Dorothea
Berndt-Soffker
spirit and natural healing
In the right perspective, the cosmos and life is electromagnetic vibration, energy. Everything is interconnected, radiation and currents, sun, moon and stars, the whole organism of the earth with its changing appearances.
The mind is part of that. So the earth with its duality, joy and sorrow, offers the possibility of change for the better.
With birth, the spirit embodies perception, thinking, feeling and doing, the law of effect and cause in the subtle and gross. The more the mind clings to diversity, the more confused or hardened are its qualities, the more fluid and positive they are, the purer and clearer the source.
The mystical heart is the basis of truth/knowledge, the seed of knowledge. So the desire for life is also the desire for a solution to suffering, for healing and for overcoming negative, instinctual characteristics. In this process beings can experience happiness and peace and realize the purity of mind. It is an endless game of impulsive sensual desire, of self-assertion of perseverance with higher wisdom. A long, often difficult endeavour.
Nature is the greatest healer when we recognize the laws and surrender to them. The practice of meditation can heal diseases as a side effect. Many methods can support this, for example homeopathy can be applied on 3 levels, mental, physical and psychological. Yoga and meditation are the focus of healing. Concentration, knowledge, and virtue coupled with the right effort and patience in word and deed.
The healing methods are varied through nutrition, herbal medicine, etc. connected with mindfulness and good deeds. The right moment and measure are good companions. All paths want the same thing, healing from afflictions, heartache, sorrow, sickness, aging and death.
ways of wisdom
Preserving the universal wisdom through the ages, imparting it and adapting it to the changes was and is the concern of the wise. Surrender to divine love opens the way that leads to salvation. All beings who strive for it can cross this bridge.
This is called the "Bodhi", the formation of the heart. It bears the seed of knowledge. The immersion and the inner perception awake deep experiences in us. Images, sounds of nature, etc. are transformed into mystical reality. The visual language of the Hindhus is an example of bringing the high knowledge closer to those who do not know the written language. The sense organs are transmitters and receivers of the cosmic whole and impart the bliss of divine love. The least common multiple lies in the heart and when it is ripe, it calls us to walk the noble path.
Why meditation?
We take care of our body every day, wash and heal it.
The mind and psyche also need care and purification. (after Ayya Khema)
Words on the Buddha Teaching
Theravada tradition
Like all great wisdom teachings, the Buddha points the way to inner peace. He proclaimed the Four Noble Truths - The truth of suffering (through sorrow, sickness, old age, and death), of dependent origination, of cessation, and of the noble eightfold path leading to salvation:
Knowledge; right knowledge and right attitude
Morality; right speech, right action and right livelihood
Collection; right mindfulness, right concentration and right effort.
Calmness and concentration help in meditation to realize the Dhamma "the laws of nature" for the benefit of people and to purify the mind.
The meditation has two branches
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Satipathana (Foundations of Mindfulness), mindfulness of the mind and its contents, of feelings and body, mindfulness of the breath and pure observation.
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Vipassana "Clear View Meditation" is the insight into the impermanence of all forms of existence. It encompasses a series of meditations on overcoming - turning away from the unwholesome (such as greed, hatred and delusion) and turning to the wholesome and neutral.
Both combine metta the "loving-kindness contemplation". It helps to let go of attachments and balance them with goodness (kindness, joy, compassion and equanimity), the brahma vihara.
Mindfulness accompanies the practitioner throughout the day.
May all beings be happy.
(see Glossary Nyanatiloka and Nyanaponika)
Synthesis of Yoga
The life's work of Sri Aurobindo and the mother was to convert the ancient Indian wisdom teachings, the synthesis of yoga, into a contemporary reality. The basic model of a free spiritual and social life form was established in Auroville and the ashram in Ponticherry. Many spiritual and ecological communities around the world have developed in this awareness.
A simple path of yoga synthesis can be found with Maharishi Swami Dev Murti. Karma and Kriya Yoga combine in the 'daily routine', spinal training and a simple vegetarian diet without stimulants. Swamiji taught until his death (108 years) what mental and physical powers a person can release if he is willing to let go of his bad habits for a happy and contented life.
At this point I would like to express my deep gratitude to the great masters of Kriya Yoga, the teachers and students who have guarded and passed on Babaji's instructions. Paramahansa Yogananda brought Kriya Yoga to America. The mother house in India and the Self Realization Fellowship (SRF) are carriers of a worldwide network.
spiritual wanderings
A dream of bliss and painless rest lives within us. To return home to this reality is the longing that lures us to Asia and India.
