The Oneness Blessing: How Deeksha Can Help You Become Your Authentic Self, Heal Your Relationships, and Transform the World
240
The Oneness Blessing: How Deeksha Can Help You Become Your Authentic Self, Heal Your Relationships, and Transform the World
240Paperback(First Edition)
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Partaking of the Oneness Blessing is not a religion or path; it requires no allegiance to any beliefs, doctrines, or practices. With surprising simplicity, it opens the door for ordinary people to discover what is unique, extraordinary, and true for them.
In The Oneness Blessing, Paula interviews awakened Oneness Trainers whose lives have been transformed through Deeksha. Their humor, gratitude, insights, and inspiration intimately illuminate what it means to live an awakened life. You will discover how Deeksha can catalyze:
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781601633613 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Red Wheel/Weiser |
| Publication date: | 04/20/2015 |
| Edition description: | First Edition |
| Pages: | 240 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.20(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.50(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
The Oneness Blessing: A Global Phenomenon
The Awakened One is free of the mind. The unawakened one is a prisoner of the mind.
— Sri Bhagavan
Weekly Teachings, Week 137: April 28–May 4, 2013
The Oneness Blessing is possibly the most amazing phenomenon humanity has ever been gifted with. We've certainly received many gifts throughout time, but this beautiful and powerful blessing, also known as Deeksha, is helping humanity become aware of our universal illusion of separateness, the source of our existential suffering. It has the power to make us conscious of our oneness, and not just in words or in concepts; the gift of the Oneness Blessing is the actual living, unfolding experience of what true oneness means.
The suffering experienced by humanity, which has its origin in the illusion of separation, is caused by the mind. The mind is also thought of as the ego. When we are freed from the mind's grip, or as Oneness calls it, "de-clutched" from the mind, we are returned to our natural state of joy and unity. Our hearts flower. We are liberated from the conditioning of the mind, which prevents us from experiencing our own individual truths through the heart and the reality of the present moment.
Sri Amma and Sri Bhagavan are the world-renowned visionaries through whom the Oneness Blessing Phenomenon was birthed in southern India. Sri Amma and Sri Bhagavan are known as avatars — enlightened beings who bring a special gift to humankind. From the time when Sri Bhagavan was a child, it was his deep passion to help individuals lead happy and fulfilling lives. Sri Amma, on the other hand, had a deep passion to marry God and to help with the work. They married in 1976, and together have dedicated their lives to alleviating humanity's suffering by addressing the root cause of the terrible conflict, struggle, and wars between nations and within the human mind.
In 1984, Sri Amma and Sri Bhagavan founded a children's school in southern India called Jeevashram that carried their vision to alleviate human suffering. Their goal was to educate and nurture the natural spirit, intelligence, and consciousness of young people in a holistic manner. Their own son, Krishanji, attended Jeevashram. It was through Krishanji that the Oneness Blessing was first transmitted. One day, a beautiful golden ball of light descended into young Krishanji. This golden ball had manifested to Sri Bhagavan in his childhood through young adulthood. Sri Bhagavan asked Krishanji if he could transfer this golden ball of light to other students. Soon many students were transmitting the golden light; this became the phenomenon known as the Oneness Blessing or Deeksha.
Sri Amma and Sri Bhagavan's powerful vision took hold through the Deeksha, and they began to attract thousands of people to them. They developed a profound body of teachings that also brings forth their visionary intention to end humanity's suffering.
Oneness University
In 2002, Sri Amma and Sri Bhagavan founded Oneness University near Chennai, India, where people now go from all parts of the world to take life-changing courses in consciousness transformation. In 2004, they began offering a Deeksha initiation process through Oneness University that enabled Deeksha to spread to many countries. Soon after, Oneness University began certifying Oneness Trainers who could also initiate Blessing Givers. The beautiful, grace-filled, marble Oneness Temple on campus was completed and consecrated in 2008 after seven years of construction. The Oneness Temple is used for specific ancient processes.
