Heart Centred Practices to Transform your Life & Relationships
Shepherds Close London N6 5AG 07855 781 210
Loving Kindness & Compassion
‘When love has carried us above all things . . . we receive in peace the Incomprehensible Light, enfolding us and penetrating us. What is this Light, if it be not a contemplation of the Infinite, and an intuition of Eternity? We behold that which we are, and we are that which we behold; because our being, without losing anything of its own personality, is united with the Divine Truth.” Ruysbroeck
The darkest week of the year marked by the Winter solstice has arrived along with Mercury retrograde, this is always a time of truth, when communications seem disrupted and misunderstandings are rife, misunderstandings themselves are part of the truth of being human. Mercury is retrograde from 19th December – 8th January, giving us a chance to address short comings and mistakes and correct the course of events.
The experience of darkness, shadow or Dark Night of the Soul, is necessary in order to feel the emerging light as celebratory, many people want to avoid the darkness. There is something fearful about the absence of physical light because it evokes the dark side of the psyche; your fears and depressed moods, your envies and secret longings.
Ask yourself; ‘What truth does this reveal to me, and why have I needed it revealed in this way at this time?’
In the darkest part of the year when the days are shortest, Mother Nature reminds every body to slow down, enjoy time with loved ones, to be open to listening. A time to move towards the vibration of compassion to become more effective in your relationships.
The days after the winter solstice begin to lengthen, shifting from the darkest part of the year back into the ever increasing light, is a perfect time to clear the old to make room for the new.
Many people feel unsettled about the global changes taking place, this has been accompanied by low vibrational emotions such as anger, blame, self-judgment, hopelessness, frustration, fear and worry, that do not serve consciousness nor good decision making.
Distress is alleviated by attending to yourself and your inner turmoil.
Everything you do and think affects the people in your life and their reactions to you. The choices you make have consequences. Each of us carries within the capacity to change the world in small ways for better or worse.
Every single effect within the world, upon the earth has a cause, an original starting point.
All paths have an original first step and from that first step comes a chain reaction of events with further offshoots spanning out in all directions and so on duplication and replication takes place.
All your thoughts and your behaviour and movements affect the entire universe according to the law of cause and effect.
When was the last time you were truly kind to yourself? Not just rewards and gifts, but true kindness?
Only when you have established a kind relationship with yourself can you begin to be truly loving with others; love is generated and experienced from within. In this state you are able to really open your hearts in our treatment of others.
Learning to treat yourself with kindness, to open your heart to yourself and others is the first and most important step in cultivating loving-kindness and compassion;
The passage of Mercury retrograde is a gift from the heavens giving you an opportunity to reflect, take stock, review, and correct mistakes you may previously have made in the rush, take your time to make conscious choices and plant seeds of new perspectives.
When you experience the true depth of the darkness of despair, tears might well up spontaneously, it can have a soothing effect. It changes your physiology from sympathetic nervous system defense and denial patterns into parasympathetic relaxation states. It improves your perspective on the world, especially if this disclosure is shared with another person. When you give into the exhaustion, you might fall into a restful and healing sleep, a sleep that could last a few minutes or hours. You can awaken feeling loving kindness compassion renewed and rested.
Being in contact with your bodily sensations, hidden rage towards a current or past injustice, an unexpressed desire for fulfillment or failure is not about acting on them but simply about feeling them. When you do this, what you have hidden from yourself in darkness can now be revealed in the light of awareness. You can become more completely yourself, more confident and more fully alive.
If then, we would indeed restore mankind by truly botanic, magnetic, or natural means, let us first be as simple and well as Nature ourselves, dispel the clouds which hang over our brows, and take up a little life into our pores. Do not stay to be an overseer of the poor, but endeavor to become of the worthies of the world.” Henry David Thoreau
Sometimes the “life” you need to take in feels like a retreat and a loss. Nature herself waxes and wanes, grows and recedes, lives and dies. In the midst of this shifting and change is one certainty.
The inner eternal light will naturally follow the dark time of the soul; it’s the way of the earth and of all her creatures.
