Contemplation: New Response

Contemplation: New Response

The bondage of the thoughts of the mind do not allow you to experience internal happiness. To be tied in the bondage of waste thoughts, jealousy and thoughts of carelessness and laziness are the bondages of the mind. Therefore become free from this s

Kalapana Hawaii

New Response

If you can see and accept that you create your own stress according to how you are responding, you will then see that there is something you need to unlearn as well as learn. The old response needs to be unlearned, and a new response needs to be learned.

Awareness

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It is true that there is much suffering in the world. But do we need to worry about it? If we focus on the negative, that drains us of the strength to help. Goodness and truth are also at work in our world, as well as darker forces. When I switch on

It is true that there is much suffering in the world. But do we need to
worry about it? If we focus on the negative, that drains us of the
strength to help. Goodness and truth are also at work in our world, as
well as darker forces. When I switch on my awareness of positive
qualities common to humanity, it is like bringing light into the
darkness. The past stops haunting me and I stop worrying about the
future. I see more clearly what I need to do now, for lasting happiness
and health.

Overcome Feelings Of Revenge By Changing Your Belief System

It's worth wondering, what I need to change inside my belief system so that no feelings of revenge exist inside me for anyone irrespective of what someone has done to me. When someone harms me or insults me in any way, what is the belief that exists inside my inherent belief system that causes feelings of revenge to emerge inside me in the first place? It is the belief that 'whenever someone does something negative to me, he hurts me, he is the victimizer and I am a victim'. I need to change that to - 'no one can never hurt me, but it's what I do with someone's negative actions, what shape I give the negative actions inside my mind, that causes me hurt, the choice lies with me'.

Two people will do two different things inside their minds with the offensive or negative actions of a particular person - one will create feelings of anger, hatred, sorrow, etc which will give rise to the desire for revenge; the other will create feelings of peace, love and good wishes which will give rise to only forgiveness, with no room for revenge. In other words, two different people will respond in two different ways to the negativity of the so called victimizer, depending on their belief system, their inherent personality or nature, their experience of similar negative actions in the past, either committed by the same person or by other people. All these factors will shape their perception of the other's actions and the self. One will see the other or perceive the other as the victimizer and himself as a victim and another will not identify the other person with his negative actions, but will instead focus on his inherent positive nature or positive aspects of his current personality and will also remain unaffected himself.
(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance 

Stress Management

There are some false beliefs about stress that we have acquired:
"Stress can only be treated by a doctor"
Truth: If you have some serious physical discomfort then perhaps it's time for a visit to the doctor. But unless you change your thoughts and feelings the pain won't go away forever. Medicines are irrelevant to the task of putting positive power into what you think and feel. So perhaps it's time to be your own doctor, take your own pulse, feel your own feelings and diagnose your own state of being. Only then will you be naturally interested in the 'inner' remedies, treatments and methods to help free yourself of the pain we call stress, and only then will you return to optimum mental and emotional health. The treatments for your head and heart are a lot different from those for your body. When you truly, deeply realize that all your stress begins with your own thoughts and emotions, and that you are the only one responsible, only then will meditation, visualization and positive thinking suddenly arouse your curiosity.

Message for the day 

Humility brings learning.

Projection: Where there is humility there is willingness to learn. When humility is lacking, ego comes which doesn't let us learn from all situations and people. The power of humility enables us to learn and move forward.
Solution: When I'm faced with criticism, I need to see what I can learn from it, instead of feeling bad about it. Even things that go wrong have something to teach me, if I am willing to learn. With humility I continue to learn.

Contemplation: Thinking

Contemplation:  Thinking

 

The Lakes of Mount Kelimutu, Indonesia- All 3 lakes change color from blue to green to black or red unpredictably.

Thinking

Thinking can be your hell, but it is also the means of making Heaven.

Subtle Bondage

The bondage of the thoughts of the mind do not allow you to experience
internal happiness. To be tied in the bondage of waste thoughts,
jealousy and thoughts of carelessness and laziness are the bondages of
the mind. Therefore become free from this subtle bondage.

