Contemplation: Generosity

Contemplation: Generosity

Generosity
If I limit the love I give to just one or two, it will eventually go stale. If I learn to create altruistic love inside my heart and then silently send that love to many, love will grace every corner of my life.

Creativity

Creativity is to use inner resources for enrichment. Situations give us
a chance for us to use untapped resources creatively. Otherwise
situations take away our clear thinking, our perception of our
resources and so we become weaker and weaker. We first need to
understand that difficult situations are not obstacles but are
opportunities for us to creatively use all the resources for our own
enrichment. When I understand this, I will be able to first perceive
what I have and use that for progress.

Varied Concepts About The Supreme Being or God

Various questions related to the Supreme Being or God for the vast majority remain unanswered and therefore the experience of God remains unfulfilled. The concepts about God are as varied or different as are the sanskars of human beings.

Some common concepts about God:
* Some say God is everywhere.
* Some say He is nowhere.
* Some say He created the whole Universe out of nothing or out of Himself: others see that as illogical and impossible.
* Many say God is beyond the understanding of limited human intellects, others believe that they have understood Him and are then respected as self-realized or spiritually knowledgeable humans.
* Still others believe themselves to be God and allow themselves to be worshiped.
* Some say that God creates only what is good, and others say that He also creates evil or bad, and that everything that is happening in the world is just God's play.
* God is seen by some to be just an expression of human beings' needs and that they will soon go beyond needing such a figure-head (someone who is looked upto).
* Some say He makes the grass grow and the wind blow, others say He is merely the voice of the conscience - the inner voice.
* Others define God as the higher self who remains constantly at peace; this concept is called cosmic-consciousness, since the one with this characteristic is said to be at one with the whole universe.
(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Soul Sustenance

Enhancing (Strengthening) Qualities With The Help Of Meditation (Part 1) 

The present lives of most people are filled with frequent phases of stress and anxiety.  The meditation which we are sharing with you in this set of messages will help you focus on the experience of the quality of inner peace and tranquility and combat this stress or unwanted noise of negative thought and visualization processes.  There is an important basic principle on which meditation is based - where our attention goes i.e. what we give our thought power and visualization power to, there the energy of the mind and intellect flows; and where energy flows, things grow.

If we give our thought power and visualization power to something positive or constructive or useful, there is a constructive use of the energy of the mind and intellect, there is a buildup of the positive energy of the mind and intellect and hence there is a feeling of empowerment (strengthening). If we give our thought power and visualization power to something negative, there is a wastage of the energy of mind and intellect and hence there is a feeling of disempowerment (weakening).

When applied to the virtue of peace, as we 'give' our mental or emotional attention to the topic or idea of peace, we feed it with the invisible energy of our mind or consciousness; as a result it grows from a thought into a deep feeling of peace and the final result is the experience of inner peace – not only do our thoughts and feelings become peaceful, but our words and actions are also filled with a peaceful vibration, which is not restricted to us but which others around us also experience and absorb.

Inner peace is not a state of timidity or submissiveness.  It is a state of inner power. Experiment with the thoughts we will mention tomorrow in our meditation. Using the meditation as an example, you could meditate on other qualities such as fearlessness, love, humility, happiness, tolerance, flexibility, or any other quality you would like to strengthen or enhance within yourself.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day

Change comes with what is done than what is thought of.

Expression: Thinking about others' actions can give a headache.   Instead it is good to think about what is to be done. If someone is doing something wrong, instead of risking one's peace by raising complaints in the mind, it is good to do something to change the situation. When this is done, it creates good feelings for others.  These good feelings become like ointments that heal wounds and re-establish friendship and relationships.

Experience: When I am able to think about what is to be done in all circumstances, I can find myself progressing.  There will naturally be the understanding that there can be nothing that can be done to change the other person, so I am able to be happy and content under all circumstances.  Yet I am able to have the enthusiasm to make effort to change the situation. 

Contemplation: January 14, 2018: Happy Makar Sankranti :Think Big

Contemplation: January 14, 2018: Happy Makar Sankranti :Think Big

Happy Makar Sankranti

 

Think Big

Rise above little things. Be a big thinker. You are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, dream big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, image big, love big, live big. Carry that list and you'll start feeling big. Be a believer and you'll be an achiever.

