Tips for Latha Nanda

November 8, 2003

I will do my best. I'm not a swami but I'll give you what has worked for me.

For some reason, Ma blessed me with iron will for a few years. She haunted

me in the most mysterious ways and so I found it easy to do sadhana, however

it was not always easy.

I remember a disciple asking my Guru during a satsang "What do I do

when I can't cry for God? I just don't feel that way." I don't

remember his answer, but I remember mine screeming from my insides.

I wanted to tell her, "If you can't cry for God, cry because

you can't cry for God." I remember at times when sadhana was

difficult and the laziness would creep up. I used to get up at 3:00

- 3:30am to bathe, rebirth in the hot water, rebirth in my temple (I

had a room totally empty with the exception of one alter with Ma and

2 candles) I would lay naked innocent on the floor like a baby and

breath my mother's breath for about an hour and then with all the

pranic momentum, I would enter into hatha yoga while keeping the same

breath - very full and very deep, consistant rhythm. Breathing

creates a continuum and it's important to keep it going while doing

hatha yoga. This is my findings from doing it. Then I would chant

and meditate.

When it was difficult on certain mornings getting out of bed, I would

start to cry in bed. It was a great way to start crying. Once I

started crying, the energy would 'move' the stuckness or laziness out

of my energy body and then I found myself crying for God. My initial

tears of crying to stick to my sadhana became the sweetest tears for

God. So, my mornings were very devotional and after 3 hours of

sadhana, I was feeling pretty high

all day long. I would go to work and people would giggle or shake

their heads because I was high as a kite. One thing to mention: As a

rebirther we have found that the bed is the womb. Sleep is the womb

and we tend to want to stay there because it feels safe. The whole

action of getting out of bed can feel like birth trauma:coming out of

the womb again, so I would allow myself to cry thru it if birth trauma

came up. In rebirthing we don't suppress or judge emotions because

it's just energy, crying moves anything stuck, so does laughing and

sometimes I would laugh instead. So I knew I was moving thru the

desire to stay in the womb. Usually people want to stay in bed

because "Life is a struggle" or whatever underlying belief they have.

We all know the feeling, wanting to stay cozy in the womb. Birth is

coming out of the womb and every day is a rebirth, so everyday I came

out of the womb and healed the idea "Life is a

struggle". Life can't be a struggle for immortalists, its a

sabatoging thought pattern that does us no good. We can't afford

that thought or belief - too costly energetically.

At night, 30 minutes before sundown, I would start my bath, light

candles, play Peter Gabrials Passion and then I would do it all over

again. Sometimes depending on work, I would start after dark, but I

had to watch out because I had a tendancy to keep going for long

periods of time and I knew I had to get up at 3am. For a few years

my sadhana was anywhere from 6 hours to sometimes all night long

marathons. In the rebirthing movement, we practice sleep deprivation

and so I would try that on weekends keeping mind on God. Pretty

interesting to try.

The more I kept to the sadhana, the more effortless it was until I no

longer needed an alarm clock. 3am happened and I would leap out of

bed to turn on the bath even if my room was 40 degree's. I was

living in a victorian in sacramento that had no insulation, so during

the winter it was nippy, but I liked that. Made me feel like I was in

the Himalayas. The imagination is important for creating sacred space

and so whenever I did sadhana I was there with the Masters and They

were with me. It worked. So, whenever it gets cold in southern

California, I get really excited because it awakens the memory of

doing all that sadhana in the cold mornings when I was 21. In the

summer it was good too, but there is nothing like the cold to get you

going. Once the sun came up I would watch it rise over the horizon.

After sadhana, that is the happiest wonder to witness every day, is

the sun rise.

I did not do formal puja. I performed my own rituals to Ma and Siva.

We were all quite happy with the rituals. There weren't any rules to

follow that I have since learned in the last 3 years of offering with

right hands and all that. I still don't do it that way, it doesn't

work for me and I've accepted that. God accepts it too:)

So, my main advise would be that if it gets hard, cry like a baby or

get mad, just to simply move the stuck energy. That is really all it

is, is stuck lazy energy (sleepy death)surfacing to be moved and

flushed away. Emotion is a tool. If we use it to move the energy,

once the energy moves, we can use the momentum to get it going in the

direction we want. If we do things with lack of emotion, it's hollow

and meaningless. So BE with every part of you, emotional body too.

