Moving the Mind Inward

The Art of Ascension - An Invitation to Grace by Narain Ishaya

One-Pointed Faith by MSI

Commitment by MSI

Can We Save the World? by Sraddha Ishaya

Quotes from "Enlightenment: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
 

Moving the Mind Inward

The Ishayas' Ascension is a Teaching, which offers a series of simple, highly powerful and effective techniques, which pull the mind inward. Literally, no commentary or concepts are even necessary here - these techniques, upon their use, speak for themselves.

Why do we want to move the mind inward? The mind's natural state of peace and harmony is effortlessly realized when we Ascend. Ascension literally means - to rise beyond. Through Ascension, we rise beyond all limitations. By naturally moving the mind inward, all chaotic modes of functioning are surpassed, and the mind arrives at it's natural state of silence - the hemispheres of the brain go into perfect coherence - and the body reaches a level of rest deeper than the average rest it gets from eight hours of sleep. When the body rests, it heals; thus, the stress lodged in the nervous system naturally dissolves - and Freedom dawns. There is no need to analyze the stress and limiting internal programs, to be free of them. We are only bound to them to the extent that they are rooted in the mind and body. Ascension naturally removes all unnecessary clutter from one's mind and nervous system. Stress dissolves effortlessly, with the Ishayas' Ascension.

In the Ishayas' Ascension, one touches the Infinite. All boundaries dissolve in the presence of one's True Nature; as Reality is directly experienced, all that is not true simply vanishes.

Joy and effectiveness in all areas of life is achieved effortlessly, when we are flowing and evolving with the upward currents of creation. The techniques taught by the Ishayas at the First Sphere Weekend, are wrapped around the upward spiraling emotions of Appreciation, Gratitude, Love and Compassion. Not only are these emotions powerful, they are natural (Ascension is always natural). It is the mind's natural tendency to move towards greater peace, happiness and clarity; it is the body's natural tendency to heal and reclaim its natural state of harmony and vitality.

Belief is not necessary in order to Ascend. If we wish to experience more of life - more peace, more effectiveness, more harmony, more joy, more love, more stillness - we need only follow our hearts; we need only choose to experience more. Yet belief is not required in order to Ascend. All beliefs are of the mind. By touching the source of mind - the Ascendant - all limiting mental programs, all fears, judgments, and false beliefs fall away effortlessly. By unveiling our natural state, all that is not life supporting simply vanishes.

'The Ascendant' refers to the Stillness within - the Self - Your True Nature! It has many names, in many traditions - Brahman, God, Krishna, Great Spirit, Essence, The Presence, The Unmanifest, The Infinite, The Source, The Tao, The One, in quantum mechanics It is called the Second Implicate; psychologist Abraham Maslow documented the experience of the Ascendant - he called it "The Peak Experience"; It is both acknowledged in Religion, and Science, however, our focus here is on the direct experience of It. The Ishayas hold that a perpetual awareness of the Ascendant is truly the beginning of human life. This is the goal of Ascension. Completely Healing the world, through sharing this Teaching is the goal of the Ishayas. Heaven on Earth, a dream to many, is a living reality for all those who truly follow their Hearts' bliss.

In Ascension, we do not force the mind or body at all. The mind enters coherence naturally, and the body enters its state of deep rest effortlessly. No rigid postures or mental strain is required in order to Ascend. In the Ishayas' Ascension, we are moving with the natural flow of the universe - which is always towards our highest good. In being simple, effortless and innocent, we cannot fail. The Ishayas' Ascension is very powerful; though, powerful and effective as it is, it is also effortless and natural. Imagine that! - Self-Realization - Freedom from stress - experiencing the Kingdom of Heaven - as easy and effortless as Nature Itself!    Top

"With perfect ease, life transforms to perfection. We need only give it the chance."
                                                         -From Enlightenment, by MSI

The Art of Ascension - An Invitation to Grace By Narain Ishaya

We live, whether we know it or not, at the most important and exciting juncture in the modern history of humanity. There is a movement occurring at the very core of consciousness as it plays out here on Earth. There is a restlessness growing in virtually every human heart, heard as a subtle call to return home to the Truth of who we are.

Many have already noticed this call and it has lead to a shift in awareness and a desire to share that awareness with all who would listen. A great number of teachings and practices have surfaced in response to this call, which we collectively refer to as the New Age Movement. Most of these, however, eventually lead to dissatisfaction and a continual searching as they fall short of the depth of what we inherently know is our destiny. Humanity is trying to awaken, but awaken to what?

