Keeping The 'Watchman Of Attention' Alert

All the religions and spiritual groups place a lot of importance on the
virtue of *discipline*. Without discipline you do not manage to transform
negative habits and you do not create a new state of awareness where the
self is nourished through the experience of spirituality. Every day you eat,
you brush your teeth, bathe, drink water and breathe, and all of this you do
not consider a discipline; you have adopted them as something natural in
order for your body to continue working. On a spiritual level you also need
to nourish yourself and to have a discipline that, with practice, a time
comes when it becomes natural because you incorporate it into your life.* In
the process of change you need to discipline yourself in order not to let
old habits come to the forefront.* Until you have 'burnt' them and they have
'died', you should keep the* 'watchman of attention'* alert in order to
maintain your self-control, given that each time you use a negative habit in
action, you strengthen it. When you do not use it, you allow it to die.

The path of the spiritual traveler is therefore one of waking (awareness of
self as soul) and sleeping (under the illusion that we are our body), waking
and sleeping. We tend to fluctuate between the two (like dawn and dusk)
until we find stability in soul-consciousness. This is why it is important
to awaken and stay awake, and why it's important to give our mind and
intellect good *spiritual food (knowledge)* and* exercise
(meditation)*every day to keep them fresh and alert. Being conscious
of the soul, acting
from that consciousness, the scars (habits and tendencies) left by past
actions based on illusions of bodily awareness are healed. Discipline is
necessary for growth and personal transformation if you want to obtain
satisfying and permanent results. If not, the old habits continue to rule in
your life. *The evidence that our discipline in the practice of meditation
is working is mental lightness and an increasing easiness in our
interactions with others.*

Making The Journey With The Right Realization

It's so easy to become caught up in my physical role - my name, physical
personality and looks; the social setup or family I've been born into, my
friend circle, the school I went to, the person I married, the organization
in which I work, the various material objects I own or possess. I forget my
true identity, the spiritual being, and that it is me, the spirit or soul,
who is experiencing life through this physical body and surrounding
circumstances. The physical, human side is essential, but *it's the spirit,
the being, the energy, which makes the journey. The physical body is the
vehicle through which the journey is made. The people who exist in my life
are also energies making their journeys through their respective
vehicles.*Looking at myself and others, when I realize who is making
the journey and
I remember this and maintain this spiritual consciousness throughout the
day, I'm able to access spiritual treasures of peace, of power, of love and
joy and see the same in others. It is because of not remaining in this
remembrance; I remember and identify with the vehicle and experience my
false identity. That is why we find ourselves empty of these treasures
today. As a result there is a tremendous increase in interest in meditation
throughout the world. Unlike in the past when this interest was seen
primarily in the East, today relaxation and meditation is a blooming
industry in the Western countries.

The more I become trapped by a materialistic consciousness, and the more I
lose contact with my inner self, the less freedom I experience. The search
of happiness through the physical senses brings temporary, short-lived
gains. *My life lacks depth when the only things I know, realize and feel
are related to the loads of information I receive from the physical sense
organs,* and I become disconnected from the spiritual dimension.

Exercise On Self Discovery (cont.)

Think about which qualities you need to possess as a professional or as a
homemaker e.g. qualities of a team leader in a corporate organization would
be: efficiency, responsibility, focus, precision, determination, etc. Then,
leaving aside the professional aspect, explore your basic, innate qualities.
Reflect on your inner and spiritual values. Which values make you happy?
Look deep into your inner self. Take some time in this and note down three
of these essential values in your life. What conclusion have you come to?
What are these values?

*The more we really understand ourselves, with our defects, weaknesses,
virtues and values, the better our relationships will be with others.* We
will understand when they have little understanding of themselves and
others. Knowing oneself in-depth, taking into account everything described
above as well as in yesterday's message, requires time, effort, observation
and the practice of silence. In silence one can begin a conversation with
oneself. In this way we can gradually discover our inner beauty and
strength, and be aware of the basis of our value and dignity as human
beings. When we relearn to see ourselves with our original qualities and
innate values, it is also easier to recognise these qualities in others.

