 When a friend invited me to read this book, I was immediately turned off by the term demon. The association I made was that with the devil, and why the heck would I want to feed the devil?! After she explained it was written by a female Buddhist leader, I became more curious and interested. I started to listen to the audiobook when I learned the actual definition of the ancient Greek word daimōn as a "guiding spirit". This immediately changed my whole perspective on this word and the concept of feeding it. In her website link below, she provides powerful examples of what this looks like in just 5 simple steps. I have included the steps below, and would highly recommend checking out the website and even reading the book. Let me know how it works out for you! The following is from the Tara Mandala International Buddhist Community website. An Abbreviated Version of the Five Steps of the Feeding Your Demons® Process Nine Relaxation BreathsTake nine deep relaxation breaths with long exhalations: for the first three breaths, breathe in and bring the breath to any tension in the body releasing it with the exhalation. For the second three breaths, inhale into any emotional tension, feel where you hold it in your body and release it with the exhalation. And lastly, breathe into any mental tension. Feel where you hold nervousness, worries or mental blockages in your body and release them with the exhalation Motivation: Generate a heartfelt motivation to practice for the benefit of one’s self and all beings. THE 5 STEPS: Step 1. Find the Demon Decide which demon, god or god-demon you are going to work with. (i.e. demon of addiction, perfectionism, self-doubt, self-loathing, etc.) Locate where you hold it most strongly in your body. Become aware of the qualities of the sensations in your body including:
Step 2. Personify the Demon and Find Out What It Needs Personify this sensation as a figure with arms legs, and eyes and see it facing you. If an inanimate object appears imagine what it would look like if it were personified as some kind of being. Notice:
Ask the demon what it wants. What is it that you want from me? Ask the demon what it needs. What need to you have that is behind what you want? Ask the demon how it would feel if it gets what it needs. If you get what you need how will you feel? Having asked the questions, immediately change places with the demon. Step 3. Become the Demon Face the chair or cushion you were seated on and become the demon, allowing yourself a little time to “sit in its shoes.” Notice how your normal self looks from the demon’s point of view. Now answer these three questions: What I want from you is… What I need from you is… What I would feel if I got what I need is… Step 4. Feed the Demon and Meet the Ally Feed the Demon Come back to your original position. Take a moment to settle in and see the demon in front of you. Dissolve your body into nectar that has the quality of the feeling that the demon would have if its need was satisfied (this is the answer to the third question in step 3) Feed the demon to its complete satisfaction, imagining the nectar entering the demon any way you wish. Keep feeding until complete satisfaction is reached (if the demon seems to be insatiable, then imagine how it would look if it were completely satisfied). At this point you can go directly to step 5 or meet your ally. Meet the Ally If there is a being present in place of the demon when you end the fourth step, ask this being if it is the ally. If it is not, invite an ally to appear. If the demon has dissolved completely then simply invite an ally to appear. Notice all the details of the ally: its color, its size, and the look in its eyes. Ask it one or all of these questions: How will you help me? How will you protect me? What pledge do you make to me? Change places, becoming the ally, and answer the question(s) above. Return to your original position, then take a moment and feel the help and protection coming from the ally to you and then imagine the ally is dissolving into you. You and the ally dissolve into emptiness, which naturally takes you to the fifth step. Step 5. Rest Rest in the state that is present when the ally dissolves into you and you dissolve into emptiness. Let your mind relax without creating any particular experience. Rest as long as you like without filling the space, trying not to make anything happen or rushing to finish. Would love to hear if you have applied this and how it went! To follow up with other excited events and resources, follow us on Instagram!
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 As a former librarian, I researched cannabis and yoga when I found Dee Dussault’s book “Ganja Yoga: A Practical Guide to Conscious Relaxation, Soothing Pain Relief, and Enlightened Self-Discovery.” I used this as a resource as I began hosting my own Cannabis-Infused Yoga Rituals. Eventually, I had the pleasure of meeting Dee Dussault at Lit Yoga, another cannabis and yoga event in Downtown Los Angeles. When I found out Dee was having a Ganja Yoga Teacher Training, I immediately signed up for her next course. The course provided questions that I had lingering in my mind in regards to how to move forward with hosting a cannabis infused yoga experience for the community. Since then, we have had a growing community of incredible people who have found this weekly ritual as a safe space to explore working with cannabis as a medicine. We create a beautiful and intentional set and setting where people dive deep into their creativity and receive clarity around their purpose. With the continual support of my husband and business partner, Michael Meier, and my team of incredible soul family: Guzel Gjenasaj, Tia-Marie Brown, Rosalina Rosales, Bonzai Holmes, we are so blessed to share these offerings!
