I have been wondering for some time now what
"activities" I should be doing to keep me sufficiently busy and yet stay
conscious of the direction my life is going. Last night my usual night reading showed me
the way.
From the book The Jeshua Letters: A Remarkable Encounter
With Jesus by Jayem, I came upon this question asked by the author, Jayem:
"But how do I know what is really the voice of Spirit, and not just more
subtle ego stuff?"
And Jeshua's response is:
"When you release all thought of what
your good is,
when you release all thought
that God is not to be trusted -
for what is resistance to Spirit but this belief?
and especially when you desire only to be empty,
then will you hear
the Voice of The Holy One."
Wow!! There's no Voice when there's no emptiness. And there's no emptiness when desires are still present.
The communication gets better, deeper and out of this world,
but I will stop here and ponder on these lines and begin to do a life
inventory. I need to stop and take a
deep breath and ask myself many questions, the key ones being:
* Do I know who I Am as a personal experience?
* Where am I in my inner life?
* How EMPTY am I?
* Have I added stuff into my life?
* Am I still living and thinking from my body?
* Am I afraid to take another step without the world?
* Do I still see myself as a part of the dream?
These are questions from the top of my head but are
guidelines for me. The word that strikes me the most from this piece of guidance is "EMPTY". I think its a very subtle point that seems to
be lost in translation in the world. Mostly, I hear
interpretations that don't fully nurture this idea to its completion.
And so, my life
inventory begins but before that I have this lovely piece that adds to my list of questions from one of my all time favourites, Nisargadatta Maharaj:
Maharaj: Truth is simple and open to all. Why do you
complicate? Truth is loving and lovable. It includes all, accepts all, purifies
all. It is untruth that is difficult and a source of trouble. It always wants,
expects, demands. Being false, it is empty, always in search of confirmation
and reassurance. It is afraid of and avoids enquiry. It identifies itself with
any support, however weak and momentary. Whatever it gets, it loses and asks
for more. Therefore put no faith in the conscious. Nothing you can see, feel,
or think is so. Even sin and virtue, merit and demerit are not what they
appear. Usually the bad and the good are a matter of convention and custom and
are shunned or welcomed, according to how the words are used.
Q: Are there not good desires and bad, high desires and low?
M: All desires are bad, but some are worse than others.
Pursue any desire, it will always give you trouble.
Q: Even the desire to be free of desire?
M: Why desire at all? Desiring a state of freedom from
desire will not set you free. Nothing can set you free, because you are free.
See yourself with desireless clarity, that is all.
Q: It takes time to know oneself.
M: How can time help you? Time is a succession of moments;
each moment appears out of nothing and disappears into nothing, never to
reappear. How can you build on something so fleeting?
Q: What is permanent?
M: Look to yourself for the permanent. Dive deep within and
find what is real in you.
Q: How to look for myself?
M: Whatever happens, it happens to you. What you do, the
doer is in you. Find the subject of all that you are as a person.
Q: What else can I be?
M: Find out. Even if I tell you that you are the witness,
the silent watcher, it will mean nothing to you, unless you find the way to
your own being.
Q: My question is: How to find the way to one's own being?
M: Give up all questions except one: 'Who am l'? After all,
the only fact you are sure of is that you are. The 'I am' is certain. The 'I am
this' is not. Struggle to find out what you are in reality.
(Nisargadatta Maharaj / I Am That - Chapter 10: Focusing)
Sometimes when something really powerful happens so unexpectedly, it takes a few seconds to realize that it actually happened especially when it involves an inner break through, an opening, a change for which you have wanted all your life but seemed so far way and impossible. That's what happened with me yesterday. My mind expanded a bit more. Its unexplainable.
Words are really inadequate to express certain inner happenings. It does not do justice. Perhaps, it is so because what happens within, must stay within for the experience to really, sink in, settle in, marinate and cook in the heavenly bliss and joy that gives the incredible fragrance and essence to the whole pot of love deep within. Its like its a deep secret between you and your lover and when you and your lover are ready to share with the world, the time becomes automatically available and you won't even know that your Light is extending and expanding drawing you closer and closer to the inner and the outer.
Its a question that keeps coming back to me over and over
again especially when I get caught up with the world affairs too much.
As I contemplate, and continue to contemplate, I am getting
the sense - the very deep sense - no matter who tells you so, in the final
analysis you have to KNOW this for yourself authentically, fully, completely,
totally so that this question does'nt remain a question but continues to unfold
as endless answers.
Be in this world, but don't get caught up. Have a good sense
of your being. Keep going back to the center of your Being as you replenish
yourself over and over again in The Light.
