Personal experiences
The author of this personal experience has had an old car for many, many years. Over this time, there have been many occasions when the inextricable happened. For example, on one occasion, the car continued to run for hundreds of kilometres, even though the fuel tank was close to empty. Now, unfortunately, the old vehicle has finally been put to rest.
In this story, the author describes another of these events.
It was time for registration of my car, and I had to find a new mechanic as I had moved. I knew I had to get the brake pads replaced because at the previous inspection for registration I had been told that they would definitely have to be replaced to pass the next inspection. I had also had a safety check that revealed the same thing. I was a bit concerned, as I had experienced dishonest mechanics in the past and it had cost me a lot of money. This time I went thoughtless, as I knew that this was the way to make the best decisions. I chose the closest mechanic.
I had to book the vehicle in for inspection on the same day that a film about Shri Mataji was being shown in Newcastle. The job would take about an hour and a half. I was a little bit worried that I might not make it to the cinema on time. So I said to myself, “Not this thought,” a few times, and the worries stopped. I settled down for the wait.
Only twenty minutes had passed when I saw my car appear from the workshop. I was sure that something major must have been wrong for it to re-appear so quickly. I waited for the bad news. The owner of the workshop called me over, and once again I could not believe my ears.
The owner told me, “We didn’t replace the brake pads because there is nothing wrong with them.” I blurted out the story of the two inspections. Again, I was stunned as she said, “I remember that you said that. So I got three mechanics to check the brakes and they all agreed there was nothing wrong with them.”
When I recovered from the incredible news, I replied, “Well, I don’t know what the biggest miracle is: the fact that somehow the brake pads have repaired themselves; or that you are honest enough to tell me. After all, you could have just done what I asked you to and I would be none the wiser!”
The owner smiled and told me that they were a family business and would never be dishonest. She asked if I wanted the inspection report needed for the registration, as the car was fine. Of course I agreed, as I still had plenty of time to get to the cinema for the film.
Obviously, I had picked the right mechanic. Once again, I was helped to make the right decision through Sahaja Yoga.
Lisa Barron
Editor’s note: You can find more stories by Lisa by searching for “Lisa Barron”.
(Photograph: heraldsun.com.au)
Shri Mataji
I met an elderly couple whilst doing my junk mail run. We started chatting whenever I reached their letter box, until they stopped being in their garden when I walked past.
Weeks went by before Mr Jones called out to me and came to talk. He told me that his wife had been very sick and since then she had “terrible nerves and couldn’t do anything”. She wasn’t even leaving the house and just wanted to stay in bed. He said that he had been told that I taught meditation and asked me if I would come to their house and teach his wife to meditate to see if that would help her. Normally, I would never agree, but these people were in their 80s, and I could feel how much concern and love he had for his wife. So I agreed.
Mrs Jones invited me to sit next to her on the lounge. We began talking, and I explained how Sahaja Yoga worked. I showed her the green meditation card with the photograph of Shri Mataji and explained the process of Self-realisation. I put the card down as I showed her where to place her hands and explained the affirmations. I felt the vibrations flowing as we closed our eyes for her to receive her realisation. The vibrations became very strong, and so I guided her through a short meditation. Finally, we opened our eyes. I looked at Mrs Jones. Her eyes were filled with tears. I asked her how she felt. She replied with a smile, “I feel relaxed for the first time since…” She never finished the sentence but just took hold of my hand.
We sat and enjoyed another short meditation. Then I left, telling her that I would come back in a week. When I returned Mrs Jones told me that she had been meditating twice a day and that she felt a lot better.
A few days later I saw the local doctor.
“Look at you!” she exclaimed. “I feel like I’m looking at a completely different person! What have you been doing?” I told her that I was still meditating. For some reason, I mentioned Mrs Jones. The doctor replied, “Yes, I know. I saw her yesterday. It’s remarkable what you have done for her.”
I felt so humbled because I knew that I had not done a thing. I wandered into the chemist shop to buy soap. To my amazement, I received the same kind of reception from the chemist. I gave the same reply to the question of what I had been doing. Once again, I was incredibly humbled and, to be honest, stunned as the chemist said, “It’s amazing to see the change in Mrs Jones. She told me about the meditation and said that she’s been out gardening, and she’s even had her hair done.”
This experience reminded me that it is just pure desire and thoughtless awareness that enables Self-realisation and nothing more. We actually do nothing. I also learned that you are never too old to be transformed. Mrs Jones was proof that Sahaja Yoga absolutely transforms a person, including the person “giving” realisation.
