The Six Foundations

I lived and worked at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center and Community from May 17th 2000 to November 13th 2009 and what an amazing journey it was. Gabriel Cousens M.D. is a wonderful teacher who created the center and community as a way for people to immerse themselves in his teachings. Immersion is the most powerful way to integrate and transform new ideas and teachings. Over the years of Gabriel Cousens M.D. living this lifestyle he has refined his teachings into six simple foundations. The magical thing is that as you align yourself closer to nature these teachings begin to live you and you begin to be "Lived by Love"

"1. Nutrition: a vegan organic live food, high mineralized, low sugar, and high hydration diet and spiritual fasting."[1]

The first foundation is the nourishment of the physical body. The well know phrase "you are what you eat" makes so much sense. One of my favorite quotes from Gabriel is "Food is a Love Note from God, its letters are written by the rays of the sun. It says I love you and I shall take care of you with the offerings of my earth". Animal Foods, Dairy Products, Junk Foods, Cooked Processed Foods, GMO clog the body and lower our vibration and potential energy. While we can potentially eat anything and get away with it, living foods offers us a way to nourish the body on a deep cellular level. This beautiful body is a gift from the divine and we have the opportunity to treat our body with love and respect and when we do we create a powerful super conductor for higher and higher levels of energy. Living Foods provides juicyness, life force, and when balanced with a vraiety of Vegetables, Fruits, Sea Vegetables, Nuts, Seeds, SuperFoods, SuperHerbs and supplements where required we turn on all the masters switches of the body, anti aging potential, consciouness shifting and joyful loving connection.

"2. Building prana (life force): Yoga asanas, pranayama (breathing practices), the Ophanim (the energetics of the Hebrew letters), T’ai Chi, Reiki, Tachyon Energy or other energy practices, and sacred dance. These all enhance and expand the consciousness of the body-mind complex, filling it with increased life force energy or prana."[1]

This body likes to move. We have a powerful recharging vortexing energy body and when we live a lifestyle that incorporates energy practices we connect into that powerful inner charge. Through modern lifestyles of stress, stimulants and drugs we use up that life force energy, we burn out of adrenals, we tax our energy body. By incorporating Yoga, Breathing Exercises, Sacred Dance, Qi Gong, Rebounding, Conscious Walking we can regenerate this core energy, Qi, Ojas, Life Force. When we continue with these practices light up the whole energetic system of the body.

"3. Service (sheirut) and charity (tzedaka): In the process of service and charity, we are able to face our attachments to things (seva), as well as to feel our connection to all of the family of humanity. This helps to expand consciousness through the direct experience."[1]

This is a powerful foundation and is one that as we align with our soul purpose, dharma, life path is automatically guided by the heart. I like to describe this as like a bubbling spring continually sharing forth its love and its energy in complete abundance. In kabbalah there is a phrase "Receive in Order to Share" and as we recieve the gifts of vibrant health, energy and spiritual inspiration it inevitably bubbles over the the form of service and charity. It can be helping a friend, teaching someone about healthy living, planting trees, working for a non profit to giving to organizations such as the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.

"4. Spiritual Guidance and Inspiration: Satsang, being in the energy of Truth in the presence of a liberated or awakened spiritual teacher. Satsang gives meaning, value, heart, and energy to spiritual wisdom teachings and spiritual life energetics. In the Kabbalah, satsang is termed yechidut. Sangha or kehila (chavurah), which is spending time with spiritual people or community. Expanding and refining the mind with spiritual wisdom teachings, the great scriptures such as Zohar, the Torah, the Tao Te Ching, the Vedas, great mystical poetry such as that of Hafitz, Rumi and Blake. Wisdom literature helps formulate and focus our consciousness and expand it. Zero Point, sacred music and spending time in nature are also part of this Foundation."[1]

To me this is a foundation of immersion or bathing in the truth. Surrounding yourself with like minded people uplifting books, audio, video. Going to see inspiring teachers, or staying at meditation centers, healing retreats or communities. Setting up or attending meditation groups, raw food meet ups, sharing circles, sweat lodges, chanting evenings or Dance of Liberation parties supports you and is a service to others. Being in or creating supportive environment or community is essential as we live the Culture of Life Lifestyle and leads to success on the path. As we saturate ourselves with these powerful vibrations or energies we begin to also resonate at a higher frequency.

"5. Silence: Meditation, prayer, repetition of mantra (hagia) and chanting (in the God focused traditions)"[1]

Quieting the mind and moving down into the heart is the first phase. We spend much time in our left brain logical minds… chatter. As we learn to quiet the mind through mantra repetition, chanting, prayer combined with a healthy body we can connect with our heart and be guided by the inner love. Eventually we can go beyond the mind into the stillness and the non causal love peace and joy that we truly are and then even deeper perhaps.

"6. Kundalini Awakening: Shaktipat initiation (S’micha le’shefa/Haniha), which is the awakening of the Divine force that is resting in potential within us. This is known as the descent of Grace. It usually occurs through a living enlightened spiritual leader, but may occur spontaneously. Once the spiritual energy is activated, it begins to spontaneously move through our body, spiritualizing every cell, every aspect of the DNA, every chakra, every nadi (which are the channels of the subtle nervous system), every organ and every tissue, so that all consciousness becomes activated into the next evolutionary stage."[1]

"The six foundations are not goals to be attained, rather they are foundations lifestyle practices for “awakened normality. The spiritual life requires commitment and intensity and is not an easy ride. The spiritual practices are designed to help people come into balance in all aspects of life. They are a chance to build your spiritual body so that it may hold more light."[1]

[1] Gabriel Cousens M.D. Spiritual Nutrition, The Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of the Kundalini