Category: Intentional Manifestation

Fifth Dimension Yoga

The universe is of the nature of a thought or sensation in a universal Mind. To put the conclusion crudely – the stuff of the world is mind-stuff. As is often the way with crude statements, I shall have to explain that by “mind” I do not exactly mean mind and by “stuff” I do not at all mean stuff. Still that is about as near as we can get to the idea in a simple phrase.  Sir Arthur Eddington, British Astronomer. 

Yogas citta vrtti nerodha.” Translated: Yoga is the calming of the fluctuations of the mind stuff.  Second Yoga Sutra of Patanjali

Fifth Dimension Yoga leads us to perceive the universal mind—the source of infinite possibilities that exist, at once, waiting to manifest into our three-dimensional world, over time, upon our observation.  But what is the fifth dimension? 

Let’s begin to look at the concept of the fifth dimension with the story of “Schroedinger’s Cat.” 

Erwin Schroedinger, was an Austrian-Irish, Nobel Prize winning physicist who developed and furthered the field quantum theory.  He famously proposed a thought experiment to disprove the idea that observation is the cause of manifestation.  In quantum physics terms, manifestation is worded as “a superposition collapsing into one state.” 

In Schrodinger’s thought experiment, a cat is placed in a box with a tiny bit of radioactive substance. When the radioactive substance decays, it triggers a Geiger counter, which releases a poison that kills the cat. But since there is no conscious observer present (everything is in a sealed box), the cat remains both dead and alive at the same time—in a superposition—until the box is opened and observed.  Once observed, the cat becomes either dead or alive. 

Schroedinger proposed that the existence of a cat that is both dead and alive at the same time is absurd and does not happen in the “real” world.  He believed that this thought experiment proved that the outcome of events is not driven by observation.  However, over time, this thought experiment has been used to demonstrate just the opposite.  As long as the box is closed, we cannot know if the cat is dead or alive.  It could be either dead or alive, thus remains in a superposition—both states at once—until it is observed. 

The cat’s superposition exists in the fifth dimension. The fifth dimension is the dimension in which everything is in a static superposition until it is observed.  Let me explain. 

We are taught that we live in a three-dimensional universe bound by time.  These dimensions are, first, a line, which extended becomes the second, dimension—a plane, when extended becomes the third dimension—a cube, a sphere or some other solid shape.  Moving the solid through space, we experience time, considered the fourth dimension. 

Our experience of these dimensions goes something like this: you and I agree to meet in the mezzanine lobby of the building at the corner of Fifth and Elm at 3 PM Tuesday.  Thus, we have set a space and time to meet. Both of us have to move through three dimensions at a particular time to arrive in a certain space.

Or we may be sitting at the dinner table when you might say to me, “pass the potatoes.” I hand over the solid bowl of potatoes to your place over the course of a few seconds of time. 

Modern day physics tells us that the universe has a fifth dimension where everything is static, not moving or changing over time, but remaining in one state.  It is said to be invisible because it is a micro-dimension, too small for us to perceive and it is thought to be curled into itself in a spiral. Unlike our familiar three dimensions, bound by time, where entropy, i.e decay, is always increasing, in the fifth dimension, entropy doesn’t exist.  In the fifth dimension, everything, every possibility, exists without change until it is perceived and manifested into our three-dimensional reality in a moment in time. 

This idea is derived from quantum theory, which goes further to propose the idea that the fifth dimension is always in a state of “quantum superposition.”  That is, quantum particles, the building blocks of solids, may be in more than one state of being at the same time and collapse down to a single state upon interaction with other particles.  Many physicists believe that quantum particles only collapse to a single state when viewed by a conscious observer, thus melding quantum theory with the teachings of ancient philosophies, such as yoga.

Considering the fifth dimension, its lack of entropy plus its constant state of superposition, we can look at the fifth dimension as a field of possibilities that come to fruition only upon observation.  Observation happens at each moment in time.  In the fifth dimension, each possibility exists unchanged until it is observed and manifested in our three-dimensional world over tme.  Thus, as you are pushing through the leading edge of time, moment by moment, your observation causes each possibility to unfold in three dimensions. 

