treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with soul medicine

According to the Mayo Clinic,  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is... 

"a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

Many people who go through traumatic events have difficulty adjusting and coping for a while. But with time and taking care of yourself, such traumatic reactions usually get better. In some cases, though, the symptoms can get worse or last for months or even years. Sometimes they may completely shake up your life. In a case such as this, you may have post-traumatic stress disorder.

Getting treatment as soon as possible after post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms develop may prevent long-term post-traumatic stress disorder." 

here's a link to the Mayo Clinic's complete list of symptoms of PTSD, including a wide range of emotional issues like avoidance, depression, intimacy challenges, and emotional numbness. 

the prevalence of PTSD in American society is drastic, with estimates that about 70% of adults in the U.S. having experienced some kind of traumatic event at least once during their lives.  of those, approximately 20% will go on to develop PTSD -- so we're talking about tens of millions of Americans struggling with PTSD symptoms.  

it's probably not a surprise to anyone involved with veterans' health issues that about 30% of veterans treated by the VA (and there are many who fall through the cracks in the VA healthcare system) since 9-11 have been diagnosed with PTSD.   (I suspect the actual numbers are much, much higher than those estimated or reported.)

statistically, women are twice as likely to develop PTSD as men are -- about 1 in 10 women in the U.S. has PTSD. 

given these and other estimates, it's obvious that the U.S. is facing a PTSD epidemic.

I think most people who suffer from PTSD symptoms, ranging from individuals who've suffered physical/emotional/sexual abuse, been the victim of a violent crime or a natural disaster, or have served in the armed forces (in combat or experienced military sexual trauma), are familiar with the landscape of PTSD, and the available treatments for its symptoms.  

conventionally, treatments range from psychotherapy, to support groups, and/or medication for the various symptoms.  individuals may also find relief via acupuncture, bodywork, and other 'alternative' healing methods. 



PTSD's origin seen as extreme heartbreak

I'd like to offer a radically alternative view, an energetic analysis of PTSD from a spiritual assessment, and offer potential treatments that may seem completely out-of-the-box but have created significant -- and often rapid -- healing results in people suffering PTSD.

PTSD develops from exposure to extreme or prolonged traumas -- in my experience, the initial trauma or chronically traumatic circumstances that lead to PTSD are the most severe kinds of heartbreak. 

we have medicines for disturbed physical systems, for mental conditions, and for some emotional issues.  but where is the medicine for a broken heart?



what does it mean to have a broken heart? can the heart be healed again? 

from an energy standpoint, because the heart and the soul are so close to one another as to be nearly interchangeable, when a person sustains a severe pain to the heart, the tender inner essence of a human being, the soul is affected. 

trauma to the heart feelings translates into a kind of damage to the inner flame, the subtly peaceful inner clarity & love, harmony & knowingness inside a person -- at the deepest level. 

the functioning of an open heart, an open soul, is impaired, and the result is a kind of spiritual illness that goes far beyond the initial shock of the experience or series of traumas that caused the pain in the first place. the initial pain reverberates at the very core of a human being, as if a horribly heavy rock were thrown into a peaceful, beautiful pond -- and the ripples keep spreading out from there.

we're familiar with the symptoms of PTSD --  like emotional problems, depression, anxiety, addiction, issues with intimacy and trust in people (and in the divine), codependent or other unhealthy choices in relationships, and so on -- but aren't usually inclined to recognize that these are the symptoms of heartbreak as well. 

a broken heart can take years to heal -- if at all. 

the underlying pain, rippling through the whole system -- body, mind, heart and soul -- is a constantly refreshing wound, re-activated again and again through external circumstances or other traumas.   in the meantime, the passage of time and life is going on, and years of numbed feelings, unhealthy relationships and life behaviors only solidify the groove of the initial pain, driving the ripples deeper and deeper into one's whole being.

energetically, with PTSD, it's as if a part of the self has gone completely dormant -- recoiling at the pain of the initial experience, and of the constant triggers or reminders of that pain in the course of everyday life.  it is as if a part of the self has died.

and yes, it is possible -- through advanced energy healing techniques and practices -- to resurrect the self, to bring it back to a whole life.



restoring wholeness to the heart through spiritual energy techniques

the origin of the word 'healing' is the Greek 'holos,'  -- meaning 'to make whole.'
  
how is it possible to put the heart, the self, the essence, back together again after a shattering trauma?   
can we really re-awaken the dormant parts of the heart/soul, or to resurrect the self? 
how can what has been broken be made whole?

as an energy healer since the '90s, and a serious practitioner of miraculous healing techniques from ancient India, I can say it is indeed not only possible, but necessary, for this kind of healing to happen in the many, many people who've been afflicted with the symptoms of PTSD. 

the healing process, through the subtle energy tools I learned over years of intensive study in India, can be surprisingly rapid, and effective -- going to the inner core of the heart's suffering, and helping the whole system unburden itself of both the symptomatic ripples, and even the initial trauma itself.

over many years of this work, I've seen people shed untold layers of pain, confusion, unhealthy behaviors and choices, accompanying health and emotional/psychological issues, through use of a number of different techniques.  the techniques themselves may seem out-of-the-box, or unbelievable (often very simple), but they are safe, effective, and yield a great deal of inner peace, unburdening, purification, balance, and even inspiration. 



as energy mechanism techniques, they aren't religious in nature -- spiritual, yes, religious, no. 

in other words, the techniques don't come with any particular dogma, and don't conflict with any particular religious/spiritual dogmas or doctrines, either.  they are suitable for anyone, of any religious/spiritual belief or practice, or none at all.

