So today we're doing a reading from the Radiant Sutras.
The Radiant Sutras is a beautiful translation of the ancient tantric text the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra.
Our intention today is we're going to read the eighth sutra from this text.
If you have the book it's on page 43.
And the idea is I'm going to read the text and we want to listen from our deepest eternal self.
We don't want to listen with our brain that's filled with our personality and our concerns and our incarnation,
Whoever we are.
We want to listen from that deep soul place and then we'll have a discussion about it.
So let's just close our eyes and let's just breathe deeply,
Expanding the belly as we inhale,
Contracting as we exhale.
Let's just take a couple breaths like that.
Coming to our deepest center,
Letting the rest of the world just float by.
Rest the attention easily in the forehead in the eye that is made of light.
Cherish the delicate energies glowing there.
Allow attention to inquire upwards into the radiant space above the head.
The small self enters delicious omnipresence.
This it remembers and knows as its truth.
Gradually the luminosity of that truth fills the body to overflowing as it rises through the crown of the head into a shower of light.
All right,
I'm going to read it again.
Rest the attention easily in the forehead in the eye that is made of light.
Cherish the delicate energies glowing there.
Allow attention to inquire upwards into the radiant space above the head.
The small self enters delicious omnipresence.
This it remembers and knows as its truth.
Gradually the luminosity of that truth fills the body to overflowing as it rises through the crown of the head into a shower of light.
What words stand out for you?
Connection to source energy.
Accessing and having awareness for the true self.
A beautiful image of sparkling light everywhere.
So much light.
Could I please read it one more time?
Rest the attention easily in the forehead in the eye that is made of light.
Cherish the delicate energies glowing there.
Allow attention to inquire upwards into the radiant space above the head.
The small self enters delicious omnipresence.
This it remembers and knows as its truth.
Gradually the luminosity of that truth fills the body to overflowing as it rises through the crown of the head into a shower of light.
This passage captures everything I've been trying to accomplish through meditation with my third eye in past lives.
Yes we're going to talk more about that.
Connection to God.
Delicious omnipresence.
Had to look up what omnipresent means.
The presence of God everywhere at the same time.
Also about the chakras.
Radiant luminous shower of light.
So many ways of saying God.
So there's a couple big topics I'd like to explore here.
So in this book,
The Radiant Sutras,
In the back of the book,
If you have it,
I highly recommend this book.
I have nothing to do with it.
I'm not an affiliate or something.
I just really think it's the most beautiful tantric book out there.
And in the back of the book he has little studies about each sutra.
The study he gave us for this one is the word purya and it means to be filled and to be satisfied.
And so if you have a purya,
It means to be filled and to be satisfied.
And so if you imagine we're not just being filled and satisfied like oh that was a good meal I'm full.
Imagine when you rise up into the higher chakras and the space above the crown and we have all of infinity,
All of the galaxy,
The whole universe.
And imagine that energy filling you.
Like to be truly filled with that great energy and to feel that energy completely nourish and expand and feel your whole body vibrating with that fullness.
So when you think of moments in your life that you've been filled with awe,
I would love actually for you to share what are some times in your life when you've seen something,
You've witnessed something and it just stops you in your tracks and you're literally filled with so much awe.
It's one of those wow like I can die now.
I am fully satisfied.
I am so filled up with joy.
It sounds amazing but wouldn't it be too big to hold?
Too much,
Too high vibration?
I know that's I think how we feel because we live in this limited space.
We believe that we're lowly little creatures but if we just release something it's like releasing your shoulders,
Something in you to kind of just allow it all in.
The solar eclipse.
Sometimes it's looking up at the sky at night time.
You know if you've ever been somewhere away from the city and you look up and you see the millions of stars and you just lie there and sure we might say oh look there's the big dipper,
There's you know we might try to pick out the constellations but what if we don't do that and we just look up at this absolute magnificent galaxy and we allow it in being in nature when we really allow nature to sink in.
And one of the number one ways to do it to stay in awe of nature and the galaxy and all that is to not name anything.
Don't say ah this is an oak tree,
Ah that is a whatever flower,
Oh that is a woodpecker I hear.
When we stay out of the naming of things we get to just experience nature.
Instead of looking at a tree and saying ah this is a willow tree we just look up at the tree and we allow its magnificence to permeate us like a sponge.
