Contemplation:Bring Light

Contemplation: Bring Light

There is some darkness in most human minds today, so there is a darkness component in most scenes and situations. Why else is there so much unhappiness and sorrow in the world? So how much value can be given to someone who is able to bring light and lightness to a place or a moment, where others have brought their dark? Like a crown of sparkling jewels, their presence and their words are priceless. It may only be a gentle smile of comfort, an attitude of genuine interest, some words which diffuse an awkward moment. Those who stay light in spirit while others weave their dark are both illuminated and illuminators. Watch out for such a moment today where you may illuminate. Make that moment momentous!

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Understanding The Difference Between Control And Influence

The moment we become upset with someone in our family or at work it
means we are trying to control them. And the moment others sense we
are trying to control them, they distance themselves from us, and that
reduces our ability to influence them in that situation. This in turn
kills our effectiveness at getting things done through others, and
leaves us frustrated and stressed, wondering why the world does not
behave the way we want it to. This finally turns into the a very
important realization - the more we try to control, the less influence
we will have, whereas the less we attempt to control others, the more
influence we will have.

Soul Sustenance & Message for the day 

Are You Directing Your Inner Orchestra Well (Part 2)?

You can direct your orchestra well, which means that you can:

• Achieve what you want.
• Reach where you want.
• Be who you are.
• Stop being who you are not.
• Feel what you want to feel.
• Stop feeling what you do not want to feel.
• Be. You can be in your space.
• Do. You can do what gives meaning to your life.
• You can stop doing what lowers you, is ordinary and you do not want to do.
• You can reach excellence by crossing inner mental barriers.
• Let go of that which you have clung on to.
• Free yourself and fly.

If you believe that you can, you can. You have to harmonize your inner voices. Listen to those that allow you power, strengthen you and accompany you. Silence the voices that suppress you, judge you badly and limit you. 

Message for the day 

To be an inspiration to many is to be a hero actor.

Projection: When we see negativity in others, we usually think and speak about it. We then take no inspiration to think and act positive. The more the attention is drawn towards negativity, our actions will become negative too.

Solution: Whatever the situation we are in, we need to make effort to change our own actions and turn them to positive. We will then be free from looking at the negativity in others and our actions will become positive.

Contemplation:Total Faith

Contemplation:Total Faith

Total Faith

Have total faith that whatever is happening is good, and remain carefree.

The method to get help is to take the first step of courage.

When I set out to achieve something, I usually expect help from
situations or people, but am not always able to get it. Then I tend to
become disheartened and sometimes tend to give up the task altogether.
The right way to get help is to first take a step forward even in the
most negative situations. With courage and faith when I start in
whatever little way I can, I find the help coming to me. Then I will
neither stop nor give up with the little setbacks that I am faced
with.

Spiritual Vision

In a state of high self-regard, the awareness of oneself as a spiritual being or soul performing pure action, brings the awareness that other beings are also souls performing actions through their bodies. When there is this vision or drishti; this way of seeing another person as a spiritual being, when the attitude of soul-to-soul is maintained, then there is true communication and pure interaction and the desired state of peace, and purity occurs automatically. If you achieve a state in which you are naturally peaceful, pure and happy by being soul conscious, you can be sitting anywhere and, because the thought vibrations radiating from you, the soul, are of such high quality, other beings are necessarily receiving your positive energy.

Soul Sustenance

Are You Directing Your Inner Orchestra Well (Part 1)?

Our inner orchestra is made up of different music instruments – the different instruments are: our memories, desires, tendencies, mind, beliefs, emotions, feelings, fears, intuition, judgements, creativity, our imagination...

