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Rituals for Transformation: Nourishment

“Start by doing everything you can to enjoy the food as much as possible. Give it your full attention… Savor the flavors and textures, and imagine all the good things it’s going to do to your body.”

What will you do to connect to your body today? Let us know in the comments below.

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2 thoughts on “Rituals for Transformation: Nourishment”

09 / 17/ 17 | Susan

Good reminder, thank you!

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1. 09 / 19/ 17 | Briana Borten
  
  You’re welcome.
  
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In 1984, followers of the spiritual guru Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, 1931-1990) sprinkled salmonella bacteria into the salad bars of ten restaurants in Oregon, sickening 751 people. A few years earlier, Osho had left his commune in India due to pressure from authorities and purchased a defunct ranch in the Pacific Northwest. Thousands of his students moved in, but the land wasn’t zoned for that volume of habitation. They ran into more trouble with the law because of it, and had to find ways to conceal how many people were actually residing there.

Hiding the expansion of the community was difficult as their numbers grew because they wore highly visible red robes – plus they built an airstrip, restaurants, and fire department on the property. It probably didn’t help that they occasionally drove into town in a Jeep with a machine gun mounted on it. They clashed with locals, government officials, and environmental groups, but eventually hit upon a solution: this would all be legal if they could establish the ranch as a city.

There was considerable resistance from the community, however, and this is what led to the salmonella plan. Through what has been called the largest domestic act of bioterrorism in the U.S., they hoped to incapacitate enough voters to secure wins for their own candidates in the upcoming county election. But despite the sickened population, local voter turnout was high enough to keep Osho’s supporters (AKA “Rajneeshees”) from succeeding.

During this time, the guru was observing a long period of seclusion and had ceased contact with all but a small number of close attendants. However, his devotees bought him a collection of 93 Rolls Royces, and each day he would slowly drive one of these luxury cars down a long dirt road where they waited to catch a glimpse of him.

About a year later, Osho himself reported the salmonella attacks to the authorities. The attacks, it turns out, were just the most visible expression of a chaotic fanaticism that had developed in a portion of his followers. Osho claimed they acted without his knowledge or blessing; they said he sanctioned it.

It’s difficult to discern the truth from all the stories, partly because his form of teaching came with an apparent delight in shocking people. He enjoyed cursing, had an irreverent sense of humor, championed free love, and proposed such offensive measures as euthanizing disabled children. He was both scorned and revered. Many intelligent people regard him as one of the greatest contemporary spiritual teachers, and probably millions would credit him with making a positive impact on their lives.

When most people encounter such a button-pushing issue or figure, they feel compelled to take a side. We like things to be black and white. If we can frame something in terms of good and evil or right and wrong, it makes our lives easier. It feels good to have strong, unwavering convictions. But the truth doesn’t usually conform to such convenient categories. Almost everything falls somewhere along the gigantic spectrum between the extremes. And accepting this requires the work of deeper contemplation and possibly the discomfort of admitting that our position isn’t completely correct.

A recent study showed that people who know the least about a subject are the most likely to take a strongly polarized position on it – perhaps even a zealous, foaming-at-the-mouth position. The corollary to this finding is that the more we really understand a person or issue, the more neutral our position becomes, and the more accepting we tend to be of different viewpoints.

In the case of Osho, my opinion is that he was charismatic, brilliant, enlightened, and also manipulative, self-serving, offensive, and extremely eccentric. I also think, as is so often the case with powerful people, he attracted followers who believed they were living in accordance with his teachings and acting on his behalf without really understanding what he stood for. They were intoxicated by his mojo and used that feeling of power to justify their own convoluted drives. My intention isn’t really to pick on Osho and his disciples as much as it to point out the dynamics that occur on the inside and outside of such a phenomenon, which I’ll summarize here:

Tapping into power tends to amplify not just the presentable aspects of ourselves, but our shadow side, too. It partly explains why so many high-level teachers, artists, and executives end up sleeping with their students and employees, or succumbing to some other vice. Perhaps it’s why a guru might enjoy having 93 Rolls Royces. And it’s also why many traditions, such as yoga, emphasize purifying or balancing one’s mind, actions, and senses before attempting the practices that are likely to unleash a bunch of energy. (Did your yoga teacher introduce you to the yamas and niyamas that traditionally come before undertaking asanas or "poses"?)

Potent ideas tend to be degraded as they are transmitted through human minds. It’s like the children’s game operator. Moreover, we like latching onto such ideas – whether we find them enticing or horrible, or both – and running with them, even though the trajectory they carry us on may not be altogether healthy for us. And again, we favor positionality, even though (or maybe because) it implies conflict. That is, taking a fixed, polarized position necessarily engages us against the opposite position. In order to maintain such positionality, we’re best served by keeping ourselves ignorant.

In light of all these analyses of human behavior, I offer you this homework assignment for the week: Innocence. Be innocent, open, and humble. Feel the compulsion to take positions, and instead, be innocent, go deeper, and learn more.