I like to think of them as medicine for the soul. 

some of the techniques are applied by a healer (like me) -- many of them are self-healing techniques that you can do on your own time, at home, as much or as little as you like.  (it's necessary to learn them from an experienced healer, and check in to be sure you're doing them correctly, in the beginning.)

the process of healing is always more effective when a person receiving the healing is also an active participant in their own healing process and journey.

in that sense, then, healer and healee become partners in the on-going discovery process of healing. 


what are these techniques? 
the tools in the spiritual tool-kit that I offer -- and that my colleagues at UCBK, in the Santa Cruz mountains, offer -- represent a wide range of techniques from ancient India. these healing soul-medicines can be experienced in-person, or via distance healing, anywhere in the world.

a few of the techniques that I offer include:

• direct transfer of healing energy from a healer to help reignite your own soul spark
• distance healing to transfer the healing energy from a healer & reignite your soul spark, regardless of your geographical location (we can use phone or Skype)
• daily meditation using specific ancient prayers/mantras to develop and maintain the healing progress and experience
• learning the process of 'decharging' stress and negativity, so that you have a set of easy tools to use when/if your symptoms start to flare up
• the use of highly charged energetic objects for healing; some are effective just having them in your home
• the use of special healing fire ceremonies (either in person or at a distance) to help accelerate the healing journey (burning out the obstacles to health, or burdens you may be carrying, and transforming the stress into abundant energy in the process)
• on-going counseling and encouragement, checking in with the healer 

these healing techniques don't appear to make much sense, on the surface, cognitive level.  but used properly, and together in different configurations, they cut straight to the heart, through layers and layers of built-up stress, emotional pain, and bring incredible, palpable relief to the symptoms of heartbreak, or PTSD.

"Super Big Thanks for your amazing healing with my daughter yesterday! You took her into worlds of positive change that couldn't have been gained from 100 hours of therapy. 
Truly amazing - I can't thank you enough!"

                                                                           - Dr. Michael Koplen,
                                                                             Santa Cruz, CA

what do you really want?

many people who come for healing are taken aback when asked this pointed question for the first time, "what do you really want?"   it is often the first time they've ever been asked, in any context, to examine this question. 

"what do you really want?" means at the deep internal level -- not the surface level of material things, so much. 

the most frequent response I hear to this question -- given the obvious need for healing of particular symptoms and their underlying, deeper cause -- is "peace of mind." 

the longing for peace of mind is such a rich, powerful desire! 

for people who can't sleep well any more, plagued by nightmares, insomnia, or severe anxiety, peace of mind might equal nights of good, deep, healing, refreshing sleep.  

for people whose lives are governed by hyper-vigilance, constant fear and adrenaline surges, peace of mind seems like a myth, an unattainable island paradise in the middle of a huge ocean of uncertainty, suffering, self-doubt and pain.  

for people whose minds are constantly active, reliving traumatic events again and again and again -- peace of mind is the kind of ultimate medicine.  it signifies real rest, real safety, real comfort.

peace of mind, too, often means peace of heart -- a return to an innocent, uncomplicated harmony inside the self that seems, in the face of PTSD symptoms, nearly impossible to achieve. 



'that was so peaceful!'

people are like snowflakes, in that no two are alike. it's the same with the response/reaction to healing experiences, as well -- every individual's response to receiving healing energy, and processing it in their own system, is unique.  

some people feel energy flowing, others don't. some report immediate shifts in their awareness, or heart -- others take more time to integrate the healing relief that comes.  some people experience intense purification -- a kind of 'healing crisis' in which their symptoms seem to surge, temporarily, and be even more intense for a day or two -- others don't seem to go through much purification per se, but feel blissful and light.  

the range of responses depend on the individual system, the degree of past traumas and resulting symptoms, and the unique way of receiving/responding to an energy experience.

the singlemost common denominator, however, is an experience of peacefulness.  the comment I hear over and over again when a healing session is coming to a close, often uttered in a surprised tone, is: "that was so peaceful!"

contacting that depth of inner peace, even for a moment or two, has a profound impact on the human energy system and neurophysiology.  the condition of peace, of silence, of inner calm, is the place in which healing occurs naturally.  

helping a person quiet down, through the transmission of powerful healing energy, long enough to absorb some of that peace, already starts to reverse some of the negative ripple effects in the body-mind-heart-soul pond of the system that are reverberating from trauma.  and in that reversing, those symptoms start to dissolve. 

re-connecting with the inner silence, that peaceful place, regularly and over time, creates more and more of that inner peace in the self.  it also leads to a feeling of heart-opening, blissfulness, increased creativity, equilibrium, ability to handle challenges in life... and it's not uncommon to see the symptoms of PTSD, or of heartbreak, lessen in intensity as the inner peace increases. 



track record with PTSD

often, this kind of spiritual healing work is the last-ditch hope of people who've tried every other means available for healing and symptom relief, and have either exhausted those modes of healing, or have simply found them to be, over time, ineffective.

they often consult an energy healing from the place of 'what have I got to lose, anyway?'