When you direct your inner orchestra well, you can remain unaffected by external influences without succumbing to them. When the orchestra directs you, you dance from one side to another without a clear direction and with a music that is not very harmonious or sweet; it is noisy and you suffer. Who is the director of this orchestra? You. Who are you? You – the consciousness, you - the soul, you – the being. When your consciousness is in charge, you make the orchestra play according to the inner voice of your being, according to your purest intentions and values. You can. You simply have to be awake, alert and attentive. If the director of the orchestra closes his eyes for a few moments and covers up his ears, what happens to the orchestra? You have to keep the eyes of your inner spiritual vision open; what is called the third eye. And listen with your heart, not with your physical heart but with the heart of your being. If your orchestra rules over you, and you - the director - are stiff, without flexibility, asleep, un-sympathetic, you will not be able to achieve your dreams or arrive at the destiny that you would like to reach. And, to make things worse, when your orchestra dominates you, you are more vulnerable to being dominated by the orchestra of others. Or you will allow someone else to direct your inner orchestra. This is the ideal road on which to get trapped and suffer. Is this what you want?

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day 

To be humble is to be a source of happiness to all around.

Projection: Sometimes we find that we don't mean to be negative to others but people seem to be displeased with us. When there is any kind of sorrow experienced or if others are experiencing any negative feelings, it means we are not working with our inner humility.

Solution: We need to develop regard for all around us. When we work with this regard there will be humility within us. This naturally enables others to experience happiness. To the extent that even in the most negative situations others will experience happiness.

Contemplation: Dance In Happiness

Contemplation: Dance In Happiness

Dance In Happiness

The easy way to remain happy is to remain constantly light. Pure thoughts are light and waste thoughts are heavy. Therefore, keep your intellect busy with pure thoughts and you will become light and continue to dance in happiness.

Few words are required when thoughts are positive.

I sometimes find myself using a lot of words to convey what I feel or
to give explanations to others. Yet I sometimes find that others are
not convinced with my words. I am then at a loss about what is to be
done. Positive thoughts actually reach out to others and create the
right environment. All I need to do is to create an atmosphere of
positivity by maintaining my own positive thoughts. Then I will not
have to use so many words to prove my point or to convince others. 

Meditation And Health

Each original quality of the self or soul is specially required for nourishing and empowering one human body system. The quality of peace is responsible for taking care of the respiratory system, joy for the gastrointestinal system, love for the circulatory system, bliss for the endocrine system, knowledge for the brain and nervous system, purity for the immune system and the five senses and power for the muscular and skeletal systems.

Each one of us has at least one body system, which is most prone to disease. When our mind is under the influence of stressful emotions, there is a decrease in the flow, from the soul to this body system, of that quality which is required by it for its nourishment, which leads to the development of disease in this system over a period of time e.g. when an individual with a weak respiratory system is in a negative state of mind, there is a decrease in the flow of the quality of peace to the respiratory system which in turn can lead to a disorder like asthma.

Soul Sustenance 

Carrying Forward Of Special Talents

Everything that an individual does i.e. a soul does using the medium of the physical body is registered in the soul as a sanskara. Sanskars, therefore, are the foundation of our present personalities and all our special talents and inclinations. There have been many famous personalities including artists, musicians, engineers, sportsmen, etc. who, before attaining phenomenal success in their respective fields, displayed amazing talents related to their respective field at a very young age. When and where could they have mastered these talents so well? It's obvious that amazing masteries at a very young age are not inherited from our parents. These talents have been developed and brought into practice in previous births, as a result of which sanskaras of the talents are created inside the soul. These sanskaras are then carried into the next births, and are brought into actions in the new births.

A more common day-to-day example is the following: A child is born into a family of doctors where, from the beginning, all efforts are made to mould and prepare him to become a doctor, according to family tradition. However, from an early age, the child shows strong tendencies to become an actor, starts to take part extensively in theatre activities at school and the talent starts manifesting itself. This example demonstrates that the characteristics a soul carries from previous experiences of previous births will take it in a specific direction despite attempts made by the family on the contrary. So in short, genius is experience. Some think that it's a gift or talent, but it is the fruit of long experience of many lives. Some are older souls than others i.e. they have been present on the world stage since a longer period of time and have covered a journey of more number of births and so know more. This kind of unlimited, broad vision of life provides us answers to many questions.

Message for the day 

Happiness increases when given to others.

Projection: We usually expect others to give happiness to us. We rarely ever think of giving happiness to others. We don't usually get what we expect because the other person is also expecting the same from us.

