October 8, 2025 • 48 mins
Swami Nityananda emerges as a guiding light amidst the cacophony of contemporary existence, offering profound insights into the nature of awakening. In this enlightening discourse, we delve into the essence of being truly alive—not merely conscious, but vibrantly engaged with the world around us. Through her rich experiences as a spiritual teacher and leader at the Awake Yoga Meditation Center in Baltimore, Swami Nityananda articulates the transformative journey of returning to one's inherent presence, love, and inner light.
We explore the profound connection between our individual journeys and the universal quest for joy and freedom. Join us as we uncover the practical steps to awaken the light within, inviting you to embrace your true essence in the midst of daily life's complexities.
Takeaways:
- Swami Nityananda elucidates that genuine awakening entails a profound connection with one's inner light, which is intrinsic to every individual.
- The podcast emphasizes the importance of embracing the present moment as a gateway to experiencing joy and freedom in daily life.
- Listeners are encouraged to practice mindfulness and intentionality by asking themselves about their highest intention each day.
- The conversation highlights that personal transformation often emerges from overcoming adversity, leading to deeper self-awareness and purpose.
- Swami Nityananda shares that true wisdom lies not in mere knowledge but in living authentically and in alignment with one's values.
- The importance of community and interconnectedness is underscored, illustrating that acts of kindness contribute to a more compassionate world.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey, one more thing before yougo. In a world that often feels fractured,
where the noise of daily lifedrowns out the whispers of the soul,
one voice rises with clarity,compassion, and timeless wisdom.
Swami Nithyananda has walkedthe path of joy and freedom, not
as an escape, but as a return.A return to presence, to love, to
light within. And today, we'regoing to show you how you have the
(00:22):
opportunity to do the same.I'm your host, Michael Hirsch. Welcome
to One More Thing before yougo. From NPR to Radio Ireland, from
Fulbright grants to the sacredlineage of yoga tradition, she bridges
(00:44):
ancient teachings with modernlives. Swami is a spiritual leader,
a spiritual teacher, anauthor, and the owner of Awake Yoga
Meditation center inBaltimore. Today we explore what
it means to be truly awake,not just conscious, but alive. And
this episode is a meditation.It's a revelation. It's a call to
remember who you really are.So welcome to the show, Swami.
(01:11):
Thank you so much, Michael.It's wonderful to be with you. Thank
you for the kindness of your introduction.
Let's begin where all journeysstart. Where'd you grow up?
I grew up in Washington State,so about an hour north of Spokane,
and that's the part of thestate that's snow country. And so
nature is a force to bereckoned with. I grew up connected
(01:31):
to the natural world in everyway, loving the natural world in
every way.
You know, I can relate to thatas I grew up in Colorado and Colorado,
like Washington, Oregon, allof these that show Mother Nature
in its glory, between themountains and the trees and the streams
(01:52):
and the birds and the bees andthe animals and the wildlife. And
it's a unique opportunity forus to connect with Mother Nature,
isn't it?
I totally agree. And I wouldsay that it creates an awe, like
a sense of wonder in relationto the largeness, the vastness. And
also then there's like ahumility and a respect, and then
(02:14):
maybe also when those are inplace, then there's courage that
arises as well.
Absolutely. Well, and we allhave to remember just a side note
that this is our home, and weare to live in conjunction with Mother
Nature. So please connect withMother Nature and take care of Mother
Nature. What about yourfamily? Do you have brothers, sisters?
(02:38):
I have two younger brothers.One of them lives in Georgia, one
in.
In California, a little acrossthe country. Where you want to be
when you grew up. I know. Iknow that you. You teach your professor
as well. You went to college.Would you want to be when you grow
up before you hit this?Because I know that you had. You
had a revelation. You had anawakening, which we'll talk about.
(03:00):
But let's. Let's talk a littlebit about what you wanted to be.
That's a really good question.I remember when I was in high school,
I knew I wanted to get my PhD,and so I did that. And I was a professor
at University for 27 yearsfull time. Ten of those years, I
was actually also serving asswami at Awake Yoga Meditation Center.
(03:21):
And then I am now professoremerita, which means I retired from
serving as a professor.
I can almost say I'm sergeantemeritus, kind of.
You can, definitely.
I can. Well, thank you forbeing an educator. Thank you for
teaching young individuals theways of the world. And so I appreciate
(03:41):
you from that perspective aswell. You were consecrated in 2014,
and you've spoken in about 10countries. How did you get involved
in that? What launched youinto that?
So that's a really goodquestion. I started a yoga asana
practice. And so asanas arephysical yoga. And I think, like,
when people think of yoga,often they think of asana. That's
(04:03):
like you go to a yoga studio,you do yoga postures. And a friend
of mine said, you should doyoga. And then one week later, another
friend said, you should doyoga. And I said, okay, the universe
is telling me something. And Istarted to do yoga. So for a couple
of years, I think it was maybeevery Monday, I would pick my friend
up, so she lives kind ofbetween me and the yoga studio. Every
(04:27):
Monday, we would go to yoga.And so that was like my entry point
into yoga. Pretty soon after Istarted the physical asana postures,
I started meditation as well.And then maybe six years after I'd
been doing that, I met myteacher. And when I met my teacher,
my teacher was SwamiShankarnanda, who founded our meditation
(04:48):
center in Baltimore. Hefounded it in 1974. And he walked
into the room, and he was likesunshine in human form. And there
was just like this light bulbthat went off. I was like, this is
the real deal. I am where I amsupposed to be. And so that was a
tremendous unfoldment and atremendous awakening, as you said.
(05:08):
I love it when the universeputs us where we're supposed to be
at the right time, and then itdefines and shows us what our purpose
is. We all want purpose inlife. We all want a direction. We
all want happiness andfulfillment and the opportunity to
be able to have those andgrasp those and understand them.
And sounds like you walk. Youwere at the right place at the right
time.
I would agree with you. And Imean, I would actually say for every
(05:31):
listener that we're always inthe right place at the right time.
So from my perspective, thereis almost like a. What's the right
way to put this? We're alwaysmoving toward our destiny, and there's
always guidance and there'salways support. And you were sharing
a little bit of your journey.Sometimes the transformation involves
pain, and so respect andsympathy for those who have pain
(05:56):
involved in theirtransformation. But sometimes what
happens is in the event ofpain, it inspires us to go even deeper
so that we learn what's belowthe pain. Like, what is it that is
always pain free in us, andthen we can move through and move
into the next chapter,whatever the next chapter is. And
you're a perfect example ofthat. Like, there's always more light.
(06:18):
There's always more to unfold.
I appreciate that recognition.Thank you. It has been a journey
for me. And as my communityunderstands and knows, you know,
we. I get a little emotionalwhen I think back upon this journey
because it at times wasextremely difficult. But I learned
(06:38):
so much during thattransformation. And even though I
did let go of a differentchapter in my life, like you said,
we may come to a new chapter,I was given the opportunity to recognize
that chapter. And then once Irecognized it, the tools fell in
place, the opportunity fell inplace, and then I felt an inner peace
(06:59):
that was much, much moreexpanded. You know, I have conversations
all over the world that Iwould never have had if I was still
a police officer.
And I'm sure you were of suchservice when you were a police officer.
Like, that's just who you are.And so. Right. So for every listener,
I would say, like, you'realready of service being where you
(07:22):
are right now. But also, we'renever done unfolding. So if there
is change or transformation inyour life, I would actually say if
you can, as much as possible,embrace it and enjoy it, Bring the
energy of love and interestand curiosity into it, and it makes
the movement forward morefilled with ease.
(07:43):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.That. That's wisdom. Wisdom. That's
what we're here for, wisdom.And. And you're throwing it at me.
The Buddha spoke of beingawake, and I know that. And I'll
delineate this, I think isthis. This is the difference between,
you know, what's unfortunatelywas going around when people are
(08:06):
saying, oh, you're woke up.This is not that being awake. I think
what we just mentioned a fewminutes ago is a deeper understanding,
a connection with theuniverse. In how we are all connected,
including Mother Nature. Socan you help us understand how we
can experience awakening inour own lives from that perspective?
(08:29):
Yes. Thank you for thequestion and the observation. And
I would agree with yourcharacterization. So the Buddha means
one who is awake. And one ofthe teachings of the Buddha was,
the awake nature that iswithin me is also within you. So
he was saying to every humanon the planet, if we let go of the
things that block ourawareness, what happens is there's
(08:53):
a natural unfoldment of light,there's a natural unfoldment of kindness.
Another way to put this, I'musing my words now, but every human
carries wisdom. And so nomatter who you are, I'm not talking
about book learning, I'm nottalking about did you graduate from
high school? I'm talking aboutevery human innately carries wisdom.
(09:13):
And so it helps us when weencounter this teaching. It helps
us turn within and recognizeand give ourselves credit for the
hard earned wisdom that everyhuman on the planet has acquired.
And a lot of times this comesto us through our culture, through
our families, through ourconnection with nature, as you said.
(09:34):
But if we're in contact withwho we are, that is incredibly healing.
My teacher said, there'snothing more healing than remembering
who you are. And myunderstanding is that the Buddha
is saying the same thing, thateach of us has this energy of aliveness,
this energy of curiosity, thisenergy of being able to pay attention
and learn and grow and expand,expand and keep exploring. And so
(09:58):
it gives us permission indaily life to, in the midst of doing
the dishes, in the midst ofhaving your conversations with your
family, in the midst of goingto work, to have just this sense
of freshness, this sense ofhumor, this sense of I'm encountering
this moment for the firsttime. There's never been another
(10:18):
moment exactly like this. Andso when we encounter ourselves in
this way, what happens isthere's a natural kindness that is
possible, there's a naturalself forgiveness, There's a natural
fresh start that comes everymoment. And then there's also a fresh
start that comes in ourrelationships as well. And so I can
(10:38):
give example of people I knowwho've been married more than 50
years and they still greeteach other with surprise and delight.