Get it all moving no matter what it looks like. Sadhana for the most

part is done alone, so it's just you and God, God/You so no one is

there to judge.

Your innocent.

I hope this wasn't too much, but this is what came to mind for those

times when sadhana is hard. I can only say what worked for me and

the important thing is to do what works to get you to do your

sadhana. If you don't have an ashram or Guru to make you toe the

line, we have to be our own Guru and make ourselves do it with

whatever tools we have.

You wanted to know what made sadhana easier, pleasant and more efficient. Sincerely,

being present with my emotions and feeling them made it easier and

more pleasant and more efficient. Those that try to hide or deny the

deep emotional reserves we have had iced over thru trauma and denial

will find sadhana as oppressive, rigid and fanatical and filled with

oppressive rules. Fluidity is important, but any judgement of the

emotions will cause them to damn and most people do not have healthy

attitudes towards this aspect of emotions. As adults were are

grownup children. We are still innocent. It's nothing we have lost,

it's still Ours. When children cry, no one judges them, so we should

never judge ourselves for deep feelings or tears. If Ramakrishna can

cry buckets for God without judging himself, then anyone can.

Jai Maa! Namaste,

KellyLatha Nanda <lathananda > wrote:

Namaste All,This is another attempt at a post that I put a few days

ago.I am on this journey - doing Sadhana. I have the commitment to

stay on the path, and now I want to know how I can make the staying

more easier, more pleasant, more efficient, more ..... you get the

idea.You are all fellow travellers doing sadhana in one way or

another. The practices may be different but challenges are similar.I

would be very interested to get your feedback on - what got you

started in Sadhana, what IS your sadhana and what are the little

pointers that you learned on the way. Can you share any tips that

makes it easier/interesting/inspirational.To quote (or misquote )

Nitya's verse on Rumi - can you be the human through whom grace

flowed into me.(I promise to mention your name with gratitude when I

write my

autobiography)Thank youLoveLathaTo from this group, send

an email to:Your use of

Groups is subject to the

Protect your identity with Mail AddressGuard

November 9, 2003

Namaste Kelly ,

Thank you - I got some reaffirmations

1) If you cant cry for God, cry that you cant - I have also heard

another great soul saying this very same thing.

2) Start where you are - if you cant get out of bed in the morning ,

cry or call out to God from there . Very practical. Also the fact

that it will move stuck energy and get you motivated.

Your point is very interesting -people want to stay in bed

because "Life is a struggle" or whatever underlying belief they have.

Coz, I am usually up early on weekends and slow on weekdays (it is a

struggle at work). Thanks for the insight.

Thank you for responding to the post . Thank you for sharing your

Sadhana . Thank you for your insight.

You will be mentioned either in my autobiography if I choose to right

it , or it will be mentioned in my biography by a suitable disciple.

Thanks again

With love

Latha

, Kelly Leeper <blissnout>

wrote:

> Latha Nanda. Pranams.

>

> I will do my best. I'm not a swami but I'll give you what has

worked for me.

> For some reason, Ma blessed me with iron will for a few years. She

haunted

> me in the most mysterious ways and so I found it easy to do

sadhana, however

> it was not always easy.

>

> I remember a disciple asking my Guru during a satsang "What do I do

when I can't cry for God? I just don't feel that way." I don't

remember his answer, but I remember mine screeming from my insides.

I wanted to tell her, "If you can't cry for God, cry because

> you can't cry for God." I remember at times when sadhana was

difficult and the laziness would creep up. I used to get up at 3:00 -

3:30am to bathe, rebirth in the hot water, rebirth in my temple (I

had a room totally empty with the exception of one alter with Ma and

2 candles) I would lay naked innocent on the floor like a baby and

breath my mother's breath for about an hour and then with all the

pranic momentum, I would enter into hatha yoga while keeping the same

breath - very full and very deep, consistant rhythm. Breathing

creates a continuum and it's important to keep it going while doing

hatha yoga. This is my findings from doing it. Then I would chant

and meditate.

