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The Last Teacher - An Inspirational Read on Spiritual Awakening

6/26/2014

The Last Teacher: Saints, Demons and Self-Discovery on the Spiritual Path by Michael L. Dales is at once a cautionary tale as well as an inspirational guide for those awakening to their spiritual journey.

Based on journals he kept while a devotee of Amma in India and The Great Healer in Bali, Dales writes an intriguing, honest, behind-the-scenes look at ashram life, following a guru, and both his good and difficult experiences seeking spiritual awakening.

Reading the book from the perspective of the chakras, I saw the dangers of an overactive Third Eye Chakra with imbalanced lower chakras. Starting as a child, Dales had an open Third Eye Chakra, extraordinary psychic experiences, and began Transcendental Meditation at the age of seven. However, he struggled during his early adult years with feeling "at home" or experiencing the abundance that a balanced Root Chakra, for example, can offer. As his spiritual path progressed, the balancing of his other chakras became evident, and I'm so pleased that he was able the express his creativity (Sacral Chakra) and inner truth (Throat Chakra) in writing this memoir and sharing his marvelous writing talent and wisdom.

I was especially inspired by his closing words that “anyone who earnestly chooses to embark on a spiritual journey – regardless of what they believe about themselves – can become a vessel for the Light that illuminates the world.” And the world needs Light Workers today more than ever.

The book intrigued me to ask Dales the following questions:

1) Do you feel people need a guru to help them on their spiritual journey or can a person be their own best guru?

DALES: I believe that at different stages along the journey from the self to the Self, one needs a guru and at other times one needs to walk the path alone. Also, I feel that there are as many versions of the path of spiritual Awakening as there are souls. Each soul’s journey is unique. So, I would never suggest a “one size fits all approach” to spirituality. I would never recommend that everyone have a guru, or no one. To follow a teacher or not, to stay with a teacher or not, is between the individual and God. The path must be felt in one’s heart.

2) What are you doing now that you have left the ashrams behind?

DALES: Surfing… ha ha. To be serious, I am writing and I am following a path of direct connection without any human intermediaries. It is just my Divine Beloved and me now. That’s what is working for me in the moment. I don’t recommend this path to anyone nor would I discourage anyone from following suit. I believe each individual must follow their heart whether or not they are following a guru, living in an ashram, or living an entirely secular life.

3) What specific spiritual truths do you hold fast to?

DALES: The greatest spiritual truth that I can grasp is that the Divine Source — That from which we all come — is Love. Love is our Source and is our ultimate goal.

The other truth is that the path of Awakening is an ongoing process of dissolving our blocks which hold us back from knowing the Supreme Self within.

4) What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

DALES: I hope that the reader will be inspired to follow her or his own unique path to the indwelling Divinity. Perhaps those curious about the spiritual path will get a taste of it and become inspired to follow their heart’s calling to find Divinity. Maybe other readers will read about the mistakes I made and make different choices. Maybe some on the path will be reinvigorated in their quest for Awakening. In truth, I felt called to write this book, which may mean it serves some purpose beyond any that I have in mind.

5) What advice do you have for others who have inspiration to share?

DALES: Please share it. Write it. Blog it. Talk about it. Sing about it. Whatever. When I was a kid, I read Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. That book inspired me in a way that few other things in life did. It served as a window onto the spiritual path and alerted me to the possibility of exploring different levels of consciousness. Yogananda shared his experiences and it helped me and countless others who were interested in the spiritual path. Sharing your experiences can help others, sometimes in unexpected ways. For example, even though I am not a cook, I read the autobiography of a chef and I was moved by his frank depiction of his life in the restaurants of New York. That inspired me when I sat down to write The Last Teacher. I doubt that the chef would have ever expected his book to inspire someone writing a spiritual memoir, but it did. So, I feel that if you have something to share then share it. You don’t know how it may expand consciousness for others, but it just might. Sharing your experiences can alter the consciousness of others. What you have to say can be a valuable gift to a world.

The Last Teacher is available on Amazon.com in both Kindle and print versions.

Namaste!
Becca Chopra, author of The Chakra Energy Diet, The Chakra Diaries, Chakra Secrets and Balance Your Chakras, Balance Your Life

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The "Instant Healing" Secret That Can Balance Your Chakras and Weight

6/20/2014

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Here’s the big secret… stress is screwing with your chakras as well as your physical health and body weight. I’m pretty sure that once you read how stress can sabotage your hormones (all linked to chakra centers), it will amaze you.

