Heartfulness Magazine - June 2022 (Volume 7, Issue 6)

www.heartfulnessmagazine.com
June 2022
Transform
Your Life
DAAJI
The Journey of
a Lifetime
HEATHER MASON
The Universal
Language
THOM BOND
Divine Miss
Earth
TEJASWINI
MANOGNA
H
E
A
R
T
F
U
L
N E S S
I
N
T
H
E
W
E
S
T

mastering-change.org
Our next voyage departs
AUTUMN 2022
STAY TUNED HERE!
Heartful
Adizes Leadership
Heartful Adizes Leaders continually refine vital skills and equip themselves and
others with practical tools to successfully deal with complex challenges.
Always... U-priced!
These courses are offered as a gift, trusting the generosity of participants to support the
development and sustenance of similar in-depth learning journeys.
Celebrating 12 Voyages together!
What people are saying...
It was a great learning
experience. If one says,
“What they don’t teach
you at Harvard”, the
learning in this course
justifies it one hundred
percent!
Prabodh Darvekar
Students edifying each
other is a truly powerful
idea. Teachers almost
need to be careful not to
interfere. It opens up a
universe of learning.
Greg Dekker
The concept of the course itself in
getting the voyagers to analyze and
improve their thinking in the decision
making basis the Adizes Techniques
with a touch of Heartfulness, with no
influence from skippers but with the
guided push in the right direction was
the WOW for me.
Adin Jubell

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CREATIVE TEAM
Editorial Team — Elizabeth Denley, Mamata Venkat,
Vanessa Patel, Kashish Kalwani, Christine Prisland,
Animesh Anand
Design & Art — Uma Maheswari, Christian Macketanz,
Jasmee Mudgal, Arati Shedde, Ramya Sriram
Photography — Heartfulness Media Team, Rajesh
Menon
Writers — Ichak Adizes, Daaji, Christian Macketanz,
Thomas Mogensen
Interviewees — Thom Bond, Melissa Bernstein,
Tejaswini Manogna, Heather Mason, Veronique Nicolai,
Saraswathi Vasudevan
Support Team — Balaji Iyer, Shreyas Khanjee, Liaa
Kumar, Karthik Natarajan, Ashraf Nobi, Jayakumar
Parthasarathy, Arjun Reddy, Jatish Seth, Shankar
Vasudevan
ISSN 2455-7684
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Heartfulness

TheBeautyof
YOGA
Dear readers,
During the uncertainty of the last two years, many of us turned toward activities of self-care that helped
us feel grounded. Yoga and meditation became overwhelmingly popular, and as we explore these practices
more deeply, there is a growing collective call to understand their benefits.
On March 14, we started the 100 days of Yoga4Unity 2022 initiative, leading up to International
Yoga Day on June 21. For these 100 days, a number of renowned yoga institutions have been offering
comprehensive courses to different audiences – seniors, children, beginners, and yoga adepts and teachers.
In tune with this flourishing movement, we take a closer look at yoga, hearing from long-time
practitioners around the globe who have found peace, healing, and growth in their individual practices. In
particular, Heartfulness has been active in the West for over 50 years, and we hear from some of the early
pioneers who have been yoga ambassadors in the West since the late 60s and early 70s.
To learn about the Yoga4Unity initiative, and watch the sessions on video, please visit
https://www.youtube.com/yoga4unity.
Happy reading!
The editors
June 2022 5

self-care
The Journey of a Lifetime
Interview with Heather Mason
12
Yoga for Self-development
Interview with Dr. Veronique
Nicolai
19
inspiration
Four Attitudes That Will
Transform Your Life
Daaji
26
50 Years of Breathing
Thomas Mogensen
32
environment
Divine Miss Earth
Interview with Tejaswini
Manogna
68
creativity
Patience and Observation
An art essay by Christian
Macketanz
74
what's up
80
inside
workplace
Kindred Spirits
Interview with Melissa Bernstein
36
The Benefits of Doing
Nothing
Dr. Ichak Adizes
42
Do What You Love
Ramya Sriram
45
relationships
The Universal Language of
Life
Interview with Thom Bond
48
For Caretakers
Interview with Saraswathi
Vasudevan
58
June 2022 7

DAAJI
Daaji is the Heartfulness
Guide. He is an innovator and
researcher, equally at home in the
fields of spirituality, science, and
the evolution of consciousness.
He has taken our understanding
of human potential to a new
level.
THOM BOND
Thom is a founder and Director
of Education for The New
York Center for Nonviolent
Communication. He is the
author of The Compassion Book,
founder of The Compassion
Project, and the author of Shifting
Toward Compassion and 64 Days
for Peace.
VÉRONIQUE NICOLAI
Véronique is a French
pediatrician, meditation trainer,
and Yoga instructor. She was a
coordinator of the International
Heartfulness Training Programs
and a co-founder of the
Heartfulness program for cancer
patients. She is currently the
Director of the Heartfulness Yoga
Academy.
ICHAK ADIZES
Dr. Adizes is a leading
management expert. He has
received 21 honorary doctorates
and is the author of 27 books
that have been translated into
36 languages. He is recognized
as one of the top thirty thought
leaders of America.
MELISSA BERNSTEIN
Melissa is a well-known
entrepreneur and author based
in the US, popularly known as
co-founder of the toy company,
Melissa& Doug. Melissa is
also the author of LifeLines,
an inspirational journey from
darkness to light, a story she
hopes will help others find a path
to meaning and inner peace.
HEATHER MASON
Heather is the founder of
the Minded Institute, a
professional yoga therapy training
organization, and the Director
of the Yoga and Healthcare
Alliance. She specializes in the
treatment of trauma and anxiety,
and the use of physiological
assessment in yoga therapy.
8 Heartfulness

TEJASWINI MANOGNA
Tejaswini is a doctor, a model,
and the winner of Miss Earth
India 2019. She was also an
awarded member of the National
Cadet Corps of India, and
is trained in Bharatanatyam
Classical Dance.
CHRISTIAN
MACKETANZ
Christian is Professor of Painting
at the Academy of Fine Arts,
Dresden, Germany. He studied
painting with Maria Lassnig
in Vienna, and lived in Rome
and Berlin before taking up his
current post in Dresden. He is a
Heartfulness trainer.
EMILIE MOGENSEN
Emilie has design and spirituality
in her DNA, and as a designer
she is on a mission to enhance
unity, compassion, and heart-
centered entrepreneurship in
modern business endeavors.
RAMYA SRIRAM
Ramya is a content and
communication specialist,
cartoonist, and travel writer who
likes to find meaning in the little
things that make life wonderful.
She creates visual stories for
clients and is featured in various
magazines and newspapers.
SARASWATI VASUDEVAN
Saraswathi is a Yoga teacher,
trainer and therapist in
the tradition of Sri T.
Krishnamacharya. In 2010,
she and her husband founded
YogaVahini. Saraswathi currently
serves on the Board of Directors
of Yoga Alliance, the largest
international Yoga certifying and
credentialing body.
THOMAS MOGENSEN
Thomas was one of the first
Europeans to travel to India
to visit Babuji, and wrote two
books about his experiences,
In the light of His light and
Dreams Awakening. He filmed
conversations with Babuji that
were published in Babuji in
Shahjahanpur, and continues to
write and translate the literature
of the Heartfulness Masters into
Danish.
contributors
9
June 2022

Yoga begins with listening.
When we listen, we are giving
space to what is.
RICHARD FREEMAN
Self-Care

TheJourneyofa
Lifetime
First and foremost, the philosophy.
For so many people it’s the
movement, the idea of doing all
these interesting poses, whereas
I have always been drawn to
the concept of oneness, to the
dispelling of the illusion of the
mind. From a young age, I have
known that the mind can envision
things that are not the truth. I
wanted a practice that would allow
me to cultivate wisdom and let go
of confused and false views. Later,
I understood that wisdom is also
supported through movement,
through breath work, through the
further cultivation of the yamas
and niyamas, the disciplines and
observances.
So it is really the philosophy.
I always had an inkling that
there was something more than
Q: Welcome, Heather. Thank
you for being with us.
Thank you so much. It’s a delight.
Q: How were you introduced
to yoga?
I started practicing yoga in 1996,
when I was 19, while studying in
India, but it was really in 2000,
when I went to Asia and Southeast
Asia to work on my mental health,
that I developed an appreciation
of what yoga could offer. I was a
gymnast, so at first I thought yoga
was an adult form of gymnastics.
It took some time to understand
the real value.
Q: What is the aspect of yoga
that has attracted you the
most?
mundane reality. I have always
questioned the nature of truth. I
went to Costa Rica when I was
18, took a malarial medication,
and had a really bad reaction to it.
It led me to realize that there is
not always stability in the mind.
It was quite an intense realization
for a young person to have; I really
thought I was crazy.
When I returned to Manhattan, I
went to see a psychiatrist.
He said to me, “I’m sorry, I know
you want a pill to fix what’s
happening to you, but some people
have special experiences, and I
believe you’re one of them. The
only thing you need to manage is
your anxiety.”
Soon after that I was on a bus
in New York, and a man sat next
to me, handed me two tickets
Heartfulness
12
HEATHER MASON is a yoga therapist who has
pioneered yoga and mindfulness in the healthcare
sector, including for the National Health Services
in the United Kingdom. Here, she is interviewed
by EKTA BOUDERLIQUE of the Heartfulness Yoga
Academy in the Yoga 4 Unity 2022 program.

