In Sri Vidya tantra, the lineage that I was initiated into in 2015, one of the main tenants is that everything that exists in the world exists in you. And everything that exists within you exists in the world. Another way to say this is- as is above, so is below. And vice verse. 

Sri Vidya tantra tells us that everything in the manifest universe is by divine design. There is no distinction between this earthly plane being less than "heaven". There is no distinction between God and individuals. According to Sri Vidya, we are all God, the universe, divinity - whatever you call it- dressed up as humans. The difference is that we have forgotten/been disconnected from that truth- that we are pieces of divine consciousness, not separate from it. This is actually the cause of disease according to Ayurveda, Prajnaparadha: believing that we are separate from the whole and then living as if we are separate, which leads to lifestyles and behaviors that allow disease to become entrenched. 

Everything is connected and has an effect on universal consciousness. Everything in the manifest, physical world is a reflection of consciousness. That includes our homes. 

Many traditions think of homes as sentient beings, with memories, energy and their own consciousness. How we take care of our homes is a reflection of not only our own consciousness, but is an example of microcosm and macrocosm sharing the same template. How we keep our space, how we tend to the planet is a direct correlation to how we tend to our consciousness and therefore all of consciousness because there is no separation. When we abuse the earth or our space, ourselves, our loved ones- that is an assault on consciousness. When we love our space, our houses, our bodies, our pets, the planet-that is loving consciousness. 

For example- the kalachakra mandala that comes from Tibetan Tantric Buddhism is based on the kalachakra philosophy, which states that the external world and the internal human experience are reflections of each other. The human body is seen as a small universe, containing the elements and energies analogous to those in the external world. 

In many tantric traditions, mandalas are representations of the universe, and consequently maps of the human body as well. An example being the center of a mandala is often representing the core of consciousness, which will translate roughly to the heart or the mind in the human body.

This article was inspired by the 110 year old building that I live in having some serious sewer issues. If we are examining this from the non-dual perspective, that everything is connected and is a reflection of consciousness, we could interpret this as consciousness expressing its constipation! Emotional constipation! Or, Emotional overwhelm that is leaking into other areas that create health issues when left unaddressed. 

In Ayurveda, Functional Medicine and tantra, we know that there is a direct correlation to our gut health and our mental health. Each of these modalities has a slightly different view of how and why, but ultimately are connected. The strength of our digestion and our digestive fire, or agni, is not only about our ability to break down and assimilate nutrients, but also our ability to digest our emotions. 

As a collective- there is much to burden mentally and emotionally. Genocides, global warming, general cost of life- Our digestive fire is certainly overwrought and overwhelmed- the demand is so high to digest all the chaos that is around us. Even if it is out of sight, out of mind- if it exists in the world, it has an effect on us. 

Let's look at some of the main concepts that I see this relating to, and then how to take action to support your digestion and timely elimination of emotions. We will look at how to tend to your home which reflects how you tend to your body and mind, and other ways to shift your consciousness towards that of abundance, joy and stability-which will ripple out into the collective, as we have explored above, how we treat ourselves and what is in our vicinity has an effect on the collective consciousness.

Saucha: Saucha is the first of the 5 niyamas, duties outlined in the yoga sutras that support our spiritual path and our physical health. Saucha pertains to purification, or cleanliness. It includes a number of practices for cleansing the body (kriyas), but as well pertains to the spaces that we inhabit. You might have heard the notion, "don't cook in a dirty kitch", or "a clean space is a clean mind". This is what I think of when I think of saucha. If we look even deeper- what is the state of our inner plumbing-both within ourselves and our houses? What's the state of our ventilation systems? Our trash cans and garbage disposal? These out-of-site-out-of-mind pieces of our home and body that are actually the nuts and bolts of a healthy home and body are often overlooked for decades and decades! This is probably the case in my 110-year-old apartment building. Our plumbing needed a good ol' cleanse, and until it got it, it was going to spill out into other areas (literally) until the issue was resolved. Much like when we don't address the root cause of our symptoms! We can successfully quiet our symptoms with medications, herbs or supplements, but unless we address why the symptoms arose in the first place, the issue will just migrate to another tissue, organ or part of the house until we finally give it the attention it needs. 

