Meaning of Life and Holding the Two Truths in Balance BY NICOLAE TANASE ON DECEMBER 21, 2016 Nicolae Tanase: GuruMeher, what is the meaning of life? GuruMeher Khalsa: A question as big as this necessarily has more than one answer. These answers will seem contradictory or even paradoxical. In fact, the two answers I offer below illuminate why ...

We Evolved to Solve Problems - So Why Do We Suffer? People have problems.  Make your mental checklist.  They range from small ones, like what to wear or eat, or how to get through your day's tasks. To medium, like how to maintain health, desirable weight, get a better job and ...

Hej Hej (Swedish for Hello!) I am on a plane, for 12 hours. So I watched Collateral Beauty on the seat back screen in front of me. I like a good, sensitive movie with meaning. My wife and I call them girl movies. We say that I go to them with her ...

You have ALL the Answers - If you will just listen I am claiming that you, everyone, can solve their problems, or at very least be at peace by way of the following method: When anything is bothering you (you feel bad), ask and answer: What am I feeling? Why am I feeling this ...

Mind Is Not Enough to Solve Your Problems Premises: -You don't want problems, you want happiness. - You are equipped to know how to go from problems to happiness. - Yet so many people live in pain. Why? - Mind is not enough. It can't do it alone and wasn't designed to. Here's a little lite ...

How Do You Know If You Have a Soul - Emotional Couriers All of us cool Yoga people say we have a Body, Mind and Spirit. But how do you know? Like radio telescopes pointed into space waiting for a sign of life out there,  how do you pick up messages ...

I'm Too Spiritual To Be Angry There's a thing I've seen that I'd like to name, with hopes we can all be sane! Call it a syndrome because it plagues many spiritual, self-improvement, yoga, meditation, religious and other communities of high-minded, well-meaning and good-hearted people. "I'm too spiritual to be angry."  There ...

Today I want to share a story with you about one of my students. Hannah (we'll call her) came to me with a problem that many parents face.  Her son had always been sweet and kind.  But now, at age 13, he'd become disrespectful and verbally abusive. This made her mad, and ...

This excerpt is from Happiness? The Upside of Negative Emotions, the cover story in the February 2015 issue of Psychology Today. I can't believe that what I've been working on for the past 20 years is finally hitting the main stream. I'm thrilled that more people will now be thinking ...

2015 is off to quite a start! Tragedies and fear continue to increase globally, and for many, personally. How to make sense of this mess? Better yet how to make use of it? As a life coach I get very hopeful when a client is struggling with a problem they can't ignore, ...

A tragedy feels like defeat. Victory through it, paradoxically, requires some Surrender. I do live what I teach, mostly. "Allow your awareness to guide you, even the 'negative' stuff like apathy or illness. Winter calls us to slow down, so don't fight it. Surrender until rejuvenation naturally arises. Acceptance! " So when ...

Joy: Does this Holiday mood elude you? A client told me yesterday, "I've been busy socializing and going to a lot of parties lately. It's fun, but I actually feel less Joy than when things were quieter, when I had time to meditate. I miss that and want it back." She was ...

How do the Holidays make you feel?  I asked folks to name their most frequent difficult feelings in a Holiday Emotions workshop last weekend.  50% named Fear(Anxiety, Overwhelm, etc.) as their #1. But when I asked what heavy emotions are most common in December, Sadness (Grief and Loneliness) was for most people #1 during ...

Wherever you go, go with all your heart. ~ Confucius I want to rally you to Engage in Change; to make this a year to end suffering. Please know that we all have challenges. My recent survey showed your top issues are the many forms of: Fear/ Anxiety/ Stress Anger/ Aggression Sadness/ Loss/ Loneliness Shame/ Self-Esteem/ ...

Make This Your Year of No "No know" Aren't you sick and tired of the suffering?  Your own, that of others, global human suffering!  Pain comes with having a body, but suffering - that long-term stuck-in-misery mental/ emotional torture we endure out of habit - is optional.  Enough is enough! Let's raise ...

I spoke with an old friend who's having the hardest challenge of her life right now. Health crisis, money crisis, friends and family, living situation...by many measures the worst time of her life. It's Thanksgiving, but what's to be grateful for? Many times we don't feel what we are SUPPOSED to ...

In a recent workshop I asked how people were honestly feeling about the upcoming holidays. Here were the most popular responses: Anger, frustrations, irritations, resentments Fear, anxiety, worried, "feeling trapped" Grief, sadness, loneliness, regrets, longing/ missing Good old Guilt and Shame (not approved of or good enough) Depression, apathy, uselessness, disempowered. Need a cup of holiday ...

Select What Affects You Your heart is a sacred thing enshrined in your miraculous body. Dignity and Divinity are built into every cell of your being and realm of your psyche. But so often we feel small, defective, dirty, mean or lonely. You are a precious treasure. But like fine china your ...

