Ayurveda, which literally means "knowledge of life and longevity," is a system of holistic medicine developed more than 7,000 years ago by the rishis, India's great physicians, physicists, and theologians. The rishis authored Hinduism's oldest sacred texts, the Vedas. Ayurveda is a cosmic blueprint for creating overall health, with principles deeply rooted in honoring the intricate balance between the body, mind, spirit and rhythms of the universe. The greatest purpose in life is to experience complete awareness. Healing is a reality that is happening at every moment of our lives if we are aware of it.
In Wise Earth Ayurveda (www.wisearth.org), cultivating inner awareness is accomplished in part through sadhanas--conscious practices that connect us to the Divine, to nature, and to ourselves. A sadhana can be a formal meditation or the creation of a wholesome meal for your family. Many sadhana prompt a pause from everyday life, particularly important for those struggling with illness.
Living with Awareness
"When we are in touch with the divinity within us," says Maya Tiwari author of the groundbreaking work Ayurveda: A Life of Balance, "we become free. We have a sense of freedom in expression, of lightness within, freedom of not being so compelled to live the goal-oriented, stress-driven lives that we all contribute to. Health begins to become more center-poised, and we are then quickly able to separate what serves us from that which does not. The main thing in life is no longer the accomplishment of specific goals at any cost. One of the things that women in particular endure today is a total inundation of stress, even with the holistic work they are doing. Everything seems to get fit into an already overdriven life. There's only one thing that we can control in the human life, and that one thing is not our mind. It's not a thought, it's not our breath, it's not our responses, it's not our actions. It is the cultivation of personal awareness, the moment-to-moment awareness of who we are--in charge of our life, in charge of our purpose, in charge of our path."
Periodically we need to ask ourselves these difficult questions:
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What has led to my unhappiness, and which dreams are not being realized?
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Do these dreams come from the desire to fulfill a worldly goal, or are they coming from a longing to accomplish the path and purpose of who I really am?
"There is a significant difference between doing what we feel obligated to do and doing what our inner self is truly calling us to do," Maya Tiwari explains. "And that clarity comes from awareness."
Source: SHIFT: At the frontiers of consciousness, Winter 2008