“Be here now” the teachers of enlightenment tell us, “The doorway to your freedom is the present moment.” We have all had experiences of the perfection of the present moment, when all thoughts of past and future have dropped away, leaving only the Divine Peace of the Now. These experiences are usually random, however, and just as randomly, the curtain seems to fall as the mind is drawn back into the constant chatter of past and future. The experience of bliss, love and peace would apparently be preferable to the normal waking state perspective, so why does it seem somehow impossible to maintain it? Many of us know, at least intellectually, that pain and suffering are unnecessary, that we were born to live in freedom and perfect union with the divine, but somehow we fall back into the old patterns of doubt, fear and judgement. The peace that we truly desire seems to be constantly just beyond our grasp, like the proverbial carrot dangling eternally just beyond the nose of the donkey. The more we desire it, the further from us the dream seems to slip.

The natural laws of creation are constantly trying to fulfill our desires. Unfortunately the waking state mind presents such conflicting streams of thought that it is virtually impossible for the Universe to bring us what it is we truly desire. Even if we know that what we truly desire is union with the divine source of All That Is, We have become conditioned to believe that it must be a hard task. It is common to believe that Divine Peace is reserved for those with the discipline to live an austere life, or even that we do not deserve it at all, that it is impossible for someone living a “normal” life. All of this is completely untrue.

Human beings are born in touch with the Source. One of the most attractive things for adults about infants and small children is how completely present they are. There is little or no thought about the past or future, just a glorious, innocent experience of right now. We know in our hearts that this experience does not have to vanish with childhood, but we spend our lives accumulating untold amounts of judgment and belief about who we are and how we relate to our world. Most of these beliefs are counter- productive in our search for peace. They are mostly based in unworthiness, fear and doubt. It is these beliefs that weave the very fabric of our separation from our True Nature. Our thoughts have a remarkably powerful effect on our bodies. These downward spiraling thoughts eventually mirror in our bodies as disease and untimely death.

Awakening to the most Natural of States is not an effort. All we need do is stop blocking our own innate connection with the Divine. Your enlightenment is not a discipline, it is a flowering from the inside out. Enlightenment is your Natural state, regardless of your walk of life, background or belief. There is nothing you can do to make yourself enlightened. The only thing you can do is to get out of the way and allow the Natural unfolding of Consciousness to occur.

All we need do is stop choosing for the downward spiraling habits of condemnation, judgment and limitation and begin to choose for the Ascending and infinitely expanding waves of reality rooted in Praise, Gratitude and Love. Enlightenment is a movement of Grace from the divine, a flowering from within, it is not the result of human effort.

Believe it or not, erasing the habits of a lifetime is surprisingly simple. The Natural tendency of your mind is to rest in the perfect peace of your own True Nature. All that is required is to let go, to release the literal death grip we have on our thoughts and feelings and float free in the eternal bliss of the now. There is no trick to it. No certificates or awards are given, and there is no-one to whom this is more available than anyone else. Reality is not democratic, and shows no favorites!

As simple as this choice may be, human consciousness has become so embedded in separation that effectively choosing for true freedom has become all but impossible. For this reason, throughout history, the Sages have maintained a pure teaching of the path of return to our True Nature. These Sages are simply known as the Ishayas. Ishaya is a word in the most ancient of languages, Sanskrit, which literally means “For Consciousness”. The Ishayas’ teaching is called, in English, Ascension. Ascension has many connotations, but it simply means “to rise beyond”. The Ishayas’ Ascension of the Bright Path is a simple, mechanical belief free tool to do exactly that, to consistently choose for the peace that lies eternally just beyond the surface level of the mind. The techniques of the Ishayas offer anyone, of any background, religion or culture the opportunity to Ascend, or rise beyond, the entire limiting structure of the waking state mind and link awareness to the very source of existence itself.

The equation is simple, Choose for the habits of your chaotic mind and continue to live in a reality resembling an uncertain roller-coaster of ups and downs, pleasure and pain (mostly the latter). Or give it all up and open the door for consciousness to enter in and consume you in the Peace that passeth all understanding. The endless bliss of the Ascendant One is eternally waiting for you to turn back and embrace the Truth of who you are. Each time you do so your nervous system refines more and more completely and the ground is prepared for consciousness itself to become your very identity. It’s a simple choice. The effects of that choice reach far beyond the individual. When we enliven consciousness within ourselves we bring that reality closer for everything in creation. A choice for your own Peace is a choice for the Peace of all mankind.