Oh, sweetie. And they're justdelighted and surprised to see each
other. And so that's theinvitation is to encounter yourself
with that delay and thatsurprise, like greeting yourself
in that way, greeting yourlife in that way. And then what happens
(11:01):
is you're greeting yourrelationships in that way you're
greeting your work in thatway. Anyone that you encounter on
the bus or the train orwalking down the street, you're greeting
them with that naturalkindness as well.
I, I, I appreciate, Iappreciate that very much. I mean,
it's unique, especially inthis day and age, to have people
that are married 30 years, 40years, 50 years and so forth and
(11:24):
still have that sameconnection that they had when they
met day one and allow that tocome through. But sometimes we in
life, life gets in the way.And when life gets in the way, sometimes
we forget that.
I agree. And I would say it isjust a process of remembering. And
so that's what I think theBuddha is saying is sort of like
we're letting go of the thingsthat block us. So I mean, if we've
(11:48):
experienced heartbreak orwe've experienced deep challenges
or pain or trauma or shame,these are things that we can heal
when we come back into self.Remembrance of this aliveness, this
curiosity, this quickness,this vitality within ourselves. And
so it's tremendously selfhealing. And you're saying as well,
(12:09):
like it has potential to healour relationship if we're not feeling,
feeling that energy offreshness in terms of our family,
in terms of our spouse,whoever it is that we're interacting
with.
Well, and I love what you saidearlier. It's kind of interesting
to know ordinary moments likewashing the dishes or walking the
dog becomes a portal to ourown presence and how we stand in
(12:32):
that presence. Right?
I would say absolutely. And Iwould say one of the things my teacher
said shortly before he leftthe body was enjoy every moment.
And this is actually possibleif we're present. If we're just present,
we're just noticing it'spossible to enjoy every moment. Putting
on your shoes in the morning,coming back from work, taking off
(12:53):
your shoes at night, itbecomes just, I'm trying to think
of how to say this, but ifwe're just here and now, in this
very moment, everything ishere, everything is already here.
And so it helps us to arriveright where we are and to notice
that all, all the love in theuniverse is actually present within
(13:14):
my heart in this moment. Andthis is true always from moment to
moment. And so we're neverdone in terms of our ability to keep
growing, to keep learning, tokeep expanding, to keep being more
helpful, to keep being morehopeful, to bring the energy of kindness
and to bring the energy ofcheerfulness wherever it is that
we find ourselves.
(13:35):
Yeah, I agree. And I thinkthat, you know, to reiterate a Little
bit of what you said, youknow, it is. We get monotonous. We
get into a rhythm. We getinto, like, a pattern. As you get
up in the morning, as you. Youhave coffee or you have tea or whatever
you have whatever you havefirst thing, and then you go from
there. You do this, and thereyou do this, and there you do this.
(13:58):
It gets monotonous, it getsmundane, and it gets. It gets kind
of slow. But when you havesome kind of an incident or an awakening
that takes place, you get tounderstand that every instant, every
moment that we've got is avalued moment. And take, you know,
you take for granted thingslike being able to use your hands
(14:20):
or seeing or hearing orlistening or go on the back patio
and just watch the sunrise andunderstand the. The immense beauty
in. In watching the daybeginning or the day end. And I had
to realize that when I wentthrough my painful journey. I've
been through eight operations.I don't know if you had known that,
(14:43):
but I've been through eightoperations. And I mean, I learned
to walk again through three ofthem. So it is, you know, pain at
the end of a story, as yousaid earlier, is kind of the beginning
of an awakening for some ofus. But once we grasp that you value
each and every moment andsecond that you. That you have what
(15:03):
we have, I.
Would agree with you verymuch. I mean, thank you for articulating
that so beautifully. And it'sso heartfelt, the way that you share
your story. And I would saythat for every listener that. So
I know that sometimes I havethe blessing of talking to a lot
of people who move through alot of things. And I know that sometimes
if you're going through thefeeling of pain, it can feel as if
(15:24):
you're stuck. And there's partof your brain that is wondering,
am I going to just stay inthis feeling of pain forever? But
if you. I'll. I'll just give,like, a very simple practice. Just
breathe into your heart. And Iknow that sounds so simple, but if
you just take a deep breathinto your heart and you breathe the
(15:45):
energy of kindness into yourown heart, you breathe the energy
of light into your own heart.You breathe the energy of hope into
your own heart. You breathe apositive intention into your own
heart, which is, I am movingforward. Things are getting better.
I am open to learning. I amopen to growing. I am open to understanding.
(16:08):
I am open to insight. I amopen to unfold and be of service
in whatever way is highest andbest. And just keep breathing into
your Heart, anytime you wantto connect with that energy of forward
movement, it'll help melt awaythat. That dense feeling and that
feeling that can arise wherewe start to feel like, okay, am I
(16:31):
going to just stay stuck inthis feeling of pain right now, in
this moment? So keep breathinginto your heart. Keep opening. And
as that happens, what happensis we open, we uplift ourselves,
and then the energy of thesolutions become available to us.
And so whatever healing,whatever position we need to be guided
(16:52):
to, whatever healing modalitywe need to be guided to, whatever
physical therapy we need to beguided to, it will just naturally,
step by step, unfold for us.
And that's brilliant. I thinkfrom what I understand from that,
we can basically transform ourpain, our fear and our limitations
into joy and freedom. It givesus the opportunity to be able to
(17:13):
do that. And I experienced itmyself, you know, to be honest. And
it is a revelation that youcan feel soul deep. Yes. It goes
into your soul.
I would completely agree withthat. And it. What it reminds me
of continually. I have suchrespect and such, like, if I allow
(17:35):
myself to, I would cry, but Iwon't, because I don't want to embarrass
you or anybody else. But justlike there's so much beauty and courage
in the human heart, in thehuman spirit, and all of your listeners,
there's so much beauty andcourage in every single listener.
It takes a lot of courage tobe here in this amazing human body.
(17:56):
And from my perspective, fromthe perspective of the Yavik teachings,
each of us is light, Each ofus is much vaster than this experience
that we're having here in ourhuman body. So our human body is
a vehicle that we use tonavigate time and space. And so one
thing that really helps, Ithink, is I'm blessed. I have a.
(18:16):
I think it's maybe a 2015 car,a little car. I'm blessed to have
this car that I drive, but Idon't identify myself with that car.
I know that it's a vehicle I'mdriving. And from the yogic perspective,
the body is actually the sameway. The body is a vehicle that I
am blessed to drive right now,but I don't identify myself with
(18:38):
the body. And so that gives memore freedom and it gives me less
a sense of being confined. Soif the body is experiencing something
challenging, I know that's notthe full story of who I am. That
is not who I am forever. It'san experience I'm passing through.
And this is actually true forany human thought, for any human
(19:01):
feeling. For any humansituation that arises, it's temporary.
We are moving through it. Andso on the one hand, this means we
enjoy. You were talking aboutthis. We enjoy the beautiful moments
of life, knowing how freshthey are, how precious they are,
how irreplaceable they are.There's never another moment exactly
(19:22):
like this one. And so you justnotice and you appreciate as if every
moment is like this jewel on anecklace that we're creating through
our lives. But also, if you'removing through something painful,
you know, this too is passing.I'm already moving through it. And
so we're able to move morelightly through what we would call
(19:44):
the positive experiences oflife, but also through what. What
we would humanly call thenegative experiences of life as well.
And so that does bring aninner joy and an inner brightness
and an inner freedom. And it'savailable to every human on the planet.
The really good news is wedon't have to earn this. There's
nothing we do to deserve this.It's with all of us always. It's
(20:05):
the truth of our being.
That's brilliant. It brings upso many. Brings up so many questions.
We'd be here for a couple ofdays. Beyond the edge of what we
think. You know, you talkabout truth. So beyond the edge of
what we think are lies or whatsociety and culture may tell us or
(20:29):
imply to us. Do you think thetruth of who we. We've always been
is still accessible within allof us? Because I know that we grow
up in certain situations,certain atmospheres, certain things.
And I won't take this into areligious aspect of it, but I grew
(20:49):
up Catholic, but I'm not apracticing Catholic. I have a different
approach to spirituality andthe connection in the world because
I felt restricted by theteachings and the practices of the
Catholic Church. In somethings I have found didn't apply
in that. Again, it's a longerconversation, but. But ultimately,
(21:16):
from that perspective, do youthink going beyond the edge of what
we think are lies is the truthof who we have always been still
here accessible to us?
So I would say, I mean, thankyou for sharing that. And I would
say so any listener of anybackground can meditate. So we teach
meditation at awake yoga,meditation. Anyone can meditate.
(21:36):
And so we. We do have peoplewho would identify as Catholic or
Jewish or Buddhist or Hindu orspiritual rather than religious.
And they meditate. And so justfor anyone to know, it's accessible
and it's available to all. Andwhat you realize in meditation is
the light within yourself. Andso the Light is always there, even
(21:57):
if we temporarily lose contactwith it. And so, yes, I would say
for every human on the planet,the light is present within us. It
is the truth of our being.It's the core of our being. And I
would also say, so let methink of how to say this. Some people,
I think, have a naturalconnection with the light within
themselves. And so for everylistener, I would invite you to think
(22:20):
of where do you feel connectedto the truth of who you really are.