Exercise On Self Discovery

Many people today do not have a clear sense of identity. In fact, when you
ask people about the image they have of themselves, it is usually negative,
and they see their weaknesses (negative "sanskaras") and mistakes committed
in the past more easily than their qualities (positive "sanskaras") and
achievements. This negative image of oneself leads us to an identity crisis.
A negative image causes feelings of dissatisfaction to accumulate within
oneself. Then our lifestyle is affected by the need for recognition and
approval, by the need to justify ourselves, of obtaining material
achievements and success.

*Given below is an exercise to experience your true self:*
Sit back and observe yourself. What is the image you have of yourself? How
do you see yourself? Who are you really? What is there left when you have
removed all the labels? Are you thoughts, feelings, free will, energy,
ideas, being, conscience, intellect, life? What do the majority have in
common? They are internal, incorporeal and invisible: they are non-physical
aspects. The true self is incorporeal and invisible.

*Now experience your ideal self:* Make a list of which qualities you think
your ideal self should have, the self you deeply long to be and experience
in your life. The list may include qualities such as: joyful, tolerant,
generous, fearless, free, loving, among others.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Projection Of Mental Energies In Relationships

Sometimes in relationships, *you believe that the other person is hurting
you because they do not meet your desires, but in such cases how can you
know if it is really true?* Let's go a step ahead; *does the belief that
they are going to hurt you influence the situation until in the end it
happens?* Perhaps they won't hurt you. Your belief that the other is going
to hurt you is not so powerful that it will necessarily affect the other
person. But it affects you yourself. They may not hurt you at all finally,
but you will end up hurt, you will become emotionally ill, even psychically
ill sometimes. The symptoms will begin to show themselves and you will say:
"Did you see? I feel hurt, I keep telling you so." So your belief caused you
to get hurt and not the other.

The other person isn't you. *In relationships, a moment comes when you don't
know if it is their fault or yours, if it is their responsibility or yours,
if that person has caused the irritation inside you, or if it was you, if
that person began the argument or it was you, if they created the conflict
or if it was you, because we project (throw) our energies onto each
other.*All of this drives us to frustration. A lot of power, negative
or positive,
is needed for a person to be able to influence others with their
consciousness, it is easier to influence ourselves. This is a basic
principle of human relationships, which we don't understand. We don't
understand, and the reason is that we don't see ourselves, because we are
always looking at the other, putting the responsibility onto them, blaming
them, criticizing them.

Meditation - What The Scientists Say ...

Scientists used to believe connections among brain cells were fixed early
in life and did not change in adulthood, but studies using brain imaging
have shown that mental training through meditation can change brain
circuits. It can also improve higher mental activity by increasing
coordination between different brain areas.

* Meditation can be an active rather than passive (inactive) process. During
the practice of meditation, brain areas dealing with input from the sense
organs become less active, but other parts "light up" (become more active)
and the heart rate increases.

* Meditation can free us from negative tendencies, letting us see both our
true inner nature and the reality of the world around us.

The Seven Relationships With The Supreme

Every soul has a close relationship with the Supreme (God), but we simply
forget it as we become over-involved in, attached to and distracted by our
life on the physical plane and our different relationships with different
physical beings during our journey of births and rebirths.   Spirituality
makes us realize the need of restoring our connection with God, which has
either broken or has become loose. It also makes us realize that this
connection needs to be a very deep and personal one.

*God plays many roles, just as a good parent, being one, but will play many
roles while bringing up his or her child.   Each role consists of different
spiritual characteristics and virtues of God, expressed by Him.* Take a few
moments to think about the main roles that God plays in our life and
identify the main virtues and characteristics which He expresses e.g. in the
role of Father He demonstrates the art of living to us and how to perform
right 'karmas'.  In the role of Mother he gives spiritual sustenance, in the
form of virtues like peace, love and joy to us. In the role of Teacher, he
showers us with true knowledge of the spirit or the soul. These are just a
few examples. We suggest you do your own thinking about seven different
roles that God plays: *Father, Mother, Teacher, Guide (or 'Guru'), Companion
(or Beloved), Friend, Child* and how he plays them. Once you have done this
inner thinking exercise, experience each of these seven roles on each of the
seven different days of the week, one role per day.   Feel Him being in that
role for you and then note what you feel exactly and how you relate to
Him.   Also identify the spiritual characteristics and virtues that it
brings out from within you.