But because most of us have minds that are cluttered by random thoughts, we never realize that our observation is manifesting our world.   The chattering nature of our thoughts prevents us from seeing into the fifth dimension.  Our minds are filled with ponderings that prattle on about our “to-do list,” our grievances, our fears.  These haphazard thoughts are like the ripples on the surface of water that prevent us from seeing through it.  When we practice yoga, we calm these ripples and create a clear surface where we can see all possible outcomes in the superposition of the fifth dimension as if they are in “front” of us.

Practicing yoga means more than just posing.  Yoga has eight limbs that begin with ethical principals and practices called the Yamas and the Niyamas.  When practiced in our daily life, the Yamas and Niyamas help us to calm the mind and lead us to a state of surrender to our higher self where the fifth dimension becomes not only perceivable but where our observations manifest our intentions.  The Yamas and Niyamas actually guide us along a path that leads to the fifth dimension.

Please join me in a taking a deep look at the Yamas and Niyamas.  We will examine each of these ethical principals and how each of the practices support them.  In doing so, we will discover how to employ the Yamas and Niyamas in our daily life to calm our minds and reach the state of surrender to our higher self where the fifth dimensional field of all possibilities opens before us. 

Svadyaya: Me and My Shadow

Have you ever had to interact with someone who just drives you up the wall?  Have you had to be around someone who was mean, condescending, and self-aggrandizing?  How about someone who shuts you down before you have had a chance to speak?  I know I have. 

Recently, I had to attend meetings with a person who was so toxic to me that it took me a day to get over it.  I was angry, hurt, unable to function.  I felt sick and was unable to do my work or enjoy any leisure.  I had to find a way to cope with my feelings, otherwise, this interaction would paralyze me.  So I turned to Yoga to find the way.    

Yoga gives us a set of ethical principles and practices that lead to calmness, balance and ultimately to union with the ineffable.  These principles and practices are called the Yamas and Niyamas.  I had faith that practicing the Niyama called Svadyaya would help me find my way. 

In Yoga, Svadyaya is self-examination.  It is one of the Niyamas or spiritual practices that ushers us toward meditation by giving us contentment with who we are as a person.  Svadyaya guides us to look at ourselves objectively.  In Sanskrit, Sva means “self” or “belonging to me”, while Adhyaya means “inquiry” or “examination.” 

Yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar explains Svadyaya as reading your own book-of-life at the same time as writing and revising it.  He says that by the practice of Svadyaya, one becomes aware of life as devotion.  We become aware that all life is divine. 

Svadyaya takes effort.  It takes a close, objective, look at ourselves that includes becoming aware of those aspects of yourself that you do not like.  In modern terms, the aspects of yourself that you do not like are commonly called your Shadow.     

The psychologist Carl Jung coined the term Shadow to refer to one of the main archetypes residing in the personal unconscious that have the most disturbing effects on the Ego. 

Jung wrote:

The Shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole Ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the Shadow without considerable moral effort.  To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. 

This is not an easy task.  Jung goes on to add, “This act is an essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge and it therefore, as a rule, meets with considerable resistance.” 

The resistance comes from our emotional reaction to those dark aspects.  To admit we have those traits makes us unlovable, and we all want love.  Thus, when we see ourselves as mean, lazy, gluttonous, lecherous, greedy, aggrandizing, or envious, we fear that we are unlovable and therefore unloved and that is a difficult blow to our ego. 

Yet, we see those traits in others quite easily in a mental process psychologists call “projection.”  In other words, in order to protect our ego from being unloved, we project those qualities that we fear most about ourselves onto others.  We project our Shadow onto others.  We see the characteristics of our Shadow in other people.    

The practice of Svadyaya made me look at my own Shadow relative to the person who had vexed me.  When I judged that person to be toxic—mean, condescending and aggrandizing—I knew I must be projecting those traits and that they were attributes that I fear most about myself. 