(these healing techniques, by the way, also work beautifully in conjuction with other, more conventional means -- there is no conflict at all.)

at UCBK, the healing techniques we use -- from ancient India -- have created a great deal of relief from the symptoms of heartbreak/PTSD in many, many people over the years.  

encouraged by so many successes, we've begun applying these tools to our local veterans, since 2012.  among those veterans (mostly combat vets, from the Vietnam era) who've experienced repeated doses of the soul medicine healing sessions and taken on some of the self-healing/supporting practices as well, the results have been amazing. 

I'll let the words of Chris DiMaio, former combat Marine and a retired psychiatrist, speak to this:

"The meditation and decharge techniques UCBK's Jonathan Rosen taught me did have an effect on my PTSD secondary to trauma in Vietnam. I was in Vietnam 1968-69 with the 3rd Medical Battalion, 3rd Marine Division and in the field with Battalion 1/9, known as 'The Walking Dead'.

My sleep has improved. If I have problems sleeping, doing meditation does help me to go to sleep 90% of the time. The number of nightmares I have is reduced significantly.

I find that re-experiencing the traumatic events from Vietnam has significantly less emotional impact.

I find that meditation does relieve stress and anxiety. This meditation and decharge technique can be done anywhere, anytime. It does not require medication, another person or a special setting.

In summary, I can state that I found the meditation and decharge techniques that Jonathan Rosen taught me are effective and a positive addition to my life."

- Chris M. DiMaio, M.D.,
Retired Psychiatrist

for more information about this work with veterans, and to see a healing session with UCBK's Jonathan D. Rosen, you can watch a video from UCBK here.


free healings for veterans

at UCBK, we are deeply aware of the intense price our veterans have paid (and our servicemen/women continue to pay) in the line of duty.  they've given the highest for us all, and we feel the obligation, and the joy, to give back.

it's UCBK's policy, and my own personal credo, to offer free healings for veterans -- including military families, and most particularly those who've been afflicted by Military Sexual Trauma.



all healing sessions are available by appointment

my healing work, and that of other practitioners at UCBK, is available either by in-person sessions  (in the Santa Cruz area, or West Los Angeles) or through a distance healing session via phone or Skype (since there really is no barrier, in healing terms, of time or space). 

we can also schedule in-person, phone, or Skype counseling sessions to support/expand the healing process.

please visit the UCBK website for more information or to schedule a healing session.


relief is on the way!

finally, if you've been suffering with PTSD, and are feeling that relief from the symptoms you experience is an unimaginable dream to hope for -- I am delighted to tell you that there is help available for your symptoms. 

together, we can work through a healing process that suits your specific needs, and start to dissolve the pain and suffering of PTSD and its underlying source, extreme heartbreak. 

through the application of powerful soul medicine, your heart & soul, emotions and mind, can indeed regain harmony, peace, and balance... and become whole once more. 

Mother: the universal divine feminine in all forms

"The Infinite is the Mother behind all human mothers."
- Paramahansa Yogananda

"Mother is Mother, to every soul in the Universe.  She doesn't belong to any religion."
- Sri Kaleshwar

my meditation and flowing feelings today have been deep in the Divine Mother -- She who embodies the dynamic creation principle in this world, serving as both fiercely loving Mother and the smoke & mirrors of Her maya, Her illusion veil as well.  

in the Vedic philosophy of India, it is Mother who is considered more powerful in this world than Her counterpart, Shiva (the god-the-father principle) -- in fact, the generic name often associated with Divine Mother is "Shakti," meaning "power."   She has the power to make and break the illusions of life and death, of suffering and hurt, of gain and loss... and She is the ultimate healer, the merging unity of all souls back into the divine light that is the source of each of our own individual sparks of consciousness in this planet. 

we see Divine Mother represented in many of the religious/spiritual paths on this planet -- sometimes by name, like Mary or Quan Yin, Kali or Shekinah, other times disguised as simply Nature, or Her formless form, the fiery light of creation. 

today, though, I'm remembering the powerful writings of a 14th Century English mystic, the little-known (alas!) St. Julian of Norwich, an incredibly profound, enlivened soul who had direct experiences with the divine -- in the forms of Jesus, his mother Mary, and more.   Julian's experiences also led her deeper into the mysteries of creation itself, and how the spiritual energy operates in this world. 

and those awarenesses, or revelations, were full of the light of Mother Divine.

you can find out more about Julian, and her luminous writings, here. 

in honor of mothers everywhere -- since all women embody the Divine Feminine -- I thought I'd share a few of the most inspiring excerpts from Julian of Norwich today:

Also, as truly as God is our Father, so as truly God is our Mother. And that he shows in all and namely in these sweet words, where he says,'I it am'. That is to say,'I it am, the might and goodness of Fatherhead; I it am, the wisdom and the kindness of Motherhood; I it am, the light and the grace, that is all blessed love; I it am, the Trinity; I it am, the Unity; I it am, the high sovereign goodness of all manner of things; I it am, that makes you to love; I it am, that makes you to long, the endless fullness of all true desires'.
 ···
I understand three manners of beholding of Motherhead in God. The first is ground of our natural making. The second is taking of our nature, and there begins the Motherhead of grace. The third is Motherhead of working and therein is a spreading forth by the same grace of length and of breadth, of height and of deepness without end. And all is one love.
 ···
The mother's service is nearest, readiest and surest. It is nearest, for it is natural, readiest, for it is most of love, and surest for it is of truth. This office might nor could anyone ever do to the full, but Christ Jesus, God and Man alone. We know well that all our mothers bear us with pain and for dying. But our true Mother Jesus, he alone bears us to joy and to bliss, and endless living, blessed must he be.

