of neuroscience is its investigation
 of internal phenomena, such as meditation. As a meditator and meditation trainer with a background in psychology, I
 am intrigued to know about the different areas of the brain that are activated or de-activated during meditation.
 Indeed, longitudinal studies in neuroscience offer possibilities of examining changes within the structures of the
 brain over time. This is providing evidence that correlates to the personal experience of meditators.
The journal, The Neuroscience of Consciousness, is devoted to the study of
 consciousness, which traditionally fell within the realm of philosophy before a distinction emerged between
 philosophy and psychology. The development of neuroscience enables another perspective on our understanding of
 consciousness. It provides an alternative means of exploring consciousness, including possibilities of ‘locating’ it
 within the human system. The renewed appreciation that exists for the study of consciousness goes beyond a
 ‘reductionist’ view of the mind to take into account the richness of our internal worlds.

 https://academic.oup.com/nc
 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180322125028.htm

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 Certified Functional Neurologist 
 Oakland, California, USA</h4>
I think science and spirituality are relevant to each other. Right now what is
 increasingly important in society is that we’re going through a really big transformation on our planet. As our
 official intelligence is growing and growing and growing, spirituality and neuroscience need to embrace each other;
 they need to enhance each other. And there’s no bigger example of this than the development of a direct Brain-
 Computer Interface (BCI). That will be happening sometime within the next 15 years – that’s the prediction – where
 we just think a thought and that’s our interface with the cloud or computer, rather than speaking through Siri or
 typing through a keypad. That’s going to change human experience on this planet in a really big way and demand a lot
 of spiritual wisdom to ground this thing.
What fascinates me about neuroscience’s understanding of meditation? Everything! Number
 one, as we develop a neuroscientific understanding of what happens in the brain in meditation, that will and does
 have practical implications. There will be ways to enhance the quality of our life as we can identify the brain
 states associated with different forms of experience, meditation included.
The discoveries of neuroscience are changing our perception of consciousness. Number
 one, consciousness shifts states all the time. We are waking, sleeping, meditating, in Samadhi, absorption; there
 are all different kinds of manifestations or presentations of consciousness. And neuroscience is pretty good at
 understanding the neurological signatures of different states of consciousness. So if there’s an astronaut out in
 space and we’re measuring the brain signals only, we know when they’re awake, when they’re dreaming, when they’re
 sleeping, when they’re meditating, and what kind of meditation they’re doing. So that’s just fascinating and it does
 have practical implications.
I think of spirituality as seeing the big context – helping to give meaning to life. In
 every experience there are two poles: the context and the content, the big picture and the small picture, the
 details. Spirituality helps gives the big picture, and that’s a function of the right side of our brain. The right
 side of our brain is context-providing – the big context, the emotional, the body language. The left side of the
 brain is more content-oriented – the verbal meaning of the language. Artificial Intelligence is developing in a way
 that gives us so much more capability: if I want to find out what the weather is like in Jakarta at this moment, I
 can find out what the temperature is, the wind velocity; I can speak into a computer and order a 3D printer to print
 a cup.
We’re developing a huge capability that needs to be contextualized. So when we do that
 brain-computer interface, there will be a huge data stream that will be available to us. We have to slow it down and
 contextualize in order to make meaning and sense of it. That meaning and sense needs to in turn guide the big data
 stream, that AI, which we can now harness.
https://braintime.com/story/
<hr>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<h4><img decoding="async" class="lazyload img-float-left has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Krishnamurthy_cab7ae4ebb.jpg" alt="on-neuroscience" >DR KRISHNAMURTHY J 
 Global Community Health Specialist 
 Bangalore, India</h4>
Today, we know quite a lot about the effects of meditation on the brain and behavior. Of
 course, there are methodological and conceptual limitations in meditation research and we may not be able to study
 all changes as objectively as we would like to, but the progress made in the last few decades in uncovering neural
 correlates of meditation is worthy of appreciation.
Functional MRI scans among long term meditators have revealed structural changes
 (neuroplasticity) in the prefrontal cortex and anterior insula, the brain regions associated with improved
 attention, interoception and sensory processing. Changes include thickening of the somatosensory cortex associated
 with heightened self-awareness, and the shrinking of the amygdala associated with fear and anxiety.
Electroencephalogram (EEG) studies, which analyze electric activity of brains, have
 revealed heightened theta and alpha pattern among meditators, reflecting calmer and more relaxed states.
