Does It Help To Analyze Our Past?

The Western view of mental health puts great emphasis on our past with Sigmund Freud popularizing psychoanalysis and our psychosexual developmental stages.

However, Freud’s views run in direct contrast to the Eastern view of mental health when viewed through the lens of the Yogic sciences and philosophy. In fact, the two couldn’t be further apart. 

We are all familiar with the more Westernized traditional forms of therapy where one goes to a professional to help dissect the past hoping to find a seed experience that might be shrouded in trauma which helps to explain or at least point to present day subconscious tendencies, poor coping skills, and maladaptive behavior.

People are often in therapy for years on end, endlessly digging, analyzing, and putting what they think are the missing puzzle pieces of their broken psyche back together again. 

But the ancient science of Yoga doesn’t place any emphasis on the mind or any of its disturbances. In fact, focusing on the mind and past experiences is of no interest at all to this path of enlightenment and higher awareness.

Yoga instead focuses on the present moment.

But how does one stay focused, present, alert, and aware of what is happening when we have obvious mental hang ups, negative thought patterns, and unbridled emotions that keep us from staying cool, calm, and collected?

Wouldn’t analyzing our past help us to stay aware of the present moment?

Don’t we need to look to our past to know who we are now?

The above questions come from an erroneous assumption. The assumption being that we are our personality or our ego.

But if we are not our personality, then what are we?

Ah, now we are getting somewhere! This is where the path of Western psychoanalysis has an obvious dead end.

No, we don’t need to endlessly analyze and pick through our past traumas and suffering in order to fix ourselves because fixing the ‘person’ is not the point.

Our suffering, in any and all cases, is due to our deep identification with our personhood, our personality, our character, our ego, our likes and dislikes, all of which of course, include our past and projected future.

The crux of the issue is what we identify as or what we think of as “us” or “me”.

Western psychology has not evolved past the notion of the egoic state of consciousness because those that are analyzing and digging through the past are themselves deeply identified with their own personality and egoic structure. It is like the blind leading the blind.

To truly move beyond all your self-imposed suffering one must create a distance from what you call as ‘you’ and start identifying with your greater ‘Self’, as your true and ultimate nature.

This is not the same as simply exchanging one belief system for another.

To be clear, a belief is defined as an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists; trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.

In contrast, knowledge is defined as facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education.

The reason Yoga is considered a science is because it has a systematic process that can be replicated over and over again through experiential validation. It is not a belief system and doesn’t require one to believe anything.

All that is required is to follow the process and realize the results.

All those that follow the path of yoga have realized that their true reality can be summed up in one Sanskrit word: Satchitananda or existence, consciousness, and bliss.

How would you like to let go of the past? No longer suffer? Remain present and aware to every moment and not miss the glory and miracle of being alive?

How would you like to be soaked in bliss every moment?

This is not only possible but assessible for everyone right now.

We are not our past. We are not our personalities. We are not our likes/dislikes or even our family bonds and connections.

We are existence, consciousness, and bliss. This is our true nature.

Do you believe this? Or, do you know this?

If one truly wants to discover who and what they truly are, then looking behind you will never free you.

The past is dead.

What is alive is this present moment; this NOW.

Yoga is defined as ‘union’ and describes the union of individual consciousness to universal consciousness.

Human Conscious Evolution In A Nutshell

Everyone is talking about being more aware or mindful these days but what does that really mean? Did you know that being aware does not mean paying greater attention? Attention has to do with concentrated focus on an object or activity. Awareness on the other hand is directly correlated to how consciously evolved you are.

Consciousness lies on a continuous spectrum and many scientists, philosophers and mystics have attempted to map human conscious evolution using various models. For example, Transpersonal Psychologist Abraham Maslow created the now famous Hierarchy of Needs which very simply illustrates how human beings must first have their physiological needs met before finally reaching what he expressed as human self-actualization.

Different Models For Human Conscious Evolution

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

David Hawkin’s Level’s of Consciousness

Another interesting model by which to express human conscious evolution would be the lesser known Dr. David R Hawkin’s Level’s of Consciousness. David was a psychiatrist who had a clinical practice in NY for many decades before turning into a popular spiritual teacher in Sedona, AZ. He is the author of many books including the most well known, Power vs. Force – The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior.