And so for me, I mentioned,nature is one aspect of that. For
me, for some people, it mightbe dancing, or it might be singing,
or it might be working withchildren, or it might be working
with elders, or it might beserving as a police officer or in
(22:44):
some other capacity. So forevery person, we have these natural
points of connection, theselights within ourselves that are
just completely true to ourbeing, they're also connected to
our unique talents. Each of ushas unique talents and unique skill
sets. Those things that comeeasily to you and they might not
(23:04):
come easily to your sibling,even though you grew up in the same
circumstances and vice versa.Some things might be easy for your
sibling that are less easy foryou. And so those are entry points.
Those are some of the giftsthat our soul has brought here to
share through us. We all havethem. And so it's a really wonderful
(23:26):
practice to not compareyourselves to anyone else. You're
not better than anyone else.You're also not worse than anyone
else. And it's just givingyourself permission to notice. Where
are the moments, where are thetalents, where are the skill sets
that are just true to me,they're natural to me. I'm able to
connect with unconditionalkindness, with a sense of sharing,
(23:48):
with a sense of spontaneity, asense of curiosity, a sense of interest.
And I would say this is alsolike, I know several people who are
doctors or surgeons, andthere's a lot of work involved in
the training and preparationto be a doctor or surgeon, and then
to be a doctor or surgeon isalso a lot of work. But if you have
(24:08):
that light within yourself, itdoesn't feel hard. Even while you're
moving through all of the longhours and even while you're studying
and even while you'refinessing and continuing to improved
your skill sets and yourability to be of service, it doesn't
feel hard. Even though tosomeone else it would feel completely
impossible. And so for eachperson who's listening to really
(24:33):
practice self inquiry andpractice self observation, and then
trust those talents, trustthose skill sets, from my perspective,
those are divine gifts. Everyhuman has them. And so part of it
is to give ourselvespermission to embrace them and to
give ourselves permission totrust the light that is within us.
(24:54):
And I would also say a reallywonderful byproduct of that is then
one is able to trust the lightthat is within others as well. So
when we're in contact with thelight within ourselves, then we start
to notice actually the lightis present in the hearts of all beings.
And when we have thatawareness, it frees and empowers.
This all happens silently, ithappens wordlessly. That it frees
(25:17):
and empowers anyone that weinteract with insofar as they would
like to. To share the light oftheir being, to share the goodness,
to share the kindness, toshare the generosity. And there's.
It's just a naturalspontaneity. If we are coming from
the highest and the best, itempowers and frees others to come
from the highest and the besttoo. And so our experience of ourselves,
(25:39):
of our lives, of ourrelationships, of our work, of our
world really does transformwhen we come and get to contact and
we trust the light within ourselves.
I agree with that. I thinkthat, you know, sometimes we don't
recognize that we are. Well, Ican't. I can't say that. I think
when you try to interact withother people and you do it in a very
positive way or a negativeway, you see, you see the effect
(26:04):
on that other individualaround you, whether it be positive
or negative, you can see it,you can feel it, you can see it.
You can feel the tension inthe air. If it's negative, you can
see the stress and the strainon that. And the same thing with
positive. You can feel it, youcan see it. You can see it in a smile,
you can see it in joy. You cansee it in their face lighting up
(26:26):
compared to the other side. SoI think we all, we all have that
opportunity. And a little bitof what you were talking about, I
think, is finding our purposeand maybe our highest purpose. I
had to learn to redefine mypurpose and understand that one chapter
closed for me. One chapteropened for me and allowed me to see
that I thought I had onepurpose in my life completely. And
(26:51):
I was driven to that. Ienjoyed what I was doing and I thought,
this is who I. I liked itearlier because not many people recognize
I wasn't just a cop as a job.It was who I, who I am. I, I still
to this day, that's who I am.And it, I think, allows us to where
we all want to have access toour highest purpose in a way that
(27:15):
we feel grounded and useful. Ithink how can we access that highest
purpose?
I agree with you so much. So Iwas actually just looking at a study
that showed that if humans go.So this is a classic teaching from
the yogic tradition to notsort of go through the world at the
(27:37):
control of your senses. Soyou're not just going through the
world pursuing sensorypleasures. And this was a contemporary
study of people in thiscountry published in 2017. 75% of
the people in the study weregoing through life just seeking sensory
pleasure. And that wasassociated with increased stress
levels and increasedinflammation markers. The people
(28:01):
who. 25% of the people in thestudy had a sense of purpose that
was associated with decreasedstress levels, and it was associated
with decreased inflammationmarkers. And this was true across
all ages, across all races,across all educational levels, across
all backgrounds, across. Andit was also true that if you have
a sinful purpose, then it'sgiving you a protective effect. Even
(28:24):
if you're going through verydifficult times in your life, it
still decreases stress levelsand it decreases inflammation markers.
And so there's an immediatebenefit to just. In this moment,
I would actually say it'squite simple. In this moment, I open
and I allow the higher self,the light within me, whatever your
(28:46):
word for it is the divine, theuniverse, to help me know what is
my next step forward, what ishighest good in this moment right
now? And I would actually sayhighest good is always available.
It's always with us. We don'thave to seek, we don't have to go
far. It's actually alreadywith us in this moment. And so it
(29:07):
actually has to do with, I'mhere, I'm right now when I'm talking
to you, I'm in Baltimore. Andso that means this is where I am,
and this is where I can be ofservice to highest good. And so from
moment to moment, there's anability to open and listen and allow
and to allow the kindnesswithin you to share, to allow the
(29:28):
wisdom that is within you toshare. And I'm not talking about
anything elaborate like thisis. I see neighbors helping neighbors
all the time. And it just is anatural kind of spontaneous thing
that someone will help aneighbor clean off their car or mow
their lawn, or will roll theirgarbage can back after the garbage
got picked up. And it's indaily life, if you're just present,
(29:52):
there's a natural, spontaneousawareness because we are all so interconnected.
And if you say to the divine,to the universe, to your higher self,
to the light within you. HereI am. What is helpful in this moment,
you will receive an immediateresponse. And then the more that
you live in this, you couldcall it like a stream of helpfulness
(30:13):
or a stream of being, aservice. Whatever your word for it
is, you're also living in theflow of abundance. And so this puts
you in this natural flow ofkindness, of the energy. I call it
pure love. But whatever yourword for it, is it that energy that
is the same energy that movesthe sun and the moon and the stars
(30:34):
and the planets is there andit's supporting you, it's helping
you be fully present. Youtalked about being grounded. This
helps you be present and beable to be steady and kind. Whoever
you are with, whatever you areobserving, whatever the person you
are with is going through,whatever you are going through, this
(30:54):
is the energy. I mean, I wouldsay parents draw on this energy all
the time to help themselves bepatient in situations where it would
otherwise not be humanlypossible to be patient. It's true
that partners and friends andin business situations, we all draw
on this energy all the time tohelp us be steady and kind and cheerful
(31:15):
when it would otherwise not behumanly possible. And so this energy
of highest good, this energythat is the pure source energy that
brings all of this intophysical form. It's with all of us
always. And so just makeyourself available consciously and
you will receive immediatefeedback and support.
(31:35):
That's, that's. That makes mefeel good. Everything you just said,
it boils down. There's a wordyou said in this, and I think that
it is. We have, we have to. Incompassion. We have our compassion.
And, and I think that, youknow, something as simple as opening
the door for somebody canchange somebody's world in a heartbeat.
(31:56):
Love isn't just a feeling.It's a force that reshapes our world.
And you know, I saw it in myline of work, I saw it in my personal
life. I've seen it take placeoutside of me. I've watched it take
place with other individualsthat I've had in contact with. And
I think we all should have alittle bit of, a little bit more
(32:17):
love and kindness andcompassion and understanding. And
like I say, open ourselves upto that. I think open us up to the
light. Why do you thinkunconditional love and kindness triumph
in the face of, like,adversity? You mentioned earlier
about people going throughdifferent things. People, you know,
have that recognition thatpeople may be going, having a bad
(32:38):
day or going through some verystringent stuff. Can you help us
maybe understand that? Whydoes unconditional love and kindness
triumph in the face of adversity?
I mean, so when you weretalking, I came across a true story
recently that a woman who, Ithink she was in her early 30s when
this happened, she fell from atree and she became paralyzed. And
(33:01):
as she was falling, she hadthis complete presence. She said
she felt like a featherfloating through the air. And she
knew everything I need to knowis happening right now in this moment.
And as a result of thatinjury, she was paralyzed. But she
says the most surprising thingis how much better her life is. And
(33:24):
she says that she had beendrifting before. She didn't have
a sense of purpose. And shehas a completely clear sense of purpose
now that she is to be ofservice to this energy that flows
through her. And that's thatenergy of pure love that you're talking
about. And the energy equallyflows through all humans. And I would
also say it doesn't have totake the form of a traumatic injury
(33:46):
as that did, but it can. Andso even if you have experienced a
traumatic injury, pure love isright with you, right in the midst
of it. And so she, she hadthis very clear present moment awareness.
My job is to pay attentionbecause there is quiet support that
is coming to me right here andright now. And so her life kept unfolding
(34:09):
and again, just to kind ofkeep trusting that light can unfold,
pure love can unfold and youcan achieve a greater happiness than
you have ever known before, nomatter what it is that you're moving
through right now. And so Iwould say, like, that's a very dramatic
example, but that it ispossible for each of us to just from
(34:30):
moment to moment, everythought I think I'm giving permission
to pure love to expressthrough me in the way that it's natural
to express through me. And soI'll also be honest, there's an age
appropriate way, like if I'mtalking to my five year old neighbor,
pure love will express throughme in a different way than if I'm
Talking to my 84 year oldneighbor, which we'll express in
(34:52):
a different way that I'mtalking to the person at the checkout
at the grocery store, right?And so there's just this spontaneous
way in which each of uscontinually can make ourselves available
to this energy of pure love.And then no matter what it is like,
it can be the big dramaticthings. I gave an example of a very,
very life changing dramaticexperience that that person went
(35:14):
through. But also just in thetiny, beautiful daily moments of
our interactions withourselves, I would also just say
to treat ourselves withkindness, to treat ourselves with
respect. And so just for eachlistener, to be honest, do I engage
in negative self talk? And sothe brain actually interprets that
(35:37):
as if you are under physicalthreat. If you are engaging in negative
self talk, the braininterprets that the same way, as
if you are under actualphysical threat. And so to love yourself
so much, to be kind toyourself so much that you say, I'm
going to commit to changingthe way that I talk with myself if
(35:58):
I am engaging in negative selftalk. And I will treat myself with
as much kindness as I treat afriend, as I treat a beloved family
member, and as you change yourrelationship with yourself, as you
change the way that you speakto yourself inwardly, this will also
have really beautifultransformations in the way that you
(36:19):
are able to allow kindness andpure love to express through you
appropriately and purely inyour daily life, in your interactions
with other people.