Today, I celebrate my own Spirit. The Spirit within me that moves me, motivates me, loves me like no other. Today, I celebrate that Love I knew not before because I was too busy looking for love in the world - from people, things, money, surety, and the list goes on. But I know now everything is a bauble and a toy compared to what lies within me, beneath me, above me and all around me - Love Itself.
Happy Valentine's Day, Dear God! I love You!
Today is a
celebration of Love
Today, I celebrate my
own Holy Essence.
Today, I celebrate my
Spirit.
Today, I celebrate
all that moves and motivates me.
Benedictine Monk Laurence Freeman OSB talks about what
meditation is and provides a simple meditation technique that Christians, or
anyone, can practice. Father Laurence describes the primary experience and
nature of meditation, and outlines a simple but effective method using a sacred
word or mantra.
Video transcript:
What is Meditation?
What is meditation and how do we meditate? The word
meditation is like the word “medicine.” It has this prefix “med,” which is a
Greek prefix that means “care” or “attention.” When we meditate we are being
careful, we are paying attention.
Meditation is a universal, spiritual tradition, wisdom. We
find it in all the great religious traditions of the human family. Years ago I
was teaching meditation, Christian meditation, in Australia. I was talking
about the 2,000-year old tradition of Christian meditation, going back to the
teaching of Jesus on contemplation. And then an aborigine, Christian aborigine,
who was in the audience came up to me afterwards. He thanked me for the talk
and he said, “You know, our people, my people, the aboriginals,” he said, “have
been meditating for 40,000 years. We call it didgeri, which is a silent,
non-questioning awareness, a harmony with the world around us.” They go to a
sacred place, maybe a rock or near the river. He belonged to a river people. He
said, “We just sit beside the river and feel the flow of the river and we open
ourselves to the presence that is in nature.”
So meditation goes back to the very earliest intuitions of
humanity of what lies deeper than the senses, or deeper than even our rational
mind. In meditation you could say we go from the mind to the heart, from
thought into silence, from words and images and planning and problem and
analyzing–all the things that we do all the day in our active minds. We go
deeper than the mind. We go into that place of the heart.
The heart is not just a romantic, emotional symbol. We find
the heart as a symbol in all the spiritual traditions. And it is a symbol both
of the interiority of the human person and also the wholeness of the human
person, where the body, the mind and the spirit converge into the true Self,
into the person I most deeply and truly am, through all the years and all the
experiences of my life.
Stillness
So meditation is our journey of consciousness, shifting the
center of consciousness, from the mind to the heart. And we do that, not by
trying to achieve anything, but simply by being still. Stillness is the primary
experience of meditation. So when you meditate, sit physically still. The
stillness of body will help to bring you to a stillness within, the stillness
of mind.
Silence
Then we also practice silence, because in silence we are
learning to pay attention. Remember that word “med,” to pay attention. We’re
not thinking about God. We’re not thinking about the meaning of life. We’re not
thinking about ourselves or our problems or solving our future plans. In
meditation we’re not trying to have good thoughts, but we are letting go of all
thoughts, moving to that deepest level where we are paying pure attention to
pure being.
So silence is about attention, but in order to be silent to
pay attention, it’s very helpful to have a quiet place. So when you meditate,
try and find a quiet time and a quiet place.
Simplicity
And the third really important quality that we practice in
meditation is simplicity. And by that I mean that we’re not analyzing
ourselves. We’re not saying, “Am I happy? What don’t I have? What do I need to
make me happy? What are my problems? What are my daydreams?” In meditation,
then, we let go of thoughts, words, images, and daydreams. We come into the
present moment. That’s the essence of all meditation. And it’s only in the
present moment that we can find God, the God who is, the God who reveals the mystery
of God as I am. “I am who I am,” God said to Moses.
How to Meditate
This is the nature of meditation, but how do we do it? How
do we become silent, and simple and still? And how do we let go of our worries
and plans and daydreams and desires and fantasies, and slip into the only place
where we truly are real, which is the present moment?
In the Christian tradition there’s a very simple method,
taught from the beginning of the Christian spiritual tradition, which has deep
resonance with the same method taught in other traditions even older than
Christianity. And that is to take a word, a single word, short phrase, a sacred
word, a mantra, and to repeat this word continually, gently, faithfully,
attentively, during the time of the meditation. The saying of the word is what
focuses our consciousness. It’s what stills the mind. It’s what takes the
attention off our busy, active and distracted minds.
So you don’t have to fight your distractions. Just let them
go. And when you do get distracted which, of course, happens all the time, when
you do get distracted simply come back to the saying of your word.