Be well,

Dr. Peter Borten

P.S. For those who haven't encountered any of Osho's teachings, I’ll leave you with an excerpt from Undone Tao, a series of talks he gave on one of my favorite books, the Daoist classic, Dao De Jing:

"Enlightenment is not a search, it is a realization. It is not a goal, it is the very nature of life itself.

As life is, it is enlightened. It needs nothing to be added to it to improve it. Life is perfect. It is not moving from imperfection to perfection. It is moving from perfection to perfection.

You are here to attain something – that is functioning as a barrier. Drop that barrier. Just be here. Forget about any purpose. Life cannot have any purpose; life is the purpose. How can it have any other purpose? Otherwise you will be in an infinite regress: then that purpose will have another purpose, then that purpose will have another purpose… Life has no purpose and that’s why it’s so beautiful.

Hindus have called it leela, a play. It is not even a game. Now in the West, the word “game” has become very important. Hundreds of books have been published within two, three years with the word “game” in the title: The Master Game, The Ultimate Game, Games People Play, and so on. But there is a difference between game and play. Hindus have called life “play,” not “game,” because even a game has something as a purpose: a result to be attained, victory to be achieved, the opponent has to be conquered. When play becomes a game, then it becomes serious.

Grownups play games, children only play. Just the very activity is enough unto itself. It has an intrinsic end; there is no goal added to it. Life is a leela. It is a play. And the moment you are ready to play, you are enlightened.

…

Then you start a totally different way of life. You start being playful. You start being alive moment to moment with nowhere to go. Whatsoever life gives, you accept it with deep gratitude. Grace happens to you."

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[post_title] => The Root Cause of Your Pain (video) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => wellness-peter-pain [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2017-02-23 17:12:58 [post_modified_gmt] => 2017-02-23 17:12:58 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=6613 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 4 [filter] => raw [webinar_id] => 0 ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6864 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2018-01-23 18:59:02 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-01-23 18:59:02 [post_content] => For her birthday, my daughter received a “magic chakra pendant” which consisted of cheap, dyed crystals glued together to form a rainbow in the shape of a pyramid. Shortly thereafter, she and I were shopping and we saw a set of seven “chakra teas” in a rainbow of boxes. She asked me, “What does chakra mean?” I sighed. It was like being asked, “What is art?” A couple years ago, I wrote an article for The Dragontree about the throat chakra and received numerous requests for articles on the other chakras. I have hesitated to oblige for a few reasons. First, interpretations of the word and concept vary quite a lot, even within the various Indian traditions where it’s found. Many of the classical writings about chakras are complicated and arcane. And the idea has been widely co-opted by Westerners, sometimes in thoughtful ways, other times in superficial ways. I felt it would be difficult to do the subject justice in the format of a brief article. However, I’m realistic about modern attention spans. I know that not many people are interested in reading a scholarly work about chakras. But Westerners have a hunger for spiritual connection, and chakras are interesting and might serve as an opening to deeper exploration and insight. So, I figure, if you’re going to read a mediocre article about chakras it might as well be from someone who has had in interest in them for a few decades and possesses a small library of books about them. Even if I have to oversimplify and modernize the topic, I feel there’s still value in opening the door. So, over the following months, we’ll look at what chakras are and how you can grow and heal through an understanding of this system. First, what’s a chakra? Chakra or çakra – pronounced “chah-krah,” not “shah-krah” – is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel, disc, or cycle. Chakra philosophy, which comes mainly from the Tantrik texts of India, appears in Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, Jungian and transpersonal psychology, and more. Chakras are usually defined as energy centers in the body that influence spiritual awakening as well as psychological and physical function. The number and location of chakras varies between traditions, but the prevailing model features six or seven chakras located along the midline of the body, upon or in front of the spine. The endurance and spread of this system is probably due to the appealing and accessible way in which it describes different states of consciousness and how we’re influenced by this subtle layer of our being. Here are the viewpoints of a few authors: Sir John Woodroofe, an early translator of Tanrik texts, described the chakras as centers of “Vital Force” (prana) and universal consciousness.¹ He (and many others) saw them as instrumental stations that need to be opened in order to arouse the life force/consciousness called kundalini to move through us and awaken us. (Kundalini is just as dense of a topic as chakras, so please pardon my superficial coverage.) Caroline Myss exposed millions of people to the concept of chakras through her 1996 book, Anatomy of the Spirit. She writes about them as if there’s a historical consensus supporting her interpretations (there isn’t), which is a bit misleading, but I believe her presentation of the chakras offers a lot of value. Here’s her modern psycho-spiritual definition: “The chakra system is an archetypal depiction of individual maturation through seven distinct stages.” She describes a process of ascension through the chakras whereby, “at each stage we gain a more refined understanding of personal and spiritual power, since each chakra represents a spiritual life-lesson or challenge common to all human beings. As a person masters each chakra, he gains power and self-knowledge that become integrated into his spirit, advancing him along the path toward spiritual consciousness in the classic hero’s journey.”² Harish Johari, in one of the earliest English language books on the subject – aptly named Chakras – defines them as “psychic centers of transformation that enable one to move toward an enlightened state of being.” As for the translation of chakra as wheel, Johari says, “the word chakra indicates movement. Chakras introduce movement because they transform psychophysical energy into spiritual energy.” He explains that variances in the way energy moves through our chakras produce variances in our psychic state and physiology.⁴ Just to shake things up, let’s look at some contrasting views. Ken Wilber, a prolific scholar on Eastern philosophy, writes: “The being-consciousness-bliss of one’s formless self is distorted and constricted, and under this tyranny [imposed by a separate-self sense] appears in the restricted forms known as the chakras.” Wilber goes on to explain that the chakras are like knots or contractions in our consciousness, and that spiritual liberation is the untying of these knots, or, more accurately, “not the actual untying of these knots, but the silent admission that they are already untied.” The paradox of the chakras, he explains, is that “They are ultimately dissolved in the realization that they need not be dissolved.” He claims that the chakras aren’t real, “in the sense that they do not pose a barrier to self-realization, nor do they constitute mandatory stages in an upward climb to liberation,” however, he goes on to say that they can certainly be perceived – as the localized experiences of different states of consciousness.³ In Robert Svoboda’s book, Kundalini, he asks his mentor, Aghori Vimalananda, about the notion that almost all physical and mental diseases are due to ‘blocked chakras.’ Vimalananda replies, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The chakras exist in the subtle body, and their connection to the physical body is very subtle. It is true that both the physical and subtle plexuses may become blocked, but in most people the Kundalini is fast asleep in the Muladhara Chakra [the first or root chakra at the base of the spine], and their chakras are absolutely closed and play no part in their day-to-day lives. . . . As long as you are full of attachments to life your consciousness will never be able to get close enough to any chakra even to smell its fragrance, much less to experience it.”⁵ So, how do we make sense of these disparate views? I recommend a combination of contemplation of others’ teachings and the guidance of your personal experience (keeping in mind that your personal experience doesn’t make you an authority on others’ experiences). I have encountered many practitioners of yoga, energy healing, and meditation who have had powerful firsthand experiences of their chakras – specifically the experience of an opening or closing, or the blockage of flow and the restoration of flow. It’s possible that these experiences are occurring on a different plane than what Vimalananda defines as a chakra, but we have to ask if it really matters. I’m inclined to believe that in most cases, it doesn’t. If the chakra system is a useful means for understanding our challenges, knowing ourselves, and prompting growth, isn’t that a good thing even if it doesn’t make us enlightened? Before I wrap this up, here is a list of the seven primary chakras, some of their characteristics, plus the key virtues and obstacles associated with them:

