For most of human history, people practiced the religion they were born into. Today we have an abundance of choice in both the material and spiritual marketplaces, and many pick and choose practices from different spiritual paths. Meditation and yoga, once considered esoteric practices in the West, have seeped into the mainstream. Once a regular practice is established, the benefits are so evident that it is hard to imagine life without either of these. It is my great fortune to be able to offer a third practice that both supports and is supported by meditation and yoga.
Traya means “three” in Sanskrit and the practice I have developed is so named because it is a mind, body, and spirit practice that provides a new way of engaging with and healing the chakras. The development of Traya is the result of a long journey involving good fortune, dedication, growth, and transformation.
How the Traya Process Came About
I was fortunate to find special teachers on my journey. In the late 1970s, I found Elsie, who taught yoga before it was widespread in New York City. She introduced me to many gurus, geshes, and masters from a variety of traditions who she met through her position at a bookstore. She lent me books and introduced me to some of these esteemed teachers, and I became taken with Eastern spirituality, especially Buddhism. I later found a home in the Kwan Um School of Zen and—in honor of my first teacher, Elsie, who had passed on—I continued my yoga practice and eventually became certified to teach yoga.
In spite of all of this involvement with Eastern spirituality, I hadn’t had any exposure to the chakras beyond reading about them in tantric and new age books. Then by serendipity I met Nancy Rosanoff, who taught intuitive development, and I took some of her classes. I learned several techniques for engaging with the chakras and accessing information, most notably a unique technique (somewhat like a shamanic journey) for cleansing them of toxic psychic energy. I continued to use these techniques on myself and I noticed that my thinking began to change and I became more positive. I modified the techniques I learned from Nancy and established a daily practice. I discovered that my significant fears decreased if I focused on a particular chakra in a mindful way and continued to clear it. My thoughts became more positive, my confidence and self-esteem increased, and many more benefits appeared and stayed. My mind was changing!
I continued to search through both Western and Eastern books, looking for information on or similar to this process, but was never able to find anything akin to what I was finding on my own. Although I was frustrated at the time, now I see that this lack of outside information turned out to be a great boon. It forced me to do the work myself and, in the process, I learned that the capacity for self-healing is innate within each of us. The chakras become accessible and understandable. They teach us. We can even put aside whatever information about the chakras we have been exposed to, as we don’t need to know anything about a chakra in order to work with it. In fact, we may get in our own way if we have too many preconceived ideas.
At some point in my development of Traya, I crossed a threshold. I discovered that I was being led by a force within that was guiding me and leading me toward wholeness—my Inner Teacher. I was steadfast in my exploration, and as I progressed I was able to learn more and more. The truth of the interconnectedness of the chakras, mind, body, and spirit became apparent. Different facets and deeper and subtler layers of meaning were revealed and I felt as though I was bathing in wisdom. At first I felt as though I was teasing out the secrets of the mind, but then the mind began to guide the whole process and I felt as though I was following instead of leading. I felt embraced by my higher self and by the universe. I was a participant in my own metamorphosis, attaining intimacy with my own mind.
I began to work with others and gained similar results. The common patterns I saw from person to person revealed what types of experiences produced negative issues in each particular chakra. It also showed the associated problematic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. While the main function of many of the seven primary chakras are well-established, I learned that each chakra had many previously unknown attributes. I found smaller chakras between the seven major chakras, and their important functions and effects became clear.
I wanted to see how the Traya techniques could be integrated with traditional psychotherapy, so I went back to school and eventually obtained my license as a psychotherapist. I found that the Traya techniques fit nicely into the psychotherapeutic setting, allowing a therapist to combine Western and Eastern techniques and approaches. At the same time, I continued doing workshops and teaching people Traya techniques to use on their own.
Why Practice Traya?
This book can help you to develop a working relationship with the subtle body and your Inner Teacher. Many who experience the insights and benefits of Traya express the same regret: “I wish that I had known about these techniques earlier in my life.” My answer to them has been, “Most people never have this opportunity.” I am astonished by my good fortune in being led to develop Traya and am both humbled and honored to be able to offer it to you.