The next most important thing is to know what word to
choose, and because you want to stay with this word all the way through the
meditation and from day to day. The recommendation of all traditions is to take
a sacred word, the word that is sacred in your own tradition. Stay with the
same word and give your full attention. It’s helpful if it’s not in your own
language because that means it’s easier to get out of your head and to let go
of thoughts, even good thoughts.
The word I would recommend is the word, “Maranatha.” It’s a
beautiful prayer word, a beautiful mantra. It’s in the language that Jesus
spoke, Aramaic, and it means, “Come, Lord.” You’re not thinking about the
meaning as we say it. And St. Paul ends the First Letters to the Corinthians
with it. So it’s a scriptural word of great sacredness, the oldest Christian
prayer.
If you choose that word say it with just four syllables:
“Ma-ra-na-tha.” Listen to the word as you say it. Don’t visualize it. Just
listen to it as you say it. As thoughts come, let them drop, let them go, and
keep returning to your word.
So this is how you meditate. You sit down. You sit still.
Sit with your back straight so that you are alert and awake. Meditation is
about being awake. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed. Breathe normally. And
then silently, in your mind and heart, begin to say your word, your mantra. The
word again I would suggest is “Maranatha, Ma-ra-na-tha.”
That’s the simple way of meditation. It’s very simple, not
easy, but you can meditate at any point in your life. You start to meditate
from where you are. You can teach a child of six to meditate. You could
meditate on your death bed. The important thing is to start where you are, to
accept yourself where you are, and begin to deepen your spiritual journey from
the place you find yourself to be.
Regular practice and community
If you want to meditate seriously, build it into your life,
then meditate twice a day. Aim at this twice daily rhythm of beginning the day
and ending the day with about twenty minutes of meditation on each occasion.
And if you want to strengthen, to deepen, to encourage that
practice, then be in touch with others who meditate. Meditate with them
regularly. The community that grows out of meditation is a community of
spiritual friendship. If you’d like to contact one such community, a Christian
meditation community, you can do so through the internet, wccm.org, or for
younger meditators, thespiritualsolution.com.
The community that meditation creates begins with the
harmony, the peace, that we find within ourselves. It’s a simple way, and it’s
a way that leads to fullness of life
ღ.¸¸.✫*¨`*✶ღ.¸¸.✫*¨`*✶
Dom Laurence Freeman OSB is a monk of the Olivetan
Benedictine Congregation of Monte Oliveto Maggiore and Director of The World
Community for Christian Meditation. Fr Laurence was born in England in 1951
where he was educated by the Benedictines and studied English Literature at
Oxford University. Before entering monastic life he had experience with the
United Nations, banking and journalism. In the monastery his spiritual teacher
was John Main with whom he studied and whom he helped in the establishment of
the first Christian Meditation Centre in London.
These days I feel very lonesome alot but in mixed proportions of seeing it as a good thing and seeing it as sad thing. I'm ALONE and yet ALL-ONE with The One. Not lonely, just alone. I need to be completely awake energetically and metaphysically to see and experience the beauty of such a life state or phase that I am experiencing presently. Its easy to fall asleep, meaning, to fall into the trap of the ego and see it as something else completely other than what it really means.
So, when I feel this heart pull, this hard tug to withdraw and cocoon within, the first book I pull out to help me expand this heart desire is Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the original meaning of Jesus's words by Neil Douglas-Klotz. It surpasses all the other books I have read that represent the direct words of Jesus. For me, it is truly food for my soul. I have visions of Mary Magdalene, St. Teresa of Avila and Mira all rolled into one in their highest love and ecstasy for God and Jesus, while Mira considered Lord Krishna as her bridegroom. It is enough added inspiration to want to go into this inner tunnel of love, passion, courage, audacity and vitality. From the depth of darkness emerges The Light. I want desperately to bask in That Light with full consciousness and consciously.
Let me share a prayer for the sheer delight of the Soul:
Jesus explains how to pray and with what attitude and mind we should ask. Every word is a nugget of gold. He also reminds us that we haven't done this. For me, the personal message is I haven't prayed sufficiently and deeply enough to be unified in absolute and utter completeness with Spirit. As I read these words, I feel great warmth and fire in my heart. I want to stay in that fire of love.