And the solution I’m going to share is so simple, it will amaze you too. We’re Always Searching For The “Magic Pill” For Weight Loss But let’s face it; you can’t lose weight when you’re stressed out! If you’re blaming yourself for not being your “perfect weight,” stop. It’s not your fault. Rather, the way our bodies are programmed to handle stress is the problem. Stress is a double whammy for weight – it increases our appetites and leads to overeating or poor food choices, then makes our bodies hold on to the fat. The solution is not extreme dieting, which causes more stress, but knowing how to stop the stress reactions.

When stressed, your body tries to protect itself as part of the “fight or flight” response, so your blood flows to your muscles and away from your internal organs. However, once the effects of adrenaline wear off, cortisol, known as the “stress hormone,” starts signaling the body to replenish your food stores.

Cortisol is a hormone that stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy, and stimulates the release of insulin to maintain blood sugar levels. So, when stress causes your cortisol to surge, your appetite will be stimulated as well. Excess cortisol also slows down your metabolism, because your body wants to maintain an adequate supply of glucose to deal with the next “threat.”

So how can you tame the tension? In my book BALANCE YOUR CHAKRAS, BALANCE YOUR LIFE, I showed how to use Dynamind to balance your chakras. It’s an instant healing technique that works because it releases the tension from your body. Here’s how…

Try Dynamind to Release Tension, Ease Pain, and Reduce Food Cravings… The next time you’re upset, stressed, in pain, reaching for junk food instead of “chakra healing natural foods,” try the simple Dynamind technique, developed by Serge Kahili King, PhD, a Hawaiian Healer and Shaman.

The technique can be used to reprogram the unconscious mind, to remove tension and resulting food cravings and tell your body-mind what you’d like to experience – and it will follow your instructions. This works well to heal the imbalances of chakra energy.

1) FOCUS – Hold your hands out in a loose prayer-like position.

2) DECLARE – Say aloud the condition you’re feeling that you would like to change, e.g.,

“I feel anxiety and a craving for potato chips in the pit of my stomach and that can change. I want that feeling to go away.”

3) RELEASE – Tap 7 times on the center of your chest, then at the point between the thumb and forefinger of each hand, and on the top bone of your spine (the 7th cervical vertebra).

4) BREATHE – Direct your breath, inhaling with your attention on the crown of your head, exhaling with your attention below your feet.

Repeat until you feel the desired result.

I invite you to download a free video with complete instructions on how to use Dynamind.

Namaste!

Becca Chopra, author of The Chakra Energy Diet, The Chakra Diaries, Chakra Secrets and Balance Your Chakras, Balance Your Life

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Root Chakra Menu Plan - What to Eat and How to Exercise for Grounding

5/11/2014

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Q. How should I start THE CHAKRA ENERGY DIET if more than one of my chakras is out of balance?

A. The Root Chakra is always a good place to start, and then work your way up to the Sacral Chakra the next week. There's no need to rush through the chakras, trying to balance each one in a day. Take a week to ground yourself in the safety and security of the Root Chakra, then depending on your answers to the Quiz in THE CHAKRA ENERGY DIET, move on to the next chakra that needs balancing.

In order to balance your chakras and promote optimal health and vitality, it’s important to cut out inflammatory foods, such as sugar, simple carbs (like bread and other flour products), dairy products and alcohol - which all play havoc with your blood sugar, especially during the first week, as you get your feet firmly planted on the ground. The Root Chakra is all about feeling safe and secure, personally as well as financially and socially.

Ground yourself with lean protein sources (choose as many vegetarian options as possible) and lots and lots of root vegetables like beets, carrots and radishes. You can also add in vegetable smoothies to get at least 8-10 servings/day. During the first two weeks, it’s important to go off the foods you may normally crave - addictive sugar and simple carbs, even fruit. By the third week, you can add in whole grains and fruit to support your Solar Plexus Chakra.

Also, take time every day for at least a few minutes in nature to ground yourself. Practice a Nalu Meditation (stare at something beautiful for a minute or until you feel relaxed) or o the Circle of Joy Breath, inhaling and exhaling deeply to open your chest, heart and lungs.

Menu Plan for the Root Chakra
Have three meals/day, each containing 20% lean protein and 80% low-starch vegetables - from large green salads containing organic lettuces and arugula, with tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, celery, sprouts, carrots, radishes, bell peppers and avocados, to steamed green vegetables such as kale, chard, spinach, broccoli, green beans, to brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and asparagus.

Sample Breakfast
Smoothie or Juice of beets, carrots and kale followed by scrambled eggs or tofu mixed with veggies like red bell peppers, broccoli, red onion, seasoned with tumeric and Bragg Liquid Aminos.

Sample Lunch
Large Green Salad filled with nutrition-packed dark romaine or other organic lettuce, raw veggies with high-protein beans, peas, fish or poultry on top. Add a dash of Olive Oil/vinegar, spices & herbs (no bottled dressings).