SELF-CARE
and said, “You don’t know me,
but I would like you to go to
Gurumayi’s ashram in New York.”
So I went to visit Gurumayi, and
she gave me a mala and said, “If
you want more answers, Heather,
go to India.”
I went home and said to my father,
“Listen, I know this is a strange
request, but I need to go to India.
Since you said I could study
abroad for a semester, that’s where
I want to go.”
That’s where I started yoga.
Q: What an adventure! I can
only imagine what it must
have been like for you to
discover a country like India,
the cliché of an ashram, and
yet you have done something
very different with it.
You often speak of mental
health issues, which are not
easy for people to talk about.
Many of us are haunted by
these things that affect some
part of our lives. How did you
deal with your depression?
And what were the lessons
you gleaned from it?
I worked with yoga and
mindfulness practices from the
Buddhist tradition in two ways.
First, I learned that all mental
phenomena are processes. Now
that isn’t easy. You have to
Heartfulness
14

meditate for long periods for
that to be anything more than
an intellectual concept. Being
psychologically unwell, it was
extremely difficult to meditate.
Critical thoughts and feelings of
self-loathing would overcome me.
Thankfully, I was fortunate to have
a very dedicated teacher.
Second, asanas helped me to be
with very clear sensations in my
body. When I practiced asanas that
difficulties related to the
mind?
It’s person specific. We also need
to realize that if we have mental
health issues we need to see yoga
as hygiene, and continue to do it
for the rest of our lives. Evidence
suggests that months of regular
practice, for example, five days a
week, thirty minutes a day, yield
significant results. Practicing for
six months regularly seems to be
more effective than practicing
once a week for a number of years.
Of course, there are people whose
mental health challenges are very
extreme, and it may take them
years.
One of the most important things
I learned is that I wear the scars
of my past. I had depression and
PTSD. I don’t expect to always be
a perfect, balanced human being.
I accept who I am, with some
level of dysregulation. That is the
arising Heather Mason in this life,
and that is part of the healing.
were challenging enough to direct
my mind to the body, I would find
my thoughts settling, simply by
experiencing the pulsing sensation
of the here and now. When I
stayed present with that, tension
would release, and I would have
the clarity to sit and meditate. I
started to see through the illusion
of my thought processes, such
as, “You’re not lovable, you’re not
good enough.”These thoughts
were because of things that had
happened to me in the past.
So the dual approach of asanas
and meditation allowed me
to work with my depression. I
understood that it is actually our
own processes that give rise to
these painful experiences. That
is difficult, because it puts the
onus of responsibility back on us,
but it also means we can let go
of the habit of negative thinking
and supplant it with clear vision,
seeing, and positive thought.
I gleaned that I could help other
people, which is probably the most
important part of my journey.
I went to the depths of being
unwell, and I worked really hard to
become well, so often I know what
it’s like to be there.
Q: Suppose somebody is just
a beginner yoga practitioner.
How long do you think it
will take them to feel well,
whether it’s depression,
anxiety, stress, or any other
SELF-CARE
I could help
other people,
which is
probably the
most important
part of my
journey.
June 2022 15

SELF-CARE
it allows a gradual sensing into
the body. For many people
with PTSD, the body has been
compromised in some way, and
attending to the body causes fear.
yoga offers breathing practices
that regulate the autonomic
nervous system, and a key feature
of managing PTSD and trauma is
that regulation.
Yoga allows for gentleness within
the self, so that the body can
become a place of safety rather
than a place of fear. It’s a potent
strategy. When I did the training
in 2008 or 2009 there were not
that many openings for yoga and
PTSD. Now it’s burgeoning. The
trauma community has a clear
understanding that yoga can help
their clients.
Q: This is an extremely
relevant issue. With war a
major reality in Europe, what
measures do you think need
to be taken? Do we need to
do prevention rather than just
healing?
Well, prevention for sure.
Unfortunately, for the people
of Ukraine, prevention is not
currently accessible, but for
everyone, building the resilience of
the nervous system is important.
I’m a huge proponent of breathing
practices. Personally, I have found
pranayama, the breathing practices
offered by yoga, to be the most
Q: This is the first time I
am hearing somebody
speak about yoga inducing
self-kindness and self-
acceptance, especially with
mental illness. Could you tell
us more about working with
trauma?
I’m a yoga therapist and I run
the Minded Institute. Some time
back, I was delivering an eight-
week yoga therapy course for
depression and anxiety when one
of my students said to me, “There’s
a course in Boston on yoga for
trauma. Nobody’s done it in this
country, so can you do it?”
So I did it, and it was so
important. yoga has so much to
offer people with PTSD, because
Heartfulness
16

potent aspect. If you elongate
the exhalation, you increase the
messaging to your heart through
your vagus nerve, the nerve
that starts at the brainstem and
travels to many different places,
including the heart. Every time
you exhale, the vagus nerve
releases acetylcholine to the heart,
reducing the heart rate, which is
further picked up as a message
from the body to the brain,
allowing for a stilling of the mind.
Practicing that for ten minutes a
day has the potential to calm you
down and cultivate resiliency.
Another thing is coherent
breathing – inhaling for the count
of six and exhaling for the count of
six, so each breath cycle is twelve
counts. That means five breaths
per minute, which has significant
effects on cardiovascular measures,
and physical and psychological
flexibility. I wish that the world
would practice pranayama. No
matter what tradition a person
comes from, no matter how
flexible they are, no matter what
philosophical system they espouse,
everyone can improve their
breathing. We would enhance the
capacity of our nervous systems to
become robust, protecting us from
some of the tragedies that befall
us. Breath work could become part
of the healing regime offered in
different therapies, and it could
be done in large groups to support
the social aspect, as we do need
social bonds in order to support
our well-being.
Q: I noticed that through the
Minded Institute you have
extended your work to the
National Health System in the
UK. What is the difference you
are making? And what do you
expect to achieve in the years
to come?
NHS has something called social
prescribing, which is based on the
understanding that social isolation
is a major risk factor in a host of
different diseases, due to both poor
self-care and to the overall effects
on the body. The cardiovascular
and neurological systems are
impacted by isolation. Cutting-
edge research also shows that there
are different genetic expressions
in those who are isolated. Based
on this understanding, the UK
innovated a scheme of social
prescribing whereby people are
referred to activity groups, and
yoga is one of the activities.
The Yoga for Health program
was commissioned by the West
London clinical group, created
and evaluated by the University
of Westminster. Paul Fox, the
CEO of the Yoga in Health Care
Alliance, and myself have trained
hundreds of yoga teachers in the
UK and beyond. I see a lattice
arising, where every clinic, or every
small region of the UK, will have
this program available for people
who are isolated.
We built the program for the early
intervention of type 2 diabetes,
mild depression, mild anxiety, and
people at risk of a cardiovascular
event in the next ten years. By
addressing these groups in the
early stages, we hope to save the
NHS a lot of money, and also shift
the health trajectories of many
people. Many health conditions
SELF-CARE
Just to clarify, the Minded
Institute is a training organization
for yoga therapists. Many of my
graduates do enter the health
system through their own efforts.
I’m also the Founding Director of
the Yoga in Health Care Alliance,
which has created a yoga protocol
for health, and that’s what we
are doing within the NHS. The
No matter what
tradition a person
comes from, no
matter how flexible
they are, no matter
what philosophical
system they
espouse, everyone
can improve their
breathing.
June 2022 17

million people. 9.5% of those
100 million were practicing yoga
specifically for health conditions.
If we fast forward another ten
years, it will probably be closer to
20%.
So a good proportion of people
understand the stress relieving
effects of yoga. When I speak to
people I usually hear, “It’s really
good for relieving stress.” So the
common mindset is changing and
will continue to do so.
Q: Wonderful. Heather, what
is your plan for yoga Day?
I sent a proposal to the Indian
High Commission, as we want
to have a big event in Trafalgar
Square. Two other things will
happen, regardless: Paul Fox and I
have authored a book called Yoga
on Prescription, and we will launch
the book on June 22; and on June
27 there’s a parliamentary group
on yoga in Society that’s going
to meet in Parliament. I hope a
representative of Heartfulness will
come for this.
Q: We will be happy to join
you, Heather, and with your
future endeavors.
Finally, what led you to call
your organization the Minded
Institute?
One day I was driving home,
and I had an epiphany that I
would create programs for yoga
for mental health. I thought of
Yoga for the Mind, but that was
not descriptive enough. I think
sometimes things just arise when
you meditate a lot. Knowing
sometimes comes from the ether,
and it’s not analytical.
Q: Thank you so much,
Heather. We have benefited
from understanding how you
set up your work on trauma,
and how you see it changing
the world in the days to
come. We’ll be following you
closely, and hope that a lot
of people will read this and
be inspired to join you. Thank
you so much for being with
us, and for what you do.
Thank you. It was lovely being
here.
SELF-CARE
fall into a social isolation risk for a
cardiovascular event, mild mental
health issues, and type 2 diabetes.
Q: I hope we will see this
happening in other European
countries. Why just Europe?
I know that you have worked
a lot in the US, too. How is
it different from what you
saw in India? Can yoga be
seen as something more than
just physical exercises in the
West?
The idea that yoga is perceived
first and foremost as exercise in
the West is misconstrued. The
US does a complementary health
survey every few years. The last
one, done in 2012 and published
in 2016, showed that a third of the
population uses complementary
treatments. That’s around 100
Heartfulness
18

VERONIQUE NICOLAI is the Director of the Heartfulness Yoga Academy and
the coordinator of the Yoga4Unity platform. As a pediatrician, she is also
passionate about mental and physical well-being for all ages, especially
children. Here she is interviewed by VARSHA KUSHWAHA of the Heartfulness
Institute about her own journey of yoga.
ForSelf-development
June 2022 19

