Blessed Be

I started this week off by getting a Oneness Blessing (also referred to as Deeksha) in NYC. What is Deeksha, you ask? You can learn more about what it is here. Yes, the hustle and bustle of the city seems like an unlikely place to experience a "transfer of energy which initiates the journey into higher states of consciousness," but when I was 15 floors up from the city streets, I didn't even notice my location. The room was dimly lit with the scent of incense wafting about and the energy was calm and peaceful.

I first stumbled upon Oneness University a few months ago, and after receiving a blessing via teleconference, I thought it might be interesting to participate in a Deeksha in person. Luckily I found a local group shortly thereafter, and viola -- I found myself sitting in a room with about 40 or so other people awaiting to experience the power of Deeksha.

The evening started with a little quiet time and then moved into an extremely interesting lecture about fear (in honor of upcoming Halloween). Facilitators Michele and Thom Matteo did an excellent job of sharing stories, advice, and thoughts on the topic of fear. At one point, it was said that fear is body sensations and a few thoughts. Gee, when you put it that way, fear doesn't seem all that scary does it? Michele and Thom talked about how our minds work overtime to assume the worst and blow up perceived negativity to a debilitating level. As a way to break the cycle, Michele and Thom suggested recognizing and being with your fear.

I had to chuckle to myself at that point because it made me think about my Vipassana retreat. After all, what is the technique if not recognizing and being with the sensations in your body? Nothing like a little reinforcement to hit things home. Hearing the Matteos' words about fear reminded me of an incident that happened some months back.

I was swapping emails with an Internet friend who was going through a rough time in her life. I made a comment in a previous email that prompted this person to ask me how I went about acknowledging and embracing my emotions. I responded back with my personal experience rather than advice. I responded with the following:

I actually find that it's a lot more unsafe to not embrace emotions. It's the denying and the repressing that can get you into trouble. Just last week, I embraced my anger. I really exaggerated the feeling and spent just about a whole day whipped up in a froth. That didn't feel scary to me. In fact, it felt GREAT! I think if I had run from the feeling, things would have been worse. For me it's about awareness -- knowing what I'm feeling. Then it goes to presence -- accepting and embracing the feeling. What amuses me about emotions is how similar they are to the monster in the closet. When you're a kid, you're convinced that there's a monster in the closet and you're begging mom and dad to check, leave monster repellant in your room, etc. Like the monster, emotions aren't something to be feared. After all, emotions are so temporary. I think that's something that I forget. Emotions pass away constantly. I think that our repressing them is what prevents them from passing away. It's like change -- change is inevitable and natural. It's only painful when we resist it.

While I didn't mean to make light of my friend's plight or her feelings, I have a feeling that I offended her because I never heard from her again. As I reread my response today, it holds a whole new meaning for me on the heels of the Vipassana retreat and my attendance at the Oneness Blessing.

At some point in the middle of my Vipassana retreat, I shifted my body in an attempt to alleviate some discomfort I was experiencing (which, of course, isn't the point of the technique). I lifted my shoulders up and rolled them back. As soon as I made this small movement, I felt a distinctive "crack" that reverberated through my body. It was as though my heart cracked open and burst forth. I experienced all sorts of feelings and physical sensations at that point that felt somewhat overwhelming. Rather than avoid or seek refuge, I simply sat with it all. I let it all happen and remained the witness. At times I was completely shocked at what was happening for me. That experience stayed with me for the entire retreat and is still with me today.

After all, it's simply body sensations and a few thoughts -- right (I would say this is true for many emotions, not just fear)? Going into those sensations and resulting thoughts was so much healthier than avoiding them. I wasn't able to find the words for all that I experienced at the retreat, so my thanks goes out to the Matteos for speaking so eloquently on the topic.

The night ended with the actual blessing and then 15 minutes of Savasana. For me, the feelings were subtle but definitely there. All in all, it was a pleasant experience and I was pretty darned blissed out for the rest of the evening. If you ever get the chance to receive a Oneness Blessing, I highly recommend it. For me it was a nice mix of the mental (the brief lecture) and the spiritual (the blessing itself).

Namaste!

Comments

[Nona]

I appreciate your comments on handling difficult emotions. It's so true that we often approach our emotions with dread, fear them, give them so much power. For me, anyway, it becomes much bigger and scarier if I try to avoid the emotions. It's certainly never killed me to deal with a big emotional upheaval, for sure. But it often *feels* like it will kill us, no?

The oneness blessing sounds very interesting...