Do you think, I mean, can Iunderstand that? Would it, would
it be okay to say that weshould kind of hold space for others
(36:40):
in a spiritual community andcultivate joy and relationships within
that community so that we cansupport individuals collectively?
That was kind of a bizarre question.
No, That's a great way to putit. And I would actually say yes,
for sure. I mean, so like, Iwould say this is everywhere. Like,
(37:01):
I do have a meditation center,awake yoga meditation center. Not
that I personally have it, butI'm a member of the community, I'm
a participant in thecommunity. And so there is that community
that I participate in. But Iwould actually say I'm in community
with all of life. Like, I'm incommunity, don't laugh. But with
the squirrels that areoutside. Outside, right? Like I'm
(37:23):
in community with the peopleon the bus or the people just walking
down the sidewalk. And so I'mactually greeting silently because
some people would be concernedif I did it out loud. But silently,
I'm greeting the light withinevery being all the time. And it's
just natural and spontaneous.And so, yes, I would say, like, if
(37:44):
you are in a family, if youlive with other people, if you work
with other people, if youengage with other humans at all,
even if you live alone andyou're kind of a hermit and you don't
engage with other humans verymuch at all, I would still say open
your heart and radiate peace,radiate goodwill, radiate the sincere
(38:09):
wishes of your heart thatEvery pea, every being, every human,
every being is able to live inpeace, that they're able to live
in joy, that they're able tolive in kindness, that they're able
to live in freedom, thatthey're able to develop their talents
and their skills, that they'reable to find their purpose, that
they're able to remember thatjust by being themselves, not by
(38:30):
doing anything, they alreadymake a meaningful contribution. Just
by being here, everyonealready makes a meaningful contribution.
I think if I can contribute tothat, it is we all have the wisdom,
and we have to understand thatwisdom is not what we know, it's
what we live. I had to learnthat myself in all of my healing,
(38:52):
in my journey, in myopportunities to either be. Sit back
and be angry and resentful anddepressed and angry, you know, mad
at the world for what I wasgoing through and where I've come
to today. I was given thewisdom and the opportunity and the
chance and the light to kindof change my direction. And now I
(39:16):
try to live that every day,and it makes a significant difference.
I agree with you completely. Iwould also say, let me think of how
to say this. The example thatyou are is so important. We really
need living examples. And sofor every listener to know, you are
also a living example. So justlike Michael is a living example
(39:37):
of this, that every listeneris a living example of the wisdom
that you carry innately andreaching down deep to keep unfolding
kindness, to keep unfoldinglight. And I would also say it does.
It sometimes takes an innerstrength and an inner courage to
keep choosing this. Andthere's always a benefit. There's
(40:00):
always a benefit to you.There's always a benefit to others
if you keep uplifting yourselfand you keep unfolding light and
you keep choosing the courageof sharing kindness no matter what.
I agree with that. I thinkthat we all need to show a little
more kindness and love. Imean, you know, we don't share enough
(40:23):
love in this world anymore inthe midst of this chaos. In my personal
opinion, I think that we allneed to have more compassion, more
humanity, have a betterunderstanding that as you said earlier,
we are all connected and we'rehere to also take care of our brothers,
our sisters, our family allthe way around, not just our. Our
(40:44):
blood relationship family, ourhumanity family.
I would agree. I. I love theway that you put that. And I would
also say for a lot of people,I'm trying to think of how to say
this. There's a process ofexpanding awareness. So we start
off maybe thinking of myfamily is these biological humans
that I. That I know, or myfamily is my neighbors that I know.
(41:08):
And then gradually we expandin our awareness until eventually
we recognize that all ofhumanity, and I would actually say
even beyond humanity, allbeings, like all life, we're all
part of this interconnectednetwork of life. And so when we.
When we live in that way, thenwhat happens is we live. It's just
a natural outcome that we livewith respect and we live with goodwill,
(41:32):
and we live in a way thathonors ourselves, but we also live
in a way that honors andeverybody. And what happens then
is we are moving in the energyof highest good, and that means we're
helping to create highestgood. So that means if I want peace,
I get to create peace withinmyself, and then I get to allow that
peace to share right where Iam. It will share through me. And
(41:52):
my experience of the worldwill transform as I choose to come
from peace and as I choose toshare peace just in the. In the ways
that it's natural and possiblein my daily life.
And that will transform the world?
It does, simply.
Well, let's talk about howdoes awake Yoga help other people
integrate spiritual freedominto their everyday life?
(42:15):
Absolutely. So we are ameditation center in Baltimore, Maryland.
And if you are in theBaltimore, D.C. philly area, you're
welcome to come meditate withus in person. We share meditations
online as well, so check usout@awakeyogameditation.org we have
a free course online, the Yogaof Happiness. And so if you've liked
(42:35):
what you have heard here, youare welcome to dive into that free
course. People say that itbrings them more smiles, more freedom,
and more fun right in themidst of their daily life. We are
on YouTube. I published a booktitled Awake and that is available
at our website,awakeyogameditation.org so if you
are interested by what I saidabout the Buddha and how it's possible
(42:58):
to uncover that awakeness andallow that awakeness to flourish
within us right in the midstof daily life, right where we are.
That book, Awake, shareseveryday examples of ordinary humans
who do this. And it alsoshares really inspiring teachings
from the yogic tradition andthe Buddhist tradition as well.
And you have a podcast.
We do have a podcast as well.Still Love now with Swami Natimanda.
(43:21):
And I would also just say thatlongtime meditators are welcome.
If you have no background atall in meditation, you're welcome.
And people say that theteachings and the practices and the
meditations are immediatelyaccessible and they're transforming
and I'll make.
Sure that all of that is inthe show notes so that it'll have
an easy way to connect withyou just by following and clicking
(43:42):
a button. And I can validate,as I've done so many times on this
show. Meditation is awonderful opportunity for us to not
only connect with ourselves,our mind, our body, and our soul,
but the universe.
It's so beautiful. I mean, Iwould just say there's such an expansion.
(44:03):
There's such a calm, grounded,centered feeling, but there's also
such an expansion ofawareness. And so one of the metaphors
I use is if you ever start tofeel a little constricted or a little
confused or a little stressedor tense, that meditation is almost
like seeing a wide, expansivehorizon or going out at night and
(44:24):
seeing the Milky Way, and yousee the vastness of the cosmos. And
then there's also this influxof insight and inspiration. And what
seem like obstacles melt awayas we meditate.
100, 1,000%. I'll change itfrom 100 and add a zero. This has
(44:45):
been a wonderful opportunityfor us, a brilliant conversation,
and I really appreciate whatyou bring to the world. So thank
you, number one, for beinghere in this universe and for sharing
your wisdom with us as well.
Michael, it's a joy to talkwith you. Thank you for your unfailing
kindness. I was listening toyour podcast. You are scrupulously
kind to every human on theplanet. Thank you for that and to.
(45:07):
To every listener. Thank you.Because your existence is beautiful.
Thank you for being here.
That was wonderful. And. Andyou. You humble me. This is one more
thing before you go, though,so I have to ask you words of wisdom
for if. If somebody wantsdaily rituals or practices, what
do you recommend for somebodyjust beginning? Because we may not
(45:32):
always have an opportunity tounderstand or the world is in such
chaos, we go. Where do I start?
I would say, before you getout of bed in the morning, breathe
into your heart and askyourself, what is my highest intention
for today? And it's somethingsimple. Very often it's peace or
it's kindness, or it's goodhumor, or it's fun, or it's playfulness
(45:57):
or it's cheerfulness. It'ssomething very, very simple. But
allow yourself to just listenquietly within. And your heart, your
soul, your higher self,whatever your word for it is, will
let you know. This is myhighest intention for today. Then
breathe that energy of peaceinto your heart. And then throughout
the day, whenever you have amoment, or whenever you feel a bit
of tension or a bit ofpressure, a bit of anxiety, a bit
(46:19):
of fear, a bit of urgency.Whatever it is that you're feeling,
breathe into your heart andcome back to your highest intention.
And this puts you in contactwith that purpose, which in turn
reduces cortisol levels, itreduces inflammation markers, it
makes your body feel better,it makes your brain feel better,
it makes your nervous systemfeel better. And all of those things
(46:41):
have implications for how wefeel as we interact with ourselves,
as we interact with ourpeople, with whom we're in relationship,
as we interact wherever weare, in our workplace or with our
neighbors as well. So it also,it's so simple. But just keep breathing
into your heart and asking,what is my highest intention for
this day? And what you'll findis that it brings that energy of
(47:03):
freshness, it brings thatenergy of aliveness, it brings that
energy of playfulness rightwhere you are, right in the midst
of daily life.
That's brilliant words ofwisdom. Brilliant words of wisdom.
Thank you very much for thatstart for everybody. I appreciate
it. And again, thank you verymuch for being on the show.
Thanks, Michael. It's a joyand much joy to you and your listeners.