 Thus he sustains us within him in love. And travailed into the full time that he would suffer the sharpest throes and the most grievous pains that ever were or ever shall be, and died at the last and when he had done and so borne us to bliss, yet might not all this be enough to his marvellous love. And that showed he in these high overpassing words of love, 'If I might suffer more I would suffer more.'

He might no more die, but he would not cease working. Therefore then he needs must feed us, for the dear worthy love of Motherhead has made him debtor to us. The mother may give her child to suck her milk, but our precious Mother Jesus, he may feed us with himself, and does full courteously and full tenderly with the blessed sacrament of his body and blood that is precious food of very life. And with all the sweet sacraments he sustains us well mercifully and graciously. 

 ···
The sweet gracious hands of our Mother are ready and diligent about us. For he in all this working uses the true office of a kind nurse, that has nothing else to do, but to attend about the salvation of her child. It is the office of our lord Jesus Christ to save us. It is his worship to do it, and it is his will, we know it. For he wills that we love him sweetly and trust in him meekly and strongly. And this he showed in these gracious words, I keep you most surely'. Furthermore a natural child despairs not of the mother's love, and naturally the child presumes not of itself, naturally the child loves the mother, each of them loves the other.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone -- Mothers and Fathers alike, animal mommies as well as human mommies, and of course, all you midwives of the divine light, everywhere, helping to birth the consciousness of the Divine Feminine again, into our world...!

Henry V: Shakespeare's Discourse On The Subject Of Karma

 
[This article originally appeared in the August 2011 edition of Tiferet Journal]


As a long-time student of the Vedic tradition of ancient India, and of the Shakespeare plays, I hold the sincere conviction that William Shakespeare was an extraordinary yogic soul who incarnated in mid-1500s England.

My sense is that he came in that guise in order to play a beautifully scripted role on the global stage: to embed the living wisdom and knowledge traditions of ancient India in plays that would effect a creative, cultural and spiritual transformation of the Western world, for centuries to come.

There are many conflicting and legitimate schools of  thought about the authorship of the plays, with scholars claiming variously that Shakespeare, an undereducated country hack, couldn't possibly have had access to the lives of nobility, or even royalty, and thus couldn't have written so flawlessly about the dynamics that prevailed in those, or other strata of society that he handled, in the plays, so brilliantly and convincingly.  Many scholars suggest either Shakespeare was a front for different noblemen of the day who actually wrote the plays, or that he worked in tandem with a number of authors to create the staggeringly ingenious range of dramatic and emotional depth contained in those works.  

All of these theories are plausible explanations of the otherwise almost incomprehensible achievement of unsurpassed depth, insight, dramatic capability, pure poetry, relationship of the supernatural world to the natural, and commentary on the span of human experience, from countless young lovers to the lofty corridors of English royal power found in Shakespeare's works. And yet -- none of these varied and well-reasoned arguments have ever been substantiated to the definitive satisfaction of Shakespeare lovers, students or scholars. 

There is plenty of mystery surrounding the Bard of Avon; his personal history, his education, his genius, and his plays.

None the least of the mysteries shrouding Shakespeare is this: How is it possible that one man, no matter how personally gifted and intelligent, could possibly have created so many potent, impactful plays that have reached across centuries to touch the hearts and thrill the minds of millions of people world-wide, on myriad levels?

My own conclusion is there's another strong (and simpler, albeit more fantastical-sounding) possibility: that Shakespeare, as a remarkably capable yogic soul, was an enlightened character -- with an open, flowing access to the cosmic Intelligence. And that the consciousness in him was sufficiently awake that it could access whatever information or details about human life it needed, instantly, in order to create luminous, extraordinary, unforgettable plays. It makes sense that a divine character of that stature could access a full range, from the most mundane to transcendent truths, readily, including a massive insight into the dynamics of human psychology, and blend it all together seamlessly in order to teach certain fundamental spiritual principles to a young and evolving Western world.

In ancient India, the words 'saint' (meaning an enlightened soul) and 'poet' were synonymous, and it's not uncommon to find the illumined words of sages taking the form of poems. Although not all great saints were literally poets, the yogis were (and still are) famous for speaking simple phrases and sentences that function on many layers of meaning, simultaneously, depending on the depth and inner consciousness awareness of the listeners.

When Paramahansa Yogananda, the much-beloved yogi from Bengal who spent much of his life in the West, mentioned to a few of his innermost students that he had indeed been William Shakespeare, in a past life, that news probably didn't come as much of a shock to his intimate devotees. 

Yogananda, for whom English was very much a second language, was famous for using words that were unfamiliar to his students, and when they would protest, "But Master, that's not an English word!" his response was to laugh, assure them it was, tell them to look it up.... and inevitably the word in question would be an archaic one, meaning precisely what Yogananda intended in the appropriate context. 

As if this weren't mischievous enough a bow to a former life and its contributions to the spiritual literature in the world, Yogananda's general guidelines to his students, for a healthy spiritual life, included his recommendation that they should read the Shakespeare plays!

