Cultivating an 'Organic' Relationship with our Environment

The term ‘environment’ includes but is not limited to the natural world upon which we ultimately depend for our survival.  Our environment includes our family, friends, colleagues, customers and competitors.  It includes where we live and the country we live in.  In short, environment is the totality surrounding the unique body-mind we call ‘ourselves’.  Since we identify environment as something ‘other’ than ourselves, it is easy to fall into an adversarial relationship with our surroundings.  Our environment becomes something to exploit, control, dominate, guard against, be afraid of, resist, manipulate, exhaust and, if necessary, destroy. Such a reactive and adversarial way of relating to environment is rooted in ignorance: an ignorance not of our surroundings per se, but of ourselves. We erroneously believe that we are limited to the body-mind, and this is the metaphysical error at the root of conflict.

The true identity of the ‘I am’ is the Absolute:  the same Absolute that is the true identity of the ‘I am’ of every person, animal, plant and insect with which we share the planet.  Consciousness only appears to be localised and individualised as John, Mary, the cat, the dog, etc.  In reality It is simply One, reflected through many prisms called organisms.  Consciousness itself is a manifestation of that pure Intelligence which is the ultimate Source of this universe.  Understanding and accepting this principle intellectually is a first step, but this by itself will not take us beyond our illusion of separateness.  It must be directly realised through meditation and self-inquiry in order for it to become our own discovery:  something experiential and not merely theoretical.

To fully awaken to the truth of the ‘I am’ as Consciousness, is to awaken from the dream of separateness and put an end to conflict.  How can theSelf be in conflict with the Self ?  Without division, there is no possibility of a fight.  To realise that this vast and extraordinary universe is a unified field of Being and that ‘I am’ is also that Being is the great liberation.  As we meditate on Being, gradually we come to feel or sense our oneness with the other.  Knowing the other as ourselves, it becomes impossible to hate him, her or it.  This is empathy, and this is the basis of an ‘organic’ relationship with our environment.  From this insight, it follows naturally that in all of our affairs we are sensitive to and supportive of our surroundings.  Being aware, we consider the impact of our actions on the world around us.  ‘Win-lose’ scenarios are not conceivable to one in whom this intuition of wholeness lives.  We know we will make mistakes and we understand that there is a downside to any action we take.  However, we make compensation and redress when we have unintentionally damaged or hurt anyone or anything in our environment. And we seek the evolution of those technologies, institutions and values, which will nourish and heal, rather than deplete and destroy that whereof we are an integral component…in other words, everything.

Thinking Globally while Acting Locally

Ignorance of the bigger picture is not a virtue for self-leaders.  Our projects may be local, but they are subject to the influence of global forces and events.  Technologies, stock markets, currency values, trade laws, environmental realities, trends, etc, can change dramatically over a short period and if we are not sensitive to what is happening we can be caught off guard and pay a big price.  It is also vital to get a feel for where things are going in our particular field of interest.  If we can anticipate where a current trend will lead within a certain time frame, then we can structure our project accordingly.  What we are offering should dovetail with the unfolding trends.  Offering what we think is good, desirable or beautiful is self-defeating if it is not what the market is calling for.

In getting a feel for the global picture, it helps to be thoughtful. Newspapers, for example, are owned by corporations, which have their own agendas and political interests.  Do not expect them to be objective, they are not and never will be.  Some major papers are so biased as to be little more than propaganda sheets.  They are not interested in fairness or accuracy and do not want to stimulate debate and critical thinking. Instead, their strategy is to shape public opinion in the direction they think it should go, according to their own interests and philosophy.  For this reason, self-leaders learn to ‘read between the lines’ of all forms of popular media in order to extract a scenario of what is really going on. They will also study other sources of information, such as the Internet, or books and articles written by independent researchers and journalists. They will also consider sources outside of the North American or European context.  For instance, what are intelligent and informed people in India or China saying about current events? These two countries, in particular, should never be discounted. Together they represent almost forty percent of the global population, and both have dynamic, rapidly expanding economies.  It is entirely conceivable that they will become the dominant world players within the next fifty or hundred years.

Being informed globally about one’s own field of interest, as well as world affairs in general commands the respect of others and increases our credibility.  It also gives us more confidence in our own decision making.  We know we are far from infallible, but at least we have a reasonable idea of the ‘lay of the land’ and feel more comfortable moving around in it.  And we will make fewer mistakes than those who are uninformed, all of which in the long term will work to our definite advantage.

Acting Independently yet Interdependently within Networks

The self-leader does not work in isolation.  He may be completely independent or have a few direct associates, yet he will tap into other networks as sources of both business and support.  He will also provide business and support for his network.  He may, in fact, be in close communication with hundreds of other people, remaining independent and at the same time enjoying the benefits of interdependency.  He will keep his web-site current and his list of e-mail addresses and telephone numbers up to date.  He may keep a blog or send a regular newsletter to everyone in his network, keeping them informed of his projects and inviting them to do the same.  He may even participate in business-networking groups that meet regularly over breakfast in order share knowledge, contacts and business opportunities with one another.  The possibilities of networking are endless.

For a self-leader, networking and interdependency is not a luxury.  It is vital to his financial viability and his ability to remain independent of large organisations.  He may make contracts with major corporations or governments, but he will be careful to avoid falling into the trap of ‘putting all his eggs in one basket’.  Once a big organisation knows that a small supplier or contractor is dependent on it for his economic survival, the screws will slowly tighten.  Do not expect any major corporation to show compassion.  They are strictly beholden to their shareholders and the bottom line.  They did not get to be big by being kind.  The corporate world is essentially predatory.  We don’t have to hate corporations, any more that we hate lions or boa constrictors.  They are what they are, and we must have no illusions about what motivates them and how they operate.  We do, however, have to understand their raison d’être so that we do not get devoured in the process of getting close to them. The self-leader jealously guards his autonomy and organises his affairs and his contracts accordingly.

Adapting to Rapid Social, Economic and Technological Change

In the twenty-first century we can expect more of the unexpected, not less.  The relatively clear lines of demarcation that traditionally separated different cultures, religions and world-views are blurring rapidly. Technological change is advancing so rapidly that few of us can begin to keep up.  Older people find it particularly difficult to adapt to new technologies.  Unless we are living in a Himalayan cave, every day we are confronted with ideas, images and gadgets that are foreign to us. 

Those who hang onto the illusion that governments and corporations can be counted on to provide us with stability, as well as the security of pensions, medical coverage, welfare, unemployment insurance, etc., are living in the previous century.  Even our natural environment is undergoing a dramatic transformation, and while there are many debates about the exact nature of what is happening, no one seriously doubts that it is major.  If we want to find stability in life, we had better stop looking for it ‘out there’.  There never has been any lasting stability in the external world, and this is truer today than ever.

