>> The following is an except taken from Ramgiri’s book “HeartSourcing: Finding Our Way to Love and Liberation”, released Sept. 2014…

Our quest leads not only to the end of time, the NOW of the mind, but also to the end of space, the HERE of the heart. To be present in both is the gift of all gifts. It is possible for us to open our heart in the Now so completely that we are in love with all things. It is possible for us to see the divine presence everywhere, even in darkness and intense pain, our own and that of others. Then—and not before—our journey is done. There is a path to that place.

How do we reach this great goal of enlightenment—of living in the Now and in unconditional love? It is simple and inevitable. Time reasserts itself in the timelessness of the first hilltop and we take the first step.

And down we go into the valley ahead. Oh no! We want to stay high; we love it up here in the pristine air of the hills, in the pure Here and Now, in clear view of the goal, not bothered by the inconveniences and problems of life. But to overcome our troubles for good, we must meet them with skill so they clear the way for us to proceed. Many have tried to steer clear of the dark valleys, but we cannot avoid ourselves for very long. Once we have the goal of spiritual liberation, our obstacles become the pathway to our freedom.

The first purpose of sadhana, spiritual practice, is to cultivate the ability to live in the present moment. We experience the Now countless times; gradually these experiences become deeper and more lasting. The second goal, which is not separate from the first, is to love. This is how we build sadhana shakti, the power generated by spiritual practice, which culminates when the soul force fully realizes its identity with the Absolute Self and no longer falls into confusion. But until we live in this absolute oneness, we are still in training. As long as our heart still closes, there is a path.

On this path it is not life itself, but our stressful reactions to life that disrupt the pristine quality of the Now and plunge us into a valley. External things are what we get upset about, but what upsets us are our stressful thoughts and the way we become entangled in negative emotional habits. People and situations do not have the power to make us suffer, no matter how challenging they may be. All suffering arises within us. We cannot change the world, but we can change the way we react to the world. This is the key to freedom.

with love,

Ramgiri
and The HeartSourcing Yoga Team