By practicing the relaxation techniques on a daily basis, you learn to let go of the unhealthy emotional states that lead to the physical and emotional tension. Meditation includes a strong element of bodily relaxation.
You can learn how to directly affect your emotional and mental states, promoting calmness and contentment. Learning how your body/ mind interacts will help you to influence your emotional states by regulating your posture and breathing and lifestyle.
Restoring Mind, Body, Spirit Retreat can help you to become more aware of how to make conscious choices that lead to outcomes that are more supportive of your well being and happiness.
Remember that the clocks change on 30th October at 2am.
They are going backwards meaning the UK will revert back to Greenwich Mean Time. There will also be an hour less sunlight in the evenings.
In the UK, daylight savings time was officially introduced following the The Summer Time Act 1916. The law followed a campaign by builder William Willett; the grandfather of Coldplay singer Chris Martin; who was a lifelong advocate for Daylight Savings Time (DST).
He believed in the summer it would save on energy costs and enable people to have more recreation time outdoors
“Everyone appreciates the long light evenings,” Mr Willet wrote in 1907 ‘Everyone laments their shrinkage as the days grow shorter, and nearly everyone has given utterance to a regret that the clear bright light of early mornings, during spring and summer months, is so seldom seen or used.”
Shadow Work is a way to bring your true self out of shadow and into the light.
Shadow Work is a way of transforming parts of your character that you would like to change with compassion and understanding of these diverse parts.
The World needs Conscious People. Our World Is a Reflection Of Everyone’s Consciousness. Yes, your consciousness makes a difference.
Your commitment to bring consciousness to your inner world can make huge shifts personally and globally, it can have a profound influence on what occurs in the physical world.
Fear lives in the personal and collective Shadow. Many people are afraid of the darkness within, they project it outside and fight these monsters that are projected into the world.
On your journey towards greater self-awareness and spiritual expansion, you encounter the Shadow Self.
This is hidden from your conscious self-image.
The Shadow represents the rejected, repressed, undeveloped and denied.
These are dark disowned aspects of your being.
When the full extent of the shadow is revealed, it can be quite a shock.
Yet there is positive undeveloped potential in the Shadow because it is always with you and holds so much of your life energy.
The key is to recognise it and transform it in useful and positive ways.
Making a shift requires you to remove what is not in harmony or alignment, physically, emotionally and spiritually in your life.
When you go into the darkness inside yourself and face that darkness, you discover that it is not that dark after all, the fears that you had, have the potential to be transformed, you can discover the light that is hidden within the darkness, the light that holds so much potential and creativity.
Many people blame relationship problems on a lack of love and the other person not ‘being enough’.
In truth it is the challenge of being close and loving in a relationship that uncovers the difficulty.
A close relationship is a powerful light, and like any strong light it casts a large shadow.
When you stand in the light of a close relationship, you will encounter the shadow.
‘There is a psychological law that says when we don’t own and consciously recognise a significant inner conflict the situation has to be played out through external circumstances. This is sometimes known as “fate”
Jahnavi will be working along side me during the workshop, she will lead the Kirtan during this workshop using sacred sound. Jahnavi was raised in a family of bhakti yoga practitioners at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire.
She is a multi- disciplinary artist, trained in both Indian and Western classical dance and music, as well as writing and visual arts.
After graduating with a BA in Linguistics and Creative Writing, she travelled internationally with the sacred music band, ‘Gaura Vani and As Kindred Spirits’, for five years, presenting the dynamic stories and spiritual culture of India for a fresh, contemporary audience. She now helps to run ‘Kirtan London’, a project which aims
to make sacred mantra music accessible and relevant to a wider audience, including schools, mental health institutions. She writes regularly on spirituality and the arts for various publications, as well as on her blog – ‘The Little Conch’ (www.littleconch.com). She has released her debut sacred music album, ‘Like a River to the Sea’ in July 2015 and was nominated for a Grammy in 2016 for the charity album ‘Bhakti Without Borders’.
To Book a place Shadow workshop
Why go on a Retreat?
It may be that you feeling a little stressed lately? Living from The Heart Retreat could be just the thing for you. It may be that something is stirring inside, a call to explore some questions more deeply.