Four hundred years ago, Sir Francis Drake’s small English navy took on the huge Spanish armada, and after a short battle his smaller, lighter, faster ships had routed the cumbersome, heavily armed, floating fortresses of the Spaniards.  A few centuries earlier, at Bannockburn, Scotland, 30,000 lightly armed Highlanders decimated Edward II of England’s heavily armed 100,000 strong, cavalry and army.  The key to Scotland’s success was an uncanny mixture of brilliant strategy, good fortune and raw courage.  There are a number of important lessons in these two examples.  Bigger and stronger is not necessarily safer or better.  On the other hand, there is much to be said in favour of travelling light and staying flexible.  A small target is also harder to hit than a big one and often a light tap in just the right spot is enough to bring down a giant.  Additionally, in both examples, the victors each had the benefit of extraordinary leadership:  Robert the Bruce for the Scots and Francis Drake for the English.  As with any venture, it also helps to have the blessings of the gods, for as Shakespeare’s Hamlet observes, ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’

In the current context, those self-leaders who rely on knowledge, competence, strategy and intuition rather than the illusory safety of size or market share, will be better off in the long run.  For one thing, it is easier for a single, aware person to notice and seize a passing opportunity than it is for a herd of running cattle.  Secondly, when the business or social environment changes suddenly, which happens with increasing frequency, a small operation can adapt and move in a different direction more rapidly and with less resistance than a large one.  Thirdly, there is the question of integrity: corruption, prostitution-like compromise and sabotage are facts of life in many big organisations.  Some men and women of integrity have a temperament that allows them to work in a diseased environment and make a positive contribution without becoming polluted in the process.  Such people have great strength and deserve our respect and admiration.  Others, however, will be miserable trying to function in such a setting, perhaps becoming sick or suffering burnout and depression.  Worse yet, they may pick up the virus of corruption themselves.

The self-leader has the advantage of choosing his associates and even his customers.  He can design the kind of working and professional environment that contributes to his well being and vitality, his creativity and the quality of his thinking and consciousness.  To some, this may seem ‘me’-centred, but let’s not forget that we are the source of our own experience and of what we draw to us.  If we are sick, depressed, unhappy or resigned, what will be the quality of our work?  How will we make a genuine contribution to others through our profession?  Finally, the self-leader will be able to move around with relative ease in a constantly changing environment and, if he pays attention, quickly tap into current trends, adapting them to his own advantage

Responding rather than Reacting to the Unexpected

Human beings are comfortable with the predictable and disturbed by the unexpected, because the mind itself operates very much like a sophisticated machine.   Machines function smoothly within certain predetermined lines of action and with a select group of inputs.  For example, if we put the wrong type of fuel in our car, there will be problems.  If we drive on a railway track instead of an asphalt surface, this will put stress on the car and cause a breakdown.  Unlike organisms, automobiles have an extremely limited capacity to adapt.  The body-mind also has limited adaptability, although its capacity is virtually infinite in comparison with a car.  Nevertheless, the mind is programmed to react to the unexpected as a threat to survival and resist.  This is an ancient programming.

Paradoxically, if there is one thing we can expect it is the unexpected, and so the mind’s resistance to it flies in the face of everyday reality. Our lives will become easier and more pleasurable if we let go of our automatic tendency to react and recoil whenever the unexpected occurs.  No mental programming is final or absolute, and can be altered or dropped through a conscious effort.  Simply choosing to expect the unexpected at any time and under any conditions will put us in a state of perpetual preparedness for the unanticipated.  Expecting the unexpected removes the shock of the unexpected when it occurs.

Meditation, Self-enquiry and Transformational Breathwork is the most effective means for dealing with our fear of dramatic change.  As we become Self-aware we find ourselves more detached from the ebb and flow of circumstance.  With meditation we identify less with the body-mind and increasingly with the Self.  It is the body-mind that is subject to the pleasures and pains of life, whereas the Self abides eternally within itself as sat-chit-ananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss).  Being more attuned to the Source of life we begin to recognise that even the unexpected is expressing a purpose that is greater than the mind’s limited ability to grasp.  In other words, we learn to trust and surrender.  Instead of recoiling from the unexpected, we observe and inquire, ‘What is its message?  What do I have to learn from it?  How can I embrace it in a way that supports my purpose?’  In this yoga of action, we remain open and expansive, lightly touching the world and gracefully moving forward in our chosen direction.

Self-Generating Action from Within

Action is unavoidable.  Ordinary action is largely deterministic and routine, making the bulk of our ‘doingness’.  However, there is another order of action that is motivated from within by an evolutionary impulse, which is produced neither by pre-established routines or the pleasure-pain principle.  This higher motivation is rooted in and guided by vision. Vision arises from our Being rather than our ego and seeks to bring into existence a seedthought, which resides in the subtle realm of intuition. Vision does not have to be earth shaking, and can apply equally to something as basic as cooking or renovating a home.  In its manifestation, vision can be influenced or distorted by our conditioning and negative beliefs.  However, the evolutionary impulse that produces vision is the same impulse that motivates us to purify ourselves, to seek the good and to gain self-knowledge.  Yoga philosophy understands this and knows full well the risks that are associated with the conjunction of vision and conditioning; hence it urges spiritual practice (sadhana) for purification and Self-awareness as the guardian and foundation of our human life.

Projects arising from vision are by their very nature creative.  Something new is to be brought forth, and this will require action.  These actions, however, are not pre-established as in the case of routines.  From where, then, will they be generated?  Since vision arises from within, no one and no thing from the outside, such as a boss or a manual, will be able to tell us what to do.  We will no doubt use the insights and suggestions of other people, books, etc, to fuel our thought processes, but in the end our choices will come from within ourselves and we will have to assume responsibility for them.  This is the point at which many people simply quit.  It is one thing to have a vision, it is another to actualise it.  In the actualisation of something there is risk and we alone are responsible for the success or failure of our choices and actions. Most people simply lack the self-confidence and self-esteem to risk failure, and thus practice avoidance.  Only those with a strong, positive sense of self will have the courage to fail, while the rest will simply refuse the challenge.  That is why most people prefer to have a boss, a priest or the popular media tell them what to do and how to think.

The strength of both our vision and our commitment to that vision, will be the motive force behind our actions.  If our intention is weak, we simply will not act.  If our intention is wavering, we will lack the spirit of enquiry necessary to dig out the answers we are looking for; we will not be resourceful.  Both big and small projects require clear, firm intention to carry them off.  Ultimately, intention arises from the same Source as the body-mind and is not a product of the ego.  Support may be necessary for realising our projects, and it can take many forms.  A competent coach is one of the most effective means of support we can utilise.  A coach is someone who is able to provide guidance, feedback and the occasional ‘shove’ when needed.  He or she also knows how and when to ask the right questions.  In fact, if he is good, he will be more inclined to ask questions than give advice, knowing that it is more powerful to make one’s own discovery than to be told.  We all have blind spots, things about ourselves we cannot see even though they are directly in front of our face.  The coach will be able to recognise these ‘dead zones’ and point them out to us. He will enable us to get a broader, more realistic grasp of ourselves and tap our own potential to greater depth.  It takes humility to have a good coach, because when he points out our failings and weaknesses – flaws we believe we had long since transcended – it will hurt.  Our egos will smart and our self-importance will take a blow. However, if we let the coaching ‘in’, we will become stronger, saner and more effective.  The coach will also spur us to greater accomplishment, because he will see our potential where we do not.  We will say, ‘I can’t do it’ and he will say, ‘You can, now do it!’

Ultimately, we develop the capacity to self-generate action through action alone.  We discover that there are no short cuts to success in action and that only practice makes perfect.  We observe where we quit or stop short, then re-commit to go further next time.  We learn to avoid ‘beating ourselves up’ when we fail or discover our weaknesses.  We can and should utilise whatever resources are available, but in the final analysis we realise that we are own best resource.  Slowly but surely, we build the internal strength that will enable us to become unstoppable.