Jesus said:
All things that you ask
straightly, directly, that you desire -
like an arrow to its mark,
like birds to their watering
place -
from the Breathing Life of
All, Father-Mother of the Cosmos,
Yesterday, being Sunday, I had a lot of spare time to think through my life issues - the past and the present ... how the past never leaves you till you learn the lessons it was meant to teach you, then you forgive all your trespasses, and finally you forgive everyone else who has trespassed against you. In the later, I found my list was long. But after a few hours I began to see the co-relation to all those happenings connected to the quality of my thoughts at that time. The list became balanced once I faced it towards me. If I felt rejected by people I loved dearly including friends and family, it was because I was constantly on a self rejection agenda. I was just reflecting my inner world and I was drawing those experiences to me. I have said this a zillion times and it still seems fresh every time I say it beyond the zillion times. This is what helps me to dig deeper into my Self exploration project: KNOW THYSELF.
I really would love to share a few things I learned as a newbie spiritualist which I learned through trial and error to have a fuller and more meaningful experience in the Spirit world. What would I tell my younger self? I read a wonderful quote by Nisargadatta Maharaj (who is a favourite of mine) where he said that the problem with people was that once they began the journey into themselves and discovering their I Am Self, instead of sitting with it and marinating in it and going deeper into the Self, they run off to start ashrams and teach yoga, etc. I found that to be absolutely spot on. Its an inherent thing we do as human beings. We want to immediately want to 'tell', 'teach' and 'save' others. If I were to start my journey all over again, these are the guidelines I would certainly remember to hold on to for a deeper understanding of who I AM, not what the world tells me, but what my Spirit tells me and if, I have actually been listening with a quiet mind and a receptive heart, I would automatically know, that I do not need to do any of the above, I have to just move with the flow without needing to consider myself 'special' in any way.
So, here's what I would tell my younger self.
♥ Focus on your own journey Dear Lavina.
♥ Focus on Spirit, not on the human side
of the teacher, guru, mentor, whatever.
♥ Accept that everybody is in the perfect
place that they are meant to be. Just
like you, when they hear the call of their soul, they will begin to ask, seek and knock.
♥ It is perfectly normal to tell the whole
world about this new and deliriously happy experience. Share but don't preach even if you have been
told to do so. Remember that religious
and spiritual organisations can get very sales and marketing savvy. Numbers
apparently mean a lot. Your 'success' in
expanding the organisation will bring you accolades and you will be called a
'committed' and 'true' 'disciple', but that title lasts till you fall from the
pedestal.
♥ Don't try to change anyone. In truth, there is nothing to change, but you will figure out that later! Don't criticize other beliefs. Its not cool.
♥ Once everyone knows you are doing this
freaky spiritual thing, everyone will expect you to become a 'saint' and every
'wrong' doing will be under scrutiny and remember, you will hear about it as many times as others feel they should let you
know, and that can go on forever, if you do not pull in the reigns and begin to
do serious self inquiry.
♥ If you become a sincere in your efforts,
your present world will crash. Most of
the people you knew to be your friends
will begin to disappear. Your life gets
turned upside down. Don't panic!! You are being cleaned out and all your dirty
laundry is out there for you to see so that you can have it 'washed' and
'cleaned'. That's what the Holy Spirit
does. She begins to squeaky clean you up
like the Mother That She Is. Once again,
don't panic! It is normal.
♥ Let go!!!! And forever for the rest of your life keep
releasing and letting go. Release and
let go the world as you know it, the people who inhabited it, all your habits, addictions, cravings, etc. Let them
all go! You are being spruced up and
emptied out for the Spirit of Life to flow through you. Never, never, hang on to the old and what's
gone. All of that stuff was there for a
purpose. All of that stuff has gone for
a purpose. Let it be. Remember the Beatles song "Let It
Be"? Well, go sing it cos
everything is gonna be alright!
♥ When you want to leave the organisation,
feel absolutely free to do so. When you
will get the itch and the urge to move
on, then MOVE ON! Don't get bogged down by the belief that you
will hurt your friends and your seniors.
You will hurt them only if they do not understand the workings of their
own soul. The spiritually mature send
you off in grace and gratitude and mean it with all their hearts. Others will probably stop talking to you, but
its okay. All the more reason, you know
its time to move on.
♥ And, now, congratulations! You are
walking the wilderness and exploring the terrains of your Soul independently, alone and solo. You came into this world alone. You will leave alone. You don't go to heaven two-by-two. Walk with everyone with ease, but keep your
whole consciousness on the Inner Sanctuary that you are carrying within.
♥ If you are meant to do anything else
after you have been sufficiently prepared by the Spirit, you will know. You will not have to market yourself. Everything
will happen naturally. Anita Moorjani's
story is the best example I know apart from the famous Non-Dual Indian
teachers, like Nisargadatta Maharaj, Ramana Maharashi, Papaji, and a few others including Mooji. Everything will happen on its own
accord. No need for self promotions! As
Joel Goldsmith says, when God wants to be known, He will shout it from the roof
tops without you needing to do so!! I
love that!