Now, millions of people have experienced the benefits of Deeksha. Certified Oneness Trainers are able to initiate Deeksha Givers in their home countries across the globe. Oneness Trainers offer many courses and processes that educate, inspire, and support transformation. Krishanji, today, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of Oneness University, its courses, and the outreach programs that are transforming the neighboring Indian villages with humanitarian efforts to improve the health, prosperity, and consciousness of the Indian people. Sri Amma and Sri Bhagavan, so beloved and respected by those who have been blessed by their work, continue to anchor their profound vision, which has spread rapidly across the planet.
Thousands of people are recognizing the Oneness Blessing Phenomenon, regardless of geographical location, religion, or belief systems, because the nature of this transmission is part of every human being's heart. We're all longing for this, whether we're aware of it or not, and it's spreading like wildfire.
A Neurobiological Shift
The transmission of light that is Deeksha is a catalyst for a neurobiological shift in the brain and a rise in awareness of the recipient. This transfer of energy passes through the hands and intention of initiated Deeksha Givers, and through the eyes of initiated Oneness Meditators. The Oneness Blessing is said to deactivate the parietal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for the "fight or flight" response, and activate the brain's frontal lobe. This change in brain function promotes experiences of joy, love, and connection to all. Deeksha supports a process that can lead to a permanent experience of inherent oneness, the truth of one's being, which is referred to as permanent "awakening." The rise in awareness associated with Deeksha and awakening means that self-awareness increases and identification with the conditioned mind decreases. As Catherine Scherwenka, an Awakened Advanced Oneness Trainer and Oneness Meditator, explains,
So many of us are living our lives through conditioning and concepts. The conditioning comes from growing up in a family, from your education, from society, from your government, from your country, and from the karma of your country. There are so many layers of conditioning that we all get stuck living in, without awareness. That's a prison of the mind when you don't have awareness. When you're not able to see and be objective about your true reality, then you're living through conditioning; you're living, basically, through the past.
To become free as a human being, it means that the awareness is born and you're able to shine a light upon a conditioning. The conditioning is not going to change, and it's not going to go away. Conditioning is beautiful; that's what creates our world. But instead of living a conditioning without awareness, where you're kind of like a robot going through the motions, when a light is shined upon the awareness, and you're able to see that this is the conditioning, that's the freedom. That's when there's a separation from thinking you are the mind, versus you being an objective witness to the mind and what the mind does.
Deeksha is the light that shines upon awareness. A Deeksha can feel subtle, blissful, or strong, and each Deeksha is experienced as uniquely as is its recipient. The effect of Deeksha is cumulative. One of my first teachers, Kristin Panek, who is an Awakened Advanced Oneness Trainer and Sacred Chambers Facilitator in Downer's Grove, Illinois, notes,
I see that people participating in my courses and Oneness Blessing evenings begin to get deep insights and begin trusting themselves. They open up and are courageous enough to look honestly at their lives and what's happening for them. If they believe in a Divine or higher creative intelligence, they strengthen that bond with it. This translates to huge transformations in their lives over time.
The Oneness Blessing Phenomenon is not a religion or path. Anyone, from any kind of religious, spiritual, or secular background can receive the benefits of Deeksha. The teachings associated with Oneness are not new, in the sense that they are culled from universal truths that are echoed in many of the world's great teachings and traditions. What makes the Oneness Phenomenon truly unique is the non-denominational Deeksha and the shift in the brain that occurs from receiving the Blessing.
A Miraculous Gift to Humanity
The tradition of Deeksha, which is a Sanskrit term referring to an initiation, can be found deep in the records of Indian culture. Historically, enlightened teachers gave the gift of Deeksha extremely rarely to certain privileged students. As Catherine Scherwenka explains,
Until now, Deeksha would be given to a student from his teacher only after he had studied and meditated for more than 30 years. Then the student might get one hands-on Deeksha from his teacher. The Deeksha would shift the brain and bring the person closer and closer to enlightenment or awakening. So to have this phenomenon given to the common laypeople, all over the world, is a miracle. In the past, it was a hand-chosen few who got to receive this grace.
