Contemplation:Practice Gratitude

Contemplation:Practice Gratitude

 

Swallow's Nest Castle, Yalta, Ukraine

Practice Gratitude

The intention and the action of gratitude is the inner symphony of the heart. It opens to sing with thanks for the smallest of things. To hear a bird sing, to see a child laugh, to receive a friend's affection - are all invitations to practise the attitude of gratitude. Gratitude is the kind of loving thanks which touches another's heart in a place where they will allow you to reside for a long time.

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Consider yourself on the world stage and your every act will become special.

Check all the actions that you perform throughout the day. Are your actions such that others will be inspired by you or are they just wasteful and ordinary? Make the practice firm, " I am on this world stage, each and every action that I perform is being watched by many and will inspire them." when you have this practice you will have attention on your actions and they will become special.

Anger Management And Prevention

As you increase your self-awareness, you will also see how your anger begins with a moment of irritation towards a person or situation. If you then give attention to that irritation by replaying or revising the event in your mind, which is like giving water to a plant, it will grow into frustration. And if you water the frustration, it will grow into anger, which, in turn, will develop into rage.

Don't suppress and don't express your anger. What's left? Transform (change). The transformation of anger requires you to realize the root cause of your emotional pain. The realization comes by understanding deeply the self or the soul. When you see the cause it gives you a choice a) to stop creating it or b) continue creating it. Unfortunately, although many see why they cause their own anger and acknowledge responsibility for their creation, they continue to keep getting angry. They find many ways of justifying their anger. They have an 'anger addiction'. They are angerholics.

Are you ready to see the root cause? Do you want to make new choices? Isn't it time to break your emotional addiction?

Soul Sustenance 

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.

Message for the day 

To be obedient to God means to have a right to His inheritance.

Projection: We sometimes find ourselves feeling low and unenthusiastic. We tend to blame the situations and the people around which makes us feel even more dull. At such times we expect and seek God's help and power but experience no help from him.

Solution: We need to realise that we don't have to ask God for power or blessings but have a right to them. Before we perform any task we need to ask ourselves if God will like what we are doing. If we do everything according to God's wishes that means we are obedient. Such obedience will get us the inheritance of peace and happiness from God.

Contemplation: Talking to the Self

Contemplation: Talking to the Self

Talking to the Self

When you talk to yourself in your mind, which self do you address? And how? Usually people do not talk to their divinity, but to the most superficial aspects of their everyday personality. And often its a stream of fears, complaints and mindless repetition of old things. If we talked that way to another human being, we would have to apologise. Learning to talk properly to the self is a spiritual endeavour. Thoughts from the past and worries about the future do not create good conversation. Instead learn to talk to your mind as if it were a child. Talk to it with love. If you just force a child to sit down, he won't. A good mother knows how to prompt her child into doing what she wants. Be a good mother to your mind, teach it good, positive thoughts so that when you tell it to sit quietly, it will. Love your mind. Stay happy.

The method for easy progress is to claim the blessings of all.

Sometimes we find ourselves making a lot of effort and putting in a

lot of energy for getting something done. Yet we find that the results

are not according to the efforts that we have put in. We then begin to

wonder it happens so. To be able to give happiness to those around is

to increase the speed of my progress. For this I need to pay special

attention to keep giving happiness and not giving sorrow to those

around me. This brings me their blessings and these subtle wishes

bring me happiness and success easily.

Seeing Yourself In A Positive Light 

Sit down in silence, relax, breathe deeply and create a space within you... Now feel yourself looking at your inner being, with your third eye, in a different light... Instead of focusing on your weaknesses, failures, what you lack inside, what is lacking in your life, look out for what beautiful treasures, your qualities, specialties, talents, etc. you have inside you, look at the positive aspects of your life and bring them into your conscious awareness... Becoming 'self-aware' in this way, realize, you have so much to offer, so much to give to others...

Now, create a beautiful image of yourself where you see yourself as free... free of negative feelings for yourself and others, with a pure heart and a peaceful mind... Feel and see your inner greatness, discover that you are special and unique... Come back to being your own friend... Love yourself, accept yourself and respect yourself... Appreciate and value the qualities of others...