Studying neural correlates of consciousness is gaining a lot of momentum today. By
 default, our minds are in a restless state, not accustomed to living in the present, and this is akin to a state of
 unhappiness. This state is reflected by the activation of a neural network that deals with self-referential
 processing, known as the default mode network (DMN). Studies have revealed that in experienced meditators, the main
 modes of DMN are actually deactivated indicating reduced restlessness. In long term practitioners, this change has
 become permanent.
Several theoretical frameworks are postulated to study consciousness. I personally find
 the ‘Global neuronal workspace framework’ very fascinating, which tries to explain the conscious and unconscious
 processing of information. It also relates to long distance connectivity between workspaces. Yes, these are still
 theoretical at the moment, but I feel science has made a bold attempt to begin exploring these aspects that were
 once regarded as mystical and subjective. There is some initial learning from neurophysiological, anatomical, and
 brain-imaging data to support a major role of the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and the areas that connect
 to them, in creating the postulated brainscale workspace. The future of consciousness-related research will only be
 even more exciting!
<hr>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<h4><img decoding="async" class="lazyload img-float-left has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Hester_O_Connor_7e31d83b43.jpg" alt="on-neuroscience" >DR HESTER O CONNOR 
 Clinical Psychologist 
 Wicklow, Ireland</h4>
We can change our brains!
I love hearing about the capacity of the brain to change. The idea of neuroplasticity,
 our inbuilt capacity to form new neural connections in our brains, gives me hope that it is possible with repeated
 practice to form new habits. Why do most of us find it incredibly difficult to keep up with our own good intentions?
 The concept in neuroscience of neuroplasticity helps to answer this question.
Neuroplasticity means the brain can and does change throughout our lives. The brain is a
 dynamic interconnected power grid with billions of connections that light up every time we think, feel or do
 something. If we think of these pathways like an oak tree with billions of interconnecting roots, then it is not
 difficult to understand that when we want to form new habits it is going to take time to weaken the old ones.
An example is deciding after a big meal that you are going to start walking every day.
 The next morning it is raining and you reassure yourself that you will start the next day. It takes a lot more than
 good intentions to form a new habit. The encouraging thing about neuroplasticity is that it means that because we
 have plastic brains we can learn new habits, and with a lot of practice we can reach our goal.
Two things are critical here: One, in order to change an old habit we need to practice
 the new one hundreds of times for the neural connections to become ‘automatic’ and hard wired. Two, we need to have
 a lot of compassion for our failed efforts knowing that we are doing our best and we are willing to keep trying.
 Berating ourselves will serve to reinforce existing pathways because that is what most of us have always done when
 we try to learn a new habit. Learning to meditate is no different. It is better to sit for ten minutes every day
 than for an hour once a week. The ten minutes will really help the new neural pathways to get firmly established.
 Along the way we need to be kind to ourselves. In the words of Samuel Beckett, “Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

<hr>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<h4><img decoding="async" class="lazyload img-float-left has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Vasco_Gaspar_c146d40d64.jpg" alt="on-neuroscience" >VASCO GASPAR 
 Mindfulness Corporate Trainer 
 Lisbon, Portugal</h4>
More and more I believe that science is finding out through the objective 3rd person
 perspective what yogis and practitioners of spirituality have know for millennia from the 1st and 2nd person
 perspectives. Unifying these three perspectives allows a more integrative view of the whole, leading to a better
 understanding of yoga and spirituality. And since science serves as the 21st century’s religion for many people, to
 have scientific studies proving spiritual claims gives trust to some people to try these practices.
What fascinates me the most about neuroscience is what is yet to be discovered.
 Phenomena like neuroplasticity, showing that parts of the brain change according to the type of meditation we do, is
 very inspiring. It gives confidence that meditation is not just something to believe but something that changes us
 at the core level of our being.
One of the main discoveries is that mind and consciousness are not limited to the brain.
 That is a very narrow view, I believe. The more scientists ‘dig’ into the brain and the activities of neurons to
 understand and explain consciousness, the more they realize that they don’t find it there. It is much more complex
 than that, and I believe that fields like Yoga bring complementary views that give us a better understanding of the
 whole picture.