♥ And finally, do not insult your Soul by being ignorant of your MAGNIFICENCE!!!
Remember your I AM Presence always. That
IS the only jewelery you will ever need
in your life. Go with the Flow! Blessed Be! ♥
“The I AM does not concern
itself with your sins or limitations, with your past or future. Does not
concern itself with your body or affairs; with your father or mother, your
husband or wife; with your station in life, your color, age nor education. The
I AM concerns itself only with you. Ever it declares, There is no cause or
effect besides Me; I see no ignorance or darkness, no evil, anywhere, for to Me
there is nothing but Myself. I am the All in all.” (The Self I AM, page 12, by
Lillian de Waters)
"You are not in the body, the body is in you! The mind is in you.
They happen to you. They are there because you find them interesting." ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj ~
I have been pondering these statements for a long time. It has become an obsession for me because I want to understand the profound dynamics of healing both spiritually and physically. I asked my Soul and She answered. I chanced upon a photo which triggered off a new insight into my question and served as an answer to my long held query. I did'nt immediately recognize it as my answer, but the moment I sat down for morning meditation later, a new Light just dawned on me like the rising sun and connected that photo to my question. My soul answered me perfectly. The Universe will use every aspect of one's life to speak to one and reveal its messages. Its amazing how much silent communication is taking place constantly. God's world holds all the answers. Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. The keys to opening all the locks in the universe are in the asking, seeking and knocking.
This was the photo that was posted on Facebook with the following message:
"This is a picture from the Curiosity Rover on Mars showing
Earth from the Perspective of Mars. You are literally looking at your home from
the Perspective of another planet. That’s Serious Wonder!"
Everything in that instant just fell into place. I got his amazing clarity and sensed my connection with everything - absolutely everything!
I got up from meditation with a deeper understanding, clarity and perspective of my True Essence and my body. Just like the Earth is a small speck in the whole Cosmic Creation, my body is a small speck in the boundless and limitless expanse that I Am, that my consciousness IS. It is impossible for my body to house my expansiveness. Therefore for healing to take place, it is most important for me to first understand Who I Am really? If I can really take in the whole measure of my Pure Essence and what it means, then I Am already healed in my mind. My split mind is made whole in that instant. My body will catch up whenever. See, I have read all this before, but it is simply not the same. All of the studies we invest in is good upto a point and after that, it has to be experiential.
Truly, my only mission and purpose in Life is to REMEMBER my Pure and Perfect True Self. I need to KNOW the Self just as much as I need the air to breathe for a very peaceful coexistence with All That Is. Once I learn to live constantly from My Pure Consciousness, my awareness will become Pure Awareness. All cravings, attachments and addictions will vanish. In Truth, in this moment it actually has vanished. My body IS my temple and vessel for Spirit.
Self Forgiveness is epic. You simply cannot be touched by another's state-of-the-heart's feelings towards you in any way that is 'detrimental' or 'negative' against you especially if you have forgiven yourself of ALL your trespasses - and I mean really and truly all your trespasses - no guilt feelings left over for any reason whatsoever. Every area of your life has to be free of guilt and self judgement. When you have forgiven yourself completely, you have forgiven everyone and everything. It is as simple as that. That indeed is EPIC!
“It is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without
entering into ourselves.” ~ Teresa of Ávila
Through the process of self forgiveness I changed so much. I saw every aspect of myself as I projected these various versions of myself into the world - all the dramas and stories. I saw how I made so many choices that I thought were the best ones I needed to make for my own mistaken peace of mind at that time. I saw how my choices effected everything in my world, the kind of people I drew to me and the kind of world I created for myself. Not all were good. Not all were bad. But all were short lived as far as the law of life is concerned. Everything is in a constant state of flux and change. The most important of all, I learned that spirituality is not about reciting numerous prayers and begging God for favours. You don't have to cover yourself with a holier-than-thou attitude. I love what St Teresa of Avila says about such facades: “God save us from gloomy saints!” I just have to start the process of change in a very deep way.
Nothing about the Earth is rigid and unflexible. There are cycles, seasons and changes. There are the tides and gravitational forces of the moon. There's the sun that shines on everyone alike without judgment. There are the oceans and the seas, the rivers and the streams all flowing in rhythm. And one thing is perfectly clear - everything is drawing you nearer and nearer to the Center of the your Being, showing you ways in which to love yourself perfectly and without prejudice because all that you are being drawn to is the center of the Universe which is YOU! These are the nuggets of gold I learned along the way. And each moment is getting more and more precious as I remember and rediscover the GEM I Am and in doing so, I Am SEEING the GEMS all around me.
