Saying Yes Or Saying No

In life many times we are presented with situations that *ask something of
us* or *offer us opportunities*. They make us question what we are doing
and suggest to us that perhaps we should change direction. To remain in
flow with life is to remain bring about changes in the self that situations
want from us, as long as it is in agreement with our conscience.  But for
that, we should be clear about what we say *yes* to, and what we say *no*to.
*When you put your heart into something and your mind is centered, the
energy flows powerfully towards there. It is a question of listening to
your heart, and daring to say yes or to say no.* We have to say it keeping
our conscience and action in line, in order to maintain honesty and
integrity.

Personally, we all live through difficult and uncomfortable situations, but
in your heart you need to know that you will definitely be there. *The
trust in yourself, and the confidence that everything will work out fine,
knowing that there is some hidden lesson that you have to learn, helps you
to say yes.* It is what the situation asks of you, although you prefer to
be in some other more comfortable situation - a less risky or seemingly
negative one. It is important to hear the voice of time, of the moment, of
the situation and trust that it would strengthen you, with which it would
bring you closer to greater personal development and to your destiny as a
person, and also brings about global benefit since you are a part of
society, a part of humanity.

The Four Pillars Of A Spiritual Lifestyle - Achieving A Balance

A balanced and fulfilling spiritual life is like a table.   It stands on
four legs and if one leg is shorter than the others then both balance and
equilibrium will be difficult.  The four legs or pillars of a spiritual
life are given below in the form of four subjects. If any of the subjects
is not a part of our lives or is a part of our life, but not to as great an
extent as the others, then the overall balance of our spiritual life will
be affected adversely (negatively).

*1. Daily spiritual study (knowledge or gyan)*
Daily spiritual study provides the right quality of nourishment for our
mind and intellect, the two important energies of the soul.

*2. **Daily meditation (spiritual yoga)
*Daily meditation provides the means to explore, discover and reconnect
with oneself and with God.

*3. **The inculcation and development of virtues (dharna)
*Giving some time each day to the conscious development of our character
(virtue) helps to eliminate any negative sanskars or personality
characteristics (vices) and improves our ability to build positive and
harmonious relationships. The quality of our relationships is a mirror
reflection of our dharna.

*4. **The service of others (seva)
*A life purpose based on some kind of service is the foundation of personal
growth through the practice of giving.  Finding appropriate ways to use our
increasing spiritual power and understanding (through the three subjects
mentioned above) for the benefit of others is the most satisfying way to
use our energy today. It also ensures happiness for the present as well as
for the future through accumulation of positive energy in the form of
blessings of those who are served.

The Effects Of Fear On The Physical Body

The human being is psychosomatic by nature - what that means is that our
health is deeply influenced by our behavior, thoughts, emotions and social
relationships. Therefore, in order to experience good health, we should
care for our life style, our mental, sentimental, emotional and relational
world, as well as our communication. Fear is bad for our health. It
manifests itself in the form of anger and promotes coronary diseases. Fear
suppressed for a long time ends up producing diseases such as cancer. Apart
from cancer and heart attacks, there are other illnesses brought on by
fear: addictions, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, irritability, nervous
breakdowns, memory loss, gastritis, back pains, baldness, diarrhea,
sciatica, crying attacks, alcoholism, constipation, hypertension, cystitis
(bladder inflammation), vomiting, palpitations, digestive disorders, ulcers
and migraines.

*When we get old, our neurons do not die, but rather the connections
between them disappear*, that is what recent scientific research suggests.
The neuronal connections or synapses keep us lively and young. *When we
have pleasant experiences, such as during meditation or when we are on a
holiday or are surrounded by friends or while working in a team, some
examples of activities in which we feel happy, the neuronal connections are
more fluid.* However, the lights go out when we feel fear. It is an emotion
that is capable of slowing down and blocking the electrical impulses
between the neurons. With fear we are less creative and we get older more
quickly. If we do not want to suffer illnesses (or want our illnesses to
get worse) we should learn to manage and overcome fear.

The Senses in Balance

Our five senses are windows, which open out to the world through which
energy flows in two directions. The senses receive impressions and
information from the world, and at the same time transmit our personalities
to others. Our eyes receive a constant stream of visual messages, but we
may also use the eyes to show how we feel. Through our ears we hear the
sounds of life; while by "lending an ear" to others we give comfort to
them. Touch allows us to experience texture; but can also transmit love and
assurance. Our senses are not merely instruments, but deep-rooted aspects
of the self or the soul.

In India, the senses of the body (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and hands) are
beautifully depicted in the form of a chariot. The self or the soul is the
charioteer (controller of the chariot); the five senses are the five
horses. The self keeps the senses harmoniously (peacefully) working
together, controlling their tendency to go out of control.

Breaking Down Patterns Of Negative Thoughts And Feelings

Having understood that the source of our feelings are our thoughts, we
realize that right through our journey in the physical world, in many
births, *we have repeatedly built up enormous webs of negative and harmful
thoughts and feelings, creating many unnecessary difficulties for us,
internally as well as externally.* The habit continues in my present life
too. *Meditation helps me to untangle this mess, and break the habit.* It
helps me come to terms with what is going on in my own inner world and
understand how I create thoughts and feelings, how to take responsibility
for them, and how to tap into my original, positive inner resources, which
helps me displace negative patterns of thoughts and feelings. So,
meditation is not merely a relaxation technique but a powerful tool for a
seemingly difficult task of self-transformation.

*To get the positive cycle of thoughts and feelings working in my life, the
easiest place to start with is our thoughts.* It's not very difficult to
change our thoughts. It just requires attention. And by changing my
thoughts, it becomes easy to change my feelings. In meditation, I decide
that for a few minutes, each day (it could be as less as 1-2 minutes or as
much as 25-30 minutes, depending on the external setting I am in) I am
going to set aside negative thoughts which are weak or wasteful, and create
pure, positive, powerful thoughts, based on the awareness of my spiritual
identity. As I do this, I begin to experience the original resources or
treasures of the self. As a result, positive and powerful feelings for the
self and others emerge.

Universal Concepts About The Supreme Being or God (cont.)

*Continuing from yesterday's message:

*The Zoroastrians worship God as fire (Indian Zoroastrians are called
Parsis).

The ancient Egyptians worshiped the sun as God.

A Buddhist sect in Japan focuses the mind on a small oval shape. They call
it Karni, the Peace-giver.

The Jews have the Menorah (a candlestick or holder for many candles
together) which when lit is a memory of the form of God as light.

*It seems therefore that human beings, without realizing, have all been
worshipping and trying to discover the same God. There is only one God and
His form is light. If union between the soul and the Supreme Soul is to
take place, it can only be possible if there is knowledge and experience of
that form.*

On the basis of our (soul and the Supreme Soul) similarities of form and
place of residence, I learn from God of my own original sanskars of peace,
purity, love, knowledge, power and bliss. As I tune my thoughts to Him, His
influence fills these original qualities in me. He is the perfect and
infinite fountain, indeed the ocean, of these qualities. His superiority
lies in the depth, clarity and continuity of His divine sanskars. Whilst
human souls fluctuate between peace and peacelessness; love and hatred;
knowledge and ignorance; sorrow and joy, God is ever constant and above and
beyond these fluctuations.