Thank you. Swami Nithyanandareminds us that awakening isn't reserved
(47:26):
for monks or mystics. It'savailable in every breath, every
moment, every act of love. Herlife is a testament to the truth
that joy is not a destination,but a way of being. So before you
go, ask yourself, what wouldit mean to live as light, to be joy,
not just feel it, to walkthrough the world awake. This has
(47:46):
been one more thing before yougo. So until next time, please stay
curious, stay kind, stayawake, and thank you for being part
of this community.
Thanks for listening to thisepisode of One More Thing before
youe Go. Check out our websiteat before you go, podcast.com you
can find us as well assubscribe to the program and rate
us on your favorite podcastlistening platform.
Hey, one more thing before yougo. In a world that often feels fractured,
where the noise of daily lifedrowns out the whispers of the soul,
one voice rises with clarity,compassion, and timeless wisdom.
Swami Nithyananda has walkedthe path of joy and freedom, not
as an escape, but as a return.A return to presence, to love, to
light within. And today, we'regoing to show you how you have the
(00:22):
opportunity to do the same.I'm your host, Michael Hirsch. Welcome
to One More Thing before yougo. From NPR to Radio Ireland, from
Fulbright grants to the sacredlineage of yoga tradition, she bridges
(00:44):
ancient teachings with modernlives. Swami is a spiritual leader,
a spiritual teacher, anauthor, and the owner of Awake Yoga
Meditation center inBaltimore. Today we explore what
it means to be truly awake,not just conscious, but alive. And
this episode is a meditation.It's a revelation. It's a call to
remember who you really are.So welcome to the show, Swami.
(01:11):
Thank you so much, Michael.It's wonderful to be with you. Thank
you for the kindness of your introduction.
Let's begin where all journeysstart. Where'd you grow up?
I grew up in Washington State,so about an hour north of Spokane,
and that's the part of thestate that's snow country. And so
nature is a force to bereckoned with. I grew up connected
(01:31):
to the natural world in everyway, loving the natural world in
every way.
You know, I can relate to thatas I grew up in Colorado and Colorado,
like Washington, Oregon, allof these that show Mother Nature
in its glory, between themountains and the trees and the streams
(01:52):
and the birds and the bees andthe animals and the wildlife. And
it's a unique opportunity forus to connect with Mother Nature,
isn't it?
I totally agree. And I wouldsay that it creates an awe, like
a sense of wonder in relationto the largeness, the vastness. And
also then there's like ahumility and a respect, and then
(02:14):
maybe also when those are inplace, then there's courage that
arises as well.
Absolutely. Well, and we allhave to remember just a side note
that this is our home, and weare to live in conjunction with Mother
Nature. So please connect withMother Nature and take care of Mother
Nature. What about yourfamily? Do you have brothers, sisters?
(02:38):
I have two younger brothers.One of them lives in Georgia, one
in.
In California, a little acrossthe country. Where you want to be
when you grew up. I know. Iknow that you. You teach your professor
as well. You went to college.Would you want to be when you grow
up before you hit this?Because I know that you had. You
had a revelation. You had anawakening, which we'll talk about.
(03:00):
But let's. Let's talk a littlebit about what you wanted to be.
That's a really good question.I remember when I was in high school,
I knew I wanted to get my PhD,and so I did that. And I was a professor
at University for 27 yearsfull time. Ten of those years, I
was actually also serving asswami at Awake Yoga Meditation Center.
(03:21):
And then I am now professoremerita, which means I retired from
serving as a professor.
I can almost say I'm sergeantemeritus, kind of.
You can, definitely.
I can. Well, thank you forbeing an educator. Thank you for
teaching young individuals theways of the world. And so I appreciate
(03:41):
you from that perspective aswell. You were consecrated in 2014,
and you've spoken in about 10countries. How did you get involved
in that? What launched youinto that?
So that's a really goodquestion. I started a yoga asana
practice. And so asanas arephysical yoga. And I think, like,
when people think of yoga,often they think of asana. That's
(04:03):
like you go to a yoga studio,you do yoga postures. And a friend
of mine said, you should doyoga. And then one week later, another
friend said, you should doyoga. And I said, okay, the universe
is telling me something. And Istarted to do yoga. So for a couple
of years, I think it was maybeevery Monday, I would pick my friend
up, so she lives kind ofbetween me and the yoga studio. Every
(04:27):
Monday, we would go to yoga.And so that was like my entry point
into yoga. Pretty soon after Istarted the physical asana postures,
I started meditation as well.And then maybe six years after I'd
been doing that, I met myteacher. And when I met my teacher,
my teacher was SwamiShankarnanda, who founded our meditation
(04:48):
center in Baltimore. Hefounded it in 1974. And he walked
into the room, and he was likesunshine in human form. And there
was just like this light bulbthat went off. I was like, this is
the real deal. I am where I amsupposed to be. And so that was a
tremendous unfoldment and atremendous awakening, as you said.
(05:08):
I love it when the universeputs us where we're supposed to be
at the right time, and then itdefines and shows us what our purpose
is. We all want purpose inlife. We all want a direction. We
all want happiness andfulfillment and the opportunity to
be able to have those andgrasp those and understand them.
And sounds like you walk. Youwere at the right place at the right
time.
I would agree with you. And Imean, I would actually say for every
(05:31):
listener that we're always inthe right place at the right time.
So from my perspective, thereis almost like a. What's the right
way to put this? We're alwaysmoving toward our destiny, and there's
always guidance and there'salways support. And you were sharing
a little bit of your journey.Sometimes the transformation involves
pain, and so respect andsympathy for those who have pain
(05:56):
involved in theirtransformation. But sometimes what
happens is in the event ofpain, it inspires us to go even deeper
so that we learn what's belowthe pain. Like, what is it that is
always pain free in us, andthen we can move through and move
into the next chapter,whatever the next chapter is. And
you're a perfect example ofthat. Like, there's always more light.
(06:18):
There's always more to unfold.
I appreciate that recognition.Thank you. It has been a journey
for me. And as my communityunderstands and knows, you know,
we. I get a little emotionalwhen I think back upon this journey
because it at times wasextremely difficult. But I learned
(06:38):
so much during thattransformation. And even though I
did let go of a differentchapter in my life, like you said,
we may come to a new chapter,I was given the opportunity to recognize
that chapter. And then once Irecognized it, the tools fell in
place, the opportunity fell inplace, and then I felt an inner peace
(06:59):
that was much, much moreexpanded. You know, I have conversations
all over the world that Iwould never have had if I was still
a police officer.
And I'm sure you were of suchservice when you were a police officer.
Like, that's just who you are.And so. Right. So for every listener,
I would say, like, you'realready of service being where you
(07:22):
are right now. But also, we'renever done unfolding. So if there
is change or transformation inyour life, I would actually say if
you can, as much as possible,embrace it and enjoy it, Bring the
energy of love and interestand curiosity into it, and it makes
the movement forward morefilled with ease.
(07:43):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.That. That's wisdom. Wisdom. That's
what we're here for, wisdom.And. And you're throwing it at me.
The Buddha spoke of beingawake, and I know that. And I'll
delineate this, I think isthis. This is the difference between,
you know, what's unfortunatelywas going around when people are
(08:06):
saying, oh, you're woke up.This is not that being awake. I think
what we just mentioned a fewminutes ago is a deeper understanding,
a connection with theuniverse. In how we are all connected,
including Mother Nature. Socan you help us understand how we
can experience awakening inour own lives from that perspective?
(08:29):
Yes. Thank you for thequestion and the observation. And
I would agree with yourcharacterization. So the Buddha means
one who is awake. And one ofthe teachings of the Buddha was,
the awake nature that iswithin me is also within you. So
he was saying to every humanon the planet, if we let go of the
things that block ourawareness, what happens is there's
(08:53):
a natural unfoldment of light,there's a natural unfoldment of kindness.
Another way to put this, I'musing my words now, but every human
carries wisdom. And so nomatter who you are, I'm not talking
about book learning, I'm nottalking about did you graduate from
high school? I'm talking aboutevery human innately carries wisdom.
(09:13):
And so it helps us when weencounter this teaching. It helps
us turn within and recognizeand give ourselves credit for the
hard earned wisdom that everyhuman on the planet has acquired.
And a lot of times this comesto us through our culture, through
our families, through ourconnection with nature, as you said.
(09:34):
But if we're in contact withwho we are, that is incredibly healing.
My teacher said, there'snothing more healing than remembering
who you are. And myunderstanding is that the Buddha
is saying the same thing, thateach of us has this energy of aliveness,
this energy of curiosity, thisenergy of being able to pay attention
and learn and grow and expand,expand and keep exploring. And so
(09:58):
it gives us permission indaily life to, in the midst of doing
the dishes, in the midst ofhaving your conversations with your
family, in the midst of goingto work, to have just this sense
of freshness, this sense ofhumor, this sense of I'm encountering
this moment for the firsttime. There's never been another
(10:18):
moment exactly like this. Andso when we encounter ourselves in
this way, what happens isthere's a natural kindness that is
possible, there's a naturalself forgiveness, There's a natural
fresh start that comes everymoment. And then there's also a fresh
start that comes in ourrelationships as well. And so I can
(10:38):
give example of people I knowwho've been married more than 50
years and they still greeteach other with surprise and delight.
Oh, sweetie. And they're justdelighted and surprised to see each
other. And so that's theinvitation is to encounter yourself
with that delay and thatsurprise, like greeting yourself
in that way, greeting yourlife in that way. And then what happens
(11:01):
is you're greeting yourrelationships in that way you're
greeting your work in thatway. Anyone that you encounter on
the bus or the train orwalking down the street, you're greeting
them with that naturalkindness as well.