SELF-CARE
By the age of 21, I had an
apartment, I was studying to be a
doctor, I had great relationships
with friends, and I thought, “If this
is life, then I’m done. It can’t just
be this! What am I going to do for
the rest of my life?” I needed to
find something deeper. And when
I met people who were meditating,
I could see that they didn’t have
the same insecurity.
Heartfulness did not give me
immediate answers, but it showed
me a path so I knew the answers
would come. I think everyone has
the same question at some stage
in their life. One day it comes.
Some suppress it, but it’s there in
everyone.
For many years, I was part
of a team coordinating an
international scholarship program
for Heartfulness, with people
coming from many countries,
especially those where we didn’t
have trainers. They would spend
a month with us and go back to
their countries as trainers. We had
amazing people from all walks of
life, from Burkina Faso, Sri Lanka,
South America, CIS countries,
Southeast Asia, the Middle East,
etc.
Heartfulness Meditation is simple.
You don’t need a mantra, chanting,
or any preparation. It’s silent. You
don’t need an education. Even
if you cannot read and write,
The Heartfulness
way offers all the
limbs of yoga,
including asanas
and pranayama. It
encompasses the
entire philosophy of
yoga, based on the
Vedas, Sankhya
philosophy, and
Patanjali’s Yoga
Sutras, all for
modern life.
Q: Thanks for joining us Dr.
Veronique. We wish to know
where your journey started, and
how is it you’re here today?
Thank you for inviting me. To
make it short, I started with
Heartfulness Meditation, a
modern form of Raja Yoga. I didn’t
start with asana and pranayama
but directly with meditation. It
answered the need I had when
young to understand myself better.
That’s why I also became a doctor,
to understand how we work.
Why Heartfulness? I was
impressed with the people who
were doing it. To be precise,
they attracted me because they
were joyful. I felt they were
well established in their family,
successful in their profession, fun
and authentic. I could be who I
wanted to be, and it was extremely
relaxing. Maybe that’s the purpose
of yoga, to feel relaxed. I wanted to
know what made them like that,
and made me feel that way in their
presence? There was joy. Only
much later I discovered that yoga
is all about inner joy.
I didn’t stumble into yoga after a
trauma or an event. I was having
quite a nice life, but I did have a
question from childhood onward:
“Why are we here?” I would ask,
“Why go to bed if I have to wake
up in the morning?” I felt that
deep search for the purpose of life.
SELF-CARE
Heartfulness
20

you will receive the same benefit
when you meditate. There is no
need to speak. That’s its strength.
Heartfulness is for everyone.
Nowadays, the Heartfulness
way offers all the limbs of yoga,
including asanas and pranayama.
It encompasses the entire
philosophy of yoga, based on
the Vedas, Sankhya philosophy,
and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, all
for modern life. It’s extremely
practical. You cannot know by
reading or by watching other
people do it.
Heartfulness Meditation is
supported by Pranahuti (from
the word “prana,” which means
energy). We call it Transmission
in English. It is the subtlest
energy that flows from the heart
of the trainer to the heart of the
practitioner, and it was the key
for me. I will remember that
first experience all my life. After
I had my introductory sessions,
I was walking home from the
trainer’s place and I wanted to tell
everyone, “This is so simple. This
is available.” I wanted to wake up
my entire city.
I was in France at that time. To
this day, that has been my effort,
the revelation was so strong. Many
Heartfulness volunteers have a
similar experience and dedication.
We want to give time to train
others, because it’s the best thing
that has happened to us. Actually,
SELF-CARE
June 2022 21

become effective in everything you
do. You work faster, make better
choices, and manage your time
better. For me, time management
equals meditation. When I am all
over the place, and I’m not able to
get to where I want to be, I first
align myself by doing my practice
well. I then become more efficient,
to manage my life successfully and
give back. I think we’re here for
that.
Q: When you say yoga, I
only think of asanas. I think
meditation comes later in life. So
how do asanas, meditation, and
all the other parts of yoga fit
together?
Heartfulness is known for
meditation, but it has always been
based on Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga
philosophy.
What is asana? In Patanjali’s
words, it means to be comfortable
and stable in your posture so that
you can sit for meditation.
Heartfulness starts with
meditation, but there is still a need
to take care of the body. Being a
doctor, I know it’s very important
to do something for the body. I
used to do all kinds of sports, like
anybody raised in the West. I came
to yoga later. At the beginning, I
for yoga teachers, the spirit of
service is part of the fiber of our
being. In Heartfulness, the trainers
never charge for the practices.
Meditation with a trainer, with
Pranahuti, is a catalyst for growth.
You see the results quickly without
much effort. It is like climbing
a mountain; you can climb up
on your own, or you hold onto
a rope and go up much faster.
Pranahuti is the rope that takes
you up. You just make the effort
to sit in meditation every day. Of
course, there is practice, there is
continuity, and there is discipline.
Once you have all three, you
SELF-CARE
Heartfulness
22

didn’t like it much, because it was
too slow for me, my mind was too
fast; but asanas have definitely
helped me. They are good
preparation.
Even if you already meditate,
asanas are a fantastic way to take
care of your health. You can hit
the gym, swim, and walk, but if
you want to do something that
is complete and aligned to your
practice of meditation, then yoga
is a great way to take care of your
body.
The asanas evolved that way.
In ancient times, when yogis
meditated, they sat for hours.
Their muscles, their strength,
even their nervous system started
withering away, because they were
not using them. So they devised a
way to take care of the body, too.
asanas support meditation. Start
with meditation, then include
pranayama, and then use asanas
to prolong the condition that you
have after meditation.
There’s another element
that’s extremely important. In
Heartfulness we meditate on
the heart, reconnecting us to the
heart. Children bring joy because
they’re in touch with their hearts
so completely and freely. In
psychology, we know that children
develop ego at the age of three.
They start to say “I” when they
speak. Before that, they live in the
Asanas are a
fantastic way to
take care of your
health. You can hit
the gym, swim, and
walk, but if you
want to do
something that is
complete and
aligned to your
practice of
meditation, then
yoga is a great way
to take care of your
body.
present and bring joy to the whole
family.
Unfortunately, when we educate
the brain, and the mind takes
over, we start remembering and
worrying, so we’re no longer in
the present. Linking people back
to the heart is the most important
thing we can do. In Heartfulness
Yoga, before we do any asanas,
we sit on the mat and connect
to the heart. Then, throughout
the practice, we come back to
the heart. Meditation connects
us to the heart and nourishes the
qualities of the heart.
From the perspective of the
chakras, the heart chakra is the
middle one; it’s connected to all
the other chakras. So we start with
the heart chakra, nourish it, and
clean it. asanas and pranayama
are also all about cleaning and
preparing. We prepare the mind
to be still. So, in Heartfulness
Yoga, we start from inside with
meditation, developing the
qualities of the heart, and from
outside we also shape the body.
To be continued.
SELF-CARE
June 2022 23

June 2022 25
Listen to your heart, it will
guide you on the right path.
LAILAH GIFTY AKITA
inspiration

FOUR
ATTITUDES
That Will
Transform Your
Life Forever
Everyone is looking
for guidance to navigate
the uncertainty and challenges
that we collectively face in today’s
world. Sometimes the source of such
guidance has been right in front of us all
along, and all we need is a simple reminder
that the answers to our deepest problems
are within our grasp. DAAJI shares an ancient
source with us, enlightening us on four simple
atttitudes that keep us safe in all storms.

INSPIRATION
Unfortunately, very little is
known about who Patanjali was
and what he did to achieve this
knowledge. However, the 196
seeds of wisdom, the sutras he
shared with his students, are
with us today.
What is a sutra? It’s not a
verse or hymn. Neither is it
advice nor a mantra. A sutra is
a coded word. Like a seed, it’s
an open secret of nature that
encapsulates immense wisdom
and actionable guidance. One
can spend an entire lifetime
decoding and demystifying just
one sutra. And here, Patanjali
gave the world 196 of them!
From his Yoga Sutras, I would
like to share with you the
transformative wisdom of one
Sutra – number 33.
I
n the 1st century BC, King
Herod the Great built a palace
in the Judaean desert near
Jerusalem. A few years ago,
scientists discovered 2000-year-
old seeds at the ruins of the
palace, and when they planted
those seeds, seven date palms
grew. During twenty centuries of
excruciating desert climate, the
life force within those seeds was
preserved. There are some seeds
that have survived even longer
and are available to all of us, the
ancient seeds of wisdom we find
in the Yoga Sutras.
Thousands of years ago, the
great spiritual scientist Patanjali
taught his students about a way
of life that could transform
human existence. He showed
them the path to infinity.
Why is Sutra 33 important? By
cultivating the four attitudes
recommended in this Sutra, we
create an inner environment
that calms the turbulence in
our consciousness. By leading
our lives by these attitudes, we
cultivate correct thinking, right
understanding, and an honest
approach to our life. When such
is the case, life is enlivened with
authenticity.
Authenticity opens the doors
to transformation. It gives us
the capacity to accept more and
more change. This change is
no longer lukewarm and tepid.
Instead, it’s a burning fire of
transformation that creates the
gleaming gold of a life well-led.
June 2022 27
June 2022

INSPIRATION
So here it goes, Sutra 33 from Patanjali for
a transformative life:
Maitrī-karuṇā-mudito-pekṣāṇāṁ
sukha-dukkha-puṇyapuṇya viṣayāṇāṁ
bhāvanātaḥ citta-prasādanam
“The right inner environment is created by
cultivating these four attitudes:
friendliness toward the happy ones,
compassion toward victims of misery,
joy toward the virtuous,
and indifference toward the non-virtuous.”
To understand the wisdom of these four
attitudes, let’s start with a contrarian
approach:
Attitude 1: Friendliness toward the
happy ones
What happens when your friend is happy?
Imagine that your friend buys a dazzling
silver Mercedes and invites you over for a
party. Or another friend throws an early
retirement bash thanks to a successful
business sale. How do you feel? Are you
happy for them? Are you also a bit envious:
“Why them and not me?”
So your friend buys a new car and you are
envious. The other friend makes money
and your sleep is ruined. Because of social
etiquette, you might not express these
feelings openly, but they do cross your heart
and sometimes they linger for some time.
Now, what happens when you are genuinely
friendly toward those who are happy?
What happens when you share in the joys
of others? Try it and see for yourself. You
will find that you genuinely partake in
their happiness in some magical way. Your
heart will expand, and you will grow as a
Authenticity opens the doors
to transformation. It gives us
the capacity to accept more
and more change.
Heartfulness
28

