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Copyright © 1997 by Sean Meshorer
All rights reserved. Inquiries should be addressed to
Twelve Star Publishing, P.O. Box 123, Jefferson, MD 21755
Shakti Gawain is one of the best-known personal development
teachers in the United States. Her first book, Creative Visualization,
has sold more than two million copies, and is widely considered
one of the catalysts for the Consciousness Movement. In her new
book, The Four Levels of Healing, Shakti provides a comprehensive
healing program for the Western seeker.
Sean: Your first book, Creative Visualization, has
sold over two million copies and is a classic in the field. Why
do you think that book struck such a chord?
Shakti: Creative Visualization is very simple, clear,
easy to read, and easy to put into practice. Rather than a theoretical
book, it offers some practical things that people can use.
Se: What's the main technique of Creative Visualization?
Sh: The basic idea is to allow yourself to experience
an internal reality that you would like to create externally.
In other words, to give yourself an internal experience of what
it would feel like to accomplish a particular goal or fulfill
a particular desire. Close your eyes, relax, and think about something
you really want, and imagine it as if it were already happening.
There is something quite powerful about allowing ourselves to
have that experience. It seems to have the effect of opening doors
and allowing things to move in that direction.
Se: Your new book, The Four Levels of Healing, is
both a synthesis of your previous work and an attempt to take
it to the next level.
Sh: Yes, it is kind of a synthesizing book. The whole point
is that we all have at least four levels on which we exist and
interact with the world: the spiritual, the mental, the emotional
and the physical. The book is about integrating all four levels
in our lives.
Se: The first level you mention in your book concerns the
need "to find and maintain a strong connection with our spiritual
source." What does that mean, and how might we do that?
Sh: I emphasized that one first because it's the core of
who we are. Our spiritual essence exists beyond this lifetime.
It's important to be in touch with that part of ourselves. There's
not any one way to do that. Everybody has their own way. It's
whatever you do in your life that brings you a deep experience
of being connected to something greater than your own individual
personality. I think it's very important that we have a regular
daily or weekly spiritual practice that can help us find that
kind of deep experience and deep connection. It gives us the foundation
we need to live in the world.
To me, a spiritual practice can be anything. For some people
it might be going to church, or a meditation. For many people,
it's going out into nature. For some it's through a creative process
-- dancing, playing music, painting or sculpting -- that they
find that sense of flow and connection, meaning and purpose.
Se: The second level of healing is the mental level. You
write that "we need to let go of old beliefs that limit us
and open up to new, supportive ideas." In what way do our
beliefs limit us, and how do we overcome that?
Sh: Staring from when we're young, we pick up and take
in -- from our families, our churches, our schools, our culture
-- beliefs and ideas about the nature of life, our own nature,
and how things are. Mostly we're not conscious of holding these
beliefs. But these deep beliefs really shape our life experience.
For example, I may have a belief that life has to be a struggle.
That's not something I consciously chose, I just picked it up
from my early life experience and those around me. Not surprisingly,
I will find that I'm always struggling in my life. When we become
aware of these old beliefs and limiting ideas, we can begin the
process of allowing the ones that don't really serve us to dissolve,
and open up to ones that work better.
Se: On the third level, the emotional level, you write
that "we need to learn to experience and feel comfortable
with our emotions." Is there a primary technique that you
recommend to do this?
Sh: There's no one right way to do it. We usually have
to find someone we feel comfortable with: a friend, romantic partner,
therapist or support group The basic healing most of us need is
to have at least one other person to say "Yes, I understand."
Almost all of us have picked up from our families and culture
the idea that certain emotions are bad or harmful. We try to get
rid of them, to suppress them. That doesn't work very well, because
our emotions are part of who we are.
Se: The fourth level of healing is the physical. You say
something very interesting about this. The physical level is not
just learning to take care of our bodies. It also includes, as
you say, "learning how to function successfully in the world."
What does that mean?
Sh: The physical level is not just our bodies -- it's the
whole material plane. Being healthy and developed on the physical
level also means knowing how to move around in the world: how
to get our needs met, how to survive, how to thrive, how to create
our physical surroundings in a way that reflects who we are --
a lot to learn in that for all of us.
Se: What do you see as the most important lessons that
we need to learn now to move into the 21st Century?
Sh: The key is integrating all aspects of ourselves. So
many of us have focused only on certain aspects of our beings:
developing spiritual awareness, or doing emotional healing work,
or working on the physical level. If we don't develop all
the aspects and bring them into balance, sooner or later we will
feel imbalanced; it will become a source of great pain in our
lives.
This has worldwide significance, because our world reflects who
we are as individuals. When we're out of balance, our world is
out of balance. I think the most important work we need to do
right now is to develop all the aspects of who we are, because
that's what will ultimately bring our world into balance.
This interview previously appeared in East West Magazine
and is reprinted with permission.