When I go to the lake floating I close my eyes and look at the sun and wow right for me whenever I feel supported by the universe is that feeling of fulfilled.
I had a morning recently where I was in the middle of doing breath of fire which is a Kundalini yoga breath and the earth was doing breath of fire through the trees with me so connected.
Amazing.
Yes having a child's mind.
I remember the first time I ever saw the mountains.
You know in Ontario here in Canada we don't have mountains we have big hills that we can ski on and they're pretty big hills but they aren't mountains.
I remember the first time I ever saw a mountain my whole body just or even I remember staying at a friend's place in Boston and he lived right on the ocean and one day the waves were just wild like just out of this world and I would just sit inside and watch them and you couldn't even conceptualize them you could not believe the power of that ocean.
I went for a run after the storm and rounded the corner I looked up and saw the most magnificent view the clouds the sky the mountains I had to stop lost in awe.
Totally.
I've had incredible experiences during chanting mantra where I felt like I became everything and became so huge and it felt so small coming back into my body again.
But the idea of it still feels too much to take in somehow.
When this this is what you're saying is exactly the journey of tantra.
The journey of tantra is how do we possibly blend this human experience with the infinity of the universe.
That's actually what tantra is and it's not just oh I just have to do this thing.
It is a journey because we're actually also meant to be in this limited incarnate being in this body.
So there's a lot of things in us that are saying no no no focus on what your limitations are not in a bad way but focus on what is your gifting what is your goal what are what's your assignment.
So it's a fascinating thing to hold on to who we are because it's a good thing.
I'm glad that I'm Katrina Boss.
I'm glad that I love the things I love to do.
I don't want to have to love everything.
I don't want to do those other things.
I want to do my path.
I enjoy that limited path.
I love that focus but how do I be that person and harness the powers of the world.
When I went to Yosemite and saw the biggest trees I've ever seen that was truly magical.
I feel like that when connecting with this group and also with my clients and in yoga.
I used to feel it in swimming and surfing.
When I started energetic alchemy it began easy to blend with the natural flow in the plenum.
Mountains are indeed spectacular.
I am more in awe of the space it occupies.
Right?
Like to just sort of breathe that in.
I went to the Grand Canyon.
It was socked in fog but we hiked anyway.
The fog cleared on the way and I literally sat down and cried.
I couldn't believe this beauty.
And so one of the beautiful things we can do and imagine we did this in our life.
Especially if we haven't experienced a lot of this kind of awe.
Imagine sitting down and saying you know what once a month I want to go and see something beautiful.
Something awe inspiring.
And just imagine I mean it's always surprising how close things like that are.
Even like right where I live.
We live in a little town in rural Ontario.
And sometimes it's as simple as going out and watching the wind blow through the wheat fields.
But with that child's mind just watching the energies of the universe flowing.
Or to look up and see the birds.
What do they call that when they do those wild patterns in the sky?
Murmuration.
But we don't analyze it.
We just watch it realizing we have no idea what we're observing.
And we just this becomes one of the most beautiful meditations.
Yes.
Morphic resonance.
Even like when I see birds in this murmuration pattern I actually wonder if they're in a different dimension.
Like are they in a dimension I can't see?
Are they swimming on an ocean of energy that I just can't see?
And again to not get too analytical about it but to just allow it and let it fill us.
Actually I'm going to read to you this part of this in the back of the book because it's really beautiful and it's quite short.
And he's talking about so this is in the back of the Radiant Sutras book and it's his discussion on verse eight.
And it's all about purya to be filled or satisfied.
In a moment of great awe or delight you may spontaneously take a deep breath and hold it.
This is a portal into ecstasy.
Savor the experience.
Shimmering energy permeates everywhere within the skull and expands outward to dissolve into space.
In such a moment the world looks illuminated.
You may have a sense of stillness of time being suspended.
You can bring a sense of delight into normal breathing by lingering for a moment at the end of an inhalation and enjoying the sensations of being filled to overflowing.
Let's just try that for a moment and then I'm going to keep reading.
So just take a deep breath in and suspend that breath and feel it filling out,
Spilling out into your whole body.
Let's exhale.
Let's do it one more time.
Let's take a deep breath in.
Suspend the breath and imagine that it's like water flowing over the top,
Down your arms,
Through your body,
Into your legs.
