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Three blessings that provide mental and emotional healing
One of the exercises I regularly lead in my courses involves the question: If you were at the end of your life and only had a little time left, what would be really valuable today or what would be meaningful for you to do, now? Not tomorrow, not the day after tomorrow.. but now! Almost all the answers I have heard from the participants lead to Love: to connect, to connect, to create a heart-to-heart relationship, to love (to love and be loved), to forgive...
There is a car sticker that says: Life is fragile and Love is the glue. Well, in the spirit of this message, we talked about the three day challenge Mental and Emotional Healing, which took place online from February 16 to 18, 2024, where we talked about self-love, empathy, openness, honesty, and I connected all that with the wonderful story that comes from the Katha Upanishad about "Nachiketa and the secret of death".
Nachiketa he was the son of a rich merchant. To gain the favor of the Gods, his father regularly offered sacrifices to the Gods. But Nachiketa saw that his father offered the weakest cows instead of the best cows. Then he publicly called him out and shamed him in front of the whole community. His father got so angry that he told him "I hand you over to the god Yama" which in translation means "Go to hell".
Nachiketa took it literally and went to look for him The god Yama (or the God of Death).
Sitting under a tree, hungry and thirsty, he arrived in the forecourt of the kingdom of the God of Death. Where he was met by his three assistants Pestilence, Hunger and War. They told him that death was not here and that they could help him but he insisted on meeting the god of Death. Finally after three days Lord Yama came and saw a sincere child offering himself to him devotedly. He took pity and instead of taking him with him offered to grant him three wishes or blessings.
The first boon Nachiketa asked for was THE FORGIVENESS. He knew that to be truly free he had to remove the armor of anger (toward his father) that he had placed around his heart. He knew that it was very important to heal the heart so that he could accept situations and people later in life with an open heart.
The second blessing he asked for was to find (and keep) his own INTERNAL FIRE. The inner fire is what makes us alive from within. To know our inner fire is to know ourselves so well that no matter what comes our way as an obstacle we will not be deterred from doing what our heart and soul long for. Little Nachiketa knew that if he had the inner fire, pure energy would flow and create through him, he would have courage, strength and devotion, regardless of internal or external influences.
But when he asked for the third boon, God Yama was shocked. He asked to know what is after Death, to find out WHAT IS THE SECRET OF LIFE AND DEATH. Yama told him that he must not reveal that secret to anyone, but since he promised him three wishes, he would help him discover this secret himself. Then he gave him a mirror and told him that when he manages to look at himself properly in the mirror, then he will discover the answer to the question.
The story goes that when Nachiketa looked into the mirror and went into self-enquiry, all illusion vanished, he discovered that existence, awareness and bliss (Sat-Chit-Ananda) are the source and essence of all living beings and then he freed himself from the wheel of life and death. Then he bowed down to Lord Yama in peace and as if by magic the landscape of the kingdom of death changed into a rice paddy field in the summer of India and in this final sequence Lord Yama revealed to him the final secret that death and birth are not separate. Nachiketa already knew this in her heart and went to his home to embrace his father and start a new life
The blessing that each one of us received through this story I share it in the form of a meditation, so that by reading you feel it internally:
The Blessing of Forgiveness – Feel in your body, feel in your heart if you have prejudices about yourself and forgive yourself those accusing thoughts towards yourself...turn your attention to yourself, set the intention, you can even put your hand on your heart and forgive yourself on himself. That's how you gently soften your heart
Then, keeping your hand on your heart, remember everything that is really important to you in your life. What matters to you truly and deeply, what you live for, what you want to feel, express, feel that intention by holding your hand on your heart
Then just as if you were looking in a mirror, feel the presence within you, the awareness that observes and is behind your every action, thought or deed. That awareness is you, the real You, some call it the soul, others the self or awareness, but it is always there Love, deep unconditional love.
And as you absorb this knowledge, consciously feel yourself, your existence and presence, and internally experience that awareness with which you can and know how to influence your life.
I wish you all to feel inner peace and true joy within yourself with this meditation.
But if you need someone to guide you in that process, join me on a new journey that I will start on February 25 through 6 week Mental and Emotional Healing course
Thanks to all participants of the three-day challenge of insight, knowledge and presence.
The recordings of this challenge will be available for another week at the following links:
I will end with a message, quoted by many teachers
Watch your thoughts - Thought becomes speech
Watch your words - word becomes action
Watch your actions - actions become a habit
Pay attention to your habits - they become your character
Take care of your character - it becomes your destiny
Love and light
Biljana Pesheva
about the author: Biljana is the founder of the brand Healthy Life Skills & Healthy Yoga where he holds seminars, retreats, active vacations, trainings and classes to reduce stress and tension in the modern man using a comprehensive (holistic) approach in working with individuals and groups.