Was I, in fact, mean?  Did I condescend to others?  Was I aggrandizing and did I shut others down?  I reached back into my memory to find times when I had done so.  They weren’t hard to find. 

I am mean.  I had been mean recently.  I had said some extremely mean things about another person, in fact, about that person!  I’m not physically mean.  I don’t kill or hurt anything.  I’m one of those people who escorts spiders out of the house on a piece of paper.  When it rains, I pick worms up off the sidewalk and place them on the dirt.  But my thoughts can be dark and my words can cut deeply. 

I have condescended to people.  I condescended to my niece when she was a little girl.  I aggrandize.  Aggrandizing was a critique I received on a work review once.  And I do shut others down, especially if I think they are less intelligent than I am. 

I found, through Svadyaya, that I had all the qualities I had projected on the person who drove me up the wall.  Indeed, that person is a reflection of me, of my Shadow.  In that person, I confronted my own Shadow and I didn’t like it—at all. 

My practice of Svadyaya reminded me that I am still a work in progress.  Indeed, B.K.S. Iyengar’s idea of Svadyaya as “reading your own book-of-life at the same time as writing and revising it” fit with this experience exactly.  It is time for me to do a bit of revision.  It is time for me to recognize my Shadow, accept it, and recognize that when I judge someone else harshly, it is likely because I see something in that person that I don’t like in myself. 

Equanimity Amid Chaos and Confusion

I am so confused by what is happening in the world today.  I had intended to write my introductory blog-post about my social media bio, which is simply Sat Nam.  The intended post went like this:

Sat Nam, a Sanskrit phrase, is frequently used as a mantra in Kundalini yoga practices.  It is typically translated as something like “the truth is my identity.”  But the phrase is much simpler yet more illusive than that. 

Remember that Sanskrit words are often the source of words in Indo-European languages, including English.  Sat, then, is the root for the English word such which alludes definition:

  • Dictionary.com says such means “of a kind.”
  • American Heritage Dictionary adds “itself alone or within itself.”
  • The Cambridge Dictionary calls the word such a determiner—whatever that means.  

In Sanskrit the definition of sat is much the same as such.  It is of an entity, species or existence and variously implies that which is true, being, happening, real, existing, enduring, lasting, essential.

Thus, sat is the suchness of a thing, its existence, its essence, its eternal being. 

Nam is easier;  it means name. 

Sat Nam, then, as my bio means “I call myself existence.”  This phrase might sound familiar to those raised in the Judeo Christian tradition.  Is it not similar to “I am that am”, the name of God, the infinite consciousness of the universe? 

Thus, I am not a female human.  I am not my long list of career accomplishments.  I am not even the multiplicity of cells and microbes which make up the temple into which my existence projects.  I am a projection of infinite consciousness focused into a field of time and space where I share the experiences of existence with other such projections.  There’s that word such again. 

Thus, I undefine myself from any illusion of materiality that separates me from the infinite.  I am surrendered to the infinite, allowing it to bring me into the domain of pure potential from which I can choose, with my focused consciousness, I can choose my experience on a momentary basis using time as my creative medium.   

I gained this knowledge from Yoga, from practicing the eight limbs of Yoga, from adhering to the ethical principals that free the human mind from the chatter and clutter that block perception of, and union with, infinite consciousness.  I know that each experience is just an expression of my own dharma—and karma— and my reaction is what creates my experience.  I can choose my experience if I simply regard each moment in time without judgment, with a sense of equanimity.  I needn’t think of any experience as bad or good, just as its own eternal essence of being without any attachment to “what’s next” because I know “what’s next” is my essence projecting on the field of time. 

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I wrote the above amidst the Covid 19 shutdown, assuming that I would choose not to participate in the illness or be masked.  And then. . .and then. . .and then all hell broke loose. 

Just as people were emerging from their quarantine hidey-holes to retake their positions at work, at play, at school into what was supposed to be a joyous reunion, a rogue white cop killed a black man and all the unhealed wounds of racism burst open and the world wailed and bled.  All the people who felt unheard cried out in unison for justice. 