INSPIRATION
The seeds of
happiness sown in
the heart blossom
into a forest of
contentment.
human being. This is a matter of
experience.
When the attitude of friendliness
toward the happy ones becomes
permanent, you may not be
wealthy, but the wealthy enjoy
your company; you may not be
powerful, but the powerful are
there for you; you may not be
an emperor, but the entourage
supports you. Most importantly,
even if none of this happens, the
seeds of happiness sown in the
heart blossom into a forest of
contentment.
Attitude 2: Compassion
toward victims of misery
When a co-worker shares their
health issues related to diabetes
and hypertension, how do you
react? Externally you may share
your sympathy, but inside do
you judge their lifestyle? “Oh, he
eats unhealthy food,” “She never
exercises,” “All that smoking,
what else can you expect?” When
someone is miserable, do you
judge, or does their pain prick
your heart? Does your heart miss
a beat and ooze with compassion
seeing the misery of others?
When you judge others, you will
regret it afterward. In your quiet
time, perhaps when you reflect at
bedtime or write a journal, you
will berate yourself, “Why did I do
such a thing?” Your inner poise is
gone.
People going through problems
don’t need much in terms of help.
They need someone to listen and
acknowledge that what they are
going through must feel terrible.
Listening with compassion and
acknowledging their misery gives
people the strength to work on a
solution.
We do this with children all
the time. A little girl falls while
running, and grandparents lift the
child, caressing her and applying
the first aid of love and attention.
In a few moments, she is running
again. We may have grown up
physically, but our emotional
needs are the same. Compassion,
attention, and care go a long way
to heal the hurt of misery. So be
generous with your compassion.
Attitude 3: Joy toward the
virtuous
How do you react when you see
virtue in action? When you see
someone efface themselves with
humility, do you think of it as
noble behavior or do you see it
as weak? When you see acts of
generosity, do you appreciate them
or look for an ulterior motive?
There is a general tendency to
regard virtue with suspicion. Why
is this so? Suspicion tricks us
into thinking that there must be
something darker lurking beneath.
June 2022 29

INSPIRATION
When we express joy toward
the virtuous, we create a
vacuum that is devoid of
suspicion, comparison, and
competitiveness. Into such a
heart, grace descends naturally.
It’s like building a low-pressure
area where clouds collect and
pour down rain. Through
such downpours of grace, we
cultivate such virtues ourselves,
even without our making
efforts to do so. So celebrate
the virtuous around you with a
heart full of joy.
Attitude 4: Indifference
toward the non-virtuous
Energy flows where attention
goes. Patanjali’s prescription for
cultivating indifference might
sound like he is asking us to
look the other way in the face
of evil, but what he is urging us
to do is not to spend time and
energy focusing on the evil in a
person’s behavior, because what
you pay attention to will grow.
If you are a soldier fighting an
enemy, let duty be your driving
force, not hatred for the enemy.
Once the seeds of hate land
in your heart they will keep
growing long after the enemy
is gone.
It’s the same message Lord
Jesus gave from the cross:
“Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do.” It’s the
same message Lord Rama gave
when Ravana was breathing
his last; he sent Lakshmana to
gather words of wisdom from
the learned Ravana. In all these
examples, we learn that in the
battle of good versus evil, love
versus hate, right versus wrong,
we do not become virtuous
by condemning the other to
judgment. Instead, we grow by
nurturing goodness in the heart.
These attitudes have inspired
me personally to act and
transform. A simple way to
start implementing them is to
pick one. Then, before going
to bed, offer a prayer, seeking
help, guidance, and strength
to implement that attitude in
life. Do this for a few days, and
please let me know about your
experience.
Illustration by JASMEE MUDGAL
When we express joy toward
the virtuous, we create a
vacuum that is devoid of
suspicion, comparison, and
competitiveness. Into such a
heart, grace descends
naturally.
30 Heartfulness

I
n my Guide and Guru, Ram
Chandra, Babuji as we called
him, I found the help I needed –
mentally, physically and spiritually.
I also found a person who, in all
his silent simplicity, became my
friend and the very breath of my
life, as is the current Guide, Daaji
today.
Back then, they called our system
of meditation Sahaj Marg – the
Natural Way. And what is more
natural than breathing? We
all breathe. Without it we are
dead. Without a beating heart
and a breath there is no flow of
anything.
By the end of the 1960s, Westerners were traveling
to India to visit Babuji. Among the first were the
Danes, who all fell in love with Babuji and were
instrumental in bringing the spiritual practices of
Heartfulness to the West. One of these pioneers
was THOMAS MOGENSEN, who first visited
Shahjahanpur in 1971 with his wife and some
friends. Here he shares the value of 50 years of
Heartfulness.
50 years of
BREATHING

That was the condition in which
my Guide found me, not I him,
50 years ago. He was and still is
“the finder.” He finds us and leads
us on to find our true natural
way of life. He breathes it into
our hearts. Hidden to us, it is
something we already are every
second of the day, and the night
as well. We sleep and we breathe.
We breathe and we live. So,
why yoga and meditation if that
breath of life is not there?
Who wants to struggle with
a lifeless yoga? Who cares to
meditate for hours, breathe in
certain odd ways, recite endless
mantras, or fall to their knees
INSPIRATION
with non-stop praying? The only
thing we really need is to forget
ourselves. Forget who we are.
Forget who we think we should
be, so that we can become what we
have always been, a breath of life.
Such a method sounds so easy. And
it is easy. You don’t need to sit with
a straight back and legs crossed
for hours and hours suppressing
yourself into some sort of mindset.
That is what practitioners of yoga
have sadly often done, and some of
us still do, because we still live in
the past.
In my Guide and Guru, I am daily
found. By someone who doesn’t
live in the past. He is not hanging
onto anything. He doesn’t expect
anything, not from you and not
from me. He doesn’t remember
yesterday and before, cling to it,
or get stuck in it. He is always
here, now, urging us to forget and
become. A new way of breathing.
A new way of moving through life.
That is meditation in a nutshell.
That was what I needed back then,
still now, and tomorrow as well.
So, dear sisters and brothers,
whoever reads this, I wish
you peace, tranquility, and
prosperity. We all worry about
our lives, children, grandchildren,
pandemics, and wars.
Apart from the methods
themselves, what have 50 years of
Heartfulness Meditation given me
to tackle all these worries and my
own inner turmoil? In the most
simple terms, the Guide gave me
a friend. One who doesn’t want
to teach me anything except to
breathe in the most common
natural way. In such a breath of
life, a mere possibility to move
on, we can all be, and become
unknown to ourselves. We can
know the Unknown. For that I
am forever thankful. For that I am
forever on the road.

We need to do a better job of
putting ourselves higher on our
own “to do” list.
MICHELLE OBAMA
WORKPLACE

KINDRED SPIRITS:
Transforming Darkness into Creativity
MELISSA BERNSTEIN is the co-founder of Melissa & Doug,
a toy company with a mission to “provide a launch pad to
ignite imagination and a sense of wonder in all children
so they can discover themselves, their passions, and their
purpose.” In this article, EMILIE MOGENSEN starts with a
simple interview approach with Melissa, which blossoms
into much more – a meeting of kindred spirits!
Heartfulness
36

“I
am fearful, oh, so fearful,
that if you do not show me
light I will lose the will to
live, and choose to end this futile
fight.”
Back in 1970, this verse was
written by a 5-year-old girl, who
learned early in life that expressing
her innermost vulnerable feelings
in creative writing was not merely
an expression of words, it was a
way to survive.
Originally, the intention of this
article was to write a portrait of
a very successful and conscious
entrepreneur. But that seemed too
linear for her. It feels true to the
essence of her lively, ethereal, and
delicate being, to instead share a
mystical and most rewarding story
of how a meeting on Zoom turned
into a sweet connection between
two creative souls.
When I first experienced Melissa
Bernstein, she was a guest speaker
at The Inner MBA, which I am
currently doing through Mindful
NYU, Sounds True and LinkedIn.
I was unaware that I had been
buying her designs over the years
as toys for my kids. I discovered
June 2022 37

WORKPLACE
that when I looked her up and
recognized the online red logo of
“Melissa & Doug.”
I was taken by storm from the
moment I saw her. She was free
and fun, loving and sharing.
Melissa has created more than
10,000 toys and made millions
of children happy around the
world. I was especially inspired
when Melissa spoke about being
a “white space creative.” I could
relate to that frame of mind, or
should I say lack of frame of
mind: an ability to see the entire
universe of a certain project, long
So I am meeting Melissa on Zoom
and we bond immediately in a
very natural way. We dive into
a very personal and vulnerable
conversation about my journey
as an entrepreneur. I share with
her how I had to close down my
company after two years with
a wrongly-matched investor
on board. She listens and asks
questions, is compassionate, caring,
and very intriguing.
So, here I am, having forgotten all
my planned interview questions,
in a fruitful and connecting
conversation about life and death,
before the first drawing is even
made; an intuitive, delicate, and
very sensitive ability to open up
and allow the stream of creative
inspiration to come through the
body, in order to manifest into a
product or artistic expression. I
found myself tearing up several
times during the one hour
gathering we had with her. That
inspired me to reach out to her – I
wanted more!

