God is a great concept man has found to cope with life (1 of 6)

Good morning friends.  In this world, there is no great as God.  God is a great concept of man to cope up with life.  God handles each and everyone of us in His way.  We sometimes feel bad as we think that God is forgetting us.  It’s not true.  I just remember one quotes and I seriously believe in it … “Let not have fear to face the life, as Lord God is just around to walk with us, to guide us where we least expected.”    The article I read is a good thing to read and I would like to share it with you.

What does spirituality mean to you?

It is a deep inner quest, which somehow connects with my concerns for life, my concerns about society, the conditions in which I was born.

Also, as you can see a certain kind of ugliness around and certain imbalances, you try to find answers.

You do it without an agenda, without it being part of your job. You do it as your own inner journey. You do it to connect to human beings. You may do it on a very small local scale and then expand it to a universal one.

You may find a common thread in this quest. Underlying its whole description is love, universal love. A love that makes you want to see everything in its pure form. You want to negate all the ugliness around. That is what I feel spirituality is all about.It manifests itself in a lot of finer human expressions. Art is avery important factor in it. It can express your very base feelings and desires. It can also be the ultimate expression of spirituality through poetry, music, painting, cinema.

So it is all about finding your own way to understand spirituality, your own way to express it.

Precisely, how did you find your own way?

I don’t have any great claims of being spiritual. But I feel it is a very important factor in human life. And it should be celebrated as the one strong way to peace.

At least I can see and recognize those people who have reached it. That quality, every human being has – to recognize spirituality in its pure form. The only ones who don’t have it are those who have a very strong intellect and a very strong ego. They can’t see spirituality, they always run it down. They use their intellect to survive, to cut people down, to move forward and all sorts of other things.

It is the human race’s tragedy: this ambitious mind trying to find a place of superiority for itself. That is a real danger to the human race. But we are in it, we can’t avoid it, we have to suffer through it.

God is in Nature

Good morning friends.  Do you believe that God is everywhere, were you least expected Him.  Yes it is!  We can find God anywhere.  Actually we don’t have to find Him.  He is just beside you every time you needed Him.  God is even in nature too. The article I read is very nice and  I do believe in it. 

I’m not a particularly religious person, but then you don’t have to be religious to be spiritual.

All my life, I’ve had to work for a living and therefore haven’t had the leisure to meditate on a mountain top or be spiritual in a public sense. However, being a writer, I tend to look inwards and am, by nature, a spiritual person.

If life becomes too pressing and the world is too much upon me, a walk in the woods and communion with nature helps. I like being with myself and taking a walk in the unspoilt surroundings and commune if not with God, with myself. I believe being close to nature is a spiritual experience.

And while writing is a mental experience, it’s also an emotional one and the enjoyment and satisfaction I get from it also makes it spiritual. Among writers, I feel a special connection with Thoreau, who went off to live in the woods and poets like Wordsworth.

In my free time, I like watching sports and playing with children. Enjoying what you do keeps you calm and in touch with your inner self. Was falling in love a spiritual experience? While it leaves you feeling hot and bothered, it also connects you with the higher self.

Spirituality to me means being at peace with oneself and with the world in general. It’s hard not to be grumpy or frustrated at times, especially when I hear the growing traffic below my window or the trucks banging into the boundary wall and my neighbor’s garbage incinerator sending bursts of smoke into my room, but I’ve by and large made my peace with these things. The Times of India

Money creates a false sense of independence (2 of 2)

On the other hand, some people blame money for all the ills in society. There are others who even consider it an evil. Just as possessing money brings arrogance, rejecting it too makes one arrogant. Some people who renounce money take pride in their poverty to draw attention and sympathy.

However, ancient sages honored money or maya as a part of the divine and transcended the grip of its illusion. They knew that when we reject or hate something, we can never transcend it.

They honored wealth as Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Narayana. She is born out of yoga. It is yoga that transforms the bad karma and brings out latent skills and talents. It also brings up ashtasiddhis, the eight perfections and nav nidhis, the nine wealth.

Yoga helps one move from arrogance to self-confidence, meekness to humility, dependence to interdependence, from craving for freedom to the recognition of unboundedness and from a limited ownership to oneness with the whole.

\When people lack faith in the Divine or in their own abilities or in the goodness of society they suffer from a deep sense of insecurity. As a result all that appears to provide security is money. They rely on something that is not certain, and end up getting upset. Uncertainty causes craving for stability.

The world is of change; the Self is of non-change. We have to rely on the non-change and accept the change. This is like perceiving the real as unreal and unreal as real. In fact, all miseries are unreal. A wise man knows that happiness is real, as it is our very nature. Unhappiness is unreal because it is inflicted by memory. When we see everything as a dream, then we abide in our true nature — love, joy and peace. We then understand that money is not all-important. Values, sense of belonging, love and care are more important. – The Times of India

Website: www.artofliving.org.