So the only question remaining is what are you choosing for? How One Pointed can you be in your desire to be free? Once you realize that there is a purpose to your existence, how much longer will you compromise what your heart has been longing for throughout eons of time? Freedom is a choice away and the time to make that choice is Now. Miracles await!    Top

One-Pointed Faith by MSI

The secret to success in any area of human concern is really no secret at all, it is so obvious: whatever you whole-heartedly put your attention on, you will progress. The master key in that sentence is "whole-heartedly." Half-heartedly doesn't work, in business, in relationships, in life. Three-quarters-heartedly doesn't work either. Neither does 99.9%-heartedly. Wherever there is a crack in commitment, doubt and then mistakes and then failure rush in. Whole means complete, entire, with every fiber of one's being dedicated to the goal. That works. When one is 100% complete, the almighty forces of Nature align behind one to bring success in countless unforeseen ways.

Anytime we think the problem is somehow "out there", we have missed the essential point of human life. All of our experience, all of our creation comes from inside, from here, from our heart. To change the outer world is impossible without first changing the inner world. As Thoreau put it, For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root. The power of a life that stems from inner strength is incomparable. Life dedicated to external solutions will lead to ever-increasing frustration as one is disappointed again and again with all noble efforts to change the outer world. The outer world has a certain wonderful disdain for the attempts of the human to change it, if the human is not coming from the place of whole-heartedness.

It is not difficult to become whole-hearted. It takes a reversal of the typical direction of awareness. From birth, we have been trained to use our senses in an outward direction. This was necessary for survival and has served us well. We needed to learn to identify that of the outer world that nourished, that which was safe, that which was not. Then we went to school and learned some ability of using the mind horizontally: thinking about things. Both of these directions of the mind we accept without question as being utterly natural and normal, simply because we are so familiar with them.

With both these motions of awareness being natural, outward vertical and horizontal, why should anyone think that the third obvious motion of the mind, inward vertical, should be unnatural and involve effort in order to accomplish? It is a curious result of waking state thinking, that the inward-direction of the mind alone should involve work. The Reality is quite other: it takes less energy to think at deeper or more inward levels of thought, therefore it is actually easier to go inside than it is to use the senses in an outward direction or even to think about something! It is just that the average person has never been trained to take the attention inward. Too bad, because it is precisely by taking the attention inward that one learns to be whole-hearted.

The Ishayas' Ascension process is the most effortless means available in the world today to train the mind to move gently inward. No effort is required in order to Ascend. None. Zilch. Nada. In fact, the single most common mistake among new individuals to the practice is that they try to do it. They try and try and try and it doesn't work and so they stop Ascending. A great tragedy, that, and all based upon the simple misunderstanding that it involves effort to Ascend. It is explained--over and over again!--in the First Sphere Weekend that Ascension is a completely effortless process, but there is so much information being communicated there, it is not surprising that some of it gets overlooked, particularly this fact. The life-long habit is to use effort when one thinks. The inward-direction of the mind alone is effortless. Small wonder then, it takes some time to learn this concept.

As one moves gently inward, several remarkable things begin to happen. First, the body settles down to very deep rest, deeper than that of sleep at night. This allows deep stresses and strains to be released from the physiology. Second, the mind starts erasing the old grooves of doubt, of limitation, of fear, of self-destructive behavior patterns. This is true because the inward movement of the mind takes one to greater levels of subtlety that automatically start erasing the boundaries of limits. Third, joy and peace start spontaneously developing in the life, freeing one's heart from the painful shrouds of past experience. Life begins to be lived in innocence and unconditional love.

Every area of life changes for the better with Ascension, because the mind controls every area of the life and the mind begins immediately to expand, to lose the boundaries and limits of old, fear-based thinking. As this process continues, one begins to become more and more innocent, to live life more and more fully in the present moment of time, without preconceived ideas or judgments about the nature of reality. The constant chatter of the internal dialogue gradually stills, freeing one to experience pure creativity and joy in every moment.

As life becomes simpler and more innocent, one naturally finds that one's desires become increasingly one-pointed. As the full power of attention is directed onto a single desire, the fulfillment of the desire becomes more and more quickly; in time, the fulfillment is instantaneous. What is desire like in the waking state? You desire an apple and go the refrigerator only to find that the only apple there is mushy, half-rotten, with a worm sticking out of it, laughing at you. With increasing evolution, you desire an apple and go the refrigerator and your roommate has just purchased a bag of the most beautiful, ripe, crisp apples you can imagine. Evolve a bit further, and you don't have to get up out of your big overstuffed chair: you desire an apple and your partner walks in the door bringing you one, saying, "I just thought you might like an apple..." Evolve further still, no partner is necessary to produce the apple at your side, in your hand. These are stages of the growth of physical mastery, of one-pointed faith.

For verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. --Matthew 17:20.

Faith as a grain of mustard seed is one-pointed faith. When the intellect is firmly focused on a point, the awareness is free to experience itself as it truly is: unbounded, infinite, absolute. When the intellect is established in one-pointed faith and learns to entertain desires in one-pointed faith, the unbounded nature of Ascendant Awareness acts instantly to fulfill the desires. This is known as the Miracle Power; it automatically develops in anyone who continues Ascending long enough to clean all the internal machinery completely.

The waking state sells itself far short. Created in the image and likeness of God, the average human lives a life more akin to the animals than to the glorious potentiality of full human realization. Unfortunate misinterpretations of the world's scriptures have contributed greatly to the distorted and unfortunate self-images that keep humanity locked into limitations and boundaries instead of freeing the human race to soar with angelic wings into the heart of Heaven. Fortunately, any mistake, even those of centuries-long duration, can be changed by simply choosing again for the Truth. The Atonement patiently awaits all humans' simple choice to flow with the Ascending currents of Natural Law, rather than continue to be caught by the darkness of the ego's created universes of fantasies, of pain and death. This is a choice, a simple choice; once the choice is made, whole-heartedness naturally follows. And following whole-heartedness is the most remarkable series of transformations that leaves, in the end, the human as a full manifestation of God's perfect Creation.  Top

Commitment by MSI

(Taken from an Evening Discourse with MSI-1995)

Problems will get larger and larger to awaken you to the fact that you are not committed.  Any problem is rooted in one thing.  Where are you not committed?  Any problem, whatever it is.  If there is a problem, it is because there is a screw loose.  Be committed and one-pointed, always.  If there is a rule in the Universe, it is that the Universe responds to one-pointed faith.  The Universe responds imperfectly if your desires are scattered.  Fear of commitment? The Universe responds in kind.  Problems come from confusion in the intellect always, always, always.  There are no exceptions to this rule.  So rather then seeking madly for a solution to a problem, it would behoove you to seek madly for the Ascendant.  Once you’ve got that, there are no problems.

There is a story about the government around the turn of the century.  This man would do whatever the president would ask, even outrageous things.  He would never say, “I can’t do that,” or, “I have to go look at my calendar.”  He would say, “No problem.  When do you want me there?”.  That kind of dedication is what serves.  Anything less than that is just a waste of time.  You are wasting your time.  You are wasting the time of the Universe.  We need strong, healthy, whole people to do it.  The Universe will not be healed by partial people.  Make no mistakes about that.  Just because you know how to Ascend if you are not committed, you could go through a thousand courses and still be just as troubled as you are today.

The root to success in Ascension or in anything is to be committed.  If you want to be a concert pianist, do you play an hour a day?  No, you commit your life to it.  When I was young, I was good at math and I thought to myself, if I wanted to do math 18 hours a day, I could be a pretty sharp mathematician.  Then I thought, maybe there is more to life than that one tiny cubic centimeter being developed in my brain.  Then I discovered Ascending.  I discovered Enlightenment, and found that healing the world is the best game in town.  Then I found, not too surprisingly, that it is the only game in town.  All the rest of them just lead to death.

So, following that discovery, my path became perfectly clear.  This doesn’t mean that I didn’t waste any time here and there.  But I have found that all of life leads to one thing.  There is only one thing to do on Earth and that is to heal.

There is only one state of consciousness to be on the Earth and that is with constant awareness of the Ascendant at all times.

Everything else is a game.  Everything else is a dream.  Sometimes the dreams are sleeping, sometimes they are not.  Sometimes they are changing, always changing.  The one Truth of the Ascendant is it never changes; it is always the same, contained inside every human heart.  Mimicking that in human life gives you power.  Living that in human life gives you the ability to do anything you want.  If the bottom line is your commitment to that with all your heart, your mind, your soul; then everything lines up ahead of you.

If one is committed 35% the Universe will line up partially for you.  If you  are committed 95% the Universe will line up partially for you.  There is no compromise on this point. If God got up one day and decided to partially commit, would the Universe continue another minute?  I don’t think so.  So that is one fundamental principal we would do well to study very well.  Because once that is clear, your life becomes supremely simple.  There is no conflict on earth that can withstand one-pointed faith.  There is no problem in the physical, there is no problem in the emotional.  There is no problem in the intellectual, in the spiritual that can withstand commitment.  Without commitment, everything becomes a problem.  Breathing becomes a problem, going to the bathroom becomes a problem… without commitment, the whole Universe gets filled with difficulties.

