We never question that the floor will hold us up. Every day we press our feet down against it, elevate ourselves off of it, and move forward from its support. We can lie down on the floor and surrender completely to its embrace, knowing fully that it won’t let us go. We trust the ground beneath us. But how can we trust the universal intelligence?
We have no reason not to trust the floor for it has always been there. We cannot always say the same for universal intelligence. Because it is not concrete and tactile, we question its support, its wisdom, and its presence. We have to trust that it exists and in that trust, relinquish the need to approach our life from a place of fear and insecurity. We have to believe that everything is exactly as it is meant to be.
Think about it: how often has something that you wanted, planned for, or intended to happen not turn out the way you wanted it to? How did you react as a result?
Did you fight, cling, attach? Did you become fearful? And in the end, was there something beneficial in the turn of events? The yogis called these obstacles the kleshas, or afflictions. There are five of them, to be precise:
- Avidya: or ignorance of the true self
- Asmita: or I-ness (everything exists exactly as I see it through my lens)
- Ragas: attachment to the way we want things to be
- Dvesa: aversion to the things we dislike
- Abhinivesa: fear, specifically fear of our own mortality
The kleshas are what keep us from experiencing the truth of who we really are, which is universal intelligence. Because we filter so much of our reality through the limiting perception of our senses we think that life should unfold in a logical and rational way. That is the way the mind interprets things but the mind itself is limited. Scientists say we only use about 10% of our brain as it is! When we remove the obstacles that keep us from tapping in to our true nature we feel the same support that we feel under our feet but we feel it in our hearts. A knowing happens and with that knowing comes healing.
What is universal intelligence?
It is the force that creates a seed to become a tree. It is the wisdom that creates a single cell to split so many times that it becomes a fetus and a baby and eventually an individual being with words and concepts and visions and desires. There is an inherent blueprint to how nature unfolds and universal laws that govern that unfolding. If we can apply the same kind of trust that we have in nature to our own distinct way of evolving, we may just find that everything IS in fact, exactly as it is meant to be.
Tantric meditation with a mantra
Meditation is the best way to learn to surrender and trust the forces of the universe. Here is a Tantric mantra passed down to Alan from his father Mani and his teacher, Shudaanand Bharati to free the spirit from being in the material world and help bring us back to unbound consciousness:
Om Shiva Hrim Trum Atma.
Om Shiva is salutations to Shiva, the deity that represents the intelligence of the universe on this plane of existence. Hrim is the mantra for transformation. Trum is to establish the atman, or spirit in the presence of all knowing.
Chant this 18 times before sitting quietly in meditation.
Yoga with me at Yogobe
Links
- Yogis and yoginis - let's get lost together, by Simon Krohn
- Learn more about meditation (in Swedish)
- Join our 12 week meditation course online with Ulrica Norberg (in Swedish)