Creativity

True creativity is to bring newness at every act. Creativity doesn't
mean creating something new or just to do the same things again and
again in different ways. If we do that, since the seed did not change,
the result (the fruit) remains the same. So we need to understand and
creatively use all resources available to us. Whenever we seem to be
going round and round in circles, we need to check how creatively we are
using the resources that are available to us. We then need to make
extra effort to think of something that we have never tried before.

Reaching The Destination Of Peace On Time (cont.)

In yesterday's message, we had mentioned the main type of distractions that you might face in your journey to the destination of peace. The secret of not getting affected by each of these distractions is very simple - do not interact with any of them on a subtle level by giving them your mental energy of attention, but avoid them, detach yourself from them, just observe them and let them go, remaining completely focused on reaching your destination.

Imagine you are driving to your office on the highway and you are very late. There are a large number of different vehicles which you pass, either travelling in the same direction as you are or coming at you from the opposite side. You are even familiar with a lot of these people sitting inside these vehicles, because you see them every day, but you don't even spare a second to glance at them because if you did you would lose your focus and be delayed, you would fail to reach your destination, your office in this case, on time.

Meditation is exactly like this. Just as you cannot empty the highway full of vehicles, because you are in a hurry to reach office, you cannot empty the highway of your consciousness of all thoughts, emotions, beliefs, worries, opinions, desires, memories etc. some of which are even very familiar to you, just because you want to get to the destination of your inner peace.

Let all of these, like the vehicles, come and go, but all you have to do is avoid them and focus on reaching your destination on time. It's as if, by the way you are driving, your body language, in this case the subtle energy of your determined thought, word has spread through the highway of your consciousness that you will not be sparing a second to even glance at any one of these on your way.

If with a momentary loss of self-awareness, you do start giving attention to them, and you get lost in one of them, remind yourself subconsciously, "I am on my way back to the destination of peace, peace that I am." This will help you regain your focus and before you know it, you will realize you have arrived; you will experience your destination i.e. the peace within, and will completely believe that you are that. And it will be the most blissful experience that you have felt in a very long time.

Soul Sustenance

Important Understandings on Reincarnation (Part 3)

6. The world's population is increasing at such a rapid rate, indicating that the souls already here are taking rebirth and also that there are new ones coming down continuously from the soul world.

7. If one believed that one will receive the fruit of one's actions, if not in this birth, but in another one, a person would surely feel less inclined to perform negative actions.

8. Without reincarnation, it is impossible to explain how every soul has reached its present peaceless state. Thousands of sins have been performed by each soul in its past births under the influence of the five vices – lust, anger, greed, ego and attachment. Due to this, sanskars of those vices have accumulated over the soul. The burden of these sanskars weighs heavily on the soul and causes it unhappiness in the present. The present cycle of birth and rebirth is fast approaching its end. It is precisely at this time that the Supreme Soul can relieve us from this burden.

Message for the day

Cooperation brings easy success.

Expression: To work together is to allow the specialities of each and every individual to be contributed in the task to be done. There is an ability to appreciate others and their contribution. There is no ego of one's own specialities but a true and natural appreciation of everyone around. So there is success for the task and for the person too.

Experience: Whenever I am involved with others in doing something, the task is important in itself but when I understand the importance of cooperation I am able to recognise the specialities of each and every individual. I am able to have faith in the other person to make his own contribution and I give the space for him to do so. 

Contemplation: The Way

Contemplation: The Way

 

Lombard Street, San Francisco, the most crooked street in the world

The Way

If things are not turning out right, even when you feel you are doing all the right things, then just consider it to be the way to make you strong.

Habits

The more we work with a habit the more it will be strengthened. When
we hold on to old habits because of our rigidity, we will never be able
to change them but will only be strengthening them all the more. On
the other hand if we have the aim of adapting to the situation and
create a new pattern of behavior we will be able to give up unwanted
habits very easily.