There is a growing phenomenon in which Eastern spiritual practices spill over into the Western psychotherapy field. One need only google the term “mindfulness” to find several Western therapies that use the Buddhist mindfulness practice to cope with afflictive thoughts and emotions. On the other hand, there is also the “spiritual bypass,” a termed coined by John Welwood that refers to the use of spirituality to avoid unpleasant emotions and unresolved psychological issues. People are seeking relief from negative thoughts and feelings in spirituality, and at the same time, spiritual practices such as mindfulness and meditation are borrowed by the field of psychotherapy. Traya has elements of Buddhist and yoga psychology and like those practices can be approached from a secular perspective, but is essentially a spiritual practice. Since Traya is grounded in both Eastern and Western worlds, this is a perfect time for the practice to be introduced to a wider audience.
Modern psychology teaches that the evolutionary process has left us with a mind in conflict with itself. It teaches that the mind speaks through its symptoms and neuroses and can be managed but not fully healed. Traya expands both the quality and quantity of interaction with the mind by allowing for a direct connection to the deep mind by becoming mindful of the subtle body. We find that what is going on there is not what we thought. Thus, it establishes a completely new paradigm.
The mind is energy, and until we meet it on an energetic level, we cannot really change it. The most wondrous thing we find is that the mind wants to be detoxified and assists us in the process. The mind is not our enemy after all. Traya is an organic process available to all of us that cleanses the mind of negativity. When I first encountered these techniques, I used them as an adjunct to the therapy I was already in. That worked well until my intense dedication to this practice and the support from my Inner Teacher that I had come to trust over time gave me the sense that I was standing on the shoulders of the universe. I had outgrown my need to work with someone else. You will see in Chapter 5 on the stages of change that Traya leads to a reversal of the tendency to look outside for answers.
Growing Spiritually
Even though I draw on a background based in Eastern traditions and perspective, it’s OK if you don’t resonate with this perspective. Your own individual spiritual connection and practice is what will enable you to complete the entire process of change outlined in this book.
There are questions lying deep within that call out to be both asked and answered. In my in-depth exploration of the chakras, I found not only psychological truths but also spiritual truths. I found how to diminish that sense of separateness we feel from our higher self, others, and spirit. In fact, Traya supports every aspect of life: emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual.
Meditation and yoga nourish us, deepen our spiritual connection, and allow us to enter the stream. Traya provides yet another level of engagement with ourselves that we are currently unaware of. All three practices reinforce one another, supporting what I call the “Lotus of Full Potential,” which blooms organically and completely within us.
Understanding the Book Format and Style
As you move through the book, there are some formatting styles that will be helpful for you to be aware of. Firstly, quoted material that is surfaced directly from a chakra and spoken by a client in a Traya session is italicized in order to distinguish it from other comments and discussions. This is not to be confused with the introduction of a new Sanskrit or foreign word, which, in publication, is traditionally italicized when first mentioned.
Traya has roots in the tantric world of medieval India that recognized the subtle body and the chakra system. To honor that origin, I keep the Sanskrit terms for each of the primary chakras and provide additional Sanskrit names for the new subsystem of chakras (the secondary chakras) that I encountered while working with my clients.
To ensure ease of understanding for those who are new to the Sanskrit chakra names, I will most often refer to the seven primary chakras by their location, e.g., the heart chakra, the throat chakra, etc. To more readily distinguish the seven secondary chakras, I refer to them by their function, e.g., the imagination chakra, the self-esteem chakra, etc. There were other useful terms that I borrowed from the Sanskrit, such as samskaras for mind imprints. It is close enough in meaning to be applicable. Traya is, I believe, appropriately wrapped in the fabric of yoga psychology while, at the same time, completely new.
The book is presented in two parts. In Part 1 you will learn about the subtle body and ways to connect with it (including meditation and yoga) as well as how negativity forms in the mind and the Traya approach to healing it. Part 2 provides a comprehensive discussion of each chakra (including the “new” secondaries) with all their attributes listed and explained. Each of these chapters include client examples of material surfaced from each chakra demonstrating the types of situations that impact them. Clients are disguised along with some of the minor details of their experiences for confidentiality purposes. There is a lot of information and if you are anxious to get working on a chakra, you can skip some of this material and come back to it later. There are many exercises throughout the book to help you along your way.
I offer this information to you. I hope that you approach it with openness, excitement, respect, diligence, and patience so that you may become completely human and bloom the Lotus of Full Potential within you.