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Mind Spirit - June 2007
What Is A Oneness BlessingAnd How Can I Get One?
by Barbara Bottner
Twin avatars Sri Bhagavan and Sri Amma, acknowledged as teachers and bringers of god-realization to more than 20 million adherents around the world, began the Oneness Movement in Southern India in 1991. Their campus is called The Oneness University.
Sri Bhagavan has stated that the "Oneness University can be considered as the university of universities. It exists to make a person into a true human being. The function of the University is not only to give an understanding of the human mind, human consciousness and life itself but also to bestow the state of Oneness. Seekers are not only given the state, but are also empowered to transfer this state to others. One is fully empowered to help others become [awakened]. The effort is to create a new humanity which would have discovered Oneness."
Attendees from around the world and from all religious denominations come to the University to experience Grace and deepen their connection to the Divine. For receivers of deeksha or the Oneness Blessing, a re-patterning of neural functioning in the brain results. In turn, a shift in thought processes is created which dissolves the personal perceptual filters that foster the illusion of separateness.
The Oneness Blessing is a completely transformative process that exposes theobstacles that hide inside our lives and allows people to liberate themselves from the past, the unconscious, the collective, their ancestral lineage, karma, and all other ingredients that add up to human suffering. Although there are many modalities that would make the same claim, the Oneness Blessing alone has at its source a true avatarSri Bhagavan. Sri Bhagavan has said that humans have tried hard to liberate themselves throughout history, but have failed. Sri Bhagavan explains that humans need the help of the Divine.
On June 17th, in Los Angeles, the public is invited to attend the largest gathering of Oneness Blessing givers ever held in the world outside of India. This will be a day of intense experience of Grace, intelligent energy, healing, personal breakthroughs and powerful experiences of causeless joy. This exceptional opportunity is rendered even more unique because of the appearance of Sri Acharya Anandagiriji, one of the three main disciples of Amma Bhagavan.
Sri Anandagiriji, born in South India, was twelve years old when he joined the residential School Jeevashram, founded and run by Sri Amma Bhagavan. When he was 14 years old, the Spiritual Phenomenon of Oneness Blessing/ Deeksha had just been birthed among the pupils of the school. These young students were awakened to the divine presence in their hearts. Mystical realms of consciousness were opened within them. Sri Anandagiriji was among the earliest to receive this divine benediction, which was accompanied by a series of mystical experiences and deep insights that led to a radical transformation in his consciousness. Having experienced deep states of love and compassion by the divine grace of Sri Amma Bhagavan, he felt a deep passion to always serve them and be a part of their divine vision of awakening humanity to Oneness. Now, he travels worldwide, sharing the wisdom of the Oneness University, especially at Oneness Conferences. Innumerable spiritual seekers, young and old, in India and abroad have been deeply touched by his humility, wisdom, innocence and friendly nature. Many others have been fascinated by the immense simplicity with which he presents even the most profound spiritual insights.
Presentations will also be given by Sri Raniji, the lay monk and leader of the movement in the North America and Canada. Sri Raniji is beloved by thousands who attend her powerful workshops, which she gives tirelessly and throughout the world as well as her Oneness Blessing/Deeksha teleconferences. She is known for her wisdom, humor, compassion and dedication to the liberation of mankind. Tony Robbins, father of life coaching, is now affiliated with the Oneness University and will also present.
Evelyn Cole, a participant from last year's L.A. conference, who suffered from fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue writes:
"When I told my family I was going to attend this conference, they were blown away, because two weeks before I could barely go around the block; But once I got to the conference, I knew I had done the right thing."
In three short years, millions of individuals around the world have received the Oneness Blessing. Their lives have changed significantly in terms of internal happiness and their capacity for love and peaceful coexistence in the world.
To learn more about where you can receive the Oneness Blessing, visit the website at www.onenessmovement.org
WISDOM WALK: Creating Peace & Balance from the World's Spiritual Traditions
by Sage Bennet, PhD
O Great Spirit, let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. from a Sioux Indian Prayer
Native American cultures teach us that Spirit is alive in nature and that we are intimately a part of this grand matrix of life. As I learned on a sailing trip, it is one thing to be familiar with this teaching and another thing to experience it.
One of the dilemmas I face when sailing is that, while I love the ocean, I invariably get seasick. I tend to shy away from too much moving about; I'm afraid I'll feel the discomfort of nausea and the dread of what could come next. I'd never realized that my apprehension on the boat had kept me from fully experiencing my connection with nature.
One September morning my companion Sandy, a licensed captain, and I started over to Catalina, an island thirty miles south of Marina del Rey, California. It was a gray and overcast day, conveying a unique charm as we motored out of the marina. But only forty-Þve minutes past the breakwater, we were rolling with unusual and unanticipated vigor.
"Damn, we've got a confused sea," Sandy suddenly declared.
"What's a confused sea?" I asked.
"Typically the wind and the swells come from the northwest. But when there's a storm at sea, swells come from the south as well. Then these swells from opposing directions crash into each other."
I adjusted my footing while the boat moved slowly and deeply left, then right, in a kind of seesaw motion. The boat was undulating from side to side, but because I had a medicinal patch behind my ear, I was protected from seasickness. Sandy, however, was turning green.
"Sage, take the wheel, would ya? Keep the compass at 180 degrees, and head for the island. I've got to lie down." Sandy didn't wait for an answer and disappeared below.
At Þrst I felt shocked, as if suddenly shaken awake from a cozy slumber. But there was no chance to go back to sleep. I didn't even have time to protest, be annoyed, or feel scared. I was at the helm on a confused sea, and to my surprise, some part within me was rising up, taking charge, and sensing exactly what to do.
The moisture of saltwater gathered on my face. I felt as though Mother Ocean and I were cheek to cheek. In this intimacy, she lifted her veil and I saw her as never before.
The tame waters of the marina had unfurled into the open sea with formidable strength. I watched Mother Ocean stretch, her soft and pliable body expanding from the conÞnes of the breakwater as if she were taking off a girdle and relaxing in her living room. The wind caused swells on the ocean's surface that seemed like ripples on her giant belly. These swells, which rocked our ten-ton boat as if it were a bathtub toy, were nothing against her vastness. For the three-and-a-half hours to Catalina, I looked out on the expanse of grays and blues. The rhythm of the overcast clouds inching across the sky reminded me of the sound of slow-jazz saxophones. Out of the choppy waters, twenty feet to my right, three dolphins jumped over the waves, their arched gray bodies diving into the water and then out again several times.
I was close to somethingsome delight, some primordial remembrance of the mother, Mother Ocean, God in form. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and supported me as I drove the boat, like a mother assisting a Þrst ride on a two-wheeler. I heard her voice within me: "You belong to me. Sky, sun, moon, the children who swim, and those that þy overheadall of these are your family."
Mother Ocean taught me that I was a part of the clan of nature. I also learned that if I pushed past the fears that had kept me on the sidelines, not only could I participate more fully in my life, I could also experience something within me that was more powerful than I'd dreamed. Seeing Mother Ocean enabled me to see myself.
Excerpted by permission of New World Library www.newworldlibrary.com $14.95