*Types Of Fears (cont.)*

Yesterday we had explained some of the common types of fear human beings
suffer from. Let us look at some more:

** Failure* - some people avoid doing something, or choose not to act,
because their fear of failure weakens initiative and confidence.

** Authority* - this can be fear of a parent, of a boss, even of God.
Because authority has often been misused, in order to control and suppress
people, it is a normal result that fear, in the form of suspicion and
mistrust, has become such a negative force, both personally and
collectively, in society.

There are many reasons for these types of fear, but the main ones include:

** Past experiences*, which brought disappointment, insecurity, or wariness
(caution).

** Lack of faith* in one's self and in others.

** The need for approval*, to belong, or to be accepted.

** The habit of seeing things negatively.*

*Types Of Fears*

Fear comes daily and often in our lives in the form of stress, worry,
anxiety and in a variety of other wasteful and negative forms. Let us look
at some of the types of fear human beings suffer from:

** The unknown* - for example, death or a new situation.

** Loneliness* - sometimes people fear loneliness to the extent that they
cannot bear their own company, preferring to lose themselves in superficial
(artificial) relationships and activities.

** The future* - as the problems of the world increase, whether political,
economic, environmental or social, this creates, or adds to, personal and
collective fear of the future.

** Illness* - sometimes because of fear of disease, people make their
sickness worse than it is, or live in fear of inflicting (getting) something
horrible.

** Other people* - usually this is the greatest fear of all: fear of others'
anger, rejection, judgement and violence.

(To be continued tomorrow....)

The Soul Journey

A common question asked by many is - *"Do we go back to the soul world, the
incorporeal world (non-physical world), the home of all souls, when we die?"
* When we understand and experience ourselves as souls, as un-destroyable,
eternal beings, we realize that death is only a physical phenomenon.   At
the death of the body, the soul enters another physical costume and a new
chapter in its journey of life begins.    Depending on the soul's 'karma'
performed through the body, its new birth is likely to be somewhere in the
company of those souls with whom it has been close in previous births.  It
is quite a paradox that when a soul leaves a body, the relations which it
has left, mourn over the loss of their loved one, and the new relations
which it gets attached to celebrate with happiness, over an addition of a
new-born entrant in their family.

*The soul only leaves the home (the soul world) once in a unique, personal
journey. This journey of the soul is not linear i.e. a straight line, with a
beginning and an end. But, on the other hand, it is cyclic i.e. a circle,
with neither a beginning, nor an end - although both leaving the soul world
and going back to the soul world happen once each in every cycle. *  This
soul journey can be compared to actors who leave home to go to the theatre
to play their parts.   They change costumes between scenes - they don't
return home at the end of each scene, they return home when the play is
finished, only to return the next day to repeat their part in the play. Each
birth of the soul that it takes can be compared to a new scene of the play,
which consists of many different scenes.

The Invisible Factor

The most powerful things are invisible. For example, the roots of a tree
cannot be seen; they are underground silently nourishing the visible tree. A
house is supported by its foundation deep within the earth. If the
foundation is weak the building will fall when there is some kind of strong
pressure, like an earthquake. The essence of matter is the atom; it holds a
tremendous amount of energy but cannot be seen by the eyes.

Can we see the Supreme Being (God)? You will never meet someone who has seen
Him. People have experienced, or felt God's presence but no one has actually
seen a personal form, yet millions believe in such a Being! In the same way,
when it comes to knowing the true self, we ask, 'What does the soul look
like? Where is it situated?'

Spirituality leads us to the answers related to the invisible i.e. answers
to what is the form, location and virtues of the soul as well as the Supreme
Soul.

Bringing The Consciousness Back 'In Shape'

If we try and find the root causes of all forms of stress, we would find
that both *lazy* and *wrong* thinking lie behind various stressful emotions.
No one right from our childhood to when we are grown-ups puts this into our
heads that *we are each responsible for our own thoughts and
feelings.*Instead we are taught that others are responsible for what
we think and
feel. *No one teaches us 'how' to think.* *We are taught 'what' to think in
terms of knowledge of the world, but not how to shape our own thoughts and
feelings.