Does it ever happen to you? You are trying to decide something, figure out what happened, understand what you think, feel, or should do. There is a LOT on your mind. It distracts you, keeps you lying awake. Thoughts are churning, you can't NOT think about it. You debate the ...

"Don't go outside yourself and become a victim, go inside and become a master." - Yogi Bhajan We are fragile when we are born and can't survive without getting food and care from "out there". As we grow we seek our countless needs from the environment. So naturally, when someone or something bothers us, ...

Difficult situations bring on uncomfortable emotions. Their purpose is to grab your attention, provoke you to take care of yourself,  and remedy the problem so you may return to feeling good. When we don't work with emotions to a resolution, they persist in a dedicated effort to help. This makes them ...

Have you noticed that people getting more "touchy", quicker to be upset. Or that you get overwhelmed with feelings, that the intensity of others' disturbs you? From political movements to intimate relationships there is a lot of hyper-sensitivity that increases pressure and stress. A lot of you tell me you feel too sensitive and that ...

Physical Fitness.  Everyone knows what that is and how important it is to achieve it.  Some take steps to get in shape; others decide that it's not worth the effort.  But all people recognize the importance of keeping the physical body healthy. This is because in the 1960's, President Kennedy implemented ...

The Romans had it right with Cupid, their god of Relationships. Cupid, the son of the Mercury (god of communication) and Venus (goddess of Love),  was a winged sprite that wore armor and shot love-arrows through the hearts of innocent victims. He perfectly represents the inherent paradox we all deal ...

Are you an Emotional Anorexic?  Do you live on dangerously low levels of love? Most of us have a pattern of love set by our early life.  This early "diet" - created not only by our parents, but also by our peers and cultural environment - tends to dictate the amount, ...

Is this you, or have you ever seen anything like this?  You, or a someone you know, is in a perfectly loving relationship.  Everything is cozy and complete.  But you or your friend feel scared.  You're not satisfied.  Everything is great, but it's just not enough.  So you leave! Meanwhile, your ...

Was there anything about last year that you didn't feel good about? Those feelings are your clues to what you want to improve this year.  The question is, do you pick up and follow the clues? That's what Senses of the Soul is all about, listening to your emotions so ...

Everybody always wants to feel cozy and bright as the weather turns cold and the days dark. In pursuit of that common goal, there is a lot of cultural prompting to do so, but little real support. You can't be of good cheer on command, that comes only when you ...

There is a lot of suffering out there, as well as within our own hearts and minds. But there's reason for hope.  After five decades of searching, learning, and experiencing anything I could find that might help my happiness, I can say that what made the most difference was to ...

Want to feel happy? Happiness is not a distinct emotion, but rather the experience of one or more emotions that are enjoyed as positive. This can vary greatly from person to person and from time to time. I have come to enjoy sadness as a rich, bittersweet longing of my ...

Do you ever feel needy, hungry, cranky, insatiable and out of control or empty no matter what you get? You know the feelings well: an emptiness in the belly, a burning in the groin, or a longing in the heart. Your pulse, thoughts and energies grow from mild to wild the longer you go without ...

The time has come to solve your problems. We all have the ability to do so, yet we live with too many. In just a few short years we have put all the information that humans have gathered onto one web that is accessible to everyone. But until knowledge is ...

Last weeks' article "Make a Space to be Fragile" generated many responses which I was very happy to receive. A lot of gratitude was expressed for the permission or validation and support, and I would say almost a hunger for the time and place in our lives to be soft. Most came from ...

These thoughts continue the theme of valuing and embracing the power of becoming softer. We looked at creating space for satisfaction and contentment in this ambitious world. Just like fish which may not distinguish water because it is all that they know, I don't think we realize the extent to which ...

We are all a lot like Goldilocks. We sample to discover what we like by experiencing a lot of what we DON'T like. We learn compassion by being hurt and by hurting. We (hopefully) come to moderation by experimenting with excess or scarcity. Life is a comparative study in which ...

If you're following any source of news media (and I fully recommend carefully managing your intake) you know it's just getting crazier out there. The speed and intensity of huge changes is creating fear and overwhelm. Our collective inability to handle that is causing a second tier of problems like ...

Emocionante in Spanish translates into English as “exciting.” Just count the ways, from morning coffee to evening news, that you seek stimulation. Like any addiction, ever-greater doses are needed to reach the same high and to block out all pain, but the damage also increases. In this love/hate relationship with ...

Last week we looked at the inflow and outflow of energy in our lives, which the yogis call Prana and Apana. (Click here to read it.) Since our mental, emotional and physical health depend on managing our energy to have the right amount needed, I suggested reviewing your use of ...