Relating to Breakdowns as Opportunities rather than Disasters

Although yoga posits one supreme Iswara (God) as the source of Creation, Iswara is given three ‘faces’ known respectively as, Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the maintainer) and Shiva (the destroyer).  These three great deities are facets of the one God and, collectively, they govern the cycles of Creation.  Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva may also be regarded as the three fundamental operating principles of, respectively, creation, maintenance and dissolution, whose constant interplay defines life and the universe, as we know it.  Reflecting this natural order of things, any project we choose moves through these three phases of the creative process.  As well, our projects, whether large or small, are themselves composed of smaller projects, which in turn are subject to the same cycles of creation-maintenance-dissolution.  Thus, for example, within the larger project of building a house there may be a smaller cycle of applying for a building loan, maintaining regular monthly payments and finishing the cycle either with a final payment or by rolling the unpaid balance into a new loan for another venture.

Along the way, countervailing forces will arise to disrupt the smooth flow of these tripartite cycles.  Our projects do not exist in a vacuum.  They are themselves small cycles within something infinitely greater and absolutely beyond our human control.  Sometimes these disruptions are karmic influences from the past, as when (using an obvious example) someone harbouring a grudge against us from some previous incident comes to the construction site of our new home and vandalises it.  We must learn to expect the unexpected in the form of past karma and move ahead anyway.  There is a quality of surrender in such an attitude, which should not be confused with either passivity or resignation.  One can be surrendered and still actively engaged and committed to successfully completing the task at hand.  A transformational leader is not stopped by obstructions that arise along his purpose line. Instead, he encounters obstructions gracefully, finds a way around them and moves on.  Resisting obstructions only adds to their ‘mass’, making them appear bigger and more solid than they actually are.

Often, breakdowns in the cycle of creation-maintenance-dissolution are the result of our own ignorance and incompetence.  For instance, if we fail to ensure a cash flow sufficient to cover the monthly invoices arising from the purchase of materials, labour and other services needed for building a high-rise, we may put the whole project in jeopardy.  This is a breakdown arising from our own ignorance and lack of experience.  No competent builder would launch a construction project without first having arranged for a cash flow sufficient to cover not only the expected expenses, but also the unforeseen costs that invariably occur.  Whether through inexperience, neglect or oversight, if we have failed to ensure a sufficient flow of money, then our project is endangered.  We may soon receive threatening letters from our creditors’ lawyers and construction will grind to a halt.  Such a situation constitutes a breakdown.  What do we do?  Well, before we look at ‘What do we do?’ we had better look at how are we being.  If our way of being is negative, fearful and dominated by the thought, ‘This is a disaster’ then it is going to be difficult to transform the breakdown into something positive.  Our current way of being will sabotage our best efforts to turn it around and find a workable solution.

On the other hand, if we recognise that with any major project breakdowns are bound to happen, then we are more likely to remain even-minded and centred when one does occur.  We can also choose to relate to the breakdown as an opportunity to learn a lesson of great value and to develop new skills in financing future projects.  This second ‘way of being’ treats breakdowns as opportunities rather than disasters; it is an outlook that is fundamentally positive and proactive, inviting initiative and innovation in finding solutions.

From a context that holds breakdowns as opportunities rather than disasters, the essential questions to ask and answer are, ‘What did we leave out?  What is it that needs to be put in place in order to turn this situation around?’  We will need to focus on this inquiry until it is clearly and fully answered.  This will take both research and a willingness to listen to our ‘hunches’, as we stay with the question, ‘What is missing?’  The tendency of the mind will be to look for a quick fix, something that will take the heat off in the short-term.  This must be avoided in favour of a genuine and ‘grounded’ long-term solution.  We may need to take some immediate action, but there are no short cuts.  We must do our homework and talk to the right people.  Furthermore, we will need our skills in enrolment to enlist the support and participation of those who are in a position to offer real assistance in providing ‘what’s missing’.  This will call us to make promises and keep them.  And we will need to keep pressing on, relentlessly, until we find and secure the solution to our problem.

The upside of breakdowns is that those who successfully turn them around come out of the challenge stronger, abler and with more support than was the case beforehand.  Furthermore, they gain credibility and respect within their milieu. There are some consulting agencies whose business is based solely on the opportunity of breakdowns.  These companies will go into a failing enterprise and turn it around…for a fee.  They understand that breakdowns are opportunities rather than disasters, and they know how to both answer the question, ‘What is missing?’ and successfully implement the solution.

Working from Vision, Purpose, Goals and Intentions

Vision is not a product of rationality, logic or common sense.  It arises from a place within us that is deeper than the intellect.  The Hebrew prophet Isaiah wrote: ‘Without vision the people perish’.  A life without vision is a terrible thing that reduces us to a robot-like existence. More profound than logic, is poetry.  Much of the world’s great scriptural writing is in the form of poetry, because the direct insights of sages are not the product of purely mental, rational processes.  Their intuitions are neither rational nor irrational, but rather non-rational; they are axiomatic rather than deductive or inductive.  The insights of sages become the subject matter of theologians, logicians and empiricists.  For every one page uttered by a Krishna, Buddha or Christ, there are a hundred thousand pages of commentary by scholars and philosophers.  Yet, with the passage of time, most of these scholarly works are lost, while the few words spoken by these great beings are carefully preserved and treasured by humanity.

Most of us will not attain the status of a sage, but each one of us has access to vision.  When the mind is quiet and we are close to our true selves, vision arises from within, providing a fundamental direction for our life.  No one can fully explain why he is naturally inclined toward art or medicine or teaching as a vocation, he simply knows that this is what he should be doing.  It is a feeling or an impulse that will recur again and again until it is listened to and followed.  Vision is natural; it is the absence of vision that is an abnormal condition.  Those who have been subjected to too much stress and suffer too much anxiety may find it difficult to access the vision within, which is deeply buried under a cover of fear and pain.  However, if anyone undertakes to heal himself through the breath, meditation and yoga, he will begin to feel or hear those deeper impulses, which will give him his direction in life.

Our projects should be rooted in vision, otherwise they will not be properly ‘grounded’ and there will not be a sufficiently clear, strong intention to carry them through.  A project is unique not due to its contents, but rather because it is an expression of the personal vision of its author.  If two people have embraced the same project, for example marrying each other, that project must rest comfortably within the unique, personal vision of each of them.  Their vision may not be identical, but there must be a sufficient alignment for them to collaborate effectively.  Permeating every project is a unifying purpose, which can be stated in words and agreed upon by all those choosing to invest themselves in it.  A project without a clearly stated purpose is like a ship at sea without a specific destination.  How can the crew of a sailing ship function as a team if there is no agreed upon port to arrive at?  A purpose is both a direction to follow and a destination to arrive at.  Whenever the purpose of any project – whether of a nation, a corporation, a couple or an individual – is lost, forgotten, or no longer relevant, that project is on its way to a breakdown and ultimate dissolution.  One of the main functions of leadership in any project is to keep the purpose clear, relevant and constantly before the eyes of all participants.  If this is missing, the project will start to lose energy and entropy will set in.

