.
– Dhammapada, verse 250
Tags: Buddha, conditionings, ego, Freedom, mindfulness, Self, selfawareness, spiritualjourney, wisdom
Taming the Monkey
Dec 17th, 2010 by admin
He, who has pacified mental
disturbances, uprooted and
removed, will surely attain
concentration (samadhi) by day or night.
.
.
See, clearly…
Dec 16th, 2010 by admin
This world is blind.
Here there are few who
clearly see. As birds escaping
from a net, few go to a blissful state…
.
– Dhammapada, verse 174
Tags: Buddha, Freedom, Home, spiritualjourney
Only one Mistake, thus Only one Correction
Dec 15th, 2010 by admin
This one mistake in any form has one correction. There is no loss; to think there is is a mistake. You have no problems, though you think you have. And yet you could not think so if you saw them vanish one by one without regard to size, complexity, or place and time, or any attribute which you perceive that makes each one seem different from the rest. Think not the limits you impose on what you see can limit God in any way.
– A Course in Miracles
Tags: A Course in Miracles, surrendering
Cause in Me, World as Effect
Dec 11th, 2010 by admin
Seek not to change the world, but change your mind about the world. – J
We do not realise the impact of such consequences if we were to change our mind about the world, instead of the world.
For the world is in-exchangable, no matter how hard I try to substitute or trade it for another way out. Even if there are moments when things seem to be better for a while, the world returns to me as before – exactly how I view it. The world is effect from all that my mind thinks and perceives hence would it not make sense that I ought to change my mind about the world, instead of what is in the world?
I do not realise the power of my thoughts of the world and the world would reflect exactly to make me believe that things are being done to me, have me believe I am indeed powerless and helpless that in order for me to not be at war with the world is to accept the world with a tinge of resignation.
And would not my tinge of helplessness, powerlessness and resignation be reflected yet in the world since this is what I think? Is not what I think that exactly creates the world as I experience it?
Yet this resignation is not the same as those who wilfully change their minds about the world because they cannot do anything about the world. While it is true at one level that it is simply pointless to do anything since we will only be working on what is the effect which is the world yet as I change my mind about the world, which is the cause, am I thus already changing the world as the causes in my mind will exactly reflect in the world as effects which would then allow me to experience the world differently, or rather exactly as how I already view the world.
It is the undoing process of my current perception that is needed for me to change my mind of the world and everything else in it. Through the undoing process can right perception surface from a deeper understanding resulting from realization. And realization comes not from outside in, but from within to the outwards as if the answer have always been within.
The process of undoing is thus important for at this moment, majority of mind pattern is based on fear. Most of us are not aware that our daily thoughts, intentions and behaviour are of that although at the superficial level it seems otherwise. Just take an honest streak in how I perceive the world is reflecting back at me, I will know exactly which pattern is running at that point in time, projecting onto the world to have the world speak back to me.
The world reflecting me, is telling me much about me – what I secretly think about myself and not yet willing to look within. Until I come back to my senses, ready to face my own inner demons will I come to terms with myself. And once I have come to terms with myself, as in also the causes in the mind, how can the world not be changed when my mind about the world has changed?
Tags: A Course in Miracles, conditionings, Fear, Ideas, projections, reflections, Self, selfawareness, Truth
What is the Body?
Dec 11th, 2010 by admin
The body is a fence the Son of God imagines he has built to separate parts of his Self from other parts. It is within this fence, he thinks he lives, to die as it decays and crumbles. For within this fence he thinks that he is safe from love. Identifying with his safety, he regards himself as what his safety is. How else could he be certain he remains within the body, keeping love outside?
The body will not stay. Yet this he sees as double safety. For the Son of God’s impermanence is “proof” his fences work and do the task his mind assigns to them. For if his oneness still remained untouched, who could attack and who could be attacked? Who could be victor? Who could be his prey? Who could be victim? Who the murderer? And if he did not die, what “proof” is there that God’s eternal Son can be destroyed?