I, I, I appreciate, Iappreciate that very much. I mean,
it's unique, especially inthis day and age, to have people
that are married 30 years, 40years, 50 years and so forth and
(11:24):
still have that sameconnection that they had when they
met day one and allow that tocome through. But sometimes we in
life, life gets in the way.And when life gets in the way, sometimes
we forget that.
I agree. And I would say it isjust a process of remembering. And
so that's what I think theBuddha is saying is sort of like
we're letting go of the thingsthat block us. So I mean, if we've
(11:48):
experienced heartbreak orwe've experienced deep challenges
or pain or trauma or shame,these are things that we can heal
when we come back into self.Remembrance of this aliveness, this
curiosity, this quickness,this vitality within ourselves. And
so it's tremendously selfhealing. And you're saying as well,
(12:09):
like it has potential to healour relationship if we're not feeling,
feeling that energy offreshness in terms of our family,
in terms of our spouse,whoever it is that we're interacting
with.
Well, and I love what you saidearlier. It's kind of interesting
to know ordinary moments likewashing the dishes or walking the
dog becomes a portal to ourown presence and how we stand in
(12:32):
that presence. Right?
I would say absolutely. And Iwould say one of the things my teacher
said shortly before he leftthe body was enjoy every moment.
And this is actually possibleif we're present. If we're just present,
we're just noticing it'spossible to enjoy every moment. Putting
on your shoes in the morning,coming back from work, taking off
(12:53):
your shoes at night, itbecomes just, I'm trying to think
of how to say this, but ifwe're just here and now, in this
very moment, everything ishere, everything is already here.
And so it helps us to arriveright where we are and to notice
that all, all the love in theuniverse is actually present within
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my heart in this moment. Andthis is true always from moment to
moment. And so we're neverdone in terms of our ability to keep
growing, to keep learning, tokeep expanding, to keep being more
helpful, to keep being morehopeful, to bring the energy of kindness
and to bring the energy ofcheerfulness wherever it is that
we find ourselves.
(13:35):
Yeah, I agree. And I thinkthat, you know, to reiterate a Little
bit of what you said, youknow, it is. We get monotonous. We
get into a rhythm. We getinto, like, a pattern. As you get
up in the morning, as you. Youhave coffee or you have tea or whatever
you have whatever you havefirst thing, and then you go from
there. You do this, and thereyou do this, and there you do this.
(13:58):
It gets monotonous, it getsmundane, and it gets. It gets kind
of slow. But when you havesome kind of an incident or an awakening
that takes place, you get tounderstand that every instant, every
moment that we've got is avalued moment. And take, you know,
you take for granted thingslike being able to use your hands
(14:20):
or seeing or hearing orlistening or go on the back patio
and just watch the sunrise andunderstand the. The immense beauty
in. In watching the daybeginning or the day end. And I had
to realize that when I wentthrough my painful journey. I've
been through eight operations.I don't know if you had known that,
(14:43):
but I've been through eightoperations. And I mean, I learned
to walk again through three ofthem. So it is, you know, pain at
the end of a story, as yousaid earlier, is kind of the beginning
of an awakening for some ofus. But once we grasp that you value
each and every moment andsecond that you. That you have what
(15:03):
we have, I.
Would agree with you verymuch. I mean, thank you for articulating
that so beautifully. And it'sso heartfelt, the way that you share
your story. And I would saythat for every listener that. So
I know that sometimes I havethe blessing of talking to a lot
of people who move through alot of things. And I know that sometimes
if you're going through thefeeling of pain, it can feel as if
(15:24):
you're stuck. And there's partof your brain that is wondering,
am I going to just stay inthis feeling of pain forever? But
if you. I'll. I'll just give,like, a very simple practice. Just
breathe into your heart. And Iknow that sounds so simple, but if
you just take a deep breathinto your heart and you breathe the
(15:45):
energy of kindness into yourown heart, you breathe the energy
of light into your own heart.You breathe the energy of hope into
your own heart. You breathe apositive intention into your own
heart, which is, I am movingforward. Things are getting better.
I am open to learning. I amopen to growing. I am open to understanding.
(16:08):
I am open to insight. I amopen to unfold and be of service
in whatever way is highest andbest. And just keep breathing into
your Heart, anytime you wantto connect with that energy of forward
movement, it'll help melt awaythat. That dense feeling and that
feeling that can arise wherewe start to feel like, okay, am I
(16:31):
going to just stay stuck inthis feeling of pain right now, in
this moment? So keep breathinginto your heart. Keep opening. And
as that happens, what happensis we open, we uplift ourselves,
and then the energy of thesolutions become available to us.
And so whatever healing,whatever position we need to be guided
(16:52):
to, whatever healing modalitywe need to be guided to, whatever
physical therapy we need to beguided to, it will just naturally,
step by step, unfold for us.
And that's brilliant. I thinkfrom what I understand from that,
we can basically transform ourpain, our fear and our limitations
into joy and freedom. It givesus the opportunity to be able to
(17:13):
do that. And I experienced itmyself, you know, to be honest. And
it is a revelation that youcan feel soul deep. Yes. It goes
into your soul.
I would completely agree withthat. And it. What it reminds me
of continually. I have suchrespect and such, like, if I allow
(17:35):
myself to, I would cry, but Iwon't, because I don't want to embarrass
you or anybody else. But justlike there's so much beauty and courage
in the human heart, in thehuman spirit, and all of your listeners,
there's so much beauty andcourage in every single listener.
It takes a lot of courage tobe here in this amazing human body.
(17:56):
And from my perspective, fromthe perspective of the Yavik teachings,
each of us is light, Each ofus is much vaster than this experience
that we're having here in ourhuman body. So our human body is
a vehicle that we use tonavigate time and space. And so one
thing that really helps, Ithink, is I'm blessed. I have a.
(18:16):
I think it's maybe a 2015 car,a little car. I'm blessed to have
this car that I drive, but Idon't identify myself with that car.
I know that it's a vehicle I'mdriving. And from the yogic perspective,
the body is actually the sameway. The body is a vehicle that I
am blessed to drive right now,but I don't identify myself with
(18:38):
the body. And so that gives memore freedom and it gives me less
a sense of being confined. Soif the body is experiencing something
challenging, I know that's notthe full story of who I am. That
is not who I am forever. It'san experience I'm passing through.
And this is actually true forany human thought, for any human
(19:01):
feeling. For any humansituation that arises, it's temporary.
We are moving through it. Andso on the one hand, this means we
enjoy. You were talking aboutthis. We enjoy the beautiful moments
of life, knowing how freshthey are, how precious they are,
how irreplaceable they are.There's never another moment exactly
(19:22):
like this one. And so you justnotice and you appreciate as if every
moment is like this jewel on anecklace that we're creating through
our lives. But also, if you'removing through something painful,
you know, this too is passing.I'm already moving through it. And
so we're able to move morelightly through what we would call
(19:44):
the positive experiences oflife, but also through what. What
we would humanly call thenegative experiences of life as well.
And so that does bring aninner joy and an inner brightness
and an inner freedom. And it'savailable to every human on the planet.
The really good news is wedon't have to earn this. There's
nothing we do to deserve this.It's with all of us always. It's
(20:05):
the truth of our being.
That's brilliant. It brings upso many. Brings up so many questions.
We'd be here for a couple ofdays. Beyond the edge of what we
think. You know, you talkabout truth. So beyond the edge of
what we think are lies or whatsociety and culture may tell us or
(20:29):
imply to us. Do you think thetruth of who we. We've always been
is still accessible within allof us? Because I know that we grow
up in certain situations,certain atmospheres, certain things.
And I won't take this into areligious aspect of it, but I grew
(20:49):
up Catholic, but I'm not apracticing Catholic. I have a different
approach to spirituality andthe connection in the world because
I felt restricted by theteachings and the practices of the
Catholic Church. In somethings I have found didn't apply
in that. Again, it's a longerconversation, but. But ultimately,
(21:16):
from that perspective, do youthink going beyond the edge of what
we think are lies is the truthof who we have always been still
here accessible to us?
So I would say, I mean, thankyou for sharing that. And I would
say so any listener of anybackground can meditate. So we teach
meditation at awake yoga,meditation. Anyone can meditate.
(21:36):
And so we. We do have peoplewho would identify as Catholic or
Jewish or Buddhist or Hindu orspiritual rather than religious.
And they meditate. And so justfor anyone to know, it's accessible
and it's available to all. Andwhat you realize in meditation is
the light within yourself. Andso the Light is always there, even
(21:57):
if we temporarily lose contactwith it. And so, yes, I would say
for every human on the planet,the light is present within us. It
is the truth of our being.It's the core of our being. And I
would also say, so let methink of how to say this. Some people,
I think, have a naturalconnection with the light within
themselves. And so for everylistener, I would invite you to think
(22:20):
of where do you feel connectedto the truth of who you really are.
And so for me, I mentioned,nature is one aspect of that. For
me, for some people, it mightbe dancing, or it might be singing,
or it might be working withchildren, or it might be working
with elders, or it might beserving as a police officer or in
(22:44):
some other capacity. So forevery person, we have these natural
points of connection, theselights within ourselves that are
just completely true to ourbeing, they're also connected to
our unique talents. Each of ushas unique talents and unique skill
sets. Those things that comeeasily to you and they might not
(23:04):
come easily to your sibling,even though you grew up in the same
circumstances and vice versa.Some things might be easy for your
sibling that are less easy foryou. And so those are entry points.
Those are some of the giftsthat our soul has brought here to
share through us. We all havethem. And so it's a really wonderful
(23:26):
practice to not compareyourselves to anyone else. You're
not better than anyone else.You're also not worse than anyone
else. And it's just givingyourself permission to notice. Where
are the moments, where are thetalents, where are the skill sets
that are just true to me,they're natural to me. I'm able to
connect with unconditionalkindness, with a sense of sharing,
(23:48):
with a sense of spontaneity, asense of curiosity, a sense of interest.