It may be the best investment you make for your self, health and all relationships. It may be that you are yearning for an opportunity to pause and look at your life from a new perspective, which often unlock answers to the questions that you just may not take the time to ask.
If you want to find balance of mind, body and spirit, or may need to find a quiet space to switch off.
You are guided to make a stronger your connection with your sense of self, which helps you to shift into new awareness about yourself and relationships. You will learn to master the art of conscious relationships where you make considered choices about your life and relationships while restoring a sense of balance of mind body and spirit.
Living from The Heart retreat provides a ‘container’ to connect to a deeper sense of meaning and self. Support is provided along the way during a healing and restorative, silent, creative and fun week. It can be a time for finding the courage to let go of things that no longer serve you or to become aware of what you are being drawn towards.
The retreat can provide a place, a space a moment in time to allow a deeper exploration; to discover within a renewed sense of meaning; to experience a deeper sense of connection and your willingness to be open more deeply and fully, in your heart, mind and body.
Transform challenges into positive, personal, professional and spiritual transitions
Living from the Heart will support and facilitate a process of being able to go beyond your familiar mind, with its logical and sometimes restrictive ways of seeing the world to a deeper, steadier and quieter place where new insight and inspiration can bring you closer to your true identity, your true Self. From this place of balance you will find fulfilment through living your life in a more congruent way.
Find a sacred and Healing space
Retreat for Individuals and Couples
September 2018 Portugal
Today spend time throughout the day giving thanks for all that is going right in your life. Too often we dwell on what is going wrong.
When we complain we weaken our resolve and ability to find solutions. Dwell on what works in your life today. Make a list of everything you are grateful for.
Begin with I am grateful for… This practice gains momentum when practiced with patience over time. Notice your distractions. Evoke feelings of gratitude as you write – do not worry if it does not come easily. Enjoy the feelings when they arrive, feel them deeply in each cell of your body.
There are many different ways of loving. Do not reject Love simply because you cannot Love in the way others do, do not reject Love because a person does not love in the way you expect and understand love to be shown. Discover your core of love and learn to bring that into your everyday life.
‘There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung.
Nothing you can say, but you can learn
How to play the game
It’s easy.
Nothing you can make that can’t be made.
No one you can save that can’t be saved.
Nothing you can do, but you can learn
How to be you in time
It’s easy’.
Daily Practice, Meditation: Get comfortable and quiet and focus on travelling into the core of love. Be there right now. Be ok with whatever you experience if nothing happens be ok with this and imagine what it would be like with all your senses visualize what it would be like to be there right now. Use language to describe images to yourself;’ it’s like the folds of petals’, or a ‘running waterfall’. ‘It feels like basking in the sun warming each cell of my body.’ Take some time to get to know your core. Take time to journey to the centre of love.
This is a very simple exercise, please use it often it will become easier with practice. You can recall what it feels like when you last experienced your core of love, it will become easier and easier to experience. Your experience may change also be open.
If you were not given enough love as a child, how does this affect your capacity to love? How is this resolved? You may experience difficulty connecting with your core of love, as you do not know what love feels like. Allow the lack of love to motivate your desire to become ennobled rather than hardened. You may experience a reconnection with something that is your birthright. You may realize that your core is something that cannot be taken from you. Your connection with your core of Love does not prevent you from being wounded, nor does it heal previous wounds.
Taking reasonability to heal your wounds consciously strengthens your connection to your core which gives you strength because love heals. When you reach a state of total love, you are impervious to wounds.
Please share your encounters with your core of Love here in the comments.
Today do not take any relationship or encounter for granted, be open to loving.
Even when you find yourself in trying circumstances see if you can allow and observe your emotional reactions, then melt back into the core of love, your heart.
According to Mohondas K. Gandhi, “if your wishes are pure, then they become true”.
Your thoughts can become negative with dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, or beliefs.
As you transform your thoughts, you can transform your feelings and transform your life.
The truth is that every single one of us has greatness and immortal genius inside.
It is important to follow your vision, intuition, and inspiration so you can achieve what you are here to accomplish in life.
Everyone wants to love and be loved, to appreciate and be appreciated, and everyone wants to live his or her dreams.
