Contemplation: A Game

Contemplation: A Game

Photo Matt Hutton:  Surfing with Dolphins, Kalbarri, Australia

A Game

By seeing life as a game, your lightness of spirit will make problems seem easier.

To forgive the self is to have the ability to forgive others too.

I sometimes find it very difficult to forgive the mistakes committed
by others. I do try to understand but am not able to understand the
other person's behaviour and so find it difficult to forgive them.
When I have love for myself and am able to learn from all that
happens, I am able to forgive myself. When I know to do this, I can
understand the other person too from his perspective and can easily
forgive him.

Soul Sustenance

Serving Though The Subtle Body Of Light

Apart from our physical form (body), each one of us also has a form of light -a subtle light body. It is referred to as the aura, and can be 'seen' by some sensitive souls. All of us might not be able to ‘see’ it, but we can become‘aware’ of the aura of others’ through the vibrations they emit. The purity of our subtle, light form is dependent on the purity of our thoughts or mental vibrations. Given below are some thoughts for a meditation to help experience your subtle form and serve through it. Think and visualize each thought alongside:

I become detached from my physical surroundings... I consciously create only the purest thoughts... Now I visualize my true form… I am a subtle being of pure spiritual light, a sparkling star situated at the center of the forehead... Gradually, I become aware of my subtle body of pure, white light surrounding rny physical form... In my body of light, I, the soul, the sparkling energy, consciously stand up and step away from my physical form, which remains seated... I, the soul, inside my subtle body, observe my physical body in a detached way… Now I slowly fly outside the room I am in… I visualize myself, in the subtle form, suspended in the sky… White rays of spiritual light radiate from me, the soul, and my body of light into the world... like that of an angel… In this pure awareness of myself in my form of light, I realize that the greatest gifts I can share with those around me are the light of love, peace and truth.

Sitting anywhere, this meditation exercise can be done to visualize oneself in a hospital, on the site of a natural calamity, accident, next to a friend or relative in pain etc., basically anywhere where vibrations of positivity, peace and happiness are required – the location of visualizing yourself can be hundreds of miles from where you may physically be. As you practice the art of being aware of your subtle body, you will begin to sense how you can have a positive effect on others simply radiating good wishes, pure thoughts and pure feelings.

Message for the day

To take a vow means to guarantee transformation

Projection: When we decide to bring about a change in some aspect we sometimes work hard in the beginning with commitment and sincerity and slowly find our enthusiasm lessening. So we give up before we could really bring about any change.

Solution: Just as the one who takes a vow never breaks it, we too need to take the vow to transform. Whatever obstacles come our way, our special attention has to be not to break the vow. Then we will not stop when obstacles come our way.

Contemplation: Resist Not

Contemplation:  Resist Not

Resist Not

Have you ever noticed that resistance leads to persistence. And behind all resistance is self-created fear. The only way to relax and stay relaxed is acceptance. You don't have to agree, or follow, or condone, but acceptance means you begin any interaction with a serenity which invites others to engage with you. And out of engagement comes the satisfaction of creative expression and an enriching relationship. That's relaxation in action! 

The way to bring transformation in others is to have mercy for them.

Inspite of wanting to bring about a positive change in people and
working towards it, I rarely find that kind of change that I expect.
People continue to display their old patterns of behaviour and finally
I end up only feeling disappointed or frustrated. Real change can come
in people only when I am able to have a vision of mercy for them. With
mercy I am able to perceive and bring out the best in people without
actually being caught up with expectations. Once I am able to see the
positive qualities I am able to encourage them to use these qualities.

Soul Sustenance

Checking Myself On The Stage Of Action

Once we become aware of the possible types of thoughts that the mind creates at different times in the span of a particular day, then we are in a position to keep a check on our thoughts and understand where our energy is being wasted. Once we realize that there are patterns of waste and negative thinking at some times during the day, which are usually triggered by certain situations or people, we can apply a brake on the pattern of habitual negative thinking, thereby transforming this energy wastage into something more positive.