And I would say this is alsolike, I know several people who are
doctors or surgeons, andthere's a lot of work involved in
the training and preparationto be a doctor or surgeon, and then
to be a doctor or surgeon isalso a lot of work. But if you have
(24:08):
that light within yourself, itdoesn't feel hard. Even while you're
moving through all of the longhours and even while you're studying
and even while you'refinessing and continuing to improved
your skill sets and yourability to be of service, it doesn't
feel hard. Even though tosomeone else it would feel completely
impossible. And so for eachperson who's listening to really
(24:33):
practice self inquiry andpractice self observation, and then
trust those talents, trustthose skill sets, from my perspective,
those are divine gifts. Everyhuman has them. And so part of it
is to give ourselvespermission to embrace them and to
give ourselves permission totrust the light that is within us.
(24:54):
And I would also say a reallywonderful byproduct of that is then
one is able to trust the lightthat is within others as well. So
when we're in contact with thelight within ourselves, then we start
to notice actually the lightis present in the hearts of all beings.
And when we have thatawareness, it frees and empowers.
This all happens silently, ithappens wordlessly. That it frees
(25:17):
and empowers anyone that weinteract with insofar as they would
like to. To share the light oftheir being, to share the goodness,
to share the kindness, toshare the generosity. And there's.
It's just a naturalspontaneity. If we are coming from
the highest and the best, itempowers and frees others to come
from the highest and the besttoo. And so our experience of ourselves,
(25:39):
of our lives, of ourrelationships, of our work, of our
world really does transformwhen we come and get to contact and
we trust the light within ourselves.
I agree with that. I thinkthat, you know, sometimes we don't
recognize that we are. Well, Ican't. I can't say that. I think
when you try to interact withother people and you do it in a very
positive way or a negativeway, you see, you see the effect
(26:04):
on that other individualaround you, whether it be positive
or negative, you can see it,you can feel it, you can see it.
You can feel the tension inthe air. If it's negative, you can
see the stress and the strainon that. And the same thing with
positive. You can feel it, youcan see it. You can see it in a smile,
you can see it in joy. You cansee it in their face lighting up
(26:26):
compared to the other side. SoI think we all, we all have that
opportunity. And a little bitof what you were talking about, I
think, is finding our purposeand maybe our highest purpose. I
had to learn to redefine mypurpose and understand that one chapter
closed for me. One chapteropened for me and allowed me to see
that I thought I had onepurpose in my life completely. And
(26:51):
I was driven to that. Ienjoyed what I was doing and I thought,
this is who I. I liked itearlier because not many people recognize
I wasn't just a cop as a job.It was who I, who I am. I, I still
to this day, that's who I am.And it, I think, allows us to where
we all want to have access toour highest purpose in a way that
(27:15):
we feel grounded and useful. Ithink how can we access that highest
purpose?
I agree with you so much. So Iwas actually just looking at a study
that showed that if humans go.So this is a classic teaching from
the yogic tradition to notsort of go through the world at the
(27:37):
control of your senses. Soyou're not just going through the
world pursuing sensorypleasures. And this was a contemporary
study of people in thiscountry published in 2017. 75% of
the people in the study weregoing through life just seeking sensory
pleasure. And that wasassociated with increased stress
levels and increasedinflammation markers. The people
(28:01):
who. 25% of the people in thestudy had a sense of purpose that
was associated with decreasedstress levels, and it was associated
with decreased inflammationmarkers. And this was true across
all ages, across all races,across all educational levels, across
all backgrounds, across. Andit was also true that if you have
a sinful purpose, then it'sgiving you a protective effect. Even
(28:24):
if you're going through verydifficult times in your life, it
still decreases stress levelsand it decreases inflammation markers.
And so there's an immediatebenefit to just. In this moment,
I would actually say it'squite simple. In this moment, I open
and I allow the higher self,the light within me, whatever your
(28:46):
word for it is the divine, theuniverse, to help me know what is
my next step forward, what ishighest good in this moment right
now? And I would actually sayhighest good is always available.
It's always with us. We don'thave to seek, we don't have to go
far. It's actually alreadywith us in this moment. And so it
(29:07):
actually has to do with, I'mhere, I'm right now when I'm talking
to you, I'm in Baltimore. Andso that means this is where I am,
and this is where I can be ofservice to highest good. And so from
moment to moment, there's anability to open and listen and allow
and to allow the kindnesswithin you to share, to allow the
(29:28):
wisdom that is within you toshare. And I'm not talking about
anything elaborate like thisis. I see neighbors helping neighbors
all the time. And it just is anatural kind of spontaneous thing
that someone will help aneighbor clean off their car or mow
their lawn, or will roll theirgarbage can back after the garbage
got picked up. And it's indaily life, if you're just present,
(29:52):
there's a natural, spontaneousawareness because we are all so interconnected.
And if you say to the divine,to the universe, to your higher self,
to the light within you. HereI am. What is helpful in this moment,
you will receive an immediateresponse. And then the more that
you live in this, you couldcall it like a stream of helpfulness
(30:13):
or a stream of being, aservice. Whatever your word for it
is, you're also living in theflow of abundance. And so this puts
you in this natural flow ofkindness, of the energy. I call it
pure love. But whatever yourword for it, is it that energy that
is the same energy that movesthe sun and the moon and the stars
(30:34):
and the planets is there andit's supporting you, it's helping
you be fully present. Youtalked about being grounded. This
helps you be present and beable to be steady and kind. Whoever
you are with, whatever you areobserving, whatever the person you
are with is going through,whatever you are going through, this
(30:54):
is the energy. I mean, I wouldsay parents draw on this energy all
the time to help themselves bepatient in situations where it would
otherwise not be humanlypossible to be patient. It's true
that partners and friends andin business situations, we all draw
on this energy all the time tohelp us be steady and kind and cheerful
(31:15):
when it would otherwise not behumanly possible. And so this energy
of highest good, this energythat is the pure source energy that
brings all of this intophysical form. It's with all of us
always. And so just makeyourself available consciously and
you will receive immediatefeedback and support.
(31:35):
That's, that's. That makes mefeel good. Everything you just said,
it boils down. There's a wordyou said in this, and I think that
it is. We have, we have to. Incompassion. We have our compassion.
And, and I think that, youknow, something as simple as opening
the door for somebody canchange somebody's world in a heartbeat.
(31:56):
Love isn't just a feeling.It's a force that reshapes our world.
And you know, I saw it in myline of work, I saw it in my personal
life. I've seen it take placeoutside of me. I've watched it take
place with other individualsthat I've had in contact with. And
I think we all should have alittle bit of, a little bit more
(32:17):
love and kindness andcompassion and understanding. And
like I say, open ourselves upto that. I think open us up to the
light. Why do you thinkunconditional love and kindness triumph
in the face of, like,adversity? You mentioned earlier
about people going throughdifferent things. People, you know,
have that recognition thatpeople may be going, having a bad
(32:38):
day or going through some verystringent stuff. Can you help us
maybe understand that? Whydoes unconditional love and kindness
triumph in the face of adversity?
I mean, so when you weretalking, I came across a true story
recently that a woman who, Ithink she was in her early 30s when
this happened, she fell from atree and she became paralyzed. And
(33:01):
as she was falling, she hadthis complete presence. She said
she felt like a featherfloating through the air. And she
knew everything I need to knowis happening right now in this moment.
And as a result of thatinjury, she was paralyzed. But she
says the most surprising thingis how much better her life is. And
(33:24):
she says that she had beendrifting before. She didn't have
a sense of purpose. And shehas a completely clear sense of purpose
now that she is to be ofservice to this energy that flows
through her. And that's thatenergy of pure love that you're talking
about. And the energy equallyflows through all humans. And I would
also say it doesn't have totake the form of a traumatic injury
(33:46):
as that did, but it can. Andso even if you have experienced a
traumatic injury, pure love isright with you, right in the midst
of it. And so she, she hadthis very clear present moment awareness.
My job is to pay attentionbecause there is quiet support that
is coming to me right here andright now. And so her life kept unfolding
(34:09):
and again, just to kind ofkeep trusting that light can unfold,
pure love can unfold and youcan achieve a greater happiness than
you have ever known before, nomatter what it is that you're moving
through right now. And so Iwould say, like, that's a very dramatic
example, but that it ispossible for each of us to just from
(34:30):
moment to moment, everythought I think I'm giving permission
to pure love to expressthrough me in the way that it's natural
to express through me. And soI'll also be honest, there's an age
appropriate way, like if I'mtalking to my five year old neighbor,
pure love will express throughme in a different way than if I'm
Talking to my 84 year oldneighbor, which we'll express in
(34:52):
a different way that I'mtalking to the person at the checkout
at the grocery store, right?And so there's just this spontaneous
way in which each of uscontinually can make ourselves available
to this energy of pure love.And then no matter what it is like,
it can be the big dramaticthings. I gave an example of a very,
very life changing dramaticexperience that that person went
(35:14):
through. But also just in thetiny, beautiful daily moments of
our interactions withourselves, I would also just say
to treat ourselves withkindness, to treat ourselves with
respect. And so just for eachlistener, to be honest, do I engage
in negative self talk? And sothe brain actually interprets that
(35:37):
as if you are under physicalthreat. If you are engaging in negative
self talk, the braininterprets that the same way, as
if you are under actualphysical threat. And so to love yourself
so much, to be kind toyourself so much that you say, I'm
going to commit to changingthe way that I talk with myself if
(35:58):
I am engaging in negative selftalk. And I will treat myself with
as much kindness as I treat afriend, as I treat a beloved family
member, and as you change yourrelationship with yourself, as you
change the way that you speakto yourself inwardly, this will also
have really beautifultransformations in the way that you
(36:19):
are able to allow kindness andpure love to express through you
appropriately and purely inyour daily life, in your interactions
with other people.