I invited teachings that helped to uplift me. I dropped organised religion and narrow minded religious thinking. I moved away from stilted spiritual beliefs, notions and ideas as well. I I love what Nisargadatta Maharaj has to say about 'sin' when asked by a journalist:
"EVERYBODY BEHAVES ACCORDING TO HIS NATURE. IT CAN NOT BE HELPED, NOR IT BE REGRETTED...
Q: What is your attitude to sin? How do you look at a
sinner, somebody who breaks the law, inner or outer? Do you want him to change
or you just pity him? Or, are you indifferent to him because of his sins?
M: I know no sin, nor sinner. Your distinction and valuation
do not bind me. Everybody behaves according to his nature. It cannot be helped,
nor need it be regretted.
Q: Others suffer.
M: Life lives on life. In nature the process is compulsory,
in society it should be voluntary. There can be no life without sacrifice. A
sinner refuses to sacrifice and invites death. This is as it is, and gives no
cause for condemnation or pity.
Q: Surely you feel at least compassion when you see a man
steeped in sin.
M: Yes, I feel I am that man and his sins are my sins.
Q: Right, and what next?
M: By my becoming one with him he becomes one with me. It is
not a conscious process, it happens entirely by itself. None of us can help it.
What needs changing shall change anyhow; enough to know oneself as one is, here
and now. Intense and methodical investigation into one's mind is Yoga.
Q: What about the chains of destiny forged by sin?
M: When ignorance, the mother of sin, dissolves, destiny,
the compulsion to sin again, ceases.
Q: There are retributions to make.
M: With ignorance coming to an end all comes to an end.
Things are then seen as they are and they are good.
Q: If a sinner, a breaker of the law, comes before you and
asks for your grace, what will be your response?
M: He will get what he asks for.
Q: In spite of being a very bad man?
M: I know no bad people, I only know myself. I see no saints
nor sinners, only living beings. I do not hand out grace. There is nothing I
can give, or deny, which you do not have already in equal measure.
Just be aware of your riches and make full use of them. As
long as you imagine that you need my grace, you will be at my door begging for
it".
~ Excerpted from I AM THAT / p.369.~
And that is precisely what I Am and all others are about. I Am Pure Consciousness and everything is Spirit, All That Is. When I cease my human bondage by dropping my human story, my soul is FREE. There's no feeling of lack. I feel less and less desire to please people or worry about what they think, or give them explanations. Everything is what it is. Life moves on. And so must I. Whatever else people feel about me, its entirely their affair. I am no longer concerned in particular by their feelings. By just remembering their True Nature, I allow for their false beliefs of themselves and their lives to be absorbed into the Light of my own Being which is existent in them too. I have no other job but to stay in my Beingness. And as Mooji so perfectly states "When you are free, all who come in contact with you are blessed."
We are Children of The Light said Jesus. And I like to say we are Extensions of Spirit until proven we are not! Just like we are innocent until proven guilty!
So, today, I am really going to speak my heart out. That's why I love blogging. I can express my feelings without getting into a debate with anyone. Blogging helps me to put it out there and give way to my heart expression.
I am really in transition within. This transition has taken a long time because of my need to keep hanging on to my human story and be part of the world scenario. That's fine except that invariably I get attached and caught up with dramas. So finally last week, I made a final decision to let go of my human story. Since then I have been challenged in so many ways that keeps bringing me back to the identification of the human being. Today, I decided I must sit with this because of a comment I made on facebook which was made in good faith, but misunderstood. It gave me food for thought. And I realised what it really means to live as Spirit. I actually don't really like the word "spiritual" because it kind of gives the impression that the person who considers himself/herself "spiritual" or "religious" are better than the others. No one is better than another. And none should be in awe of another. We are all equals. The only difference is the choices we make. When we form 'spiritual' groups and clicks and stick with just those connections, we really are missing the point. That very act itself is delusional. We don't need support systems that make us feel that we are exclusive or elite. But to each his/her own. Every soul learns it his/her own way. Who am I to judge? I am solo. It took me a while to have the courage to be alone and independent and solo, but it was the next logical step in my own knowing.
