Keeping Up in the Face of Adversity

Message from the 3HO Chief Executive Officer

Sat Nam,

It is snowing here in Espanola, New Mexico, as I write to you. I just had the pleasure of listening to my friend’s (Sat Purkh Kaur) new sadhana CD. This was how I spent my lunch hour today and I am grateful to have done so. I am looking forward to having a copy of her new CD, which will be released soon.

This past month has been filled with deep self-reflection. I have been profoundly recognizing existing beliefs that I no longer want to have, learning more about the beliefs that I want to have, and finding the tools to help me along the way. Spiritual development is a wonderful thing, but the process does not always feel good. But it sure feels good when you have reached or exceeded the desired outcome and can observe yourself being in this new awareness that was first a desire.

I am truly moved by Dev Dharam Singh’s personal story There is a Way through Every Block: a Story of Victory in the Face of Great Adversity in this month’s eNewsletter. It brought me back to a healthy perspective on facing challenges that God gives us. His story is a true story of triumph through positive projection, Kundalini Yoga, and surrender to God and Guru. I also greatly appreciate Gurutej Singh’s heartfelt journey described in From Tragedy to Triumph: the Power of Sadhana and Sangat, the reminder of the power of spiritual practice and community and what we learn when choosing to face the challenges that God gives to us. I highly recommend taking the time to read the excerpts from Yogi Bhajan’s Victory talk; if nothing else, this one word may be all you need in a time of need.

And speaking of need, have you taken the time to support the people in need in Haiti or anywhere in the world that there is a need? Not only can we make a difference through the donation of physical items, money, or seva, but positive projection and prayer can contribute significantly to the well-being of those in need, all humanity, and our entire planet.

“The time is now, now is the time.” We are living in the Aquarian Age and the teachings of Yogi Bhajan have prepared us to be beings of light during this time of significant change and challenges. We are here to live for each other, to love one another, and to serve all. There is no difference between you and me; we are all one and one in the same.

Offer a prayer to your friends, your foes, your families, your communities, yourself; and offer a prayer to God and thank Him for this dance-the dance of existence, the dance we will be doing together for eternity.

May Thy light be the light. May Thy soul prevail. May Thy grace be the grace. From the finite to the Infinity let truth prevail. Let light shine, bliss come into experience the state of ecstasy. Let all be one with everyone to find the one within and without. Oh Formless, oh bountiful, oh the Giver of life and breath, give us the turning chance to ecstasy, give us the beauty to behold the grace of Thy Infinity in this finite self. May this day be the day to lead us to peace, to happiness, and to joy and ecstasy. ~ Yogi Bhajan


Peace to all, light to all, love to all, Sat Nam.
Bhajan Kaur
3HO Foundation

What's New

2010 Celebrations Calendar

You may have recently received the 3HO 2010 Celebrations calendar delivered to your mailbox. Unfortunately, a problem at the printer resulted in poor print quality. Due to budget constraints and eco-concerns 3HO will not be re-mailing the calendar. If you would like to download and print a copy for yourself or to share (available in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian), please click here.

February 2010 Numerology Forecast

Healthy Boundaries
By Nam Hari Kaur Khalsa
California, USA
The month of February spins us into an emotional cavalcade of new opportunities and relationships. If you're single and lookin' for love there's a good chance of meeting someone new who will spark your interest. The catch is (and there's always a catch!), don't get lured into any type of entanglement that you just got yourself out of last year. With 2009's emotional debris just off our heels, don't let yourself leap where angels fear to tread.

The 10 of this year has us feeling robust and ready for excitement and adventure, coupled with an almost cavalier attitude of, "I'm ten feet tall and bulletproof." You may be ten feet tall in yogic radiance, however the bulletproof part has probably yet to be proven. Even the "faster than a speeding bullet" Mister Superman himself had a vulnerability—Kryptonite! Make sure the emotional lessons of last year have been signed, sealed, and delivered to your heart’s door, or you may find yourself saying, "Damn, why did this happen to me again?"

The good news is there need be no echoing lament of the past, as long as you remember one thing: healthy boundaries. The edge of danger may have its own uniquely exciting pulse and rhythm; just be sure it's not a piece of karmic Kryptonite that you're allowing into your precious universe.

Click here to read more.