Join Marisa Anita Reyes and Tia-Marie Brown for a powerful conversation on Chapter 13: Project Coherence: Making the World a Better PlaceChapter 12: The Pineal Gland!Every Monday from noon to 1pm Pacific, we have a virtual conversation about the book we are currently reading. This week, we discussed Becoming Supernatural and the power of the pineal gland and melatonin. Soooo many connections were made to how this relates to what happens in our Ganja Yoga experience. This is a phenomenal book that is relevant to practically all forms of leadership, including in relationships.I come back to these commitments consistently as a reminder of how I want to show up in my life. The following was taken from: https://conscious.is/15-commitments The red print are examples of when I am "below" the line, and the black is when I am "above" the line. I appreciate the reminder that being above or below is neither right or wrong, it is just important to have the awareness of where I am. According to Kaley Warner Klemp, "Conscious commitment begins the process of positive change and relational and organizational resolution. We define commitment using its Latin origin, committere, which means to gather one's energy and move it in a chosen direction. Using this definition, we view commitment as an energetic experience and not a moral issue. We invite you to embrace these 15 commitments as your entry-gate into "By Me," a life free of victimhood. Following each commitment is the "To Me" commitment; the way people show up when they are living and leading (either consciously or unconsciously) from the belief that life is happening to them." 1.Responsibility BY ME: I commit to taking full responsibility for the circumstances of my life, and my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing. I commit to support others to take full responsibility for their lives. TO ME: I commit to blaming others and myself for what is wrong in the world. I commit to being a victim, villain, or a hero and taking more or less than 100% responsibility. 2.Curiosity BY ME: I commit to growing in self-awareness. I commit to regarding every interaction as an opportunity to learn. I commit to curiosity as a path to rapid learning. TO ME: I commit to being right and to seeing this situation as something that is happening to me. I commit to being defensive especially when I am certain that I am RIGHT. 3.Feelings BY ME: I commit to feeling my feelings all the way through to completion. They come, and I locate them in my body then move, breathe and vocalize them so they release all the way through. TO ME: I commit to resisting, judging and apologizing for my feelings. I repress, avoid, and withhold them. 4.Candor BY ME: I commit to saying what is true for me. I commit to being a person to whom others can express themselves with candor. TO ME: I commit to withholding my truth (facts, feelings, things I imagine) and speaking in a way that allows me to try to manipulate an outcome. I commit to not listening to the other person. 5.Gossip BY ME: I commit to ending gossip, talking directly to people with whom I have an issue or concern, and encouraging others to talk directly to people with whom they have an issue or concern. TO ME: I commit to saying things about people that I have not or will not say to them. I commit to talking about people in ways I wouldn’t if they were there. I commit to listening to others when they gossip. 6.Integrity BY ME: I commit to the masterful practice of integrity, including acknowledging all authentic feelings, expressing the unarguable truth and keeping my agreements. TO ME: I commit to living in incompletion by withholding my truth, denying my feelings, not keeping my agreements, and not taking 100% responsibility. 7.Appreciation BY ME: I commit to living in appreciation, fully opening to both receiving and giving appreciation. TO ME: I commit to feeling entitled to “what’s mine,” resenting when it’s not acknowledged in the way I want. 8.Genius BY ME: I commit to expressing my full magnificence, and to supporting and inspiring others to fully express their creativity and live in their zone of genius. TO ME: I commit to holding myself back and not realizing my full potential by living in areas of incompetence, competence and excellence. 9.Play BY ME: I commit to creating a life of play, improvisation, and laughter. I commit to seeing all of life unfold easefully and effortlessly. I commit to maximizing my energy by honoring rest, renewal and rhythm. TO ME: I commit to seeing my life as serious; it requires hard work, effort and struggle. I see play and rest as distractions from effectiveness and efficiency. 10.Opposite of my Story BY ME: I commit to seeing that the opposite of my story is as true or truer than my original story. I recognize that I interpret the world around me and give my stories meaning. TO ME: I commit to believing my stories and the meaning I give them as the truth. 