Muladhara – at the perineum (between the genitals and the anus). Associated with the earth element, with a sense of security and stability, and [Myss:] with lessons related to the material world.
Svadhisthana – at the genital region. Associated with the water element and with creativity, family, procreation, and [Myss:] with lessons related to sexuality, work, and physical desire.
Manpura – at the level of the navel. Associated with the fire element and with transformation, will, and [Myss:] with lessons related to the ego, personality, and self-esteem.
Anahata – at the level of the heart. Associated with the air element and with balance, love, compassion, connection, and forgiveness.
Vishuddha – at the level of the throat. Associated with space and with communication, self-expression, and creation through the word.
Ajana - at the level of the “third eye.” Beyond the elements, it is associated with self-realization, vision, knowing, projection, intuition, and insight.
Sahasrara – at the top of the head. Sometimes considered not to be a proper chakra, it is associated with oneness with Absolute (God) Consciousness and [Myss:] lessons related to spirituality.

Next time, we’ll discuss the first and arguably most important chakra for the average human – Muladhara – which is often said to be an expression of our sense of foundation and our ability to trust that our basic needs will be met. In the meantime, consider meditating on these concepts. Have you ever had a sense of one or more of your chakras? Have you ever experienced a shift in one of these places that brought about a change in your body, mind, or broader consciousness? Be well, Dr. Peter Borten References

Woodroffe, J. G., & P. (1931). The Serpent Power: Being the Shat-chakra-nirūpana and Pādukā-panchaka; Two Works on Laya yoga. Madras: Ganesh.
Myss, C. M. (1996). Anatomy of the Spirit: The seven stages of power and healing. New York: Three Rivers Press.
White, J. W. (1990). Kundalini, Evolution, and Enlightenment. New York: Paragon House.
Johari, H. (1987). Chakras. Energy Centers of Transformation. Destiny Books.
Svoboda, R. E. (1995). Aghora II: Kundalini. Albuquerque, NM: Brotherhood of Life Publishing.

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Be well,

Dr. Peter Borten

"Enlightenment is not a search, it is a realization. It is not a goal, it is the very nature of life itself.

As life is, it is enlightened. It needs nothing to be added to it to improve it. Life is perfect. It is not moving from imperfection to perfection. It is moving from perfection to perfection.

…

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