Why would an Indian yogi, formally fairly uneducated in the English language, recommend that spiritual students should be familiar with Shakespeare?

The answer lies in content: there are striking similarities to be found, between the themes found in stories and myths from Vedic India, especially the Puranas, and those found in Shakespeare's body of work.  The Puranas are full of descriptions of the dynamics that prevail between the natural world and the supernatural world (interwoven, the one in the other) -- it is worthy to note that Shakespeare is a master at weaving supernatural concepts, characters, and events into nearly every play.

The Vedic stories were concerned with the major energy mechanisms in this creation, and used drama (the 'lila', or 'play', in Sanskrit) to illustrate the principles of these mechanisms; chief among them being karma (action-to-reaction), kama (desire), and kala (time).

It is with an illustration of the role of karma in the plays that this essay is concerned --  the simple principle of action to reaction (like Newton's Third Law Of Motion: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.").  Although every Shakespeare play serves as a treatise on the laws and principles, ramifications and applications of karma, a particular excerpt from Henry V is a glaring example of a discussion (and instruction) about karma and how it operates in human lives.

In this passage from Act IV, Scene 1, the king, Henry V, is going about in disguise the night before a major battle, and talking with random members of his troops, to sound out their mood and inspiration levels before the morning's fight (what will become known, historically, as the Battle of Agincourt).

Amongst the random characters he encounters, this discussion evolves about who is culpable, if the soldiers are serving in the king's army -- are they responsible for all the harm they do? Whose responsibility is it, finally?   Is the king ultimately the one who has to bear the woes of their deaths, maimings, and loss to their families if the battle doesn't go well?   And what if the royal cause that they're fighting for isn't a just cause -- does that tip the karmic scales against the individual soldiers? 

Even resorting to the style of parables (an obviously Biblical device, but also one long-standing method employed by yogis and sages), Shakespeare lays out a clear commentary on a few aspects of the inner workings of karma, about as simply as one can do...

KING HENRY V

I dare say you love him not so ill, to wish him here
alone, howsoever you speak this to feel other men's
minds: methinks I could not die any where so
contented as in the king's company; his cause being
just and his quarrel honourable.

WILLIAMS

That's more than we know.

BATES

Ay, or more than we should seek after; for we know
enough, if we know we are the king's subjects: if
his cause be wrong, our obedience to the king wipes
the crime of it out of us.

WILLIAMS

But if the cause be not good, the king himself hath
a heavy reckoning to make, when all those legs and
arms and heads, chopped off in battle, shall join
together at the latter day and cry all 'We died at
such a place;' some swearing, some crying for a
surgeon, some upon their wives left poor behind
them, some upon the debts they owe, some upon their
children rawly left. I am afeard there are few die
well that die in a battle; for how can they
charitably dispose of any thing, when blood is their
argument? Now, if these men do not die well, it
will be a black matter for the king that led them to
it; whom to disobey were against all proportion of
subjection.

KING HENRY V

So, if a son that is by his father sent about
merchandise do sinfully miscarry upon the sea, the
imputation of his wickedness by your rule, should be
imposed upon his father that sent him: or if a
servant, under his master's command transporting a
sum of money, be assailed by robbers and die in
many irreconciled iniquities, you may call the
business of the master the author of the servant's
damnation: but this is not so: the king is not
bound to answer the particular endings of his
soldiers, the father of his son, nor the master of
his servant; for they purpose not their death, when
they purpose their services. Besides, there is no
king, be his cause never so spotless, if it come to
the arbitrement of swords, can try it out with all
unspotted soldiers: some peradventure have on them
the guilt of premeditated and contrived murder;
some, of beguiling virgins with the broken seals of
perjury; some, making the wars their bulwark, that
have before gored the gentle bosom of peace with
pillage and robbery. Now, if these men have
defeated the law and outrun native punishment,
though they can outstrip men, they have no wings to
fly from God: war is his beadle, war is vengeance;
so that here men are punished for before-breach of
the king's laws in now the king's quarrel: where
they feared the death, they have borne life away;
and where they would be safe, they perish: then if
they die unprovided, no more is the king guilty of
their damnation than he was before guilty of those
impieties for the which they are now visited. Every
subject's duty is the king's; but every subject's
soul is his own. Therefore should every soldier in
the wars do as every sick man in his bed, wash every
mote out of his conscience: and dying so, death
is to him advantage; or not dying, the time was
blessedly lost wherein such preparation was gained:
and in him that escapes, it were not sin to think
that, making God so free an offer, He let him
outlive that day to see His greatness and to teach
others how they should prepare.

WILLIAMS

'Tis certain, every man that dies ill, the ill upon
his own head, the king is not to answer it.

There are many profound points about the role and mechanism of karma, of the action-to-reaction, in this passage.

Similar to messages found in the Bhagavad Gita (itself a famous section of the Indian epic scripture, The Mahabharata, which also takes place on a battlefield), Henry's parables point to the greatness of doing one's duty -- and in that sense, absolution from responsibility for the fruits of those actions -- in the service of a greater good. 

However, his strict analysis is that whatever karmic balance sheet an individual brought, from their lives before, to the battlefield, it must get worked out, there. 

