Caterpillar and the Butterfly
It was destiny, divine intervention, or my sheer stroke of good luck that I bumped on the path of spirituality through breathing techniques and the art and science of meditation.
A person highly sensitive, who could cry at the drop of a hat, wanting perfection in others as she desired, shocked and crestfallen when people fell short of her expectations began her inner transformation journey 25+ years ago, not having a clue it was going to change her perspective about life, people, and situation forever through a week-long workshop.
The workshop I attended comprised a unique breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya that removes stress at a cellular level; the physical, mental, and emotional. Practicing the same every day for a few minutes brought out all the garbage locked inside leaving me free to enjoy the moment to its fullest. A few other profound interactive processes revealed my shortcomings and strengths and ways and means to overcome them. Knowledge principles shared at the workshop complemented the techniques and changed the way I looked at people and situations to a great extent. In short, the workshop gave me rebirth. I looked in the mirror and said ‘ Leela, the mirror is the same, you are the same that it reflects every day, yet I do not understand what changed in a few days for everything looks new’. I walked on cloud 9 in euphoria!
The workshop came to me at an opportune time when I was doused in grief upon the recent passing of my younger brother. With the heightened awareness as a result of the practice of Sudarshan Kriya, soon I realized he was in a happier place and almost stopped grieving, not to disturb his place of peace.
I plunged headlong into attending higher-level workshops that included meditation as the main subject.
The practice of one particular meditation technique that is not just for relaxation but to remove layers and layers of unwanted latent impressions from the past several lifetimes added immeasurable quality to my already blessed life.
With even more heightened awareness, intuitive abilities, sharp laser beam-like focus, and concentration, I was once again a new person.
Suffused with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude; gratitude for what is and for what is not, I freed myself from the shackles of expectation; from others as well as from myself. Continuing the journey by enriching with more and more this path has to offer and sharing the same with others in the capacity of an instructor has made my life the most fulfilling one. To be a practitioner of meditation and initiate others to the same is a special privilege bestowed by almighty God to a chosen few. As one of those chosen ones, I remain in gratitude for this life.
When I look back at my caterpillar life, constrained within the walls of self-made concepts, I feel no regret. Unless I had lived the painful life of a caterpillar, how would I know the joyful, colorful freedom of a butterfly in flight?
A work in progress, I continue to learn and enjoy the flight without a care about the destination.
The journey itself is the goal.
Leela Ramesh
27 1 2024