We live in a realm of free choice and three choices. Our whole life takes shape and form according to the choices we make. I like to think the three choices are - the 'positive' choice, the 'negative' choice and the "Super Consciousness" choice. The 'positive' choice helps us to get better results and live more peaceful lives, the 'negative' choice creates a lot of imbalances in our lives and we seem to be looking hither and thither for peace and love, and finally, the "Super Consciousness" choice one just acts from a very high place in the heart and accepts everything as it is without attachment but lives from the beauty and wisdom of the soul. But all has its place and just like the gunas in the Ayurvedic system we have to move from one system to the next so that the change does'nt become so drastic that our minds cannot understand and cowers under in fear.
And yet none of this is true at all.
There are many teachings available to help us make better choices for a happier existence. I have been through a whole lot of them and now I find myself at a place, rather naturally, where I no longer want to identify with my human story any longer. What does this mean? It means I stop thinking of myself as a human being. The Higher Teachers and Teachings inform us there is nothing other than Spirit, Ultimate Reality, Pure Consciousness, Pure Awareness, call It what you will. There is only The ONE and all else extends from this One. There are no human forms. The human being is in the mind of illusion. In illusion there is nothing because it does not exist. But because we want it to exist and make it mean something, we have come up with all these wonderful dreams that have no reality.
My philosophy now is very simple. To live the human way is painful. Either you are happy or sad, good or bad, rich or poor, etc. If you experience one state of life, the opposite state of life will follow very shortly. Who wants to live that way. Its too much tension. You are constantly on your toes. If you are misunderstood, there's a series of explanations to prove yourself. If you use good and flattering words, you are raised up as an amazing individual, etc. etc. One moment you are placed on a pedestal and the next, you are stripped down. This cycle and drama never ends, unless the dreamer ENDS THE DREAM!!
So, I've ended the dream. I'm not negotiating with the dreamers. I'm not getting into unnecessary conversations with the dreamers. Because in truth nothing exists - not the dreamer, nor the dream. All these wonderful ideas we have about what amazing lives we live, or don't live, are all just dreams. Lovely dreams, but its high time we woke up! There's nothing. There's only emptiness. There's only Space. There's only Spirit. Our need to make them all real is the reason for our suffering. But don't mind me. I may be completely wrong. Just do your own thing. You can never get it wrong. You can only have an experience that will eventually lead you to the place you need to be.
And so it is. Blessed Be.
PEARLS OF WISDOM
From Nisargadatta Maharaj / I Am That
♥ I am not this person, this body-mind or any thing. As I can't be what I perceive, I am not this body-mind or
any thing that I am conscious of.
♥ As body, you are in space. As mind, you are in time. But are
you a mere body with a mind in it? Have you ever investigated? (252)
♥ You are neither the body nor in the body. There is no such
thing as body. You have grievously misunderstood yourself. To understand
rightly, investigate. (253)
♥ You are not in the body, the body is in you! The mind is in
you. They happen to you. They are there because you find them interesting. (212)
From Lillian De Waters / The I Am Self
♥ Dear Reader, are you hungry for the true bread of Life? Then are you willing to give up the belief that you are separated in some way from the source of this Heavenly manna - the Real man who is, in very truth, your Self? Why remain longer in the belief that you sojourn in a far country where the husks of lack, loss and limitation are your daily fare? You are not of that world at all, for "Ye are children of the Light". Really you are not on a physical plane; you are not in fleshly body; you have no human form; you are not subject to man-made laws or beliefs. Really, you are of the eternal substance. The Mind you have is that Mind which was also in Christ Jesus. Your only body is the body of Light. Your very being is the radiant I-Am-Self.
I have been on facebook for five years now and it has been such an awesome experience for me. I found my spirituality here with friends from all over the world. I have made some deep soul connections here. I have learned all about life in the last five years than I have ever in my entire life. I have had squabbles with people, I have thrown people out of my friends list, people have thrown me out, I have loved and loved in every which way even if it appeared 'negative' in nature. All is a thought. All is perception. All is Pure Awareness. All is Shiva. And I simply love all there is to Love because only Love is our Awareness even if we don't know it or are unable to see it fully. Love guides us. Love motivates us. Love is the driving force behind everything. Just love. Pure Love. Unadulterated Love. Just SEE through the mirage and you will SEE its beauty and light.
A highlight of a few special moments on Facebook over the last five years created by Mark and his team to celebrate ten years of facebook's existence. Happy Birthday Facebook! You're Awesome!
