Contemplation: Be
Awe – full
A walk at the Port of Symi Island, Greece
Be Awe – full
Look out on life with amazement, not shock. The variety, the diversity, the
manner of every person, the beauty amidst the drudgery, the contrasts, the
opportunities, the heroism in the lives of ordinary people, your gifts, your
talents, your friends - even just one friend - is all awesome. Live in awe, and
entertain wonder, and you will be knocking on the door of true love. Don't kill
it with cynicism or criticism; don't sabotage your life with moaning and
complaining. Open the eyes in your head and the eye in your intellect and
choose to see the stunning, awesome, diverse beauty of life happening around
you right now. Meet it with your heart and you will enrich and be enriched in
one single moment.
relax7
Going with the flow
Everything that comes
to us, comes to us to pass on. Not just the money
in our pocket, but wisdom, objects, ideas, even opportunities, all come
to us, so that, at the right moment, we can pass them on. This is
called flow. Being in the flow means being aware that the river of life
is flowing to us at every moment. It means accepting whatever comes and
putting it to good use, before passing it on. Going with the flow means
allowing whatever comes to move on freely, without holding on in any
way. If we do not pass on, we are trying to block the flow, and that's
when we feel pressure in our life. Pressure is always self-inflicted.
Every time you feel 'under pressure' look at what you need to release
and to pass on to someone else. Once you do you can ...relax...again.
in our pocket, but wisdom, objects, ideas, even opportunities, all come
to us, so that, at the right moment, we can pass them on. This is
called flow. Being in the flow means being aware that the river of life
is flowing to us at every moment. It means accepting whatever comes and
putting it to good use, before passing it on. Going with the flow means
allowing whatever comes to move on freely, without holding on in any
way. If we do not pass on, we are trying to block the flow, and that's
when we feel pressure in our life. Pressure is always self-inflicted.
Every time you feel 'under pressure' look at what you need to release
and to pass on to someone else. Once you do you can ...relax...again.
Shedding Off The
Attachment To A Positive Past
A very powerful mis-identification (incorrect identification) that each one of us indulges in, to different extents, is identifying with our positive or glorious actions of the past. This identification is so strong that almost every day it comes to the surface of our consciousness when we switch on the movie of this story of these actions on the screen of our minds. By rehearsing this story repeatedly we love experiencing the same emotions and feelings that we felt at that time, emotions that we had enjoyed very much. We not only re-experience that pleasure but we also love to share the pleasure by persuading others to see that movie by broadcasting that movie in front of whoever we come across. This is normally done in the form of words by speaking about our professional or personal achievements, our educational qualifications, our experiences, actions for which we gained recognition, our history, etc., all a thing of the past. But this is not talking about the real self, this is just a story, thus it is a false identification with something we are not. Every time we indulge in this type of identification, we strengthen the incorrect belief that we are talking about our self. We believe the past is us. This is the incorrect identification.
If someone were to ask us to describe ourselves in a few words, instead of talking with humility about our spiritual self, our virtues, powers, strengths, etc., which is the real self, we quickly mention all of the above features of our past, thinking this will give the other an impression of our credibility. Even when we communicate with people over email or some other mediums, we are quick to mention all these things in our signature, etc. believing this is our story and portraying that we are in love with it and other people should identify us with this story as we do and love us for the same. To remember and identify with any memory of action that we created yesterday is to identify with what we do. And we are not what we do.
(To be continued tomorrow ...)
Soul Sustenance
Understanding Anger
What is anger and why does it happen? It’s simple. Anger is a response to someone who does not do what you want them to do, or who does do what you do not want them to do. That someone could be one individual or a group of individuals. It could also be something, where a certain situation has not happened the way you wanted, needed or expected it to. As we watch the world events we become angry at the actions of one nation towards another, one group towards another, a few towards many, and many towards one etc. This is because a) we are attached to the way things are b) we identify with the pain experienced by one side and feel that pain ourselves (in fact we create it in sympathy) and our response is to become upset. Anger is the emotion. What we do not see and realize is that we only hurt ourselves, and we cannot help others who are suffering from their own anger, when we ourselves create anger in response.
What is anger and why does it happen? It’s simple. Anger is a response to someone who does not do what you want them to do, or who does do what you do not want them to do. That someone could be one individual or a group of individuals. It could also be something, where a certain situation has not happened the way you wanted, needed or expected it to. As we watch the world events we become angry at the actions of one nation towards another, one group towards another, a few towards many, and many towards one etc. This is because a) we are attached to the way things are b) we identify with the pain experienced by one side and feel that pain ourselves (in fact we create it in sympathy) and our response is to become upset. Anger is the emotion. What we do not see and realize is that we only hurt ourselves, and we cannot help others who are suffering from their own anger, when we ourselves create anger in response.
Message for the day
The one who is loving
is the one who experiences freedom.
Expression: The root of suffering is attachment, because attachment makes one bound. To be truly free means to learn to love and appreciate while remaining independent. Others' state of mind or task does not negatively influence one's own responses to the outside environment. There is the ability to be free and express one's own specialities without being coloured.
Experience: If I cannot keep myself free from attachment I am constantly experiencing suffering. Because I am attached, I am dependent on someone or something I have created a space for in my mind. When that person or object is criticized, neglected or not with me, I feel pain in my mind and I experience a sense of loss. Then I am not able to be loving.
Expression: The root of suffering is attachment, because attachment makes one bound. To be truly free means to learn to love and appreciate while remaining independent. Others' state of mind or task does not negatively influence one's own responses to the outside environment. There is the ability to be free and express one's own specialities without being coloured.
Experience: If I cannot keep myself free from attachment I am constantly experiencing suffering. Because I am attached, I am dependent on someone or something I have created a space for in my mind. When that person or object is criticized, neglected or not with me, I feel pain in my mind and I experience a sense of loss. Then I am not able to be loving.
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