Diversity of devotion (1)

Good morning friends.  What comes to your mind when you hear the word devotion.  For me devotion is an earnestness and  zeal in the performance of religious duties and observations. 

When America’s first black President turned his attention to diversity during his inaugural address, it was religious identity that he highlighted: 

For we know that (America’s) patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and nonbelievers…we cannot help but believe…that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

That same spirit of diversity and devotion was on display the next morning at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, where President Barack Obama, along with other dignitaries such as former president Bill Clinton and senator John McCain, gathered in prayer. The stage included rabbis and priests, the first female president of the Islamic Society of North America and a Hindu leader, each offering prayers for America and the world.

The presidential advisory council of Obama’s new White House Office of Faith-based Initiatives and Neighborhood Partnerships is similarly diverse. I am a part of this group, and was struck that the president invited us to the Oval Office for a private meeting to discuss the high priority he was placing on diverse faith communities working together to serve others, especially during this time of economic crisis.

He emphasized on the message that he had delivered that morning at the national prayer breakfast: “Far too often, we have seen faith wielded as a tool to divide us from one another — as an excuse for prejudice and intolerance. – The Time of India

Working mind and the thinking mind (1)

Good morning friends.  Thinking mind may consider as a hard thing and as an easy thing.  It depends to a person when he can have a hard time to think or an easy time think.  It will depend on the situation of life or incident should he wanted to think.  But working the mind is surely be difficult.  Even if we want to think things easily, if our mind didn’t work properly we can’t do a rightful things.

How to differentiate between ego and mind?

You can’t. They are the same. The thinking mind and the ego are the same. In the ordinary body-mind organism mind can be both working mind and thinking mind. In the case of the sage it is only the working mind.

Is the body-mind organism like the programme in a data machine that produces thinking?

The thinking happens according to the way the body-mind organism has been programmed. Why does a thought occur? It occurs because that is supposed to produce an output. So the equation E = mc2 was there all the time, but only that body-mind organism named Einstein was programmed to receive the equation, that got that thought.

The term “body-mind organism” means body and, in the case of an ordinary person, both the working mind and the thinking kind, but only the working mind in the case of the sage.

The wanting to know is the individual sense of doership. Ramana Maharshi repeatedly said, “If the question arises, find out who wants to know.” If you really go into “who wants to know”, the “who” will disappear because there is truly no “who”.

The arising of the question is not in your control, or whether you take delivery of that question and get yourself horizontally involved. It is a vertical happening. Getting involved in that question is a horizontal involvement. So the horizontal involvement is avoided with this question: “Who wants to know?”  - The Times of India

Satsang: Ramesh S Balsekar

How you perceive yourself defines your freedom (2)

Living in this consciousness, one will be more a wanting being rather than a satisfied being.

Does our inner growth impact the collective consciousness?

There is the principle of the ladder. Imagine a ladder in which people are climbing. If one is unwilling to move up, it blocks others. If one helps the other to climb, one is not only helping oneself but also others. If everyone is disciplined, the process becomes smooth. If not, it is because of sleeping consciousness that one does not see the sanity of harmony and order.

If one is not ready to be awake, then one blocks another. If one is willing to grow, it impacts the collective consciousness and in turn it also impacts people around. So it becomes necessary to make the right connection and disconnection.

How important is the role of a Master?

An enlightened Master’s being is awakened to higher levels of consciousness. His ‘presence’ has a rippling effect on others. He can see your blocks clearly and helps you open up. We have four doors to be opened. They are a conscious mind, a subconscious mind, an unconscious mind and a divine mind.

Conscious mind involves thoughts, decisions and discussions. Then the subconscious mind has to be opened. One has to have affinity to one’s Master with a deep feeling of love and oneness. Even in disagreement with a conscious mind, a deep feeling of love opens the other’s door.

The unconscious mind has to be opened through surrender. Surrendering to a Master can be a great opening. Surrendering involves considering the Master’s teaching as one’s breath. Surrender your ego. Then the third door opens.

Finally, the last door has to be opened by the power of grace. When all the three doors are opened, you will be flooded with grace. – The Times of India

Satsang: Swami Sukhabodhananda

Why You Deserve a Break Today—If Not Sooner (1)

Good morning friends. This is a little kind of tips coming from Phillip C. McGraw, PhD.  It is most applicable to those people who work hard or let us just say a workaholic person.  It’s good that we love our work but there will always be a time for everything.  As we have to work, we should have to take a break.  I’d like to share it with you. 

It’s not selfish.  It’s not irresponsible.  It’ll send you back to your friends and family calmer, happier, and nicer.  Grab a little private time for yourself. 

Whenever he talk to a women about making alone time a priority, it’s clear to him that even the thought of it makes them feel guilty.  Women have been socialized to be the nurturers, the loving mothers, wives, and domestic engineers.  Between working, running a household, and raising over scheduled kids, there’s no time left for “self”.  Unfortunately, women got the message that they were being negligent if they abandoned their posts and invested in themselves.  This couldn’t be more wrong. 