And then just relax your breathing.
So then he says,
Go to places of great beauty,
Whatever inspires awe in you,
And inhale the wonderfulness into your body.
Drink it in.
You can also call up a memory of natural beauty,
Great music,
Or any other situation in which you would gasp in delight.
Let this reverence,
This state of wonder,
Flood your being,
Fill you up to the top,
And then notice the way you spontaneously breathe like Maslow's peak experiences.
Totally.
And it's interesting,
Like I love Abraham Hicks.
Esther Hicks channels a group of spirits called Abraham.
And one of the things they say is that they always say,
Whatever you want to do,
You want to get into the vortex.
In the vortex,
All the answers will come.
And what's interesting about the vortex is the only way to get there is through joy.
It's not through meditation.
It's through happiness.
If pickleball brings you joy,
Play pickleball.
If riding a bike brings you joy,
Ride a bike.
If playing with children brings you joy,
If painting brings you joy,
If making love brings you joy,
If cooking brings you joy,
If sitting in silence by the ocean brings you joy,
You do that thing,
Whatever that is,
And you will go into your vortex,
And the solutions will come.
Like this is the one of the,
You know,
I've been teaching,
I love Tancha,
I've loved it for so long.
And one of the reasons is the path of enlightenment is through joy.
It isn't through suffering and doing difficult things.
It's about actually accessing the joy inside of us,
Accessing the beauty around us and not analyzing it,
And letting its complete splendor enter us.
Enter us.
That suspension of time is so precious.
It's been rare,
But unforgettable,
Right?
But imagine this became a big part of our life.
You know,
Even for me,
I used to love going camping with my kids,
And we're actually going to go camping this year.
I haven't gone camping probably since I divorced,
Actually,
Probably 10 years ago.
And just simply waking up in the morning,
Crawling out of my tent,
And it's kind of cold out,
And you light the fire,
And you hear the crackling of the wood,
And you hear the loons playing,
And you see this still lake.
I mean,
This is bliss for me.
And it's just about finding that for us,
And just opening something.
There's something.
There's something in us that has to be opened so we can let it all in.
This question may be obvious,
But how to recognize it?
Well,
It's interesting because this is what he said,
You know,
It's that moment that suddenly you sort of stop the breath,
And you just feel this experience that's happening,
And you sort of exhale,
And you just love it.
So to me,
I would imagine places that just bring us great joy.
And I think it's also a practice of having that child's mind,
Because we're taught to be very clever and very cynical.
Like,
I remember even going to Sedona in the United States.
Sedona is this very fascinating place that really is a series of energy vortices.
Like,
It is wild.
There are trees that literally grow in a spiral,
Because they're on these just wild energy vortices.
But beyond that,
The mountain formations are red,
And they stick way up out of the earth.
And they honestly look to me like you're under an ocean,
Swimming through gorges,
But it's all above ground,
And it's a desert.
And you sort of never get used to it.
Like,
You just drive around looking at it going,
What is this place?
So it just might be interesting to imagine,
Like if you ask people around you,
Where do you go where do you go to find real beauty,
To learn to be present in the moment?
Totally.
Sometimes I literally feel awe in my body when I listen to music and singing.
Right?
You know,
When the hair stands up in the back of your head,
And you're just like,
Oh,
So beautiful.
So the second thing I want to talk about is actually not so connected to this.
This is part of it,
This filling of the universe of us.
But I have this other book called the Sri Vijnana Bhairava Tantra,
The Ascent,
And it's by Swami Satya Sangananda Saraswati.
And it's also a different translation of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra.
So I want to share with you its translation also,
Because it brings a different angle to the same reading.
And it's quite different.
So I'm first going to just tell you what some words mean.
There's one word in here called murda,
Which is actually part of the Sanskrit.
And murda is an energy center just above the palate,
Just above the mouth.
That's where the ajayi breath stimulates this murda above the palate.
And so,
Yeah,
That's all I'm going to tell you,
Because that's actually one of the Sanskrit words in here.
So this translation says,
Then,
Having filled the tip of murda,
And crossed the bridge between the eyebrows,
The mind rises above all dichotomizing thought patterns,
And omnipresence prevails.
And I know that doesn't sound as poetic as Lauren Roche's description,
Which is why I love Lauren Roche's description so much.