Feel fine being yourself, in that space, in that room that there is within you, where you are secure and safe, where you can enjoy the marvelous thing that is your own company, the company of a positive being...

Be awake and full of life... you are happy... at peace... feeling peace... sharing peace... feeling free... Having seen yourself in a positive light, prepare yourself to enter into action, maintaining your stage of self-esteem...

Soul Sustenance

Emotional Joy And Emotional Sorrow

We commonly become emotional, either in times of sorrow e.g. at being separated from a loved one, at experiencing failure in an external event, on hearing a negative news, etc. or in times of joy e.g. when our child or spouse or even pet performs a warm act, while watching a movie, etc. While we have always believed that it is absolutely normal or natural to become emotional and some of us even believe that it is good to let go of our emotions and crying once in a while makes us lighter and stronger; on a spiritual level, becoming emotional comes under the realm of dependencies and dependencies always weaken us. This is because when we become emotional, instead of influencing our self on our own, we allow something or someone outside our self to influence us. We bring that something or someone or some event outside our self, inside, in front of the eye of our mind, attach our self to it, and lose our self in it i.e. we let the image hijack our internal world in a way, as we become subservient to it. As a result our thoughts, feelings, emotions, words, actions are influenced in a big way by the image. This is a spiritual definition of becoming emotional. Passing on the remote control of my internal world to the outer world in this way is a sign of a not so strong internal self.

So what does one do instead? Instead of creating images of external events and people inside our minds and being influenced by them, we still watch these scenes, but instead of losing our self in them and taking from them, we contribute to them by giving them our internal energy, but at the same time make sure that while doing that, we are detached from them and not over-involved emotionally. Internal energy is given in the form of appreciation and love if it’s a positive scene and power, compassion and co-operation if it’s a negative scene, so as to help the scene to be corrected or resurrected. This is influencing instead of being influenced. This is a more empowering experience. In this way we regain the control over our inner world and rise above such emotional dependencies.

Message for the day

To be seated on the seat of self-respect is to use virtues in life.

Expression: It usually seems very difficult to use the virtues within us when the people around are not doing so. At such times using negativity seems much easier. In spite of not having that particular weakness predominantly, say of anger, when there is provocation from the outside we tend to react with that weakness.

Experience: In order to free ourselves from weaknesses and work with the virtues within us we need to make sure we are seated on the seat of self-respect. For this we need to recognise and appreciate some speciality within us. When we are in the awareness of this speciality of ours, we will be able to stabilize ourselves in the state of our self-respect. 

Contemplation: Mind Matters

Contemplation: Mind Matters

Mind Matters

The most important part of you is your mind (not your brain - the brain is the hardware and the mind creates the software). Care for your mind, make friends with it, always feed it healthy food, engage it in positive activity, exercise it with knowledge and wisdom. Like a garden returns fragrance and beauty according to the care invested, so your mind will repay you with thoughts, ideas and visions of great beauty when tended and invested with care. Your mind is not made of matter but it does matter what you give it and what you create with it. Where your mind goes, you go. What your mind creates becomes your destiny.

To be free from negative thoughts is to be free from punishment.

Whenever there is a negative situation I tend to react very negatively

to it. I tend to have a lot of negative thoughts and experience a lot

of difficulty at that time. I then begin to blame the situation and

feel that I am facing punishment because of it. I need to understand

the fact that the biggest punishment I experience is through my own

negative thoughts. The more I can free myself from these kind of

negative thoughts I can free myself from experiencing any kind of

punishment.

Unloading Your Pressure Baggage (cont.)