>

> When it was difficult on certain mornings getting out of bed, I

would start to cry in bed. It was a great way to start crying. Once

I started crying, the energy would 'move' the stuckness or laziness

out of my energy body and then I found myself crying for God. My

initial tears of crying to stick to my sadhana became the sweetest

tears for God. So, my mornings were very devotional and after 3

hours of sadhana, I was feeling pretty high

> all day long. I would go to work and people would giggle or shake

their heads because I was high as a kite. One thing to mention: As a

rebirther we have found that the bed is the womb. Sleep is the womb

and we tend to want to stay there because it feels safe. The whole

action of getting out of bed can feel like birth trauma:coming out of

the womb again, so I would allow myself to cry thru it if birth

trauma came up. In rebirthing we don't suppress or judge emotions

because it's just energy, crying moves anything stuck, so does

laughing and sometimes I would laugh instead. So I knew I was moving

thru the desire to stay in the womb. Usually people want to stay in

bed because "Life is a struggle" or whatever underlying belief they

have. We all know the feeling, wanting to stay cozy in the womb.

Birth is coming out of the womb and every day is a rebirth, so

everyday I came out of the womb and healed the idea "Life is a

struggle". Life can't be a struggle for immortalists, its a

> sabatoging thought pattern that does us no good. We can't afford

that thought or belief - too costly energetically.

>

> At night, 30 minutes before sundown, I would start my bath, light

candles, play Peter Gabrials Passion and then I would do it all over

again. Sometimes depending on work, I would start after dark, but I

had to watch out because I had a tendancy to keep going for long

periods of time and I knew I had to get up at 3am. For a few years

my sadhana was anywhere from 6 hours to sometimes all night long

marathons. In the rebirthing movement, we practice sleep deprivation

and so I would try that on weekends keeping mind on God. Pretty

interesting to try.

>

> The more I kept to the sadhana, the more effortless it was until I

no longer needed an alarm clock. 3am happened and I would leap out

of bed to turn on the bath even if my room was 40 degree's. I was

living in a victorian in sacramento that had no insulation, so during

the winter it was nippy, but I liked that. Made me feel like I was

in the Himalayas. The imagination is important for creating sacred

space and so whenever I did sadhana I was there with the Masters and

They were with me. It worked. So, whenever it gets cold in southern

California, I get really excited because it awakens the memory of

doing all that sadhana in the cold mornings when I was 21. In the

summer it was good too, but there is nothing like the cold to get you

going. Once the sun came up I would watch it rise over the horizon.

After sadhana, that is the happiest wonder to witness every day, is

the sun rise.

>

> I did not do formal puja. I performed my own rituals to Ma and

Siva. We were all quite happy with the rituals. There weren't any

rules to follow that I have since learned in the last 3 years of

offering with right hands and all that. I still don't do it that

way, it doesn't work for me and I've accepted that. God accepts it

too:)

>

> So, my main advise would be that if it gets hard, cry like a baby

or get mad, just to simply move the stuck energy. That is really all

it is, is stuck lazy energy (sleepy death)surfacing to be moved and

flushed away. Emotion is a tool. If we use it to move the energy,

once the energy moves, we can use the momentum to get it going in the

direction we want. If we do things with lack of emotion, it's hollow

and meaningless. So BE with every part of you, emotional body too.

Get it all moving no matter what it looks like. Sadhana for the most

part is done alone, so it's just you and God, God/You so no one is

there to judge.

> Your innocent.

>

> I hope this wasn't too much, but this is what came to mind for

those times when sadhana is hard. I can only say what worked for me

and the important thing is to do what works to get you to do your

sadhana. If you don't have an ashram or Guru to make you toe the

line, we have to be our own Guru and make ourselves do it with

whatever tools we have.

>

> You wanted to know what made sadhana easier, pleasant and more

efficient. Sincerely,

> being present with my emotions and feeling them made it easier and