Money creates a false sense of independence (1 of 2)

Good morning friends.  Some people, money is their God.  Money is everything.  Money creates a false sense of independence.  They said . . . money is the root of all evil.  But we should always remember that It must be use in a right way. 

Money gives one a sense of freedom and ownership. We believe that with money we can own anything, that we can put a price tag on anybody’s services. 

Ownership of something means total control of its existence. When we buy a piece of land, we feel that we own it, although the land continues to exist even after the owner is no more. How can we own something that outlives us?

Money also gives the idea that we are powerful and independent, blinding us to the fact that we live in a world of interdependence. We depend on farmers, cooks, drivers and the services of so many people around us. Even an expert surgeon cannot operate by herself. She depends on others. Because we pay for their services, we overlook the fact that we depend on them.

If we look at why most people with money are arrogant we will find it is because of the feeling of independence that money brings. The awareness of dependence on the other hand makes one humble. The basic human quality of humility is taken away by a false feeling of independence.

Can money really reflect the worth of a person? We cannot put a value to human life. Wealth can be attained through one’s skills, abilities, inheritance, or through corrupt means. The means of attaining wealth brings its own consequences. The very motive for corruption is peace and happiness. Yet peace and happiness remain elusive when the means are corrupt.

As possession of money creates the illusion of independence, money is often referred to as maya. A Sanskrit phrase sums it up: Miyate anaya iti maya – That which can be measured is maya.

Mind set: Of thank you and sorry (3 of 3)

The word loses its impact when we refrain from acknowledging our offence (“Sorry for whatever I may have done”) or throw in a self-serving conditionality (“I am sorry if you were hurt”). If the purpose of an apology is only to say, “While I don’t think I was wrong, I will apologize because you say so”, it is best not to offer one, for, the worst we can do is to insult someone’s sensitivity or intelligence by such treatment.

Bestowed with the power to effect reconciliation and mend strained relationships, an apology must involve acknowledging the offense adequately, expressing genuine remorse and offering appropriate reparations, including a commitment to make changes. “A stiff apology is a second insult,” said novelist and poet G K Chesterton. “The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt.”

The rewards of an apology can only be earned, not embezzled. With everybody from convicts to public figures seeking its refuge, “sorry” is not a quick fix for things gone awry, but the starting point of restoring order. The use of this word must be backed by sincerity of intention. “Never ruin an apology with an excuse,” advises American poet Kimberly Johnson. Seldom does an apology sensitize us to the responsibility of not repeating the same mistake.

A sincere apology helps both parties achieve greater harmony: While the individual making an apology is disencumbered of guilt, shame and fear of retaliation, the one who accepts an apology heals his own humiliations and grudges, rids his mind of the painful preoccupations of revenge and generates forgiveness to bring about greater peace in his own life and in the lives of others around him.

Expressing gratitude and apology without necessarily being grateful or remorseful people is an exercise in futility. Shallow expressions of gratitude and apology are not emotionally evocative and end up producing the contrary result. Often, they are so disengaged and superficial that they fail to motivate altruistic action and positivity. What matter most here is honesty, generosity, humility, commitment, courage and sacrifice, for these qualities define our true dignity.  - The Times of India

(Harsh Kabra is an alternative therapist and a writer based in Pune)

Pilgrimage to the spa, temples of repose (1)

Good morning friends.  When we heard of the word spa,  it comes to my mind that it is a process of massaging any part of the body.  It is one way to feel our body relax and  free with tension.  It’s good the may ones a week we have to go to a massage parlor or let our family do that to us.  But did you know that there is something with a different meaning of spa when it comes to religion?  Let me share this with you.

The spa is a sanctuary that enables self-renewal in an environment that can be described as being the antithesis of our fast-paced, high-tech world by facilitating retreat into the vital elements of life.The focus on ‘healing environments’ has emphasised the quality of touch, smell, hearing, seeing and sensing to bring us into harmony with a natural state of being where we are no longer required ‘to do’, but rather, ‘to be’.

In a worldwide fusion of influences, the spa has evolved into a place where we go to reconnect with our inner selves, our soul, and experience that joyous sense of gratitude for simply being alive that comes so easily when you feel good. This journey through the elements nurtures the body, yet takes us beyond its finite form into a timelessness and serenity where we are content to simply breathe, happy in our own skin.

The spa has become the new monastery, the house of the spirit, a place where we all become one in the anonymity of robes, shared baths, bareness, peace and the mutual respect we hold for each other’s space. The mystical quality of human consciousness is reflected in these temples of repose, where the hands-on therapist creates the bridge across the divide from chaos to peace, from stress to balance, guiding us further on to touch base with our inner gods, whoever they may be, bringing us home to ourselves. – The Times of Indian

A Moment Alone: The Vogage In

There’s a deep and utterly unique pleasure that comes—when you’re travelling alone-the minute the train pulls out of the station.  It’s unlike the exhilaration and the vague anxiety of a plane’s takeoff, unlike the wary alertness of leaving the driveway.  Is it the comfort of the plush seats?  The old-fashioned charm of the fact that the conductor still says “All aboard!”?  I think it has more to do with a kind of promise.  For the next few hours, you will be out of time, free and (especially if you ride in one of the cell-phone-free “quiet cars”) at peace; nothing will interfere with your enjoyment of your own company.  It’s a bit like a long nap, except you remain awake, soothed and rocked by the rumble of the wheels on the track, reading or daydreaming, entertaiend by the spectacle of the world streaming smoothy by—a delightful reverie from which you will emerge having arrived at your destination.