Sometimes the pressure we are carrying is related to the situation we are in, sometimes we even carry a pressure of one situation in another situation i.e. it is unrelated pressure. All this continues throughout the day, day after day. What all this pressure does is increase the quantity of thoughts that we carry in our mind, which in turn reduces our efficiency and discriminating and judging power. The words and actions coming out from such a state of mind are improper and lacking in power, conviction and clarity. To ensure that we do not carry pressure baggage on our emotional back, as per our pressure equation (shared in the first message of this series), we need to change the incorrect beliefs that we carry, which are the root cause of our pressure and at the same time increase our ability to bear the different life forces. We carry thoughts that are determined by our belief of what success is and what failure is, what winning is and what losing is. Although we perceive such beliefs to be true, they are not true; they are like a facade that influence our perception of reality and generate in us feelings of pressure. The truth, on the other hand, is deeper than beliefs.

While meditation will serve as an important tool to increase our inner power to tolerate or resist life forces; spiritual knowledge, understanding and wisdom will serve as an immensely important tool which will help us in correcting our beliefs. So in times of pressure, stopping yourself for a minute and assessing your thoughts, then going backwards, and checking the beliefs which are the root cause of the thoughts at that particular moment and then changing them requires strength and clarity, which we will obtain through the medium of spiritual wisdom. Once the beliefs are corrected, the thought patterns will change. Thoughts like - * Maybe I won't arrive on time, * If I don't finish this assignment successfully, I will lose my next promotion, * If I lose my money in this financial investment, my family will stop appreciating me etc. which we create all the time - will be replaced by more positive thoughts of security, fearlessness, patience, peace, faith, determination, certainty etc.

Soul Sustenance 


The Faculties Of The Soul (cont.)

The intellect is used to assess thoughts. This is the faculty (energy) of the soul used for understanding and decision-making which stands out as the most crucial faculty of the three. With the deepening and broadening of the intellect, clear understanding and realization of knowledge becomes natural, and the power to decide and reason becomes clear. It is the intellect which remembers, discriminates, judges and exercises its power in the form of will-power.

Sanskaras is a Hindi word which best describes what we could call impressions. They are the record of all the soul's past experiences and actions. Sanskaras can take the forms of habits, talents, nature, personality traits, beliefs, values or instincts. Every action performed by a soul either creates a sanskar (this is how a habit begins) or reinforces an old one. Whatever impression is etched in the soul remains within the soul, forming a complete collection of all the experiences that the soul has had. When we speak of defects, specialties or virtues we are referring to the sanskaras. The sanskaras are the basis of the soul's individuality.


Message for the day 

To be a master is to be able to experience freedom.

Projection: Usually whenever things go wrong we find ourselves caught up with our own weaknesses. We give in to them and find ourselves totally bound. This, in turn, makes us feel heavy as we feel helpless. Then we will never be able to overcome them.

Solution: We need to remind ourselves of our own powers and the fact that our weakness is our creation and we are the master. The more we remind ourselves of this, the more we will be able to experience freedom and use these powers.

Contemplation: The Secret Of Good Health

Contemplation: The Secret Of Good Health

The Secret Of Good Health The secret of good health is good nourishment and exercise. We need daily nourishing food and exercise to maintain a healthy body and it takes care and attention to fulfill this responsibility. Making the effort underlines our value and importance as a human being. However, the human spirit needs the same attention in the form of the thoughts we have and how the mind puts them to use. Feeding both body and mind with nourishing food gives a powerful and consistent message to respect and co-operate with one another. This is holistic good health.

To be a master means to experience inner power in a practical way.

Each one has a lot of powers within, which we can use in our daily

life while dealing with practical situations. Knowledge of these

powers is of course there within each one. And along with it there is

an intention to use them too. But during the time when it is necessary

to use them, it becomes difficult to make them practical. So the

powers within are just wasted away. We need to learn the art of using

the right power at the right time. With the recognition of the powers

within us we also need to develop the consciousness of being a master.

As a master we just need to order whatever power we need at that time

and these powers will surely come to serve us. We will then surely be

victorious in all situations.

Unloading Your Pressure Baggage (cont.)