SEVAlicious

Benefit Classes for Haiti Relief
It is inspiring to see so many efforts taking place to raise funds to support our brothers and sisters in Haiti. If you haven’t had the opportunity yet to host a benefit class or meditation, why not make an evening of it and after meditating, celebrate and share with Yogi Tea or a potluck meal. Hosting a benefit event is not only a great way to reach out and support Haiti, it’s a fabulous opportunity to build and strengthen your local community.

Here’s a story about a benefit event including Kundalini Yoga.
Terra Sky in Summit to Hold Fundraiser for People of Haiti, January 30th


The Skylight Crisis Center: Bringing Kundalini Yoga to the Homeless
By Sat Kartar Kaur, Essex, United Kingdom
I must admit that when I first went to meet Richard Pace, the then manager of the Skylight Crisis Center, a few anxious thoughts came into my mind. I wondered what the conditions would be like and what I would see there. But somehow I knew I would be able to rise up and take the students with me.

Richard had contacted the Guru Ram Das Project (GRDP)* as he was very keen for Kundalini Yoga classes to start up as soon as possible. In our first meeting, he told me that in the early 80`s he had attended a beginners course in Kundalini Yoga in northwest London and that, “It totally changed my life!” Richard has departed on another career change since but I am grateful for his understanding, recognition, and support of Kundalini Yoga.

The class at the Skylight Crisis Center is the most diverse class I have ever taught, in terms of age, religion, class, and challenges. In the past I wondered why I had been given the opportunity to teach different groups of women such as Somali, Punjabi, African, and Muslim. Now I know that nothing, no experience, is ever wasted. I learned that anybody can be affected by homelessness due to such changes of circumstance as loss of employment, breakdown of health, marriage, mental stability, the list is endless... we could all go there.

Click here to read more.

Eco-3HO

The Low-Down on Genetically Modified Organisms
By Joshua Sandstrom, Oregon, USA
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms whose genetic material, or DNA, is altered through the insertion or deletion of genes. The genes that are inserted, usually come from a different species. There are many benefits of GMOs such as creating disease resistant plants and greater crop yields, but we are only beginning to learn the overall effects of GMOs in our everyday lives.

GMOs are used in a variety of ways such as biological and medical research, production of pharmaceutical drugs, experimental medicine, and food production. They are responsible for lots of interesting things including papayas that produce their own insecticide, golden rice that contains high amounts of vitamin A, and carrots that contain lots of calcium.

Unfortunately, GMOs also have the potential to cross-pollinate with local species in the area where they are grown. Dispersed by wind, animals, and insects, GMO pollen can travel more than 10 miles in any direction.

One highly controversial GMO technology is the development of ‘patent protected’ food crops that are resistant to commercial herbicides and/or are able to produce pesticidal proteins from within the plant themselves. GMO varieties like this are already used in 80 to 90% of all US corn, soy, and cotton crops. The idea is that if a farmer buys seed that is called ‘Round-Up ready,’ it means that he can then use Round-Up (a weed-killer sold with the seed) on his crops to kill the weeds but not the crop.

Click here to read more.

Rockin’ with the Naad

From Fear to Love
Presented by SpiritVoyage.com
Satya Singh would like to offer the 3HO community a free download from his latest release, a mantra CD titled, From Fear to Love. All the mantras on this CD are in an a capella style. There are a number of meditations that can be done in conjunction with this CD.

Satya Singh was born in the Netherlands in 1949 and found Kundalini Yoga in the 1970's. He studied with Yogi Bhajan for more than 30 years. He is a certified Kundalini Yoga teacher and one of the main organizers of the European Yoga Festival. He currently resides in Hamburg, Germany, and is the author of a number of books on Kundalini Yoga in German and English.

Click here for a free download of Hum Dhum by Satya Singh.

Kundalini Chronicles

There is a Way through Every Block:
A Story of Victory in the Face of Great Adversity
By Dev Dharam Singh Khalsa, Arizona, USA
My journey of liberation and victory started in 2003 when I was in a car accident. I was paralyzed from the chest down. I couldn’t feel the lower half of my body, and had to use a wheelchair because I couldn’t walk. I was in hell for four years. I couldn’t digest food, I had to take large amounts of medication, I was spastic and couldn’t flex my body, I suffered socially, and everything in my life was horrible.

In 2007 I learned about projection and positivity. I reprogrammed my mind to be positive, and started to project seeing myself walking, enjoying life, and being strong again. Two months later I traveled from my hometown in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Phoenix, Arizona, where I met a healer. Through him my initial block (T3 Injury) was healed. A trail of feeling went down my spine into my legs and feet and reached out and grabbed the tips of my toes.