11.Approval BY ME: I commit to being the source of my security, control and approval. TO ME: I commit to living from the belief that my approval, control and security come from the outside; people, circumstances and conditions. 12.Enough BY ME: I commit to experiencing that I have enough of everything... including time, money, love, energy, space, resources, etc. TO ME: I commit to a scarcity mentality choosing to see that there is “not enough” for me and others in the world and therefore I have to be conscious of making sure I get and preserve what is “mine.” 13.Allies BY ME: I commit to seeing all people and circumstances as allies that are perfectly suited to help me learn the most important things for my growth. TO ME: I commit to seeing other people and circumstances as obstacles and impediments to getting what I most want. 14.Win for All BY ME: I commit to creating win for all solutions (win for me, win for the other person, win for the organization, and win for the whole) for whatever issues, problems, concerns, or opportunities life gives me. TO ME: I commit to seeing life as a zero-sum game, creating win/lose solutions for whatever issues, problems, concerns, or opportunities life gives me. 15.Being the Resolution BY ME: I commit to being the resolution or solution that is needed: seeing what is missing in the world as an invitation to become that which is required. TO ME: I commit to responding to the needs of the world with apathy or resentment and doing nothing or assigning blame to others.  Dive deeper!Develop your relationship skills with yourself and others with a Self-Love Ceremony which is a Ganja Yoga-like experience which includes a sauna and massage. This experience is designed to meet your personal needs and shift your energy to step into your highest self!
Intentions + Elevated EmotionsIn Dr. Joe Dispenza's Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon, he shares an exercise in chapter 3, page 78, which helps people to attract a new energy into their life. He gave this exercise to his son who was wanted to call in the job of his dreams. Here is a step-by-step guide, which I attempted to share at the beginning of a Ganja Yoga experience, but failed beautifully considering it is a bit more complicated if elevated with cannabis. I would recommend writing this sober, and then sitting with it in your own personal Ganja Yoga practice where you can connect even deeper to matching your intention with the elevated emotions. Let's get this intentional party started...1. Take out a piece of paper or journal and pen. 2. Write down the letter which symbolizes the possibility. For example... R=New Relationship J = New Job P = Problem being solved M = Mystical Experience G = Genius Mind H = Health A = Abundance O = New Opportunity 3. Draw two squiggly lines around your letter in the center of the page to represent the electromagnetic field. Remembering that the intention is the electrical energy and the elevated emotion being the magnetic energy, so when you combine the two, you're amplifying the electromagnetic field. 4, On the left, write the Intention and list your thoughts on what the specifics of what you want for this new potential. For example, if my letter is A for abundance, I can write: a. I travel around the world offering Ganja Yoga for retreats and festivals with all expenses paid and am generously compensated for my time. b. Regular, steady flow of clients who experience deep healing from our offerings. c. In love with everything that I do and offer. d. Flexible schedule so that I have free time for pleasure. e. Abundant amount of income so I can share a percentage to a higher purpose. 5. On the right, write Elevated Emotion and list the feelings that you would have when you experience your listed intentions. a. Freedom b. Peace c. Empowered d. Confident e. Grateful f. Ecstatic bliss See image below for the example he uses with his son's desire for a job as an example.  TIPS:
Let me know how it goes! This is like exercising a muscle. The more you do it, the stronger it gets. RESOURCE:
Dispenza, Joe, and Gregg Braden. Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon. , 2019. Print.  Guest healer Jesus "Jesse" Aldana-Alba offered a series of four medicine songs on November 13, 2019 at Ganja Yoga LA Wednesday Ritual.One of the most profound gifts I have received since participating in the 4-day, 5-night ceremony of Moon Dance in Teotihuacan, Mexico is access to such powerful, healing medicine songs. It opened up a whole new world of activating my throat energy center so that I can start using my voice to sing songs as a form of prayer. This is why meeting Jesus, also known as Jesse, has been another blessing in our lives. I experience Jesse as a medicine man who shares his medicine through profound storytelling and songs.
Here are the four songs he shared at our Ganja Yoga LA which he has so generously made time to record and share with our community so that the medicine of the songs can be carried on! How Common People are Doing the Uncommon |
Marisa Reyes
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