But what they're talking about here,
The title of that discussion about this verse,
Is called Mind Transcends Thought.
In the body,
There are energy channels called nadis.
They spell it N A D I.
It's a nadi.
This is an energy channel.
And the energy channels begin at the root chakra.
And it's actually in a little thing called a khanda.
It's like where all of these energy channels come together.
And this is where the kundalini lies.
This infinite,
Magical,
Life force energy,
Which really can't always be flowing through us,
Because we have so many thoughts and fears and worries and concerns,
All based just because the world we're living in isn't really very kind.
So we have all kinds of blocks and protection up.
So the kundalini can't rise.
So it sits down there.
And then all these energy channels flow out from that space.
So you can imagine that if we could actually release,
Which is the journey we're all on here,
Then that kundalini would flow through all the channels.
So there's three main channels.
The first one,
The shushmana,
Runs from that spot right up alongside our spine,
Up through the crown,
Up out of the crown,
To the space above the crown chakra,
And then out into the universe.
So this is the shushmana.
Then there is the ida and pingala.
The ida,
Imagine at the root,
And then this energy kind of snakes up through the second chakra,
Then the third chakra,
The fourth chakra,
The fifth chakra,
Right?
It comes up through here.
And then it comes to a place right here between the eyebrows.
This isn't actually ajna.
It's not actually the third eye.
It's this point here.
And it's called brumadiya.
It's this little spot between the eyebrows.
And this is where this ida stops.
And pingala is the other one.
And it also starts with the root chakra and it comes up.
So if you've ever seen the caduceus,
The symbol for medicine,
And it has the snake wrapping around the central channel,
This is what it is.
It's the energy of the kundalini,
Ironically,
Flowing up the central channel.
So you have the central channel,
And then you have the ida and pingala snaking up through the chakras and landing here in this point in between your eyebrows.
This point triggers ajna.
It triggers the third eye,
But it's not the third eye.
And what's interesting about this ida and pingala,
When they are in perfect balance,
The energy of kundalini flows up the shushmana.
Okay,
So what this chakra is talking about is when the energy is focusing in all of these lower chakras,
All the chakras sort of below this brow point,
We are thinking about the energy of the kundalini.
So we're thinking about the world.
When the energy is flowing through our first chakra,
We're thinking about security,
Food,
Shelter,
All that kind of thing,
Or abundance in all the good ways too.
If we're in the second chakra,
Maybe we're thinking about money or relationships or flow or all kinds of things like that.
You know what I mean?
So as the energy is flowing in this lower part of our body,
We are very focused in the world.
We're focused in the dichotomy,
This versus that,
The duality of life.
But as the energy flows up to this point,
In this point,
Those energy channels stop and we just simply flow up into infinity at that point.
So that's why when they say in this,
Then having filled the tip of murtha,
So it comes up through the palate and crossed the bridge between the eyebrows,
The mind rises above all duality and thought patterns and omnipresence prevails.
So if we can do whatever we need,
Meditation,
Staring at beautiful mountains,
Watching dogs play,
Whatever it is that allows us to transcend the duality of life,
The dichotomy of life,
Whatever,
However you want to say it,
It all just means this versus that.
If we can do that,
Then we can experience infinity.
We can experience pure bliss.
And then what happens is that pure bliss happens and it flows through our entire system.
And that's what they're talking about there.
Let's do a meditation.
And then after the meditation,
I will reread the sutra in Sanskrit and then in English.
And then we'll finish our conversation.
So let's come sitting upright and let's close our eyes,
Relax your shoulders and let's focus on our breath,
Expanding the belly as we inhale,
Contracting as we exhale.
And I'd like you to envision the chakras in your body and you can picture them however you like.
Maybe they're flowers,
Maybe they're lights,
Whatever you want them to be.
The first one is your root chakra.
It's where you're sitting.
It is your connection to the earth.
The next one is just about an inch below your belly button,
Your navel.
And imagine them at least like a circle,
Some kind of circular something.
The next one is just above your navel.
The fourth one is in your heart center,
In the place where you would say,
I am,
I am.
The fifth is in your throat.
The sixth is just above that bridge I was talking about between your eyebrows,
Just above in the middle of your eyebrows.
The seventh is your crown,
The top of your head.