So every solution to life is supremely simple, and it doesn’t matter what you have done until today, the past is over, forget it.  But today, at this moment in time, it is possible to re-dedicate completely to that goal.  Now is all that matters.  Now is all that is real.  From this perspective of this instant in time, the world can be healed and you can be healed.  The past can be healed.  It doesn’t matter what you were thinking yesterday.  It doesn’t matter what you are thinking right now, and then what you are thinking right now, and then what you are thinking right now.

In this instant of time, the ability to heal the Universe is in your hands.  The Ishayas’ Ascension will heal anyone of anything, as long as it is practiced innocently, with one-pointed faith.   Top

Can We Save the World? by Sraddha Ishaya

My friend Alison just went to see Al Gore’s documentary about global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth.” Being environmentally savvy, there was nothing in the documentary that was new to her. Fortunately, she stayed to watch the credits, and came across something which blew her away. First there was a list of things people can do to help combat the menace of global warming, such as drive hybrid cars, buy products made of recycled materials and many other things. But then, along with this list of actions we could take in the physical realm, there was another type of action requested--“If you believe in the power of prayer, pray for people to wake up.”

The major issues that face us as the human race--war, oppression, environmental disaster, loom large in many people’s awareness today. These problems seem so widespread as to be unsolvable. In reaction to this, some are outraged and fearful, others feel resigned and defeated. Yet, from our hearts we desire to help in whatever way we can. We might be diligent about recycling, composting, or riding our bikes to work. Perhaps we boycott corporations that decimate the rainforests, use sweatshop labor or still utilize animal testing.

And yet any of the actions we individually take seem just a drop in a bottomless bucket. While working on any of these issues at the outer, physical level is admirable and helpful, how much more powerful to work at the inner, non-physical level--the level of Spirit, of pure consciousness. It would be a profound service to humanity to pray for people to wake up, but even more effective than that--wake up yourself!

What is the connection between waking up and healing the planet? There is no separation between our spirituality and our physical world. We create our lives and the world around us from our consciousness--our beliefs, judgments, passions and fears. Whatever limitations we feel inside are reflected in our individual lives, and if these limitations are shared by the majority of people they are accepted as truth. Yet there is a deeper, unlimited and much more expansive Truth that we can access; by doing so our lives and the world around us must change.

Albert Einstein has astutely said, “No problem can be solved from the level of consciousness that created it.” So, to solve the problems we have created, we need to rise to a higher level of consciousness. As our consciousness expands, so does our awareness of Infinite Mind. From this place of omniscient wisdom, unconditional love and infinite creativity, no problem can remain unsolvable. As we raise our own consciousness, everyone is affected at the inner level, the level where we are all connected. When we are fully conscious, every thought, feeling and action will reflect the perfection of the Ascendant. From this state, we can do no harm, and can take the necessary actions.

The current facts about the crises in our world are indeed an inconvenient truth, but it’s simple to expand into the Absolute Truth from which to solve them. The Ishayas' Ascension is a simple, effective method to permanently expand consciousness. And that’s the convenient truth.  Top

Quotes from "Enlightenment: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali -  A New Translation and Commentary
by MSI"

“Life is meant for freedom, joy and continual progress. How is this to be accomplished? By freeing our experiencing machinery from bondage to past experience. Union with the universal Higher Self is easy to accomplish; it is only necessary to turn the mind away from the noise of the internal programming and experience the perpetual peace of the present instant, already present within.”

“The outer manifestation is nothing, the inner experience is everything.”

“The natural condition of the mind is silence.”

“One must intensely desire the goal, else one will be distracted by the cares of the world and be irregular in the practice.”

“This is not a difficult path, this is a gentle and benevolent movement of life toward life, of love toward Love, of happiness toward joy. All good comes to those who follow this path; by seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven, all else is added.”

“One properly chosen vehicle will take the awareness from the surface of the mind to the silent depths in the ocean of Infinity.”

“Freedom is born in the experience of Now; this is the natural by-product of systematically reducing the activity of the movements of consciousness, returning the nervous system to the perfect innocence of Absolute Silence. This is the birth of joy, of life, of Truth, of permanent stability, of human life as it was designed to be lived.”   Top