Uncovering the soul
December 2009
By K Gitanjali
As we peel off various layers, what is left is our deepest and true self – the soul, shares the author in her journey towards healing
Isn’t the soul already healed? Why then do we need healing?” was the question you posed when I spoke to you about healing. Well, you are right! The soul is healed, whole, and complete. What need healing are the body, mind and intellect. As we heal these three, we peel off various layers. As we peel off various layers, what is left is our deepest and true self – the soul. The soul muffled up and hidden by the various layers of our false self, is now able to shine and express itself in all its glory. This reminds me of what Shankaracharya used to say, “Once you negate what you are not (neti, neti – I am not this) what is left is who you really are – the soul.”
Layer 1: Our body
“I am not the body,” is a phrase many meditators use to help them centre themselves. I am not the body but I have this body as equipment, which helps me express the qualities of my true self. I need to do my utmost to keep this equipment in good working condition. I heal the body of its various ailments, because not only does it give me a sense of well-being but also because I owe it to my maker to keep this temple pure and be the best I can be so that His light may shine forth.
Paying too much attention to the body is as great a hindrance to healing as paying too little attention to it. The ideal approach would be to treat it with due respect and love but with supreme detachment, knowing whatever affects the body does not affect your true self – the soul. In fact, to heal yourself when in the midst of an illness, look at your body as though it belongs to someone else. Then detach yourself from the pain. Watch it, be aware of it, feel the pain completely, but keep affirming that the pain will come and go just as waves ebb and flow. It has no hold over you, for you are God and God cannot be sick. This requires a lot of practice and commitment but if you keep at it, the results are astounding. I tried this recently and was surprised at the strength I have, to go through a migraine attack. The pain continued but underlying it was a sense of peace in the midst of pain. What was this peace I felt when my body was in agony? How could I experience this peace unless I was something more than my body? I had a tough time with the migraine but I knew healing had started, for the thought that I was more than my body had been established in my mind.
You need to keep working at detaching from the pain. Once you come to a supreme level of detachment where all bodily functions cease to affect you, you have zeroed in on your soul. This is what Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Ramana Maharishi experienced.
Layer 2: Our emotions
The body is but the tip of the iceberg. Your emotional baggage is another matter altogether. For one, you do not see it, and for another it catches you unawares. Eckhart Tolle refers to negative emotions as the pain body. This pain body consists of all the negative energy you have not addressed and faced. The problem with this baggage is that it springs forth into action when you are at your most vulnerable. It is difficult to subdue this pain body when you are caught up in it. That is why you need to do a lot of homework before it attacks. Here is where meditation plays a vital role. When you still yourself, you are then in a position to witness or be aware of your personality’s expressions. It helps then to think of a situation, which triggers your pain body. Let us take a situation that we encounter in our day-to-day lives – that of being constantly judged by others. In a moment of quietness with yourself, witness this situation in your mind’s eye. Then chalk out the appropriate response you would like to give when that situation next arises. You can be sure that the situation will arise soon so that you can resolve it. This is the holy moment of healing. If you find you are caught up in the anger released by the pain body when someone passes a derogatory remark, do not resist the feeling. Accept it. Feel it fully. See how it affects your body. As you watch yourself without any judgement, the feelings will subside. They may arise again but with less intensity. Then release the emotion with the firm belief and knowing that “I am not this emotion. I am the essence of the body, mind, and intellect. I am the one in control. I have a choice of how to respond and what to do with this emotion. I choose to let it go.” Then perhaps you will be able to tackle the situation with love. You may be able to speak to the offending person in peace.
The Sedona method started by Larry Crane tells you to drop the emotion just as you drop a pencil. All it needs is a decision – your decision. It is because you hold on to a pencil that the pencil remains in your hand. The minute you let it fall, it goes away. Same with your emotions. Your emotions latch on to you because you hold on to them. Accept they are there, feel them, watch them, and know you have the power to let them drop just as easily as you would let a pencil drop.
Feelings are the language with which our soul communicates with the universe so it does serve us to nurture positive feelings and emotions and uncover the light of our selves, our souls.
Layer 3: Our thoughts
Why do we have the emotions we have? Well, emotions are nothing but energy in motion. The energy of our thoughts in motion. Therefore, the source of our emotions is our thoughts. That is why we have to heal the mind and peel off the thick layers of negative thinking. If I have a thought that things should be a certain way – that I should not be judged by anyone, or that no one should talk ill about me, I will naturally get emotional when someone says something bad about me. So here, it will serve us to release all thoughts we have about how things ought to be. Once the mind is free of the traffic of thought, there is more space for the soul to express itself in a new and fresh manner. For this, we use the same method. We watch each thought without judgment and know we are the master of the mind. We then allow only healthy thoughts to pass through the portals of our mind. We are unaffected and that gives us the space to examine the judgments and take necessary action if we find there is some truth in them.
Layer 4: Our beliefs
What colours our thoughts? Where do they come from? They come from our deep subconscious beliefs. Our core beliefs. The most important belief we hold is our belief about the nature of the Universe. If you believe the Universe is out to attack you, your thoughts will be that of fear, your emotions will reflect this fear and you will act it out through your body language and interactions with others in negative ways. Just change your belief from separation to oneness and see your world do a somersault. You know deep in your heart that since you are one with all that is, you are safe and pure, and so are the others. This belief translates into clear and healthy thoughts. Such healing thoughts of joy bring feelings of peace and joy and you act in the world in a joyful manner thus producing and attracting more and more good in your life.
Once you believe that you are God’s representative on earth, and you have healed and peeled off many of your wrong beliefs, thoughts, emotions and body consciousness, you are at the end of your journey. You have reached that part of you that is eternal and immortal, that is one with Source. That part of you is whole, and complete and needs no healing. Till you reach that place, go on uncovering and healing your illusionary layers. Sounds tough? That is what the adventure of Life is all about!
Who we are – God in action
Just affirm ‘I am that’. Once you affirm and believe in this, the rest will soon fall in place.
Continue to heal yourself and see how you enjoy the adventure of your life.
With love and light
I am that I am.
K Gitanjali is a teacher, writer, and healer, currently based in Bangalore. She is the disciple of Mahavatar Babaji.