Click here to read more.


Transforming Tragedy to Triumph:
The Power of Sadhana and Sangat
By Gurutej Singh Khalsa, New Mexico, USA
When we face challenge and adversity in life, the natural tendency is to find safety. Yet life is a sequence of challenges, each with its own sequence of failures or successes, tragedies or triumphs. It is the challenge that makes us grow, not the result. This is an important concept to understand. Challenge comes to us in life to make us grow by producing some change in the psyche of the individual. Once the change has occurred, then the need for the challenge has passed, and the circumstances change.

When we fail to rise and meet the challenge, then we are admitting defeat before the engagement, and that brings unhappiness and depression. How we respond to challenge can make the difference between improving ourselves or living with our weaknesses and failures.

True defeat is the defeat of the heart. In fact, we have the expression to "take heart," since it is in the heart that the spirit of the individual resides. True victory then, is when the heart prevails and the spirit does not bend. When the heart prevails and the spirit rises, anyone can recover from any situation anytime, but it is a conscious choice to do so.

Click here to read more.

Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan®

Kriya to Develop Your Hidden Greatness

Part One

Mudra: Sit straight. Left hand comes under the chin palm down, forearm parallel to the ground; the right hand comes to meet the middle finger of the left hand at the center of the palm, fingers pointing up to the sky (hands make a T). Hands are long and straight, fingers together. You are bifurcating the angles.

Eyes: Tip of the nose.

Breath: Long Deep Breath; breath from the lower area of the belly; breath out through a round mouth. Yogiji demonstrates a very long inhalation, from the lower belly to the collar bones. You expand with the breath about an inch and a half. Continue for 20 minutes. This is the most sacred exercise in Kundalini Yoga and gives people the entire Universe.

Click here for parts 2 and 3.

Fire Kriya: 2010 Meditation

Beginning in 2008, we entered a 5-year sequence, featuring the tattvas so that we could balance them as we entered the Aquarian Age together. This year we are exploring the Fire Tattva. The Fire Kriya shown below creates tapa (internal “heat”) which purifies so that your energy is clear, your body fit, and your eyes bright. In the spring of 1978, Yogi Bhajan said that the Fire Kriya, “is a powerful, absolutely sacred, secret meditation. It will take you as far as you take it.”

Click here to read more about the Fire Tattva.


View Fire Kriya in:
English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish

Posture: Sit straight in a meditative posture with neck lock.

Eye Focus: Eyes are closed except for small slit to let in some light (99% closed).

Mudra: Reverse Finger Lock—interlace the fingers so that both the fingers and the palms point toward the chest. Keep the fingers as straight as you can; bring the fingers together so that the pads of the fingers are touching. Right index finger on top; left little finger on bottom, the thumb tips touch lightly. The mudra is held with the elbows at natural shoulder level so that the fingers point toward the body, at the level of the throat, above the heart. The shoulders should feel relaxed as you keep the elbows, forearms and hands parallel to the ground.

Mantra: Inhale deeply and chant four times on the breath in a steady tone.

Sat naam sat naam sat naam sat naam sat naam sat naam whaa-hay guroo

Click here to purchase and download the Fire Mantra ($5 US).

We apologize to those of you who experienced difficulty downloading the Fire Kriya from our previous eNewsletter. Please try again!

Produced and Engineered by Ram Dass Khalsa, Narayan Khalsa, and Simrit Kaur
Written by Simrit Kaur, Jai Dev Singh, Ram Dass Khalsa
Arranged by Simrit Kaur, Jai Dev Singh, Ram Dass Khalsa, Narayan Khalsa
Vocals: Simrit Kaur, Jai Dev Singh
Percussion: Ramesh Kannan
Keyboards: Ram Dass Khalsa
Mastered at Epiphany Studios by Ram Dass Khalsa and Narayan Khalsa

Time: 11-31 minutes.

Originally, the practice was given through number of cycles. That is, practice this for 108 breath cycles. You can practice longer if you gradually increase in increments of 27 breaths. You can also start with 27 breaths and perfect the mantra and concentration before progressing to the full 108 cycles.

Comments: This kriya's powerful tapas will elevate, purify, and empower you and your victory in excellence.

“It is a powerful, absolutely sacred, secret meditation. It will take you as far as you take it.”

~Yogi Bhajan

© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan