What raaga could you use right now?

​Dear All,

I'd like to share with you the music site below where you can listen to and download free Indian classical music tracks, since a number of you have asked about  the music we play at group meditation.

As you know, the music can be very relaxing to listen to. One of the reasons for this is that the music can have a deep postive effect on your chakras, making it a form of musical therapy.

The 'medicine cabinet' of this musical therapy are the collection of 'raagas' - musical compositions with a defined pattern of musical notes which evoke specific moods.

The roots of these raagas lie in the vedas, which relates to the deep spiritual heritage of India. To give some idea how powerful the raagas can be, there is a story of the famous court musician of the Mughal King Akbar, called Tansen who was an expert in raaga deepak (the  raaga that can start a fire). Here's an account of the story in this Times of India article.

What this shows is that when the raagas are correctly sung or played, then they can touch the essence of the 5 elements of Nature ('tanmatras'). These 5 elements are said to be Earth, Water,Fire, Air, Ether which form the composition of not only Nature but also the human body. And the purest form of these elements within the body are the chakras.

This then is perhaps how the raagas can act on the mind and body to soothe and cure. Also below is a table from a raaga guide showing what the benefits of the different raagas are and what time in the daily cycle they can have their greatest effect.

I haven't listened to all these raagas so can't confirm the specific benefits listed, but I'll be looking to you for your advice based on your own experience :o).

So here's the website Gaana.com which has a free App which you can download to your phone to let you listen to the music on the go. 

 

Two artists whose tracks I'd recommend - played at group meditation - are Kishori Amonkar and Shiv Kumar Sharma . The links can be clicked on to get their music.

See you at group meditation tomorrow.

Regards

		MORE ON RAGA -TIME ASSOCIATION
	Time	Raga	Benefit
	4am - 7am	Raga Bhairavi Raga Bhairava Ragas Ramakali & Jogiya	Emotional strength ,Devotion and Peace, Peace Integration, Compassion Peace & Serenity
	7am - 10am	Raga Komala Rishabha Asawari Raga Deshkara Raga Jaita Raga Gurjari Todi Raga Todi Raga Alahiya Bilavala	Serenity Increased Energy Dynamism Compassion ,Patience Joy Peace and Happiness
	10am - 1pm	Ragas Gauda & Vrindavani Saranga Raga Shuddha Saranga Raga Ahir Lalita Raga Vrindavani Saranga	Wisdom Success, Knowledge Joyfulness Greater Energy
	1pm - 4pm	Raga Multani Raga Madhuvanti Raga Samanta Saranga Raga Bhimapalasi	Achievement, Affuence Happiness Creativity Life
	4pm - 7pm	Ragas Kafi & Madhuvanti Raga Mishra Pilu Raga Puriya Dhanashri Raga Marwa Raga Puriya Kalyana	Creativity and Happiness Celebration & Joyfulness Relaxation Coherence ,Happiness Harmony
	7pm - 10pm	Ragas Puriya & Rageshri Raga Hansadhwani Raga Maru Bihaga Raga Desh Raga Durga Raga Maru Bihaga	Harmony and Rejuvenation Celebration & Happiness Compassion Joy Integration Compassion
	10pm - 1am	Raga Darbari-Kanhra Raga Bageshvari Raga Gunji Kanada Raga Abhogi Raga Malkaunsa	Restful Quality of Sleep Relaxation & Rest Better Sleep Peaceful Slumber Restful Sleep ,Tranquility
	1am - 4am	Raga Sohini & Bhatiyara Raga Basanta Raga Sindhu Bhairavi Raga Lalita Raga Nata Bhairava	Healthy Mind and Body Love & Happiness Gentleness Peace & Tranquillity Serenity

Sitting Pretty.

Dear All,

Your persistence will pay off. With a little bit of sustained focus most of your goals are achievable. The path to success seems to be made easier with the daily boost of meditation.

How do I know? See what people like Oprah Winfrey, Arianna Huffingpost, Steve Jobs and Russell Brand said about their own meditation practice @feelingsuccess.

While so-called 'success' may mean different things to different people and not all meditation practices are created equal, there's no doubt that taking a few moments of daily 'down time' just for yourself, can really recharge your batteries and get you to the place you want to be.

And, with sahaja yoga meditation, you come out looking prettier as well :o)  - watch 'How effects of <sahaja yoga> meditation can show on the face.'

 

To get the kind of results talked about in the 7 min clip, after you've got into the thoughtless awareness state( mental silence), place your right hand on the nabhi chakra and left hand, palm open, towards the meditation photo and see if you can feel the petals of the nabhi chakra opening.

For even better results, try the footspa as well for about a week using dead sea salt. Do the footspa when you come home from work to get rid of stresses and tensions through the feet( a la reflexology). The dead sea salt is said to have a combination of minerals that gives it a therapeutic power, especially good for skin and hair. Someone at group meditation last week who used to live near the dead sea said that they may be able to bring us some.

See you at group meditation tomorrow.

Regards

ps.

Previous related email: Sustaining thoughtless awareness with regular footspa detox

Stealing Fire

​Dear All,

A useful way of finding out where things are headed is to check out what the latest craze is in sunny California.

Following on from last weeks email(here) to you about how meditating in the morning helps you achieve creative 'Flow' during the rest of the day, a newspaper article* this morning talks about how corporate competition on the West Coast is driving executives to find wilder and wilder ways to keep the creative juices flowing to maintain their edge.

This includes something called 'microdosing' - taking a tiny amount of an illicit and possibly dangerous substance. And getting zapped with TMS(transcranial magnetic stimulation) - usually used in clinical treatment of depression. You'd think grown-ups would know better :o).

What this does show though is an increasing awareness that there are different mental states a person can be in, which directly affects happiness, creativity and the ability to achieve what you want to achieve. The question is how to get to it consistently.

This is the subject of the book Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler & Jamie Wheal.

 

At some point in the future, hopefully, there will be a more widespread acceptance that the path to nirvana-like states is by the cultivation of the kundalini through daily meditation and not by the cultivation of weed :o).

Here's Shri Mataji explaining neuroplasticity(word mentioned in last weeks email about creative flow), before scientists were fully aware of the concept: click Brain Science of the Future.

We had a packed group meditation meeting last Tuesday. Hope to see you tomorrow.

Regards

*Andrew Hill FT 13/03/17 Drugs, hot tubs and 'flow dojos' are part of a CEO's work life

Getting that brainwave and having a good day.

​Dear All,

How is your day going?

The difference between having a good day and a not so good day may be down to what you do first thing in the morning and the state you're in.

For most of us having a good day means feeling energised, physically and mentally, and  getting stuff done and sorted out with very little effort. This is usually accompanied by a satisfying sense of achievement at the end of the day.

If you're managing to do your 5-10 minutes of sahaja yoga meditation in the morning, it perhaps won't be a surprise to you that your most creative and productive days are those days where you are able to make some quiet space for yourself before rushing out.

One of the nicest feelings you can have is leaving the house in the morning on a meditation 'natural high': when you feel good then good stuff happens. This is what is known in Zen (the word 'zen' is derived from Indian 'dhyan' which means to meditate), as being in the 'Flow' ( 'wu wei' - actionless action).

This state is not just subjective but is associated with measurable brain wave patterns. Here's a 2 minute explainer about the brain waves from a sahaja yoga meditation feature on Australian television news.

The kundalini it seems may be making the temporary state of being in the flow, a more permanent one, through a re-shaping of the brain, known as neuroplasticity in science. So stick with it; in future everybody may be having a good day every day:o).

See you at group meditation tomorrow.

Regards