She has
transformed these
tormenting
shadows through
intense therapy,
heart centering,
and her never-
ending need to
express herself
creatively, through
toys and writing
verses.
WORKPLACE
heart-centered entrepreneurship,
and how draining it can be to
insist on cultivating intuition and
sensitivity in a harsh business
world.
Her joyful spirit makes me feel
seen and appreciated, for what and
who I am, in my innermost real
place. In her presence, I unfold and
expand my intuitive and creative
wings in a free and relaxed way.
Later in our conversation, I
discover that this happy spirit
of hers was not always so happy.
Melissa suffered from severe
depression over more than two
decades. Design and creativity
were literally a lifeline for her.
She needed to express herself
creatively in order to transform
what she calls her inner darkness.
Inner despair, suicidal thoughts at
the age of 19, and profound inner
shadows, were part of Melissa’s
journey.
She has transformed these
tormenting shadows through
intense therapy, heart centering,
and her never-ending need to
express herself creatively, through
toys and writing verses.
She now helps many people
through her newly-established
entrepreneur adventure, Lifelines,
which assists people to transform
their inner darkness.
I don’t want to go into details
about the achievements of Melissa
and her husband Doug. You can
Google their extraordinary journey
– two entrepreneurs, who have
been happily married for more
than 35 years, with six kids. Today,
Melissa & Doug has a net worth
of nearly 1 billion USD. Seen
through the eyes of an average
person like myself, this seems like
the classic, slightly overwhelming,
and maybe even intimidating
fairytale of the American dream.
But there is no such energy around
her; she is not overwhelming
and intimidating. She shows up
as a very authentic, present, and
feminine person, with wet hair
after her morning shower, open-
hearted, curious, and joyful.
I know that we can trust each
other, and so does she. We laugh,
skip all the surface talk, and jump
right into the deepest and most
painful parts of ourselves, sharing
them in a space of mutual trust
and empathy.
My intuitive feeling of a new
world dawning, where like-minded
people from different communities
meet and connect, despite

as an intuitive creative in the
business world.
She clearly feels in her body how
the powerful urge to create can
feel like a blessing in disguise. She
even has a word for it, “Blurse”
(blessing-curse). Coming from
a family with a lot of creative
entrepreneurs, I can relate to this
rather exhausting paradox.
When Melissa starts sharing with
me, she always checks in with her
heart before taking any decision. I
mention to her that I am a trainer
of Heartfulness meditation. She
immediately feels inclined to
meditate together, and we clear
three days during the following
week to dive deep and transform
together.
A part of me is soothed by her
presence. Something about her
having gone through inner pain,
questioning her reason to stay
alive, yet creating a company
with more than 800 employees,
fascinates me. There is a hidden
power in her, behind the down-
to-earth, smiling, and curious
personality.
She shares how hard she has
worked with her therapist to
transform her anxiety and need to
control the outer world. I resonate
with this constant need to manage
and balance feelings, as they are
the main drivers toward the best
ideas. Shutting down feelings,
which we feel forced to do when
dealing with business people, can
be counter-productive. We stop
getting ideas. Nevertheless, it is
crucial for mental stability to learn
emotional management.
Some of the best artists
throughout history are known for
their mood swings and difficult
lives. Creativity often goes hand in
hand with emotional challenges,
in my experience, and Melissa
certainly seems to fit this category.
Her courage to transform this
sensitivity into her superpower is
inspiring, and I feel it comes from
a very authentic place.
sitting on different continents
with different backgrounds and
nationalities, is unfolding in front
of me. Feelings of deep meaning,
gratitude, and connection bring
me great joy in the two hours we
talk, laugh, share, and connect.
We talk about how it has taken
her many years to truly believe
in herself, when surrounded by
commercial people who use the
left side of the brain in their work.
It is a personal coaching session
for me. I take it all. It resonates
profoundly with my own journey
Heartfulness
40

Why am I sharing this rather
intimate space of meditation in an
article? Because I feel the purpose
of Melissa Bernstein is to inspire
people to be exactly who they are.
She courageously allows us into
her innermost vulnerable place,
and shows us how transforming
darkness can make us come
out stronger. It’s priceless and
honorable, and profoundly needed
in today’s world, where young
people suffer from FOMO and
low self-esteem. With Social
Media, we brand ourselves,
artificially, through the filters of
so-called beauty.
Melissa unlocks creative potential
in me, and transforms it into
dynamic and balanced new energy.
She engages in my journey, her
thinking is free and expansive, and
she keeps reminding me about
the crucial need to be truthful to
myself and my values. Always.
I pray, sending out the intention
that more and more people in this
suffering world will follow the
example of Melissa, unlocking
their inner and most truthful
creative potential in order to co-
create a wonderful world, where
kindred spirits meet and meditate
together.
Thank you, Melissa, for your
ability to show us how to
transform darkness into creativity.
You make me feel like showing up
as the best version of myself, where
I create from the full potential
within.
Illustrations by ARATI SHEDDE
We bond very nicely on a
personal level, sharing an intuitive
and creative approach to life
and entrepreneurship. But in
meditation with her, it becomes
clear that she is more – a kindred
spirit. A deep sense of knowing
is present in our three 30-minute
meditations, and I find myself
smiling many times. It feels the
same as when I am at a concert;
the power of the collective, sharing
deep feelings, coming through one
individual.
It’s fascinating how one individual
can channel something and impact
the masses, like she does with
her toys and her new company,
Lifelines.
June 2022 41

DR. ICHAK ADIZES is an expert in change management for organizations.
Here he shares some thoughts on doing nothing, and how he creates the
space to do that through a yogic meditation practice.
J U S T T H I N K I N G A N D F E E L I N G
E
very day in the modern
world poses an increasing
number of problems and
opportunities in our lives. There
are so many existing and new
oppor-threats, that we simply don’t
have enough time to address them
all. We are all busy, and if we slow
down for even a second, we feel
guilty because “there is so much to
do.” But if you stop for an interval
of time and do nothing, you might
find it has its benefits.
First, doing nothing gives you the
time to reminisce; to review what
you are doing and analyze whether
or not you should continue doing
it. You get to see the value, or
the futility, of doing something
or anything. Doing nothing for
a moment is like pulling yourself
out of a picture, so that you can
see the picture from a different
perspective. We all know how
difficult it is to see the picture
when you are in it.
When you do nothing, you give
yourself the opportunity to ask,
“Is it time to change?” Filling
your time with something to do
is a perfect escape from yourself,
while doing nothing forces you,
sometimes painfully, to face
yourself and your concerns.
I have noticed an interesting
phenomenon among people who
ask for a divorce. I asked them:
When did the idea germinate?
When was the final decision to
make a change “born”? It often
happened when the person was
on vacation or sick in bed with
nothing to do. When you do
nothing, you give yourself a chance
to review everything.
In the Hindu tradition, zero and
infinity are related. Everything is
nothing. Nothing is everything.
Another benefit of doing nothing
for an interval of time is that
it provides space for creating
something new. When your brain
is fully engaged it is not available
to be creative. I have found an
interesting common denominator
among my entrepreneurial clients:
When they were young, they were
either sick for a long time or, for
some other reason, they were
alone with nothing to do. Having
nothing to do, they had to create
something by themselves. Often
they did lots of daydreaming, and
over time they developed their
dream, which became their reality.
With nothing to do, they had the
time to evaluate their past and
make plans for the future.
What I have been saying so
far boils down to this: Having
nothing to do is a prerequisite for
making a change. Have you ever
had the resolve to make a strategic
change when you were stressed to
catch a plane? Look at a train. To
The Benefits of
DOING NOTHING
Heartfulness
42

WORKPLACE
change the rails it is riding on it
needs to slow down, or even stop
all together.
Full speed ahead and changing
direction are not compatible
activities. (P) and (E) are
incompatible roles. You need (I)
in the middle to enable change.
Having nothing to do can
create the opportunity to make
a strategic change in one’s life.
What may seem to be a problem
could be a blessing in disguise.
Many entrepreneurs started their
companies after they were fired
from their previous jobs and
had nothing to do for a while.
Being employed, and struggling
to remain employed, used all the
limited energy they had; they
simply didn’t have the energy
to even think about starting
a business. Getting fired was
the best thing that could have
happened to them. It gave them
the time and energy to analyze
what they really wanted to do
with their lives and what strategic
changes they wanted to make.
Recession might also be a blessing
in disguise. Falling sales, falling
production, and less pressure to
fulfill orders all provide a window
of opportunity for the decision
makers to reevaluate the past and
implement strategic changes for
the future.
June 2022 43

Now a word of warning: Watching
TV or reading a book in the
shade of your sun umbrella or
swimming or surfing or biking
... none of them count as doing
nothing. They could be classified
as vacation, but not as “doing
nothing.” Nothing means nothing.
Nothing means having no agenda,
no goal to achieve, nothing that
engages your mind in any way.
Nothing means that your mind is
allowed to be free to wander.
In yoga, lying relaxed on the floor
(the “dead person pose”) is a pose
in itself and a very important
one. One has to know how to do
nothing. It is a science and an art
in itself.
How, then, should you go about
doing nothing? Here is what I
believe is the answer: You will
never find the time to do nothing;
you have to consciously and
intentionally take the time to
do nothing. The easiest way to
implement this philosophy of life
is to meditate. I meditate twice a
day for an hour. If you do not want
to meditate, make a commitment
to sit and do nothing every day
for an hour without feeling guilty
about it. Have a pad and a pen
available; you may be surprised
by what you will think up. Doing
nothing is doing something very
important. It enables you to
change, and in the hectic world
in which we live, change is a
prerequisite for success.
Just thinking and feeling,
Dr. Ichak Kalderon Adizes
https://www.ichakadizes.com/
post/the-benefits-of-doing-
nothing
Heartfulness
44