Can we experience freedom only when there is an absence of outside pressure? We feel pressured from many sides. At work, we feel the pressure to do tasks as per fixed guidelines of set systems and within boundaries of time, of keeping up our performance as per others' expectations and as good as our compatriots. In relationships, we feel the pressure of experiencing success in them, of satisfying others and gaining respect from them. In studies, we feel the pressure of having to excel in them, not only because that is instrumental in building our future but because of the desire to be seen in a positive light by others. We feel the pressure of having to earn more and more wealth to satisfy the necessities, comforts and luxuries of the family and to maintain a certain image in society. In the face of problems, we feel pressure when we are not able to solve them quickly or in the way that we want. Failure or its fear, in any sphere of life, generates pressure in us. Sometimes we experience pressure because the mind is not functioning as per our desires or directions or we are not able to transform our negative personality to a positive one as much as we want. When we believe that something harmful can happen if we don't reach our set objectives on time or in a certain manner, we feel pressured. Physical illnesses or their fear can also create pressure for some of us. 

And so life turns into an endless amount of pressure crests, like speed breakers that appear one after the other, unsettling us and not giving us time to relax. When we feel pressured, it seems that the life forces rule our life and we do not feel free. In the long-term, this repetitive habit of creating feelings of pressure and carrying such baggage ends up leaving us exhausted on an emotional and spiritual level.

Soul Sustenance 

The Faculties Of The Soul 

When the soul is in the body it functions through three faculties (non-physical entities). Although each faculty (entity) can be given a different name, it is actually the same energy, the soul, functioning on three different levels simultaneously. These are the mind, the intellect and the sanskaras. 

Mind is the thinking energy of the soul. It is the mind that imagines, thinks and forms ideas. The thought process is the basis of all emotions, desires and sensations. It is through this faculty that, in an instant, thoughts can be projected to a far off place (one can travel to a far off place on the thought level); past experiences and emotions can be relived or even the future anticipated in less than a second. It is the mind that experiences the variations of moods. The mind is an energy of the non-physical soul, not to be confused with the heart or even the brain. 

(To be continued tomorrow …)

Message for the day 

As is our thought, so we will become.

Projection: When we are faced with our weaknesses, we usually think of our own negativity and are caught up with it. We can no longer think positive and we continue to work with our own weaknesses. We will, then, find no improvement in ourselves. 

Solution: We need to create a very elevated thought for ourselves based on any of our strengths or specialities. When we do that we will be able to bring about a positive change in ourselves without being caught up with our own weaknesses.

Contemplation: Bliss

  Contemplation:  Bliss

Bliss

Desires will never end but our sense organs will be worn out. The state of Bliss cannot be experienced by a wandering mind seeking sensuous pleasures. It can be achieved by self-knowledge, self-realisation and meditation with the Supreme.

We live in the age of ‘busy’.

Busy people not only do a lot, they think a lot. Being lost in thought, is not only tiring and a brilliant way of waste energy, it’s as if we have forgotten the very ground of our being which is still and silent. Learn to meditate and turn the

eye of your attention and awareness within, let your mind be quiet and

allow your being to be still.

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Unloading Your Pressure Baggage

On a spiritual level, pressure can be defined as an external force acting on us divided by our ability to bear the force or resist it. Thus, force and resistance capacity are two variants in the equation of pressure. Everyone has different resistance capacities. Two people with different resistance capacities will experience different amounts of pressure on being subjected to the same magnitude of force. A feeling of pressure absorbs our freedom and gives us an experience of being ruled by an external entity. There are a lot of people who hold the belief that they can experience freedom only in the absence of an external force, which is almost impossible, since there is almost some force or the other exerted on the soul by ups and downs that takes place in the role that it plays through the physical body; which includes the physical body itself; profession; family; wealth, all types of relationships, etc. Even our own personality, thoughts, feelings, emotions etc. exert pressure on us at times.