Sri Lanka
1Katiragama
2 Kandy
2a Rock Hill
3 Ambalangoda
4 Colombo
5 Delgoda/ Kanduboda
India
6 Kovalam (Beach)
7 Chidambaram
7a Vaitheeswara Kovil
8 Madurai
9 Tanjor
10 Pothigai Hills, Courtallam
12 Ponticherry
12a Auroville
13 Madras
15 collar
16 Puri
17 Igathpuri
18 Nasik
19 Ajantha
21 Bombay/ Elephanta
22 Goa
23 Khajuraho
24 Benares
25 Agra
26 Andaman Island
27 Calcutta
28 Darjeeling/Tiger Hill
29 Delhi
30 Pushkar
31 Ranakpur
32 Rishikesh
33 Joshimath
34 Govind Ghat/ Valley of Flower
35 Badrinath
Sikkim 36 Gangtok
Nepal 37 Kathmandu
After visiting the Pyramids of the Sun in Mexico and Rio, the mountains and the Amazon estuary in Brazil, I knew that the spiritual path lies elsewhere, leading to Asia, Sri Lanka and India. This is a small insight into the pilgrimage, by plane, bus, train and on foot.
spiritual wanderings
to holy places and festivals in India and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
1 Katiragama - Tempelkomplex unter hindu - und buddhistischer Leitung, universelle Lehre, Einheit in the villefalt
2 Kandy - Summer Festival, Para Hara
2a Rockhill-buddh. monastery
3 Ambalangoda - Ariya phala, Altmeister, Heil- und Maskenschnitzkunst, _cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Kolam
4 Colombo - capital by the sea
5 Delgoda/ Kanduboda - buddh. monastery
India
6 Kovalam (Beach) - recreation area
7 Chidambaram - Shiva temple complex (1250), Nataraja, the dancing Shiva
7a Vaitheeswara Kovil - ancient Tamil divination
8 Madurai - Minakshi Temple Complex
9 Tanjor - Shiva Temple (900) Brititeswarar
10 Pothigai Hügel, Courtallam - Courtrallam Stausee, Wasserfälle, _cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_ Wildschutzpark, sandalwood forests
11 Mahaballipuram - Tempelort Pallava Dynastie (610 - 900), Strandtempel, Wandreliefs
12 Ponticherry-Ashram
12a Auroville - Zentrum für integrales Yoga, gegründet von Sri Aurobindo _cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ and the mother
13 Madras - kulturelles Zentrum, Tamil Nadu, Theosophie, College of fine _cc781905 -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Arts Kalakshetra
14 Palani - Lord Murga Temple Complex, Festival Jan Full Moon
15 Kollur - Mookambika, mother goddess
16 Puri - Jagannatha- Krishna Temple
17 Igathpuri-buddh. Vipassana Meditationsakademie gegründet von _cc781905- 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Goenka
18 Nasik - Temple complex of the Mahabharata later also Buddhist
19 Ajantha-buddh. Temple and monastery complex from 200 BC. - 800n.Ch., _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_ a crescent-shaped cave architecture
20 Ellora - the temple complex was built around the sacred Kailasa mountain
34 Höhlen, 12 buddh., 4 Jains aus dem Fels geschlagen, um 780
21 Bombay/ Elephanta dedicated to Nataraja Shiva in his symbolism as creator, preserver and destroyer, 8th J.
22 Goa - Recreation area
23 Khajuraho - Temple complex (950 - 1125)
24 Benares - heilige Stadt am Ganges, die Ghats für rituelle Waschungen _cc781905- 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ and cremation places
25 Agra - Taj Mahal, palace buildings of the Mongul Empire, 16th century
26 Andaman Island - Archipelago and Aborigines
27 Calcutta - means the gate of the goddess Kali, pulsating metropolis
28 Darjeeling/ Tiger Hill - 2540m hoch, Aussicht auf den Mount Everest, _cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_ Sunrises
29 Delhi - Capital
30 Pushkar - Festival bei Novembervollmond mit Kamelmarkt zu Ehren des Gottes_cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_Brahma
31 Ranakpur - White Marble Jain Temple
32 Rishikesh - place of pilgrimage on the Ganges, Krishna and Shiva
33 Joshimath - 1820m high, 1 of the 4 monasteries of Adi Shankara 788 - 820
34 Govind Ghat/ Valley of Flower, ascent to the national park, 8x2km, _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d9_ _cc78-58d9 136bad5cf58d_ 6719m high
35 Badrinath - place of pilgrimage, 3125m high with hot springs
Sikkim, 36 Gangtok
Nepal, 37 Kathmandu
Why pilgrimage?
It is an opportunity to detach ourselves from the usual processes of life and to let a healing inspiration enter.
Found and Lost between East and West
I have learned to let the influences between East and West stand in their natural encounter - without intentional takeover, to surrender to the confidence that something unintentional - unexpectedly re-synthesizes.
What is lost and what is found?
Vorstellungen und eine intelektuelle Ordnung bleiben ein Prozess, in dem wir Verlierer sein dürfen, um die Vision für unsere To find earth again, which fertilizes a new view - the certainty of recognizing and living life as a spiritual current.
