Triggers can be empowering

At certain stages of trauma healing, there is a real need to reduce or avoid exposing ourselves to triggers - stimuli that awaken survival reflexes stored in the nervous system. As we clear the energy of trauma from our system (an ongoing process) and develop resiliency, we begin to be able to relate to triggers differently. Through the practice of Yoga as discipline-self study-surrender (ref Patanajali’s Yoga Sutras 2:1), triggers can become a source of empowerment.

Self-observation reveals that triggering is happening more often than not. I witness complex psychosomatic responses to the daily influx of stimuli. Every stimulus is triggering some response, whether harmonious or disharmonious.

When faced with things I don’t like, it is easy to get carried away in mental-emotional reaction. “Away” from the flow of prana, life force, that is present in this moment. The further I deviate from awareness that it’s all energy, and I get to choose how I perceive and respond to this energy…the more I tend to get distracted from my intended way of being, pulled into a vibration that has nothing to do with the truth of who I am.

Conflict is alluring and familiar. It moves with the momentum of millenia of human experience. We are taught to feel justified in our outrage, justified in being upset about whatever horrible thing is going on “out there,” while we momentarily (or for extended periods of time) lose awareness that the horror is being reflected within us, instantaneously and ongoingly, as internal turmoil.

As I resonate with this frequency of turmoil, it ripples through every layer of me, generating sensations, thoughts, and actions. I end up reacting rather than responding. Reactive choices, no matter how well justified, propel me further from what my heart truly desires to experience and embody in this one precious life that is only, always happening NOW.

Reaction is a deeply ingrained habit. We are offered an opportunity to shift that habit in each new moment. As I reflect on “what is to be done” about chaos arising internally or externally, it becomes apparent to me that the work is ever the same:

Yogas chitta vrtti nirodhah.

Yoga is mastering / restraining / ceasing the movement of the mind-stuff.

- Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras 1:2

Reaction is an awakening. It is re-activation of energy stored in the past. When reaction happens, that stored energy is “up.” It’s in this moment that our opportunity to shift our relationship with the energy is presented. This opportunity becomes available when we have developed the discernment (viveka-kyati in Yoga) to differentiate between thought, attention, and awareness. If you are curious about developing this capacity, Yoga Nidra is one of the most powerful and effective tools I’ve come across.

Thought is the object moving through the mind space. Attention is the focus of awareness. Awareness is pure being, who we truly are beyond body and mind. Thoughts are like clouds. Attention is like the sun that illuminates the clouds. Awareness is like the sky.

When I know that I am not my thoughts; I am the awareness that is aware of the thoughts, then I get to choose how/to what extent I “entertain” the thoughts by giving them attention.

Entertain no thought that in any way will create disturbance in your mind, and all the energy that you disengage form the mind will flow more freely through your body. – Yogi Amrit Desai

It’s implied here that through the practice of liberating energy from reactive patterns, our physiology changes. As our physiology changes, our experience of ourselves changes. As our experience changes, our belief about who we are and the world changes. And the stimuli coming from the world land differently in our system. It’s a positive, self-reinforcing cycle.

What if it’s not about “getting rid of” the reaction OR THE TRIGGER? Gurudev would often say, “don’t try to get rid of the button pusher; instead, dissolve your button.” What if we don’t even need to “dissolve the button,” but instead simply be aware of the button: that is, be aware of the mind’s tendency to get triggered and choose to observe rather than react? Watch the cloud develop, shift, and dissolve back into sky.

Use the awareness of reaction as a prompt to redirect our attention. Where? Back to reality. I.e. the NOW. Breath, body sensation, and using intention to anchor the mind, pointing attention towards that which we truly desire to embody and experience now. This practice is not a denial or avoidance of what’s here. It’s claiming my power an an autonomous being to direct my own attention. Note that in order to be successful with this, we need to practice of being able to bear the discomfort of the passing cloud (be it in the form of conflict-creating thoughts, emotions, or uncomfortable body sensations) without losing track of ourselves.

The more I look around today’s world, the more I see the power to direct my own attention as the most valuable capacity I possess.

