Tag wisdom | CHOKI

22 September, 2015 by Choki team

How to Speak with the Earth and Awaken Your Consciousness

We have all heard stories of ancient civilizations – of temples, of priests, of sacrifices to the gods. We have heard stories of ancient wisdom traditions and their practices and myths. Yet, what if this cultural heritage has more to teach us than what has been discovered from an archaeological dig? What if our current interpretations – as perceived through western cultural affiliations – simply have not been sufficient to untangle the mystery of esoteric knowledge that these stories contain? What if the understanding that is truly available transcends time and space, transcends belief systems and even the structure of our own “conditioned” mind – a conditioned mind, which has been molded to receive and comply with overt and psychic messages of societal philosophy, form and function?

What if the world, as we know it, is a by-product of our conditioning? A conditioning which posits the framework of a limiting worldview upon the psyche – almost as though we were to wear a helmet with blinders connected to it; like, that which a racehorse would wear to keep out the distractions.

What if it is possible to regain this lost knowledge? What if it is possible to remember what we once knew, not from a book or a group of scholars but from the energetic field of the earth – from your own energetic field in which all wisdom from all times is contained?

What? Yes! Yes! Yes!

All wisdom from all time is contained in the energetic field of the earth – in your energetic field – in a timeless, spaceless matrix of vibration, that has even crystalized into who you are in physical form. You are a by-product of this energetic blueprint in which your very existence holds the key to a particular gateway of consciousness, through which you have the capacity to access all the wisdom contained therein.

This is Deep!

So deep, in fact, it is the birthplace of creation. The entry point into the Hunab-Ku – the Cosmic Butterfly; the Great Void; the womb of creation; the Heart of Madre Divina – the mother of existence, herself. Native traditions, the world over understood this depth, and their own materialization from “out” of the “within”. They understood their interconnectedness with life, they understood the cosmic ebb and flow of which they were a part. They understood the dance of creation, and they understood their role as custodians and travelers in and through this realm. They understood the intricate and subtle weaving together of the seen and the unseen world, which they were taught from an early age. In fact, they never forgot, since they were born into a world that remembered with them.

So, the Question Now Becomes: How Do We Remember?

The answer is a simple energetic of awareness. Where attention goes, energy flows.

We spend a lot of our attention units on making money, buying stuff, getting the perfect relationship, facebook, etc. And we receive back dividends from this attention exchange. Well, the energy matrix works on these same principles. Where we place our attention pays us dividends.

I Discovered This Process Through Sungazing — and I Was Super Surprised at What I Found!

My friend suggested that we sungaze every morning – like forever! I said, “I’m NOT a morning person – but I’ll try it for 6 weeks!” (BTW – now I AM a morning person). So, I began waking up before dawn and standing on the earth with my bare feet – looking at the sun for 30 seconds as it rose from the horizon. I held my hands down by my sides in an open position. I breathed the sunlight into my hands and into my heart and I felt the connection to the earth. Then I closed my eyes and continued to feel the connection with the sun – with its warmth, with its glow – and continued to feel the steadfastness of the earth. Note: Once I got connected to the sun, I realized that I could find its radiance even on a cloudy morning, or from bed, if I didn’t make it out of the house in time to catch it rising.

After several minutes of this connection, I sat down on the earth, placed my hands with my palms facing the ground, and began to flow energy, Love and gratitude to this vibrant, alive being – our planet. I would really feel myself connecting, all the way to the core of the Earth. I would say, “I love you. I love you. I love you.” and be present here, flowing my Love with the innocence of a child. I would do this for several minutes.

Then I would ask, where do you need my prayers? My attention would go to the ocean, or the trees, or mothers in childbirth, or the air, etc. I would then flow my energy, Love and gratitude to whatever would come up – one at a time.

This Filled Me With So Much Energy That I Was Happy to Do It!

After a couple days, I started to feel an interconnectedness with all of life. After a couple weeks I started to hear the earth talking back! It was subtle at first. Just little glimpses of knowings, chills at certain moments of connection. But it evolved into complex teachings about the planetary system of our galaxy, the laws of the universe, the principles of giving, the laws of balance, thestructure of consciousness.