Along the line of direction established by a clear purpose, goals must be set and accomplished.  Goals represent interim points of progress toward the final objective.  Goals break a project down into manageable segments and allow the project to move forward coherently.  Without a well thought through line of progression, serious imbalances can occur which will threaten the project.  With business start-ups, for example, a common reason for

failure is miscalculating cash flow needs and lacking an effective strategy for dealing with short-falls when they arise.  The project may be brilliant in the long term, but if the bills cannot be paid in the short term, the dream will

self-destruct.  Goals allow our attention and our actions to stay focussed, and with the attainment of each successive objective, fresh energy is infused into the project.  Setting and accomplishing goals, and then taking a moment to celebrate the result when attained, is a powerful motivator.  Also essential, is to acknowledge those within the group who achieved the objective.  If someone commits to and produces a result on behalf of the whole project, they should be recognised.  If their accomplishment is taking for granted, they will feel devalued and unappreciated.  Results acknowledged motivate further action, whereas results ignored produce resentment and resignation.  Many people have no idea how to define a goal.  Proper articulation of an objective is fundamental to achieving it.  Goals must be concrete, measurable and time-specific. 

One way to determine if we have set a true goal is to ask the question, ‘How will I know if I have achieved it?’ A goal is not a feeling, a psychological state, a negative or a generality.  For example, ‘I want the team to be happy and aligned’ or ‘I want a successful board meeting’ or ‘I don’t want to run out of money’ are not goals.  How could we objectively determine if we had accomplished any one of these so-called objectives?  What does ‘happy and aligned’ look like?  What would be the criteria for determining if the board meeting was ‘successful’?  How would we measure the result identified as ‘not running out of money?’  In our Leadership course, when we ask participants to write a personal objective they intend to attain as a result of their participation in the program, usually what they put down is too undefined to be a goal.  It is no wonder that most people do not achieve their objectives: they seldom set them up in a way that they could be accomplished.  Furthermore, putting a date on a goal is essential to attaining it.  Without a deadline for accomplishment there will not be the necessary creative tension for action.  Without a time-line, actions will be performed on the basis of convenience, circumstances and psychological states.  With such a weak foundation for action, things will defi nitely slide toward an endless horizon of incompleteness.  Committing to a deadline energises our projects and gives action priority over our moods and circumstances.  If we base the success of our projects on convenience and ‘feeling good’, failure is guaranteed and we may as well not bother even getting out of bed.

In any project, it is useful to identify a list of intentions we want to see realised.  The difference between a goal and an intention is one of definite commitment.  A goal is a measurable objective that we commit to without reservation; it is something that is essential to the overall success of the project.  Intentions, on the other hand, are results that will ‘fill out’ or enrich our project, but are not critical to its success.  The value of writing down intentions is that in the very act of identifying and affirming them we make a ‘conscious’ space for their manifestation.  If an opportunity to realise one of these intentions arises, we will take hold of it rather than unconsciously allow it to slip away.  In addition, by stating, ‘I intend such and such to occur’; we create a friendly and receptive environment in which it can manifest.  Upon the successful completion of a project, it is a great pleasure to review the list of intentions we originally identified and discover just how many of them have materialised through no apparent effort of own.  Intentions realised are like gifts bestowed upon us from a benign universe in reward for our determination and focus in accomplishing our goals and mission.

Both goals and intentions arise from a supreme, universal Intent, which inheres in the Absolute.  Just as prana (vital force) is a manifestation of the Absolute’s shakti (Power), so does Intent – the governing principle of Creation – arise from that same Potency.  Shakti is the limitless, unmanifest Power of the Absolute which manifests as prana and Intent. Ultimately, prana is directed through Intent. Similarly, our personal actions, though fueled by energy (prana), are directed by our intent which, in turn, is ultimately governed by Intent.  Illusions produced by ignorance of the nature of things and delusions arising from ignorance of our own true nature give rise to objectives and means that are a distorted reflection of Intent, leading to actions that are considered wrong or unethical.  As we purify ourselves through practises such as transformational breath and meditation, our ends and means increasingly align with Intent, resulting in actions that are both powerful and life supporting.  For the self-realised person who no longer experiences himself as separate from the Absolute, there is no difference between intent and Intent.  This is why sages and spiritual masters are universally revered as expressions of the Divine Will.

Creating Participation

As long as we feel disconnected from our Source, we will feel isolated and alone in the universe.  All apparent differences in the phenomenal world are finally resolved in the unified field of Being from which they arose in the first place.  When we deeply intuit this ultimate oneness pervading all things, we lose our fear of differences.  Fear is what blocks us from creating participation in our lives.  We perceive the ‘other’ as a threat or competitor and seek to defend against, control or dominate him. 

Life forces us into communities, but basically communities are war zones camoufl aged over with platitudes about caring, sharing and cooperation. If this were not so, there would not be such high rates of depression, burnout, substance abuse, divorce and suicide.  There would not be so much costly litigation.  The transformed leader who has attained a high degree of Self-awareness is able to see through the veil of separation and recognize his own self in the other.  This is known as empathy, but there cannot be empathy where there is fear. So long as we perceive ourselves as isolated we will be dominated by fear and unable to experience true empathy for others.  The deeper our sense of isolation, the more remote and inaccessible we become.  When we are able to feel empathy, as distinct from attachment or sentimentality, others are attracted to us and this is the real basis for creating participation in our life and projects.

Creating participation is essentially a process of enrolling others into our projects, whether those projects are a business venture, an artistic endeavor, a community service program, or even a marriage.  Enrollment should not be confused with ‘selling’ something to someone. Unfortunately, ‘sales’ has become a dirty word associated with manipulation, seduction, dishonesty and a host of other negatives.  It doesn’t have to be this way.  There are many successful sales people who bring complete integrity and a high level of empathy into their work. These people are actually masters of enrollment and they serve others through the sales process.  Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi are examples of leaders who were masters of enrollment without being involved with sales per se.  Enrollment is distinct from sales, but those who commit themselves to a career in sales should master enrollment in order to realize their full potential in their chosen vocation.

Enrollment is first and foremost a way of being and only secondarily a technique.  Technique is an important aspect of enrollment, as in, for example, addressing people’s fears about participating in a project or determining what they would seek to achieve through their participation.  However, technique alone will not produce the intended result.  The ‘space’ we create for people to participate with us is the true core of enrollment and we cannot accomplish this through manipulation.  Who and how we are being is what either draws people to us or pushes them away.  Those who use seduction or enticement to attract people are deluding themselves.  Enticement will work only in the short term.  People are perceptive, and it is merely a matter of time before they get a clear assessment of our character and motivations.  We cannot develop long-term, committed partnerships through seduction.  Seduction is

basically ‘hit and run’, and the problem with this approach is that it invariably comes back to haunt us.  If we do enough of it, we will certainly destroy our credibility in our community, whatever and wherever that may be.  On the other hand, if we are authentic with people, honest and committed to their welfare and happiness, then they will naturally want to participate with us.  Both Gandhi and King exuded authenticity and commitment to the welfare and progress of others, which acted as a magnet drawing vast numbers of supporters to their respective causes.  They were also masters of technique.  They knew how to inspire people with a vision, address their fears, determine their wants and needs, strengthen their self-esteem, get them committed to the task at hand and support them in not quitting until the goal was won.

The art of enrollment is the art of allowing others to fully express themselves in our presence.  This does not mean listening to an endless repetition of their complaints!  It does mean, however, an active listening

which seeks to discover their deepest aspirations as well as their innermost fears, frustrations and griefs.  It means focussing, not on their mental conditioning but on the deepest yearnings residing in their hearts.  It means ‘recreating’ within our own experience what they most truly feel and want.  It also means listening without seeking to give advice, consolation or either approval or disapproval.  This is the real meaning of empathy.  In this ‘space’ of the Self, people feel safe and profoundly understood; and it is under these conditions that people allow themselves to fully express who they are and what they seek.  Concerns and doubts either shrink or evaporate once they are communicated to a receptive, non-judgmental listener.  Such a listening allows the one who is being heard to move from confusion to clarity, from self-ignorance to self-knowledge, from bondage to freedom.  People who can create this opportunity for others will never lack for participation in their projects.

