Living Wisely Living Well | With Asha Nayaswami

Advice, again, for men: It is easier for you to be impersonal. Therefore, in your search for God, dwell more on thoughts of infinity, of freedom from ego, of desire for the well-being of all. Let your search be more for His Bliss than for His love. Think in terms of serving others self-expansively.

Advice for women: There are two very different ways of relating to men. Flirtation is an easy way of winning them, and success may give you a sense of power over them. That power is delusive, however. Men will subconsciously resent you for drawing on their energy, even if they aren’t sensitive enough to understand the reason for their resentment. If your behavior toward them is more self-giving—like that of a mother, or a friend—you will increase their energy, and they will always appreciate you. This is why women in India are spoken of as men’s shakti (strength, or energy). As temptresses, however, they are not shakti, but ashakti.

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Advice for men: If you maintain a certain reserve in the presence of women, they will always respect you.

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When presenting your ideas, illustrate them with familiar examples. The closer to home, the easier they will be to understand. Children, for example, are often told the pleasant myth that there is a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. Show them how to test the truth of this claim. Suggest they dig at the end of the rainbow which appears in the spray of a garden sprinkler. Could there really be gold there? Tell them, “Dig there and see for yourselves.”

Eat a balanced diet. A good formula for doing so is to select foods that are varied in color: the deeper the color, usually, the richer their energy.

Every time you inhale, imagine yourself inhaling energy. Pranayama (a yoga practice) means not only “breath control,” but “control of energy.” As air fills your lungs, feel your entire being—body, mind, feelings, aspirations—swelling with energy and joy.

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Make inner freedom your primary goal in life. See every binding desire or attachment as a rope tying your balloon of consciousness to the ground. Sever those ropes, and exclaim vigorously with each slash, “You can hold me no longer! My place is high in the sky, soaring over seas and continents on breezes of pure bliss.”

Ideas should be presented with simple, grounding examples. Try never to offer mere abstractions. The more specific you can be, the clearer your concepts will be to yourself, and the clearer also the understanding you convey to others. When describing waves on a vast ocean, for example, first see them clearly in your mind. Hear them; feel them. That clear visualization will help you to make your presentation more vivid.

White is a blend of all the colors of the rainbow. If the energy moves up the spine toward the brain, white can inspire a consciousness of purity. If that energy withdraws passively into the spine, however, white may suggest a bland lack of interest. Choose white to develop non-attachment to worldliness. Don’t choose it if your nature is too passive.

Violet is the color of high thoughts, high principles, noble aspirations. This color will help you to rise out of the lower emotions into the realization that you, in your true Self, are pure Spirit. Violet in its negative aspects can erect a psychic wall between yourself and the earthly realities around you, making your ideals unrealistic and impractical.