Staying in the Flow
We’ve been feeling into,
is this possibility of living
from the authentic core of ourselves.
From the love within.
From something so true and undeniable
in its depth
that it wants to express itself
in a completely unique way
through our totally unique template —
celebrating existence itself.
These are the yamas and niyamas.
They are growing in you.
We water them in the sessions together.
You water them every time you practice.
You water them every time
you sink back into your heart —
into Presence — through the day and say:
“I’m yours.”
It’s there.
Because these are, essentially,
the qualities of enlightenment.
They’re the natural perfume
of our own being.
So — we have two more sessions,
or two more weeks of sessions.
And I just want to talk about them.
I don’t really mind how we talk about them —
there are lots of ways we can.
But if we stay with the way we did it in the last session,
that’ll be our template.
If you see the yamas and niyamas as a circle,
rather than as a line,
then we reached Ishvara Pranidhana
as our tenth initiation —
the last of the niyamas.
So now,
you could easily see Ishvara Pranidhana
as the beginning of the yamas —
if we go around in the loop.
Number ten links back into number one,
and then climbs up and out of there.
So let’s do that.
Let’s see if we can sense
how the five yamas —
especially when they’re combined
with Ishvara Pranidhana —
actually show us how to create Life-flow.
How to get your life —
or Life living through you —
moving in a stream.
And when our life seems to become stuck,
we can re-energise that flow
by going back through the five yamas.
Because somewhere in there,
something has got stuck.
Something we’re not doing.
We finish with Ishvara Pranidhana —
which means we long to live
a surrendered life.
A life that’s not
an isolated person,
trying to exist on its own —
separate,
competing,
defending.
Instead, a life surrendered
to the great power and energy
of existence itself —
to the flow of Life,
to presence,
to heart,
to love,
to truth.
Anything you like
that equates to God.
What is the most vital,
the most important thing
for you to live for?
It’s good to find that out.
If you could only give God
one descriptive word,
what would it be for you?
And once you know that,
ah —
then this is what I intend
to live from,
for,
and to.
It means we’re willing
to drop back from the programme of our psychology,
into the depth of our heart —
and ask, what will you have me do?
An incredible way to live,
born out of a waking up
to the program.
Where we suddenly see —
hold on a minute —
I’m functioning mostly
through this thing here,
this mind,
based a lot in fear.
It’s not negative or bad,
not an enemy in any way,
but when it runs my life,
my life becomes limited.
Because all it is
is stored information —
formed from old experiences,
what was told to me,
what I gathered.
And it all revolves around one point —
me.
That’s the power shift —
from me
to You.
As in Life.
Something not self-centred.
Something surrendered.
So…
the foundation stone
of a surrendered life
is the first yama.
See how number ten
goes back to number one?
Because surrender begins
with ahimsa.
Ahimsa means acceptance of what is.
The ability not to fight —
non-violence —
not fighting with what actually is,
because it is.
What can you do about what is?
Nothing.
Nor can I.
Nor can anybody.
What is, simply is.
So ahimsa says,
the first step
to a surrendered life
is your capacity to surrender into
and accept the reality that’s currently presenting itself —
both within you
and around you.
And if you can do that,
your whole relationship
with yourself and everything
changes in that moment.
Because you’ve chosen to accept it,
rather than deny it.
To be with it,
rather than rush off
to create some alternative.
Now you’re here.
Available to work.
Present.
The very foundation of surrender
is acceptance of what is.
This is what it is.
This has come to me.
It’s all I actually have
to work with.
I can complain about it,
deny it,
judge it —
none of that changes it.
What transforms it
is when I can open to it.
Then things can start to happen.
So when we’re really stuck,
it’s often because we’re just not yet willing to accept —
and that’s understandable, isn’t it? —
to simply accept,
oh… this is my reality.
This is how it is.
And yes, it requires surrender.
Especially sometimes.
You don’t have to like it.
You don’t have to agree with it.
But accept it —
eventually you must.
It’s important to understand that.
You don’t have to like it,
or want it,
or approve of it.
But you do have to accept it.
Acceptance is different.
It’s a physiological
and psychological release
that allows us to be
with what is.
Flip that inner switch:
I accept this situation as it is.
I accept my inner condition.
I accept that I’ve woken up
feeling rubbish this morning.
That’s massive.
Because some days you just don’t.
And you can fight with that all day long —
and suffer.
“I don’t want to feel like this.”
“I shouldn’t feel like this.”
“Why do I feel like this?”
“It’s not fair that I feel like this.”
“I didn’t feel like this yesterday.”
“When will I stop feeling like this?”
For a lot of human beings
that is a full-time occupation.
Internally disagreeing with reality.
Or —
I could just accept it.
Can the Presence,
God,
the light inside of me —
work through those conditions?
Anything.
It can work through anything
And it can shine.
And it can bring beauty
Truth.
Love.
You have this inside,
regardless of the conditions
So —
the moment we’ve accepted what is,
Satya becomes available to us —
the second yama: honesty.
If we’re in denial,
if we’re still trying to play a game
with what is —
pretending it’s otherwise —
then honesty isn’t available to us.
It opens only
after acceptance.
Once we’ve accepted,
we can honestly
feel into what’s here.
And honesty leads to truth.
It’s the power of becoming
conversant with your feelings —
even the uncomfortable ones,
like fear.
How does it actually feel?
Not, what do I think about it?
Your feelings aren’t necessarily
the absolute truth of the matter —
someone else might feel
something completely different.
So when we talk about truth,
we’re not talking about feelings.
But when you accept
what you’re feeling
inside your body,
inside your mind —
you open a door
that drops you down
into truth.