Sample Dinner
Chicken & Veggie Stirfry
Saute any lean meat or fish with kale, carrots, onions, garlic, cauliflower or other veggies. Season with herbs, spices and Bragg Liquid Aminos.

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The Throat Chakra - Open to Your Inner Truth through Diet & Exercise

3/14/2014

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If you want to transform and change into your True Self, you'll want to use The Chakra Diet to help balance your Throat Chakra.

The Throat Chakra, the fifth chakra, is associated with communication, the ability to speak honestly, to receive and process information, to know and speak our inner truth.

Signs of an unbalanced Throat Chakra are an inability to express yourself, feeling stagnated, and holding on to unexpressed emotions (which can manifest as holding on to excess body weight too). This can lead to frustration, inability to find the right words or even excessive talking, shyness, sore throat, stiff neck, and addictions like smoking, alcohol and binge eating.

When the Throat Chakra is balanced, we feel creatively inspired and able to express ourselves well. We have confidence in our beliefs and the self-confidence to share them, and the capacity to listen to others and truly hear them as well.

The Throat Chakra’s balance is intimately tied into the health of the thyroid gland, located in the throat area. The thyroid secretes hormones that control your metabolism, so a sluggish thyroid (hypothyroidism) will make it hard for you to lose weight, maintain energy, warm your hands and feet, or even stay in a positive mood. A hyperactive thyroid also causes severe metabolic and immune system problems. So foods that nourish the thyroid will also nourish the Throat Chakra.

Foods, especially that share colors with the chakras, carry vibrations that can activate or balance your chakras. The Throat Chakra is associated with the color blue.

Throat Chakra Healing Foods: Fifth chakra foods are soothing to the throat and nourishing to the thyroid gland. Those that are blue or deep red in color include blueberries, blackberries, grapes and cherries. Soups, especially those containing vitamin-and mineral- and fiber-containing vegetables, will be especially soothing to the throat chakra. Seaweeds, like kelp or kombu, contain iodine to support thyroid function and have a demulcent action on the throat.

Dairy products and sugar can clog your throat and wreak havoc with your blood sugar as well, so are best avoided. Drink plenty of water, especially first thing in the morning to cleanse your system. Try the herbal sugar substitute Stevia and herbal teas instead of sodas.

Chewing your food consciously and thoroughly will also exercise the Throat Chakra and unleash the nutrients in the food for easier digestibility. Have you ever gulped down a large meal and still not felt satisfied or nourished, but even still hungry? I recommend chewing each bite 20 times, more if you have food allergies. It’s hard to chew and talk at the same time, so I choose to savor at least one meal per day chewing in silence and awareness.

Yoga Poses for the Throat Chakra: Add these poses to your yoga repertoire to open the throat chakra: the Half Shoulder Stand, Shoulder Shrugs and Circles, the Fish and the Lion pose.

Throat Chakra Healing Activities: Walking is a perfect exercise to support the Throat Chakra, as it evens out inconsistent energies in the body and relaxes the mind. Singing and dancing, drumming, and any exercise involving rhythm will help balance this chakra. I especially recommend Ecstatic Dancing and the Dances of Universal Peace where you dance while singing truth (loving words). Chanting is also a very powerful method of sound healing.

When we balance our chakras, we craft our lives the way we want them to be, rather than living in constant reaction to forces outside of us. These spirals of energy are wheels that heal, feeding the body good energy and profoundly affecting our metabolism, as well as emotions, sensations and behaviors.

My favorite recipes for the Throat Chakra are ones that provide the five tastes – spicy, sour, sweet, bitter and astringent foods all in one meal… e.g., miso soup with wakame seaweed, an entrée of stir-fried vegetables over Forbidden black rice with a spicy sauce, and a salad with a sweet-sour balsamic-blueberry dressing.

Sign up now to win a Free, personalized Chakra Diet Plan below.

Namaste,
Becca Chopra

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Determine Your Chakra Strengths and Support your Destiny

7/20/2013

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Attracting your Perfect Body through the Chakras by Cyndi Dale explains the chakras as portals into the perfect body, through which you can construct your own unique diet and exercise plan.

As Cyndi explains, you can support your personal destiny while creating your perfect body by responding to the needs of your strongest chakras. She includes Your Strongest Chakra Quiz to help you determine your personality type, governed by which of your chakras are strong and which are weak. I was a little quizzical of it, but the answers were quite accurate for me - I turned out to be a Communicator (showing the energy of my Throat Chakra in teaching and writing books) and a Naturalist, linked to the 10th chakra, which is one foot below the ground (showing my devotion to all things in Nature, organic food and clothing, and my environmental journalism and activism). It's interesting that Cyndi included 11 chakras, making the test even more accurate, as well as discussing auric fields.