Solution: Whatever the kind of person we only have to make sure that we continue to give happiness to others without any expectations. For this we have to increase our own treasure of happiness by continuing to be happy under all circumstances.

Contemplation: No Problem

Contemplation: No Problem

No Problem

Solutions are never necessary because there are no problems, only our perception makes it seem so, and only our minds make our perceptions seem real. If there is a problem it is our perception. That is hard to see in a world that celebrates and rewards the finding and solving of ‘the problem’. When you decide that you will no longer perceive the problem, you will see only the facts or a situation. Facts are just facts and any and every situation can always be improved, unless it is in the past, then it’s just a memory, and memories are never a problem, are they? If you can cancel from the patterns of your perceptions, the very idea of ‘problem’ then you will not only be a positive thinker and a positive proactive actor, you will be a leader.

  

To have equality in thought, word and action is to be successful.

With regards to what I want to achieve, my thoughts are usually high.
I then speak about my high plans to others too. But to bring my plans
into action it takes a long time and by then I find that they have
lost their intensity. I need to remind myself that if I don't
implement my thoughts immediately, I will never do it. I also need to
check if the thoughts that I have are practical. I need to then plan
and speak about it according to my checking. Then I find that my
thoughts and plans are not wasted away, but become practical.

Pure Cooking (cont.)

1. First, it is essential to develop a positive attitude towards cooking. Before undertaking any food preparation, ask yourself. 'Do you consider the project at hand to be an enjoyable, creative activity or an unpleasant time-consuming boring, repetitive karma?' Find a way of enjoying it, by playing spiritual songs or trying new recipes and having deep meditation while cooking.

2. Before cooking, make sure the kitchen is clean and in order. Take out all the things you will need to make the meal and place them where they will be used. This makes the process of cooking more smooth and enjoyable.

3. While cooking avoid doing other work in between. You will actually be saving time and the food will definitely turn out better.

4. As much as possible, remain in silence, paying attention to the quality of the thoughts you have. Try to have pure and peaceful thoughts. This creates a powerful atmosphere that fills the food with pure vibrations and brings personal benefits as well.

Soul Sustenance 

Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation - The Power To Withdraw (Part 2)

When I am too open to the world around me, it's as though the arrows of negativity that fly around can easily penetrate my being, so that I lose my power. What others say and do quickly affects me, and I become reactive. This causes a build-up of stress, and eventually burnout, which makes me feel my only option, is to retire from situations altogether, which is not always possible.

I don't want to react; I want to act with concern and reason and effectiveness. When I develop the habit of making a momentary withdrawal in situations of danger, I'm better able to achieve this. Turning within, I'm able to remember my link with the divine, the link of love, the link that fills me with peace and wisdom and good wishes. It's like an exercise: going inwards i.e. connecting with the self, then upwards towards the Supreme and then outwards (in the field of karma). Doing this repeatedly through the day as a discipline as well as at times of danger, I'll keep moving forward with stability and strength.

In order to maintain this power, I have to put a high value on introversion. If I'm too extrovert, I'll become caught up in external circumstances, and won't have power to withdraw available to me at the moment of need.

Message for the day 

The one who is royal plays with the jewels of knowledge.

Projection: Throughout the day several times we find ourselves performing such actions or speaking such words that hurt others. Such behavior actually reflects the fact that we are playing with stones instead of jewels.

Solution: Real jewels are such words and actions that are filled with knowledge or truth. Knowledge gives us understanding which brings sweetness in our words and accuracy in our actions and this is real royalty.

Contemplation: Contentment

Contemplation: Contentment

Artist: Emile Munier (1840-1895)

Contentment

The more positive the thoughts flowing through my mind, the more contented I will feel. It is easy to feel contented when we are praised and appreciated but to remain contented when we are being critised and rejected is the mark of real spiritual strength. The way to develop this level of strength is to learn about God's way of loving. Only when I am in deep contemplation can I see God showing me the kind of love I need to express so that I myself never reject or criticize and always generate good wishes for others. Then I will feel satisfied no matter what life throws at me.