This morning while I was googling for nature pictures, I came across NUMEROLOGIST (http://numerologist.com/) - an interesting numerology website promising a free mini reading. It especially piqued my interest because my husband has recently developed a keen interest in Numerology and has been dabbling with numbers and its effect on our lives. So after submitting the required information, I was given Life Path, Expression Number, and Soul Urge Number readings.* Surprisingly they turned out to be pretty impressive because it appeared quite accurate as far as I know of myself. But I am blogging about my Life Path Number in this blog just for the purpose of keeping a record of it so that I can come back to this place many years later to see how much I have changed (or not)! Besides, its the most important of all. I know there are many people in the world who do not subscribe to or believe in numerology, astrology, etc. but here in India, everything revolves around numbers and auspicious dates! After all, India gave to the world Aryabhata (476–550 CE)who was the first in the line of great
mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and
Indian astronomy.**
I love my reading. Everything seems to be put into clearer perspective now. A lot of it is true as of today and some of it not so, because I have changed along the way. But overall its a good guide to check my progress.
Recently, I made a significant spiritual move: I dropped my human story!! Which basically means, I made a personal commitment to live my life from a higher place, from my Soul and detach from all of the stuff and drama that happened in my life that shaped my outlook. I have no intention of getting caught up in anymore human stories - mine or anyone else's. I was basically living from a lot of fear, mostly fear of lack and loss of all the things I considered important in my life including people - especially people. I defined myself in the past by the people I knew and what they thought of me. I was always trying to make the people I loved my family because I deeply missed that luxury in my life but was never successful. However, the upside to all of this were the immense inner shifts that took place as a result of such endeavors. All my experiences served me very well. I have learned tremendously and each and every experience in my life is extremely precious. I find myself now in a place where more and more that is not needed for my Soul, just disappearing. So much clearing still going on. I have resigned myself happily to the wonderful idea of being A-LONER! I'm not lonely by any stretch of the imagination. I Am simply ALONE and my dear husband is my best friend and spiritual companion. I Am now always living in the wonderful and joyous expectation of a very spiritually enriched and creative life in this eternally present moment.
My Life Path number is 9.
"What Does Your Life Path Say About You?
You have a charismatic and very open personality that
attracts you a lot of friends. You are very social, sometimes at the expense of
your other responsibilities....
You are a deeply spiritual individual who often displays a
deep interest in religion or the occult at a very early age. In fact many nines
grow up to be psychics, healers, priests and nuns. You probably feel
responsible for keeping up the morality or spirit of mankind in some way, or
even responsible for their very souls. This is why many nines also end up
working for the law as policemen or judges or in some aspect of spiritual or
psychological counseling.
The emphasis of your life path is on finding ways to
communicate the divinity of man in a practical context. As many nines are also
very artistic, this connection with the higher powers might also be expressed
through a talent such as writing, music or painting.
At some point in your life you have probably sworn to
yourself to make this world a better place. You are extremely compassionate and
feel above the matters that you feel causes factions of society to be divided.
You are very aware of feeling as insignificant as a grain of sand in the
Universe and believe that materialism, prejudice and lust just don't matter in
the long run.
You have a charismatic and very open personality that
attracts you a lot of friends. You are very social, sometimes at the expense of
your other responsibilities. Sometimes a number nine might take too much time
out during the day "to smell the flowers" and incur the resentment of
those that are left to pick up the slack.
Your attitude towards life in general is very selfless and
you usually have a good connection with God or a higher power. However often
the number 9 faces a unique challenge at some point in his or her life that
seems to be a test of faith. Usually this incident takes the form of a
devastating personal loss, disease or some sort of tragedy. This triggers a
period of time that lasts a few years that is often called the "dark night
of the soul." It is usually during this period of your life that you find
the extreme courage and strength to become what is called a wounded healer.
Your life may seem too tough to handle at times which makes
you vulnerable to finding substitutes for the family unit. As you are naturally
very lonely and insecure, you are particularly vulnerable to joining a cult or
becoming fanatical in the religious sense.
If you are a number nine you may find your life seems more
difficult than others. This is because it is common human nature to take
advantage of your compassion, empathy and generosity. It may seem unfair to you
that others do not appreciate the spiritual gifts that you have to offer,
especially when you demand so little materially from the world. This is part of
the problematic path of the number 9 who is often fated to learn that the path
of true compassionate does not necessarily result in spiritual rewards for the
healer either.
Although you may feel quite clear about your divine purpose
and goals in life, others may perceive you as weird or spacey. This is why it
is often difficult for a number 9 to keep a job for long. Relationships might
also be very difficult for a 9 to sustain, as this particular path is a rather
lonely one. Part of the 9's spiritual development is usually being presented
with situations that force them to let go of emotional situations and
connections that might interfere with the higher purpose that the cosmos has in
store for them." *
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