Don’t fight with the mind; simply redirect your attention. - Yogi Amrit Desai

In this way, the whole process of reaction, including that which serves as a trigger, the reaction itself, and all the energy it mobilizes within the bodymind system becomes a catalyst to illuminate intention through contrast, to ignite Self remembering, and to spur creative, responsive action.

Establish a whole new relationship with reality, regardless of how it begins to show up externally. – from the Integrative Amrit Method Yoga Nidra practice by Yogi Amrit Desai

This statement articulates the power to enter the presence - the awareness of I AM - in any given moment, regardless of whether what is in front of me is something I like or not, whether what is unfolding out in the world is something I can control or not. Going beyond what the mind can see or understand in a given moment requires trust. It helps to have a foundation of practice.

In practice we can encounter our triggers consciously and deliberately, experimenting with shifting our relationship to the energy that comes up. We learn how to relax into the intensity, breathe with it, and even keep the mind anchored in intention during the experience of being challenged or triggered. As we ride the wave of intensity through its peak, we train our mind to immerse fully into the experience of released energy, carrying us beyond all limitations into the bliss of presence. With repetition we develop inner knowing that this is the way energy moves. We develop trust to allow resolution of sticky situations through the same process of deliberate focus and deliberate action (and/or nonaction) in more and more areas of life.

To whatever extent we let go of reaction and move into response, we enter the unbounded territory of the unknown: pure creativity. In the freedom of being, we are empowered to invoke and embody the frequency of that which we truly desire to see, feel, hear, and know. Resonating with this frequency, we can attune our mind to grasp and follow expressions that align with our heart’s deeper desire. We become the conscious creators of our experience.

you have a wisdom warrior
within you
that needs no weapon
only creativity
to weave the new world dawning

- excerpt Lena Moon, WeMoon 2025

Now

The ancient Vedic texts containing the oldest sources of knowledge from India—and some of the oldest in human history—were preserved for thousands of years by chanting and memorization until they were finally written down.

Vedic texts are composed of rhythmic verses (in Sanskrit, shlokas), or sutras. Sutra means “thread.” Just as we can take hold of a thread and pull, each sutra acts as a handle for an entire line of thought, access into a rich tapestry of understanding. The potency of these teachings acts like a sort of compressed file; multiple dimensions of meaning can be unpacked from a single terse verse, a single word…even a single syllable.

In keeping with the holographic and fractal nature of the universe, the first verse of a text is considered to be an encapsulation of its entire teaching. Likewise, the first word of the first verse is deliberately chosen and revelatory. It offers a hint as to the entire teaching of that text.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is one of the main references I’ve learned to consult in regard to the practice of Yoga. The first word of the first sutra is atha: now.

Atha yoganusasanam - Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras 1:1

The entire teaching, and the entire practice of Yoga, unfolds from this moment’s experience. Now.

Now begins the discipline of Yoga. Now the practice of yoga begins. Yoga happens now.

All that has happened up to this point has led us to here and now. Now is the only place we can practice. Now is where we live and breathe. Reality is accessible only now.

When I realize I’ve gotten distracted or confused, whenever I’ve lost my way, this single word can bring me back, like a beacon signaling me where to focus.

Now is eternal, omnipresent.

When we bring attention into the present, suffering dissolves and resolves. Judgment transforms into appreciation. Anxiety shifts to awe. The mind quiets and the heart opens.

Whenever we find ourselves out of sorts even slightly, we can be sure that our attention is engaged more with thoughts of past or future, or with thoughts about what is happening, rather than being directly engaged with what is happening as it is, now.

Come back to now. And watch your world blossom.

The Root of Suffering

I grew up immersed in nature. From a young age I was concerned about humans’ abusive and consumptive relationship with the natural world. In my twenties, I served nonprofit organizations that worked on issues I thought were important: water and land conservation, education. After awhile, I noticed that although I was working hard on beneficial things, I was simultaneously experiencing high levels of stress that showed up as symptoms in my body.

Have you noticed how easy it is to generate conflict within ourselves and with others, even when we intend to do good?