This is how I was taught that all wisdom was contained in the energetic field of the earth. I would often go to certain texts or ask people in certain spiritual traditions about the information that I had received. I would get confirmation after confirmation. I had the awareness that all of creation is alive – and that based on where we place our attention and focus, we can engage in conversation and hence, access the information contained therein, even if it’s with a mountain or with an eagle. When we give our energy – we enter the conversation.

This is So Important on So Many Levels!

Especially important in this time and space, with the social, economic and political climate in which we find ourselves! The earth needs us! She needs our listening, she needs our alignment, she needs our energy, she needs our responsibility, she needs our action in order for life to keep going!

Right now, humankind is in the midst of a dream, a conditioned reality – a dream created by collective belief and fed by the desire for power and control. But this dream is destroying the world that houses it! We need to wake up because a new dream is coming! It is being brought by the great messengers of the Cosmos, through our children, through our heart’s desires, through native prophesies, through a myriad of beings in the seen and the unseen world, through the planet itself!

This new dream is a dream of Love, of Peace, of Harmony, of Goodness, of Care for one another. It is a dream that is contained in a certain vibration – that we can step into instantaneously when our connection to the planet is repaired. When we give our energy, our Love, our attention, our actions, our words, our thoughts and our feelings to the service of the Earth and of one another, this repairs our connection and repairs our memory of the true nature of reality. It connects us once again with the wisdom contained in the energetic field of the planet.

We then experience directly, the wisdom of the past and the wisdom of the future. We then understand how to walk in the world without leaving a footprint. We then embrace the fragility of life and regain our role as custodians and caretakers.

We are Being Asked to Listen!

We are being asked to hear! For our own survival. So I invite you to remember! See what happens!

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Author: Karen Seva – Wake Up World

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28 July, 2015 by Choki team

Intuition and The Wisdom of The Body

How do we learn to trust ourselves? How do we learn to connect with our intuition and inner knowing? How do we separate projections or wishful thinking from genuine intuition and inner knowing? How do we connect to our own unique purpose?

The key lies in reconnecting to the energetic and cellular matrices of the body. We are already disconnected from nature and Her cycles, and have been for thousands of years. In this day and age, technology and computerization have disconnected us even more from our own bodies as well. Many people are now merely “walking brains”. They’re successful in matrix terms, but – having lost body sensitivity, inner guidance and connection to “spirit” – they’ve become mere cogs in a giant machine, without even realizing it.

Observe our current collective living conditions: most of us live in crowded cities, bombarded with EMF pollution and affected by the vibration/frequencies which others emit in close proximity to us (in far more ways and patterns than we could ever imagine). For empaths and very sensitive people, these environments can be extremely overwhelming, as such individuals feel what others feel – especially subtle levels of pain and suffering which non-empaths are not even aware of, due to such emotions being hidden behind a social buffer, built up over years of armoring tactics; because being sensitive and vulnerable is seen as “weak” within our society, driven as it is by a cultural addiction to material success and governed by a ‘dog-eat-dog’ attitude.

Spending Time in Nature

Under such circumstances, it can become confusing to identify what it is that we are truly feeling at any given time – is this reaction coming from me or the other person? That’s been my struggle for nearly my entire life. It was not until I moved into nature, surrounded by trees and wildlife – a place where I don’t even have cell phone reception – that I was able to become (literally and energetically) more grounded. I now see more and more people drawn to living in nature/more natural areas. That’s an instinctual reaction for people who are sensitive to the energetic cosmic changes taking place in the here and now. However, not everyone is in a position to just move back to nature, especially in cases of family and job situations. But it is still possible to spend more time in nature: going on hikes, camping, canoe trips, or merely getting away from the overwhelming city frequencies for an afternoon.

However, most importantly, it is about getting into our bodies, and by that I don’t just mean exercising (i.e., going to the gym, lifting weights, running, cycling, or going to a yoga class to get a tight butt). It’s all well and good to stay “fit”; however, in order to access the body’s wisdom; to plug into our intuition/inner knowing; and to become more sensitive to nature’s signs and messages (which are always trying to speak to us), it requires a commitment to engage in more conscious movement exercises, where the focus is “inside”. Such activities allow us to become deeply aware of the more subtle bodily sensations we possess, and to re-establish a connection with the energy body which lies beyond our physical body.

Qi Gong, yoga, bodywork and dance are great practices to get into the body in a more conscious way. Having practiced yoga for 17 years and Qi Gong for 10 years, I can hardly put into words how effective these disciplines are – the key is to do them on a consistent basis. It is, of course, important to learn the basics from a teacher and go to classes; however, at some point (as you learn more about your own unique body-mind make-up and listen to the clues your body is giving you) you can step into your own space and create your own practice at home.

“There is a wisdom in the body, a wisdom in feeling, that when accessed and allowed to operate in conjunction with our cognitive capacities, leads to a deeper, wiser, more integrated life. So we need to get back to the body, which involves much more than just dropping it off at yoga classes or fitness facilities or medical offices. We can get our body more flexible, more fit, and more powerful, and we can load it up with the finest supplements and organic fare, and still be out of touch with it.

Getting back to the body means doing whatever is needed to cut through our disembodied experience, which in part means a journey into and through the very pain that first drove us to dissociate from our body. In permitting a fuller, saner embodiment of our essential nature, we make possible a deeper life for ourselves, a life in which we cannot help but breathe integrity into our stride, and develop a deep intimacy with all that we are.” – Robert Augustus Masters

Yoga and Qi Gong

There are many different forms of yoga and Qi Gong, and as a result it can be easy to get lost in the traditions and dogma of these practices. There is no need to mystify them, nor do I even see these practices as “spiritual”. After all these years, I still don’t know the Sanskrit names of most yoga poses, or the traditional names for the many Qi Gong sequences. At this point in my journey, I let my body be the guide and just feel my way into it. I also feel it’s not necessary to do a 90 minute class all of the time. Even doing 20 minutes every day is more effective than going to a class once or twice a week. But it takes practice, commitment and patience.

Once you are more connected to your body, you will know what kinds of practices, poses or movements are best for you. Usually, they are the ones you resist doing the most. It’s also not about being flexible, nor does being flexible mean that you are a great yogi. If that were the case, any Cirque Du Soleil acrobat would be an “enlightened” being. Rather, it’s about finding your own edge and limitations, and working with these challenges without judgment or comparing yourself to others.

It’s also not necessary to perform (or know) hundreds of different poses/movements. As Bruce Lee said, in reference to the martial arts: “I’m not afraid of the one who knows 1,000 different moves, but of the one who has practiced one move a thousand times”. My Qi Gong practice has remained the same (more or less) for the past 10 years. The more I repeat it, the deeper I’m able to go into meditative states – to the point where I sense my energy body more keenly than my physical body. It has become so integrated into my life that I don’t even have to discipline myself to do it every morning. It has become a part of my life, like eating breakfast. It sustains me, and I feel it is needed for my well-being – it’s as simple as that.

Massage and Bodywork

Bodywork (modalities such as Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue, Esalen Massage, Rolfing, Thai Yoga, Sensory Repatterning, Polarity Therapy, CranioSacral Therapy, etc.) is another very effective way to access the wisdom of our bodies. It is not just luxurious pampering, but a healing art that serves as preventive medicine. It has deep healing effects, helping us to get in communion with our bodies through the mirror of another’s educated touch. We all need nurturing support from time to time, and there are occasions where a qualified bodyworker can help us in more ways than we can help ourselves – not only in relation to physical muscle tension, but also with regards to releasing stuck emotional blockages – including traumas most of us are not even aware of, because we have embedded them deep into our physical vessels via muscle armoring and tension patterning.

Looking at the entirety of existence, everything is made manifest through the ‘latticework’ of universal energy. Our muscles, tissue, organs and bones are carriers of energy and memory, all of which are interrelated and connected to one another. The body is a holistic organism, where nothing is isolated – everything affects us, both physically and energetically, on some level. Any experience we have ever had – even things that happened to us in the past but were forgotten about or we weren’t even aware of – is still held in the body, be it grief, a broken relationship, emotional pain, everyday stress, childhood wounds, injuries and accidents, trauma, etc.. The body stores the experience and does not “forget” about it until the pattern is released through holistic treatment.

Stress, the most common symptom of modern life, affects the body tremendously, resulting in muscle cramping, bad posture and build up of tension “armor-ing”. Chronic tight muscles are a sign that they are constantly contracting – in other words, they are always working and never relaxed and at ease. This state of hyper-activity alone constantly drains energy from the life force (sometimes referred to as “Qi” or “Chi”) to “keep one going”. It’s like driving a car with the hand brake on; energy can’t freely-flow, and the various areas of the body (muscles, organs, tissue, bones) aren’t getting enough “chi” or “prana” (life-force) to repair and regenerate themselves, resulting in entropy (breakdown/aging). This can lead to negative emotions, tiredness, depression, mental sluggishness, irritation, illness, injuries and overall dis-ease. If the body keeps the stress inside itself instead of releasing it whilst simultaneously getting overloaded with more toxins (unhelpful life habits, poor diet, lack of exercise), the life force is simply not sufficient to keep the body in a healthy condition. The immune system then weakens, which can lead to sickness, injury, chronic pain or even seriously-life-threatening conditions like cancer.

Integrative bodywork heals from a holistic vantage point, and has the potential to be a transformative tool for anyone; it positively harmonizes the body, mind and spirit so as to help with the release of stagnant energy whilst revitalizing an individual’s whole being. Good bodywork practice is both preventive medicine and highly therapeutic, as it has the potential to go to “the root” and heal from a full-spectrum perspective, addressing the cause and not just the symptom. It’s about caring for your body and health, so that disease, injury or illness can’t manifest themselves in your ‘temple’.

In these times of global and cosmic change, healing ourselves is especially essential. Integrative bodywork helps to heal both the body/mind separation and the wounds we have accumulated over years (and lifetimes). Besides these deeper effects, receiving regular bodywork helps to maintain a healthy body, mind and spirit ‘framework’, which will manifest in one’s life in positive ways on a daily basis. Individual sovereignty and global emancipation require a planetary population of healthy human beings.

Music and Dance

Another great way to get into your body, release stuck emotions, and get a good workout at the same time is expressive dance. Not necessarily any form of traditional dance or structured style, but simply free form – just letting your body move to the music and rhythm, and letting go of expectations. There is no wrong or right way to dance – there is only your unique expression.

Rhythm and music has deeper effects on our physiology than we could possibly comprehend (drumming is a great scientifically-proven healing practice as well). It can speak directly to our inner child, and address deeper emotions held in the body that are occasionally being triggered, depending on the style of music, frequencies and rhythm. Personally, dancing helps me to purge deep-rooted anger and frustration (as well as melancholy and sadness) but it can also allow me to just express joy like a child or get in touch with my sensuality, and release emotions I could not possibly express through words.

5 Rhythms dance practice, founded by Gabrielle Roth, is an amazing free form dance healing art, exploring five basic rhythms: flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, and stillness. It draws from indigenous and world traditions using tenets of shamanistic, ecstatic, mystical and eastern philosophy. It also draws from Gestalt therapy, and transpersonal psychology. Fundamental to the practice is the idea that everything is energy, and moves in waves, patterns and rhythms. Roth describes the practice as a soul journey, and says that by moving the body, releasing the heart, and freeing the mind, one can connect to the essence of the soul, the source of inspiration in which an individual has unlimited possibility and potential.

We can also just dance at home alone, putting on our favorite music (or any style that reflects how we feel – any energy we want to express or release) and literally move through our process. I like to dance when taking breaks from reading/writing as well; it’s healthy to get off the chair and re-inhabit the body. Sometimes, after having done Qi Gong and meditation, I just put on some music and start to dance, getting even more deeply into what came up for me in the other practices; in the grip of sonic patterns, I fully embrace the sensations, and commit to how I feel… whatever else comes up, I let it all out, expressing it through my body (and sometimes voice) as I move to the sound and rhythm. I literally sweat it all out, and feel amazing afterwards – calm and grounded.

Yoga, Qi Gong, meditating/hiking in nature, bodywork, and dance have helped me over the years to get in touch with my body, emotions and essentially my intuition and inner knowing – the “treasures” of our physical vessel-that-we-are. There have been many times where I’ve received deeper insights and revelations during these practices, helping me to clear out the “interior junk” and thus to connect to my higher self, anchoring a more expanded frequency of love and compassion for myself and others.

These are simple ways and tools that can help us to access our intuition, get out of our heads and into our bodies, and open pathways for higher frequencies to anchor within our holographic mainframes, while at the same time initiate healing on a deeper, embodied level. There are many other movement therapies and practices which enable people to access the body-mind “bridge”. Choose what works and resonates with you on a personal level – what I share here is simply what works for me.

The more we develop body sensitivity (and listen to the clues our body is constantly giving us), the greater the degree to which we can also process negative emotions in a more efficient manner whilst simultaneously anchoring a higher frequency/vibration. Most people have a hard time with working through crisis because they have built up a deep-seated emotional armor, and have become desensitized, disassociated or unconsciously repressed (with regards to what needs to be released). Modern life and technology – with people glued to their smart phones and computers – keeps them disconnected from their bodies, their intuition and their inner guidance system. So we need to make conscious efforts to disconnect from the outside world at times, and go inside to re-establish the connection with stillness.

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Author: Bernhard Guenther – Wake Up World

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9 January, 2015 by Choki team

Bhutanese Folktale: Meme Haylay Haylay and his Turquoise

Once upon a time there lived a poor old man called Meme Haylay Haylay. He liked his life, and was not unhappy. One day, while he was digging in a field where the soil was hard, he uncovered a large, round piece of turquoise. The stone shined a bright light into his eyes. Even through it was so heavy he could hardly lift it, Meme Hayley Hayley placed the treasure in a cane basket and set off for home.

On the way, he met a man leading a horse with a rope. The man asked him, “Where are you going, Meme Haylay Haylay?” The old man replied, “Meme’s fortune is burning today. As I was digging in a meadow, I found a turquoise.”

Before the horseman saw the jewel, the old man made a proposal. “Will you exchange your horse for this precious stone?”

The horseman thought, Who in the world would barter a turquoise for a horse? Meme Haylay Haylay put down his basket and revealed the jewel of great fortune. The horseman was speechless. He was happy for the poor old man.

Meme Haylay Haylay persevered. “Will you not exchange your horse for this turquoise?”

“Don’t joke, Meme Haylay! Your turquoise is priceless. My horse is worthless!”

The old man spoke earnestly. “Priceless or worthless, are you for the trade? Take this stone and hand over the horse’s rope to me!”

The horseman lost no time in giving the rope to Meme Haylay Haylay, and then went his way with the precious turquoise. He considered himself the happiest and luckiest man in the world. Meme Haylay went his way as well, feeling even happier than the horseman.

Then Meme met a man with an ox. He exchanged the horse for the ox. Then, he bartered the ox for a sheep, and swapped the sheep for a goat. In each exchange, the people he traded with thought Meme Haylay Haylay was a fool.

Then he traded the goat for a rooster. With each barter, Meme Haylay Haylay grew more and more joyful.

As he neared his home, carrying the rooster under his arm, the old man heard someone singing in the distance. The closer he walked to the singer, and the louder the song became, the more joyous he felt. As he listened, tears of happiness swelled in Meme Haylay Haylay’s eyes.

He thought, I am content hearing this song. How much happier I would be if I knew how to sing it myself.

Suddenly he found himself face to face with the singer.

“Where are you going?” the singer asked.

The old man smiled. “I am going home. Today, Meme’s fortune is burning. As I was digging in a meadow, I found a precious turquoise. I exchanged it for a horse, the horse for an ox, the ox for a sheep, the sheep for a goat, and the goat for this rooster. Now, please take this rooster and teach me how to sing.”

