With all of the recent events happening in our world; Paris, San Bernadino, and the loss of a great chef here in St. Petersburg, FL Tom Pritchard I'm left pondering the idea of Ojas and Ama from Ayurvedic medicine. I didn't know Tom personally, or anyone that was directly involved in the terrorist attacks, but as I watched my fiancé return from Tom's funeral, it was clear that Tom left lots of Ojas everywhere he went. And, by watching the reaction of so many people to the terrorist attacks, it was clear the terrorist were spreading Ama to people that weren't even present during the attacks. Let me explain.

In Ayurvedic medicine there is the concept of Agni. Agni is latin for "ignite" and refers to the digestive fire that resides in our third chakra. It's our ability to digest food, information, and emotions. It is said that if our Agni is strong and burning just right we can digest anything and leave behind sweet Ojas, or nectar. If it is weak, we will begin to experience a toxic build up of Ama. We will literally begin to leave a toxic build up energetically on all that we touch to be felt by everyone we come in contact with.

While we can certainly measure whether or not we are in a state of Ojas or Ama based on our physical symptoms (see below for an explanation), most of us know in our guts that what we are leave behind energetically is based on how we feel in the pit of our stomach after an interaction (right where your third chakra, Manipura, resides). We don't need physical symptoms to tell us we have failed to live up to our own moral code. That's the interesting thing, though. If chakras are literally wheels or bridges between our physical, emotional and etherial bodies that can get clogged, overloaded and stuck, making these "less than" decisions where we don't live up to our own moral code can often times cause us to feel sick physically.

SIGNS OF OJAS:

You feel energized and the mind is clear
You wake rested
Your skin glows
Your digestion is spot on
You feel light as a feather (no matter what the scale says)
You literally spread cheer--your life force is visible by all those who stare into your eyes.

SIGNS OF AMA:

Poor digestion (constipation or IBS)
Depression
Trouble with fighting infection
Fatigue that won't go away
Trouble manifesting intentions
Bad breath
Generalized pain.

Tom's imprint was clear. Over 1,000 people turned up at his funeral in the middle of a Monday. And, while John wanted to be sad for the loss, he was radiating when he returned from the funeral. John had been touched by all of the people that stopped their days to come together and remember a great man. He was even more touched by Tom's last stand- the ability to unite a community by the very idea of his presence leaving this plane. He said, "Someone asked what his secret recipe was," and his partner replied, "kindness." I can't think of a better way to simply describe Ojas.

I had a special view point of the Paris attacks. I was on a meditation retreat when it happened. When I finally turned on the TV after being in a state of total observation rather than reaction, my first thought was, "Look at all the Amas." We have a choice in every moment with the energetic imprint we leave behind. Do we digest unfortunate situations and look for solutions that involve compassion, or those that involve fear and hatred? Rather, do our actions and responses send a message or expansion or contraction? If it's contraction, the terrorist win without ever having to come close to us. So many people in our media where hammering home the idea of contraction.

We may not have control over others, and everything in life is certainly not permanent, but we do have control over the imprint we leave behind in every energetic transaction. (Click to tweet.) Whether it's our reaction to things or our outward actions we always have a choice. All of this is an important reminder- if life stopped for you today what would you leave behind? Ojas or Ama?

This week's meditation is one from my beloved teacher davidji that will help to strengthen our Agni (digestive fire) so that we may leave behind sweet Ojas always, no matter what the situation holds.

If you are looking for more and wish to learn how to cultivate more peace through the practice of mediation join me for a special class this January 23rd & 30th. You will learn how to meditate with a personal Nakshatra Mantra and experience two 90 minute silent tea ceremonies that guarantee to help you find the next level of peace within. Click here to register.