Guest blog by Kate Vogt, coeditor of Mala of the Heart

Great spiritual and religious traditions teach us to open and heal our hearts. Silent practices of prayer, meditation, and contemplation give rise to an ever-deepening awareness and opening of our hearts. Similarly, poetry written by saints and mystics consoles the heart, helping to open it in a way that is quite unique compared to that of other art forms. Mala of the Heart: 108 Sacred Poems is a collection of poetry spanning a wide range of cultures and civilizations that celebrates the eternal spiritual truth within each heart. We hope you’ll enjoy this article in which coeditor Kate Vogt shares lessons she learned while working on the book.

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The journey of coediting Mala of the Heart was filled with many insights. I learned a lot about myself, and, more important, the book offered me a chance to experience some of the great wisdom that is held within its pages. Here are three of the lessons I learned:

1. Let Go! I maintained an underlying sentiment in editing this collection: to honor the source of these poems by helping them live on in the world. In more practical terms, this meant viewing the collection of 108 poetic expressions of supreme transcendence as a precious garden that I was tending. Since these expressions were sung or written by wise women and men without expectation of earthly gain, it only seemed appropriate that as an editor of their words I would take heed of their teachings. Because these poems are pure offerings, I (along with my coeditor, Ravi Nathwani) viewed my role as one of caretaker or temporary nurturer of the collection so that it could attract and inspire others far beyond me. This view allowed me to experience a spiritual practice known as letting go, or acting free of any anticipation of praise, remuneration, or any other tangible benefits. Letting go of expectation wasn’t a specific action; instead, it took the form of heeding the compelling call of the wisdom within the collection to honor and support it. As a result, the collection has been graced with generous contributions from people like Jack Kornfield, who wrote the foreword, and Elizabeth Gilbert, who offered her endorsement. Let go, and grace will flow!
2. Pause! As a child, I always loved looking for the Big Dipper in the nighttime sky. Then I’d move on to the Little Dipper and other constellations. I was always amazed that particular configurations of stars formed different shapes. While editing the poetry, I revisited this childhood habit for the first time. But something had changed: instead of seeing the stars as forming different shapes, I noticed that it was the space between the stars that determined the shapes. The stars are similar in brightness and size. The gaps are like invisible connectors that give meaning and form to a group of them. When the gap is large enough, the space invites the mind to rest in the silence. The poetry in Mala of the Heart changed my experience of habits such as this one of childhood stargazing. The poet-saint is a master of conveying wisdom in the space of a pause. The spacing of gaps between the words and phrases can change or strengthen the meaning of the words and can even invite us to linger in the silence.
3. Laugh! I am lucky enough to have a father who makes it a practice to laugh regularly. Most of his jokes are about average incidents in life and on the surface are not particularly funny. But because of the way my father begins to laugh almost as soon as he starts the story, I can’t help but be infected by his laughter and even see the story as just as humorous as he does. He is ninety-three and attributes much of his longevity to being able to laugh at the foibles of life, his included. When editing the poetry, I began to more fully appreciate that my father had modeled a very practical tool for walking on the path toward self-transcendence or following one’s belief system. The poems feel as though they arose out of immeasurable joy, contentment, and wise happiness. They are not necessarily jokes or humorous, but many of them playfully tug at my mind. For example, “Die while you’re alive and be absolutely dead. Then do whatever you want: It’s all good.” These words by the seventeenth-century Zen master Bunan inspire me not to take myself too seriously. A more overt example is a poem by another seventeenth-century poet, Tukaram of India, in which he begins to call his dog “God.” After a while his dog starts smiling and dancing. Then he stops biting. Tukuram poses the question, “I am wondering if this might work on people?” After spending some time with these poems, I’ve become my father’s daughter, finding myself laughing spontaneously at some of the most mundane occurrences in life. After all, it is “all good.”

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Based on the book Mala of the Heart: 108 Sacred Poems. Copyright © 2010 by Ravi Nathwani and Kate Vogt.

Kate Vogt teaches both classical Yoga and Yoga philosophy privately and for teacher trainings in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Guest blog by Aleya Dao

Imagine a life filled with happiness, connection, and purpose. Just think: You are able to connect with the divine and perfect aspect of yourself. You feel protected and guided by a loving angelic presence. You use every challenge to grow stronger and to access a higher consciousness. You are healthy and filled with self-love. Deep inside, you feel creative, passionate, and joyful — and all of that is reflected into your life.

Wouldn’t that be lovely?

Well, it is possible, and I am here to show you how. The basic idea is that all your work is done at a level higher than your physical reality. There are aspects of you that exist in higher dimensions, at the spiritual level. I call these parts of you your energy self or your Higher Self.