June 2022 47
Remember the blue
sky. It may at times be
obscured by clouds, but
it is always there.
ANDY PUDDICOMBE

language of life
The Universal

THOM BOND is a thought leader, peace educator, author, and
mediation consultant who is best known for The Compassion
Course. He’s the founder and Director of Education for the New
York Center for Nonviolent Communication. He is interviewed
by ELIZABETH DENLEY about his journey, his mentor, Marshall
Rosenberg, and what drives our behavior and responses to life.
Q: Welcome, Thom.
Thank you, it’s great to be here.
Q: I’ve heard so much about
your Compassion Course, and
am particularly interested in
how you’ve taken Nonviolent
Communication to the next
level with compassion and your
idea of “engineering peace,”
beyond the nonviolent aspect to
something that goes toward a
very positive solution.
When I wrote the course, my
father challenged me not to
use the words “Nonviolent
Communication,” and I realized
that Marshall Rosenberg also did
not like the moniker of Nonviolent
Communication, because it says
what it isn’t, not what it is.
More than that, Nonviolent
Communication now has the
reputation of being a language
model. You can learn to say certain
words and, abracadabra, you will
get along with everybody and
resolve all your conflicts. In some
ways that is true, but there has to
be something behind those words.
You can’t just say the words. I have
seen folks who were so focused on
trying to get the words right that
they simply took their habitual
patterns and applied them to this.
I wanted to take a completely
different approach: not a language
model, but an awareness of what
June 2022 49
RELATIONSHIPS

is going on within us and around
us. That was the idea behind The
Compassion Book. People could
learn to communicate from the
perspective of awareness, and it
was a big deal to help people over
the line.
It was heartbreaking when people
would say, “Well, I used NVC on
my husband, I used all the right
words, and it didn’t do anything.”
So I asked, “How can we figure
out a way to get right to the
beautiful foundation of what
Marshall discovered?”
Q: What do you mean by the
word “compassion”? It is used
everywhere these days. Is it
possible for humanity to arrive at
a compassionate peaceful place
during this crazy time? Obviously
you have a vision behind your
Compassion Course that’s bigger
than the individual. What else is
going on?
I’ve been trying to capture that,
and I think I have in the term
Homo compass. Right now we are
Homo sapiens, and our species has
a design flaw – we get angry on a
level that no other creature does.
We see animals defend themselves
and get packed with adrenaline,
but no creature sustains the level
of judgment and enemy images
that we do. This is our challenge as
a species.
My long-term thing is that we
need to evolve, literally, to become
a species that does not kill itself.
What does that look like? There’s
a list of answers, and one of them
is that we become really good at
conflict resolution, just like we’re
good at building things, we’re good
at other things. Part of that is to
learn to counteract our impulses.
I love the word “compass.” It’s
not just from compassion. There
are around twelve definitions,
and I love them all. I wish that
humans would understand that
we’re genetically at a disadvantage.
Our bodies were designed to live
in a culture that’s no longer to be
found. It’s time to adapt, we have
to become the next version, and
how do we do that?
Some of us have a deep intuitive
sense that anger and judgment
just don’t work. There has to be
an alternative. That’s what got me
going.
Heartfulness
50
RELATIONSHIPS

The My Lai massacre happened
in 1968, when I was twelve years
old. I saw it in Life Magazine,
and it was astounding to me that
humans could do that. I grew up
with World War Two movies, but
I never saw a three-year-old crying
hysterically, running barefoot
down a road surrounded by bodies.
That vision will never leave me. At
that moment, I thought, “This is
not working for me, I don’t want
to live in a world like this.”
It was a painful time between that
moment and thirty years later
when I read Marshall Rosenberg’s
book. I was having a relationship
issue so somebody recommended
it. I don’t think they realized what
they were handing me. It was the
answer to a terrible quandary,
and I thought, “This works.” My
background is in engineering,
so I love to find solutions to
problems. Usually it’s some form
of technology, like this LED light
bulb I designed. Marshall’s work
was like the light bulb. It works!
What works? When we develop
a consciousness of the parallel
universe of life. We have a really
amazing connection to life, and
it guides our behavior. Life wants
life. This is something I’ve learned.
When we connect to life, we’re
connecting to the life in us, we’re
connecting to the life in other
people. Life transcends culture if
we find the universal language of
life.
The reason it’s a universal
language is because we’re going
through exactly the same thing,
you and me. We’re having a
different experience of it, but we’re
all humans, right? This struck me
so powerfully, and I met Marshall
so quickly, it was kind of nutty.
I also met Albert Ellis, who was
my therapist. Marshall and I were
working together in New York at
the same time that I was working
with Albert, and Marshall said, “I
don’t want to meet him.” Marshall
almost felt guilty that he had
copied some of Albert’s work.
Everything we do, we do to meet
a need. Also, everything we think,
we think to meet a need.
Albert helped me with that. I’d
also worked with The Landmark
Forum, which helped me to
understand that I am not my
thoughts and I’m not who I think
I am. It opened up the possibility
of being whoever I wanted to be.
Then came the question: Who
do you want to be? That’s when I
fell in love with Marshall’s work,
because it was the answer. I could
figure out who I wanted to be
every moment of the day because
of him. And I could help other
people figure it out, too.
What works? When we develop a
consciousness of the parallel
universe of life. We have a really
amazing connection to life, and it
guides our behavior.
June 2022 51
RELATIONSHIPS

The idea of connecting to needs
was a life-changer for me, and I
knew it would work for others. We
really need this. But I have to be
trustworthy as a teacher because
I am asking a lot of others. I’m
asking a lot of myself, too. I look
at it as a sacred responsibility; it’s
critical that I never say anything
that’s not true. When I teach,
I follow the first two rules of
training: show up, which is pretty
important, and know what you
don’t know and live with that.
If you tell somebody something
that’s not true, they can never
trust you again, even if they want
to. There’s going to be a part of
them that says, “Remember that
time?” So, we took this on very
seriously, which is another reason
I wanted to get away from NVC
terminology, because there were
folks saying they were doing it
who weren’t. I wanted to separate
ourselves and give people a second
chance to look at the work.
Q: You’re dealing with language
as an interface into awareness,
especially of the feeling level of
existence. You’re going beneath
the surface to look at needs
and longings, people’s intimate
space. Like you said, there’s a
responsibility to be trustworthy,
to make it safe. In Heartfulness,
sound, and therefore language
and the human voice are the
transmission or expression
of inner awareness, the
consciousness that we’re
holding. So, it works both ways.
In Heartfulness, we work from
the inside out; by meditating,
we’re working with the inner
universe, especially the
subconscious, to remove
patterns, to remove neural
hardwiring. This brings an
openness to change, and that
change is vital for us to evolve if
we’re going to get through the
mess we’ve created. It means
individual evolution, as well as
species evolution. It affects our
communication. You’re working
in the other direction, with
communication, to help discover
what’s happening on the inside.
The first teacher in Heartfulness,
Lalaji, said that sound is the
manifestation of the universe. It’s
the essence of the energy that
was there from the beginning,
before the Big Bang. It moved
into everything, and it expresses
through the human voice. So,
what you’re doing is fascinating
and cutting edge, because
many people do contemplative
practices without translating the
inner change into their way of
interacting with the world.
With you, I noticed you do two
things: you talk about ways of
communication, but you also
talk about the importance of
being in silence and listening to
yourself and to what’s going on
around as a way of coming back
from some state. Whether that’s
angry or anxious, you use this
method of pausing, of silence, to
recalibrate yourself. Can you talk
about what you do and how you
do it?
Have you ever heard, “Count to
10” when you’re angry? I thought,
“I’ll do that.” I spent many years
getting angry exactly 10 seconds
later. That was not the answer.
There was something else.
Heartfulness
RELATIONSHIPS

What do we do in the space?
What is the space for?
We’re trying something that is not
wired into us. We are culturally
and genetically wired to get angry,
so for us to make progress, to have
choice in this, we really need to see
this parallel universe. If we learn
to use the space to see inside the
parallel universe, what happens
is easy, we almost can’t help it.
That’s when I knew I was onto
something. Otherwise, when you
try not to get angry, sit there and
try your damnedest, good luck!
Let’s talk about why we’re angry,
and then see if there isn’t some
path. It is an easy path once we see
it, but it’s not easy to see because
our habitual mind wants to see
something else. The path is to
see the needs, have a relationship
with them, and be able to
articulate them. Once we articulate
them, once we can see that life
energy exists in us, once we start
becoming aware of it and seeing it
in others, then we articulate that.
Then we go, “Oh, my goodness,
my needs are bad, feelings are bad.
I have all these habitual thoughts
that are stopping me from getting
into a beautiful relationship with
life: “I should,” “I shouldn’t,”
things that have nothing to do
with life.
A part of the practice is to take
that space and connect to life, stop
the noise, stop the voices, and pay
attention to something else. We
don’t even have to stop them; we
can just say, “Fine, go on voices,
but I’m going to pay attention over
here.”
What I’m trying to do for folks,
myself included, is to make the
journey from a moment of anger,
to having a resolution around it,
not stomping it out, but turning it
into something without making it
go away. I don’t have to say, “Oh,
anger, bad, go away!” Instead, I say,
“Anger is telling me something.
What is it?”Then we can work
from that space.
A part of the
practice is to take
that space and
connect to life,
stop the noise, stop
the voices, and pay
attention to
something else.
June 2022
RELATIONSHIPS