<hr>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<h4><img decoding="async" class="lazyload img-float-left has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Natwar_Sharma_1e7ab4e141.jpg" alt="on-neuroscience" >DR NATWAR SHARMA 
 Pediatric Intensivist 
 Chennai, India</h4>
Science takes an evidence-based approach and needs explanations for everything. It
 requires formulae, objective tools, machines and equipment to gauge anything, while spirituality is largely
 subjective. Can you measure the calmness or peace felt during meditation in absolute terms? We can only explain the
 relative effect or difference in our states of mind.
Although today we have several psychological and mental scales, like the stress scale,
 and equipment like EEG and MRI to assess what difference we feel with the practice of Yoga and meditation, science
 has not developed enough to measure the effects of meditation completely. For example, if a person today were to go
 back 200 years in time, he would wonder why people are struggling with small things. If a person from 200 years ago
 travels to today’s time, she would be wonderstruck at the advancements! She is likely to look at a plane flying in
 the sky and exclaim, “Is that a new species of bird?” Similarly may be science backing spirituality, which we have
 not discovered yet. Ultimately, at any point in time it’s difficult to explain everything scientifically, because
 science is also evolving.
As a doctor I am trained to look for evidence, so the empirical approach of neuroscience
 is what interests me. There is enough research to show how meditation helps with health, not only in the mind but
 also it reduces cortisol levels and heart rate variability, thereby reducing the occurrence of cardiovascular
 disease, strokes, stress, hypertension and even diabetes. It is found to improve sleep, mental cognition functions,
 focus and memory. I have been meditating for 24 years now and absolutely enjoy the experience, so much so that as
 part of my PhD I am conducting a study to see the effect of meditation on the body, mind, heart and aura of a
 person.
In my own work I have found that when people see and understand things objectively, it
 boosts them to move forward. Their awareness or consciousness expands with the changes they perceive over time. Here
 we are talking about individual consciousness, but if things have to change at a global level there has to be some
 groundbreaking discovery that can produce a shift in the consciousness of human beings collectively. Neuroscience
 also shows the potential of meditation to affect people on a large scale and bring about a change in our global
 consciousness.
<hr>

On neuroscience

Heather is the founder of the Minded Institute, a professional yoga therapy training organization, and the Director of the Yoga and Healthcare Alliance. She specializes in the treatment of trauma and anxiety, and the use of physiological assessment in yoga therapy.

Heather.jpg

Heather Mason

<h4>HEATHER MASON is a yoga therapist who has pioneered yoga and mindfulness in the healthcare sector, including for the National Health Services in the United Kingdom. Here, she is interviewed by EKTA BOUDERLIQUE of the Heartfulness Yoga Academy in the <a href="https://www.yoga4unity.com/">Yoga 4 Unity 2022</a> program.</h4><hr>Q: Welcome, Heather. Thank you for being with us.HM: Thank you so much. It’s a delight.Q: How were you introduced to yoga?HM: I started practicing yoga in 1996, when I was 19, while studying in India, but it was really in 2000, when I went to Asia and Southeast Asia to work on my mental health, that I developed an appreciation of what yoga could offer. I was a gymnast, so at first I thought yoga was an adult form of gymnastics. It took some time to understand the real value.Q: What is the aspect of Yoga that has attracted you the most?HM: First and foremost, the philosophy. For many people it’s the movement, the idea of doing all these interesting poses, whereas I have always been drawn to the concept of oneness, to the dispelling of the illusion of the mind. From a young age, I have known that the mind can envision things that are not the truth. I wanted a practice that would allow me to cultivate wisdom and let go of confused and false views. Later, I understood that wisdom is also supported through movement, through breath work, through the further cultivation of the Yamas and Niyamas, the disciplines and observances.I always had an inkling that there was something more than mundane reality. I have always questioned the nature of truth. I went to Costa Rica when I was 18, took a malarial medication, and had a really bad reaction to it. It led me to realize that there is not always stability in the mind. It was quite an intense realization for a young person to have; I really thought I was crazy.When I returned to Manhattan, I went to see a psychiatrist. He said to me, “I’m sorry, I know you want a pill to fix what’s happening to you, but some people have special experiences, and I believe you’re one of them. The only thing you need to manage is your anxiety.”Soon after that I was on a bus in New York, and a man sat next to me, handed me two tickets and said, “You don’t know me, but I would like you to go to Gurumayi’s ashram in New York.” So I went to visit Gurumayi, and she gave me a mala and said, “If you want more answers, Heather, go to India.” I went home and said to my father, “Listen, I know this is a strange request, but I need to go to India. Since you said I could study abroad for a semester, that’s where I want to go.” That’s where I started yoga.