For many years my teachers have told me that everything I need to know about spirituality exists within me. What I didn’t realize until recently, is that it is a literal statement, not a metaphorical one.

On my way home from my last trip to Kripalu I was listening to Deepak Chopra’s The Book of Secrets (audio book format), and I realized that this expression of spirituality is in the nature of our cellular structure! My mind was blown. Below is me having written out a brief segment of Deepak’s book to share with you the awesomeness of this concept:

“No matter where I look I sense what this cosmic wisdom is trying to accomplish. It is much the same as what I want to accomplish: to grow, expand, and to create. The main difference is that my body is cooperating with the universe better than I manage to.

Cells have no problem fully participating in life. Theirs is the wisdom of total passion and commitment. Let’s see if we can link the qualities of bodily wisdom with the hidden dimensions we want to uncover by identifying with the body’s intelligence:

1. You have a higher purpose. Every cell in your body agrees to work for the welfare of the whole. If necessary it will die to protect the body. Selfishness is not an option.

2. You are in communion with the whole of life. A cell keeps in touch with every other cell. Withdrawing or refusing to communicate is not an option.

3. Your awareness is always open to change. From moment to moment it senses everything in your environment. Cells adapt from moment to moment. Getting caught up in rigid habits is not an option.

4. You feel acceptance for all others as your equal, without judgement or prejudice. Cells recognize each other as equally important. Going it alone is not an option.

5. You seize every moment with renewed creativity, not clinging to the old and outworn. Although every cell has a set of unique functions, these combine in creative ways. A person can digest food never eaten before, think thoughts never thought before, dance in a way never seen before. Clinging to old behaviour is not an option.

6. Your being is cradled in the rhythms of the universe, you feel safe and nurtured. Cells obey the universal cycles of rest and activity. Being obsessively active or aggressive is not an option.

7. Your idea of efficiency is to let the flow of life bring you what you need. Force, control, and struggle are not your way. Cells function with the smallest expenditure of energy. Typically a cell stores only 3 seconds of food and oxygen. It trusts totally on being provided for. Excessive consumption is not an option.

8. You feel a sense of connection with your source. Due to their common genetic inheritance, cells know that they are fundamentally the same. For them, being an outcast is not an option.

9. You are committed to giving as the source of all abundance. The primary activity of cells is giving, which maintains the integrity of all other cells. Total commitment to giving makes receiving automatic. It is the other half of a natural cycle. Hoarding is not an option.

10. You see all change, including birth and death, against the background of immortality. Whatever is unchanging is most real to you. Cells reproduce in order to pass on their knowledge, experience, and talents – with holding nothing from their offspring. The generation gap is not an option.

When I look at what my cells have agreed to, isn’t it a spiritual pact in every sense of the word?”

The more I contemplate and consider these ideas, the more I realize that we really do have all the answers within us… and that we are designed as beings of spirit.

m xo

Mona teaches Ayurvedic Yoga at the Janati Yoga School in Kingston Ontario, where she lives with her wonderful husband, their enthusiastic dog, and ninja kitten. When she’s not teaching, practicing or talking about yoga, you might find her enjoying a good meal, kayaking, climbing a mountain in Ireland, or zip-lining over a forest in Costa Rica, Roatan, or Whistler BC.