Manifestation has been the buzzword in the spiritual community for the last decade. Described at length in the Law of Attraction and by Deepak Chopra, Oprah, and various other prominent figures, manifestation tells us that we can will the lives we truly want into existence. But how? By setting the right intention. Intention is the starting point of every dream you wish to come to fruition, every reality you are capable of manifesting.

Chanting mantra, whether done through kirtan (joyous chanting), japamala (repetition of mantra using prayer beads), or silent meditation is a practice. A practice has its ups and downs. Maintaining your own mantra practice requires discipline, determination, and concentration. When discipline, determination, and concentration wane, it helps to have a community that will uplift you.

And then the doctors say: Mona, if we go through with the surgery, you might have to wear a pacemaker for the rest of your life. That was when I decided: no more; that’s it. This is not my life. This is not my health, I know there’s a better way. And I knew that I had to get back home, home to my inner self, I had to return to the ashram.

A healer is essentially anyone who facilitates healing in another person. And honestly, it doesn’t necessarily just mean energy or spiritual healing. It is someone that believes in what they’re offering, that puts the patient first, that has a positive attitude. The healer isn’t actually doing any healing, it’s the person who is sick that is doing the healing, all the healer does is open up the pathways in the person’s body to facilitate that healing.

The workshop began with a dance of surrender to Durga. Shamini cleverly avoided inducing the anxiety of performance in our minds by bringing our awareness slowly into the interior: first, she asked us to move. The silence felt deafening, the eyes begged to remain open and the body felt awkward… finally, the music came.