"... some peradventure have on them
the guilt of premeditated and contrived murder;
some, of beguiling virgins with the broken seals of
perjury; some, making the wars their bulwark, that
have before gored the gentle bosom of peace with
pillage and robbery."

Even if these men have avoided those particular karmic acts coming due, up to this point in their lives, those actions are still on their balance sheets, waiting to be paid.  Even if they've "defeated the law and outrun native punishment, though they can outstrip men, they have no wings to fly from God: war is his beadle, war is vengeance..."

The battlefield, to Henry (and to Shakespeare) thus becomes an amplified pressure cooker of karmas coming to fruition rapidly, and, with surgical precision, the immediate reaction coming to balance their previous actions.

The act of war, itself, then, to Shakespeare, is always a mechanism of karma -- in that it will show, clearly, each man his own karmic reflection accurately, on the battlefield. 

The whole passage, like those found in scriptures from ancient India, invokes the metaphor of the battlefield but is richly steeped in another, much deeper layer of meaning: advice for a life well-lived.  In this sense, the 'battlefield' becomes the stage upon which every life is played out, full of valour and violence, triumph and tragedy, conflict and heroism;  it is the story of life and death. It is the stage of challenges and their resolutions.

Henry's final advice, after explaining something of the mechanism of duty and individual karma, is to instruct his soldiers to wash out their consciences before going into the battle, to in effect make a reckoning of their lives, and acknowledge their mistakes to that point -- so that they can die with a clean conscience, if death is to be their fate that day.

Otherwise, if they survive, they've already done the hard, honest work of examining themselves and asking forgiveness for their mistakes, so they can then go on to live lives in clear, free state of mind and heart, able to share that process of cleansing and self-reckoning with others they encounter in the future.

This approach to living (and dying) is highly practical spiritual advice -- and some variation of it can be found in nearly every spiritual tradition in the world, including the Twelve Step programs (by way of a contemporary example).  In the Vedic tradition, yogis and sages will routinely recommend this kind of simple inner process, as a central kind of meditation, for any human being to follow -- whether they are spiritually inclined, meditators, or not at all involved in spiritual pursuits -- in order to live a more peaceful, centered, functional life. 

Although Shakespeare recorded this advice in the 1500s, and the Vedas thousands of years before that, its relevance as a simple recipe for a peaceful life today shouldn't be underestimated.

Taking a clear end-of-the-day inventory of ourselves, daily, acknowledging mistakes we've made or actions that could've been better, and asking heartful forgiveness (from God, our higher selves, or however we consider the universal force of creation) for anything we did that was harmful to others -- either with our conscious or unconscious awareness -- is an instant mechanism through which negative karmas can be dissolved. 

It's a highly useful and practical spiritual practice of unburdening, at the end of the day, so each of us can walk a little freer the next day, and, if so moved, in Henry V's words, "to teach others how they should prepare."

best. $43. ever. straight from the heart.

UCBK's Free Friday Lunch, in the Parish Hall
at St. Michael's Catholic Church, Boulder Creek, CA

A couple weeks ago, a huge surprise happened, for UCBK volunteers staffing the Free Friday Lunch program we offer at St. Michael's Catholic Church every Friday, for the homeless and needy in our community....

Many of the lunch attendees have been counting on the free lunch provided by UCBK, every Friday, since November of 2009. 

The lunch is an all-volunteer effort, mostly funded by UCBK but also out-of-pocket from the kind volunteers. It is truly a labor of love, from the Little Temple That Could. 

(Our stalwart volunteers have been cooking, serving, setting up and cleaning up for this beautiful 'banquet' of a lunch, for all these years.) We've served in excess of 6000 nourishing, love-filled, warm lunches since the program's inception.

The folks who come to the lunch are regulars who attend 'for the great food and company,' as Gary, a man who takes the bus for over an hour -- each way -- to attend the lunch told the Santa Cruz Sentinel reporter writing a story about UCBK and our work.

After years of UCBK's dedicated volunteers giving love and food to the homeless and needy in our community -- the community of homeless and needy decided to give back.

They invited the Free Lunch staff to a 'thank you' party at a local coffeehouse, just after the lunch. 

What our staff DIDN'T realize was that this party was more than a nice gathering of happy grateful people, with music provided by The Sand Band, a group of Free Lunch Friday regular attendees.....



After the Sand Band played their music -- they passed the hat for donations --

AS A BENEFIT FOR UCBK.

These beautiful homeless and needy people in our community wanted to pour the love back to UCBK!

They collected -- from their fellow homeless and needy friends -- a total of $43. 

And gave it as a donation so UCBK can keep doing its work, and keep our facility.

There are no words for this unbelievable kindness, and generosity.  Everyone was in tears.  I'm in tears again, just writing about it. 

And we all know -- at UCBK -- that energetically, this $43 is one of the most potent, powerful donations we will ever receive...  and that the immense love it represents may very well be the cornerstone of our fund-raising success to keep the UCBK facility going.

It is precious.  That $43 came straight from the hearts of people who have nothing. 

& that is everything!!!!!!

I wanted to share this story as an example of the miracles that happen, every day, through UCBK's work in our local area.  

And to show just how much, how very much, our simple work over years is felt -- like ripples in a pond -- in our community of homeless and needy people.

You can see a video of the lunch here, and another video of our healing work with the homeless & our local veterans' community by clicking here...