Lymphatic system: Saucha leads nicely into the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system, which you learn alot more about in my 7 day holistic emotional and physical virtual cleanse; Unlocking Natures Rhythms, is the trash take out system of our body. When the lymphatic system is congested due to pesticides, chemicals from our water, air, hygiene products, medications, undigestable preservatives from overly processed foods- then our immune system starts to struggle and we start to get heavy, slow, dull, swollen and foggy. Autoimmune disorders are a lymph issue because the lymphatic system carries our immune system. Research has shown that 90% of hypothyroid function is actually autoimmune in nature. The lymphatic system should be addressed first along with the digestive system when looking at the root-cause of most diseases or imbalances. If your trash can is overflowing, it doesn't make sense to get rid of more trash until the trash take out system has been repaired and we are certain that it can handle the burden of more trash being emptied into it without breaking down.

Apana vayu: Apana vayu is one of the 5 winds of prana, the direction of energy in the body that governs downward movement- the release  and emotions, sexual fluids, menstruation, and substances that we consume. Apana vayu is responsible for our stability, both mentally and physically. When apana is weak, such as in the case of chronic constipation or diarrhea, this can translate in the mind as fear, doubt, indecisiveness, insecurity and loss of purpose. Apana vayu governs our pelvis and nearly all of the organs and tissues there- the urinary tract, reproductive organs, large intestine, and anus. Any imbalances in these areas indicates an imbalance in apana vayu.

Sexual Partners: Our body has various ways of communicating its like or dislike for certain foods, smells, environments, and yes, people! Did you know that we have a skin microbiome? The skin is our largest organ, and is considered our second mouth. The microbes that live on our skin and determine the health of our skin are in direct contact with and communcation with other microbes in our enviroment, including the microbes found on other peoples bodies. Yes, our microbes are communicating with the microbes next to us. Our microbes are highly intelligent species. They can sense even before we can when the person next to us is stressed or in a sympathetic dominant mode, and they will signal us to be alert to this, thus triggering a "gut feeling" in us. One of the ways that our body communicates its likeness or agreeableness to other people, particularly our sexual partners, is in the case of yeast infections, UTI's or other inflammation in the sexual organs. Of course, it is possible to get UTI's or yeast infections even from people that you deeply love and are aligned with in every sense. However, it is your bodies way of communicating not just a bacterial imbalance, but an energetic one as well. We might examine what are body might be protesting besides just an imbalance in bacteria.

Bringing it all together. How do we tend to these various aspects of ourselves and collective consciousness? How do we tend to our literal and metaphorical plumbing? How do we deal with our shit?? There are of course many, many practices and modalities to address each of these individually and thoroughly. My favorite succinct tool for transforming consciousness, our psyche, our karma and even our physical health- is mantra. Sanskrit is a powerful language in the sense that it is a reverse language. Sanskrit is not a language that we created, it is understood to be a revealed language through deep states of meditation to the ancient sages and rishis. A language whose meaning is inherent in the sound and vibration.

The sound of each mantra represents the end result or the affect of that particular mantra. For example, OM is the first sound of the universe as it is the sound that came about as a result of the creation of the universe. The creation of the universe, the merging of prakruti (pure potential for matter) and purusha (pure potential for consciousness) created the manifest universe as we know it, and the sound OM was the result of this merging. So when we chant the mantra OM, it is connecting us to that magnificent event, to the birthing of the universe. So in that sense, the use of the mantra OM is used in specific situations for individuals who would benefit from connecting to this very estoeric and exhaulted energy. That is not very many people, as most people actually would benefit from more grounding and stability. So the meaning of OM is inherent in the sound in the sense that the sound itself represents the event that resulted in the mantra.

Mantras are a verbal representation of various extraordinary and mundane phenomena within consciousness. Each mantra has its own power, and when paired together in sequence with other mantras, has a different power for a different purpose. Mantras are the result of various aspects or events in our psyche or the universe coming to completion. Mantra is a sacred language that guides our consciousness closer to God or the one reality, samadhi, nirvana- freeing our psyches from the chains of our samskaras (subtle impressions of past actions) and vasanas (strongest subtle impression that rules the mind). The power and significance of a mantra is not derived from its literal meaning or translation, but from the subtle vibration in creates.

Learn more about the science of mantra with me online the first Wednesday of every month, 8:00 am MST. Here is the link to register in advance.

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