The body is a dream. Like other dreams, it sometimes seems to picture happiness but can quite suddenly revert to fear, where every dream is born. For only love creates in truth, and truth can never fear. Made to be fearful, must the body serve the purpose given it. But we can change the purpose which the body will obey by changing what we think that it is for.
The body is the means by which God’s Son returns to sanity. Though it was made to fence him into hell without escape, yet has the goal of Heaven been exchanged for the pursuit of Hell. The Son of God extends his hand to reach his brother and to help him walk along the road with him. Now is the body holy. Now it serves to heal the mind that it was made to kill.
You will identify with what you think will make you safe. Whatever it may be, you will believe that it is one with you. Your safety lies in truth and not in lies. Love is your safety. Fear does not exist. Identify ith love, and you are safe. Identify with love, and you are home. Identify with love, and find your Self.
– A Course in Miracles
An Open Secret
Dec 8th, 2010 by admin
Do you realise that when we start being honest with ourselves in our inward journey, it is indeed an open secret? Our intentions are all the same, although they may seem to differ in terms of direction certain times, but our motives behind our actions are always the same – always, always a call for love. We may say, that each of our situations is different, but ponder on it and look beyond the already arisen situation, aren’t our motives all the same?
It is the same as digging our nose. We know how disgusting it looks hence we don’t do it in public. In public, we may use a tissue or excuse ourselves to our own privacy so that we may dig our nostrils in private as if it is a secret or a private affair; but think about it, how sure are we that others don’t do the same? Everybody does it, even the most handsome man, the most beautiful girl – the only difference is that we choose to do it in our privacy, keeping it as our secret. If everybody does it, how is it so a secret?
What is different on the outer are only targeted people, targeted situations and our so-called actions and storylines. But check our motivations behind the actions; we are of no different from the man next door – always, always holding on to the sense of righteousness, wanting to be heard, to be understood, to be approved of, to be loved. I may look for it in relationships, you may look for it in money, she may look for it in pets, he may look for it in his career accomplishments; but what is the difference other than where our attention is seemingly directed at?
It is always the same old thing we are looking for although it seems as if we are looking at different bodies, things and targets. And we are seldom straightforward about it, as if shameful to be honest and direct. Let’s put it this way, how many of us will go straight up to our superiors and say, “Boss, actually I just want to be approved, valued and loved by you.” Very rarely we find species that authentic. And so we plan and do things, whether consciously or unconsciously just so to attain a favourable response that we would then put a meaning to. And the response received never works if it is not consistent with what I have in mind; yet if the response is exactly how I envisage it to be, it will work only for a little while and I will keep on striving for it by further planning and doing to the point of exhaustion only to find that I can give no more. And what happens next is – I need to quit or change jobs, or he is simply a lousy boss who doesn’t know how to appreciate me.
It is like a couple. When the man goes away for a trip and calls home, the woman excitedly says, “I miss you honey, do you miss me?” for if he tells her that he misses her, that means that she is being thought of, and if she is being thought of, that means she is loved, and if she is loved, she must mean something – whether to him or not, it doesn’t matter, as long as she means something, and to mean something is to mean that she must be worthy.
Or like an employee and an employer. When the employer is pleased with the employee and expresses it, the employee is happy because that means that the employer is happy and if the employer is happy, that means that she has done something right and if she has done something right, that means he approves of her, and if he approves of her, that means she is valuable and worthy and if she is valuable and worthy, that ought to say something about her, doesn’t it?
Doesn’t it all boil down to the same thing? How different is one story from another?
Strangely, when there is one who begins to be authentic and open, the one is subject to be judged by others with statements like, “washing dirty laundry in the public”. Still, I find that this space is important (though storylines are not really important) to allow the other a sacred space to open up to his or her so-called dark secrets.
Surely, anyone would have come across a situation where another is sharing his or her secret, and all one does is nod his or her head and says, “yes, I understand”. But until the one listening has fully come to terms with his or her honesty, will he or she be able to see clearly the situation presented to him by another. Otherwise, it’d just be another story to be heard, to be retold again and again, from one to another, and another yet to another.