Those who have mastered the art of listening will know what is appropriate to ask of the other.  The art of enrollment is also the art of invitation.  When we know what someone wants, cherishes or values, then we know what is appropriate to offer; and, generally, people will accept what is offered if it is something they do want, cherish or value. What stops a person from accepting something that is consistent with what he seeks, are invariably his fears and doubts.  Those who have mastered enrollment understand this and know how to support that person in moving beyond fear and doubt.  As long as we have minds, we will have fears.  The technique for dealing with fear is neither to resist nor deny it, but rather to allow it to be there, acknowledge it, and move forward anyway.  Since we have no guarantee of the outcome of any venture we embark upon, there is always a risk of failure, and it is this inevitable possibility of failure that produces fear.  This is what stops people from daring to accomplish their dreams in life. 

The master of enrollment, once he or she knows what the other truly wants, will support him in going ahead and taking the risk, since the alternative is to withdraw and hide in a shell.  Withdrawal from life is neither a fulfilling nor a secure option.  If we encourage people to back away from their dreams in the name of ‘prudence’, we are actually being disloyal to them.  In truth, there is nothing prudent in avoiding risk, since such avoidance serves only to weaken us and diminish our self-esteem.  When someone decides to embark upon a project, for instance, a marriage, they are inspired by a vision of possibilities.  These possibilities reflect something they yearn for or seek to express.  In the case of a marriage, it may be intimacy and romance, a family and a home. Marriage, however, is always a risk: the couple may find themselves incompatible, there may be financial hardships, one of the partners may become mentally or physically disabled, etc.  This is why whenever someone is on the verge of making a commitment to marriage, fear and doubts in the form of ‘what if?’ invariably assail him.  What if the relationship turns sour or one of the children is born with a deformity or there is not enough money to support a family?  If the person considering marriage knows someone to whom he can freely communicate his fears, then he will be empowered in moving beyond doubt. If the one with whom he shares his doubts is able to listen without resisting, reacting, judging or falling into the trap of giving advice, then he or she will be providing a truly great service.

Knowing how to listen to another person’s fears and doubts is one of the key techniques required for mastery of enrollment.  Most of us are uncomfortable with the other’s discomfort and immediately try to offer advice or consolation, to get them to ‘feel better’.  Actually, it is our own discomfort we are trying to escape.  In the case of the person considering marriage, he needs a listener who will fully receive what he has to communicate without adding his or her own personal issues into the mix.  Such a listener is a ‘space’ into which the other can release the burden of his doubts.  The person who is about to commit to marriage seeks someone who will ‘recreate’ (i.e., feel what he is feeling) his fears so that they will disappear.  When we cast our doubts and fears into an empty space of pure listening, they evaporate like mists in the morning sun.  The one communicating his fears already knows he wants to get married

and understands his potential life partner well enough to make a sound decision.  He doesn’t need advice, he needs someone who will hear his fears so that he can let them go and move ahead with his project of marriage.  The best listeners are those who have cleared enough of their own issues that they do not react to the fears and doubts of others.  To be a ‘space’ for another means to be able to put aside our own conditioning, to be detached and sufficiently uncluttered so that we can be fully present

to what the other is communicating.

A master of enrollment understands the power of commitment.  Until a conscious commitment is made, no project will move forward to completion.  The mind is naturally afraid of making a commitment and

prefers to have a ‘back door’ through which to escape when things get uncomfortable.  In the process of realizing any project, business, marriage or otherwise, there will be points of discomfort along the way.  These difficulties may be triggered environmentally, such as when we are starting our business and a recession occurs, or it could be internal, as when an  unconscious belief such as, ‘I do not deserve success’ gets reactivated.

In either case, if we have not committed ourselves to our objective, we will quit when the going gets tough.  On the other hand, there is a great liberation that comes with making a genuine commitment.  It puts the mind at rest and allows us to concentrate on the actual task of accomplishing the project, and it allows others to participate with us, since they sense our commitment and are secured by it.  Equally vital, it puts the power of true intention behind all of our actions and words.  The following quote summarizes the power of commitment:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy,

The chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation),

There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which

Kills countless ideas and splendid plans:

That the moment one defi nitely commits oneself,

Then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one

That would never otherwise have occurred.

A whole stream of events issues from the decision,

Raising in one’s favor all manner

Of unforeseen incidents and meetings

And material assistance, which no man

Could have dreamt would have come his way.

W.H. Murray (The Scottish Himalayan Expedition,

published by J.M. Dent & Sons, 1951)

Thus, a master of enrollment supports others in declaring a clear commitment to whatever project or objective they set out to accomplish. We can declare such a commitment to ourselves, but it is much more powerful to speak it to another, especially someone who will support us in honoring our declaration.  As with a contract, the act of stating our intention or of putting our signature to an agreement in the presence of a witness brings a quality of fi nality to the decision: ‘I have now given my word and I will not go back on it.’

The many small commitments we make on any given day, such as an agreement to meet someone for dinner at a specific time, do not require the courage or resources needed to climb a Himalayan mountain, but they should be treated with an equal degree of respect and sobriety.  An agreement is an agreement, and if we treat it as something optional that we will fulfill or not according to our passing mood or convenience, we will destroy our credibility with others, lose their participation and sabotage our projects.  Honoring our word as something sacred is key to success in life.  It is also a critical technique of enrollment, because by demonstrating to others that our word is good, even with regard to the smallest of details, we secure their partnership and collaboration.

Communicating for Action and Results

Most of what is called ‘communication’ is little more than verbal and written descriptions of objects and events, story-telling and gossip, projecting an image of ourselves that we want to create, and camouflaging our actual feelings, intentions and actions.  Primarily, we use language to carry out the ordinary routines of daily life, which takes the form of requests, such as when we order a meal in a restaurant or ask an employee to do a specific task. 

Sometimes communication is highly entertaining and stimulating, such as when we attend a party full of interesting people.  More often, however, our speaking actually contributes to confusion, conflict and apathy, thereby undermining our own projects as well as those of others. 

None of these forms of communication have the power to bring about a positive change or transformation in either our environment or ourselves.  In fact, all too often the opposite is occurring.  We use language to keep our lives predictable and mired in the status quo.  Even worse, our speaking may actually undermine the well being and self-esteem of others as well as ourselves.  Most of this is unconscious.  

We have a steady stream of ‘self-talk’ which is going on in our heads and which arises from our unconscious.  The bulk of this inner dialogue is rooted in fear and is the source of our apathy, indecision and frustration in life. When we open our mouths to speak, our self-talk becomes an outer dialogue, which is primarily shaped by our unconscious doubts, anxieties and prejudices.  It gets transmitted into our environment, like a kind of virus, infecting our listeners and triggering their insecurities. 