& click here to read about our efforts to keep the UCBK temple facility going in the face of a proposed sale by the  landlady, who really would like to sell it to UCBK... all that stands in the way is about $230,000. 

donations are always welcome!


& thank you for reading this story. (& sharing it, if you feel moved to do so.)

healing heartbreak requires a soul doctor on duty

"We have many hospitals for the bodies, even for the minds.  But where are the hospitals for the broken hearts?  We need to create those."  - Sri Kaleshwar

healing heartbreak.  it is such a huge subject.

what's really implied in healing heartbreak is a soul healing.

how to heal the soul? what is the soul? it's easy to heal bodies, minds, even the emotional heart. but what about the inner essence of a human being, the soul?  what medicine heals heartbreak?


a lot of people recoil at the term heartbreak -- if they're not in the throes of a fresh relationship break-up, then 'heartbreak' doesn't apply to them, they think.

but 'heartbreak' isn't limited to romantic break-ups and disillusionments.  heartbreak, the way Kaleshwar meant it and the way I've come to understand it, includes any heart-shattering, painful event or trauma.

heartbreak can include:

• romantic breakups
• death of a loved one
• betrayal in business or relationships
• professional disappointment
• childhood trauma, abuse, circumstances (like growing up in a war zone)
• military combat experiences
• abuse from a mate or loved one
• religious/spiritual heartbreak

the list goes on and on. 

and the ripples that occur from heartbreak -- symptoms that can include depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, eating disorders, suicidal behaviors, addictions, co-dependent relationships... -- these negative experiences can reverberate throughout a whole lifetime, and affect all of our subsequent judgments, actions, and relationships.

we tend to choose unhealthy habits and relationships, once the heart's been seriously broken.

but the deep -- the deepest -- heartbreak I know in humanity is the unspoken, often un-aware pain of separation from the divine source.

all other symptoms, in my opinion, spring from this initial pain. the real 'original sin' -- not a sin at all, just a karma -- is the forgetting, like a baby once the umbilical cord is cut, about the super-connectedness to the cosmic, divine, universe that is each of us, inside.

so how to heal that? the Greek word holos, is the origin of the English 'healed'. it means 'making whole.'

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (the TM founder/guru) did a beautiful translation of some of the verses of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the epic scriptures of Hindu India. this line stands out:

"yoga is the disunion of the union with sorrow."

the union with sorrow, one could say, is the human condition, generally.

it is the self that believes itself to be bound to this body, this personality, this life. it is the self in total pain about mortality -- "one day I will die, I will be no more." and the self that has forgotten its inner, immortal consciousness, an inner spark (soul) that has already lived countless lifetimes in many forms, and will continue to incarnate until that yoga, that union with the god consciousness, is restored while in a human form.

which brings me to one major source of restoring that wholeness, that healing of the soul -- a chakra not mentioned in conventional books or discussions on the subject, because it's been hidden in the ancient knowledge from millenniae ago -- the Holy Womb Chakra.

the knowledge about this chakra in the human energy system comes from a 7000-year-old manuscript written by the rishis of ancient India.

basically, every human being (regardless of gender) has a Womb Chakra - it is beyond all chakras, and located roughly where the human female's womb area is. it is the direct link, the direct channel, to Mother Divine's creation capacity (which is why every woman can create life, literally creating a soul inside the womb). men link to the Womb Chakra of Mother Divine, energetically, through their own physical mother's womb chakra. (they are one step removed from the direct creation energy of Mother Divine.)

the Womb Chakra is where the karmas of a person's soul are stored -- lifetime to lifetime to lifetime. they come 'due,' as it were, through the Womb Chakra operating with Kala, Time.

the human soul goes up and down through all the chakras, but most of the time, resides in the Womb Chakra. if a Womb Chakra is shaky or damaged, the soul is confused and doesn't know its proper self/home/creativity energy.

how does a Womb Chakra get shaky or damaged?

#1 cause -- by giving or receiving heartbreak (on any level.)

#2 -- by having an excessive amount of sexual partners in one lifetime -- each sexual partner makes a soul-to-soul bond, Womb Chakra to Womb Chakra. every person is bonded at the soul level with any partner they ever had, and that means whatever the other person is feeling, so are you. over time, and different partners, this makes the Womb Chakra super-shaky, and the soul is totally confused, not knowing where it really belongs.

when illness or catastrophic accident (like a deadly snake-bite) happens, if one has the capacity to heal the womb chakra in another person, the situation will balance out, and fast. illness is a sign that the womb chakra isn't balanced. so are continual heartbreaks.

practical example: a child comes up with a terminal disease. they never did any bad karmas in this lifetime. they're innocent.  but yet, they are super-ill.  how can we begin to understand this, from an energy point of view?  

a catastrophic illness means, the person's womb chakra is disturbed from other lifetimes, and those karmas are coming due now. (who knows who among us were Roman hordes, pillaging and raping our way across Europe and Africa? or Ghengis Khan's minions... or.......?)  and it can be healed through strengthening, and purifying, the Womb Chakra.

there is a whole system of powerful holy prayers, a spiritual process, that restores the integrity of the Womb Chakra over time. we were given this technology in 2006, from my teacher Kaleshwar, and I have been practicing, first, then teaching it, ever since. and the results are incredible.