Your Identity is Your Destiny

There is a direct connection between identity and destiny. It's a
simple process to see and understand, even on a daily basis. If you
wake up irritated (in a bad mood) it means you are seeing yourself as
an irritated being (soul). Perhaps you even think and sometimes say to
your self, “I’m irritated today.”

It means your self-identity is negative. So you filter the world
through your negative filter and the world actually looks like an
irritable place. As a result, you think negative thoughts, generate a
negative attitude and give negative energy to others. They in turn
will likely return the same negative energy, which you are sending to
them and perhaps avoid you altogether. So your destiny of the day
becomes …. Not so positive! Now see the same principle and process in
life on larger scale. Look around outside you now, and you will see a
reflection of how you see your self inside. Your circumstances, your
relationships and even the events of the day reflect back to you how
you see yourself.

                                                   Pure Cooking

A significant part of our lifestyle is to consider the quality of our thoughts required while making food. Living in a family may make it more difficult to have that quiet and ordered state of mind while cooking. Also, children, friends, husbands and wives have the habit of coming into the kitchen while you are cooking. So, see if you can re-organize your timetable so you can cook at a time when they are busy, and then you can properly concentrate on giving pure vibrations to the food. It also helps if you play some gentle, soothing music which reminds you of the Supreme Soul or God while you are cooking. Even better sit in meditation for 4-5 minutes in the kitchen before starting to cook.

If you think of yourself while you are cooking then there will be a vibration of greed created. If you think of others while you are cooking there will be a vibration of attachment created. Think about the Supreme and there will be that feeling of deep love and freedom (liberation).

Physical cleanliness before cooking is important. Walking off the market or crowded roads, into the kitchen and cooking can affect the vibrations of the food. Washing, changing and meditating is a good start for preparation of satwic food. The ideal time for cooking is in the morning, the mind is quiet and if one has read a short paragraph of spiritual knowledge sometime after getting up, the mind is filled with new gems of spiritual knowledge, free of waste thoughts.

Soul Sustenance


Inculcating Powers Through Rajyoga Meditation - The Power To Withdraw (Part 1)

The aim of Raja Yoga meditation is to strengthen ones nature so much so that situations, which previously might have defeated us, we now find easy to handle. So, the power to withdraw does not mean running away from life, but the ability to find a safe space inside oneself, even in the midst of life.

An image used to illustrate this power is that of the tortoise. When there is danger, the tortoise instantly goes inside its shell, which it carries with it everywhere. In the same way, when I am faced with negativity or active hostility from people and situations around me, there is great strength in become introverted, even for a moment, so as to touch base with the point of peace inside my own being. In doing so, I find not only shelter, but also stability, so that I protect myself from any hostile reactions on my part.

(To be continued tomorrow …..)

Message for the day

To have love for experimenting is to experience progress.

Projection: Usually we do things just as we have always done or as others do it. So we find ourselves obtaining the same results over and over again. We hardly ever think of doing things differently or trying our something new.

Solution: We need to develop love for experimenting. In any situation we have to see if we can think of something different, if there is a better way of doing what we are supposed to do. Such experimenting will bring newness and progress in our life.

Contemplation: Focus On The Good

Contemplation:  Focus On The Good

Focus On The Good

Find at least one good quality in everyone, no matter how many defects are visible to you. The more you focus on the good, the more power you give to people, the sooner they will be able to change.

Emotional Intelligence
The ability to pick up others emotions is something we can all do
naturally. The fastest way to learn to be sensitive to and identify
others emotional states is to learn to read our own. If we cannot
inwardly read and identify our own emotions it will be impossible to
do this for others.

The great danger of getting too close to others emotions is that we
fall into them and create the same emotions ourselves. This is often
seen as one of the pillars of friendship in an emotional relationship.
But to fall into and create and experience the same emotions as
another is not sympathy (mercy), and it doesn't help them climb out of
their disturbance. Hence the need to practice 'detached involvement',
a process in which we stay sufficiently detached to be able to
accurately read and understand the emotions of another while staying
sufficiently involved with them so we may offer our help to them.