It does happen, that when we are informed about the benefits of meditation for the first time, perhaps in a course or a presentation either in the office, in a center of a spiritual organization or elsewhere; we realize the need for the same but we also feel that, in order to get the house of our minds in order, we need to leave our busy city lifestyles behind and head for the hills. There, we think, we will find the time and the physical and spiritual environment to practice meditation and get our mental state in order, but this is absolutely untrue. While going on an occasional spiritual retreat is certainly useful and recommended for the development of the spiritual self, the real workshop is life itself. Even if I am able to maintain a positive and powerful state of mind in a retreat, it is in our daily actions and relationships with others where the challenge lies, it is on the stage of action or ‘karma kshetra’ that we have to check whether we can remain soul-conscious i.e. in the awareness of our spiritual identity. It is here where we have to see whether we can apply the brakes on patterns of negative thinking, establish and maintain patterns of positive thinking and test whether we have reached the stage where, no person or situation, however negative, can disturb our state of mind.

Message for the day

Perfection comes to the one who is open to learning.

Projection: When we realize having made a mistake, we usually have negative thoughts about ourselves. This is because we expect the best out of ourselves, i.e., we expect ourselves to be perfect in everything we do. But this expectation prevents us from taking naturally the learning from the situation.

Solution: We need to realize that perfection does not come by thinking about it but by being busy in whatever we are doing. With every action of ours comes learning and this automatically brings perfection

Contemplation: Humility

Contemplation: Humility

Humility

Humility puts a hand out to nothing extra, but simply takes what's there. Whether that be food or clothing or understanding. Sometimes there is a lot available and sometimes only a little. It doesn't matter. Even when you understand nothing, there is no worry, for in humility there is the trust that if a person feels themselves to be a child of God, everything will come anyway at the right time

Time Management

We all know the value of delegating (sharing one’s work load with
others). It is a way of empowering others, of giving others the
opportunity to learn, grow and take responsibility. But why don't we
do it more? Why do some people hardly ever delegate at all? For some
it is the thought they do not trust others, or a particular person, to
do a particular task. But underlying that is often the feeling that "I
am the only one who knows how to do this". Underneath that thought is
another thought, "If I don't do this I may well lose my position as
the one who does this task, and therefore lose some of my power". And
the deepest reason why we don't delegate is that we identify with the
task. It is as if we are the task, and to lose the task, or for
someone else to do the task, is to experience losing a part of
ourselves and therefore experience sorrow and sadness.

Soul Sustenance

Resisting False Attractions In Actions

All that glitters (shines) is not gold. Life presents you with many illusionary scenes, scenes in which what may be visible may not be the truth. These scenes cause desires to be born inside you to achieve something unnecessary for your prosperity or other types of fulfillments. These can be illusions that make you believe that you will gain something from a situation or person, without the same being true. Thus, you waste time going down a path that not only leads you to disappointment; but you also waste the resource of your thoughts and energy and as a result you tire yourself out emotionally and mentally.

If the intellect is polluted, you make incorrect judgments and are easily deceived by situations or people. Thus, you will make incorrect choices, dishonest or illogical decisions. You will justify dishonesty and improper actions and you will be incapable of differentiating between the real and the imaginary.A person with a pure, clear, clean and powerful intellect will act with honesty and sincerity. When your intellect is polluted, you may act against your own conscience or against your better judgment; you also may be insensitive. A person with a doubtful intellect will always justify a dishonest act. Meditation is the process of purifying and cleaning the intellect, because in meditation we connect with the purest intellect, the intellect of the Supreme Soul or God. Meditation is also a process of inner awakening and strengthening of your conscience. Being awake means to realize, and being strong means to act according to what you have realized.

Message for the day

To recognize the uniqueness of one's own role is to be free from negativity.

Projection: When we find things going wrong with us, we sometimes wish for a change in our role. We begin to compare ourselves with others or wish for something better in our life, which makes us lose all our enthusiasm. We, then, make no effort to better our role.

Solution: We need to recognize the importance of our own role. Like an actor who doesn't make effort to change his role but brings perfection to his own role, we, too, need to concentrate on our own role. The recognition of the importance of our own role and the desire to bring excellence to it makes us free from negativity.

Contemplation: Get Deep

Contemplation:  Get Deep

Get Deep

Deep inside our consciousness is an oasis of peace. This is the molten core of the soul, but it is not hot, it is cool. Not passive, but a source of inner power to fuel our mind and intellect, so that we can create powerful thoughts and make accurate decisions. If you can learn to go to this centre, peace will be your companion, positivity your partner, and you will be able to chill out in one second, anywhere, anytime. Returning to the centre of your self is the journey of one second. It is the regular destination of clever souls. And it is the source of your power and peace

To bring equality in whatever I understand, desire and do is to be
truly successful.