Dr. Hawkin’s has created a logarithmic model for human conscious evolution using an emotional scale and view of life. He describes in detail how an individual can hope to move beyond negative emotional states of shame, guilt and apathy to more positive states of love, joy and peace.

The basis of his work is to draw awareness to the fact that humans can move beyond their current state of conscious evolution through concentrated effort and a willingness to let go of beliefs that no longer serve them. The scale starts with the consciousness level of shame which Hawkins gives a frequency of 20 and ends with the consciousness level of enlightenment where Hawkins attributes a numerical range of 700-1000.

Yogic Chakra System

Another very popular model for human conscious evolution is the ancient yogic science chakra system most referred to in ayurvedic, acupuncture, Chinese, Japanese or Tibetan energy medicine. This system refers to the subtle energy centers located within and around the human subtle body and serve as the energy regulators for human conscious awareness. Chakras are located all throughout the subtle body but the most powerful centers are located along the spinal column and start with the muladhara and extend to the sahasrara. This very complex energy system also serves as a model for human conscious evolution as the energy starting from the root chakra also known as the muladhara, deals mainly with physical survival and preservation of the species. An individual whose energy is focused on the higher chakras of the ajna or sahasrara interact with life from a more integrated place of wholeness, have a keen sense of perception and clarity and are no longer subject to limited belief systems or subconscious programming.

Evolving Past Victim Personality and Moving Towards Creator Being

All of these models of human evolution parallel each other with regard to progressive states of self-awareness. When an individual is only mildy self-aware they are primarily concerned with survival and self preservation. Individual’s occupying this energy level feel a strong sense of separation from everyone and everything, see the world as black and white, and feel as if life happens to them. Many individual’s unconsciously adopt a victim-like personality due to the lack of foresight for creating better life situations for themselves. Additionally, these people lack the fundamental understanding that their thoughts, emotions and actions create their reality.

However, as individuals correlate their thoughts and emotions to outside circumstances they are better able to manage their day to day lives with some level of consistency. The next phase would then be to understand the energy dynamics of human relationships and how our sense of self evolves through the mirroring of other’s behavior.

Many individual’s are locked into a constant power play of relationship dynamics and can stay there for a lifetime without maturing past this maturation phase. It’s hallmark is the preoccupation with other people’s thoughts, opinions and feelings and the tug of war that ensues when an individual simultaneously wants to be accepted by a person or group but also wants to be free from imposed expectations and belief systems. 

Humanity is under great pressure to evolve because it is our only chance of survival as a race. This will affect every aspect of your life and close relationships in particular. Never before have relationships been as problematic and conflict-ridden as they are now. As you may have noticed, they are not here to make you happy or fulfilled. If you continue to pursue the goal of salvation through a relationship, you will be disillusioned again and again. But if you accept that the relationship is here to make you conscious instead of happy, then the relationship will offer you salvation, and you will be aligning yourself with the higher consciousness that wants to be born into this world. For those who hold on to the old patterns, there will be increasing pain, violence, confusion, and madness. – Eckhart Tolle, The Power Of Now

More mature individual’s recognize the need to be involved in relationships but not overly entangled in other people’s affairs. They have the ability to disengage before any emotional power plays begin. The ability to do this comes from a place of deep understanding that one is not defined by another and expectations for seeking happiness outside of oneself is the cause for all suffering.

This process of conscious evolution towards a more integrated and whole Self is the journey of all of humanity. Progressive states of higher consciousness are held by individual’s interested in going beyond the limitations of the body and mind and being in union with existence; the true definition of yoga. It is everyone’s destiny to evolve to the highest pinnacle of human evolution. The only question is, how can one go about quickening the process?

If You Want Happiness – You Must Take Responsibility

Everyone seeks happiness and wants to be happy, the limitation is simply the assumption that external things, people, places, or experiences bring on the feeling of happiness. This premise is false as happiness is actually a quality of consciousness that is innate to all human beings and is brought about when more conscious awareness is evident in a given individual. As one acquires more power and evolves consciously this sense of innate happiness, joy, contentment and bliss is an every moment reality. Thus we come full circle to our initial discussion of cultivating greater awareness and mindfulness in our daily lives because people have been told that this is the only way to maintain lasting happiness.

Humanity is at a very interesting stage where we are actively seeking solutions to the issues and problems that we have created. There is greater awareness to our environment, we are taking better care of our physical bodies and we feel drawn to mentors, guides, teachers and spiritual life coaches who have walked the path before us and can extend a helpful hand to assist in our conscious growth.