*In spirituality the self gets the required training to create positive and
powerful thoughts, thoughts:
1. which are connected to true spiritual knowledge of the self,
2. which are beneficial to your own spiritual well-being,
3. that inject positive energy in the form of happiness, love and enthusiasm
to those around you,
4. which are absolutely necessary in the context in which you find yourself,
5. which use all your subtle energies in an economical way,
6. which ensure that the result of any response you may create does not
result in stress.

When no one teaches us that any mental or emotional discomfort comes from
within our own consciousness, we also do not ever realize that any negative
state of being is unnatural and a sign that our consciousness is 'out of
shape'.  The above thought training helps us to return our consciousness to
its true, natural and original shape.

The Game Of Life (Meditation)

I relax my body... I breathe deeply and let go of all tensions... I centre
myself on this present moment... On the screen of my mind, I visualize
myself without fears... I let go of all labels, all roles that I play... Now
I 'am'... I am a shining being of light... I am free... I am peace...

I am totally free, beyond all limitations... I enter into another dimension,
a home full of soft golden red light, a home without any boundaries, my
original, unlimited home, the home from where I have come... I stop thinking
so much; I simply experience my spiritual presence...

I am who I want to be... I am me... I do not need to justify myself... I do
not need to give explanations...  I connect to my inner beauty... I radiate
the energy of the beauty that there is in me...

I let go of the branches... I fly... I fly high... Beyond the body, above
this place, the people that surround me, beyond the houses and the streets,
beyond the clouds, I fly towards the dimension of light where no physical
limitation ties me down...

I feel the unlimited peace that caresses my being... I let myself be taken
by the sensation of freedom that the flight gives me... I see the planet
Earth from above... I recognize that everything there below is a game... I
relax: everything is a game... I am a player in the game of life... I simply
have to learn to play the game being who I am...

Now, it is time to return... I am here, present... My breathing calmed... I,
the soul am relieved... Now I know that, whenever I want, I can fly... Being
an observer of the game, and live it with joy and peacefulness.

*The Filtration Process In The Soul*

The mind and its creation i.e. thoughts, in these times, in most people, are
controlled by three main factors:
*i. their habits or 'sanskaras'
ii. their past experiences, and
iii. information which they are exposed to and which they imbibe.*

The intellect is like a filter which has the function of discriminating, of
judging the thoughts and deciding which ones to put into practice and which
ones not to, basically filtering them. *Presently the filter of the
intellect has become weakened, confused and unsure; it has become blocked by
many incorrect beliefs, due to which this filtration does not take place
properly - as a result many wrong thoughts get converted into actions.* A
lot of times during the day, thoughts become actions so fast, that the
filter of the intellect does not even come into play i.e. thoughts become
actions bypassing the filter.

The beliefs that we have today are related to our cultural, physical,
social, religious, political identity associated with our age, gender,
occupation, wealth, role etc. of our body. Beliefs connected to materialism,
to *having* rather than *being*, are living based on the perception of the
sense organs, and not on the intuition and the wisdom of the spirit. There
are beliefs that block you, or brake you, others break you, they bring about
fears in you and a limited perception of reality and of yourself. However
much you try to generate positive thoughts, if you do not change these
beliefs, their influence on the intellect will be so strong that it is
almost impossible to maintain a positive state of mind. Even if you
experience it, it will be short-lived and temporary.

Motivation

Motivation is an inner positive energy, a combination of enthusiasm and
clear perception (understanding) that enables us to accomplish (complete) a
task.

*Motivation keeps us determined and on course, otherwise it is so easy to be
distracted by problems and laziness. What does motivation do? It moves us
from one reality to another, from where I am to where I wish to be.

When we want to reactivate our motivation we need to examine the following:

* What do I want?
* What do I wish for?
* What do I value?
* What do I need?
* What do I enjoy?
* What do I understand? and, especially,
* What do I love?

When we sit down and think about the answers to these questions, they become
the basis for activating new insights and tasks and for reactivating those
insights and tasks, which I have forgotten to pay proper attention to and
have not developed properly.

Becoming Responsible For My Destiny (cont.)