And then let's just imagine another spot,
They call it the 10th gate,
A couple inches above your head.
And what I'd like us to do is feel the earth beneath your body.
If you're very sensitive,
Maybe feel the vibration of the earth beneath you.
And if you aren't very sensitive right now,
Imagine it.
We are made of the same stuff that the earth is made of.
So just feel into sand,
Earth,
Rock,
Water,
Let that feeling flow into your body.
And then as we breathe,
Let's take a deep breath in,
Feeling that energy flow up through those circles,
Up through the crown of your head,
Up through the top,
And out into the universe as we exhale.
Sorry,
So let's do that again.
Let's inhale,
Bringing the energy up from the earth,
Up through all the chakras.
And then as we breathe,
Let's take a deep breath through all the chakras,
And then out the top,
Exhaling.
And just play with this breath,
The energy flowing up the spine,
Out the top of the head,
And then out into the universe,
And down into the ground.
And now let's reverse it.
As you inhale,
Draw energy from the infinite space above your head,
Down into your body,
Nourishing all your cells,
Exhaling into the earth,
Inhaling from the cosmos,
Gently exhaling.
I'm going to leave you for about 10 breaths,
Just to continue this.
And if it ever feels funny,
If it feels too much,
Then just breathe naturally and be still.
Sometimes it's enjoyable to imagine your body like a sponge.
And as the energy is coming in from the cosmos,
It's nourishing every cell.
Maybe some is even escaping out of the skin,
Into your aura,
Into the space around you.
And then let's release the breath,
Release any of our visions,
And just breathe naturally for a couple of breaths.
And what we're going to do is we're going to think about aspects of our life.
Pick one,
Maybe a relationship,
And feel that relationship flow from your first chakra,
To your second,
To your third,
To your fourth,
To the fifth,
All the way to that brow point.
Feel it dissolve,
And then flow upwards into infinity.
And then pick another aspect of your life,
Maybe money.
You don't have to coordinate this with your breath,
But just watch the energy of this concern flow from your first chakra,
To the second,
To the third,
To the fourth,
To the fifth,
To the sixth,
To that brow point.
Feel it dissolve,
And then feel it flow up into infinity.
And then just do it with whatever comes up next.
Maybe we'll do it for about eight different aspects of your life.
You can repeat things too,
If you want.
And we're just going to send them up the river of the chakras,
All the way up to the brow point,
Letting them dissolve,
And then feeling infinity beyond that.
And now,
Without being specific,
Just feel the concerns of life flowing up the chakras,
Weaving from the first,
To the second,
The third,
The fourth,
The fifth,
And all of the concerns of life converging in that brow point,
Dissolving,
And then flowing up into infinity.
Let's just do that a couple of times.
All of the human concerns.
And I'm going to read first in Sanskrit,
And then in English.
Thaya puryashu murda antam Bhangtva prukshapa setuna Nirvi kalpam mana skritva sarva urdva sarva ga udgama Rest the attention easily in the forehead,
In the eye that is made of light.
Cherish the delicate energies glowing there.
Allow attention to inquire upwards,
Into the radiant space above the head.
The small self enters delicious omnipresence.
This it remembers and knows as truth.
Gradually,
The luminosity of that truth fills the body to overflowing,
As it rises through the crown of the head into a shower of light.
I'm going to read it one more time.
Rest the attention easily in the forehead,
In the eye that is made of light.
Cherish the delicate energies glowing there.
Allow attention to inquire upwards,
Into the radiant space above the head.
The small self enters delicious omnipresence.
This it remembers and knows as truth.
Gradually,
The luminosity of that truth fills the body to overflowing,
As it rises through the crown of the head into a shower of light.
What thoughts roll through your mind?
What feelings?
Cosmic connections.
Whales.
My body feels like an electric conduit,
Filled with love and ease.
Deep breath.
Kitties on my lap purring.
That's awesome.
Divine Mother,
Great Mother,
I'm here floating in light.
It felt wonderful to send my life concerns up through the chakras,
Dissolve and release them.
The universe is so clear if we just tune in and listen.
Release all of the stuff that is so unimportant.
Breathing out the fears,
I felt a tingle as they left.
Such beauty in all of this,
And then to sit in the power of it.
Well,
Thank you so much for being here today.
I'll see you guys soon.