The Practice Of Meditation - cont.

As explained yesterday, we regularly and quite easily slip into four main negative habits. So meditation is not only sitting in a quiet corner, and connecting with the self and the Supreme, at a couple of fixed times during the day, but it is also the way to gently remember and remind ourselves, many times in a day, that we as well as others, are souls or spiritual beings not physical beings, by detaching ourselves from actions and also while being involved in actions. These reminders given to the self over a period of time become natural and prevent us from succumbing to these four habits. Given below is a basic meditation, which you could use to remind yourself regularly during the day:

I have a body but this body is not me...
I have thoughts but these thoughts are not me ...
I have feelings but these feelings are not me ...
I have attitudes but these attitudes are not me ...
I have emotions but these emotions are not me ...
I have beliefs but these beliefs are not me ...
I perform many actions through my sense organs, but these sense organs are not me...
I play many roles but I am not my roles...
I experience joy or sorrow through my sense organs, but these experiences are not me ...
I am a soul - a being of energy, which is neither created nor can be destroyed, and my original and true nature is one of peace, love, joy and power...

Soul Sustenance 

Making Your Dream A Reality (Visualization)

I relax my body... I let go of all tensions... I reduce the speed of my thoughts...

I relax my mind, my thinking... I let go of what doesn't let me be well...

What is it that I the soul truly long for? What do I want in my life?

I listen to the answer that arises from the inside of the self... I let the answer come out spontaneously... I don't worry about it...

I visualize what I want and where I want to reach... Now I fly; I fly towards the destiny that I dream of... I visualize myself being what I want to be, doing what

I want to do... Without fears, without strings that hold me... I am who I want to be... I see myself like that, having achieved it... I enjoy some moments of this experience... I experience my dream...

I can achieve my dream... I have to visualize it as if I had already achieved it... This strengthens my capacity to achieve it...

Now I return to the present moment... I prepare myself to enter into action with this conviction... I will make my dream a reality...

Message for the day 

The ones who can transform even negative to positive are the ones who remain cheerful. 

Projection: It seems natural for us to have negative thoughts when we are faced with any negative situation or when we are interacting with someone who is using his negativity. We then try to change the place or avoid the person in order to maintain our positivity.

Solution: We need to practice seeing positivity in everything that happens and everyone we come across. A long time of practice will help us see the positive aspect of the seemingly most negative situation. This practice will enable us to maintain our positivity in the most negative situation.

Contemplation: Desires

Contemplation: Desires

Desires

Reduce your desires and your problems will also reduce.

The real reason why we sometimes experience a lack of real, deep
lasting happiness in our lives is dependency.

We are taught to make our happiness dependent on some event,
condition, person, object etc. This is why we keep delaying our
happiness until things are just right in our life. We think we will be
happy in the future and then wonder why we are not happy now. But life is never just right, and the
future never comes – there is only now! And that's why, in order to be
happy we must make our happiness a decision and not a dependency. This
may seem slightly difficult in the beginning, because we have just
spent our life being dependent on acquiring something or someone, or
seeing the result we desired, or wanting some pain to go away, before
we allow ourselves to be happy.

The Practice Of Meditation

As with anything else, the more we practice meditation, the more we feel the benefit of what we are doing. We do need to practice meditation regularly because the habits of:

i. identifying with our physical form,

ii. succumbing to mental and emotional negativity (in the form of waste and negative thoughts) along with negativity in words and actions,

iii. becoming attached to the physical as well as the non-physical, and

iv. being dependent upon the experience of physical stimulation of any sort (from e.g. food, movies, people, sports etc.) for happiness are extremely deep.

These habits have deepened over a period of many many births, because of repeating them regularly, due to a lack of spiritual awareness. As a result, in the present moment also we regularly and quite easily slip into these four habits.

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Soul Sustenance 


Meditation For Overcoming Fear (Part 2)

This meditation commentary is a continuation of yesterday’s message.