The mission of Oneness has always been to awaken humanity back into their natural state of love, connection, peace, joy, and authenticity. Authenticity includes anger, sadness, and pain. Deeksha was given as a tool to awaken us back to the natural, authentic state we were born with.
I think most people's first experience of Deeksha is very peaceful and blissful. It feels peaceful because it quiets the chattering of the mind. It quiets the parietal lobe. I've heard often that the deep sense of peace that one experiences after receiving one's first Deeksha is what brings people back. It's so rare to get into that grounded, quiet space. I believe it gets people attuned with their higher self. It connects them to something so deep that they can't deny it, and they say, "Oh my gosh, what is this?"
The actual transmission of a Oneness Blessing happens very quickly, often in less than a minute's time. Typical Deeksha circles occurring throughout the world offer a recipient numerous Blessings from Deeksha Givers during one gathering. All of the trainers interviewed in this book lead Deeksha circles, teach Oneness courses, and facilitate processes. Some have Oneness centers, where they also host the Three Chamber Process (also called Sacred Chambers). As you continue to read, you will learn more about each of these extraordinary aspects of the Oneness Phenomenon.
Rev. Dr. Michael Milner, an Awakened Advanced Oneness Trainer, Oneness Meditator, and Sacred Chambers Facilitator, has a Oneness center in Florida. His first Deeksha had a life-changing effect on him. This experience illustrates how Deeksha, in addition to offering a taste of bliss, can be a huge catalyst for increased self-awareness. He shares,
After decades as a full-time pastor and spiritual teacher, I had become broken and disillusioned with all organized religions and spiritual movements. I retired from public ministry and went to work as a carpenter for three years. I never intended to be involved in public spiritual work of any kind again. One day, a student of mine came to me, whom I'd been teaching Taoist Meditation to for about 15 years, and he told me about Deeksha. He's a very advanced meditator and a full-time spiritual teacher in his own right. He said, "Michael, I think you need to experience Deeksha."
My wife, Suzanne, and I sat in the living room with this student and we prayed to Sri Bhagavan to show us his stuff. We'd been around the block and I wasn't looking for anything. This idea of enlightening humanity sounded far-fetched, but I thought, "If it's real, then show us."
An amazing energy quickly filled the room and took me into a divine state of consciousness. I didn't care about that; I wasn't looking for that anymore. But after about 20 minutes of this very high, ecstatic state, the Deeksha energy took me deep into my unconscious, integrating into awareness the causes of my suffering and the hidden charges. I thought, "That is so cool. That is it." The heart of the spiritual journey is facing that stuff and bringing it into awareness. I knew from years of contemplative experience that the only way this happens is through Divine grace.
After that night in our living room, I quit working as a carpenter and began to work for Oneness full time, and have continued to this day. It was the experience of Deeksha that led to that shift.
What I see as so wonderful about Deeksha is the way that it is helping people to embrace and fully experience those buried charges. The charges are the bag of pain that keeps us from experiencing the Divine. The charges are the source of all programs that make us feel miserable: "I'm not good enough to be loved. I'll never succeed. I'll never be prosperous." Those programs are being generated by those unconscious charges. They play on and on in the outer life's relentless patterns. I've seen people liberated from that just by the grace of the Deeksha.
In the next chapter, we explore what it means to have unconscious "charges" and how holding "what is" can be the doorway to authentic joy.
* * *
CONTEMPLATION
1. Do you believe you are the thinker of thoughts or the one witnessing the thoughts?
2. What repetitive thoughts cycle through your mind regularly?
CHAPTER 2The Art of Becoming Happier
Any movement away from the "what is" is "suffering."