Lisa Barron
I have been practising Sahaja Yoga for more than twenty years, and I am still amazed and humbled by the experiences that it brings. Sahaja Yoga truly connects us to an entirely new dimension. Our brains wrestle with this concept. We still think that we have to solve our problems, especially the mundane ones. However, if we surrender and truly believe that, just as Shri Mataji says, we are protected and that the Divine is just waiting to help us, then every little thing that is good for our ascent is taken care of in ways that our brains could not even imagine. These two experiences show just how the Divine is aware of everything, even our most basic, mundane needs.
I am on what I used to call “a very tight budget”. As a result, I found myself with two very hungry dogs and no money to feed them. I also desired to eat chicken soup from the local Malaysian restaurant. I had no money to buy either and began to feel stressed about the dogs (not so much about the soup).
I realised that I had forgotten once more that our needs are taken care of. I drove to the local pet shop and stopped my negative thoughts. I stood in the aisle where the dog food was. Just as I began to wonder what on earth I expected to happen, the owner of the store approached me.
He stood beside me and took down a large bag of dog food, saying, “I am so sorry, but I mixed up the order this week, and we don t have your usual dog food. Here, take this one – on the house.”
The old me would have panicked and blurted out the fact that I couldn’t afford it, but this new me just stayed silent and let him do all the speaking.
I walked out feeling totally humble and filled with joy. My ignorant brain was thinking that things could not get any better. Little did it know!
I started driving home when I received a text message. I stopped the car to read it. The text was from a friend who lived above the local restaurant that made the soup which, by now, I had forgotten all about. The restaurant had made too much of this soup that I desired and had given her the surplus which was too much for her to eat. She wanted me to come to her house to get some! I drove home, totally humbled, with enough soup for two and enough dog food to last for two weeks.
The other experience involved a food processor. I hadn’t had one for more than twelve months, and I really wanted to buy one as I missed the meals I used to prepare with it.
Finally, I had enough money to buy one and they were on special. I felt that another desire was being taken care of, but somehow it didn’t feel right to go ahead with buying it.
The next morning a lady who had been coming to the Sahaja Yoga programs at the local library rang and asked me to go to an exhibition at an art gallery. The following morning, we met at my house for meditation. We were chatting over a cup of tea when she began to talk about cooking and recipes. I mentioned my plans to buy a food processor. She asked why I wanted one, and I explained that I missed making hummus and falafels. She said that she had a food processor that she never used and that she would like me to have it because she always felt bad that it was never used.
Within half an hour I owned a food processor! My gut feelings had been correct: I wasn’t meant to buy a food processor; I was simply meant to “get” one.
Since then I never refer to my tight budget. I don’t have a tight budget at all. I simply have a Divine one!
Lisa Barron
(Photograph: causak.com)
Sahasrara chakra
We have no idea of the effect that we can have on the people we meet in everyday life, once we have our realisation.
I tutor a ten-year-old boy, Pete. He wasn’t staying on task in his classes, was disruptive and, of course, never did his homework. His parents asked me to tutor him and “just make him do his homework.”
He proved a challenge at first. My ego was telling me that I was only managing to get him to do his homework but I was teaching him nothing. I was feeling a little deflated by the lack of results, until I remembered the affirmation that Shri Mataji taught us: “Shri Mataji, You do everything, and I do nothing.”
Half-way through our third session, my pupil stopped his work and wiggled his little finger and his ring finger on his right hand, telling me that they were all hot and tingly. I asked him if this had happened before. He replied, “Na, just now.”
I was in awe as I realised that his right heart and ego were beginning to clear just by us sitting there! The little finger on the right hand is connected to the heart chakra, and the ring finger is connected to the Agnya chakra. Both of these chakras were beginning to clear out.
Pete settled into our routine. He began to take more care with his homework. I resigned myself to the fact that I would not be able to teach him very much in our sessions as homework was all that we had time to do.
A few weeks went by, and his mother told me that he no longer had to bring home a “behaviour book” daily. A couple of months later, his mother went to a parent-teacher interview.
“Well, something good is happening,” she told me. “His teacher said that he wants to do his work now, she rarely has to correct his behaviour, and he pulls his mates up when they muck around, telling them to get on with their work.”
This was nothing short of a miracle! When I first met Pete’s mother, she had told me that his teacher and the principal told her that he had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and needed medicating. She had even taken him to a paediatrician who decided that he did not have ADHD but was just a handful.
Once again, I was absolutely humbled and in awe of the remarkable effect of vibrations. I hadn’t done a thing. It was the vibrations that had brought about the change in Pete. By doing nothing, absolutely anything and everything can work out.
So when you are in a crowd, in a queue shopping in a busy supermarket, or surrounded by noisy children, just put your attention on your Sahasrara chakra at the top of the head. You will be surprised by how things work out for those around you. What can happen is beyond our understanding!
Lisa Barron