Reference:  Francine Prose

Photo Courtesy:  farm2.static 

Vision Quest – 6

Good morning friends.  I just left my part 6 of my Vision Quest last 2008, so let me continue the last part here now.

 

 

The Quest

 

For some people, a quest may be encased in a religious experience—for others, it might be a crisis or a dramatic change in person al circumstances, such as a birth or death.  And while religion is the spark that lights the fire within some individuals, it can also imposed a limiting structure with rules and belief systems that interfere with true personal growth—especially  when the distinctions between religion and spirituality become blurred.

 

We believe that our purpose in being here is to grow spiritually.  We do this in a variety of ways—none of which are better or lesser than others; but, rather, are chosen by us because we are at various stages of spiritual unfoldment.  The goals of peace, integrity, clarity, compassion and in particular, the balance between mind and body through personal and spiritual development are essential to spiritual development, regardless of the particular path one chooses to follow.  Spirit [God] is equally present in the job as in the remote mountainside.”

 

In the end, setting out on a spiritual quest—may be less a choice than it is a necessity.  What often makes people begin a quest, is a feeling restlessness, and that something beyond is coming through to us, says Andrews.  Begin by seeing your intentions.  Set your intention to live a happier or fulfilling life.  Speaking strictly to that intention will lead us to being aware of guides or teachers around us,  someone who can help on the path.  Again, it’s essential to set your intention to reclaim your own happiness and connection with life.  I feel that the spiritual path to greater consciousness has been –part of the human experience forever, and always will be.

 

 

Ref: fityoga

A Map of One’s Own

Good morning friends!  Have you tried YOGA?  Discover the map of of yourself.  Ancient Ayurveda reveals your life “blueprint” for personal transformation and optional health.

 

Some people crave peace and solitude, others dream of fame and fortune.  And then there are the iconoclast—those among us who alter the course of human history.  If you ever wondered why you are who you are, or why you act the way you do, there’s perfectly good explanation:  it’s in your life blueprint.

 

Thousands of years ago, Vedic scholars in India looked to the planets to decode the uniqueness of each individual.  Today, this sacred ancient Ayurvedic knowledge thrives through Gandharva Sauls and Sarah Tomlinson, co-directors and founders of the Ayurveda-Yoga Institute based in Manhattan.  By understanding your own blueprints, you can develop deeper insights about the most important areas in your life, including health, career, and relationships.

 

Saul acquired this cache of wisdom through Edward Tarabilda, the late modern sage who studied the Verdic science of the stars.  Though Sauls requires specific information about one’s birth for a consultation (the exact minute of birth for example), Ayurveda is not associated with astrology.  Rather, this 5,000-year old system of healing provides vital information that can transform and balance your physical and mental health.  An Ayurvedic and yoga practitioner since 1986, Sauls learned from renowned masters, such as Dr.Vasant Lad, David Frawley, and Maya Tiwari.  Several years later, he read Tarabilda’s enlightening book Ayurveda Revolutionized, and felt compelled to meet with him.  Ed had discovered some big, missing pieces of Ayurveda that really work in a much more accurate way, who began studying with Tarabilda and received the esoteric gift of “reading the life blueprint” in 2000.

Finding Peace – 1

Those of us who practice regularly eventually come to understand what a comfort yoga can be.  Whether it’s at the end of a stressful day or the beginning of a new one, coming to the mat has the ability to wipe away the anxiety of missed deadlines, or open the heart to accept whatever gifts might be coming our way.  For people living busy lives In a whirling world, yoga surely is the perfect elixir for body and soul.

I know one story that happened to my friend.  Let me share you that story.  One day she received an email from an unusual source—a naval aviator.  Along with his short note was a picture of two American soldiers practicing yoga on the deck of an aircraft carrier.  At first it seemed a little shocking—soldiers practicing such a peaceful art—but a closer look made her smile.  Appropriately enough, they are standing very enthusiastically in Warrior I—flight suits, heavy boots, and all.  And on their faces, their serene smiles relayed a sense of inner calm that only yogis can truly understand.  I began to think about their situation—that any minute they could be called into action and possibly face horrific consequences.  Certainly, that’s more stress and anxiety than most of us will ever have to deal with in our “busy” lives.  But thankfully yoga is there on board that ship, halfway around the world, for these your warrior.