Although my understanding of right and wrong is really good, I am not
usually able to be or feel successful. This is because I notice a
mismatch between what I know and what I want. So I am not able to
bring that knowledge into action. A conscious effort needs to be put
in from my side to compare and see which is better for me - what I
know is right or what I feel I want. When I compare in this way, I
will be able to change my desires in keeping with the right thing.
When these two match, I will be able to bring it into action too. So I
will be able to be successful.

Soul Sustenance

Going Beyond Others’ Perception Of Us

Watch how many things you do during the day are dependent on how you imagine the other sees you: your husband, your friend, your child, your cousin, your aunt, your boss, the secretary or whoever. You imagine how they are going to look at you and, as a result, you mould yourself accordingly. If you depend on the look of the other, inwardly you will always feel fear. You want to please the other so that they continue to see you as you want.

Because of the dependence that we have on the other to appreciate us, value us and not to reject us, we want to please them. If, in spite of doing everything possible, they do not appreciate us or are not happy, how do we feel? Cheated. After having done everything out of wanting to please them! Inside, you want to please them because you want them to keep on loving you, or you don't want them to sack you from your job, or you are afraid of being different or not being accepted. That kind of dependency takes us away from our true authenticity. If you look at yourself well, in the end, others will look at you well and the one who does not look at you well will perhaps teach you something, but your value and self-esteem do not depend on the look of the other. In this state, you are open because you trust yourself and you have personal security.

The other entity can also be the Supreme Soul (God). We are afraid that God might judge us for being sinners or not. If I think God looks at me with that vision of whether I am a sinner, whether I am this or something else, I distance myself from Him. A judge like that does not help me to live with wholeness. In general, in society, there has been a distancing from the relationship and experience with God, because we have learned that He is a strict being and a judge. Actually, God is love; God looks at me well and sees my potential and my beauty (which reflects His), God embraces me and, in this embrace, He frees me: He does not allow me to depend on Him?  

Message for the day 

Where there is courage there is success.

Projection: When we are involved in a task, we sometimes experience setbacks. Such setbacks often make us lose our confidence and we no longer have faith that we will succeed in the task. We then lose all courage to go ahead with the task and lose every chance of achieving what we have to.

Solution: We need to remind ourselves that we achieve success to the extent that we have courage. We need to make effort to maintain our courage even during the most difficult circumstances. Only when we do this will we continue to put in effort, which will bring us success at the right time.

Contemplation: Respect

Contemplation:  Respect

Respect

When I learn to respect myself, other people will respect me. How can I develop respect for myself? By keeping my mind positive and encouraging myself to grow and change for the better. Demanding respect because of my position or background is simply arrogance. On the other hand, listening with humility and valuing other people's advice naturally earns me respect. I get back exactly what I give out.

Like a solid rock, your endurance allows you to stay true to yourself no matter what changes occur around you.

Though, over time a rock can be shaped by water. 

In the same way, you too are able to mould yourself to life because you are strong, not stubborn.

Other recipients:

Creating A Meditation Space Of Your Own

The first step in your journey towards experiencing your true state of inner peace is finding a place or space in your home where you will practice your meditation regularly, even if it's just an armchair. Always use this chair, this space when you can. In this space, place two or three objects, which represent peace to you. Soft music, soft red light and lighting an incense stick ('agarbatti') can make the atmosphere soothing and relaxing. The walls could be decorated with white curtains to create a peaceful and purifying effect. After using this space for your practice of meditation for a few days, you will experience that the atmosphere of this space has elevated itself to a higher positive level and this will help your practice further.

Soul Sustenance 

Transforming “Reaction” To “Response”

In its original form, anger was not anger, not a negative reaction; rather it was the energy of a positive response to people and situations, but the response gradually changed to reaction. When we return to our spiritual identity, we begin to rediscover that capacity to be still, stable or centred, and we are they able to respond positively even to negative situations, or people. With spiritual consciousness, the energy of this negative reaction is transformed into being able to accept, understand and deal wisely and peacefully with whoever, or whatever, is encountered.

In order to extinguish (overcome) anger, one has to use peace and silence, to understand that peace is the original state of one's being; to remember that 'I am a peaceful being' means to emerge the consciousness of non-violence.

Silence, that is learning to put a brake on the mind and tongue, helps us to think before speaking and, as a result, saves us from many confrontations with others.