Temporary And Permanent Sources Of Peace

It's a common notion (idea) to think of peace as being closely related to the beauty of nature - the play of waves on a beach, the blowing of wind through a forest, the soaring and swooping of sea gulls; in short, anything away from the rush and hurry of the city. Alternatively we associate peace with some physical form of relaxation like headphones plugged into soothing music, freshening up after a hard day, a brisk walk in the park, etc. In meditation we realize peace to be our very essence (nature); we realize very quickly, trying to extract peace from the world around us or even from some physical sensations in our own bodies gives us only a temporary experience of it.

Once we start meditating, we start to see physical relaxation as an escape from tension and not a solution for it; and the beautiful scenes of nature now no longer as sources radiating permanent peace. But in fact it is their mere absence of conflict, their harmony of colours, forms and sounds which appeal to us. There is something in each of us which cries out to be free from conflict. We discover that small voice or need is only our true nature demanding to be recognized. We realize that neither the body nor nature can give the peace that the soul was longing for, but it has to be tapped from within. Having found it, it remains constant, whether in the city or or on a hill station, in comfort or discomfort. In the midst of noise and confusion, peace is really our own.

Soul Sustenance

The Significance Of The Power Of Thought In Meditation

Meditation is not a process of emptying the mind of thought. In meditation I use the natural power of the soul – the power to create thoughts, as a take-off point (or as a spring-board) to finally experience the consciousness of the true self. In meditation, I climb a ladder of well-prepared, positive and spiritual thoughts and eventually climb beyond the ladder into the pure experience of what I really am. Pondering over these pure and real thoughts can occupy the soul for long periods of time.

In the most basic stage of Rajyoga meditation, first comes the realization: I am a soul, the energy of consciousness made up of a mind, an intellect and a collection of sanskars. My eyes, ears, nose, mouth are just the organs, which when used correctly, help me, the soul, enjoy life. I now possess the knowledge that will free me from my cage. I have the key, spiritual knowledge is the key - I am a soul, a being of light, ‘a bird’ which has the power to fly freely. Knowing this, I am not bound by physical laws. I can detach and fly at the speed of a thought, to the soul world, where I can easily experience my original state. I must realize that it is impossible to have ‘peace of mind’ if I cannot detach from the body. I must look upon all my family members, friends, colleagues, also as souls which have come from the soul world. We are all fellow souls. 


Message for the day

To have hope means to have a chance for success.

Projection: When we encounter failures, we sometimes get so disheartened that we lose hope in both the situations and in ourselves. Instead of seeing the obstacle that comes our way as a turn, we see it as an end and give up trying. So we lose out on our chance for success.

Solution: Even when things don't seem to be working out right, we must never leave hope. To leave hope means to rule out our chance for success. When we have hope we will keep thinking of new ways for success. We will then surely get cooperation from somewhere or the other and we will be successful.

Contemplation: The Arts of Life

Contemplation:  The Arts of Life

The Arts of Life

The greatest art is to be silent. Not just unspeaking with the lips, but unspeaking with the mind. When the mind is quiet, its whole angle of vision changes. From pouncing on the problems, it begins to perceive the chances, the good things in life: and, in that discrimination which comes from silence, lie all other arts. The arts that make life a pleasure and a challenge; like how to talk to each other, entertain each other, accept each other - in short, how to be happy not just together, but alone.

Simplicity

When there is simplicity within, the mind is calm and quiet. Simplicity
enables us to see the sequence of events around us. Each scene has a
meaning connected to the previous and the next one. Simplicity and
acceptance help us to play our part to the best of our ability.
Whenever we find ourselves questioning anyone's part or any situation,
let us just remember that everyone is right according to his part and
every scene according to the play of events. This thought enables me to
keep my mind free from complications. So we are able to be our best in
whatever we do.

The Location Of The Soul Inside The Body

The soul has the following basic functions to perform:

* to give life to the body and to maintain life inside it,
* to express and experience its role through the body, and
* to receive the rewards or fruits of past actions performed in previous births, through the body.

These functions are controlled and monitored by the soul via the nervous and hormonal systems from a particular point in the area of the brain which contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary and pineal glands. This region is known as the seat of the soul, or the third eye. The connection between the physical (body) and the non-physical (soul) is by the medium of thought energy.