Are you rising or falling, upbeat or downtrodden, enthused or burnt out? Fierce winds blow, followed by calm. But we seem to just push on and on. When we feel depleted physically, mentally and creatively, get sick or depressed, we think something is wrong. Often it is the wisdom of ...

emotional contagion. noun. the tendency to feel and express emotions similar to and influenced by those of others; also, the phenomenon of one person's negative thoughts or anxiety affecting another's mood. It is less conscious and more automatic, while there are also the more cognitive, sophisticated, and “socially beneficial” processes of empathy and sympathy. It's the ...

Hi folks, How's your happiness going? I want to share some thoughts and tools on the subject. I spend my life helping others to find more of it through the tools that I have acquired: Kundalini yoga, life coaching and working with the emotions. And ultimately those came to me for selfish ...

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How do you know you have a Soul? We're done with the days when someone tells you and you just believe it, or don’t believe. That's just not satisfying anymore. This is the age of knowledge which comes by your own direct experience. But you can't see Soul, and "seeing ...

Today’s SOS thoughts come from Lisa! She is my assistant, protégé, and the person one person who understands, practices and teaches this emotional guidance work better than anyone. You have seen her on some videos, and will be seeing more of her around Senses of the Soul, especially at the ...

The 4 Pillars of Growth, Change and Healing The future of therapy is self-therapy, the future of psychological healing is self-healing. Because we each have all the information about a situation, our needs and unique solutions already inside, we ourselves are in the best position to consciously correct. The job of ...

Resolve Not to Resolve It wouldn’t be New Year’s without resolutions, right? But how did you fare last year when you resolved to stop a bad habit? Sometimes, the more you try to deny a desire, the more it increases, the more you want the thing (a drink, food, an unhealthy relationship). On top of that, unfilled “wants” ...

This is NOT a list of things to buy, clean, cook, prepare or even do for the holidays. This is a list for YOU and by YOU of sanity-saving Self-Care tips for the season. It doesn’t matter if you were naughty or nice. Feel free to get creative and add ...

Here's the problem with the holidays, and an invitation to solve it. There is a basic conflict in the way we have come to celebrate these winter holidays that creates stress and problems for a lot of people. I hope you'll take a few minutes to understand this phenomena, with the ...

Working Out Conflicts is an Inside Job “When you feel beautiful inside, fulfilled inside, inside your own inside, wow, it’s so good." – Yogi Bhajan Wow, life just never stops coming at us. We have responsibilities, current and ongoing challenges to handle daily. Then there are past incomplete issues weighing in, and ...

I hope you get along great with your family, but in that crucible of survival many habit-forming harms happened. Even if outright abuse was avoided (and the statistics are sad), our subconscious holds the shocks and shapes our lives to react like tsunami survivors. Many of us return to ground zero ...

We all have our history of hurts. What happened to you? Your story shapes your life for better or worse. Your recovery process from life’s traumas leads you to suffer or thrive. We either learn and grow or remain hurt and damaged. So let’s understand this natural, lifelong process, and ...

Week 1 I can think of times where I compare myself to others and if it seems that there is someone better at what I want to do, then I don’t try at all. It’s sometimes an arbitrary, snap judgement I make. I have been in new situations where my self-talk ...

A Better Recipe for Self-Esteem: The Purpose of Shame In “YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED! (...until you love yourself)”, we identified the family of feelings that are Shame, because knowing WHAT you are feeling is the first step to transforming it. We looked at its origins and a bit about reclaiming Self-Esteem, which ...

YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED! (...until you love yourself) Things to know about Shame... What it is: - Embarrassment, Humiliation, Not good enough, Low self-worth, Perfectionism, Inferiority - Shame deals with what you think of yourself, and how you are affected by what others think. - It deals with the conflict between fitting in and ...

Burned Out? Sadness & Depression Want to Help Problem: Feeling Sadness, Depression, or Burn Out. SOS Solution: Let these emotions help you to let go and renew. Many of us are living at wit's end, and just can't stop. We live in a very ambitious caffeine-driven stimulus-intense time. Many feel guilty, lazy or unworthy ...

The Purpose of Grief When things change; When something is lost or dies; When you are heartbroken, sad, and lonely, pining for the past, longing for what you miss; When the hopes and dreams you have set your heart on look like they won't happen; Or when you need to get ...

Good Grief! Grief is good. When you feel sadness, loneliness, regret, your heart is open, strong and caring. It hurts, yes, and you don't like that pain. But have the courage to dive deep into that heartache which is demanding your attention. Hidden beneath the bitter feeling is a bittersweet longing ...

What We Found in Grief The online Emotional Liberation Class has spent the month of August finding the gifts of Grief. Here are some of their stories to help you do the same: Quite a week! I didn't realize how big Grief and Sadness are for me. In this week's meditation good ...