Create the following thoughts:

I continue to go forward... I only observe feeling who I am... I am a being of light... a peaceful being... like a small candle that lights up a dark room I radiate light and remove the darkness inside. Conscious of who I am... I imagine that I am in the presence of a generous Being of Light that radiates infinite love, peace and happiness... It is a powerful ocean of love that can dissolve all my fears, the pain and suffering that there is inside my soul...

I open my heart... and mentally I say: "here are my fears... They are yours... They are no longer useful to me... I hand them over to you... I absorb your light... I absorb your love and let it reach each dark corner of my inner self... I feel how your powerful light, full of love, touches my fears... they dissolve and I am freed... I let go of all worries... The weaknesses and problems no longer have power over me... I feel that the Supreme Being is with me... that He accepts me as I am... He comforts me... I feel safe... at peace... in an immense peace... and free of worries..."

I enjoy this present moment in His company and I share this peace and love with the world.


Message for the day 

To have cooperation, love and mercy is to be a giver.

Projection: When we see others' weaknesses all we can have generally are negative thoughts about them. We can, then, no longer help the other person in any way as such negative thoughts only further strengthen the others' negativity.

Solution: Instead of reacting with negativity, we need to have mercy for the ones who are in the control of their own weakness and see if we can help them in any way. And the only way we can encourage the others to change is with love.

Contemplation:Don't Miss Your Life

Contemplation:Don't Miss Your Life

Don't Miss Your Life

Many of us spend most of our life trying to live someone else's life. We are great fixers, and as we watch others we can hear ourselves attempting to 'sort them out'. We hear it in our conversations with others and with ourselves. It sounds like, "They shouldn't...weren't they awful...did you hear about so and so...in my opinion they should". In these moments we waste time trying to write the script of others and forget to write our own. We have no right to write another's script and any attempt to do so is futile, frustrating and doomed to failure. So let be, and taste the freedom from the subtle tensions and anxieties about others by letting them write their own script. Don't miss your life by trying to live someone else's.

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The Distinction (Difference) Between Love And Attachment

Attachment is a mental state. It is a relationship we have with
someone in our own minds. When we become attached to someone we use
their image to fill our mind. We find our thoughts are constantly
filled with their image and the memories of their behavior. It is not that we should never think about others, it is more about thinking about others only
when it is necessary, and as we do so, to make sure we don’t lose our
self in their image. This will finally free us of dependency. Symptoms of
attachment can be found when there is any personal desire or
expectation of the other person. Desire causes the change of the
energy of our love into fear.

We forget we are already a source of what we have been taught to need
and desire. Attachment desires, love never desires and it has no
expectations. It doesn’t need to! As soon as you have any desire from
others, or expectations of others, and your happiness becomes
dependent on the desire or expectation being met, you are already
giving birth to fear and anger, otherwise known as negative emotions,
otherwise known as stress, otherwise known as suffering. Love never causes pain, attachment does.

Soul Sustenance 

Meditation For Overcoming Fear (Part 1)

Breathe deeply. You should say to yourself "relax, calm yourself". Repeat until you are peaceful and centered. Become serene and feel a sensation of peace and wellbeing. Maintain this serenity on breathing. Free yourself of worries on breathing out. Now slowly create the following thoughts:

I sit comfortably like an observer in silence... I let go of every-thing around me... objects, people, responsibilities, places... I focus my mind on the present moment... I let the serenity... the peacefulness... envelop me... In this calm I can see the dark corners of my inner self... Like shadows, I can see the fears, anxieties, guilt, unhappiness, weaknesses that lie hidden there... Fear has poisoned my being; it has stolen my peace, my happiness and my self-respect...

I accept that there is fear within me... I observe it and I realize that I am not that fear... I am not that weakness... it is not real, it is a shadow... I focus now on what is real: it is love... it is peace... it is wellbeing... it is the purity of the soul, what is real, authentic and true... I only have to access these original qualities and allow these energies to heal and strengthen my soul... To do this, I continue to observe calmly... with patience... I do not allow my mind to judge, or analyze what is happening to me... everything that has happened to me forms part of the past... I have learned from my mistakes... I forgive myself... I forgive others...

This meditation commentary will be continued tomorrow:

Message for the day 

When there is equality in what we understand, desire and do, there is success.