It’s why it’s so powerful to ask,
not “What do I think?”
but “How does this feel?”
Because “What do I think?”
just loops around the old program —
a way of avoiding,
probably of not accepting.
“How does this feel?”
takes you into your truth.
It’s the access point.
Only when you put down
“I want it to be like this”
can you find out
how you actually feel.
And that’s the truth.
See what I mean?
This is our inner mechanism we’re dealing with.
The beautiful thing is:
once we can be with what is,
once we surrender through our feelings
into a deeper truth —
it can be surprising
what Life wants to do with us.
We think we know.
But we don’t.
Life could want anything from you,
at any moment.
But we can’t know that
until we’ve accepted what is,
relaxed into how you feel,
and dropped into that quiet presence
where the inner communication of God
is happening within you
all the time.
The moment we get true,
and real,
and honest —
a path starts to open up for us.
A path that takes our life forward.
It’s our authentic path.
It shines
like a radiant yellow brick road.
There’s only one path forward.
Not three.
Not five hundred.
Not five thousand.
There’s one —
for you.
One legitimate,
authentic truth-path
that runs all the way through your life
to the end.
It requires us to accept what is,
relax into how we feel,
tap in,
wait patiently,
and then watch
the path become clear.
And there may be nothing
you could yet recognise or comprehend —
It’s that path
or your own.
So we link Ahimsa into Satya —
acceptance into truth —
and from there
into the authentic path forward
Asteya.
Now you just have to walk it.
Walk forward into your life.
Hand in hand with God.
That means staying in
your heart —
staying close
to the presence inside you.
That’s important.
Keep asking:
Is it still resonant with me?
Is it in alignment?
Does it pulse within me?
Is it alive?
You know it —
because it speaks,
not always in words,
but you know it.
And we’re getting better and better
at hearing that.
Forward it goes,
hand in hand with God
And now the only thing is faithfulness.
To walk hand in hand with God
means to be faithful
to that path.
Faithful means —
wherever it’s taking you,
you are willing to go.
To be faithful means
I’m going where you lead.
I’m coming because your true and authentic
and you are resonating in my heart.
That’s Brahmacharya —
the yama of devotion,
of staying true
to the inner current
that carries you forward.
To commit in such a way
that there is no plan B
there is no second path.
It is the only one
even if it drops you off the end of a cliff.
Unlikely,
but even if it did you would fall in truth.
I remember moments in my life where I said
I don’t care where it’s taking me
I don’t care what the consequence are
I love enough to do this.
Faithfulness is key
because you will be tempted
off your path —
left, right, and centre.
The world isn’t your enemy,
but it’s definitely designed
to test your faithfulness.
So there it is —
the gate.
Your path.
But be careful not to think of it
as yours.
Don’t try to own it,
possess it,
or grab at any treasures
along the way.
The spiritual path isn’t a path of souvenirs.
It’s not nostalgic —
it’s not about what we’ve collected
or achieved.
It’s a path of continuous relinquishment —
a letting go
of the sense of “I am the doer.”
You’ve stepped onto
your authentic path.
Life is flowing beautifully
because you’ve let go
of the idea
that this is my life.
The more you let go of that,
the more Life takes off.
But the moment you try to own anything,
take credit,
or feel proud of your own achievement —
the flow stops.
“Oh, I’m doing well!”
You know that one?
We’ve all been there.
And then —
watch the day collapse.
That’s what we call “jinxing,” right?
It’s just pride and arrogance
slowing down the natural flow
of God.
You were walking with God
And then you say:
I don’t need you anymore
I’m doing great here
Big mistake.
So — if we live this cycle,
if we live a surrendered life —
we accept what is,
we stay honest in our core,
we walk our true path,
we remain faithful to it,
and we don’t try to take ownership
of anything that happens.
We don’t take the credit.
We just stay humble.
Then Life flows.
Life takes us forward
in ways none of us
can comprehend
or imagine.
A surrendered life
is completely mysterious.
Unknowable.
But we can feel
that something greater
is taking us forward
because it oozes beauty and light.
Even when it’s hard as hell —
that’s okay.
Because it still has
a heavenly thing going on with it.
But it is necessarily to embrace hardship
Just because we are in the flow
doesn’t mean it’s easy.
It just means it’s alive,
it’s got will,
it’s in alignment.
That’s all.
It might be hard,
but it’s right and it’s true.
So as we practise —
you know what this flow is —
And then, of course,
there’s that little inner game-player
that wants to own it,
to control
this incredible process
that’s unfolding.
And that one —
that little “me” —
shoves a stick in the spokes of the wheel.
And then we release it.
Let it flow again.
It requires us to be very watchful and
aware of what our mind is trying to do
to be That.
Until we say:
“I don’t know where this is going
I’ve given up needing to know”
Just that statement alone —
“I don’t need to know.”
Everybody thinks you’re mad.
Because it’s not the usual madness.
Not the culturally approved madness.
We are unlocking our lives
What will become of yours?
No-one can know.
But we can be excited.
Sometimes the flow of it —
how challenging it can be
but how beautiful it can be also.
Wow my life just clicked together.
When it clicks,
and everything seems
to fall into place
after a long time —
remember Aparigraha.
Don’t hold on to it.
Offer those moments up to.
Just shouting it out because some of you are already clicking —
click, click, click.
Like a Rubik’s Cube
finally lining up.
When it’s tough,
it’s tough for a reason.
When it clicks,
it clicks for a reason.
But it won’t stay like that forever —
Life will never remain easy forever.
Thank you for your energy.
Really — thank you.
Namaste.
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