(Article first printed in AYTA yoga magazine, April2008)

Life after Ananda Yoga Teacher Training (AYTT) unfolds differently for each of us. I took AYTT in January–February 2005. This is my story …

The four weeks of AYTT were genuinely some of the best weeks of my life. Apart from anything else, it was during AYTT that I knew that I was to become a disciple of Yogananda. As far as the yoga was concerned, I just loved the physical exercise, the spiritual aspects of the teachings, and the immense feeling of wellbeing that I had during the programme.

An olive is permeated throughout with the oil of the olive. There is no part of the olive pulp which is not oily. In the same way God-consciousness permeates the whole of our being -and indeed the whole of the universe.  Now olives may suffer from too much or too little sunshine, too much or too little rain; they may be damaged by fungus or pests; they may have damaged roots or come from poorer quality seed.  Neverthless each olive is thoroughly permeated with oil. Some "scientific" types may scoff at the idea of consciousness, let alone God-consciousness, permeating our beings. I take refuge in a quote from Albert Einstein.

"We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality."    

4 weddings, a few funerals, and a birthday

Dear Friends,Great Souls 

Well Xmas is past -and it has been very special -but more of that later. Eliza and myself have been in Rishikesh since November 7th  -and it just seems like home -as if we have been here for so much longer (in a very good way I mean). 

We arrived in time for the wedding season in late October and November. The weather is more temperate then, but more importantly, the astrological outlook is apparently more propitious. Weddings are not performed in a church and don't have any legal registration.  But the marriage is witnessed by the community and that's that. The celebrations are big and extremely costly for the parents of the bride. Even the very poor have to put on a good show.  This is one of the reasons that families want to have sons rather than daughters.  In addition there is no dowry to pay for sons.  A roofless marquee is erected (quite amazing what you can do with a few dozen tree branches and a few miles of cotton fabric).  This is where the reception is held - food (dhaal and chapatis), music(very loud) and dancing(men strutting their stuff in front of one speaker and women dancing with women much more gracefully in front of the other speaker). 

Dear Friends, Great Souls

I have been thinking of you often and wishing I could make the time to email you. It's 20:40 on Thursday evening here in Gurgaon on the outskirts of Delhi. Such a lot has happened since last September - selling Newlands Cottage, then 3 months at the Expanding Light retreat in California, initiation into  the path of Kriya Yoga as a disciple of the avatar Paramhansa Yogananda, 2 pilgrimages in India,  6 weeks at Ananda Assisi, a month in California, a week in Germany, another week in Italy, 2 potential romances which never materialised (live in hope, though mostly I feel it's not a priority), and now back in India for 6 months.  I took meditation teacher training  twice - once in America and once in Italy. And my mother died most peacefully just 6 weeks ago which has  had a profound effect on me as I have adjusted to the loss of that mother /feminine energy here on Earth.  And in some indefinable way I know that loss has strengthened me as well  as opening my heart a little more. I feel even closer to her now; she is always present for me in spirit whereas we only saw each other for brief spells once or twice a year when she was alive.

Our unconscious beliefs determine how we behave, what things we will do in our life and how we will limit ourselves.    We all have positive beliefs and habits, but we all have many negative beliefs and habits.  Thus we do not achieve our full potential. Now you can change those negative beliefs and learn how to help others do the same.  We develop these unconscious limiting beliefs from previous incarnations and from our life experiences.  These unconscious beliefs have a profound effect on our lives.  Here are a few examples

I don't deserve a good relationship - so you will not attract a good relationship -or if you do, you will feel anxious about it

Men are better than women (or vice-versa) - so you will always feel inferior in your relationships.

Money is bad - so you will unconsciously sabotage your attempts to be financially successful.

It's not OK to succeed - so you will not be successful - or even if you are you will not be happy about it (ouch!)

I am not good enough - so you will not attempt things in life because you do not feel worthy

Life is hard - so you will create difficulties for yourself in your life so that it isn't too easy.

I am guilty / It's my fault - so no matter how good you are, you feel that you can't be good enough

These are real examples from case histories and are, in fact, all quite common.

You can change your limiting beliefs quickly and permanently.  Using muscle-testing we can quickly determine your beliefs and, using a variety of techniques, eliminate your most damaging negative beliefs permanently.  The whole process usually takes less than 30 minutes.  Results are immediate and obvious. 

When you change your limiting beliefs you change your life.