Projection: We usually recognise the need to bring about a change in ourselves from the signals we get from different situations. We also feel strongly that we have to change, but most times we find ourselves not taking into action and our change is limited only to understanding and having a desire.

Solution: As soon as we understand that we have to change, we have to work at bringing about a change in ourselves immediately. We need to tell ourselves that there is no better time than now when we can bring about a change. We, then, find ourselves successful in all we do.

Contemplation:Think Eternity

Contemplation:Think Eternity

Think Eternity

Life experiences are like sentences – we are always looking for the full stop, the conclusion. It’s OK to end a train of thought, but not thought itself. Thoughts are like the magic carpet, on which the soul rides across eternity -in reality, there are no endings, no conclusions. Rest for the spirit (which is what we are) is when we allow only the current of the purest thoughts to flow through our mind - thoughts which carry good wishes and blessings for ourselves and others. This is not so much going with the flow, as being in the flow, and refreshed by the flow. For when we have powerful, positive thoughts for and about others, who experiences them first?

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Self Acceptance is an agreement with yourself

to appreciate, validate and support who you are right now, even those parts you'd like to change.

Look at yourself in the mirror. Take a moment to love and accept the
person you see looking back at you.

Changing My Thought Patterns

Why is it that we can't change the pattern of our thoughts so easily? Imagine a bird being so comfortable in its nest that, though perhaps sometimes it stands on the branch of the tree to inflate its chest and adjust its feathers, it never wants to fly and does not even realize it could fly. It never knows the blissful freedom of flight, never feels the wind through its wings. It thinks the other birds that are flying around are unwise or foolish. In much the same way, we never really leave our nests of old thought patterns. Our habitual thoughts become our comfort zone and each repetitive thought pattern is like a twig in the nest, which makes the nest stronger and our stay in the nest seemingly comfortable and permanent. We never experience our true spiritual freedom or flight or feel the breeze of our inner beautiful nature. Even the thought, "I am a soul" has to be realized eventually, so that we can actually experience its deepest truth.

In the world of spirituality, thoughts are like the map, but they are neither the territory nor the reality of the experience. Thinking - * I am a peaceful soul or * I am a loveful soul or * I am a powerful soul, is not being soul-conscious, it is only theory or knowledge, but it is definitely an essential start. Maps are important and necessary, until we know the way home to experience. Reaching this final destination of experience makes it easier for us and empowers us to transform or change our old thought patterns.

Soul Sustenance 

Marrying Spiritual Practices With Actions

Spiritual practices and life are interconnected; so are my thoughts and actions. It is not possible to separate them. The immediate influence of any spiritual practice like meditation is on the quality of my thoughts. The quality of my thoughts is then reflected in my day-to-day actions. As the quality of my actions improves, it starts influencing my thoughts positively and the quality of my spiritual practice also starts improving. When I really understand this, it becomes clear that the right way to live is to marry both these sides within my life - meditation and practical life, marry the process of improving the quality of my thoughts with my actions, because both are interconnected with each other.

Actions performed by being too action conscious, in a wrong, non-spiritual consciousness, have led to a monotonous and meaningless existence, an existence without permanent peace, love and joy, causing feelings of discontentment and an emptiness in many hearts. On the other hand, religious or meditation practices, which were done with the aim of bringing peace and happiness in our personal life as well as in relationships, but were performed in seclusion (by detaching or becoming aloof from society), did not achieve the desired objectives and was unable to influence life positively. This caused spirituality to become disconnected from reality.

I want my consciousness to become such that I can experience the richness of a life of actions, interactions and relationships of the world, but adorned (decorated) with the jewels of the energy and spiritual power that only meditation can provide.

Message for the day 

To think of solutions instead of the problems is to be in peace.

Projection: When faced with difficult situations, we see such situations as problems. Thus we find ourselves anxious or tensed and our mind is full of negative thoughts. We can no longer think positive or keep our mind in peace.

Solution: In each difficult situation we need to see what solution we can find for the situation at hand instead of thinking unnecessarily of it as a problem. When we learn to think in this way our mind will be light and we will be able to maintain our own inner peace.

