WIsdom from Mother Maya

The author of the following quotations is a remarkable woman. Mother Maya was formerly a highly successful New York fashion designer who became a renowned spiritual healer and teacher following cancer survival at age twenty-three. Her pen name is Maya Tiwari. She is now more properly Her Holiness Sri Swamini Mayatitananda.

These quotations are from an article by Catherine Elliott Escobedo that appeared in the Winter issue of Shift Magazine, published by the Institute of Noetic Sciences. www.shiftinaction.com.

"There's only one thing we can control in the human life, and that one thing is not our mind. It's not a thought, it's not our breath, it's not our responses, it's not our actions. It is the cultivation of personal awareness, the moment to moment awareness of who we are - in charge of our life, in charge of our purpose, in charge of our path."

"In recognizing our ultimate connection to the Divine, we also recognize the ancient truths that we must live by, as well as the unique role each of us is destined to fulfill."

"When we are in touch with the divinity within us we become free. We have a sense of freedom in expression, of lightness within, freedom of not being compelled to live the goal-oriented stress-driven lives that we all contribute to. Health begins to become more center-poised, and we are then quickly able to separate what serves us from that which does not. The main thing in life is no longer the accomplishment of specific goals at any cost."

"One of the things that women in particular endure today is a total inundation of stress, even with the holistic work they are doing. Everything seems to get fit into an already overdriven life."

"Times of illness force us to stop in our tracks and begin to see the most important things in our lives. No matter what challenges or conflicts we are facing, what dreams we are giving up or goals we are not accomplishing - or accomplishing way too much of - it boils down to the simple understanding that 'I do not want to hurt.' It is the compelling understanding we must face so that we can begin to reconcile what we have to do and begin to live in a very different realm of reality - a more heightened form of awareness. And if we can capture that understanding, we can reconcile our journey out of life or back to life."

Talking about her healing: "We are guiding folks to heal themselves with their own energy. I do not see myself as a healer or those I train as healers. We help guide people to shift their understanding, their awareness. The premise of Inner Medicine is that no doctor, medicine or external activity can heal for us, although they can contribute to our healing once we are aware of the choices we make. We need continually to ask this most fundamental question: Will this choice work for me? Is it part of the destiny or path I am to travel in accomplishment of my life's purpose."

Her system of healing is called: Ayurveda - "Knowledge of life and longevity. a system of holistic medicine developed over 7,000 years ago by the rishis, India's great physicians, physicists and theologians, authors of the Vedas. They have "given us this tome of understanding of the cosmic anatomy behind the physiological and psychological anatomy of the human person."

Ayurveda focuses on the following core principles:
> Wholeness: Realizing the true self to be one with nature.
> Simplicity: Practicing humility through surrender to nature's intelligence.
> Harmony: Connecting to harmony within and without.
> Memory: Restoring cosmic, cognitive, and ancestral memories.
> Rhythm: Honoring nature's nourishment in food, breath and sound.
> Sacred Practice: Aligning every activity in accord with nature's rhythms.
> Consciousness: Cultivating inner awareness.

"Each of us has an immutable spirit that can transcend every challenge - once we learn to invoke our pure spirit and human awareness."

For healing: "Begin to take pause from everything that you know, everything that has become your daily operation. Start by taking an hour a day, start by taking one day a week off, start by taking a weekend away from your norm."

"It's vital that we remain aware of our true and highest purpose by periodically asking ourselves the difficult questions: What has led to my unhappiness, and which dreams are not being realized? Do these dreams come from the desire to fulfill a worldly goal, or are they coming from a longing to accomplish the path and purpose of who I really am?"

"There is a significant difference between doing what we feel obligated to do and doing what our inner self is truly calling us to do. And that clarity comes from awareness."

"Good health is not our greatest purpose in life - the greatest purpose in life is to experience complete awareness."

The purpose of inner medicine is: " to help us understand that we have the greatest medicine within our body, within our mind, within our constitution. Once we can learn to harness it, we can remain within the flow of health and healing."

"Healing is a reality that is happening in every moment of our lives if we are aware of it. It is the ongoing flow of life - we heal at all times. We heal at birth. We heal into life. We heal into death - and ultimately into pure consciousness."

"I don't see healing as extraordinary. I see misery as extraordinary. I see dying unfulfilled as extraordinary. I see the onslaughts and violence of our communities as extraordinary. But I do not see healing or the quantum leaps that the spirit can make as extraordinary at all. It's quite the norm for us as humans."

Like Mother Maya I would from this point live a life true to my spirit - and this I encourage us all to do.

Mother Maya founded an Ayurveda school in the United States, located in Ashville NC. She will be present for a conference at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) in Petaluma CA in September 2009.

For more information on the Institute of Noetic Sciences please visit:

http://noetic.org