Reaching The Destination Of Peace On Time

The objective of meditation has always been reaching the destination of inner peace. The process of meditation is like a journey to that destination, which many human souls have undertaken since thousands of years. After a life and in fact many lifetimes of indulging in habits of anger, fear, ego, sorrow, jealousy, hatred, greed etc. all of which blocked our access to this inner pure emotion and made us believe that these are normal emotions, believing completely that our true nature is peaceful, which is an experience opposite to all these; might seem difficult at first.

Only our own experience can lead to a change in our deeply held beliefs, which then makes it easy for us to incorporate peace as an integral part of our personality.

As you dive into you own consciousness, with the objective of searching for and reaching your subtle destination of inner peace, you will encounter some distractions in your journey. Some of the most important of such distractions include:

* thoughts in the form of negative memories of the past; over-thinking about the present scenes and day-to-day actions in your life; desires, worries and unnecessary thinking related to the future, waste thinking about the natures and actions of people whom we come into contact with the most, etc.

* the inner, subtle voices of the many incorrect beliefs, which we have picked up from people by whom we have been surrounded since we were small;

* thoughts and emotions related to deep habits of identifying with and getting attached to things we are not, like the physical body, material possessions, people, our role in society, money, places, opinions or viewpoints, hobbies or interests etc.

Soul Sustenance

Important Understandings on Reincarnation (Part 2) 

5. Each time a soul leaves an old body and takes a new birth, it carries its sanskars from the old birth into the new one. Other sanskars that can be present in the new body (apart from the ones from the previous birth) are: 

·                sanskars from parents

·                 

·                sanskars accumulated during the new birth e.g. from siblings (brothers or sisters) or from friends, also those picked up during education and more

·                 

·                sanskars of will power (the ability to bring about changes in the self using will power)

·                 

·                original sanskars of peace, love, purity, bliss, joy and power (the ones that were present in the soul when it first came down from the soul world into the physical world to play its part)

·                 

Out of these five types of sanskars, in each soul, the sanskars that are visible at different stages of life are varied e.g. in some soul, sanskars may be completely different from the ones the parents possess, because the sanskars from the previous birth are more visible; in another soul, sanskars of will power may be intense, the soul may have brought about a lot of transformation in its personality since the time it was born; in a third soul sanskars from parents and friends may be most visible; in another soul, practicing meditation, original sanskars may be more visible, etc.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day

To remain in peace is to give support to those around.

Expression: If there is inner peace even when there is negativity all around, there is the ability to give support to those around. The biggest service that one can do is to give this support to those in need during challenging times. The one who remains in peace even in chaotic conditions becomes an example also.

Experience: When I am able to maintain my own inner state of calm under all circumstances, I am able to learn from everything that happens. I am able to bring benefit for those around me because of the vibrations of positivity that I am able to spread. I become a source of inspiration and support for all those in need. 

Contemplation: Good Wishes

Contemplation: Good Wishes

 

Tulip Fields, Amsterdam, Netherlands

By planting seeds of peace deep in the heart, you create a garden of good wishes.

Adjusting

Each day we face new situations - nothing remains the same. When we
learn to adapt we are happy, whatever the situation may be. If we don't
think too much we are able to experience the pleasure of adjusting
ourselves. Where we have a rigid nature, we will not be happy. When
things change demanding us to adapt and adjust, we need to make sure
that we enjoy that too. We need not ask what happened or why it
happened, but just enjoy the change which has something new to teach.

Negative Control And Positive Influence

The power of influence in relationships is extraordinary, but it practically disappears when we try to exercise control and force.

You can influence anyone positively in many ways:
* encouraging,
* sharing,
* listening,
* communicating in the right way.

In 'negative control' we generate stress, frustration and anger. In 'positive influence' the energy flows in a relaxed way with harmony and is not threatening, respecting each one for their specialty and allowing each one to be as they are.

In order to influence positively we need the power of discrimination and judgement in relation to what to say and what to do e.g. when you believe that the other person is the problem; generally the problem is not what others say or do, but rather how you perceive them.

The way that you judge is what creates your negative feelings about them. We have the choice to perceive others as a threat, as a problem, or as an opportunity; an opportunity for learning, for change, for dialogue and understanding. We can choose to have compassion (kindness); to feel that the other is a problem indicates a lack of compassion.