Factors like any particular person, a group of people, the government,
nature, even God, etc. cannot be held responsible for *what has happened to
me in my life, up to this moment.* It is my and my responsibility alone.
Equally, what my future holds depends on me to a very large extent. Rather,
*whatever I choose to do at this moment is already creating my destiny for
tomorrow.* I shouldn't forget that the only real time I have for creating my
future is the present, now.

'Karma' teaches me that at every step, I am the creator of my own little
world, the creator of my future circumstances.* I also am the creator of the
environment immediately around me. On a bigger level I am a co-creator or
partner, together with God, of a positive future of the world, of the world
of tomorrow, of the world of peace, love and happiness.* So my
responsibility and my ability to influence the future is not restricted to
my life alone.

That I can create the future of my choice - of love, peace and happiness,
for myself and others, can appear as unreasonable optimism. It's just being
realistic. What I create is what is going to happen. If I choose to transmit
love and peace in my interactions with others today, I create relationships,
in the present and for the future, based on those qualities.

Becoming Responsible For My Destiny

These are examples of some of the inner questions that emerge in our minds
from time to time:

'Why is she rich and successful and I am not?' 'Why did he behave in that
way with me; I've always behaved well with him.' 'Why does that one have
easy success in life and the other, however hard he tries, fails at every
step?' 'Why is he nice natured but is born blind and the other ill natured
but has no health problems at all?' 'Why does she suffer so much?' 'She is
so sweet, but yet everyone disrespects her.' 'Why did that child die at such
a young age? She was so innocent.' 'Why did I get married to such a person?'
'Why am I here?' 'How is that student in my class so intelligent?'

There are lot more questions like these that trouble us. *In the case of
sorrows, it is seen more than the sorrow, it is the question - why this
sorrow exists in my life that troubles us.  Why? What? How? When? Even so,
they all have only one answer: 'karma'.*

I don't need to go into minute details of each situation. If I see that
nothing can happen without having had a justified cause in my past or in
that of others, life becomes much easier to face, with responsibility and
the power of courage.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Stages Of Meditation To Realize The Self

1. *Relax* your body.


2. *Withdraw* your attention from everything around you, including your
body.


3. *Affirm* (confirm), using your thoughts, your identity as a soul or
spirit, and your nature as peaceful and full of love.


4. *Contemplate* (think) the knowledge of yourself as a soul, a point of
spiritual light, situated in the centre of your forehead.


5. *Concentrate* attention on yourself as a peaceful, loving being.


6. *Experience* (visualize) yourself as a soul and acknowledge the feelings
of inner peace.


7. *Maintain*, without force, consciousness (awareness) of yourself as a
soul even while in action and while interacting with others.

Realizing Your Purpose

You are a source of the most powerful energy on the planet because you have
a mind and an intellect, which has the capacity to create thoughts, ideas
and actions. If however, there is no purpose (aim and objective) to your
creativity, no focus or direction, your energy and your power will leak out
in a variety of directions. You will be left with a drained feeling and the
subtle guilt that you wasted precious time and energy. Just as a light bulb
focuses and radiates the energy of electricity, so a clear purpose focuses
and radiates the power of the self. Take time out to consider your purpose
in life and then how you can translate that purpose into your day, everyday.
You will see your purpose in your mind's eye. One day it will occur to you,
perhaps unexpectedly, perhaps in one single thought, or a clear single image
of stunning clarity (accuracy), but you will know it with a certainty that
needs no questioning.

The Role Of Emotions In The Functioning Of The Soul

Inside the soul, there are four components - *thoughts, feelings, emotions*and
*'sanskaras'*. Thoughts and feelings are present more on the surface of the
soul in the conscious. Emotions and 'sanskaras' on the other hand are less
easily perceived and lie below thoughts and feelings.

'Sanskaras' can be defined as the traces left on the soul due to actions
performed by it and also due to its interactions with others in
relationships.

Emotions, on the other hand, are impulses associated with the 'sanskaras'
and are very close to these traces.

The internal functioning of the soul is cyclic - *'thoughts gives rise to
actions, actions give rise to 'sanskaras', and 'sanskaras' give rise to
further thoughts'*. This description becomes complete, when we add an
additional component - emotions. The deepest component inside the soul is
the 'sanskaras'. Next up from 'sanskaras' are the emotions, above that are
feelings and then finally the uppermost component inside the soul is the
thoughts.