So begin today by allowing Love to inhabit all that you do.
‘Your heart has not to open to others. Your heart has to open to yourself.’
The Anahata Chakra is the seat of the Divine Self (Atma). Anahata means “unstruck” which relates to the constant rhythmic beat or vibration of the heart. There is a sound that is non-physical and this transcendental sound vibrates endlessly as the heart.
Located near the centre of the breastbone or sternum, this chakra represents higher consciousness and love. The Heart chakra is associated with the heart, lungs, thymus gland, arms, hands, lower lung and circulatory system. If we live from the Heart, we treat everyone with kindness and offer forgiveness freely. In this heart space, we find balance between our earthly desires and spiritual pursuits. The heart chakra acts as the balance point for all the chakras. It governs your relationships and how you interact with others. A balanced heart chakra is expressed in acceptance of self and others, personal values and ethics, following one’s unique direction in life.
Many of us have felt the pain of heart break and the deep ache of loss, the heaviness of sorrow of grief, hatred, anger and of jealousy. The fear of betrayal and loneliness.
Some signs that the Heart Chakra is out of balance are:
Lack of self discipline
Being cruel and critical of others and self and Passive aggressive
Questioning the existence of love
Difficulty in relationships
Living vicariously through others
Dependence on others for your happiness
When your heart chakra is closed it is very hard to love. Some people repeat painful experiences by going from one tumultuous relationship to another. Some people sabotage relationships, by being unfaithful or creating arguments. Some people close themselves off to relationships, afraid of intimacy or emotional pain.
Daily Practice: Get comfortable and close your eyes and focusing on your heart. Observe your heart centre, notice its colour, a healthy heart chakra emits a clear, stunning, emerald green light. If that light is clouded, dimmed, an odd colour, or the vortex seems shut up tight, it needs to be cleansed and opened. Visualize a beautiful emerald green light that nurtures and bathes your heart in unconditional love. Take a deep breath, and on the exhalation, say “yaammmmm” aloud in one long syllable.
Feel the sound vibration in your body and notice where it vibrates, feel the energy moving from the base of your spine to your heart chakra. Continue breathing deeply and repeat the sound yam on each exhalation until you feel infused with a feeling of peace and serenity.
Contemplation:
What emotional wounds do I need to heal?
Are there relationships current or past require healing?
Are my wounds causing me to try and control people or situations around me?
Am I allowing the wounds of others to control me? How do I let that happen?
Do I need to forgive myself? Who needs forgiveness?
Today I invite you to surrender and go with the flow. Going with the flow brings serenity creating space for expansion and for healing.
Going with the flow is not being passive or lazy. It is not about letting things happen to you. It is not about aimless wandering.
Flow is life energy itself. When you go with the flow, you are surfing Life force. It is about wakeful trust and total collaboration with what is showing up for you.
When you are no longer struggling in the wrong direction, diverting your energy towards unnecessary distractions, your energy is free to go towards healing. Deep surrender in your life leads you to a profound space of acceptance.
Put the brakes on your desires and wanting, and fully accept what is.
Surrender. Allow your heart and mind to soften and be still. Do not be rigid in your thoughts. Allow for flexibility of ideas. Do not be rigid in your heart. Allow for an even flow of energy inward and outward. What you have in your heart is a gift to others. Allow it to flow in both directions out of and into your heart as your breath enters and leaves your body.
Daily Practice: Stand on your head. Salamba Sirsasana or Headstand. (Please Do Not attempt this, if it is not part of your regular practice, you can do this symbolically) Headstands allow for the heart to be above the head, symbolizing spirit over ego. See the world from another angle, see things as they really are, not how you are. Surrender your ideas about what you want. Your different or inverted view of the world may frighten people. Fear can turn to hostility; new ideas can be frightening to many people because it upsets the natural order of life. Those that fear change will fight it. You being the face of change may bear the brunt of that hostility. If you can accept that, you will be a powerful force. Fight it, and you will be weakened. Live as you live. Be an example. Have no fear. Let your surrender empower you.