If we observe how we feel after a fifteen-minute conversation with someone, our body will tell us what we have received from that person.  Similarly, their body will tell them what they have just received from us.  Their words and our words may have seemed pleasant on the surface, but either one or both of us may nevertheless feel a loss of energy.  What people say and what they mean are often two different things.  If we want to know what someone actually means when he speaks, we should bypass his words and look within to see whether we feel either enlivened and peaceful, or disturbed and drained.  And if we want to know what we truly meant when we spoke with someone, we should ask that person to be honest and tell us how he feels in his body after receiving our communication.  Put differently, do we feel a heightened or a diminished sense of well being in the presence of the other?  And do they experience more, or less, well being in our presence?  We must train ourselves to look beyond the literal meaning of words and gestures if we are to discover the true intent of any communication. 

Becoming conscious of our self-talk and the effect it has not only on us but also on others, is the first step in transforming how we communicate.  Communicating for empowerment, as a way of being, is the goal but in order to accomplish this our first step must be to make a personal commitment to cleaning up our internal dialogue.  The second step, therefore, is to root out our unconscious negatives and burn them in the fire of Self-awareness.  Transformational breath, self-inquiry and meditation are the most effective means for healing the mind of its negative tendencies.  The third step is to train ourselves to be observant of how we communicate and to note any negative or disempowering comments we are passing on to others.  With practice we will be able to check negative or random thoughts arising in consciousness and stop them before they become the spoken word.  In due course, through persistent self-observation combined with the practices of purification already mentioned, negative, entropic thinking will simply disappear from our internal screen.  Communicating from a context of empowerment is our natural state and contributes both potently and silently to the peace, happiness and well being of others. 

In transformational leadership, communication is radically different from what has been described above.  Ordinary communication tends to keep us ‘at the effect’ of circumstances, which is to say resigned, disempowered and mesmerised by the relentless flow of propaganda and daily routine. 

Transformational communication, on the other hand, intends to awaken our true potential, empower us in realising that potential and enable us to break free of our dependency on unexamined and unhealthy collective ‘mindsets’.  Instead of suppressing authentic self-expression, it can unlock our vast and hidden reservoir of creative intelligence. 

Creativity cannot be separated from results. When we say someone is a creative individual, we mean that he or she is producing identifiable and innovative results in the physical universe.  Artists are recognised as creative on the basis of the originality of their artwork, scientists because of fresh breakthroughs arising from their research, entrepreneurs because of their ability to see unique opportunities and transform them into market place realities, etc. 

As an undergraduate student this writer enrolled in a course on the history of economic thought.  I was struck by how most of the renowned economic thinkers we reviewed had themselves studied under other famous economists.  ‘Could this be mere coincidence?’  I asked.  I came to the conclusion that the way these exceptional thinkers communicated with their students had a transformational effect not only on how their proteges thought about economics, but on their thinking process itself.  They had empowered their students in calling into question hitherto unexamined assumptions and asking questions which no one else had dared or even thought to ask. As original thinkers in their field, they had been able to transmit their way of thinking about thinking itself, thereby inspiring self-confidence and awakening the creative intelligence of their students.  The real power of communication lies not in transmitting information, but in empowering those with whom we are communicating in having their own breakthroughs.  As the American poet, e.e. cummings, wrote, ‘Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question.’ 

Transformational communication inspires the asking of deeper questions, the deepest question of all being, ‘Who or what or whence am I?’ It pushes us to press through our unconsciousness and examine our own conditioning. It also challenges us to examine our beliefs about the nature of reality, assumptions we have unconsciously adopted from our families, teachers and milieu, including the popular media.  Furthermore, it leaves the receiver of the communication squarely at the centre of his universe and one hundred per cent responsible for his own experience.  Transformational communication dispenses with the illusion that someone or something ‘out there’ is going to save us or give us a quick fix to a problem.  Rather, it addresses us as already complete and whole, and fully capable of managing brilliantly our particular corner of the universe.  Thus, the transformed leader does not pull people about by the nose, but challenges them to assume full responsibility for whatever it is they are facing and inspires them with the confidence that they are completely trustworthy and competent to handle the challenge, however large or small it may be. 

When communication is empowering it motivates people to take effective action for producing concrete results.  As long as we know and perceive ourselves as incarnated with physical bodies, we must assume responsibility for the material laws governing time, space, energy and matter.  In this world, results are always in some way measurable and produced by specific actions in time. Those who succeed in their projects surrender to this fact and take effective action to produce the results they intend.  The transformational leader may be well acquainted with the Transcendent, but he remains fully grounded in the here and now of the material world.  In this way, he leads by example, demonstrating that the highest philosophy embraces rather than rejects the ordinary realities of daily life. 

Transformational communication rides on a wave of clear, strong intention, reflecting a high degree of Self-awareness.  Silence is the ocean from which such potent messages arise, and these messages have an almost physical force.  The object is never to speak for the sake of speaking or to impress, cajole, manipulate, camouflage, plead, seduce, bully or threaten.  Rather, speaking is an undiluted, undistorted expression of an underlying intent, the purpose of which is always to produce some tangible, measurable and agreeable result in the physical universe. This is the yoga of action. 

What is Transformational Leadership?

'Established in Being, perform action.' 

Bhagavad-Gita, ch.2, verse 48 

In order to transform a disempowered and disempowering mode of being we must first assume responsibility for where we find ourselves. This starts by jettisoning the self-pitying belief that ‘I am a victim’. As we have already seen, holding onto the ‘I am a victim’ attitude keeps us locked into the mood and behavior of a victim. And, like any self-fulfilling prophecy, we will continually create situations that merely serve to reinforce this crippling downward spiral.  The moment we choose to assume responsibility for being the source of both our personal history and our current situation we will have opted for being a leader. What do we mean by‘leader’? In the context of transformational leadership it means ‘taking the reins’ of one’s own life. A self-leader is neither a leader of the pack nor a follower of the herd. To be a self-leader means to be proactive, self-generating, self-actualising, honest and accountable. The moment one truly assumes responsibility for whatever was, is and will be one’s life undergoes a transformation and these qualities begin to flourish. 

Leadership is also a skill and an art. Responsibility is the essence and foundation of leadership; the art of leadership, however, additionally requires both knowledge and skills. Skill in action is the mark of a true leader. Those who have assumed responsibility for their lives and demonstrate mastery in the field of action will, by example alone, inspire others to rise to their full potential as well.

Leadership begins with the self 

Leadership starts with oneself. People commonly identify leadership with managing organisations and governing nations, but this is only one aspect of leadership. Leadership is first and foremost a state of mind and begins with a personal transformation. Leaders are seldom born. In this world, children are habitually raised to be passive, reactive and to avoid what is unpleasant, unusual or involves risk. Most of this conditioning is absorbed unconsciously from our parents, teachers and social environment. The previous industrial era of manufacturing encouraged this rigid conditioning, since factories required workers who could function more or less as machines: following orders without question, performing long hours of mind-numbing, routine work, avoiding the pain of being fired or demoted, etc. In the new era of information, globalisation and contracting services, this ‘factory’ mentality is no longer tenable and those who have not adapted to the new reality are suffering enormously from stress, personal insecurity and declining self-esteem. For these reasons, leadership must be learned; that is, people must transform themselves from passive, reactive, security-obsessed followers into proactive, creative, adaptive ‘self-leaders’. 

Moreover, the ‘self-leader’ must also know how to transmit this learning to others. It is nearly impossible to have success in any project if one’s associates are still operating from the old mentality of passivity, reaction, denial and avoidance of discomfort and uncertainty. Leadership is not limited to professional life only, but includes families and friends, as well as social and spiritual networks. 

The Three Major Causes of Upsets

These are: 

1. unmet expectations

2. thwarted intentions

3. undelivered communications

We will look more closely at each one:

Unmet expectations

We are always moving into the future.  Therefore, our life is full of expectations.  We expect this, we expect that.  In fact, we plan for our expectations.  When we have planned and undertaken the actions necessary to fulfill our expectations we expect

to get our result.  And when we fail to get our expectation, we become upset.  Our expectation is unmet.  This is our human nature.

Sometimes our expectations are not met because of forces completely beyond our control, such as an earthquake or power failure, etc.  More often, our expectations are not met because someone who had given their word to do something failed to deliver.  They either forgot (didn't care), or lied, or didn't pay proper attention, or were just plain sloppy and uncaring.  Lack of both caring and integrity in our human relations is the most common cause of upsets.

  

Thwarted intentions

When we have an intention to create something and take action toward that end, we are upset when someone or something block us from accomplishing our intended result.  Sometimes the impediment is something beyond human control.  Still, it is an upset.  But if another human being interferes with our intention and stops us from accomplishing it, the upset is even greater.  It produces hatred.   It will leave us in a state of helpless rage.  It will invite our revenge.  

Undelivered communications

The upset created by undelivered communications takes two forms:

a.  Something we want to communicate to another person is blocked by that person.  They refuse to hear what we have to say.  Instead of listening, they argue.  They stop us from speaking.  They reject our communication out of hand.  We remain unheard.  We feel rejected and not respected.

b.  Someone withholds information intended for us.  They fail to pass along a communication they promised to deliver to us.  They distort the original communication, causing problems and breakdowns.  They change the communication to suit their own ends.  We feel abused and violated.

from Werner Erhard, founder of the est training

An Introduction to this Blog

This blog emphasizes the importance of combining the breath and meditation

There are two methods that I teach in private practice:

1. Transformational breathwork (alternatively called 'rebirthing' or 'the healing breath')

2. Transcendental deep meditation (based on raja yoga)

It is my experience that both methods are necessary on the path of self-realization and for the experience of wholeness.

Transformational Breathwork is effective for emotional clearing and for the removal negative thought patterns -- assuming it is applied properly by an experienced and knowledgeable breathworker.

Transcendental Deep Meditation allows the meditator to transcend the usual 'busyness' of the mind and access a foundational state of silent awareness. This silent awareness is the essence of 'being' and its true nature is 'consciousness'. The practice of T.D.M. is a powerful complement to the emotional clearing process of Transformational Breathwork.

I teach both methods and I encourage my clients to incorporate both practices into their daily routine.

If you are interested in private sessions, please email me directly at: duartmc9@gmail.com. Please include your phone number, if possible.

This blog embraces both the rational and the intuitive

Much has been written about the New Age, some of it positive, some of it skeptical, and some of it blatantly negative. Well, no one can deny that we are in a new age. I was born in 1950 and as of today, 2011, my world is entirely different. For me, this is certainly a new age.

This blog is neither pro-new age nor anti-new age. It is concerned with reality and truth, health and well-being, relationships and leadership. Since I am a longtime practitioner and teacher of these two self-development methodologies -- transformational breathwork and transcendental deep meditation -- some may consider me a new age 'true believer'. Well, I am not.

I am a rationalist with a strong penchant for empiricism. I am also deeply interested in spirituality and the notion of self-realization or 'enlightenment'. Finally, I understand that as important as reason and empiricism are, they too have their limits. There are limits to thought. There is a dimension to life which cannot be accessed by the intellect alone. I call this dimension 'being-consciousness'.

The dimension of 'being-consciousness', in terms of philosophy, falls into a category called 'ontology', which is a study of the nature of 'being'. Since being is not a 'thing', it cannot be accessed directly by either the senses or the intellect. Yet, no-one can deny that he or she has 'being' since in order for any experience whatsoever to occur, there must be 'being'. In its absence, there will be no experience at all. What provides continuity to the continually changing contents of our life experience is 'being'. It is because we are 'being' that we can create some kind of description that gives order to our life.

Most of the essays which I have written for this blog are philosophical in nature. I draw on inference, deduction and analysis throughout. You may agree or disagree with what I write, but you will find that I do not make wild assertions. I do, however, present arguments in favor of various possibilities which I feel intuitively are valid and worth reflecting upon.

Please read to your heart's content. I truly welcome comments, both positive and critical and will, to the best of my ability, respond to all of them.

Namaste

Duart Maclean

Self-Enquiry -- 'Who am I?'

‘Siva is the Being assuming all forms and the Consciousness seeing them. That is to say, Siva is the background underlying both the subject and the object. Everything has its being in Siva and because of Siva.’
Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879 - 1950)

Self-enquiry (atma-vichara) has been called the Maha (Great) Yoga because it is a direct path to Self-realisation. Self-enquiry deals head on with the most fundamental philosophical and personal question we can raise: ‘Who am I?’ The practice of Self-enquiry is very ancient and traditionally has been considered suitable only for those who have renounced everything in their one-pointed search for truth. In more recent times, Ramana Maharshi has revitalised this timeless path, making it accessible to all seekers, even those with busy lives and crammed agendas.

This method can be practised in a formal way by setting aside a certain period of time each day (for example, 20 minutes upon arising and 20 minutes before retiring) or it can be practised informally for a few minutes here and there as the opportunity or motivation presents itself. As we progress on this path, Self-enquiry becomes an automatic process that continues unbroken throughout the day. It can be done while working or speaking, without reducing our ability to function efficiently. For beginners, however, a set period of time set aside each day is recommended until the practice is firmly established.

In order to experience anything – a tree, another human being, a desire, an emotion or a physical sensation – there first must be someone who is experiencing. Before we can know an ‘it’, ‘he’ or ‘they’, the ‘I’ must already be established. During deep sleep there is no sense of ‘I’, nor is there any awareness of objects, whether subtle or gross. When we enter the dreaming state, the sense of ‘I’ reappears, as do all of the characters and objects of the dream experience. In other words, the second and third persons (‘you’, ‘he’, ‘it’, 'they') cannot exist in the absence of the first person singular (‘I’). The sense of ‘I am’ is the only stable aspect of experience, since the objects of experience themselves are continually changing. People, places and things come and go in our lives, but we remain. Our own bodies will change, sometimes drastically, but the ‘I am’ associated with our body will remain firm. This ‘I am’ is the only subject, whereas all else are objects. Even God is an object to the subject, ‘I am’.

