Sourcing Your Heart's Gift
Module 2
Sourcing Your Heart's Gift to Truly Know Thyself
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,
but in the expert’s there are few.”
The Peace Chant From the Taittiyria Upanisad
May the divine protect us while we are together.
May all obstacles be removed which stand in the way of our understanding the truth that all is one and there is no division or separation between us.
May we grasp this understanding with full comprehension and without doubt so all misunderstanding is dissolved within us.
May we not cherish hatred anger or displeasure.
May our hearts be full of love and may perfect friendship reign between us
May the space around us be free of fear.
May the east and west, north and south be free of fear.
May the earth be free of fear.
May the past and future be free of fear.
May we have no foes. May we all be friends. And may the entire human race unite in one fearless friendship.
Om peace peace peace.
Om Sa ha na va va tu
Saha nau bhunaktu
Saha viryam kara va va hai
Tejas vi na vadhi tomastu
Ma vid vi sa va hai
Om Shantih, shantih, shantih.
The course this week:
Welcome to week 2!
This week, we are exploring going deep inside to find the wise person within you to truly know thyself. Going inside to know thyself is a necessary perquisite to understand your heart's gift for the world and how to share it. This week, we will be doing some fascinating work as we dive deep into the wise Oracle within us to hear ourselves say what we maybe didn't know we knew.
This week:
- Continue with the Daily Optimization Practice,
- Do the brief yoga video.
- Do this week's Yoga Nidra practice directly followed by the journal.
- Listen to this week's teaching.
- Do the Call to Action.
- Supportive Materials are there to add supplementary information.
Daily Optimization Practice
This sadhana, or specialized daily practice, will prime you to greet your day as your highest, most evolved self. By doing it daily, you make small, incremental steps which will have an enormous outcome for the development of your heart.
Do this practice every day. It's designed to take about 15 minutes to accomplish.
The Daily Optimization Practice consists of waking up and doing the following first thing:
- Basic constitution (get a drink, bathroom, coffee if you need it).
- Three rounds of breathing (Kapalabhati) and gratitude practice,
- Have a peak experience.
- Daily Meditation (below and on the main page).
- Repeat the positive statement of truth from the Daily Meditation or (create your own).
This will be the same meditation for all six weeks
Weekly Yoga Nidra Practice
Do the weekly Yoga Nidra practice. Note that this week's journal is to be performed directly after our Yoga Nidra practice. We will use the presence we cultivate in our Yoga Nidra practice to inform our inquiries for our journal exercise. You may choose to do the Yoga Nidra practice several times this week, in which case I might encourage the journal exercise each time, but that's up to you. Whichever you choose, make sure to do the journal exercise at least once.
Teaching for this week's theme
Sourcing Your Heart's Gift to Truly Know Thyself
The teaching for this weeks theme is quite helpful to understand the purpose understanding self as Source or at one with all things. However, I always say that it's important to remember that that this course is not meant to be an intellectual exercise. In many ways we are trying to take our heads out of the picture and learn to feel into our gifts using our hearts. To do this deep work, we are using a deeper wisdom than intellect, the divine wisdom of our heart. Whether before or after you do the Yoga Nidra practice, at some time during the week read through or listen to the instruction about the theme for the week.
Learning To Fly my myth I create which illustrates the yogic principles of Tapas, Swadyaya, and Ishvarapranidhana.
Already ripening barberries grow red by Maria Rilke
Already ripening barberries grow red,
the aging asters scarce breathe in their bed.
Who is not rich, with summer nearly done,
will never find a self that is his own.
Who is unable now to close his eyes,
certain that many visages within
wait slumbering until night shall begin
and in the darkness of his soul will rise,
is like an aged man whose strength is gone.
Nothing will touch him in the days to come,
and each event will cheat him and betray,
even you, my God. And you are like a stone,
that draws him to a lower depth each day.
Yoga Video
This yoga practice is designed to help you connect body, mind, and sprit prior to or in addition to practicing Yoga Nidra. Please listen to the wisdom of your own body and only go as deep as feels comfortable in each pose.
When I Was The Forest by Meister Eckhart
When I was the stream, when I was the
forest, when I was still the field
when I was every hoof, foot,
fin and wing, when I
was the sky itself,
no one ever asked me did I have a purpose, no one ever
wondered was there anything I might need,
for there was nothing
I could not love.
It was when I left all we once were that
the agony began, the fear and questions came,
and I wept, I wept. And tears
I had never known before.
So I returned to the river, I returned to
the mountains. I asked for their hand in marriage again,
I begged—I begged to wed every object and creature,
and when they accepted,
God was ever present in my arms.
And He did not say,
“Where have you
been?”
For then I knew my soul—every soul—
has always held
Him.
Weekly Journaling Exercise
This journaling exercise is designed to help you to hear the voice of the wise Oracle within you. This journaling exercise should be done directly after doing the Yoga Nidra practice.
For this week's journal, perform the Yoga Nidra practice then get up and directly open your journal. Find the wise Oracle inside of you and with her voice, answer these questions:
- What is my heart’s gift for the world?
- What are the perceived limitations that are preventing me from putting my gifts out into the world?
How can I simplify or what can I refine or take away that will help me to most powerfully share that gift with the world?
About the journaling process . . .
It's modeled after Nan Seymour's inimitable writing practice called River Writing. The invitation is to find a notebook of paper, nothing special, and a free-flowing pen. Set a timer for 11 minutes, and write non-stop with a prompt as inspiration. Write whatever comes to mind. It could be an idea about the prompt, a word or symbol about the prompt that spoke you to. It doesn't matter. Simply keep your pen moving. You're not writing to be published. You're not writing to be famous. You're writing to hear the wisdom of your heart.
There are no edits. Don't worry about spelling. Just write. If you get stuck, here are two good suggestions to help keep your pen moving. The first is to write, "What I really want to say is . . . " and see if that kickstarts your pen again. Another idea is simply writing, "I don't know what to write, I don't know what to write . . ." and after a few times, usually you'll begin again writing with a flow.
This writing is just for you. You do not need to share it. However, if you do choose to share your writing with someone, give them the instructions that they are neither to critique nor encourage your writing. Only a simple, "Thank you" is required. Nothing more or less.
Remember, the prompt is just there as a little push to get the pen flowing.
Call to Action: Ask An Expert
This week, choose someone who is an expert at what you do for your heart's gift and reach out to ask that person 3-5 concise, well-thought-out questions. If you're still trying to discover what that your heart's gift for the world is, choose one thing that you care about or are good at and ask an expert in that field. Try to stretch with this and find someone, maybe who feels a little out of your comfort zone, who is quite accomplished at what you do.
Supportive Materials
If you'd like to drill down on some of the ideas from this course you may do so with supplementary articles, podcasts, videos, etc.
Tim Ferriss Podcast
This is one of my favorite podcasts and as I was preparing for this course, I listened to both of these podcasts and found them very relevant to Sourcing Your Heart's Gift
Lessons and Warnings from Successful Risk Takers
Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ by Andrew Harvey
This is a fascinating book which speaks at length about the gnostic gospels and the notion of heaven being something that is already within us.