To reach and remain on the shores of that sacred land; that Pure Land; the land of comfort, warmth, and shining light; the land of love, joy, peace, and sweet delight; the land where we are always, all, and everything; the land where we create our joy and suffering; a few things must occur, of these I sing.
Personal freedom is internal, and can exist regardless of our external circumstance. It is freedom from the mind; and its ego, issues, and defenses; which can be complicated by neurologic sensitivities, trauma, and unresolved life experiences. Below you will find seven things that I believe must occur prior to its attainment. They parallel the primary chakras of the Human Energy System.
Chakras
According to Ayurveda we are composed of three bodies containing five sheaths: physical body (food sheath); astral body (pranic, mental, and intellectual sheaths), and causal body (seed sheath). The astral body is connected to the physical body at several points called chakras. We are alive because of the life force, or prana, flowing through us. Prana circulates within the astral body through channels called nadis, enters the physical body through the chakras, and circulates within the physical body through pathways called meridians. Many forms of illness exist first in the astral body, and may exist there for years before reaching the physical body. A blockage or imbalance in the energy flow within the astral body may lead to physical, emotional, or mental illness. Chakras send energy outward from the core of the physical body to the astral body, and receive prana from the astral body which enters the core. Chakras can be open or closed, excessive or deficient, or can exist at various stages in between. The chakras must be in balance with each other, and there should be an even flow of energy through all of them. After entering through the chakras, prana circulates throughout the physical body within the meridians; regulating the function of the major organ systems. For each organ system to remain healthy and balanced, prana must flow freely along the meridians.
The Seven Prerequisites.
1. Basic Needs: Are your survival needs being met?
2. Emotional Accuracy: Are you truly understanding what is generating your emotion?
3. Internal Stability: Are you safe, balanced, and confident in your perceptions?
4. Heart Shielding: Do you have enough control over your mind to protect your heart?
5. Clear Communication: Are you speaking your truth and perceiving the truth of others?
6. Open Intuition: Is your third eye open to the universe?
7. Higher Understanding: Has your consciousness awakened to the truth?
Basic Needs:
We must create conditions within which we are safe, secure, and able to be emotionally vulnerable before we can intentionally access higher consciousness. Real or perceived threats to safety will lower our vibrational frequency, shift the brain into survival mode, and prompt us to fight, run away, or freeze until the threat is gone. Such conditions block continuous access to the universal consciousness of light. ; although they may, during a moment of emotional overwhelm or mental letting go, create a flicker of its beauty, warm and bright. If so, this glimmer of something amazing somewhere beyond our struggles; may provide the hope to get us through the night.
Emotional Accuracy:
We must understand the truth of our emotions before they can be effectively processed, resolved, and released. If we are highly sensitive, as is the case for many naturalists, spiritualists, and truth seekers; then we may experience great anxiety when connecting with the world. If so, then, in order to rise above this discomfort; we must see it for what it really is (our own anxiety) rather than allowing our mind to externalize its cause, transform it into anger or irritation, and attribute it to another person, place, or thing. If we blame something else for what we ourselves are creating; then we cannot resolve it, because we are not dealing with the truth of what it is. For example, if we experience anxiety about going to the dentist, convert this anxiety into anger and irritability, attack our partner as if they did something to us when they did not, and feel like a victim of the alleged impropriety; then the transmuted emotions (anger and irritability) derived from cognitive distortions (our lover did something hurtful to us) are not based on truth. When our memory and efforts toward resolving the situation are predicated upon such distortions, it cannot be resolved; because this is not what happened. Consequently, the anxiety is reinforced and new problems are created (e.g. relationship pain). Freedom from the mind requires truth and responsibility.
Internal Stability:
Transcending mind traps necessitates the presence of psychological safety, balanced emotions, and confidence in the truth of our perceptions. When attained, this stability will free us from distraction, help us elevate with assurance, and guide us to the promised land of light. Confidence must be cultivated with truth. This is its only real source. To use the toothy illustration presented above; when we are able to clearly see that we are feeling anxious about going to the dentist, when we are able to remove all other externalized attributions, and when we are confident that our perception is based on truth; we have gained the internal stability needed to rise above the mind and our aching tooth.
Heart Shielding:
When the ego controls our thoughts, words, and actions we are unable to protect our heart from needless suffering. Such pain will lower our vibration, inhibit awareness of higher consciousness, and block the path to unifying light. The ego will trigger emotions that serve its purpose, take us further from the truth, and keep us spinning in this cycle of delusion. With sufficient self awareness, self acceptance, and self control; we can dissolve the ego issues and defenses into light. Let’s apply this wisdom to our above dental dilemma. If we transmute our anxiety into externalized anger and irritation; blaming our partner for a fabricated wrongdoing; then we will feel hurt, sad, and hopeless because of something that did not happen; subconsciously we will feel guilty or ashamed for attacking our beloved; and we will still feel the anxiety underneath. When we develop enough self awareness to realize that we are feeling anxious because of the dentist appointment, enough self acceptance to withhold judgment and normalize the experience, and enough self control to fight the urge to externalize the blame; then we will have enough control over our mind to protect our heart.
Clear Communication:
The frequency needed to reach the consciousness of light is that which vibrates at the highest form of truth. Conveying truth requires its realization through non-resistance, non-judgment, and non-attachment; acceptance of self, others, and what happens; and basing thoughts, emotions, and perceptions on what is real. Rewind to the case of our pearly whites. When we clearly see that we are feeling anxiety and why, when we share this awareness with our partner, and when we take responsibility for our emotions; we are communicating at the frequency of truth.
Open Intuition:
Accessing the Pure Land requires the third eye to be open to the Supreme Universal Consciousness; seeing through the stars and planets, through the wisdom of the ages, through the eyes of everywhere and every when. Let us consult our oral oracle again. When we realize that we are feeling anxiety about going to the dentist, broaden our perspective to that of universal consciousness, and deeply breathe this truth within our mind; the angst will lessen, and we, no longer, will be blind.
Higher Understanding:
In order to ascend above the mind’s myopic reach, we must let go of the illusion of separateness, accept the oneness of all things, and rise up through this wisdom to the truth. Let’s take one final trip down Incisor Lane. When, through meditation, revery, or yoga; we put ourselves in the shoes of the dentist, realize that we are them and they are us, and understand that our anxiety is based on material world illusion; we can transcend the reach of worry, fear, and pain.
So, when your basic needs are met, emotions true, confidence present, heart protected, communication clear, intuition open, and understanding elevated; you are ready for the freedom, you are ready for its grace; you are ready to remain within this place.
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