Many religions and philosophies place great importance on the third eye, or eye of the mind. When viewed from the front, this region appears to be between and slightly above the line of the eyebrows. It's for this reason that Hindus use a tilak, a dot in red or sandalwood paste in the middle of the forehead. Christians also make the sign of the cross in this region. Even when one makes a mistake or expresses tiredness it's to this region that we put the hands in the gestures of self-dismay or exhaustion. After all the soul subconsciously knows that it makes the mistakes and not the body. When people are concentrating deeply in thought it is this area of the forehead where creases or lines are formed on the skin.

Soul Sustenance

Connecting To the Qualities of Others

Meditation adds immense value and depth to my relationships. It also brings closeness in them. Many obstacles and barriers, both on a physical as well as a subtle level, come between me and others when my consciousness and as a result, my perception are struck primarily in the physical dimension.

If I hardly know five to ten per cent of myself, and that too mostly on the surface, my relationships are going to be similarly superficial. With my self-respect built on very weak foundations, it will tend to be delicate and I'll be prone to trying to maintain it by thinking about and focusing my energies on others' weaknesses, sometimes real and sometimes even imagined. I'll also find it hard to realize and appreciate their qualities. Such is the state of so many human relationships today.

In meditation, I go into the depths of myself, and deep within my inner being, I find the beauty of peace, love and happiness that is there inside me. I also realize that this same beauty lies inside each soul. Then naturally and very easily, without any effort, I get connected to the same qualities in others.

I also find the strength to do the same. I am no longer judgmental seeing others’ temporary sanskaras of negativity. I find qualities that are basically there inside every soul: the original qualities or sanskaras of each spiritual being. It’s like a basic prototype for the whole of humanity, which I deeply see and realize.  

Message for the day

Determination enables elevated thoughts to become practical.

Projection: When we have an aim in our life and are working for it, we sometimes are not able to bring into practice all that we plan to do. We then tend to become disheartened and give up after trying for some time. Thus we lose out on the benefit that our thoughts can bring in our life.

Solution: In order to put into practice the good thoughts that we get i.e., in order to make our thoughts practical we need to stamp it with determination. Our words should never be 'I'll try', but must always be 'I will do it'. Where there is determination there is victory.

Contemplation: Happy Outcomes

Contemplation: Happy Outcomes

Happy Outcomes

The loving acts of a generous heart usually bring about really happy outcomes.

Power to Discern

In order to make accurate decisions, we need the power to discern. This
comes from clarity of mind and neutral observing. Let me watch without
getting my feelings in the way to get a clear picture and to come to a
conclusion/decision. To make right decisions, we must also know when to
step in and when to step out. This is maturity - knowing
appropriateness.

Fear And The Law Of Attraction

You should be careful with what you are afraid of, because you can invoke (call for or attract) it.

Fear is like a magnet. If you are afraid that something will happen to you and you get obsessed about it happening, you are effectively invoking it to happen.

If you are very afraid that something might happen to you and you begin to visualize that it might happen or how it might happen, this terrifies you and it closes you into a phobia and a state of fear. What you are doing is invoking it to happen, because the power of the mind and visualization is very great. If you are afraid that you might be robbed, or of meeting with an accident, or of losing, you are invoking the robbery, the accident and the loss. Fear of rejection produces rejection.

That is how extraordinary the power of our mind is. That does not mean to say that we should not take the necessary precautions. An aged woman knows that to fall can mean her bones might break more easily. She should not be preoccupied with a fear of falling; she simply needs to apply attention and precaution when walking. But when precaution is confused with fear, it is not a healthy precaution or one that is free from worries.

Soul Sustenance

What Is ‘Clean Communication’?

With the self covered by the clouds of so many external influences and many of its own negative beliefs and past experiences, the self is normally unclear about its own self. The light of spiritual knowledge brings clarity to the self, about the self. This helps me to communicate with others much more clearly than when I am not sure or clear about what is going on inside me. There is a direct connection between the quality of subtle activities in the form of thoughts and feelings going on inside me and the quality of my interaction and communication with others.