The idea that it’s selfish to take care of yourself is shortsighted and prevents you from being your best.  If you’re rolling your eyes because you  believe private time is a luxury you can’t afford, think of it this way:  you can’t give away what you don’t have.  Without a peaceful, well-rested, loving, tender spirit, you’re in no position to be nurturing to your family or friends.  We’re like bank accounts:  If we make only withdrawals (Carpooling, working late, helping out a friend), we wind up emotionally and physically bankrupt.  We all must make regular deposits to our minds, souls and bodies.  You must take a time for you. 

The Essence of YOGA

Engage

 

● Challenges your body and mind. 

● Study with the choice of your outstanding teacher

 

 

Explore

 

● Deepens your practice. 

● Focus on your areas of interest with highly esteemed teachers presenting a diversity of yoga styles and philosophies.

 

 

Expand

 

● Join a vibrant community of like-minded people. 

● Earn continuing education credit for Yoga Alliance and other certification programs.

 

ref: yogajournal

The Body-Mind Connection – 1

In yogic terms, however, there is no separation between mind, body and spirit.  The three exist as a union (one definition of the word yoga); what happens to the mind also happens to the body and spirit, and so on.  In other words, if something is bothering you spiritually, emotionally, or mentally, it is likely to show up in your body.  And as you work deeply with your body in yoga, emotional issues will likely come to the fore.

 

In the yogic view, we all hold within our bodies emotions and misguided thoughts that keep us from reaching Samadhi, defined by some as “conscious enlightenment.”  Any sense of unease or dis-ease in the body keeps us from reaching and experiencing this state.  Asanas are one path to blissful contentment, working to bring us closer by focusing our minds and releasing any emotional or inner tension in our bodies.

 

Though the ancient yogis understood that emotional turmoil is carried in the mind, the body, and the spirit.  Western medicine has been slow to accept this.  But new research has verified that mental and emotional condition can affect the state of the physical body, and that the mind-body connections is real.

 

Many doctors, psychotherapists, and chiropractors are embracing these findings, and are now recommending yoga to help patients deal with problems that only a few years ago would have been viewed and treated solely in biomechanical terms.

ref: yogajournal

Uncrowd your life

“CROWDING IS THE ACT OF FILLING OUR LIFE WITH  things that aren’t right for you, thereby limiting your ability to reach for what you truly want”.  Some symptoms of crowding:

 

♦  Your house, briefcase and office are either extremely messy or compulsively neat, to the point that there’s no room for any thing new.

 

♦  You feel like you don’t have time to complete even the simplest of tasks.

♦  You spend a lot of time doing things you don’t  want to be doing.

♦  You feel a general dissatisfaction with your life.

The cure for crowding?  Ridding yourself of unsatisfying things, activities or relationships to make room for more promising ones.  Even small changes will give you some breathing room.  Do one thing you’ve been putting off.  Tell one friend you cant go out this week.  Give away one item of clothing you don’t like anymore.  Whenever you create a space by getting rid of something, you’re telling your subconscious that you deserve better.  Armed with this information, it will begin to see, our something new.”

The Advantage of Solitude – 2

The human social and cultural environment provides the imagination with a wellspring of actual and vicarious experiences.  Some wellsprings are “The Inner Eye,” “The White Goddess,” and “The Duende (Dwarf)”.  Whatever the term, it remains a nebulous entity, revealing itself by what it does and not by how it is defined.  It my lurk in the dark corners of the min, or sing strange songs from a garden bush, or dance like a whirling dervish in a basketball court, but it will always take over the mind and command memory to assemble objects or events or feelings into a most unusual linguistic construction.  In loneliness, we often summon the beautiful and the pleasant, for when intensely brought back to the level of consciousness, they enable us to lighten the burden of travails and failures by making them bearable.  Memory is the mother of poetry.

Enforced solitude should not be mistaken for communal misery.  The urban world has conferred on the concepts of paradoxical shade of meaning which summed up in the definition of “city life” as “millions of people being lonesome together.”   The man by the ocean and the man in the forest share the knowledge that solitude in benevolent in the long run, for the turn of events is ultimately to their advantage.  This is not a matter of fate but of history.  Fate can be breached, but history is inexorable.  Fate is that ‘gong-tormented sea,” but history is the steely march of time.  There is this naïve content with solitary life in the midst of nature, scorned fate; no, wanted to avoid it, for with it comes sorrow and the death of happiness.

Focus and Singleness of Mind – 1

Good Morning everybody!  As part of my daily routine, reading those inspirational phrases gave positive thinking.  I want to share with you what I have just read.  And I’m sure you will learn from it.

Most of us can only do only one thing well at a time.  If we desire to succeed, we must practice the art of concentrating our gifts, abilities, and attention on the target.  God has set before us.

Practically speaking, what do I mean by focus?

Define your goals with realism and clarity in the light of your calling.  As believers, we are not trying to amass wealth here on earth.  We are trying hard to maximized our effectiveness for God’s kingdom and minimize the waste of time and other resources.

Jesus said:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.

Discover your God-given talents and stay within your circle of expertise.  Businesspeople call this “sticking to the knitting.”  Find your niche in the market and seek to fill it through hard work and excellence.  Exercise discipline to turn down (or refer) inappropriate opportunities (the gift of saying “no”).  No one can do everything well.  May God show us the one thing, or few things, we do best.