The Five Elements of Enlifement
Ishvara feels the need to move language in a direction that can redefine "spiritual teacher" as one who is teaching Life, one who is teaching from the direct experience of Life, not through system, belief, concept, lineage or tradition.
“As you read these words then, be mindful of your own emotions and definitions based on the past. Allow yourself to experience the most expanded possible meanings, for words are multidimensional. We must see all the connections that can be included within a word’s meaning, and then it can allow us to approach the Truth.”
~ Ishvara
The Synergy
The Consciousness, the All-That-Is, is a synergy – that process where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Just as an ancient forest is more than simply a collection of individual trees, bugs, etc., so is the wholeness of The Consciousness greater than the total of its individual parts. The Consciousness is complete in every moment, yet it is continually expanding and realizing greater connection. It is learning more about itself through the infinite possibilities of physical form. In this synergistic process, no aspect of The Consciousness is ever separate or excluded. Everything is included; therefore, all true needs are met. This process cannot be controlled or predicted, it can only be allowed. Through allowing, The Consciousness brings about the highest good, moment by moment..
Allowing
Each one of us is a unique expression of The Consciousness. We are The Consciousness experiencing and expressing itself as physical form. Through each unique expression, The Consciousness grows in its understanding of itself, and the connections expand. We experience this expanding Consciousness not through control or effort, but through allowing. We allow everything to be the way it is. We take the next step that is in front of us, without resistance. We do what there is to be done, without expectation or agenda. This is allowing. Through allowing, the highest good unfolds, from moment to moment. Through allowing, we come to know our true identity as a unique expression of The Consciousness.
Feeling-Knowing
When we allow, from moment to moment, we experience clear knowing, or "feeling-knowing" as Ishvara calls it. Knowing is not thought. It is not intuition. It is awareness without doubt, from moment to moment. It is knowing that the highest good is always taking place. It is knowing that all we need to do, from moment to moment, is whatever task is in front of us. Knowing is the awareness that "You are The Consciousness experiencing itself as you," as Ishvara says.
The Body
In The Consciousness, there is no separation. Nothing is excluded from The Consciousness. And so, while many teachers and traditions see the physical body as something which is outside of the spiritual process, Ishvara shows that the body is an essential part of the process of transformation. The body is The Consciousness expressing itself as physical form. The body is an essential component of who we are. If we believe that we are separate souls, who have come to the physical realm in order to learn some lessons until the next lifetime, we exclude the body from the process of transformation. This is dualistic thinking which separates body from soul. The body experiences the effects of such dualistic belief through aging, stress and disease. When we allow the body to assume its rightful role in the process of transformation, however, the body changes. The body transforms. The body becomes a liberated expression of the ever-expanding Consciousness. Ishvara himself has experienced the physical manifestations of such change through the significant transformation of his own body. Members of the Alaya community also experience ongoing physical shifts and changes as they deepen in the awareness of who they are. Aging slows down or stops. Illness becomes rare. The body becomes more energetic and flexible. These changes are a natural part of the process of transformation when we allow the body to be included.
The Space
Ishvara lives what he teaches. Actually, he is the very presence of what he teaches. One can experience this directly only by being in his presence, “the Space” as he calls it. The Space is the presence of The Consciousness, unclouded by beliefs, concepts or doubts. While the Space is not limited to any location, it is fully manifest through Ishvara’s knowing. In this Space people will experience radical transformation at an accelerated pace, through allowing. The more often one is physically in this Space, with a willingness to remain in the present moment, the more deeply one experiences ongoing transformation. If you truly want to discover who Ishvara is and what he teaches, you will have to experience the Space. Once you have had such an experience, you can feel the Space at any time, simply by thinking of it.