The singer could not believe his ears. He thought it was unlikely that this foolish man had found a precious turquoise. Only the richest, most powerful, meritorious, and lucky persons ever found such a jewel. Then he thought, Supposing this man was lucky? Even the most foolish person would not exchange a precious turquoise for a horse, the horse for an ox, the ox for a sheep, the sheep for a goat, and the goat for a rooster. One mistake would be enough to sharpen the mind of the most stupid person!

The singer also knew that Meme Haylay Haylay had the worst voice in his village. A foolish trader and a bad voice! he thought.

Finally, after much discussion, the singer became convinced that the old man was serious. So he taught Meme Hayley Hayley the song. When the old man departed from the rooster and the man who had taught him the song, he walked home singing.

Meme Haylay Haylay felt like the most successful trader in the the village, the richest man in Bhutan –and, most importantly, the happiest person in the world.

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This tale was collected by Dorji Penjore in Bhumtang, Bhutan. It is a retelling of one of the most popular tales in Bhutan.

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27 November, 2014 by Choki team

The Story of the Four Animal Friends

The Four Animal Friends story is recorded in the Sutra teachings of the Buddha. The Four Animal Friends story tells about Buddha’s earlier life. The Buddha had many lives before becoming a fully enlightened Buddha.

The story occurs in Beneras or Varanasi that is located in India. In one of the forests in Beneras, there were four animals. These four animals were living together. In this area of Beneras, everything was going well and there were not any problems. There were good crops of food, rain was falling on time, and there were no disasters and no famine. All the people in the area were happy.

The King of this area was very curious because areas surrounding his province were having a lot of problems. There were problems such as drought, famine, and fighting in the areas surrounding the King’s province. The King was really surprised that his province was so peaceful and everything was going so easily. The King went to see astrologers to find the reason why his province was so peaceful. The astrologers found that all these good things in the province were because of four animal friends that were living upstream from Sumalti province. The good fortune was not due to the power of the King or any of the people but was due to these four animals.

In this particular forest, there were four animal friends – a bird known as a pheasant, a rabbit, a monkey and an elephant. These four animal friends were living in harmony and they respected each other very much. They respected each other in the tradition of the Dharma. The respect the animals had for each other and their friendship brought all these good things to the province.

One day, the four animals came together to talk about who is more wise and older. There was a big banyan tree where the animals were living. The elephant said that he could remember when the tree was his height. The monkey said to the elephant that he must be older because he could remember when the tree was so small that he could hop over the tree. The rabbit said that he must be older than both of them because he gave the tree manure when the tree was just sprouting up from the ground. The bird said to all of them that he was much wiser and older because he was the one who brought the seed from a different place.

The size and the strength of the bird is small and the size and the strength of the elephant is very big and powerful. The animals were each different but they respected each other. The animals found that the bird was the oldest and the wisest. The rabbit was the next oldest and wisest, followed by the monkey with the elephant being the youngest. The bird, the pheasant, taught the other animals moral conduct. Each of the animals followed the advice of the bird and this helped to increase happiness all around the area.

Each animal respected each other and respected the bird as the oldest and wisest. The four animals had a very good friendship with each other. The power of their friendship with the respect for each other created in all the province a good atmosphere.

This story is recorded in the Sutra called, the Vinayavastu (Foundation of Discipline). In the Vinaya teaching Dulwa Lung and the discourse Do De Na Kyang Lung it is written that these four animal friends were the Buddha himself and his three attendants. Kuengao (Ananda), Sharibhu (Shariputra), and Mougyelghibhu (Maudalyayana) were the three attendants. The bird, the Pheasant, was Buddha, the rabbit was Ananda, the monkey was Shariputra and the elephant was Maudgalyayana.

The Four Friend Animals is found in paintings on paper and canvas as well as wood carvings throughout homes, schools, and other buildings in Bhutan. This story is painted on walls in monasteries. The Four Friend Animals is a beloved and well known story with the people of Bhutan.

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