For me, the current events recalled the race riots of the 1960s, which burnt entire cities.  Yes, I am that old.  I was there when Martin Luther King gave the “I Have  Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial to the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators on the Washington, DC Mall.  And I, I thought those wounds had healed, or at least were stitched up.  After all, I live in peace, friendship and harmony alongside all races in Virginia, on a Civil War Battlefield, equidistant from the old Capital of the Confederacy and the current Capital of the Free World.  Many of my very closest friends, members of my family, and my co-workers are of a different race than I am, and I never really notice.  It just doesn’t register with me—honestly. 

Then a young woman, one young enough to be my grown child, called me a racist because I didn’t know the meaning of POC, thus, I must not be in dialogue with any other race or I would know that POC means “people of color.”  And I flipped into an angry, cursing bitch.  She had to be a stupid, shallow, inexperienced little twit to say that.  I, who claim to be a projection of infinite consciousness, suddenly became a focused fragment of fear. 

How about you?  How is this experience affecting you?  I know I am as confused as can be because this has happened before.  Why and how could it happen again?  How did I, and we, create this reality—again?  How does one regain equanimity in an environment of doubt, fear and confusion?

Is this happening because the media is divided into two factions, each reporting only the extreme version of its corporate-narrative and projecting that narrative into our collective reality?  There is certainly more going on than just a virus and racially motivated demonstrations.  It appears to me as if there is a destructive agenda being activated.  And that alone is certainly a reason to step back and disengage; to go into yourself and find your own place of calm, and act, or not, on what feels right for you. 

Or, you may ask, should we even try to regain equanimity?  Should we instead join the crowd and demonstrate for justice knowing that we will confront opposition, possible violence and confusion? 

I am not sure of the answer for you.  I can’t be the one who determines your action or reaction; no one else but you can, nor should they.  But if nothing else, it might help to share our thoughts and experiences.  So tell what you feel and what you will do or are doing to balance yourself.  I await your comments.

The sacred light in me honors and recognizes the sacred light in you.   

Listening to Spirit: The Million Dollar Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

If you want to hear spirit talk, you have to listen very closely and pay close attention to any sign given to you.  Everything counts, especially urges. 

This lesson was brought home to me by “the million-dollar peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”  It didn’t cost a million dollars, but it brought me a million dollars.  Let me explain. 

It happened while I resided in Paris.  I had been living there for a year studying International Business Law at the American University of Paris.  My tiny studio apartment was located in a beautiful area about a block from the Eiffel Tower.  Every morning I jogged in the Champs de Mars, a grassy field that extends from the tower three blocks to the Avenue de la Motte Picquet across from the Ecole Militaire. 

Paris is a beautiful city, as beautiful as its reputation.  I was enchanted with Paris and didn’t want to leave.  I had lived there before, spoke French well and could navigate Paris easily by Metro and bus.  In February, my course at the University ended and I faced the prospect of leaving the city I loved and returning “home” to the U.S. with nothing there—no job and no place to live. In fact, I would have to move back into my parents’ home!  Yikes! The idea made me very sad. 

Yet, I had a student visa that would allow me to stay an additional six months if I could find a job.  So set out to find a job I did.  I scoured the job postings in the local newspaper and at the student center.  I sent out dozens of hand-written letters (the French analyze your handwriting as part of the application), in French!   I networked.  I went to the student employment center and got a two-week gig working eight solid hours a day decorating baby shoes for a local artisan.  But that gig wasn’t good enough to satisfy the requirements of my visa, so I kept on searching.   

Then one gloomy Sunday at the end of February, I had a craving for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Now, in France at the time, the early 1990s, there was no peanut butter or grape jelly in French stores.  The bread available was baguettes and grand pains in long crusty loaves, or specialty bread in wheels.  There was no soft, pasty, white Wonder Bread.  That is, there was no peanut butter, no jelly and no American style white bread anywhere except a store called The Real McCoy located on the American University campus. 