Soul Sustenance

Important Understandings on Reincarnation (Part 1) 

1. The soul has a separate identity from any of the bodies it adopts.

2. The human soul does not take a birth/body of any animal species, just as a lemon seed does not grow into a mango tree. The human soul always takes a human body e.g. if the soul of a cow was to take the birth of a human, wouldn’t it carrysanskars of performing all actions like a cow into its human birth – how would it then function through the human body.

3. The various lives or births of a soul are like different episodes of a television serial, all different, yet connected with each other.

4. The cycle of action and reaction is never-ending. The soul must continue to play its entire role until all it has received the fruits for all its actions. This may require more than one body.

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day

To finish excuses is to take up full responsibility.

Expression: To take up responsibility means to be ready to bear the consequences of the action done. The one who is responsible will never give excuses, but will be able to take the responsibility of correcting the situation. Under all circumstances, such a person will be able to give his best without situations hindering his output.

Experience: When I am responsible, it is not important for me why a mistake happened, but it is more important for me to find a method so that I am able to rectify what has gone wrong.  So when I am responsible I am neither worried nor concerned too much for whatever has happened.  On the other hand I am able work with lightness to improve the situation. 

Contemplation: Creative Life

Contemplation: Creative Life

Creative Life

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.

Fulfilling  Responsibilities

While fulfilling our responsibilities we need not feel heavy but need
to be light within. This lightness will be reflected in our thoughts,
speech, actions and relationships which will be light too. We will then
be able to mould ourselves according to the situation. When we take up
any responsibility, we need to remind ourselves that we have taken on this
responsibility and we will fulfill it to the best of our ability. We
will do our best but will be prepared for whatever outcome it brings.
We can then be able to adapt to the variety of situations that life
brings.

The Step Of Donation In Silence

Donating is the final step of silence. We have filled the self with a particular quality and it starts flowing out of us. We allow this quality to touch the atmosphere around us and consciously donate this vibration to the world, enabling those in need to feel it and to absorb it.

This is the ultimate step of a true meditator, often referred to as the lighthouse stage. A lighthouse stands still and stable in one position in the rough sea and beams the light all around so that ships are shown the way. We are able to bring an original quality of the self into our consciousness, fill our self with it and then, very naturally, let it radiate from the mind.

One of the most important aspects in this step of silence is the link with the Supreme Energy. We make this link with the Supreme Source, we absorb from that Source, we fill the self from that Source and then donate all that the Source has given us.

This is called angelic or instrument consciousness. It is said that an angel is a human soul who has fallen so deeply in love with that Source of Light that it has transformed completely. It is totally filled with Light and Peace and its task is only to serve, to share Divine Love and Peace with others.

Soul Sustenance

Playing My Part as a Hero Actor (Part 3) 

In yesterday’s message we had discussed how some of us believe that our life script has been written by God and we do not play any role in the same. In this regard, it is very important to state that respecting, thanking and remembering God in good as well as bad times is obviously very very good and the right karma but submitting ourselves blindly to God’s will is an inactive response which prevents each of us from using our free will to make any choice at any moment and shape our future. 

While there is a master plan which is being played out on the stage of the world, a part of the plan is that we each have free will and an opportunity to decide our actions and responses. We need to realize that each one of us possesses an intellect, which absorbs the capacity to discriminate right from wrong, good from bad, from God and decides how to act on the world stage. 

In this regard, there are two aspects. The first aspect is – God writes my life script completely for me without me playing any role in the same. The other aspect is - I perform actions and create my responses, based on God’s knowledge of good and bad karmas which he has given me, so as to shape my destiny and write my life script accordingly. There is a fine difference between these two aspects, the second aspect being the correct one. This knowledge given to me by God is stored in my intellect; I am the master of it and can decide how to use it to play my part. 

Message for the day

To be strong is to be free from the influence of the body. 

Expression: To allow the body to influence the mind is to be doubly ill. The one who allows himself to be doubly ill is not able to deal with the illness of the body. On the other hand, the one who is powerful in the mind is able to maintain the inner strength in spite of the disease and so has the power to put in effort to finish it. 