people's relationships with family, friends, and mates -- they smooth out when the Womb Chakra techniques are practiced, over time. even really awful, disconnected, turbulent ones. the relationship with one's own inner self and divine spark -- strengthened unbelievably, astronomically. people finding their proper soul mate -- happens as a result of the Womb Chakra being purified. illnesses washing out, emotional disturbances washing out -- and, most important of all, heartbreak washing out.

you can find a link to the Womb Chakra information here -- http://tinyurl.com/HWCinfo and at www.kaleshwar.org, under 'teachings'.

of course, whatever I've written here is only the tip of a Very Big Iceberg on this subject -- but it's a start.   = )

religions and spirituality: why can't we all just get along?

someone asked in a discussion group online about why religions and spirituality don't seem to get along so well. 

these are a few of my thoughts, just off the top of my head:

I think the difference between religions and spirituality comes down to the devolution of real knowledge.

what I mean is this -- every religion we can think of had its origins with an amazing, divine soul (like a Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna, various Holy Mothers, etc., whomever you like). these characters were bridges between the human experiences in this world and the Truth-with-a-capital-T, the immortal, unchanging, blissful universal something behind the stage where the human dramas are played out.

because these enlightened few KNEW both realities, the Truth and the illusion of this world, they could operate in both. I think Jesus' comments about 'be in this world but not of it" speak quite clearly to this idea.

however -- the immediate students of these masters didn't realize the innermost truths for themselves, and so were reduced to imitating the masters, or needing lists of rules and regulations about how the Truth might operate.

within one generation or two at the most, the cosmic game of Telephone ensues, the living, breathing, dynamic spiritual knowledge imparted from the bonafide divine characters devolves into dogma, empty ritual, belief systems, moral codes and so on.

and le voila, religions are born -- collections of rules and beliefs that may or may not (mostly not, in my opinion/experience) bear much relationship to the original teachings/messages/modes of the teacher who brought the initial spiritual spark into this world.

and -- added to the spice -- many of the world religions have differing points of view. plus, of course, the human tendency for power struggles, dominance and stature gets overlaid on the original teachings, too.

so, the religions wind up at odds with one another.

and often threatened by the presence of 'spirituality,' which to my understanding really means researching deeply, internally, on these great cosmic questions starting with "who am I, really?" and then restoring something of the dynamism back to the process of spiritual/religious experience. not only accepting the teachings and dogmas at face value, but researching for oneself.

that's my two rupees for today. = )

little earthquakes...

wow..... and what a year it's been...

here we are in 2012 -- I'm realizing the last time I posted anything to this blog was in the fall of 2011.  seismic shifts, in my life, in the lives of many people I know and care about -- even seismic shifts on the planet.  

major earthquakes in my life over the last two years or so:


* December 2010; the beginning of a powerful re-arranging of my personal life... the end of a 12-year-relationship I thought was for life, and the entrance into my life of a soul mate on all levels.  shocking.

* direct experience of the Jesus energy in India, through the grace and guidance of Sri Kaleshwar, in February/March of 2011.  literally life-changing.  having met my soul mate just a few months before this experience allowed for its clarity and blessing to flow into and through my life, and the lives of about 35 people from the Santa Cruz area who also experienced the Jesus energy.


* October 2011-March 2012 -- care-taking UCBK in the Santa Cruz mountains as Jonathan spent a protracted time in India, with Kaleshwar.  no one knew for sure but it was feeling like these were the final months of Kaleshwar's physical life in that body.

* March 15th, 2012 -- Sri Kaleshwar, my beloved friend, teacher, master, brother, soul mate and inner guru, left his physical body in a mahasamadhi.  he was 39 years old.  amazing, amazing time and transition and an incredible journey beginning in the amplification of his spiritual energy....

I'm still chewing on and digesting all the incredible changes that have seemed to flow seamlessly in my life over the last year or so -- spending a lot of time in silence, thinking deeply and not thinking but more experiencing myself from the level of awareness, or the consciousness...  teaching, healing, traveling between Santa Cruz and Los Angeles quite a bit, helping where I can, serving whoever comes in front of me however I'm able to serve.

resurrection

so, it's been more than a year since I've posted anything to this blog -- a year of seismic shifts in my life, coupled with hard work, amazing healings & transformations, & divine experiences.

the UCBK temple in the Santa Cruz mountains is flourishing, with many healers being trained beautifully through the Sai knowledge coming out of India, expanding our reach into the local community -- not only through the successful Free Lunch Friday program we've been running through a local Catholic church for the last two years, but also through providing free healings for veterans, working in conjunction with the Unity Templeof Santa Cruz to perform music and share high healing blessings with the community there. it's truly an honor to serve and help out, however we can, from UCBK.

of course our regular schedule of teaching classes and workshops, offering healing sessions, kirtan concerts, and fire homas every full moon and new moon also continues.

all of these works were given a huge boost by a Sri Kaleshwar whirlwind visit to UCBK in April -- he stayed to give a beautiful talk to two student groups here, do an unbelievably powerful fire homa, and interact with the living Shirdi Sai Baba murthi.... and then, poof, he was gone to Northern CA to give a huge program to hundreds of students.

jai guru Datta!

... and so, I'm back, feeling revived, like posting more regularly to my little blog here on the net, and wanting to create more items that uplift, inspire, entertain and make people think more deeply, more spiritually, more lovingly, in this world.