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Ramakrishna Ananda

The Awe — Refined and Pure Emotions

Are you ready to experience a thunderous silence that calms your mind?

Are you ready to explore the main relationships of higher consciousness? Then, one of these moods may be a natural for you.

Keep in mind all the relationships discussed in this section of Yoga World are based on refined and pure emotions. While your mind and ego must cooperate, the goal in all relationships of higher consciousness is to get into a mood. You need to patiently establish an emotional flow, an attitude of heart.

Relating with Spirit, Bhakti Yoga, Higher Consciousness

To understand the first magnificent relationship, let us say you are developing, day by day, through faith and companionship. And, you are striving to be more conscious. At this point, you don’t know quite what to expect, what higher consciousness will be like. You simply direct an appreciative flow of emotion toward your meditation object or higher consciousness itself. You gather and direct your emotions to flow toward your ideal, again and again.

The Experience of Awe

One day, in the privacy of your meditation, or during a quiet break from the activity of your day, rapture fills your heart and mind. Suddenly, the intense light, or power, or glory of the higher consciousness reveals itself.

Blinders or curtains seem to be withdrawn and you behold the intensity and the magnificence of this very real and palpable power. You strive to contain your astonishment lest you lose your mood. The experience is heavenly! It’s beautiful; it stops your throat, for the experience is ineffable.

You sit mute and ever so small before what you are beholding. Its immensity is truly mind-blowing. You are looking at, and feeling, wonder beyond comprehension. Thus, you have entered what is generally the first relationship: awe.

Different Experiences of Awe

People have different experiences, depending on which part of their nature is more developed.

  • Often, light, blazing as bright as the sun, but ever so soothing to look into, is enchantingly beheld.
  • However, most seekers in this state experience a “thunderous silence” which totally calms and stills their minds, as their consciousness is extended far beyond any dimensions they have ever conceived.
  • Also, many seekers find the awe state as the “little” love in their hearts meets the infinite source of love and their whole self stands in shock.
  • Light, thunderous silence, and expanded love are some of the principal ways this major relationship is experienced. The main characteristic, in all cases, is dumbfounded awe.

You return from this experience viewing all life and every living thing with a sense of deep respect and a lingering awe. Even the earth beneath your feet is sensed to have a new significance. Everything you see has an added dimension. You sense that the pure consciousness which you recently beheld has created and is sustaining all the physical forms and every person you see. You try to find words to approximate your experience, but it cannot be communicated. Only the similar direct experience of another person enables understanding.

It Makes You Humble

In the days and weeks after your experience of higher consciousness you continue your daily life with an ongoing sense of awe. The afterglow of this incomparable state reorients your attitudes and perceptions. This mood or relationship of awe performs a most valuable secondary task: it makes you humble — it enables you to sense a reality greater than anything your selfish will or ego can possibly dominate or rule.

In this relationship you get a sense of who is really the boss, or how tiny you truly are. On the other hand, as the relationship of awe develops, you pause regularly to sweetly muse that such a great reality, such a phenomenal being or existence, has lovingly revealed itself to you — as tiny as you are in comparison. You delight that little as you are, amid planets and galaxies, you are nevertheless capable of a relationship with something so astonishingly, enthrallingly grand.

A Higher Power

This awe mood is extremely valuable because oftentimes people who practice techniques of higher consciousness tend, like most people, to get proud, or lazy, or even to take the best things in life for granted. This initial, totally silencing experience of awe can resonate throughout the rest of your life. Awe enables you to maintain a renewed sense of humility and thus be even more receptive to subsequent relationships.

Also, in this relationship of awe you realize that a higher power truly exists and really is capable of helping you with your life. The awe mood validates your devoted practice of faith and makes it very easy for you in your littleness to turn on the switch of your thought and allow higher consciousness to move and express wherever you are willing to receive that help.

It Waits Until You Are Ready

If you were simply to remain in the relationship of awe without experiencing other relationships, you would nevertheless live your life with deep gratitude and a spectacular sense of well being. Needless to say, after the first experience of the awe mood you are often so totally impacted by it that you should spend a few quiet hours after the experience resting or walking, praying, or lightly meditating, allowing yourself to calm down. The awe relationship is governed by your higher consciousness and does not occur in unpleasant or inappropriate surroundings.

Higher consciousness waits until you are ready, not only mentally and emotionally, but also in terms of your outer circumstances and schedules. Usually the awe experience is so profound that while you yearn to have it again, you are likely somewhat frightened that it might actually occur again! Your apprehension gradually diminishes in your growing consciousness of higher power and your sweet reflections on the surpassing beauty of your first awe experience.

Awe Returns

When your apprehension has subsided and a continual flow of devotion returns, the awe experience will again come to you. Ultimately, awe can be experienced regularly. Its qualities will sparkle throughout your activities and even in your sleep. You will live in countless variations of the awe mood.

Awe is a precious experience which will occur only when you have prepared your heart, mind, and body. All you can do is prepare yourself, yearn toward the higher consciousness, and know you will be amazingly enriched when you are ready. May you be so fortunate!