Experience: Instead of being conscious of the disease of the body, all I need to do is to maintain the consciousness of being powerful internally. Then I would not be afraid of the disease of the body but will have the courage to deal with it. I am able to see the disease as something temporary and will soon find myself rid of the illness, as I am powerful within. 

Contemplation:Never Give Up

Contemplation:Never Give Up

Never Give Up

Even when others are at their lowest ebb, it is possible to help them restore their self-belief by keeping a firm, clear vision of their goodness and specialities. Taking a gently encouraging approach, I must never give up on anyone.

Attractive Soul

People spend a lot of time and energy developing their bodies and
making it attractive for other people, but, is there ever a thought of
developing the soul and making it attractive for God?  The body is a
physical matter, which will change, age and die. If you have a
beautiful body today there is no guarantee that it will remain as such
in the future. The soul is an eternal, immortal point of spiritual
light. Within the soul there are impressions that form my personality.
If I take steps to develop and feed it with spiritual knowledge, my
character, my personality will become rich and beautiful. Developing
the soul allows us to have full control of the power of thought. The
quality of our thoughts determine our own personal degree of happiness.

The Law of Self Control

The more control we have over ourselves and our lives, the happier and freer we will feel.

We sometimes get angry with other people. Why does this happen? It is probably because they have not met our expectations or we were trying to control them and they have not let us. Sometimes, the simple expectation that a person should behave as we want them to is in itself an attempt to control them. When we try to control another person, which is impossible, we are bound to fail, feel frustrated and stressed.

We are capable of having power over ourselves; we can be more responsible for our thoughts and feelings. We have the capacity to choose how we respond to different situations and people that we come across in our lives. If we do not exercise much control over our thoughts and emotions, we easily fall into the tendency of seeing ourselves as victimized, and we blame others, making them responsible in our own minds for how we feel. When we do this, we are forgetting that we create our own thoughts. When this happens, we are handing over the control of our thoughts to those who influence, criticize, attack or slander us.

If we want to recover the control over our life, we must learn to control our thoughts and feelings and not blame anyone else for them. The more self-control we have over ourselves, the less will we want to control others and our capacity to influence other people positively will be greater.

Soul Sustenance

Playing My Part as a Hero Actor (Part 2) 

In yesterday’s message we had discussed how we possess the potential in our hands to write the scripts of our lives, our destinies. Some of us do not like this idea because we have been taught since we were small that life is all about luck, but this incorrect belief does not let us realize the immense internal power or potential that we possess of shaping up our destiny, our future. 

By resigning ourselves to a life of luck, we do not use our potential and conveniently avoid doing the inner work of becoming awake and aware of who we are as spiritual beings and the masters of our own destiny. This is why waking up from the sleep of this wrong belief is the first step towards empowering ourselves, towards taking responsibility for our life, for our present, our future. 

Also there are some of us who hold the belief that the course taken by each one of our lives is not written by luck but is decided by God, so it is egoistic on our part if we believe that we can write our own scripts, interfering with the plan that God has in his mind for us. So in times of challenges in our lives, although it is not wrong to pray to God at those times, we commonly use words like ‘if God would like it, I shall overcome this obstacle or I will be successful in this particular task or my health will get okay or I will pass this exam etc.’

In times of happiness, although it’s not wrong to thank God at those times, we completely submit ourselves to God’s will, thinking that it is he and he alone responsible for what good that is happening in my life. In the case of the sorrow we forget that although God can help us to some extent, whether we will surpass the sorrow or not is very largely dependent on our past actions which are influencing the present situation. In the case of the happiness, we forget that though God’s blessings do help and work, our past actions are a very important dominant factor which is creating situations of positivity in our present lives. 

Message for the day

To have knowledge means to remain cheerful. 

Expression: The one who has the right understanding based on accurate knowledge is the one who is able to remain content even during difficult situations. Since there is a clear understanding about situations and the people around, there is no difficulty in giving the best under all circumstances. Such a person uses all challenges to enrich his own capabilities. 

Experience: When I am able to use knowledge as a weapon in a positive way, I am able to understand everything that happens. I understand that there is a reason for whatever happens and there is something to learn from every situation. So I am not upset with the varied situations I am faced with, but am able to remain cheerful enjoying everything that comes my way. 

