Sadhana: Carolyn Shaileja Lo offers sacred practices to deepen your life experience.

Sadhana  stirs our cognitive memory and revives the lost art of beauty, grace, and accommodation.

--Bri. Maya Tiwari

Contained in our heart of hearts is the seed that, when nurtured and allowed to mature, will become the wellspring for everything we have always aspired to acquire: love, health, and abundance. What we ultimately want in this life (and perhaps in future existence) is called by many names: peace, freedom, quality of life, prosperity, perfection. The question then becomes: how do we find that seed so we may grow it? Imagine a sturdy, bountiful oak tree producing acorns that will germinate successive oak trees. All you need is a single fertile and robust seed. That can be found within ourselves. Ayurveda (in Wise Earth Tradition) provides the framework for getting in touch with what is already ours. This is done through sadhana and remembrance.

Several thousand years ago, the rishis (ancient seers) of India accessed profound knowledge called the knowledge of life or Ayurveda. This knowledge conferred on a person the ability to live a life free of disease, worry or want. This knowledge was passed down through generations as sadhana, or sacred practices.

Because Ayurveda is also the science of living life successfully, the skillful application of sadhana is defined by eight cardinal precepts. That which is simple--be it words, actions, beautiful sunsets, or food--never fails to evoke in us feelings of being warmed or nourished. It is usually found right under our noses in the form of grandmother's cooking, unexpected kindnesses from friends, strangers, and loved ones, or natural occurrences in this world.

That which awakens cosmic memory leads us to the treasure we bring into the world. We are products of our thoughts and experiences, past and present. They in turn become the blueprint of personal and, because we interface with one another and everything, worldly existence. Sadhana helps us filter out needless worrying or self berating thoughts and ideas, so we are given insight on our origins, connections, and gifts. Bri Maya Tiwari in The Path of Practice tells the Vedic story of the deer who went searching far and wide for the exquisite fragrance of musk that hung in the air, not realizing that it was originating from its own belly. We have the capacity to find the truth.

Sadhana is that which fosters inner awareness. Simply illustrated, it is an inner knowing. Knowing the answer while the question is being asked or even before it's asked is an example of this kind of understanding. On the universal level, stability of purpose and an expanded view of everything results in seeing the big picture. As inner awareness develops, the higher intellect or indwelling spirit guides and prompts us flawlessly and effortlessly. This renewed sense of self manifests as healthy glow in skin and eyes, and unshakable poise.

As we begin to "see the light" through the practice of sadhana, our lives gain grace and fluidity. We sense that there is dharma, sacred obligation, that give rise to sacred order. Just as Mother Earth gives of Herself unfailingly, we nourish everyone and everything around us. We are given command of our self renewal.

That which instills a compassionate attitude to the self, all living and inanimate things allows one to live in harmony with all that is. Sadhana also helps one to conform to nature's rhythms. This is done through food, breath, and sound. They are the messengers of ancestral memory. We are meant to adapt and acclimatize to our immediate environment in order to survive. For example, Maya Ma says that accommodating to the lunar and solar cycles will heal and prevent diseases from taking root.

It was more than seven thousand years ago that the rishis realized the power of sadhana. The vision of wholeness, which brings protection, bliss, and freedom, continues to enlighten the lives of all who receive this precious gift.

RELATED ARTICLE: Let Sadhana begin to inform your life.

This activity is an example of sadhana. It can be done anytime one feels like doing it and especially when one is feeling empty or angry.

1. Take about a quarter of a handful of green cardamom seeds.

2. Split the little green pods using a sil batta (sil is the base and batta the pestle implement made of stone used for grounding and pounding spices). A round river stone that fits in the palm of one's hand on a flat stone about twice the size of the round stone will be just as perfect. Be imaginative.

3. Release the tiny seeds and remove the husks. One may blow away the husks to separate them from the seeds.

4. Now begin to grind the seeds round and round or back and forth holding the pestle against the base, with the seeds between the two.

5. As you are grinding the seeds finely, observe the sound of stone against stone, seeds against stone. Is the sound felt or heard in your belly or chest? If you did this on a mat on the floor, can you feel the grinding in your legs or the seat of your pants?

6. Note the aroma given off by the seeds. Can you see, feel, or smell the friction created by your grinding?

7. Finally, sprinkle some ground seeds on cereal, and learn what it tastes like.

Carolyn Shaileja Lo is a practicing nurse practitioner and the Studies Coordinator of the Wise Earth School of Ayurveda in North Carolina. She teaches classes on sadhana and can be reached at wisearth.org or [phone].