The Real McCoy specialized in catering to home-sick American students on study-abroad semesters at the University.  It sold American food products such as Heinz ketchup and baked beans, Campbell’s soup, Jello, peanut butter—both Skippy and Peter Pan–and Welch’s grape jelly at premium prices.  The clerks who worked there would make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread for 45 francs.  (It was before the Euro became the currency.)  At one Franc equal to 20 cents, that price was $9.00—pretty high for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

No matter the cost, I had to have one. My job search had been exhausting and I needed something to make me feel like “home.”  My imagined sense of gooey, grapey glop oozing between my teeth and sticking to the roof of my mouth brought me a secure feeling, the ease of childhood, a feeling of being cared for, loved. 

My money supply was meager.  I didn’t have 45 Francs in my purse, so I searched between the sofa cushions for embedded coins and emptied every pocket of every coat and jacket.  After searching every nook and cranny in my tiny apartment, I finally came up with the 45 Francs to buy my coveted sandwich and whisked off to the Real McCoy just a few blocks away. 

Upon arrival, I ordered my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, “Peter Pan please, and Welch’s grape jelly on Wonder bread,” and forked over a handful of coins to pay.  It was served to me on a napkin with a cup of water.  I sat down at a counter beneath a bulletin board to savor the first bite.  Sinking my teeth into the goo, I sighed as the sweet, salty gelatinous paste filled my mouth.  In joyful satisfaction, I let my eyes wander to the bulletin board where I saw a card that said, “Help Wanted.  English speaking computer operator.  American papers OK.” And a phone number. 

Needless to say, the next day, I phoned the number, went for an interview and was hired.  The job turned out to involve market research, which was something I had studied as a Psychology major.  That job led to a subsequent series of high-level market research jobs paying, on average, $50,000 a year over the next twenty years, which totals one million dollars. 

Had I not acted on my urge, had I hesitated at the price of my desire, I would not have found that job and my life would have been different.  Would it have been better?  Would I have found another equal or better job?  Who knows?  But what I do know is this:  Spirit, your higher self, that part of you that connects to the infinite, knows the way to your next best opportunity and will show it to you if you pay attention.  Spirit will seek the path of least resistance to convey the message to you and that path is likely something which pleases you in the moment.  If you turn your attention to that which will make you happy, act on the urge to be happy now, then you will find the next step to the next happiness and the next happiness over and over again.  

On Happiness

Imagine. . .if you could sell happiness. 

“But it’s ridiculous to think you can just bottle up and sell happiness.  No one can do that.” Think again.

What if you could bottle happiness, package it, wrap it up in a pink bow and sell it? 
Right now you’re thinking, “I’d become a millionaire, no a billionaire in no time.”After all, everyone wants happiness.  Just ask them.” 

Ask anyone what they really want and their answer will ultimately be, “I just want to be happy.” 

Happiness is different for each person and changes from moment-to- moment, morphing frequently throughout the day, shape-shifting from experience-to-experience. 

For example, morning happiness may come to one person from lingering over a dark-roast cup of steaming, hot-coffee while reading the early edition of the morning newspaper.  To another person happiness may arrive upon putting on a pair of running shoes and jogging a few miles before taking a bracing shower.  To another, a happy morning may be dressing in a power suit and dashing off to a business meeting.  

These happinesses change as the day passes.  The person for whom happiness is a steaming cup of dark roast coffee first thing in the morning may not find a cup of coffee such a source of happiness later in the day.  By noon, that person may find happiness in slipping off to visit an art museum.  Later in the day, the hurried business person may find happiness in a walk in the park, and the runner may just want to relax with a glass of wine. 

But for a few moments, giving a person that thing he wants will bring happiness. 

And you can be the supplier of that happiness. 

If you sell dark roast coffee, think about that product as not just a commodity but a container of happiness, all wrapped up in “bow.”  Or running shoes, a woman’s power suit, a shower head, or any of their value chain partners—paper company, journalist, supplier of material for running shoes—any of the contributors to the chain of events that have to occur to make a cup of coffee, a newspaper, sports and professional clothing, transportation and all the other goods and services involved—you are all selling happiness.