Trust Truth! Who's Truth? If you want to live with confidence and clarity to move through life’s many choices, you need an unwavering source of guidance. Lucky for you it is built in. The feelings of Guilt are meant to guide you. Where? To your truth, the decider of your actions. ...

Guilt - Your Right to Choose How do you know what's right? Plenty of people want to tell you what's right and wrong, what you should do. But there are always at least two sides, and they are usually in conflict with each other. When that conflict is inside your own ...

Chances are you or somebody you know is or has been Depressed. 350 million people globally and 7% of Americans are diagnosed with major depression. But 50% of all people with major depression go without diagnosis or treatment. Women are 70% more likely to be depressed than men, 11% of children ...

Greetings! We've talked about how to the SOS method is done, I've given you a PDF printout of exercises that help build the emotional connection, and I sent you a video that goes over the SOS Method all together. Today, I'm sharing a meditation that will give you the SOS experience!  Watch ...

Do you know about the "Bliss Point"? It is a combination of sugar, fat and salt that food scientists have found to be totally satisfying to the human tongue.  Every fantastic meal you've ever had in your life, from the Salmon en Papillote at that five-star restaurant to your grandmother's ...

Here's a closely held belief about emotions: they get out of control. Every felt that way?  Who hasn't? Whether it's having a blow-out with a family member over something that, on the surface, seems all too insignificant.  Or harboring deep hurt and resentment in the workplace for personal some slight you perceived.  It ...

 How have you been feeling lately? What are you feeling right now? Anxious about a job?  Sad or Depressed about a fight you had with a loved one recently?  Frustrated by a problem you can't seem to solve? The flow of emotions is constant, up and down, mild and intense. But know this: ...

Here's a question I got in an email last week: Hi, GuruMeher. I'm curious. I've noticed that the dominant thing I'm  feeling today seems to be "boredom." But I don't think boredom is an emotion. How can I dig deeper and find the emotion? I'm sure a lot of you feel this ...

ARTICLE: FALL BLUES OR BLESSING? Seasonal changes. Have they hit you this week? Or does your mood begin to swing with the first cold snap, shorter days, and back-to-school memories? As the vibrant, high energy of summer fades, the quiet, subdued tone of fall can come with some melancholy. You may have ...

FEELING, HEALING AND GLOBAL PEACE I recently received an email that blew me out of the water.  It reminded me of why I created SOS . We all have the ability to use our heavy emotions for strength and healing, but most people don't know it yet.  My mission for SOS is ...

You are not subject to circumstances. You are not a victim. But amidst substantial abundance, there is still so much suffering. Here's a quote that sums up why I have spent 35 years practicing and teaching yoga and meditation: Sometimes we operate under the misconception that we can control the circumstances of the ...

The future of therapy is self-therapy, the future of psychological healing is self-healing. Because we each have all the information about a situation, our needs and unique solutions already inside, we ourselves are in the best position to consciously correct.   The job of therapists, counselors and healers is shifting to teaching us ...

Pain is a certainty; suffering is optional. You may have heard this; I'd like to help you live it. As a birthday gift to myself I went snowboarding yesterday. After a beautiful morning on the slopes I crashed and injured my head, wrist and ankle - ski patrol toboggan-ride down ...

No sooner have the Holidays passed than the next commercial holiday rushes in with red hearts and flowers. Like it or not there’s a message: you should be in a wonderful relationship feeling all the good stuff.  I'm all for love and intimacy, but what if your situation doesn’t meet ...

Use and Misuse of Emotions: Address, Express, or Repress Most of the trouble and bad reputation of emotions comes from improper use.  The two main forms of misuse are opposites: to Express and Repress. Expression means “to come out” and implies here that the emotion is in charge.  It takes control of ...

Happiness depends on feeling good. Beyond being well-fed and pain free, your well-being requires peaceful thoughts and flourishing emotions. Yogis know that every thought generates a feeling. That’s a lot of emotions! After years of yoga practice and working as a life coach, I have come to understand that the emotions ...

Everyone wants to be comfortable, safe, and enjoy life. Yet most people spend a lot of time struggling with worry, anxiety and uncertainty. These are all forms of fear, which create stress. Yoga offers many tools like posture, breath and meditation to calm the body, mind, and emotions. But you ...

  Sadness opens the Heart Grief developed early in our evolutionary history along with our instincts to acquire for survival. It is part of the drive to go get, hold on to, and protect something that is needed. But since impermanence and change are the nature of creation, things will always come and go. The seasons ...

Anger- it’s how you stay safe and handle everything this big world brings. You’d be dead without it! Anger is a form of personal power, it’s the fire in the belly that burns food into movement and gets things done. Anger isn’t good or bad, it’s how you use it. ...