So what can we do to quicken our conscious evolution so that we may feel unlimited freedom, happiness, and joy? The most important thing that anyone can do is to start where they are and accept responsibility for everything in their life. After we accept our reality as it is without running from it, evading it, denying it, justifying it, excusing it, or ignoring it we must be willing to do the work necessary to grow. Growth means change and change often times means feeling uncomfortable in new surroundings.

“I want to change you” – that is not a revolution. “I’m willing to change” – now this is a revolution. – Sadhguru

Change can take many forms and includes all dimensions of being human including: physical, mental, emotional and energetic.

How To Be Happy – Physical, Mental, Emotional and Energetic Dimensions

Humans have two dimensions that we are consciously aware of; the physical and the mental/emotional. Some individual’s have a heightened sensitivity to the energetic dimension of prana, ki, chi, shakti, etc either through consistent spiritual practice or due to previous karmic implications.

With regard to the physical dimension, individual’s can certainly put more awareness to their diet as this has a direct effect on resulting hormones, moods, and mental clarity in everyday life. Eating more raw natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes while limiting the intake of sugar, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, caffeine and chemical preservatives are all straightforward ways to give ourselves a natural energy boost and feel better both in body and mind.

Additionally, regular and consistent exercise that includes both cardio exertion for our heart health as well as weight training to maintain bone density and muscle strength is also necessary to keep our bodies fit as we navigate through life and get older. Other ways to enhance our energy levels and resulting mood everyday: drink purified water, get direct sunlight, breath fresh air and receive enough rest so we are not always running with a sense of energy depletion.

On the mental and emotional dimension we can limit our exposure to negative news, superfluous celebrity gossip, sensationalized politics, or time wasting behavior on social media outlets. Our ‘mental diet’ and what we choose to let enter our consciousness on a daily basis is just as important as having a healthy food diet. If we are bombarded with negative stressors on a daily basis our bodies are constantly running on a fight, flight or freeze response with high cortizone levels that toxify our blood and organs. If left unchecked this way of living manifests in lowered overall immunity which can create autoimmune diseases, hormonal disruptions, an overly sensitive neurological system and leave the body susceptible to pathogens such as viruses and bacterial infections.

We must also take responsibility for the environment that we live in and the people that we surround ourselves with. if left unchecked, negative energies from unhappy and unhealthy people can profoundly affect our well being and build up overtime to create physical dis-ease and mental imbalances.

Finally, we also must take responsibility for our energy state. This more elusive dimension can be accessed through meditation, contemplation, concentration, and psychosomatic methods such as massage, reflexology, acupuncture, eft, emdr, chanting, hatha yoga, kinesiology, homeopathy, bach flower remedies, and many more.

Meditation is the best way to cultivate a greater sense of peace and joy in life while also assisting in the conscious evolution of the individual. As one meditates and accesses higher and finer levels of consciousness the individual lets go of old negative programming, resolves subconscious fears and anxieties, forgives old traumas and emotional wounds, can sustain more powerful vibratory energy pulsating though the body/mind and allows one to perceive from a much higher perspective of freedom and natural bliss.

In this way we take control of our conscious evolution through the four dimensions available to us. We no longer have to be the victims of outside influences and situations and see ourselves as separate and alone. As we mature and progress we know we are a small part of the greater whole of humanity and existence itself and help boost others through our higher frequency. The kindness, love, forgiveness and compassion we offer ourselves is also automatically offered to others as we go about our daily lives. 

We change the world not by what we say or do, but as a consequence of what we have become. – David R. Hawkins

In what ways have you taken control of your life to evolve to a higher and finer level of consciousness? What results have you seen in your life and what effect have you had on others?

Paramahansa Yogananda and The Book That Started It All

I’ve always been someone that has asked a lot of questions. I’m also the kind of person that if someone answers my question, I will still investigate it to make sure it is experientially true for me. I don’t know why I’m like this, I’ve just always been very inquisitive.

When I was 15 years old I came upon a green book lying around my house. It happened to be a library copy of Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. Being curious, I opened the book and started to read. I was immediately taken in.