Q: You talk about needs being in
layers. You might start at the
surface, what you perceive as
being the need, and then you
work down to what’s behind
that, and what’s behind that, and
what’s behind that. How does
that work?
Well, life works that way, so all
we have to do is observe life.
Marshall gave us an incredibly
accurate language that reflects
the experience of life. He did that
both with feelings and needs. I
call feelings the aura of needs,
and needs are the impulses of life.
Feelings tell us how we’re doing.
Needs are the “doing” of life, the
impulses of life. That’s what we
work to understand.
Q: In the yogic traditions, the
so-called negative emotions,
like anger (known as krodha in
yoga) and fear, are not seen
as negative. In their pure form
they have a function that’s like a
warning sign, “You need to look
at this and something needs to
change here.” They are change
indicators.
Exactly. It’s a radar, you could say.
Q: Fear is a cautionary thing,
that you need to pull back and
discipline yourself, or look at
where you’re going and what
I call feelings the aura of
needs, and needs are
the impulses of life.
Feelings tell us how
we’re doing. Needs are
the “doing” of life, the
impulses of life.
Heartfulness
54

you’re doing, as there might be
danger ahead. Anger is more
that something needs to shift.
You can’t do much about another
person’s behavior, but you
can look at your own reactions
to what they’re doing, and say,
“All right, how can I respond
differently to bring about the
best possible outcome?”
I just did an anger workshop this
afternoon, so I’m really keyed
up about this stuff. Anger is not
a straight-out emotion, but an
emotion from some unmet need.
It’s a perspective that it should
or shouldn’t be that way, right? It
should be some other way. And
that judgmental thinking blossoms
into moralistic thinking, and all
the different forms of judgment –
all the daughters, sons, and cousins
of it out there. Oddly enough, we
live our lives by those things. And
those things aren’t life. They are
thoughts, judgments, very human
things.
Needs are divine. The whole
idea is to say, “This is telling me
something. What’s the beautiful
thing this is telling me?” For
example, I’m thinking that I’m
lazy. What is the beautiful message
here? What is it telling me that I
value, and what am I trying to do
with it? Remember, everything
we do, we do to meet a need,
including thinking things. So why
would I think I’m lazy? Well, it’s
a tragic way of motivating myself.
So, I could say, “Oh, that’s why I
think that.” Because I want to be
inspired and motivated. What is it
telling me that I value?
My dad gave me the “lazy” thing,
so I had to work with it. I realized
that it is actually a sign I value
productivity. Oh, my goodness, I
love being productive. I love being
effective. So, unfortunately, I was
taught that one of the ways I could
do that was by calling myself lazy.
Just now I found the beautiful
thing that “lazy” was telling me,
so I don’t need lazy any more.
Now I’m a person who loves to
be effective. I know that. So I go
Remember,
everything we
do, we do to
meet a need,
including
thinking things.
RELATIONSHIPS

straight to that, because that’s who
I am. That’s who I want to be.
There are tens of thousands of
similar instances in our lives,
like “lazy.” Whether it’s “evil,”
“stupid,” or “selfish,” we have the
opportunity to transcend each
one. We hear the criticism from
the viewpoint of Homo sapiens,
but we can hear it again as Homo
compass, at the same time, not
making Homo sapiens wrong,
but nurturing, empathizing with
Homo sapiens. We can’t help it,
so let’s have some compassion for
that.
Anyway, what are we doing
while we’re judging ourselves for
judging? It's like going into a hall
of mirrors, and that’s the problem.
For example, I don’t really like
discussions of the ego. I don’t
think it’s a helpful thing to say. I’m
so glad I said that at the risk of
not knowing if you get it!
Q: I do, because we need the
ego; it’s our identity. How to use
it in a way that we’re not judging
ourselves all the time?
Right. It doesn’t pay for us to
think that the ego should be some
other way than it is. It is what it is.
I love having compassion for that.
Q: In yoga, the ego is just one of
the subtle bodies of the mind.
You can’t get rid of it as it is
What are we doing while
we’re judging ourselves for
judging? It's like going into a
hall of mirrors, and that’s
the problem.
Heartfulness
56
RELATIONSHIPS

If I live in a world of
judgment, then ego is a
very important thing. But
if I live in the world of
life, then needs are the
important thing.
part of our makeup. It’s how you
learn to work with it, and the soft
acceptance you have in moving
forward in a positive way, that
make it work or not work for you.
Or to make an enemy of it, or even
monitor it, frankly. If I live in a
world of judgment, then ego is a
very important thing. But if I live
in the world of life, then needs are
the important thing.
Really, what are needs? Needs
are simply how we describe life.
Those are the words that we use
to express the experience we’re
having
Q: Which is just beautiful.
Yes, so simple and so difficult.
To be continued.
June 2022 57

Q: Welcome everyone to this
podcast in the Yoga for Unity
series. My guest today is
Saraswathi Vasudevan, a yoga
teacher and yoga therapist,
who has been teaching yoga
for 30 years and is running
institutes in Chennai and
Hyderabad. She’s a student of
T.K.V. Desikachar, son of the yoga
legend, Shri T. Krishnamacharya.
Today, Saraswathi addresses
caregivers, the people we often
forget. Saraswathi, first, thank
you for being here with us today
and taking the time.
Thank you for inviting me,
Veronique.
Q: So, who is a caregiver? Could
you define it for us?
I will focus today on family
caregivers, the ones who are
often invisible. They take care
of people with chronic illnesses,
requiring a lot of support, and
often are not seen, acknowledged,
or appreciated. They have great
difficulty acknowledging that
they also need to take care of
themselves. Their mind and their
whole being is fully consumed by
taking care of the person who is ill.
There are many medical
conditions for which people
require continuous support at
home, and even when there is
medical support, often one family
member is fully engaged in care.
They are the people I want to
reach. They need to become aware
of the importance of the role
they’re playing, and the need to
take care of themselves to better
care for others. They need to know
how to take care of themselves.
Q: I’m a caregiver, and very often
I have the tendency, and even the
willingness to forget myself – to
give and to serve. You seem to be
saying that this is not completely
the right thing to do. Can you
explain why?
June 2022 59
For Caretakers:
HOW TO TAKE CARE OF
YOURSELVES
The founder of Yoga Vahini, SARASWATHI VASUDEVAN, is
interviewed by DR. VERONIQUE NICOLAI, Director, Heartfulness
Yoga Academy, about the role yoga has to play in self-care for
fulltime caregivers. Her simple 10-minute breathing practice and
checklist of questions for caregivers are a must for everyone.

When I meet patients with
chronic conditions, I ask their
caregivers, “When are you going to
start yoga? When are you going to
take care of this?”
They usually say, “I don’t have
time.”
It is difficult to help caregivers
see that they need help. I don’t
mean outside help, but learning
something for themselves.
So my questions to them are:

Are you sleeping well?
When you wake, do you feel
refreshed?

Do you look forward to the
day?

How are your energy levels
through the day?

Do you get time to just
sit down, breathe, and do
something to take care of
yourself? Do you get a break,
even if it is for a couple of
hours to go for a short walk
or meet some friends? Do you
have a social life?

Do you eat when you’re
hungry, and do you eat food
that is nourishing? How is
your digestion?

How are you addressing your
physical aches and pains?

How are you addressing your
emotional needs?
When they reflect upon these
questions, they begin to recognize
that there are many areas in their
life that they are not paying
enough attention to, because all
their attention is on the person
who needs help.
Q: How will this help me as a
caregiver? Will it change the way
I behave, the way I help others?
We can start there. If I tell you to
take care of yourself so that you
can take care of the other person
better, in all probability you may
do something. If I tell you to do it
just for yourself, you may not.
Let’s look at physical health. If a
caregiver has to physically support
their patient, lift them from the
bed, wash them, etc., they need
a lot of strength in the arms,
shoulders, neck, and head. If they
have to stand or bend a lot, they
need strength in their lower back.
All of us have general aches and
pains, and in certain seasons they
increase. A caregiver may not be
hydrating themselves enough, or
may not be eating food that is
appropriate for them. They may
have pain in the body that needs
addressing.
If they take care of themselves,
they will have better flexibility and
strength, and the energy will flow
well in the body. It’s important
Heartfulness
60

that they’re able to breathe well.
They can then do more and be
more energetic, by learning to
relax, rest, and sleep well. I wonder
how many caregivers sleep deeply,
because they are in a constant
state of vigilance. A mind that is
vigilant all the time doesn’t fully
rest or fully sleep. Caregivers often
have to learn how to rest and
improve their sleep quality.
For all this, yoga can help. It
improves energy levels, reduces
aches and pains, improves the
circulation in the body, positively
impacts digestion and elimination,
and improves sleep and the quality
of rest, even if it is only for ten
minutes.
The mind also needs to rest, not
just the body.
A yoga teacher is like a
companion, someone you can talk
to, who can give you a practice
that is appropriate for you, who
can listen to you. Because you are
always listening to the sick person.
A companion who works with you
can be a great gift for a caregiver.

Sit down for a few minutes, and quietly begin to
watch your breath.

Slowly deepen your exhalation. As you exhale,
visualize unburdening yourself. Unburden your
mind, unburden your senses, your whole body.
Allow your whole body to relax as you exhale.

As you inhale, visualize yourself drawing in fresh
energy. Place your feet on the floor, so you draw it
from the Earth, and the Earth will offer you that
energy. That is very refreshing.