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/journey_of_lifetime2_9f9dde9b8d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T10:24:44.749Z" alt=""><hr>Q: What an adventure! I can only imagine what it must have been like for you to discover a country like India, the cliché of an ashram, and yet you have done something very different with it. You often speak of mental health issues, which are not easy for people to talk about. Many of us are haunted by these things that affect some part of our lives. How did you deal with your depression? And what were the lessons you gleaned from it?HM: I worked with yoga and mindfulness practices from the Buddhist tradition in two ways. First, I learned that all mental phenomena are processes. Now that isn’t easy. You have to meditate for long periods for that to be anything more than an intellectual concept. Being psychologically unwell, it was extremely difficult to meditate. Critical thoughts and feelings of self-loathing would overcome me. Thankfully, I was fortunate to have a very dedicated teacher.Second, asanas helped me to be with very clear sensations in my body. When I practiced asanas that were challenging enough to direct my mind to the body, I would find my thoughts settling, simply by experiencing the pulsing sensation of the here and now. When I stayed present with that, tension would release, and I would have the clarity to sit and meditate. I started to see through the illusion of my thought processes, such as, “You’re not lovable, you’re not good enough.” These thoughts were because of things that had happened to me in the past.So the dual approach of asanas and meditation allowed me to work with my depression. I understood that it is actually our own processes that give rise to these painful experiences. That is difficult, because it puts the onus of responsibility back on us, but it also means we can let go of the habit of negative thinking and supplant it with clear vision, seeing, and positive thought.I gleaned that I could help other people, which is probably the most important part of my journey. I went to the depths of being unwell, and I worked really hard to become well, so often I know what it’s like to be there.Q: Suppose somebody is just a beginner yoga practitioner. How long do you think it will take them to feel well, whether it’s depression, anxiety, stress, or any other difficulties related to the mind?HM: It’s person specific. We also need to realize that if we have mental health issues we need to see yoga as hygiene, and continue to do it for the rest of our lives. Evidence suggests that months of regular practice, for example, five days a week, thirty minutes a day, yield significant results. Practicing for six months regularly seems to be more effective than practicing once a week for a number of years. Of course, there are people whose mental health challenges are very extreme, and it may take them years.One of the most important things I learned is that I wear the scars of my past. I had depression and PTSD. I don’t expect to always be a perfect, balanced human being. I accept who I am, with some level of dysregulation. That is the arising Heather Mason in this life, and that is part of the healing.<hr><hr><h4>I could help other people, which is probably the most important part of my journey.</h4><hr><hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/journey_of_lifetime3_df5b7968a6.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T10:26:41.173Z" alt=""><hr>Q: This is the first time I am hearing somebody speak about yoga inducing self-kindness and self-acceptance, especially with mental illness. Could you tell us more about working with trauma?HM: I’m a yoga therapist and I run the <a href="https://themindedinstitute.com/">Minded Institute</a>. Some time back, I was delivering an eight-week yoga therapy course for depression and anxiety when one of my students said to me, “There’s a course in Boston on yoga for trauma. Nobody’s done it in this country, so can you do it?”So I did it, and it was so important. yoga has so much to offer people with PTSD, because it allows a gradual sensing into the body. For many people with PTSD, the body has been compromised in some way, and attending to the body causes fear. yoga offers breathing practices that regulate the autonomic nervous system, and a key feature of managing PTSD and trauma is that regulation.Yoga allows for gentleness within the self, so that the body can become a place of safety rather than a place of fear. It’s a potent strategy. When I did the training in 2008 or 2009 there were not that many openings for yoga and PTSD. Now it’s burgeoning. The trauma community has a clear understanding that yoga can help their clients.Q: This is an extremely relevant issue. With war a major reality in Europe, what measures do you think need to be taken? Do we need to do prevention rather than just healing?HM: Well, prevention for sure. Unfortunately, for the people of Ukraine, prevention is not currently accessible, but for everyone, building the resilience of the nervous system is important.I’m a huge proponent of breathing practices. Personally, I have found pranayama, the breathing practices offered by yoga, to be the most potent aspect. If you elongate the exhalation, you increase the messaging to your heart through your vagus nerve, the nerve that starts at the brainstem and travels to many different places, including the heart. Every time you exhale, the vagus nerve releases acetylcholine to the heart, reducing the heart rate, which is further picked up as a message from the body to the brain, allowing for a stilling of the mind. Practicing that for ten minutes a day has the potential to calm you down and cultivate resiliency.Another thing is coherent breathing – inhaling for the count of six and exhaling for the count of six, so each breath cycle is twelve counts. That means five breaths per minute, which has significant effects on cardiovascular measures, and physical and psychological flexibility. I wish that the world would practice pranayama. No matter what tradition a person comes from, no matter how flexible they are, no matter what philosophical system they espouse, everyone can improve their breathing. We would enhance the capacity of our nervous systems to become robust, protecting us from some of the tragedies that befall us. Breathwork could become part of the healing regime offered in different therapies, and it could be done in large groups to support the social aspect, as we do need social bonds in order to support our well-being.<hr><hr><h4>No matter what tradition a person comes from, no matter how flexible they are, no matter what philosophical system they espouse, everyone can improve their breathing.</h4><hr><hr>Q: I noticed that through the Minded Institute you have extended your work to the National Health System in the UK. What is the difference you are making? And what do you expect to achieve in the years to come?HM: Just to clarify, the Minded Institute is a training organization for yoga therapists. Many of my graduates do enter the health system through their own efforts. I’m also the Founding Director of the <a href="https://www.yogainhealthcarealliance.com/">Yoga in Health Care Alliance</a>, which has created a yoga protocol for health, and that’s what we are doing within the NHS. The NHS has something called social prescribing, which is based on the understanding that social isolation is a major risk factor in a host of different diseases, due to both poor self-care and to the overall effects on the body. The cardiovascular and neurological systems are impacted by isolation. Cutting-edge research also shows that there are different genetic expressions in those who are isolated. Based on this understanding, the UK innovated a scheme of social prescribing whereby people are referred to activity groups, and yoga is one of the activities.The Yoga for Health program was commissioned by the West London clinical group, created and evaluated by the University of Westminster. Paul Fox, the CEO of the Yoga in Health Care Alliance, and myself have trained hundreds of Yoga teachers in the UK and beyond. I see a lattice arising, where every clinic, or every small region of the UK, will have this program available for people who are isolated.We built the program for the early intervention of type 2 diabetes, mild depression, mild anxiety, and people at risk of a cardiovascular event in the next ten years. By addressing these groups in the early stages, we hope to save the NHS a lot of money, and also shift the health trajectories of many people. Many health conditions fall into a social isolation risk for a cardiovascular event, mild mental health issues, and type 2 diabetes.Q: I hope we will see this happening in other European countries. Why just Europe? I know that you have worked a lot in the US, too. How is it different from what you saw in India? Can yoga be seen as something more than just physical exercises in the West?HM: The idea that yoga is perceived first and foremost as exercise in the West is misconstrued. The US does a complementary health survey every few years. The last one, done in 2012 and published in 2016, showed that a third of the population uses complementary treatments. That’s around 100 million people. 9.5% of those 100 million were practicing yoga specifically for health conditions. If we fast forward another ten years, it will probably be closer to 20%.So a good proportion of people understand the stress relieving effects of yoga. When I speak to people I usually hear, “It’s really good for relieving stress.” So the common mindset is changing and will continue to do so.<hr><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/journey_of_lifetime4_643f0b5e90.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T10:28:00.643Z" alt=""><hr>Q: Wonderful. Heather, what is your plan for Yoga Day?HM: I sent a proposal to the Indian High Commission, as we want to have a big event in Trafalgar Square. Two other things will happen, regardless: Paul Fox and I have authored a book called Yoga on Prescription, and we will launch the book on June 22;and on June 27 there’s a parliamentary group on Yoga in Society that’s going to meet in Parliament. I hope a representative of Heartfulness will come for this.Q: We will be happy to join you, Heather, and with your future endeavors.Finally, what led you to call your organization the Minded Institute?HM: One day I was driving home, and I had an epiphany that I would create programs for yoga for mental health. I thought of Yoga for the Mind, but that was not descriptive enough. I think sometimes things just arise when you meditate a lot. Knowing sometimes comes from the ether, and it’s not analytical.Q: Thank you so much, Heather. We have benefited from understanding how you set up your work on trauma, and how you see it changing the world in the days to come. We’ll be following you closely, and hope that a lot of people will read this and be inspired to join you. Thank you so much for being with us, and for what you do.HM: Thank you. It was lovely being here.<hr>

The journey of a lifetime

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">HEATHER MASON is the Founder and Director of The Minded Institute, a professional yoga therapy training organization. She is also the recipient of four master’s degrees. She is interviewed by RUBY CARMEN on the simplicity and strength of coming back to the mind, body, and spirit through yoga, and how her own yoga practice has changed her life.</h4>&nbsp;Q: Good morning, Heather. Thank you very much for this interview with Heartfulness magazine. What inspires you on this path of yoga and yoga therapy?HM: The first thing is the felt experience of the practice. The world shifts because you shift. Perception is everything. When you calm the mental processes, the nervous system, while also invigorating an awakening inside, the world shifts. You see things more clearly and with greater ease. When that happens, there’s an organic inspiration and a love for the practice, for the arising experience of self, which is not all about ego. Then, it also arises for the external world.&nbsp;I am also deeply inspired by colleagues, students, and clients who overcome great adversity through these practices. First and foremost, it’s the practice itself.&nbsp;It’s easy to get caught up in all the trappings of the world. It’s easy to externalize and worry about the vicissitudes of life and the problems that emerge, which may be great or small. So, the spiritual teachings of yoga are incredibly important, even if we already know them intellectually—to embody them and find nourishment.&nbsp;I lived in Buddhist monasteries for about three years. When you’re enmeshed in that world, day in and day out, the remembrance is there moment by moment. But when you’re not in that environment, it helps to have an active process of being with other people, reminding you of the values, reading literature, maybe spiritual texts, so you inculcate those ideas on a daily basis. You can choose the approach yourself; I’m not suggesting any indoctrination because there are so many competing factors, and we live in a world that’s very much based on success being material gain and prestige. Unfortunately, chasing those things doesn’t lead to joy.&nbsp;It's important to keep coming back to what it feels like to be present in your energy—to watch, feel, stretch, breathe.Q: It’s important to think about interiorization, especially when there are many external distractions. You specialize in yoga therapy and have a keen interest in neuroscience. What can we learn from the ancient past, from yogic psychology, and how can it help us with modern issues?There’s also a lot more discourse around trauma. Many people are opening up and being more honest about struggling and needing support. How can yoga help with understanding trauma?&nbsp;HM: There are two different questions here. In terms of yoga psychology, we all possess an indestructible but obscure perfected nature. No matter what has happened to us, wellness is always present. That has been an invaluable reflection, especially when I have felt broken to the core of my being, as if there was no coming back from it. Adhering to the atman [soul], connecting to the greater whole, which can never be tarnished, is very supportive. Also, we all have the capacity to build mental faculties through practice.&nbsp; That doesn’t mean we can entirely extricate pain and memories from life. I don’t want to sell it as, “Do this and life will be easy.” Many of us have undergone things for which we will wear scars for life, and yet we can tap into unattainable wellness. It’s vital for the field of PTSD.Here, we touch upon neuroscience. There is an appreciation now that PTSD has a common neurological signature for everybody; it shows up in the brain and the nervous system in common ways, which is why we can diagnose it as a condition with common symptoms. And as we understand the impact of the practices, we can apply them in ways that support the regulation of the nervous system.&nbsp;One of the core things in PTSD is dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system, the part of the nervous system that is associated with “rest and digest” (parasympathetic) or “fight or flight” (sympathetic). For example, Pranayama, yogic breathing practices, elongate the exhalation and that increases parasympathetic activation. So, yoga can help in a moment or over time with repetition by promoting greater regulation. A similar thing happens through movement.Other limbs of yoga that require the mind can be tougher when there is trauma, like meditation, the Yamas, and the Niyamas, because the mind is the very thing causing us agitation.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/world_shifts2_862b97d1ec.webp" alt="world-shifts2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_world_shifts2_862b97d1ec.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_world_shifts2_862b97d1ec.webp 357w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/world_shifts2_862b97d1ec.webp 357w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">So, yoga can help in a moment or over time with repetition by promoting greater regulation. A similar thing happens through movement.</h4><hr>Q: In your journey, was there one significant moment when you realized that yoga would be significant in your life, or was it a series of different events?&nbsp;HM: I think it was a series of events. When I was doing my yoga therapy training in India, I wasn’t sure what I would get out of it and the ultimate purpose. I was in an ashram, and they let us out for the day after two weeks. Afterward, I was driving back to the ashram and everything fell into place. I remember a mountain in the distance and beautiful greenery. I had spent so much of my life focusing on mental health, with a Masters in Psychotherapy, and a degree in Buddhist Studies with a focus on psychology. I had struggled with my mental health for many years, and was using Buddhism and yoga practices to transform my mind. Suddenly, I thought, “Okay. I need to use yoga therapy to help people with mental health issues,” and the course emerged out of the ether. It was an epiphany, and I started teaching that course when I returned to the UK. It’s something that people can learn to teach.