Thoughts can be caught instantly. Feelings can be seen and perceived if I
stop for a moment and check. Emotions are deeper than both of them and are
very close to the 'sanskaras', and just as its difficult to see all the
'sanskaras' of an individual, we can't always see their emotions. Feelings,
being more towards the surface, can be clearly identified, but you have to
go deeper to see the quality of emotions a person is creating and the
quality of his/her 'sanskaras'.

Relationship With The Unconditional Source

There is one point of being in the universe who is not conditioned by any
need, want or desire. Since He does not want anything, everything belongs t0
Him, but not in the sense of owning and controlling. Rather, all things
naturally are attracted to the Unconditional Source (God) simply because
pure love is given freely to all who come close. They feel that He
selflessly serves, sharing all that He is, all that He has. Like a radiant
Magnet beyond the limits of time and matter, beyond give and take and beyond
measurement and calculation, the Source attracts all because nothing is
desired and all is given.

The love of the Unconditional Source is like spiritual sunlight. It is
selfless, complete in itself: it always adds and never subtracts. What is
unconditional is always cherished to the point of worship, which is why the
entity God is respected and idolized in all parts of the world. Spiritual
light from the Source reveals to us our forgotten realities, our hidden
potential and our original goodness. It reveals our true selves. Then, if we
wish, we can nourish and develop that awareness, but only if we maintain an
open channel of communication with the Source. Otherwise, the current either
short circuits, cuts, blocks, or discharges in other directions and, after a
while, there is a blackout!

Acceptance

*Resistance is always Futile (worthless) as it only Sustains Your Suffering*
Whenever anger appears inside your mind, you will notice that you are in a
state of resistance, or non-acceptance, towards an event, a set of
circumstance or the other person - sometimes all three. Resistance is the
seed of all conflict between people. Resistance sustains the cycle of
violence with others and with yourself, and it is driven by the emotions of
fear and anger. This is why the first step to resolve all conflict is always
acceptance. It is to accept the past is past and nothing can change it. It
is to accept that other people's behaviour cannot be controlled, because you
cannot control their thoughts and decisions, and you definitely cannot
control their beliefs and perceptions (ways of looking at things).
Acceptance means that you are able to think calmly, see clearly, create
options and make better decisions. Acceptance is the first step out of
anger, out of your self-inflicted pain and suffering, and into peace.

Understanding What Is "Time"

We created the concept of time to *measure our experience of the space
between events. Time passes only because we experience change. What is
change? Change is only a series of events. So time is our experience of the
speed of events.* This explains why time seems to be moving faster today,
because both the speed and the number of events are increasing. And it seems
even faster if we participate in those events. If the speed and number of
events was less, we would experience time to be moving slowly, as it used to
be a little earlier in the history of mankind.

Today, sitting in our living rooms and offices, electronic, print and other
media allows us to observe hundreds of events from all over the world, every
day. To observe them actively is to participate in them.* If you want to
slow time down, learn to be a detached observer of the thousands of events
around you - participate or observe actively only when necessary. If you
want to stop time, meditate and be in your original, timeless, eternal
consciousness.* Meditation is after all an art of shutting down your senses
and slowing down. Today, we fear time, as a result we hear ourselves saying
many a times, "Hurry up, time is running out!" or "I hope to have more time
tomorrow!' or "I need to save time!" Ultimately time, is our life: it cannot
be saved or lost, but must be lived now. This is where your will-power is
important - we can choose exactly how we spend our time at any moment.

The Mental Stethoscope

To be intuitive (instinctive) often means that the third eye is able to tune
in to the hidden silent vibrations of other people and situations.
Vibrations are energies, which are constantly being transmitted (radiated)
by all things, particularly living things and people. A person may not say
anything, or may even say the opposite of what he or she is feeling, but we
are able to understand this contradiction, either through facial
expressions, or body language, or by picking up the thoughts.

The doctor uses the stethoscope to 'hear' the body of the patient and to
examine and understand the pulse and rhythm of the body in order to judge
the health of the person; so it is like a third ear!

