On this adventure of knowing myself a little more every day; on some days there is immense satisfaction that I am making progress. And on other occasions the whole journey seems like a waste of time, as if I am still stuck at the same place.
With regular meditation, I have better awareness, and I strive to practice right thinking correct understanding and an honest approach to life. Repeatedly falling prey to the outside world, and its many distractions was bothering me. What was progress if I continued to react to the same things, same way.
Heartfulness came to my rescue again. The second daily practice of heartfulness is cleaning. Yama, Niyama, Asana and Pranayama were helping me refine my physical self and my attributes. Self-care is a habit and so is the conscious practice of yama and niyama. Cleaning helped me let go, removed the hurdles on my path.
Cleaning is a dynamic process in heartfulness, wherein we take the thought of cleaning all the impurities and complexities, so that the mind can still itself, and focus on the heart which is not filled with the divine light. The first four limbs – Yama, Niyama, Asana and Pranayama – refine thoughts, actions, posture and energy, including the breath. When we reach the fifth limb we are at a turning point, because the focus moves to the mind, the subtle bodies…. Pratyahara is the ability to divert the flow of attention of the 5 sense organs inwards. It is the conscious withdrawal of energy from the senses.
The cleaning process embedded one phrase in my mind and heart, ‘Where my awareness goes, my energy flows!’ Where do I want to use my energies? Do I want to be stuck in the past and lose out on my present and future? Or do I wish to gather myself, look inwards and focus only on what is relevant for my highest good?
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