Every war has been fought for peace. - Gurudev Shri Amritji

Now, I feel acutely the state of our world: the mass extinction of myriad life forms, our compulsion to ignore, deny, and lash out. I see us caught in cycles of “problem solving” that create more problems as they proffer solutions. I observe this collectively, as well as in my own life. What is it about human nature that prompts us to perpetuate suffering?

Yoga is a system that examines human consciousness and poses the possibility of alleviating self-caused suffering. These teachings resonate with me so deeply because I want REAL solutions that address the root issue from which all other problems arise.

Yoga and Ayurveda reach back thousands of years as intact systems of knowledge and practice. They contain lucid, straightforward explanations for the most meaningful problems we face. I trust these teachings to guide my explorations because they withstand the test of time, and they consistently demonstrate themselves to be true in my personal experiments within the context of my own life…as long as I understand and apply the principles correctly.

So what is the real problem with being human, and what is the solution?

We say “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The same is true with problems. The problem is in the eye of the perceiver. - Gurudev Shri Amritji

Yoga clearly lists the source field of all types of human misery as avidya, often translated as ignorance. Sanskrit is a profound and powerful language with multiple dimensions of meaning. “Avidya” can mean “not knowing,” or not seeing. It implies going against what exists.

Our afflictions can be traced back to not knowing who we truly are.

It is from this root that all other suffering sprouts. This mistake of identity causes separation and disconnection. When we conjure changes outside by getting ourselves or others to conform to rules without doing the inner work to heal the rift within ourselves, at best, we have reformation. We might make the appearance of change, but the source problem does not go away; it simply takes another form.

Yoga is integration, connection. Yoga asks us to turn towards, to trace our pain back to its origin, to find our way by feeling in the dark to the very core of our own existence.

Here, stripped of countless layers of distraction and defense, we experience Being. We may feel it more than seeing it, like the subtle sensation of daylight seeping into a room where you have been sleeping.

There are many ways to reach into the core of ourselves, including some that may seem accidental; others, quite brutal. My theory is that life itself is a process of evolution that ultimately compels us toward this exploration. Yet the routes can be circuitous, defying all logic, and the timeframe is something approaching eternity. So we’re not likely to understand this journey with our mind.

Yoga helps not by giving us all the answers, but by providing us with the right tools for our journey, helping us to know what to look for, and to understand where we are going. These teachings are a map, and our life is the territory. We are explorers, adventurers in consciousness!

Yoga works from a paradigm of response-ability and self-empowerment, recognizing that we are co-creators with life. We have the ability to respond (response-ability) to what happens, and through this response-ability we can effect change. By learning the workings of our body, mind, and consciousness, we can actively participate in the process of transformation.

When we change from our core, transformation radiates into the world. This is what is means to “be the change you want to see in the world.” In order to reach transformation, we have to see differently. We must shift our perspective, what we believe about our selves, others, and the world. How do we accomplish this?

Gurudev would say that we must learn how to shift from conflict-creating, reactive interaction to co-creative harmonious interplay with who or what is present.

The practice of yoga is all about how to make this shift.

Start by noticing. Paying attention is turning toward. Turning toward is how we find our way back to the root.

Meditation

There is no one else.

There is nothing else.

There is not even me.

Alone is impossible:

it’s all one no-thing-ness.

Yet

here I am,

sensing a shift,

from me to nothingness.

Silence,

as if a rain drop

were suddenly to know itself

as water and cloud.

No;

even beyond the form of all

I emerge,

silent.

Nothing to say.

Nothing to do.

I notice

I am once again

alone.

Yoga Sadhana and the Expansion of Consciousness

Explorers of all kinds fascinate me, especially explorers of consciousness.

I am constantly studying, reading, listening, gathering more tools, adding to my understanding and plumbing the mystery of being human.

In his book LSD and the Mind of the Universe, Christopher Bache offers this gem:

The core of the therapeutic protocol is to powerfully amplify your unconscious, allow its patterns to emerge in your awareness, and surrender completely to whatever presents itself in your experience.

Through the unrestricted engagement of your inner experience, the patterns will build in intensity until they come to a critical threshold. The same patterns will keep showing up in a variety of forms until a climax of expression is reached, some inner gestalt is consciously realized, or some reservoir of pain drained, and then they will spontaneously resolve themselves.