Apart from the resistance capacity, the other variant in the equation of pressure is not only force but our perception of what the magnitude of the force is. This depends primarily on the beliefs that we carry. Two people will perceive the same situation in their role (as explained above) as forces of different magnitudes. While we hold the belief that life events, people and their expectations from us, are the forces that are the causes of our pressure, we will be able to do little to change the habit of being pressurized. It is we who pressurize ourself and allow the outside to pressurize us. We can either go through our life journey while experiencing feelings of being emotionally imprisoned, confused, rushed and hurried, or we can do the same with the power of faith and determination, at the same time remaining patient and maintaining our inner emotional stability. In some cases, some of us put pressure on ourselves, because we carry the belief that a bit of pressure is good in order to achieve what we want; it provides us with positive energy and motivates us. So this is an example of perceiving a force in our life, a force which does not exist. Such kind of pressure can deceive us and give us a feeling of being beneficial in the short term but it can have harmful effects on us in the long term. Some others might not experience this pressure because they do not carry this belief at all and don't invite this force.

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Soul Sustenance

Overcoming The Loss/Separation Of A Loved One (cont.)

How quickly could a person get over the loss of a loved one and begin to feel fine? We have the capacity to do it the same day or the next day. But our beliefs and conditioning, our attachments and lack of will and inner capacity, prevent us from getting better rapidly and feeling fine. Independent of the kind of mourning that you have to go through, it is a matter of preventing your memories from invading your spirit, your mind and your heart. Circumscribe them, limit them and put them in their place: in the past. Yesterday has already passed.

On the level of action, now, in the present, use your time, your talents and your thoughts for creative tasks. Help your friends and other close ones. It will help you to come out of your aloneness and to relate. Share, dialogue and involve yourself in serving. With respect to your accumulated experiences, meditate to gain mastery in managing your memories. Clean out the cupboards of your inner self, so that the stored memories do not cause upsets, interference or suffering in the present moment. Meditate to accept and let go. Give thanks to the past. Learn from it. But now let go and free yourself. Live this moment in wholeness. It depends on you to create the right thought for it to be like that.


Message for the day 


Where the mind is free from worry, the biggest task becomes light.

Projection: We sometimes find ourselves in such situations, which make our mind heavy. We are not able to work well in such a situation, as the smallest thing need to be done seems very big and difficult.

Solution: We need to learn the art of looking at the brighter side of things, because even the most negative thing has something positive in it. When we develop this art we will be able to be light and give our best to the task at hand. Then even the most difficult task will seem very easy.

Contemplation: Getting on with it...

  Contemplation:  Getting on with it...

Getting on with it...

Worrying about how everything will get done or whether I am capable of doing it limits my ability to respond to challenges considerably. The less I think about doing something and the faster I just get on with it, the fewer problems I cause myself. Good planning is always helpful, but time spent fretting and procrastinating is a major drain on my energy. The more willing I am to respond positively to opportunities, the more my capacity will grow.

It takes more energy to hate or hurt than it does to forgive.

Forgiveness doesn't mean minimising, justifying or excusing the
wrong. Forgiveness is a powerful choice that helps you to release
your hurt feelings, move on and move forward.

Spiritual Vision

A simple definition of spiritual vision is that I see the best in others. A parameter of proving to myself that I have a spiritual vision and I am seeing the best in others is that I naturally thank and praise rather than criticize those with whom I interact at home or at the workplace on a daily basis - even though I may see obvious negative characteristics in them and experience negative behavior from them. Keep a daily chart of the three points, for three people close to you, below for one week. Every night, fill this chart up for the day that's just gone by.

1. Name of person and relationship
2. How did I thank or praise him/her?
3. What was this person's response?

Remember that although you may be constantly positive with others, constantly seeing their original spiritual qualities, it may take time for your positive energy to transform them and for them to start transmitting positive energy back to you and start behaving positively with you. At the end of the week, check what benefits did you and others experience from this exercise.

Soul Sustenance 


Overcoming The Loss/Separation Of A Loved One (cont.)

In mourning, regret or remorse may emerge. Let's look at some feelings that are born in relation to these questions:

* Did I do everything I should have?
* Could I have avoided it?
* Did I tell them everything I had to tell them?
* Did I give them everything that they needed?
* Was I there when they needed me?