There is nothing and nowhere to hide. We hide not from each other but only from ourselves. That is probably why many are afraid to see psychics and healers and even if they do so, they’d choose to do it alone or with a very trusted friend. What if the psychics and healers can see through them? Unless it is with honesty of really wanting to know the truth, otherwise again, it is just another story to be heard, to be told.
Yet, there is a secret unknown which is not really a secret. It is only a secret because it is unknown and nobody wants to know it because it is threatening. The unknown secret is open to all, yet few wants to access it. Isn’t it strange? What is an open secret, everybody hides it. And what is available to all, is a secret unknown. Not that it is kept away, or kept apart but it is just oblivious to those who hang on to their own little secret, which is indeed an open secret, to keep the personality intact.
I cannot deny that the hardest person to be honest with is indeed ourselves. It does take much courage and integrity. And until we can come to terms with ourselves, we go around hiding behind a mask shying away our seemingly weaknesses. Not to say it is necessary to openly reveal the secret to others, but at least be willing to look at the secret that we have hidden from ourselves. And here we find our gift and began to develop compassion for ourselves and others.
Tags: compassion, courage, honesty, integrity, Love, selfawareness, spiritualjourney, takingresponsibility
Acceptance Prayer
Dec 2nd, 2010 by admin
I accept myself completely.
I accept my strengths and my weaknesses,
my gifts and my shortcomings,
my good points and my faults.
I accept myself completely as a human being.
I accept that I am here to learn and grow, and
I accept that I am learning and growing.
I accept the personality I’ve developed, and
I accept my power to heal and change.
I accept myself without condition or reservation.
I accept that the core of my being is goodness and
that my essence is love, and
I accept that I sometimes forget that.
I accept myself completely, and in this acceptance
I find an ever-deepening inner strength.
From this place of strength, I accept my life fully and
I open to the lessons it offers me today.
I accept that within my mind are both fear and love, and
I accept my power to choose which I will experience as real.
I recognize that I experience only the results of my own choices.
I accept the times that I choose fear
as part of my learning and healing process, and
I accept that I have the potential and power
in any moment to choose love instead.
I accept mistakes as a part of growth,
so I am always willing to forgive myself and
give myself another chance.
I accept that my life is the expression of my thought, and
I commit myself to aligning my thoughts
more and more each day with the Thought of Love.
I accept that I am an expression of this Love.
Love’s hands and voice and heart on earth.
I accept my own life as a blessing and a gift.
My heart is open to receive, and I am deeply grateful.
May I always share the gifts that I receive
fully, freely, and with joy.
~ author unknown~
Tags: acceptance, appreciation, Love, Self
Are we in love, or in need?
Dec 1st, 2010 by admin
We all like the feeling of falling in love and being in love. Actually, I really do wonder why although I have to say I am one of them. The feeling is just so overwhelming to the extent that it becomes an addiction of ceaseless wanting and desire, as if one moment is not enough… there must be more, and yet when given an inch, a foot is what we ask for. And we actually think it is fun, when the end of result of such yearn is indeed suffering.
Love is present at all times though it is usually experienced when there are two. What I mean to say by two, it can be between one human with a material of say a house, a car, a toy, a phone; or one human with an animal; or another human with another human. Well, we’d like to think that everybody falls in love. Look at the animals, we perceive that they are in love when two of them mingle together no matter where they go, but again, who is the one perceiving but us, as in humans?
So let’s make this context easier and just constrain it to the creative beings that we are – the humans, or more rightfully, the human minds.
When I realised how I got ‘sucked’ into the marriage and children game, I felt a little sorry for myself. Not that I have anything to complain about my marriage or family life. It is perfect. I really could not ask for more, yet as I reflected back on the intentions on why I actually treaded that path, I can’t seem to forgive myself for it. For a start, I was one person who would have liked the experience of being married, as in the wedding and etc and also the experience of having a companion; but I wasn’t one who saw the potential or the stability of a marriage. And I didn’t really want to have children although it doesn’t mean that I do not love kids. I absolutely love them, but I just didn’t think that I’d like one of my own. Of course, at the end of the day they were merely just ideas and the fact is that I am now married with a beautiful little one. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with my marriage at all, it is just a realisation of how I had unconsciously used my partner, my little one and thus my marriage to fulfil something in me, which at the end of the day only I realised I was barking at the wrong tree all the time.