Very importantly, relationships are also connected with attitude and vision. Sometimes, I may feel I have said and done the right things to someone, yet still someone is not behaving towards me as I would wish. At such times I need to check my attitude towards that person and the vision with which I am seeing them. I may find inside a slight feeling of disapproval towards that person, a feeling of discomfort, a resistance to something in their personality.

Neither of us may be conscious of it, but my negative feeling casts a shadow on the other person. They are not receiving the acceptance or respect from me, that they should (on a subtle level), although externally I may be showing them a lot of respect. This subtle lack of acceptance and respect from my end influences their ability to hear me clearly (on a subtle level), and the way they behave towards me.

The practice of meditation enables me to clean out my thoughts, feelings, attitudes and vision, ensuring that what I share with others on a physical and on a subtle level is positive. Then it is much easier for me to connect with others and for others to connect with me in a positive way. This is called ‘Clean Communication’. 

Message for the day

Real positivity is being positive even in negative situations.

Projection: It seems very difficult, if not impossible, to maintain positive thoughts when we are faced with a negative situation. Even with a strong intention to be positive, challenges come in the form of relationships, physical illness, difficult circumstances etc and we find ourselves weakening.

Solution: A long time of practice of maintaining inner self-respect is what will help us in a difficult situation. To maintain self-respect means to understand and appreciate our own uniqueness. With this practice of self-respect we will not be dependent on the external situation but will find the strength within.

Contemplation: Sweetness

Contemplation: Sweetness

Artist: Daniel Ridgway Knight 1839-1924

Sweetness

Sweetness looks for the good in things, for at its heart is the conviction that good is somewhere there in everything.

Inner Stillness

We can make quick, good decisions when we learn from experience, i.e it
is based on wisdom. We learn when we're willing to see from different
perspectives. When our mind is peaceful, we're able to see the
various perspectives and options. With peace, there's clarity of
mind. We also need patience and it has nothing to do with being slow or
taking a long time. Real patience is achieving that point of inner
stillness and seeing the whole picture. It could take only a moment but
you have to give that time to yourself. It means working with time and
others.

Increasing Your Potential

Fear is an experience where there is anxiety, inhibition (suppression) and mistrust. Fear can lead us to aggressiveness and pessimism (a negative mindset), to depression, to illness, to defeat, to a lack of meaning in existence and, eventually, to death.

When we do not have faith in our own capacity to resist pressure or difficulties, we feel insecure, and from insecurity the doors are opened for fears to enter. Sometimes, out of a lack of experience, self-knowledge or personal development, we are not aware of all the inner resources that we have. For example, if you do not trust your capacity to float in water, you drown. The body's density allows it to float automatically. Through not believing it, not knowing, or even knowing, when you panic, your strength to resist is reduced, your breathing becomes shallow and you may drown.

We have many inner resources to be able to survive in times of crisis and many resources to live positively in times of change. We simply have to discover them, recognize them and use them with trust. Spirituality helps us in doing that.

Soul Sustenance

Positive Consciousness

The habitual way in which you use the house you live in and its contents are all affected if you use them in a positive consciousness (mental state). The result is purification while interacting with the physical object, so that when the object is in use, it fulfills its function accurately, and it has also undergone a permanent change.

This can happen when you are cleaning the house, cleaning any object in the house or preparing objects for a particular purpose. If such actions are done in a positive consciousness then the physical object will have such a vibration of peace and purity that no harm can be done with it and whatever action it is used to perform will be successful. Any other soul who comes into interaction with those objects will also feel the affect of their pure vibrations.

If we perform each action with the physical body in a positive consciousness, then the physical body gets purified and we can become free of illnesses.

In our relationships it is the same principle. First there needs to be that detachment in relations. Secondly, when there is a positive consciousness, I will find that my interactions have a purifying affect on all that I relate to and I can bring benefit to everyone I meet.

In this way a positive mental state enables all actions to be successful, whether at work or at home.

Message for the day

The method to finish negative is to transform it and make it positive.