These questions converge into a feeling where sometimes one feels responsible for the death of the other. It is a mourning difficult to overcome. What is required is an inner control that does not allow these questions and their answers to go on for a long time. If we don't achieve this capacity we fall into a regret for what might have been and was not, and the present escapes before our very eyes.

Mourning in relation to the separation from someone with whom you have shared moments of beauty and wholeness, of love, requires an effort of peaceful acceptance. Not to remain trapped in feelings of guilt, bitterness or hate, given that these feelings take us in a past that is no longer alive except in our consciousness, because we don't allow it to die. The images and memories of experiences of the past emerge again and again onto the screen of the mind, causing different kinds of feelings that range from sadness to frustration.

Tomorrow we shall explain some simple ways to get over the loss of a loved one.


Message for the day 


Words are effective when they are short and sweet.

Projection: Many times we find that although we say the right thing to others, it has no effect on them. We, then, begin to blame them and feel that they are not listening to us. But the words spoken with such an attitude do not have any effect on others.

Solution: When we speak to others esp. in a delicate situation we need to make sure that our words are filled with love. When we talk with love, our words will be filled with sweetness and we naturally speak only to the extent necessary. Then whatever we say will have its effect on others.

Contemplation: An Angel's Face

Contemplation: An Angel's Face


 

An Angel's Face An angel's face is still because there are no lies inside. Truth makes it a straight, simple face whose beauty lies not in its form but in the feeling it gives you.

Where there is peace there is patience.

My usual reactions to the stimuli around me are programmed, so I tend
to be impulsive or react quickly to situations, I don't give myself
time to think or understand. Because of this lack of patience I lose
out on many things and I don't realise that I am losing out too. At
all times I need to make a conscious effort to keep my mind peaceful
and calm, more so when there is a difficult situation. With this state
of mind I am able to deal with situations patiently because peace
brings power which in turn brings patience.

Taming (Conquering) The Mind 

In ancient times, the mind was understood to be extremely difficult to control. It was said to be like the wind: you could never catch it, or hold it - it went where it wished and no human being could become its master. In other instances, it was said that the mind was like an elephant: extremely powerful but equally gentle and patient, able to do a lot of work for its master. However, when an elephant turns wild, its gentleness and patience completely disappear and it destroys and damages everything in its path. When the mind is under stress, it resembles a wild elephant; it has no control and cannot be controlled.

Taming the mind is regarded as a great art requiring time, attention, practice and, above all, a sincerity of heart where individuals truly want to change their way of thinking. To relax, to be positive, to be peaceful and kind all require a change in our thought patterns and this can only happen when we look deeply within. However hard they try, other people cannot change us; we must have personal realization and the desire to make changes through our own effort. Permanent and positive change cannot be imposed from outside; it is something that we choose.

Soul Sustenance 


Overcoming The Loss/Separation Of A Loved One

Living trapped in the memory of a loved one who left us, or in the memory of a situation that no longer exists, or in the memory of someone who is alive but who we no longer see (since we have physically separated), does not allow us to enjoy the present moment with freedom.

What is required during the mourning period is the capacity to make peace with the memories recorded in our consciousness. It is to reach a point where these memories do not upset us or cause us pain. It is to acknowledge that the memory of what was and no longer is, no longer generates desires, dissatisfaction, frustration or sadness.

You don't get over the mourning of a loved one or a lost child, because you allow the memory to continue alive, in a way that it invades the consciousness and imprisons the soul. The memory suffocates the present; there exists a desire to relive a past that no longer has the possibility of existing.

Tomorrow, we shall look at some at the questions that arise in the mind in a mourning period.

Message for the day 


When the mind is healthy the body is healthy too.

Projection: When we have some difficulty with our body, we usually find our mind becoming dull, too. When the mind becomes dull we no longer can fight the sickness. It, thus, takes a long time to get well and the time during the sickness seems long and painful.

Solution: We need to make sure we keep our mind happy under all circumstances. Where the mind is healthy no illness will attack us. Even when we fall sick we will be able to be stable which will help us to fight back and overcome the illness very soon.