I have created a step-by-step process to help you gain access to your energy self and the energetic resources it controls. As you develop these tools, your consciousness will evolve, your challenges will transform, and a deep inner peace and empowerment will bloom.

You will learn that your real power comes from within and from beyond. When you explore your inner realms, along with the higher dimensions, your life will start to change in amazing ways.

For many years I looked for fulfillment externally. My life was a half-empty cold cup of coffee. I felt a deep sense of emptiness, even though everything on the outside looked “perfect.” I was living in a beautiful mountain town. I had a thriving acupuncture practice. I was healthy, had great friends, and was single and dating, yet this full life was not enough. I yearned for an inner change, wanting something, anything, that would fill my emptiness.

I chased numerous spiritual teachings, hoping that each one would give me the answer. I longed for an enlightenment moment that would miraculously transform my life into one of bliss and joy. But nothing could have prepared me for what was to come.

In the middle of a sound healing session, I was hit by the cosmic two-by-four. I had an awakening. In less than thirty seconds, my consciousness radically altered. A bright light enveloped me. My awareness shifted into a higher realm, and I felt an exquisite vibration of love, as I saw the world surrounded by loving, compassionate beings. Waves of light coursed through me, filling me with new ideas, perspectives, memories, and pearls of wisdom. In every fiber of my being, I could feel and see a multidimensional reality.

I started to see the world through new eyes. It was like getting X-ray glasses. I could feel a deep interconnectedness and purpose behind everything. The fabric of the world looked like an exquisite pattern of love and light, instead of a dark, shadowy, and challenging place. I understood the reason behind every action, and I had a profound awareness of what needs and lessons were being addressed by other people’s behavior. This greater awareness was simultaneously overwhelming, empowering, and comforting.

You would think that having a deep inner knowing of connection and peace would make life a cakewalk. I wish. Often the opposite is true. Life gets real, very quickly.

As you awaken, you will become more sensitive. This sensitivity will become your greatest strength and your greatest challenge. You will need tools to protect this new level of awareness. You will also need discernment, empowerment, and courage.

As you become more sensitive, you may feel other people’s feelings, hear angelic beings and guides, hear or know the thoughts of others, see beings of light and dark, and maybe even see the future of your life and of others’. These experiences may be both comforting and frightening.

You might also experience a conflicting sense of connection and deep loneliness. Old relationships could fall away. You could even find yourself living in a new place, driving a new car, wearing new clothes, and maybe even taking a new name.

Less than six months after my enlightenment experience, I had experienced all the above, and more. My entire life had changed in the blink of an eye. I had to let go of the old and move into the new. I slowly discovered the tools to help me navigate the unknown waters with ease and eventually with grace. I was my very own guinea pig, and my life was the lab. I learned how to discern the difference between my thoughts and feelings and the thoughts and feelings of others. I learned how to hold appropriate boundaries, meet my needs internally, and take responsibility for my inner and outer reality. I met my beloved partner, found a beautiful home, and created a bountiful livelihood.

I am not saying it was easy. I fell down a lot, had my heart broken a few times, spent way more money than I had in my bank account, moved seven times, got sick, got healthy, lost friends, and made new ones. My learning curve was steep and involved many tears, laughs, and thinking I was insane for brief moments of time. Fortunately, I had guidance through the entire process of integrating a higher consciousness.

Through trial and error, and with the help of my angelic guides (beings of love and light who exist in a higher dimension), I have developed seven concepts that have proved useful to my clients, my students, and myself. When understood, practiced, and mastered, these concepts can help you create the life you yearn for, one of abundance, balance, connection, and empowerment. When you take the conscious, slow, gentle path, you will save time, money, relationships, and your general sanity.

After fourteen years of practice and teaching, I have distilled these concepts into what I call the Cups of Consciousness. The seven cups are simple statements of truth:

• First Cup: You Live in a Multidimensional Reality.
• Second Cup: You Are Never Alone.
• Third Cup: You Can Change Your Inner World.
• Fourth Cup: Your Challenges Can Help You Grow.
• Fifth Cup: Your Body Is a Nature Spirit.
• Sixth Cup: Your Soul Has Wisdom and Inner Gifts.
• Seventh Cup: You Are Perfect.

Combining these concepts can help you form a big picture of reality that can dramatically transform your life. If you sip from just one of these cups, however, it can help you find greater peace and empowerment.

If some of the cups do not resonate with you, put them aside. You can always come back to them — or not. Your life will change positively whether you master just one or all seven of the cups.

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Aleya Dao is the author of Seven Cups of Consciousness. She opened the first alternative health-care clinic in Telluride, CO, and has built an international healing practice with her online subscribers and students. Visit her online at http://www.aleyadao.com/

Excerpted from the book Seven Cups of Consciousness ©2015 by Aleya Dao. Printed with permission of New World Library. http://www.newworldlibrary.com