Levitating Yogis and The Prospect of Enlightenment

This book is more than just an autobiography; it is a man’s epic journey of spiritual evolution painted in such a lively way it is as if you are right there beside him. The book is filled with beautiful stories and adventures detailing Yogananda’s childhood through adulthood as he describes in vivid detail encounters with supernatural Saints, Yogis, and Masters. As I studied page after page something deep within me resonated. I found myself crying after every few pages. What brings tears like this to a young girl’s eyes? I knew nothing of Indian mysticism, meditation, gurus, or yogi’s yet something in this book was powerful enough to affect me to my very core.

Bhaduri Mahasaya The Levitating Saint

Bhaduri Mahasaya The Levitating Saint, Chapter 7 of Autobiography of a Yogi

It didn’t take long to finish the book and soon my mind was racing with curious tales of levitating yogis, astral dimensions, Masters that could manifest a physical body out of thin air and Saints that consciously left their body on their own terms (mahasamadhi). But beyond all these mystical feats I was interested in something far greater. My mind reeled with the newly impregnated awareness of attaining Self Realization aka Enlightenment in this lifetime.

“It must be possible”, I thought. Yogananda wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble to bring Kriya Yoga to the West without there being a reason. My young mind was excited and eager to get started on my own epic mystical journey. Following the simple prompts from the book, I sat in easy pose, closed my eyes and focused my gaze between my eyebrows. Slowly I watched my breath and sat wondering, “Is this meditation? Am I doing it already?” Being 15 years old with no other prior programming, I didn’t know if meditation was easy or difficult. I just knew that Yogananda did it and if he could, then I could.

From Doubtful Mind To Samadhi – The Progressive States of Conscious Evolution

Fairly quickly I managed to relax my body/mind enough to where I started to feel a curious vibration surrounding my body. It had a pleasant nature and was gentle and warm. At that time this familiar vibratory feeling surrounded my entire body. My mind was relaxed and at ease. I didn’t know what this was but somehow I trusted it and allowed myself to go deeper and deeper into it.

As I continued in my meditations I noticed that they weren’t always the same. Sometimes I would cry as if I was releasing eons of pent up karmic impressions built up over lifetimes. It was a sorrow that hit so deep that it often left my body weak and shaking. Though scary as it sounds, I was always left feeling significantly lighter and somehow less burdened. Did I ask myself what was happening to me? Certainly. Though what came out during my meditations was certainly alarming I decided it must be a catharsis of some kind and I soldiered on. Interestingly, it was never more than I could handle and it was always followed by such warmth and love. Intuitively I just knew that what was occurring was for my highest good, and so I carried on.

Other times my meditations merged into various states of samadhi consciousness where ‘I’ was beautifully absent; “I” rose beyond the body/mind organism and I remained in a detached witnessing state of conscious awareness. There was no deciding how my meditations would go; sometimes they were cathartic and released a lot of emotion, sometimes I had vivid visions, sometimes I sensed energy both in and around me, and sometimes I felt as if every cell in my body was bursting with orgasmic ecstasy. I was along for the ride and I was happy to not be in the driver’s seat. I willingly let existence take the lead as I knew that an element of trust and letting go was inherent when one is walking the spiritual path.

I continued with my meditation in this way for many years. Soon I too had mystical cosmic experiences that were too crazy to believe – yet they are true; I can experientially vouch for them. These siddhis always came spontaneously and unannounced and served as a tool to help me break through the limitations of my mind. We are not what we think we are. Physical reality is not what it appears to be. Perhaps a more interesting consequence to meditation is the spontaneous ‘downloading’ of information in packets of data that come unannounced but always at the right time. When your mind becomes more purified accessing information from the universe becomes effortless and automatic.

The Outer Results Of a Meditative Mind

More importantly I began to change outwardly. People started to notice a quiet calm I exuded. My emotions were no longer high spikes of uncontrollable energy. I became more intuitive and highly observant of my surroundings. My sensitivity to people, places and things had increased exponentially and I soon lost desire for materials, relationships, and even ego-satisfying accolades. At the same time, my aversions also disappeared and I found myself willingly forgiving  and letting go of past trauma, tragedy, and suffering. I intuitively understood through compassionate empathy that everyone is doing the best that they can and no one truly wants to suffer. Through this deep compassion I was able to bear witness to other’s pain and even spend moments with the actively dying. This compassionate act of simply being with another in a very simple way helped in their transition as well as my own healing. I learned that the continuing expansion of our conscious awareness allows us to remain equanimous to all life experiences.