If the intellect wishes to understand the mental pulse of another person, in
order to truly cooperate and help properly, then it has to have the capacity
of a third ear, which means developing the art of really listening and
catching the needs of the situation and person. When the intellect is used
like a stethoscope, it needs to be very introspective (thoughtful), very
concentrated and very open. In this way, the intellect is used like a third
eye and a third ear; seeing and listening become the same thing.

'Letting Go' Explained With Interesting Examples (cont.)

An example of how the *pleasure* turns into *desire*, the desire into *need*,
the need into *habit*, habit into *dependence* and finally the dependence
into an *addiction* process (explained yesterday) takes place can be seen in
some smokers. The smoker, little by little, liked smoking, then desired to
smoke, then needed to smoke; he/she created the habit of smoking, it turned
into a dependence and finally into an addiction. It began because he liked
it but it ended up generating that addiction.

We live disconnected from ourselves, with a lot of unnecessary dependencies
and needs. When you think that you need to smoke, you believe something that
is not true. What does it mean that you need to smoke? The negative effects
of smoking on the body are well known; we already breathe in enough
pollution from cars and we do not need to breath in more unnecessary smoke.
However, the person who smokes believes that it is a need and, while they
believe it, they don't realize, or if they do realize, they don't want to
accept that it is an unnecessary dependence.

This process can happen in many other cases: emotional, mental and physical
dependencies and addictions towards people, objects and ideas. When we are
hooked we lose emotional, mental and intellectual control over our inner
selves and in our awareness. The solution is in knowing how to let go.

'Letting Go' Explained With Interesting Examples (cont.)

Another example (we had explained one yesterday) of how dependencies trap
us, is that of the monkey; you can trap a monkey by giving it a jar with
peanuts in it. The monkey puts its hand in the jar to get the peanuts. On
having its hand full of peanuts it can't get it out of the jar, so it has
got trapped. To free itself the only thing it has to do is let go of the
peanuts and that way it will be able to take its hand out. That is how we
are at times, like monkeys; we don't let go and we stay trapped in
situations, in people, in the past.

Along the way, we will find a lot of jars with peanuts in and branches to
settle down on - many scenes that will attract us and please us. The
dependency begins, almost without our realizing, when we begin to feel the
desire to be in these situations. The *pleasure* turns into *desire*, the
desire turns into *need* and the need turns into *habit*, then to *
dependence* and finally into an *addiction*. It is fine to enjoy the
branches, but let us keep awake and alert - conscious of our freedom - in
order not to fall into dependence; enjoying the branch or jar without it
trapping us.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

'Letting Go' Explained With Interesting Examples

We have to dare to be free. Why? Because fear prevents us from taking the
decisions that lead us to live and feel our full freedom. We should dare to
let go because dependencies trap us. Let us look at a story that shows us
what happens.

It is the story of a bird that, after having flown for a long time, leans on
the branch of a tree to rest. While resting, it finds the wellbeing of
staying there until, little by little, it gets the idea that its life is on
the branch. When a day arrives on which it asks itself why it doesn't carry
on flying, it says "Oh, this branch is stuck to me and I can't fly!" The
bird blames the branch. In reality, the bird has got stuck to the branch. It
has the capacity and the wings to fly but its perception is clouded. It no
longer sees its purpose with clarity or its potential to reach it. The
freedom of the bird is in its wings but it has got stuck onto the branch.
That is the reality that it has created for itself.

The freedom of a human being is in his or her awareness. But when their
awareness has got stuck onto the branch (the object of their attachment) and
they begin to blame the branch for their impossibility to free themselves,
then they are trapped. When our awareness is clouded and we are clinging on,
we do not see with clarity and neither do we exercise our freedom and let
go.

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Overcoming Phobias (Fears) Through Meditation

A phobia is an intense (excessive), continuous and illogical fear of an
object, situation, activity, person or animal that's generally considered
harmless. Accompanying the fear is an excessive, unreasonable desire to
avoid what you fear. When facing the object of his/her phobia, the person
may experience negative feelings like excessive sweating, poor control of
nerves, difficulty breathing, rapid heart rate, anxiety (worry), etc. In
some cases, the avoidance or distress (anxiety) in the feared situation
interferes significantly with the person's daily routine, social activities,
relationships etc.