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/world_shifts3_5558c89daa.webp" alt="world-shifts3.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_world_shifts3_5558c89daa.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_world_shifts3_5558c89daa.webp 357w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/world_shifts3_5558c89daa.webp 357w," sizes="100vw"></figure>&nbsp;There’s great potential for yoga to help people suffering with mental health issues. There also has to be consistency and a willingness to face difficulties, because sometimes you have to come up against the most difficult things within yourself for there to be change. I think it’s essential to do yoga with lightness, take your time, and practice over a broad period to know that transformation is possible. I’m an example. It hasn’t been an easy life, so I know what’s possible.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">There’s great potential for yoga to help people suffering with mental health issues.</h4><hr>Q: You touched upon two things: the first is change, transformation. Sometimes people feel stuck in their lives and don’t know how to change. Yoga and meditation are certainly tools for transformation. The second thing you touched upon was consistency. That’s practice, what we call abhyas. It’s not a one-off quick fix. That’s important.&nbsp;You also mentioned the idea of processing. If you have experienced trauma and challenges, you can process them through yoga practices. One thing that has come up for me in the last couple of years is the concept of spiritual bypassing, saying something like, “Okay, I’ve done this six-week course and I’m healed now,” whereas from my own experience, and from what you’ve shared, it’s an ongoing process.&nbsp;HM: And using spiritual practices is also a way to avoid ourselves.&nbsp;Q: Actually, a lot of people have the misconception that meditation is an escape, whereas you’re actually coming to yourself, seeing yourself as a mirror.&nbsp;HM: Yes, meditation is very revealing.Q: Is there anything you wish to share with young people?&nbsp;HM: Start to practice early! Realize that if you are struggling, so is everybody else, even if they look like they’re not. Have empathy for other people’s challenges. Even if it’s hard, reach out to your peers; you are not alone, and growing up is a challenge. When adopted early, these tools help you to meet some of those challenges, and influence the development of the brain. You can set up a lifetime of different neurological circumstances, making it easier to manage life. The brain doesn’t become fully formed until the ages of 23 to 25.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/world_shifts4_e498a1914b.webp" alt="world-shifts4.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_world_shifts4_e498a1914b.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_world_shifts4_e498a1914b.webp 357w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/world_shifts4_e498a1914b.webp 357w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">There also has to be consistency and a willingness to face difficulties, because sometimes you have to come up against the most difficult things within yourself for there to be change.</h4><hr>I really wish I had practiced yoga from a young age. I was a gymnast, and I was competitive, so I could make a lot of shapes with my body, but it was all about show and not about embodiment. I wish somebody had offered me yoga practices then. My life would be so different.&nbsp;Q: I studied psychology in the ’90s, and back then they thought that neuroplasticity disappeared after puberty. Newer research shows that neuroplasticity continues later in life, and that yoga and meditation support neuroplasticity.&nbsp;&nbsp;HM: It continues to the very last stages of life; there is neuronal growth even during dementia, and while parts of the brain are atrophying, which can be prevented through practice. At all stages of life, we have the potential for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity.Q: There are a lot of stereotypes out there about yoga. A lot of time is spent busting myths about yoga and meditation. Can you give some examples?HM: One thing is that yoga teachers think we breathe in through the left nostril to activate the left side of the brain, and breathe in through the right nostril to activate the right side of the brain. That is not true. Alternate nostril breathing has the potential to balance the nervous system. We don’t breathe from our left nostril into the left part of our brain, and the sensory pathways from our noses (except those involved with smell, which do go straight to the brain) go all the way back down to the brain stem.&nbsp;Q: Brilliant. Thanks so much, Heather. Is there anything else you want to share?HM: Yoga for dogs!&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/world_shifts5_e9f43a9425.webp" alt="world-shifts5.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_world_shifts5_e9f43a9425.webp 145w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/large_world_shifts5_e9f43a9425.webp 357w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/world_shifts5_e9f43a9425.webp 357w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Illustrations by JASMEE MUDGAL</h4><hr>

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