Going Within in Challenging Times

Barry Rathner
Clinical Psychologist

 Humans’ inhumanity to humans underlines the very high stakes on the table today.

Climate Change, Covid and Coercion (in eastern Europe) might be considered the 4 Cs affecting our hearts and minds currently.

The truth of ‘Atmosphere, Prana, Mind,’ seems indisputable—disturbed, polluted atmosphere disturbs Pranic flow and balance, and the resulting terrible effects on our minds and hearts have put our planet truly in jeopardy.

Thought pollution is indeed rearing its ugly head and the only place to ‘hide’ —the only way out—seems to be to tap, to mine the peace and love within each of us—individually and collectively.

If finding and maintaining that peace within were so easy, we wouldn’t need to return to the concept so often.

‘Simple, but not easy,’ continues to be one of the prevailing elephant-size mantras in the room.

At the risk of being repetitive, Fivefold Path is not 1 or 2 or 3, or even the 4fold path.

The other 4 tools besides the core, Agnihotra, are indispensable.

I may be gifted a new automobile. Does that mean, however, that I can disregard upkeep, maintenance or even beautification protocols?

We were gifted Agnihotra. We might think of Daan, Tapa, Karma and Swadhyaya as upkeep and maintenance.

Fivefold Path helps us immeasurably with intellect, emotion, power of discrimination and will power— in short, it helps us to love ourselves and others.

Keep in mind that the operative word here may be HELPS. We get help to live and love more fully, sincerely and intensely.

We’re not handed the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven (as the keys to the gifted car). But we are pointed in the right direction—not a small matter, considering the level of false news, false prophets, false promises and falsifications (lies) that bombard us daily.

We must become our own navigators. Google Maps are not sufficient. We must filter life’s inputs through the strainer of our own minds, hearts and experience. Then and only then are we likely to get more glimpses into the Kingdom of Heaven that is at hand.

That may be part of “The only way out is in.”

That is our destiny, our purpose, our salvation.

The mantra—”How can I help, how can I serve?” may in fact be the real elephant in the room.