By practicing Rajyoga meditation regularly, a person suffering from any type
of phobia, can erase (remove) negative thought patterns, which are the main
cause of all phobias. It enables him/her to reprogramme his/her flow of
mental tendencies.

Tomorrow we shall explain a sample meditation commentary which can be used
to overcome any specific type of phobia or fear.
To overcome any phobia, read over silently and visualize the following
positive thoughts:

I am a soul, an eternal, immortal and indestructible (which cannot be
destroyed) point of life energy........
Sitting on my throne in the centre of the forehead, I the ruler, perform
actions through my body........
I have incarnated (entered) in this physical body from 'shantidham', my
incorporeal (non-physical) home, original home of light........
I am an actor on the huge world drama stage........
All the other souls are actors too, each acting a unique role through its
own individual body-costume........
This spiritual knowledge makes me detached and fearless........
Unimportant scenes of the drama that would have previously brought about
fear in me no longer affect me........

Through Rajyoga meditation, the soul can experience all relationships with
the Supreme Soul in its day-to-day life. I continue -

I experience receiving powerful vibrations of spiritual might from the
Supreme Being........
I fill my mind with thoughts of courage........
When the Almighty is my Father, my Mother, my Companion, my Guide, no one
can be my enemy........
Nothing can harm me in any way........
Fear is wasted energy, it has no power in my life........
Now I am becoming a bold person and I am capable of facing all fearful
situations with increased self-confidence ........

At the end of the meditation practice, for a few minutes, the patient should
create a picture of the fearful situation in his mind, while at the same
time learning to relax. This will help him to decrease the anxiety (worry)
when he faces the real life situation and he will be able to completely
overcome (face) the specific fears.

Understanding What Are Karmic Accounts

We are not individuals acting alone in this world drama; we act in this
extraordinary drama or play of life with other actors or souls who (along
with us) play their different roles with different physical costumes at
different times in the drama.* During the process of interaction with other
actors (souls) and according to the type of interaction with them, we create
accounts of debit or credit that become the basis of our connections with
others.* The reasons for which a specific relationship goes well or not are
in the so called 'karmic account' that I have accumulated with the other
person in the past. The past could be in this birth alone or in one or many
previous births. *The souls that play the parts of parents, children,
husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, friends, office colleagues and others
whom I know form a network for the giving and receiving of happiness and
sorrow from accounts established in the past or being created in the
present.
*
The strongest relationships that I have now were established previously. We
knew each other in other lives and but in different roles. The daughter of
some births ago returns now as the father, the best friend comes back as the
sister etc. As long as the account exists, the interchange of actions
between two souls continues. When there is nothing more to give or receive,
the paths between the two souls separate by death, a break-up, a divorce or
simply by the loss of contact. An e.g. of this is our school friends. Many
of our friends whom we were close to in our school days, we are not in touch
with today. Another e.g. is when we change jobs; we might lose complete
contact with our old colleagues.

Understanding The Identity Of The Supreme (God)

It's not too difficult to understand that out of all the billions of souls,
there is One who could be designated as the Supreme (God), because of His
perfect love, total truth and absolute beauty. It is reasonable to accept
that such an unlimited being is never born from a mother's womb nor
undergoes the experience of death. He never passes through the stages of
growing up nor gets involved in specific relationships with individuals. *Just
as every human soul has a mind, intellect and a specific set of 'sanskars'
that determine each one's individuality, the Supreme would also be made up
of these three energies - each functioning at their most perfect
levels.*Because He remains beyond the play of things in the physical
world, the
power and sharpness of these basic capabilities never decrease. His original
qualities are neither lost nor reduced. Before coming here from the soul
world, we also had qualities similar to those of the Supreme but not to the
same unlimited extent.

If we identify ourselves totally with the physical body, the idea that God
created human beings in His image may have led us to believe that the human
form is God's image. Perhaps that is how we created the figure of an old
white-bearded man (as God) sitting up in the heavens, controlling, rewarding
and punishing humans as well as nature as He found fit. Whenever God is
depicted in modern-day cartoons, it is as such. The contradiction is that
such a 'God' appears to have been created in our image, with both our best
virtues and our worst defects.