Contemplation: What do you expect from the sacrifices you are making? What are you devoted to? What are you hung up on? What do you need to get straight? What do you need to give up? What are you trying to escape? Surrnder by ceasing your focus on the ego and the mind. The mind and the ego produce; worry, anger, fear, doubt, insecurity and a sense of importance. Accept that what you think is important, is really not.
Your mind can make you sick.
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” Albert Einstein
Your mind and mental state has a profound affect on your physical body, your spiritual experience, and your quality of life. Mind, body, and spirit are inextricably connected.
When one is affected, the other two suffer. You can live a healthy lifestyle and practice your spirituality, yet if your mind is not healthy the other two cannot make up for the deficit which creates an unbalance.
Stress and tension create suffering, unhappiness and illness. They are toxic to your relationships, health, and happiness. When you are tense, stress and tension keep your mind and body in a familiar holding pattern prohibiting change and the ability to enjoy life in the present.
When your mind is relaxed, your heart relaxes; the door to your feelings, emotions opens to a deeper, subtle, richer experience of life. Your movements become more fluid and graceful as you move with a greater trust in yourself. Your awareness of what is possible becomes clearer when you feel it in your body, mind and heart.
Meditation Practice : Travel to your core of love once more as we explored in day eight to the innermost core of your being, which is beyond body, mind, heart, the very centre of your existence. Relax from the core of your being. Relax the edges of your body where you meet the surfaces of the floor or chair let gravity hold you. Relax your body, relax your actions. Walk in a relaxed way, eat in a relaxed way, talk, and listen in a relaxed way. Slow down. Do not make haste. Stress and Tension creates hurry, fear, doubt. Tension means a constant effort to be on time, to complete tasks, to be enough, do enough, and feel safe and secure enough. You are enough. Be enough. Do not spend your time preparing. Be here right now. Do not fantasise about what will come or reminisce on the past you will not be in reality with an open mind or heart. The stories you create are not reality, life will pass you by.
A Radiant Mind arises when unconditioned awareness radiates through the totality of your conditioned existence. When you live from the heart and experience yourself as a unique human being, while resting in a state of conscious awareness. This is a state of liberation, egolessness, pure presence, nondual wisdom, your natural condition, and effortless being.Through a daily practice of meditation, you build your Radiance by connecting directly with your Higher Self.
Fill yourself and every space with your radiance today.
‘If ten lamps are in one place, each differs in form from another; yet you can’t distinguish whose radiance is whose when you focus on the light.’ RumiDaily Practice Meditation: Close your eyes and get comfortable wherever you are. Take some deep healing breathes in and out, allowing your mind and body to relax. Focus your attention on your heart centre which is in the centre of your chest.
Using your imagination, visualize, and feel a tiny light emerging from within
Remain here experiencing the light emerging for a few moments. Breathe.
Expand the light from your heart to fill all of space around your heart…let it immerse your whole body…just like the sun fills all of space. Feel all the radiance and goodness of the light purify your aura… and gently radiate this tiny light from your body into the space around you
Feel with your entire being inviting the breathe to be even and steady.
Imagine and visualise the world around you is spinning, going round like a merry go round… use your intuition… see everything on the earth, the seas and oceans, cities, the forests, mountains, people, animals, countries, see everything spinning… feel everything spinning… rotating…going round and round… rest here.
While visualizing everything spinning and turning round…keep in touch with your inner silence for a moment… Remain in your own axis…and observe everything else spinning…rest here
See the earth spinning in an infinite radiant light…Rest here
Take a moment to reflect that this great infinite light is a divine spark that originates in your heart… rest here
Take another moment to reflect on the earth itself as a microscopic seed spinning in this radiance in your heart…rest here
Remain in a deep silence within the region of your heart… let go of all images, thoughts, feelings and just let yourself float and bathe in the radiance of the Light
Breathe… and BE…
Living from the Heart:
T 07855 781 210
S aishaali
E admin@livingfromtheheart.co.uk
Aisha Ali is a much sought after relationship specialist. She is known for her intuitive insight, she is very skilled at getting to the core of issues and helping individuals and couples transform unwanted repeated patterns. Her clients experience support clarity, awareness and a sense of peace, balance and accomplishment.