Contemplation:Radiate Light

Contemplation:Radiate Light

 

Crepuscular rays

Radiate Light

Each one of us is a walking radiator. Mostly we radiate thoughts and attitudes. From deep within we radiate our state of being, and the essential, original and eternal state of every being is peaceful and loving. But we block and distort this energy with our attachments. Attachments turn love into fear, peace into anger and then distort our attitudes and actions towards others. This is neither relaxing for ourselves, or for those around us. Which is why detachment is the secret to living lightly and lovingly. To be a radiator that people come to for real warmth, what do you need to detach from today? If you don't detach then you will stay attached, and then you will see others and life itself as a threat, and your tension will keep them away. But they cannot threaten you. Only your dependency on a thing, or an idea, or an opinion can be threatened.
relax7

Consciousness

There are two different basic levels of consciousness; I am a body (which is illusory (false)) or I am a soul, (which is real). When the feeling is I am a body, the thought process is trapped in the limitations, problems and vision of the physical identity. Its reaction to others is on the same level.

Given below is an awareness-thought-decision-action-result cycle in the case of a typical father-son relationship. You will notice the difference consciousness can make to the cycle.

Awareness
Body Consciousness: I am the father. I know the most.
Soul Consciousness: I am a soul. My natural state is love and peace.

Thought
Body Consciousness: My son should listen to me as he is my own flesh and blood.
Soul Consciousness: My son is a soul too. As a soul he is my brother.

Decision
Body Consciousness: I will teach him a lesson.
Soul Consciousness: I will respect his idea also.

Action
Body Consciousness: Father argues with son.
Soul Consciousness: Father and son discuss with respect.

Result
Body Consciousness: Ill feeling between father and son.
Soul Consciousness: Respect maintained.

Strength

When we think of our weaknesses as 'our' nature, we will feel bound by
them. When there is the feeling of 'mine' there is a feeling of
belonging, and naturally we feel a right to use that weakness. When we
work with any weakness we will not be able to experience freedom. When
we are confronted with our weakness, we need to develop the
consciousness that we are the master, this weakness is not ours and we
don't come under the influence of that which we have taken on from
outside. We need to understand that our nature is not that of weakness,
but of strength. Practicing in this way enables us to become free from
the bondage of the weakness.

Soul Sustenance

Playing My Part As A Hero Actor (Part 1) 

While just as beings we reside in the soul world, as human beings we play our many roles through many physical bodies in this beautiful world drama on this amazing, colorful and round stage called planet Earth. Each day is filled with multi-million scenes in different locations on this very big stage. Some scenes are directly related to us, some indirectly and a lot many aren’t related at all. Each scene that we are directly involved is an opportunity to not only play our role in the best possible way but also as a result shape the role in the most appropriate way possible. Therefore, we are all hero actors who by playing our roles as well as possible, create the script of our own life i.e. create our own destiny.

Do remember doing this has a positive influence on others’ scripts also, which rebounds back to us and in return helps us in our making our scripts better. While we have been given a role to live the entire birth right from childhood to old age, we possess the power, the remote control to dictate and control as to how exactly we will live the day, the year and each year of our present birth, our present role.

Each day offers us multiple options as to not only how we act but also how we respond to the world around us and our script or destiny gets shaped up according to the options we make. Our destiny is decided not by what happens to us or around us, but by (i) how we act (sometimes the actions are responses to external events and sometimes they are not) and (ii) how we respond to a million events and circumstances which we encounter as we make this complete journey of life.

Message for the day

Even the impossible becomes possible with determination and there is sure success. 

Expression: The one who is determined is the one who never gives up in adverse situations.  He is able to use all the challenges as a means for self-progress.  He is never deterred with situations which seem difficult to handle, but is able to creatively bring out new ideas that help him to cross over the obstacles with ease.

Experience: Determination brings confidence in me and in my ability to achieve what I set out to achieve.  I am able to remain confident and sure of my own success.  This confidence gives me the encouragement not to let go half way through, but to do something till the end.  With each obstacle that comes my way that seems to deter me from my path, I find myself improving and progressing, making myself better and better.  So I am able to experience success constantly.