Then go to the next step. As you inhale, raise
your arms. As you exhale, lower your arms, from
the sides or from the front. You’re beginning to
exercise your shoulder muscles, arms, spine, and
neck, so the breath flows in more deeply, and
you’re able to exhale more comfortably.
Q: So now it really makes sense!
You started talking about the
physical, and that speaks to
me: having more strength in
my back and arms, being able
to stand for longer, and having
more energy for all the duties.
That’s a good way to motivate
me to look into this. How do you
propose we do that?
I start by offering short practices,
a taste of what yoga can offer,
starting with breathing.
June 2022 61
RELATIONSHIPS

Maybe you’ll get hooked on it.
Do you have ten minutes, twice
a day to do this? If the answer is
no, then do it once a day for ten
minutes.
That’s what my teacher used to do.
When a new student came, he
would ask, “How much time do
you have, and when can you do
your practice? Can you find a ten-
minute slot?”
They would say, “Okay, I will give
that time to you.”
It was as if they were giving the
time to the teacher. They wanted
to give that time because the
teacher cared so much.
Start there. Invariably, if you
experience even a little benefit
you will want to do it and you will
make time. You have to learn to
make time in your mind. You have
to make space for yourself in your
mind, and that will create time.
If you create space, time will be
created. And if you create time,
space will be created.
Q: It works like that in
everybody’s experience: you
start with a small practice, a
small demand that you can
meet, and then you realize that
it is very easy. You don’t need
anything special to start yoga.
You have to make
space for yourself in
your mind, and that
will create time. If
you create space,
time will be created.
And if you create
time, space will be
created.
Heartfulness
62

As you said, the interaction with
the yoga therapist also helps
the caregiver. In your experience,
how did that evolve with the
caregivers you have followed?
Can you give us some examples?
We work with people who come
for yoga therapy. In particular,
we’ve done a lot of work with
children with special needs, so I
started with their parents. Initially,
I devised a program for parents,
mostly mothers, because they are
the ones who often take care, but
it was very difficult to get them to
come to a class because they didn’t
have time. So we offered a yoga
class for the parents and children
together. And we asked for both
parents, as most of the time it was
one coming.
We practice together, and it’s a lot
of fun. The children run around,
sometimes not even paying
attention, but the parents have
fun and they relax. It’s time for
them. We have extra teachers to
take care of the children, and we
tell the parents, “Now it’s your
time to practice. Don’t look at your
children.”
I work with a forum for special
needs support called The Special
World. We’ve been working
together for ten years now. We
also work with the Parivartan
Foundation that offers support
June 2022 63
RELATIONSHIPS

for people with Parkinson’s.
More recently, some of my
colleagues have started working
with an institution in Mumbai
called Caregiver Saathi, which
provides resources and support for
caregivers. I have been working
with these three institutions
actively.
Q: What is the transformation
you’ve witnessed? You said that
parents have fun, they laugh,
and of course they have the
space to do that. Is there any
other impact that you witness, or
feedback that you receive?
Many parents now make time
to practice yoga regularly, and
they see a huge benefit. Some
have become yoga teachers, to
support their children, and support
the community. They’re always
eager to do something for their
community, and they work with
us. I sometimes bring them into
my training. They talk about their
role as a parent, so that the yoga
trainees understand the world of
special needs. They’re not only
receiving, they’re also contributing
to my community of teachers.
That’s really wonderful.
Q: So their tendency to give
has even more possibility to
expand. yoga brings life to who
they are as giving persons. yoga
allows them to be even better
caregivers. Is it something like
that in your experience?
I would agree with that, but I
would also say that somebody
who gives all the time needs to
learn to receive, needs to learn
to ask for help, needs to learn to
talk about where they need help.
Their need for support is very
important because that part is
often completely eclipsed. They
don’t see it for themselves. They
need to learn that as well.
Just by giving, giving, giving,
where are you going? You can’t
continue to exhale all the time;
you have to inhale to exhale
better. I would like us to create a
movement that brings more and
more people who are giving care
to others, empowering the people
who require help and support, who
are suffering; a movement that can
help them to live happy, healthy,
peaceful lives. They deserve it.
They have to recognize that they
deserve it, and they have to seek it
and live it.
Q: Thank you, Saraswathi, for this
profound interaction.
Thank you, doctor.
Heartfulness
64
RELATIONSHIPS

Nature
does not hurry,
yet everything
is accomplished.
LAO TZU

ENVIRONMENT
June 2022 69
TEJASWINI MANOGNA was
crowned Miss Earth India 2019,
and went on to represent
India at the international
Miss Earth competition. She
is a multi-talented advocate
for major environmental
and humanitarian issues,
a doctor, a dancer, a yoga
trainer, an NCC cadet, and
a philanthropist. Here she is
interviewed by RAJESH MENON
of the Heartfulness Institute
about her visit to Kanha Shanti
Vanam.
Q: Hello Tejaswini, it was a
pleasure to have you here in
Kanha Shanti Vanam.
My visit to Kanha Shanti Vanam
came as a blessing. Entering
Kanha felt like entering Lord
Krishna’s Brindavan. I was
given a very warm welcome, and
everyone had a pleasant smile
and calm attitude. I had the most
beautiful experience visiting all
the plantations and learning
about the ideology behind the
plants. I planted a camphor tree,
visited the Heartyculture Nursery,
and saw thousands of varieties
of cactus, creepers, flowering
plants and more. I visited the
laboratory where a few of the most
endangered species were being
Divine
MISS
EARTH

ENVIRONMENT
Heartfulness
70
with gratitude. Later, I forgot
I was sitting in front of him. It
was absolute bliss. I felt deeply
connected and want to come back
again.
I am thankful to Daaji for his
ideology toward Nature, and to all
the people who have been working
for this initiative. I’m blessed to be
a part of it.
Hyderabad, so it’s a miracle they
have grown so well here.
Then I met Daaji, a very simple
and approachable man with
the nicest of hearts. Daaji was
visiting the plants, and he gave
me a Krishna Kamal flower and
explained the concept of the
Pandavas and Kauravas. I was
extremely lucky to meditate
with him. Initially, I was filled
propagated through tissue culture.
It was a lovely experience holding
the miniature plants in the culture
bottles. I was impressed by how
the clean zones were maintained.
I was even more stunned to learn
about the rainforest. It took a lot
of effort to bring those species
of plants here from the Western
Ghats and the northeast. Normally
they don’t grow in arid regions like

ENVIRONMENT
June 2022 71
Q: Since receiving the Divine
Miss Earth India title, what have
you been doing to protect and
nurture Mother Earth?
My activities didn’t start because
I won the title. I have been
ecologically sensitized toward
Nature and doing various activities
since childhood.
Miss Earth happened in the course
of my journey, and it inspired
me to work more, and made me
feel even more responsible for
protecting Nature for future
generations.
Mass tree plantation programs,
climate change initiatives,
sanitation drives, toilet
construction for government
school children, Say No to single
use plastics, beach clean ups,
ground water conservation, mass
yoga camps, and animal protection
have been a few of my campaigns.
I have advocated for major
environmental issues from local
communities to international
platforms, while promoting “Each
One Plant One! Let’s kill the
pollution before it kills us.”
There’s a huge necessity to save
Nature. I fear the next generations
won’t be able to experience Nature
as much as we have, and will suffer
the consequences of the problems
we have created, through no fault
of theirs. It’s important we all
come together to be responsible
as the Earth doesn’t belong to
humans, humans belong to the
Earth.
Q: Do you feel it's possible?
Yes. I’m doing my best. But there’s
so much more we need to do. As a
responsible citizen, I shall continue
to contribute to ecological security.
Q: What inspires you these days?
So far, I have done whatever I
could as an individual. Now I wish
to strive for collective efforts. I
wish to be a voice of youth on local
to international platforms, and
advocate for major environmental
and humanitarian issues.
I also believe in implementing
the action plans in coordination
with organizations. Kanha Shanti
Vanam is one such amazing
example of an organization
preserving Nature. With the
same inspiration, I wish to work
together and contribute to the
vision.
Q: You are a multi-talented
personality: a doctor, a
Bharatanatyam dancer, a
yoga trainer, a model, and a
philanthropist. How do you
manage your time?
It isn’t easy to manage all the
activities – there needs to be a
point of balance and a stable mind.
I believe yoga and meditation
have played a very crucial role in
shaping me to become what I am
today. Yoga keeps me active, so
I can take up any challenge that
may come my way, and meditation
helps me have a balanced mind,
realize my potential, and stay calm
even in stressful situations.
Photography by RAJESH MENON
Yoga keeps me
active, so I can take
up any challenge
that may come my
way, and
meditation helps
me have a
balanced mind,
realize my
potential, and stay
calm even in
stressful situations.

Illustration by CHRISTIAN MACKETANZ
Yoga and creativity are
both about expansion
and stretch.
JILL BADONSKY

A N A R T E S S AY
Patience and
Observation
CHRISTIAN MACKETANZ explains the creative process
behind the paintings in his exhibition.

CREATIVITY
T
he content of my paintings has always been our human
traits. The best human qualities are found as well as our
basest weaknesses; simply everything that affects us both
externally and internally.
The people in my pictures are making honest efforts, often in
spite of enormous obstacles, so I truly feel for them.

CREATIVITY
June 2022 77
Sometimes their strivings are so grotesque that it feels ridiculous. Even so,
I’m not in a position to help them.
It’s not up to me whether their efforts are successful or not. This lies in the
eye, the mind, and especially the heart of the patient observer.

CREATIVITY
Heartfulness
78
So, the fate of the people
in my paintings is decided,
and their story is created, by
the viewer alone.
Patience and looking
closely are necessary …
especially because these are
not motion pictures.
Painting has always been a
means for me to go beyond
the limits of knowing and
understanding.

Illustrations by CHRISTIAN MACKETANZ
CREATIVITY
June 2022 79
From the simplest graffiti
to the most elaborate
painting there is always
someone behind it who
has left the realm of
thought, using a meager
two-dimensional means
of expression, who has put
everything into that image.
Again and again, I’m
amazed at how modest the
undertaking of painting can
be. It requires only minimal
materials, hardly any space,
and no knowledge.

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Heartfulness
80

FIND YOUR
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heartfulness.org/en/
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June 2022 81

Heartfulness Magazine - June 2022 (Volume 7, Issue 6)

Heartfulness Magazine - June 2022 (Volume 7, Issue 6)

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