As one continues in their meditation practice the mind becomes less fragmented, chaotic and impulsive. We learn to tame this wild animal and control it instead of it controlling us. The ability to do this is directly related to the true purpose of meditation; to shed the thick layers of identification while progressively revealing one’s true nature. We are not our physical body, mind, thoughts, memories, desires and aversions. If we are not these accumulations then we come to experientially know that the body/mind is a miraculous tool that can be used to explore creation.

As we slowly develop and expand our conscious awareness we also become capable of harnessing more power/energy. Our body/mind vibrates on a much higher frequency and this also has the profound ability to affect physical reality much faster and with greater ease than in a limited low vibratory state. That is why many masters make sadhaks wait to be initiated in many systems and cultures. Energy is energy and one must be mature enough to handle power in a way that benefits instead of desecrates.

When The Student Is Ready The Teacher Will Come

And now, my exploration into consciousness continues. It is a beautiful journey and continues to surprise me with the many new miracles and mysteries revealed to me on a daily basis. I am now under the guidance of my guru which has exponentially increased my efforts beyond words. At first my meditations were quite explosive with spontaneous kriyas that occurred as the karmic load was being released from my egoic structure. However, as the energy settled and my mind/body adjusted to the higher frequencies pulsing through me everyday my quality of consciousness has elevated to a state of vibrant joy, bliss, and a deep peace that can no longer be shaken. I am forever grateful to all the benevolent beings that have crossed my path both incarnate and disincarnate. They have all served to further my conscious expansion and evolution.

Life is truly beautiful, wonderous and magical when your perspective rises high enough to see everything from a distance. You realize life isn’t so serious and what ‘you’ think you are is just another part of the whole. Laughing, singing, dancing and spontaneous expression of joy is an everyday experience for me and though I keep my body/mind focused in the here and now, every now and then I allow myself to look back to those early days of conscious exploration and discovery. It was a very sweet time full of adventure, courage, compassion, and above all understanding; the understanding that we are so much more than what we think we are.

Lessons Learned:

  1.    There Are No Rules
  2.    Have No Expectations
  3.    Be Interested But Detached
  4.    Stay Curious
  5.    Be Open To Possibilities
  6.    Go Within to Get Beyond
  7.    Allow Transformation in Unpredictable Ways
  8.    Trust
  9.    Be Willing To Be Less While Becoming More
  10.  Be Courageous

No Rules, No Expectations, Interested But Detached

My young mind was unburdened with previous programs of what meditation is, how to do it, why one does it, what happens when you do it, what technique is best, what time is best, what position is best, empty stomach or full stomach, mantra or no mantra, in front of shrine or on bedroom carpet, etc. etc. I couldn’t care less about all these ‘rules’ because it simply never occurred to me. I just sat with no expectations. When things did start to happen I remained interested but detached. In this way my meditation practice evolved over time and of course my perceptions of life and understanding of myself also evolved.

Stay Curious, Open To Possibilities, Go Within To Get Beyond, Transformation in Unpredictable Ways

It is vitally important to stay curious as you embark on your spiritual journey. Masters, sages and teachers have always said, “Be like a child; fresh, new, inquisitive”. The reason they say this is because they know how limiting our minds can be when we enter into something with preconceived ideas. Only we can limit ourselves. Staying curious and open to possibilities puts you in the best position to receive whatever it is that you need to experience. Meditation is going within to get beyond your current ‘you’. Understand that meditation is the process of disintegration of the ego and this transformative process occurs in unpredictable ways. Stay present and allow what needs to happen while knowing that everything is happening for your best and highest good.

Trust, Be Willing To Be Less In Order To Become More, Be Courageous

As we shed our egoic limitations through meditation we may come upon some unpleasant emotions in order to process and let go. All spiritual aspirants have one thing in common, they have an insatiable thirst to know their true nature and willingly surrender their personal will in order to become more. If you are willing to go within, feel it, process it, and get beyond it you will evolve consciously at a very intense rate. Although we all see meditators as serene and peaceful they have all had to fight their inner demons to experience the ‘dark night of the soul’. Spiritual warriors embody the word ‘courageous’ because transformation takes a great deal of perseverance, effort, and discipline.

If you are ready to embark on your spiritual journey and would like a coach to help guide, enlighten, and empower you in staying the course please contact me! I would love to work with you!

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Elizabeth Hancock CPC, CSC - Yogi, Mystic, Artist

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