The energy trapped in these patterns is released, and the psyche is then free to flow into more expansive states of awareness for the remainder of the session. If this process is repeated many times, deeper patterns begin to emerge. However inscrutable these patterns may appear at the time, eventually they too can be dissolved by undefended engagement, and once they are, new worlds of experience will continue to open.

This description beautifully articulates the process of deep yogic sadhana.

Bache used LSD to “amplify the unconscious.” There is a far subtler, innate agent, inborn within every human being, which is destined to provide you with the impetus to expand your consciousness. It is prana, your own life energy.

You might be able to imagine how a person could have the types of experiences Bache describes under the influence of a drug, but most people could not fathom how this could be achieved without dramatic chemical intervention. Not only is this possible through the cultivation and awakening of prana, but the process is documented in multiple lineages of practice dating back thousands of years. An example of a person who reached this level of sadhana is my Teacher’s Teacher, Swami Kripalvanandji.

Prana functions subconsciously to sustain life. When fused with consciousness through yogic practices, it accelerates to evolutionary levels and becomes the catalyst for catharsis, release, and transformation. When there is enough energy in the system, obstructions are spontaneously brought forth to be resolved. The laws of energy determine the self-resolving dynamics of unconscious patterns. Healing—the return to wholeness—is the essence of expanding consciousness.

The role and power of prana in the process of yoga, and how to utilize prana to expand consciousness systematically, are secrets not widely known even among yoga practitioners. This was the essence of Gurudev’s discovery in the 1970 awakening experience that totally transformed his consciousness. (You can read about this in his book). The key to unlocking the power of prana is built into the Integrative Amrit Method. All practices in I AM Yoga, Yoga Nidra, and Yoga Therapy / Body Psychology are designed to re-establish our connection with prana.

Although I was gifted with a complete system by my Teachers, a methodology that can take us to the furthest reaches of mystical experience and beyond, most of the practices I teach are providing basic restoration and foundational preparations, because that is what we need.

As you learn how to dismantle your reactivity to what arises in the moment, yoga begins to rebalance your nervous system and simultaneously prepares you for the experience of encountering more deeply embedded and intense unconscious patterns. In this way yoga has immediate and multifaceted benefits: physical, physiological, emotional, mental, behavioral, relational, and spiritual. The discipline of yoga is the discipline of learning “unrestricted and undefended engagement” of both your inner and outer experience, and this is the key to health as well as enlightenment.

As a student and practitioner of yoga at any level, it is important to know that the purpose, power, and potential of yoga is nothing less than full Self realization and total liberation from self-caused suffering. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you ever arrive?

The first step is to begin to recognize who you are (the I AM, the consciousness) as distinct from who you think you are (the mind-made sense of separate self). Yoga provides dependable experiments to verify experientially and progressively deepen your knowing of Self as I AM.

The next step is to gather and amplify the life energy within your bodymind system. It is rare to find individuals who can tolerate elevated energy levels and maintain steadiness of mind. Stress, excessive nervous system stimulation, and toxicity are factors that pose challenges to cultivating and sustaining energy levels sufficient to ignite the deeper process of accelerated growth. Prana is the fuel for expansion of consciousness. If energy is constantly engaged with external stimuli and consumed by conflict-creating thoughts, we cannot reach a baseline threshold of power needed to move from survival-level consciousness toward higher creative and evolutionary functions. Moreover, every living being on Earth is immersed in increasing levels of environmental toxicity. We have yet to fully understand the real impact of this on our evolution (let alone our survival).

Luckily for us, we cannot avoid the process of consciousness expansion, no matter how unconscious or distracted we may become. Life is one energy. Energy moves in a self-balancing process, where degeneration can be seen as a precursor to evolutionary reorganization.

Transformation happens the moment sufficient energy and consciousness are available, and to the exact extent they are available. So even when you are working at the most basic levels, you are evolving. You are preparing the ground from which you will eventually leap.

Life itself appears to be bringing us to a critical threshold that is amplifying our collective unconsciousness. This may ignite transformation in ways we cannot predict.

The seeds of awakening are dormant within you. What will you do to nurture those seeds?