An inward journey requires ceaseless inquiry with honesty and integrity. Although it took some time to get to this point, I realised that I got married and had a child for the wrong reasons. I saw myself as a wreck coming from a broken family and also of a story of the poor little rich girl who had little freedom and since I did not feel safe and at home with many friends, any men whom resonated with my being, I hung on to them as if they were my life. Ask my partner and he would tell you the endless questioning, reassuring and “suffering” he went through just to convince me that I was loved. Yes, even having a partner didn’t convinced me that. Yet, I hung on to him anyway as it would make me feel better anyway just knowing that there is someone that I could call my own. It is that ownership, sense of belonging and being approved of. It is an obvious case of need, rather than love although it was love that I thought I had married my partner for.
It was tough to acknowledge that within me for that would admit that the marriage is a fraud since there is a meaning of sacredness and pure love in a union such as this. There was a lot of self judgment in this area which at the end of the day I also saw as guilt hovering for not honouring myself – just because I was looking for something out there and thought that I could find it in someone else. Purely ignorance playing its game.
Having shred off layers through realisation, I experienced loving my partner and my little one without conditions. As in, I simply accepted and loved them for who they are – if my partner needs to work, that’s peace to me; if my little one decides not to go for ballet, that’s peace to me; if they are both angry, that is peace to me too; opposing to those times when I needed someone to be this, say this or do that in order for me to be sure that I am loved, or if this person is here to stay for good. It becomes a ceaseless never ending quest until I become honest with my own needs and what I actually love them for. In the case where I am loving them because I need them, then is it still love?
Love is encompassing. Yet, it is often that we find that love is only targeted at a thing, or a person and that itself is specialness, meanings that we or rather the mind conjures to make a something that means nothing into something that means something. Yet, what is this thing that we love about a thing or a person? Seldom do we question. We just enjoy the feeling so much and get addicted to it to the point of obsession and then scheme to fulfil our needs. The innocence of the feeling then becomes a need. A falling in love becomes a falling in need. How disastrous!
When one says to the other, “honey, I need you to be present to me” or “baby, I need you to play your part”, what does it speak? And when the one who requests does not get what he or she needs, resentment, disappointment, anger and hatred start coming into the picture. Yet, there is this space, where when one requests, “honey, I’d love your presence” or “baby, I’d like you to spend some time with me doing this” without the expectation of anything in return, the response that comes naturally is a “it’s ok, love…” when it is a “no” and it is end of story. No whys, no why nots. And there is peace. I wouldn’t even say that it is an understanding of another’s need, because that would not even arise. It just is.
I am not saying that it is right or wrong to fall in love for it is natural to do so. In fact, we strive for it all the time – whether it is falling in love with a thing, a person, or just the moment. It is happening all the time. What I am trying to address here is the confusion between loving and needing. Love does not harp, or hold on to another for any needs to be fulfilled yet in that space, everything is fulfilled. When needs are not addressed, or seemingly fulfilled by another, there is some sense of pressure to both parties although when the needs are addressed, there seems to be a short momentary period of satisfaction and happiness. It is all a temporary measure and when the needs are not honestly addressed by one own self, both parties will find themselves hitting and running from and at the same point, never ever progressing until there is a shift in understanding, and here I do mean self understanding.
Love is what we seek, not sometimes but all the time. Yet, what we seek from the outside is exactly where we are not going to find it. Need is too something that needs to be addressed, not to be fulfilled but to be understood. We will find that the needs are naturally addressed when love is present. And yet where can love be found and experienced except in oneself?
Tags: conditionings, Ideas, ignorance, inquiry, integrity, Love, relationships, Self, Truth, willingness