A few years ago, while I was travelling around Brazil leading groups, the online magazine Boa Vida asked me about my work. Here is that conversation, in English, with my answers brought up to date where my words have changed.
Why do so many of us lose touch with our senses, to the point of feeling unsatisfied at home and at work?
This distance from ourselves is a way of escaping. Most people distract themselves with anything they can, and in excess: food, drink, work, screens, "friends" who add nothing, always being in a group, doing anything at all so they don't have to look at themselves. For many people, the boredom of doing nothing feels almost unbearable. So does the emptiness.
What is the focus of your work?
My work is a path of reconnection, of growing awareness and of letting go of the armour we carry in the body, so that people can make new choices, drop the labels they were given, and see the patterns that keep them away from happiness and from their purpose.
It's important to say that I have a strong commitment to simplicity. Everything is done in the simplest way possible, which doesn't mean it's easy. Leaving the comfort zone is hard for a lot of people, and this work happens fully outside it, always respecting each person's own time.
What is the difference between traditional meditation and active meditation?
Osho created the active meditations for the Western world, where most people find it hard to reach a meditative state: that inner peace that quiets the body and the mind. In active meditation you let your emotions out, using three pillars: breath, sound and movement. After that, you can enter a meditative state without any effort.
Many people think they can't meditate. For them, active meditation works very well. For those who have never been able to calm the mind, it brings peace and possibilities they never imagined.
You have to allow yourself to try something new, and to trust again, so that new doors can open.
What kind of breathing do you use?
I work with many kinds of breathing: through the mouth, through the nose, one nostril and then the other. The breath is the simplest tool, and one of the most important in this work. With active meditation and Rebirthing, it's very common for people to change their breathing pattern and start to breathe fully again.
Can this work change how we know ourselves?
Yes. It makes it easier for people to change old patterns of behaviour and to make new choices.
Once we understand how to break these patterns, can we make peace with the longings that keep us from a fuller life?
Feeling that something is missing is part of being human. What matters is learning to deal with it, to make friends with it, to stop making it a monster. Then you don't need to run from yourself anymore, and you're free to live your life.
What is it like to bring this work to people in different places?
People get in touch from their own cities, where there's already a group or a company that's interested, and we do the work there. In practice, as I said, I always keep it as simple as possible. The tools I use are simple and practical. There are no dogmas and no religion. You only need to be open to change, to truth, to love. You don't need to read books or travel to India. Everything you're looking for is already in you.
Who is Deva Kranti?
A "divine revolution". That's what the name means.
Today
Today I live in Hamilton, Canada, and I bring this same work to our studio and online, in English and Portuguese. If you'd like to start with the breath, join our Rebirthing workshop online, every Tuesday at 7:30 PM (Toronto time).