The following chapters in the book provide guidance on which endocrine gland is associated with each chakra you need to "perfect" to reach your potential. There's diet, exercise, clothing advice, and more for each type. A short book, it is well worth taking the time to read and follow Cyndi's advice on both behavioral and spiritual changes. By doing so, you can begin or accelerate the process of summoning your perfect body and attracting powerful energies to forge and maintain your perfect body.

This book is unique, because it shows you how to attract your perfect body energetically, because our bodies are made of energy. The many diet books offering one solution for any type of person don't take this into account. Try devising your own plan, based on the personality of your body, from the physical to the spiritual.

Namaste!
Becca Chopra, author of Chakra Secrets, The Chakra Diaries, and Balance Your Chakras-Balance Your Life

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Enter to Win Dynamind Chakra Balancing Video

4/18/2013

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Have you ever tried the Emotional Freedom Technique? While I found it helpful, I'm impatient and not apt to sit and tap the large number of points needed to affect a change in my feelings or wellbeing. So, I was very excited to learn the easy and quick Dynamind technique from Serge Kahili King, PhD. The Hawaiian shaman and psychologist helped me adapt it specifically to chakra balancing... it's like a faster version of EFT.

All chakra imbalances manifest in uncomfortable physical and emotional problems that you can describe as a “feeling.” Dr. King advises asking yourself what emotion is a problem, where you feel that emotion in the body, and then work on changing that physical sensation to let the healing energy of the body once again flow freely.

Chakra energy centers hold a vibration and color, like a human rainbow, and are affected by every experience, thought, and emotion we have ever had. You can use that vibration and color to enhance the Dynamind Process... here’s how to use it to balance the Sacral Chakra.

BALANCE THE SACRAL CHAKRA

Located at the lower abdomen, the second chakra, the Sacral Chakra, is the focal point of your emotions, sexuality and creativity. This chakra governs how you relate to others and the flow of your feelings and creative expression. It vibrates with the energy of the color deep orange.

You may recognize some of these emotional or mental health issues commonly associated with the Sacral Chakra – sexual frigidity, promiscuity, confusion or addiction, co-dependency, being overly emotional or stoic, feeling guilty.

Physical health issues include gynecological problems, urinary tract problems, and stiffness or pain in the lower back.

When the Sacral Chakra is balanced, you feel more confident in your relationships, free to process your emotions, feel creative, and able to enjoy sex and other pleasurable activities without guilt.

HOW TO USE DYNAMIND:

1) FOCUS - Hold your hands out in a loose prayer-like position.

2) DECLARE - Say aloud the condition you’re feeling that you would like to change, for example:
“I’m doubled over with cramps and that can change. I want that feeling to go away.”
or
“I’m feeling anger in my lower back and that can change. I want that feeling to go away.”

3) RELEASE - Tap 7 times on the center of your chest, then at the point between the thumb and forefinger of each hand, and on the top bone of your spine (the 7th cervical vertebra).

4) BREATHE - Direct your breath, inhaling with your attention on the crown of your head, exhaling with your attention below your feet. Repeat until you feel or notice a change.

THE DYNAMIND TONER FOR THE SACRAL CHAKRA:

Use this quick toner whenever you want to strengthen the Sacral Chakra.

1) FOCUS - Hold your hands out in a loose prayer-like position.

2) DECLARE - Say aloud how you’d like to feel, e.g.,
“I’m not as easy-going as I want to be. I want to go with the flow, like a mountain stream.”
Imagine your Sacral Chakra spinning clockwise, a wheel of bright ORANGE energy in your abdomen.

3) RELEASE - Tap 7 times on the center of your chest, then at the point between the thumb and forefinger of each hand, and on the top bone of your spine. You can hum instead of tap, toning the sound “VAM” as you place your fingers over each spot.

4) BREATHE - Direct your breath, inhaling with your attention on the crown of your head, exhaling with your attention below your feet. Repeat as needed.

You can follow along with me doing Dynamind Toners for all 7 chakras in my book, Balance Your Chakras, Balance Your Life and the accompanying DVD, Balance & Tone Your Chakras, both available on Amazon.com. Let me know how it works for you....

All those who leave a comment below or email me at Becca@thechakras.org with feedback on using Dynamind by May 3rd will be entered to win a copy of my DVD.

Namaste!
Becca Chopra

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The Last Teacher - An Inspirational Read on Spiritual Awakening

The "Instant Healing" Secret That Can Balance Your Chakras and Weight

Root Chakra Menu Plan - What to Eat and How to Exercise for Grounding

The Throat Chakra - Open to Your Inner Truth through Diet & Exercise

Determine Your Chakra Strengths and Support your Destiny

Enter to Win Dynamind Chakra Balancing Video

Becca Chopra

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