Now the strange thing about human beings is our curiosity about nearly everything except ourselves. We devote our lives to understanding the world, God, the cosmos, atomic and subatomic realms etc. but very few of us make a serious effort at self-understanding. We ask endless questions about the nature of things, but we never question the questioner. Who is this questioner who wants to understand God and the universe? If we are ignorant about ourselves, then how can we be sure of our knowledge of anything else? Unless we know the subject, how can we claim to know the object? The German physicist, Werner Heisenberg, established that the act of observation or measurement affects the phenomenon being observed or measured. He wrote, ‘What we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning.’ With this insight he formulated his famous ‘indeterminacy principle’ which demolished the cherished notion of the scientist as a detached, objective observer. If the world we see is basically a creation of our own way of thinking, asking and perceiving, doesn’t it make more sense to first know the thinker, questioner and perceiver? Instead, what we do is assume that what we perceive is the world as it actually is and then proceed to act on that assumption. As history reveals, this often leads to horrendous results. The philosopher, Bertrand Russell, humorously illustrates this with a barnyard story. Each morning at sunrise a flock of chickens would run excitedly toward the friendly farmer who appeared with a bucket of chicken feed. This went on for many months. They were happy to feel so taken care of and well fed, and would look forward to the farmer’s next visit. Then one sunrise he arrived as expected and they all ran to greet him as usual, but this time instead of carrying a bucket of feed he was carrying an axe. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Ramana Maharshi lived through the difficult period of the two world wars and the great depression. Westerners regularly came to visit him and many felt burdened with the cares of the world. They would ask him, ‘How can we end war and bring about world peace?’ ‘How can we feed and uplift the hungry, depressed masses?’ ‘What is the future of the human race?’, etc. Sri Ramana’s reply was always the same. ‘Why do you worry about world peace when you have not yet found peace within yourself ? Why do you want to know about the future when you do not yet know the questioner in the present? First know whom it is that is asking the question and then see if the question is still there.’ Although Sri Ramana was mostly silent during his lifetime, whenever visitors would ask him sincere questions about the nature of the Self and their personal challenges he would answer. Those, however, who asked questions out of mere curiosity or from a misplaced sense of responsibility, questions such as, ‘What can we do to save the world?’, would invariably be met with silence. Some found the sage’s reticence too uncomfortable and would leave, but many stayed and used the intense, pervading Silence they felt in his proximity to look within and would experience an inner revolution that transformed their lives.

In the method of Self-enquiry, the enquirer is asked to seek the source of the ‘I-thought’. This ‘I-thought’ is synonymous with the ego and is not the Self, who is pure Consciousness transcending all form and substance. Nevertheless, the ‘I-thought’ arises from the Self and has its being in the Self. In the absence of the Self there can be no ‘I-thought’, since all thoughts require the light of consciousness in order to appear. The Self is itself Consciousness, as well as the source of our empirical consciousness -- i.e., our consciousness of things. In fact, all phenomena, from atoms to galaxies, appear by virtue of the borrowed light of the intelligent Self.

The ‘I-thought’ always takes the form of a limiting identification, which is invariably the ‘I-am-the-body’ idea. The ‘I-am-the-body’ idea is not false but neither is it true, and this is the cause of our worries, fears and tensions. It is also the root cause of our aggression in all of its ugly forms. For certain the body is the vehicle through which the Self finds expression in this realm of existence. In this sense, the ‘I-am-the-body’ idea is correct. However, it is false when the Self is considered to be limited to, or in any way dependent upon, the body. For one thing, the body is mortal, whereas the Self is immortal and untouched by the creation and dissolution of the organism; furthermore, the laws of time and space condition and determine the destiny of the body, whereas the Self stands aloof from these limiting factors. In other the words, the body is inescapably mortal and bound, whereas the Self is inherently immortal and free. Self-realisation simply entails awakening to the reality that who we are is the all-inclusive Self and not merely the physical body or some subtle etheric substance inhabiting the body.

This awakening to the Self is not something conceptual. It comes with a letting go of our limited and erroneous notions of what we are and a complete surrender of our egoistic tendencies. Such a transformation is a complete internal revolution, which touches every fiber of our being; it cannot be obtained by reading books, although books can be useful allies on the path. It also cannot be attained by changing the external circumstances of our life. Abandoning our families or quitting our jobs to lead a monastic life is unnecessary, because the real work is entirely internal. The philosophy underpinning the process of Self-enquiry says, ‘You are already the Self, all you need do is let go of the idea that you are something other.’ By tracing the ‘I-thought’, which is a limited sense of self, back to its Source we realise the truth of our Being. This does not require changing our religion, lifestyle or dropping our duties. It does mean a consistent and committed inner quest to abandon our false ideas and beliefs about our true nature. It is work that no one can do for us. There is no higher Power that can save us, for in reality we are that very higher Power we seek and as such are fully capable of our own salvation.

There are a couple of ways of practising the Self-enquiry. One way is to dwell on the sense of ‘I am’ constantly. Nisargadatta Maharaj, a younger contemporary of Ramana Maharshi, taught this method. Aham-bhava is the Sanskrit term for the sense or feeling of ‘I am’. This feeling of ‘I am’ is subtler than thoughts, emotions or body awareness. Aham-bhava is subtle like space and with practice the conscious mind can become aware of it. The feeling of aham-bhava is always there, but because the mind is habitually focussed on external sensations, objects and mental projections, such as thoughts, memories and desires, we are unaware of it. By turning the attention inward – away from sense objects, desires, emotions and even thoughts – we become aware of this subtle feeling of our own existence, the ‘I am’.

Ramana Maharshi encouraged seekers to turn their attention inward by actually looking for the ‘I-thought’ and seeing if they could find it. By actively looking for the ‘I-thought’ the attention is automatically withdrawn from sense objects, desires, etc. and directed inward. The mind, however, will not be able to find the ‘I-thought’, which is like a fleeting shadow that disappears the moment the light of awareness is focussed on it. In this single movement of the mind toward the ‘I-thought’, both the external world and the ‘I-thought’ itself will vanish, allowing the pure Self to flash forth as an intense, silent Awareness free of thought and all other phenomena.

Generally, Sri Ramana recommended the following method, which can be practised either sitting quietly or while involved in normal activities. Start by observing the mind and its contents. Whatever is momentarily present in consciousness, whether a thought, emotion or desire, etc., silently ask the following question:

‘For whom is this thought (emotion, etc)?’

The natural, unspoken response will be:

‘For me’.

Then ask silently:

‘Who am I?’

At this point, either search for the ‘I-thought’, as previously suggested, or put the attention directly onto the feeling of ‘I am' (aham-bhava). In either case, the mind will momentarily merge into the Source from which it originally arose, i.e., the Self. With practice, this merging will lengthen and returning the mind to its Source will become increasingly easy and natural. It should be noted that the question, ‘Who am I?’ does not call for an intellectual response. The Self-enquiry is not an intellectual process; rather it is a seeking for the very Source of the intellect itself. Self-enquiry is not analysis; it is a surrendering of the intellect to the Self and a merging of the mind into the Heart.

For those who found the direct method of Self-enquiry too challenging, Sri Ramana would sometimes suggest alternatives, such as meditating with a mantra. Accordingly, he offered the following approach. In his own words:

"Among the many names of God, no name suits God, who abides in the Heart, devoid of thought, so truly, aptly, and beautifully as the name ‘I’ or ‘I am’ (aham). Of all the known names of God, the name of God, ‘aham – aham’, alone will resound triumphantly when the ego is destroyed, rising as the silent supreme Word (mouna-para-vak) in the Heart-space of those whose attention is Selfward-facing. Even if one unceasingly meditates upon that name, ‘I – I’, with one’s attention on the feeling ‘I am’ (aham), it will take one and plunge it into the source from which the thought arises, destroying the ego…"

Self-enquiry weakens and destroys the samskaras (impressions) which form the basis of our patterns (vasanas) and negative conditioning. On this path of Self-knowledge (jnana) the direct intuition of the Self is a liberating insight, which like fire burns the seeds of our samskaras and destroys their capacity to germinate as patterns. The method of Self-enquiry is a simple yet potent weapon, along with the breath and other practices of yoga, for overcoming our patterns and negative self-concept, strengthening our self-esteem and personal power and, ultimately, bringing us to full Awakening in the Self.