Projection: When someone says something that we find negative we normally tend to speak about it to others. Having recognised that it is negative, instead of finishing it we usually talk about it. Without realising that we are only increasing negativity by talking about it we spread it to others. Naturally instead of finishing, it only increases all the more.

Solution: When we find someone with negativity, we need to make effort to look at something positive in that person. We need to recognise the fact that each one is special and has some or the other positive quality. When we make effort to look at the positive in the other person we will be able to finish the negativity in our mind first and will be able to inspire the others to finish it too.

Contemplation: Content

Contemplation: Content

Content
Those who have a high degree of self-esteem can easily remain content.

Respect

There is always an expectation of getting respect from those around.
The one who is totally dependent on others for their own sense of
well-being tends to react to situations, even if they are very
insignificant ones. On the other hand, the one who is able to give
respect to the self gives respect to others too and so gets respect
himself. When we are able to see our own specialties we are able to
have respect for ourselves. Then we are not dependent on external
sources for our inner state of mind. We remain free from all external
influences, and are able to become a source of influence for those
around us. We constantly enrich our own internal state with each thing
that happens.

Realizing Our Natural Nature Of Peace

If we look at nature, we will notice that everything in nature - plants, flowers, etc. do everything they do peacefully - they grow, flourish, decompose and die in peace. We get an obvious impression from them that peace is their natural nature. Even the five elements - earth, wind, water, fire and sky are mostly peaceful by nature. It's only when we try and exercise control over them and interfere with their balance that they lose their peace. Most of us, irrespective of our age, even in these stressful and hurry filled times, act peacefully and express our peaceful nature in relationships by means of peaceful thoughts, words and actions, unless something is wrong in the relationship. We instinctively like peaceful relationships. If something is wrong in a relationship and it lacks peace even to a small extent, we do not feel good or comfortable about it. All this proves to us that we, like nature, are essentially peaceful by nature. That is our basic personality.

Most of us have, at some time in our lives and even more frequently in the case of many of us, experienced and expressed our peaceful nature. It's so natural, we are not even consciously aware of it. What we are more aware of is when we are distanced from the natural i.e. we are unnatural - worried, scared, irritated etc. But these unnatural phases always pass and we finally return to our peaceful self. There are some people who are permanently grumpy and tight with someone or the other, because of something or the other. On some days we also feel as if we are continuously living on the edge and continuously succumbing to frustration and anger. But even then, away from everyone's eyes; everyone, the compulsive angerholic (one who cannot live without anger) and you also, will, at some stage, look inwards, relax and have an inner personal spiritual retreat in which they will find relief by experiencing their true nature of peace.

Soul Sustenance

Becoming Responsible For My Destiny (cont.)

Factors like any particular person, a group of people, the government, nature, even God, etc. cannot be held responsible for what has happened t0 me in my life, up to this moment. It is my and my responsibility alone. Equally, what my future holds depends on me to a very large extent. Rather, whatever I choose to do at this moment is already creating my destiny for tomorrow. I shouldn't forget that the only real time I have for creating my future is the present, now.

Karma teaches me that at every step, I am the creator of my own little world, the creator of my future circumstances. I also am the creator of the environment immediately around me. On a bigger level I am a co-creator or partner, together with God, of a positive future of the world, of the world of tomorrow, of the world of peace, love and happiness. So my responsibility and my ability to influence the future is not restricted to my life alone.

That I can create the future of my choice - of love, peace and happiness, for myself and others, can appear as unreasonable optimism. It's just being realistic. What I create is what is going to happen. If I choose to transmit love and peace in my interactions with others today, I create relationships, in the present and for the future, based on those qualities. 

Message for the day

The one who is free from desire is the one who is able to maintain positivity.

Projection: When we put forth our ideas to others we expect them to listen to us. Our idea changes to desire and when it is not accepted we then tend to become irritated. And along with it comes jealousy or dislike for the others and we find ourselves caught up in negativity.

Solution: We need to make sure that we share our ideas with others but at the same time we need to keep ourselves free from any selfish motive. When we put forth our idea in a detached way, we too will be open to learning and we will be able to accept any criticism or rejection that comes our way. Thus we will be free from negativity.