Reflection

The wave dissolves in the ocean,
Is that the wave returning now?
Or, is it gone forever?

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#2 THE MYSTIC GAZE
A Classic Technique

This classic technique is one of the mystic’s greatest treasures.

It is designed to stimulate your mystical faculties and begin the process of spiritual awakening.

With the Mystic Gaze enjoy the developing sense of clarity, coordination and attunement with life in all you do.

  1. Sit calmly and relax your eyes
  2. Gaze slightly upwards 20-30 degrees
  3. Look into space 20 feet or more
  4. Gaze, don’t stare or strain your eyes
  5. Simply observe and appreciate your awareness of space
  6. Enjoy the dawning wholeness for several minutes
  7. Gear down and go about your day

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#7 EXPANSION THROUGH ATTITUDE AND GOOD WILL
Change Your Heart

Your practice of good will cultivates the heart’s truest, deepest feeling:  love.

These good will practices are a boon to mystical study.

The goal of good will practice is the change of the heart.

When your heart naturally and spontaneously radiates forth a palpable good will, then you are a changed person.

  1. Consciously direct your thoughts and feelings toward an attitude of good will
  2. Bring a person to mind
  3. Or place your awareness on a person closest to you
  4. Direct good will toward this person
  5. Feel free to add specific well-wishes like health, love, courage, etc.
  6. Allow your heart to expand, to change

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#6 EXPANSION LEVEL ONE
Quality of Life

Mystics break out of body bondage through numerous expansions of the heart — of the sense of self.

Your feeling of self-awareness imprisons or frees you.

Happily, you can do something powerfully liberating about the state of your heart and the quality of your life.

  1. Sit comfortably for 15 minutes
  2. Choose a person you know
  3. Imagine you’re walking in his/her shoes
  4. Feel you’re inside this person
  5. Say “If I were (name), I’d feel and think…”
  6. Have fun with it and let your heart expand

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#5 THE HEART AND ITS LIBERATION
Your Sense of Self

Mystics break out of mind and body bondage through expansions, expansions of consciousness.

Your “Heart” is your sense of self, your feeling about who you are.

Who are you as a distinct person from everyone else? This is your core individuality, your mystical heart.

  1. Focus on your mystic heart
  2. It is located in the right-central chest or inside the spine behind the heart
  3. Practice The Radiance or The Mist:
  4. Feel that your mystic heart…
  5. Radiates love, light and energy, or
  6. Generates a white mist flowing outward

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#4 THE MYSTIC BREATH
Your Window

Your breath is the key to the mystery of your life. The Mystic Breath is conscious use of this key.

Our individual natures will require different windows — different energy centers — from which to view the life force.

Allow the mystic breath to reveal your personal window.

  1. Stretch and then sit comfortably
  2. Take 5 to 7 deep breaths
  3. Focus on the center of your upper lip
  4. Witness the breath come and go
  5. Let your mind move to a natural center
  6. Watch your breath and the life force from this “window”

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#3 THE ASCENT
The Essence of Your Life

We begin meditation on the Infinite by focusing our awareness on Spirit, the life essence within us.

How can we do something so seemingly abstract? It’s easy. Spirit empowers your breath night and day.

Let the life force reveal itself to you. Sense the higher power which flows through you.

You’ll feel more alive.

  1. Stretch and relax your body
  2. Sit comfortably
  3. Take 5 to 7 deep breaths
  4. Focus on your nostril rims
  5. Witness the breath come and go
  6. Enjoy for 10 to 12 minutes
  7. Inhale deeply and stretch

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#0 THE MYSTIC SELF
Our True Nature

In the view of mystics, the major problem in life for most of us is ignorance of our true natures.

The Mysteries reveal many ways that you can actually contact your mystic self — and the Infinite Consciousness.

Do you, can you, contact your Mystic Self? Yes, indeed!

  1. Practice this anytime you like
  2. Probably your mind wanders quite often
  3. At times during the day, look at your mind and notice when it’s wandering
  4. Then, turn your attention to that part of your consciousness which observes that your mind is wandering
  5. That special overseeing awareness is part of your marvelous mystic self

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#1 MYSTIC AWAKENING
Benefits

Stimulate your mystical awakening.

When you wake up from a dream you realize you were only dreaming.

Consider too that this normal state of awareness in which you live may be a kind of sleep also.

As you do this technique you’ll find the world becomes more beautiful and enjoyable.

  1. Try this many times a day
  2. Whisper to yourself, “Wake up!”
  3. Mentally say, “Wake up!”
  4. Increase your attention, appreciation and feeling of love
  5. Just cheerfully exhort yourself
  6. Wake up!

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How to Succeed

As you may know, we do not charge for our courses. All Yoga World content is free and available to you with our blessings. However, we do have a simple, but important request that’s key to the transformations necessary to succeed on the path.

We ask you to commit two hours a week to selfless service. This service can be anything you choose ranging from helping a family member or neighbor to volunteering at a nonprofit organization.

I Commit to Serve

This commitment is solely between you and your inner self.

Why the Commitment?

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