Message for the day 


True royalty lies in humility.

Expression: The one who is humble never reacts but responds in the right way to situations or challenges. Thus there is royalty visible in all words, actions and behaviour. So there is newness visible in the way of responding to situations.

Experience: When I am humble I am able to be beyond the influence of praise and defamation. This is because I am stable in the state of my self-respect. Also because of this I am able to bring about newness and I am able to be creative in responding to situations too.

Contemplation: Staying Peaceful

Contemplation: Staying Peaceful

Staying Peaceful

Desires cause peace to disappear. You think that acquiring things will make you feel secure, but the reality is that the more you have the more fear there usually is of losing it, and the further you are from peace. Desires are the cause of all conflicts. When you want something and cannot get it you become frustrated. Learning to be free from desires is learning how to stay peaceful.

You become a little irritated

when you are not going to get where you

want to be on time, or you are not going to complete your task, as

you would want. If the seed of irritation is watered it grows into

frustration. Unless you take some positive inner action to stop the

growth of the frustration, it will grow into anger. And if you are not

careful it will become a habit, a part of your personality, which you

will finally come to believe is a natural part of your nature. You

will even convince yourself you were born with it. That it is ‘in the

genes’. Every time you become angry you cause the production of

certain chemicals in your body and you will become addicted to those

chemicals – then you look for people and situations which will give

you an excuse to generate the ‘anger emotion’ so that you can have

your daily dose of chemicals. Not only do we become attached to things

and people and ideas etc, we become attached to our emotions. Anger

will finally kill the body (not you, but your body). Don’t kill your

body. Accept that the anger is never ever productive, know that it is

just not necessary to be angry with anyone or about anything, know

that it is entirely your own creation and know that you can choose a

different response. Know and accept that, and you will be free!

Saying Yes Or Saying No 

In life many times we are presented with situations that ask something of us or offer us opportunities. They make us question what we are doing and suggest to us that perhaps we should change direction. To remain in flow with life is to remain bring about changes in the self that situations want from us, as long as it is in agreement with our conscience. But for that, we should be clear about what we say yes to, and what we say no to. When you put your heart into something and your mind is centered, the energy flows powerfully towards there. It is a question of listening to your heart, and daring to say yes or to say no. We have to say it keeping our conscience and action in line, in order to maintain honesty and integrity.

Personally, we all live through difficult and uncomfortable situations, but in your heart you need to know that you will definitely be there. The trust in yourself, and the confidence that everything will work out fine, knowing that there is some hidden lesson that you have to learn, helps you to say yes. It is what the situation asks of you, although you prefer to be in some other more comfortable situation - a less risky or seemingly negative one. It is important to hear the voice of time, of the moment, of the situation and trust that it would strengthen you, with which it would bring you closer to greater personal development and to your destiny as a person, and also brings about global benefit since you are a part of society, a part of humanity.

Soul Sustenance 

A New Journey With A New Personality (cont.) 

Famous personalities are constantly sought after, in demand and remembered by many due to their specialties, may they be actors, gurus, sportsmen, politicians, founders of religions etc. Even in our daily lives, we tend to remember people with more specialties much more than the rest. God is the most complete and perfect personality that exists, but not a physical personality, a spiritual one. There is no one who is more specialty and virtue-filled than him. That is the reason he is an entity or living energy or personality who is remembered the most by each and everyone all over the world.

The above types of personalities mentioned are physical personalities and are remembered by some or many but not remembered by the rest and along with their specialties, they definitely have shortcomings. Also, you might find it difficult getting to meet them even for a few minutes. God is one personality without any weaknesses and he is my constant friend, once I start my journey. He is one who, although being the highest personality, can be available to thousands making a similar journey at the same time, not because he is omnipresent (present everywhere) but because he is omnipotent (the most powerful) and the only being possessing this capability. So, a specialty of this journey is that the more I progress on it and the more time I spend with this new personality accompanying me in my new journey, I constantly see new facets of this new personality being revealed in my life, which keeps the journey constantly refreshing. This also keeps me wondering what is going to be revealed next. So, once this journey of exploration and discovery has started, there's no reason to stop even for a second and there is immense amount of motivation to continue and keep smiling! 

Message for the day 

Accuracy brings perfection and speciality in all that is done. 

Expression: To be accurate means to take up full responsibility for every task and do it to the best of one's ability. That means all resources that one has are used in the best possible way for the best result of the task. This naturally brings perfection in everything that is done. 