— Sri Bhagavan
Weekly Teachings, Week 193: May 25–31, 2014
In the search for happiness, it turns out that the place where happiness lives is as close as the air we breathe. We actually come equipped by nature with the very state we long for. That state, however, is camouflaged by illusions. We take the illusions to be reality and then suffer in our craving for the illusions and our resistance to what is real.
We have created habits and rituals to help ourselves feel better, including using food, alcohol, drugs, work, exercise, sex, and compulsive shopping to numb our emotional reactions to living. We want to run from strong, negative feelings we're having at times, for we fear we can't bear the pain. This creates more unhappiness, a fundamental and ancient condition of being human. These habits of dealing with our feelings seem to temporarily assist us in avoiding feeling bad, but the emotional pain soon resurfaces.
The dominance of the mind has evolved and grown in strength throughout time. The mind would have us focus on what's "out there" — the people, places, and things — rather than the immediate awareness of what's occurring within us in the present moment. Essentially, our mind makes up stories to explain why things happen to us the way they do. The stories come from the conditioning we've had — the concepts fed to us by ancestral and cultural experiences, perceptions, and values.
When we react to something someone said, or a situation that causes us to feel a strong emotion, we tend to point to the external happening as the cause of our internal reaction. In Oneness, having an emotional reaction is often termed "having a charge." We blame or try to change that person, place, or thing that causes the negative charge in us so we can become happy again. If we've lost that elusive happiness (or feel we never had it), it is the nature of the mind to place blame for our unhappiness on something occurring "out there" in the world. The last thing we want to do is to feel the charge, those unpleasant feelings we're having. We try to minimize our suffering by blaming it on someone or something else — our job, our childhood, or our partner, for example. By blaming someone or something for our charges, we continually reinforce our feeling victimized by life. We prolong our pain in this way, never fully processing the emotional charge and just spinning new stories as we focus on others for causing us pain. We live in the clutch of the stories our mind makes up.
In order to move into deeper happiness, we need to bypass the stories that cause us to feel victimized by people and situations and look within to what is really going on. What awakening does is "de-clutch" the mind from its intense grip on non-reality. When the self fully and deeply feels the authentic experience of living, feeling the emotions known immediately through our senses and felt physically in our body, then we flow with the natural energy of life. In the flow, we are not resisting life. It is the resistance to the experiences of our life that causes us pain. Letting go of resistance, we experience fully our emotional reactions and we move through them. When we move through our reactions, we feel happy. It's really quite simple, but it's only when we're awakened that it feels like the most natural thing in the world to do. Until awakening, we are in the clutch of the mind, in the clutch of resistance, and out of the natural flow of life. Before awakening, we need to bring conscious effort to facing our feelings. This is an extremely difficult endeavor.
Staying With the "What Is"
In Oneness, being aware of the energy of the present moment is called "staying with the what is," or "holding." That is how we practice the art of becoming happier. Within the flow of "what is" is divine, sentient consciousness. It's energetically palpable, knowable, experiential, and eternally unfolding. In the "what is," we may experience The Presence. The Presence is that infinite, supreme intelligence, both in us and around us. We are that. When we are in this state of being, we are consciousness itself, and thus self-aware. Awakening is a shift that allows you to stay with the actual "what is," freed from the grip of a story-making mind. When awakened, there is awareness of reality.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Oneness Blessing"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Paula Rosenfeld.
Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Imagine 13
Chapter 1 The Oneness Blessing: A Global Phenomenon 25
Chapter 2 The Art of Becoming Happier 37
Chapter 3 Healing Relationships 49
Chapter 4 Awakening to the Divine Within 65
Chapter 5 The Role of Ancestors 83
Chapter 6 Abundance and Prosperity 95
Chapter 7 Your Purpose in a Transforming World 117
Chapter 8 Relief from Cravings and Addictions 137
Chapter 9 Health and Physical Healing 153
Chapter 10 Miracles Abound! 165
Chapter 11 Awakening 181
Chapter 12 An Infusion of Grace 207
Resources 223
Index 229
About the Author 233