Do you think, I mean, can Iunderstand that? Would it, would
it be okay to say that weshould kind of hold space for others
(36:40):
in a spiritual community andcultivate joy and relationships within
that community so that we cansupport individuals collectively?
That was kind of a bizarre question.
No, That's a great way to putit. And I would actually say yes,
for sure. I mean, so like, Iwould say this is everywhere. Like,
(37:01):
I do have a meditation center,awake yoga meditation center. Not
that I personally have it, butI'm a member of the community, I'm
a participant in thecommunity. And so there is that community
that I participate in. But Iwould actually say I'm in community
with all of life. Like, I'm incommunity, don't laugh. But with
the squirrels that areoutside. Outside, right? Like I'm
(37:23):
in community with the peopleon the bus or the people just walking
down the sidewalk. And so I'mactually greeting silently because
some people would be concernedif I did it out loud. But silently,
I'm greeting the light withinevery being all the time. And it's
just natural and spontaneous.And so, yes, I would say, like, if
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you are in a family, if youlive with other people, if you work
with other people, if youengage with other humans at all,
even if you live alone andyou're kind of a hermit and you don't
engage with other humans verymuch at all, I would still say open
your heart and radiate peace,radiate goodwill, radiate the sincere
(38:09):
wishes of your heart thatEvery pea, every being, every human,
every being is able to live inpeace, that they're able to live
in joy, that they're able tolive in kindness, that they're able
to live in freedom, thatthey're able to develop their talents
and their skills, that they'reable to find their purpose, that
they're able to remember thatjust by being themselves, not by
(38:30):
doing anything, they alreadymake a meaningful contribution. Just
by being here, everyonealready makes a meaningful contribution.
I think if I can contribute tothat, it is we all have the wisdom,
and we have to understand thatwisdom is not what we know, it's
what we live. I had to learnthat myself in all of my healing,
(38:52):
in my journey, in myopportunities to either be. Sit back
and be angry and resentful anddepressed and angry, you know, mad
at the world for what I wasgoing through and where I've come
to today. I was given thewisdom and the opportunity and the
chance and the light to kindof change my direction. And now I
(39:16):
try to live that every day,and it makes a significant difference.
I agree with you completely. Iwould also say, let me think of how
to say this. The example thatyou are is so important. We really
need living examples. And sofor every listener to know, you are
also a living example. So justlike Michael is a living example
(39:37):
of this, that every listeneris a living example of the wisdom
that you carry innately andreaching down deep to keep unfolding
kindness, to keep unfoldinglight. And I would also say it does.
It sometimes takes an innerstrength and an inner courage to
keep choosing this. Andthere's always a benefit. There's
(40:00):
always a benefit to you.There's always a benefit to others
if you keep uplifting yourselfand you keep unfolding light and
you keep choosing the courageof sharing kindness no matter what.
I agree with that. I thinkthat we all need to show a little
more kindness and love. Imean, you know, we don't share enough
(40:23):
love in this world anymore inthe midst of this chaos. In my personal
opinion, I think that we allneed to have more compassion, more
humanity, have a betterunderstanding that as you said earlier,
we are all connected and we'rehere to also take care of our brothers,
our sisters, our family allthe way around, not just our. Our
(40:44):
blood relationship family, ourhumanity family.
I would agree. I. I love theway that you put that. And I would
also say for a lot of people,I'm trying to think of how to say
this. There's a process ofexpanding awareness. So we start
off maybe thinking of myfamily is these biological humans
that I. That I know, or myfamily is my neighbors that I know.
(41:08):
And then gradually we expandin our awareness until eventually
we recognize that all ofhumanity, and I would actually say
even beyond humanity, allbeings, like all life, we're all
part of this interconnectednetwork of life. And so when we.
When we live in that way, thenwhat happens is we live. It's just
a natural outcome that we livewith respect and we live with goodwill,
(41:32):
and we live in a way thathonors ourselves, but we also live
in a way that honors andeverybody. And what happens then
is we are moving in the energyof highest good, and that means we're
helping to create highestgood. So that means if I want peace,
I get to create peace withinmyself, and then I get to allow that
peace to share right where Iam. It will share through me. And
(41:52):
my experience of the worldwill transform as I choose to come
from peace and as I choose toshare peace just in the. In the ways
that it's natural and possiblein my daily life.
And that will transform the world?
It does, simply.
Well, let's talk about howdoes awake Yoga help other people
integrate spiritual freedominto their everyday life?
(42:15):
Absolutely. So we are ameditation center in Baltimore, Maryland.
And if you are in theBaltimore, D.C. philly area, you're
welcome to come meditate withus in person. We share meditations
online as well, so check usout@awakeyogameditation.org we have
a free course online, the Yogaof Happiness. And so if you've liked
(42:35):
what you have heard here, youare welcome to dive into that free
course. People say that itbrings them more smiles, more freedom,
and more fun right in themidst of their daily life. We are
on YouTube. I published a booktitled Awake and that is available
at our website,awakeyogameditation.org so if you
are interested by what I saidabout the Buddha and how it's possible
(42:58):
to uncover that awakeness andallow that awakeness to flourish
within us right in the midstof daily life, right where we are.
That book, Awake, shareseveryday examples of ordinary humans
who do this. And it alsoshares really inspiring teachings
from the yogic tradition andthe Buddhist tradition as well.
And you have a podcast.
We do have a podcast as well.Still Love now with Swami Natimanda.
(43:21):
And I would also just say thatlongtime meditators are welcome.
If you have no background atall in meditation, you're welcome.
And people say that theteachings and the practices and the
meditations are immediatelyaccessible and they're transforming
and I'll make.
Sure that all of that is inthe show notes so that it'll have
an easy way to connect withyou just by following and clicking
(43:42):
a button. And I can validate,as I've done so many times on this
show. Meditation is awonderful opportunity for us to not
only connect with ourselves,our mind, our body, and our soul,
but the universe.
It's so beautiful. I mean, Iwould just say there's such an expansion.
(44:03):
There's such a calm, grounded,centered feeling, but there's also
such an expansion ofawareness. And so one of the metaphors
I use is if you ever start tofeel a little constricted or a little
confused or a little stressedor tense, that meditation is almost
like seeing a wide, expansivehorizon or going out at night and
(44:24):
seeing the Milky Way, and yousee the vastness of the cosmos. And
then there's also this influxof insight and inspiration. And what
seem like obstacles melt awayas we meditate.
100, 1,000%. I'll change itfrom 100 and add a zero. This has
(44:45):
been a wonderful opportunityfor us, a brilliant conversation,
and I really appreciate whatyou bring to the world. So thank
you, number one, for beinghere in this universe and for sharing
your wisdom with us as well.
Michael, it's a joy to talkwith you. Thank you for your unfailing
kindness. I was listening toyour podcast. You are scrupulously
kind to every human on theplanet. Thank you for that and to.
(45:07):
To every listener. Thank you.Because your existence is beautiful.
Thank you for being here.
That was wonderful. And. Andyou. You humble me. This is one more
thing before you go, though,so I have to ask you words of wisdom
for if. If somebody wantsdaily rituals or practices, what
do you recommend for somebodyjust beginning? Because we may not
(45:32):
always have an opportunity tounderstand or the world is in such
chaos, we go. Where do I start?
I would say, before you getout of bed in the morning, breathe
into your heart and askyourself, what is my highest intention
for today? And it's somethingsimple. Very often it's peace or
it's kindness, or it's goodhumor, or it's fun, or it's playfulness
(45:57):
or it's cheerfulness. It'ssomething very, very simple. But
allow yourself to just listenquietly within. And your heart, your
soul, your higher self,whatever your word for it is, will
let you know. This is myhighest intention for today. Then
breathe that energy of peaceinto your heart. And then throughout
the day, whenever you have amoment, or whenever you feel a bit
of tension or a bit ofpressure, a bit of anxiety, a bit
(46:19):
of fear, a bit of urgency.Whatever it is that you're feeling,
breathe into your heart andcome back to your highest intention.
And this puts you in contactwith that purpose, which in turn
reduces cortisol levels, itreduces inflammation markers, it
makes your body feel better,it makes your brain feel better,
it makes your nervous systemfeel better. And all of those things
(46:41):
have implications for how wefeel as we interact with ourselves,
as we interact with ourpeople, with whom we're in relationship,
as we interact wherever weare, in our workplace or with our
neighbors as well. So it also,it's so simple. But just keep breathing
into your heart and asking,what is my highest intention for
this day? And what you'll findis that it brings that energy of
(47:03):
freshness, it brings thatenergy of aliveness, it brings that
energy of playfulness rightwhere you are, right in the midst
of daily life.
That's brilliant words ofwisdom. Brilliant words of wisdom.
Thank you very much for thatstart for everybody. I appreciate
it. And again, thank you verymuch for being on the show.
Thanks, Michael. It's a joyand much joy to you and your listeners.
Thank you. Swami Nithyanandareminds us that awakening isn't reserved
(47:26):
for monks or mystics. It'savailable in every breath, every
moment, every act of love. Herlife is a testament to the truth
that joy is not a destination,but a way of being. So before you
go, ask yourself, what wouldit mean to live as light, to be joy,
not just feel it, to walkthrough the world awake. This has
(47:46):
been one more thing before yougo. So until next time, please stay
curious, stay kind, stayawake, and thank you for being part
of this community.
Thanks for listening to thisepisode of One More Thing before
youe Go. Check out our websiteat before you go, podcast.com you
can find us as well assubscribe to the program and rate
us on your favorite podcastlistening platform.
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