Contemplation: Kindness

Contemplation: Kindness

Kindness

Great souls take advantage of every moment and every opportunity to give happiness to others through kindness in their thoughts. Such souls are willing to overlook weaknesses and mistakes and have the desire to help everyone reach their highest potential.

Each one of us is born brilliant.

But, a few disappointments here, a few setbacks there
and POOF! Just like that, our brilliance is clouded over.

It's not necessary to be perfect to step into your brilliance.
Striving for excellence in everything you do is enough to release your
brilliance.

Visualise your brilliance and step into it. See, then be.
Inhale, then excel!

Factors That Shape Our Perception (cont.)

There are four main criteria that may influence how our perception of reality is distorted or altered (changed). We have already discussed two criteria. Today we discuss the remaining two:

Associated Memories
We have many associated memories: in fact, all addictions are associated memories. For example, the cigarette addict associates many moments during the day to cigarette smoking (after lunch, while seeing someone else smoking, in the restaurant with friends, coming out of work, etc.). Another example is when we have listened to a song over and over again. If after a few years we hear it again, not only do the words and tune emerge, but also the memories associated with the song. In our relationships, associated memories create barriers when we relate to others, since the memories we associate with certain people and situations means that we nearly always see them in a specific way and do not give them the chance to change and improve. This limited and unchanged vision that we sometimes have of others leads to misunderstandings when communicating.

Assumptions
They are images created in advance in our intellect and which work in a sub conscious way, just like associated memories. By assuming, guessing or imagining, we create a series of assumptions that influence our perception and stop us from recognizing the reality. For example, we hear our name being discussed by a group of people and we think that people are speaking wrongly about us. If we learn to rid ourselves of a whole series of assumptions that affect our communication and relationships, our perception of reality will not be distorted or altered (changed). The best way of eliminating these preconceptions is through open, concise and precise communication in order to clear up any misunderstandings.

Soul Sustenance 

The Three Root Causes Of Anger (Part 3)

We are at war with our self when we fail to make the world do exactly what we want, or we believe we have let our self down. An e.g. of a war with one self is – Suppose you are standing in a queue waiting for your chance to arrive, only to discover an hour later, just when your chance is about to arrive, that the time for the counter to close has come and the counter has closed. You get upset, but with whom? Perhaps the person at the counter at first and may be with the other people in the queue and then with yourself, for not having found out the time of closing of the counter. There are two failures that make you uneasy here. First you failed to ask someone early enough, which would have saved you the hour time loss. Second, you failed to control your emotions of anger. Although you might not externally admit that you failed, inside you know. Because of these two failures, you then start to get angry with yourself. The thought pattern that goes inside your mind: to fail is to lose, to lose is to be sorrowful, to be sorrowful causes me to become angry, as you look for an external cause of your sadness which, in this case, is initially the person at the counter and the other people in the queue (who would have known the time of closing and could have told you). So you demonstrate to others your justified anger towards them. But deep inside you know it is you yourself that has made you sorrowful.

As the anger builds up inside you, again, after a while, you find someone else outside on whom you vent out your anger. You seem to feel better as a result, but it's only temporary. The next time you become angry; interrupt the pattern of your anger by asking yourself two simple questions: Who are you fighting a war with? Answer: Yourself. Who is suffering the most due to the war? Answer: Yourself. And if your anger is directed at yourself for your own supposed failure then just tell yourself, "There is no such thing as failure, only a different result from the one that I expected and results are not going to be exactly as I want, expect or desire. That is a rule of the game of life."

Message for the day 

The one who is free from complaints is the one who becomes complete.

Projection: When things go wrong it is the usual reaction to complain, against situations or others, and to find fault with them. When we are busy complaining we will not be able to make any effort to make any improvement in ourselves.

Solution: Whenever we find ourselves complaining we need to see what we can do to bring about a change instead of just complaining. There would surely be something that we can do. Slowly as we begin to implement each thing that we learn, we find ourselves moving forward towards our own perfection.