Experience: When I am accurate in everything I do I am able to be free from carelessness and negligence. I find myself bringing speciality and uniqueness in what I do. For having done things with accuracy, I also find myself becoming trust-worthy and I am also able to be satisfied with myself.

Contemplation: Appreciation

Contemplation: Appreciation

Pamukkale, Turkey.

Appreciation

Even if I don't mean to be critical, I often unconsciously home in on others' weaknesses and mistakes. The more I develop the habit of noticing goodness and only holding onto the good in others and in situations, the more my own sense of well-being will rise. When I continually think, "He/she is wrong", I create a barrier that prevents me from reaching my own goodness.

My words are effective when they are spoken with good wishes.

Although I speak with a lot of logic and make the other person understand what I mean to say, I sometimes find that they are not as effective as they

should be. Sometimes my words are also misunderstood and

misinterpreted. What I say is not important, but how and with what

feeling I say is more important. I need to keep myself free from any

kind of attitude, when I have to say something to someone. Thus I find

that my words are filled with good wishes and are effective too.

The Four Pillars Of A Spiritual Lifestyle - Achieving A Balance 

A balanced and fulfilling spiritual life is like a table. It stands on four legs and if one leg is shorter than the others then both balance and equilibrium will be difficult. The four legs or pillars of a spiritual life are given below in the form of four subjects. If any of the subjects is not a part of our lives or is a part of our life, but not to as great an extent as the others, then the overall balance of our spiritual life will be affected adversely (negatively).

1. Daily spiritual study (knowledge or gyan)
Daily spiritual study provides the right quality of nourishment for our mind and intellect, the two important energies of the soul.

2. Daily meditation (spiritual yoga)
Daily meditation provides the means to explore, discover and reconnect with oneself and with God.

3. The inculcation and development of virtues (dharna)
Giving some time each day to the conscious development of our character (virtue) helps to eliminate any negative sanskars or personality characteristics (vices) and improves our ability to build positive and harmonious relationships. The quality of our relationships is a mirror reflection of our dharna.

4. The service of others (seva)
A life purpose based on some kind of service is the foundation of personal growth through the practice of giving. Finding appropriate ways to use our increasing spiritual power and understanding (through the three subjects mentioned above) for the benefit of others is the most satisfying way to use our energy today. It also ensures happiness for the present as well as for the future through accumulation of positive energy in the form of blessings of those who are served.

Soul Sustenance 

A New Journey With A New Personality

Anyone who shows an inclination in getting to know the Supreme Being closely has a fascinating journey in front of them. Spiritual knowledge is the vehicle in which I make this extremely interesting journey full of exploration. Without sitting in the vehicle, I cannot make the journey. As I sit in this vehicle, I am introduced to this new, multi-faced, peaceful, loveful and blissful character in my life, a character who is spiritually rich with treasures of knowledge, virtues, powers, happiness and blessings, a character commonly called God, by everyone.

He is a character who introduces himself as being just a point of conscient light, a form very simple and plain. Yet, hidden beneath that simple light, incognito form is an immense volume of experience, wisdom and depth, such that even a lifetime spent in this journey, in his company, does not bring you to knowing him completely. The more you dive into the ocean of knowledge contained within the light, the more you discover and the more treasures of knowledge and experiences you receive. Every time you make contact with this new found companion called God, there is growth inside you and there is an increase of peace, love, happiness and power inside you. It's just as if after you've begun this journey, you're never quite the same again. However much time you spend in his company during the journey, whether it be in imbibing knowledge from him or remembering him during meditation or even sharing the benefits of this journey to other friends and relatives so that they can also start this journey themselves and experience what you are experiencing; whether you do either of these for a few minutes or an hour, there's always an experience of subtle growth and development inside you.

(To be continued tomorrow...)

Message for the day

True honesty to the self brings the power to bring about change.

Expression: To be honest is not just to be truthful. It is more to be honest with the self. The one who is honest with the self constantly has the aim of bringing about a change for the better. Each situation is used as a chance for the betterment of the self. So there is always the aim not to repeat the mistakes that are committed once.

Experience: When I am honest with myself I am able to feel the constant progress and experience the happiness of moving forward under all circumstances. I have the power to understand the situation, not just from my point of view, but more in a detached way. So I am able to understand and accept whatever the situation holds for me and learn from it humbly.