"We are victors in life when we receive bad news with as much joy as good news and see the blessing in trials. You have risen above this world and cannot be moved."
This is part of the paradox of spirituality. To many, they look at a statement that we can be happy during sad times and do not understand it. This is foolishness to many. This is because there are many hidden truths that undergird this statement.
Since we are spirit, in essence, we do need to fear anything. We will live eternally without any effort on our part and we cannot lose our lives. If we consider our earthly existence to be our life, then we have something to fear. However, our earthly existence is but a shell for our spirit.
A recurrent theme that I am experiencing now is learning to think outside of duality. Some say this is how supreme consciousness thinks, and that this is the ideal we should all aspire to.
The essence of suffering is attachment to outcome. Attachment to outcome is being tied to our earthly existence, that is duality. In its basic form, duality consists of labeling things. We label this good and that bad. However, labeling prevents us from experiencing the "subject of our labeling" fully. We do not see it as a unique experience but want to categorize it with prior experiences, even before we get a chance to experience it!
We are victors in life when we receive bad news with as much joy as good news and see the blessing in trials. You have risen above this world and cannot be moved. To not be attached to outcome means that we truly our joyous in all things, which is our basic nature anyways. If we are filled with joy in trying times, how easy is it to be filled with joy in the normal, everyday life?
To have attained such an ideal, is truly living in heaven while you are still on earth. An undercurrent to this topic, which I will touch on briefly, is the reason why we have trials. A trial is only "trying" if it touches a part of us that is identified with pain. The blessing in a trial is the opportunity to heal this pain through forcing us to confront why we are feeling it in the first place.
Once we receive healing for this pain, we then break the cycle of karma that led us to put ourselves in a situation that would stir the pain up. That is the joy we must have when in a difficult situation. Feel the associated pain but realize that it is really joy that has been disguised and that you are making progress on your spiritual path.
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Weight of the World
"The truth of the matter is that I alone do not determine my fate yet am a part of a cohesive whole, which is the interconnectedness of all people and the fabric of nature."
I have noticed that, in my daily life, my mind is constantly spinning, trying to plan for this or figure that out. In a literal sense, if I let it, my mind carries the weight of the world. This constant thinking happens on its own. If I allow it to happen, it continues. My point is that I do not have to "try" to map out my life before it happens in my mind, it is a part of past conditioning and is the background noise that clouds my life.
It really all comes down to confusion about the world in which I live. If my assumption is that my life is what I make it and that I, alone, determine my destiny, then it makes sense that I need to be using my intellect to control my life. It does imply a sense of lack of faith but more confusion. This is because I can have faith but can let the fog of confusion in this world seep into my life. The truth of the matter is that I alone do not determine my fate yet am a part of a cohesive whole, which is the interconnectedness of all people and the fabric of nature. I am not separate yet inseparably joined with others and this planet.
Another truth is that the universe is a safe, good place that is nurturing me, caring for me and providing for me. With these truths in hand, I can see that my mind working is just spinning my wheels. What freedom there is in realizing I do not need to be constantly scheming and analyzing as the Universe has this all taken care of.
I surrender to the Universe and relax my mind as it does not need to control me anymore. I have faith that things will work out as they should and my role is to accept life as it presents itself to me. I see how I fit into the grand scheme of things, follow my dreams, and rest in the comfort that I am exactly where I need to be and have everything I need right now.
I have noticed that, in my daily life, my mind is constantly spinning, trying to plan for this or figure that out. In a literal sense, if I let it, my mind carries the weight of the world. This constant thinking happens on its own. If I allow it to happen, it continues. My point is that I do not have to "try" to map out my life before it happens in my mind, it is a part of past conditioning and is the background noise that clouds my life.
It really all comes down to confusion about the world in which I live. If my assumption is that my life is what I make it and that I, alone, determine my destiny, then it makes sense that I need to be using my intellect to control my life. It does imply a sense of lack of faith but more confusion. This is because I can have faith but can let the fog of confusion in this world seep into my life. The truth of the matter is that I alone do not determine my fate yet am a part of a cohesive whole, which is the interconnectedness of all people and the fabric of nature. I am not separate yet inseparably joined with others and this planet.
Another truth is that the universe is a safe, good place that is nurturing me, caring for me and providing for me. With these truths in hand, I can see that my mind working is just spinning my wheels. What freedom there is in realizing I do not need to be constantly scheming and analyzing as the Universe has this all taken care of.
I surrender to the Universe and relax my mind as it does not need to control me anymore. I have faith that things will work out as they should and my role is to accept life as it presents itself to me. I see how I fit into the grand scheme of things, follow my dreams, and rest in the comfort that I am exactly where I need to be and have everything I need right now.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Changing the World
"Our actions arise not from a desire to change others or the world but from an inward outflowing of love for all that is."
There is a temptation to look at the state of our world and of people and want to change it. We look at the injustices in the world, all of the negative things that are going on, and we instinctively want to make a difference. At the same time, we might also look at another person and want to help them by sharing our philosophy of life or spirituality. The desire to make a difference and to help our world and others comes from a good place. However, we must make sure that this desire does not arise from attempting to cling onto things in this world.
For example, I may want to "save" someone by introducing them to a spiritual path. However, we are all on a spiritual path, even if we do not know it, and are just in different stages. Each person will get to where they need to go in their time of readiness. Injustice is a tricky one, because it implies a notion of justice, right and wrong. However, right and wrong are merely labels. If we can help others from a place of Love, then this is a better motivation for our actions.
There seems to be a tie between spirituality and the environmental movement. Trying to heal our planet for fear that it will uninhabitable some day is trying to cling onto the form of this planet. Instead, our motivation should be from one of love for the planet, animals and nature. Our identity should not be wrapped up in how environmentally conscious we are yet this desire comes from us seeing God in all things. God is in the stones, trees, air. She makes up our very being. The tiniest molecules that form our bodies are held together by the thought of God as are the things we perceive with our senses.
If our instinctive desire is to change our environment or others, this should be a cue that we need to change ourselves. Focus that desire for change on your inner life, because that is why you have the desire in the first place. On some level, you know that there is a veil of separation between yourself and the Divine and this desire for change runs through an improper channel. If we look at the inner life, we see that what needs to change is accepting both the dark and the light of ourselves. What needs to change is getting rid of accumulated emotional and intellectual baggage we have accumulated in our life time. In short, we need to accept ourselves.
Once we accept ourselves as whole, complete beings that are perfect as we are, our outlook on life begins to change. We see that the world is exactly as it should be and we do not need to change it. We are all engaged in this game called life. If you wish to help others and the world, then that is what you should do. However, our actions arise not from a desire to change others or the world but from an inward outflowing of love for all that is.
There is a temptation to look at the state of our world and of people and want to change it. We look at the injustices in the world, all of the negative things that are going on, and we instinctively want to make a difference. At the same time, we might also look at another person and want to help them by sharing our philosophy of life or spirituality. The desire to make a difference and to help our world and others comes from a good place. However, we must make sure that this desire does not arise from attempting to cling onto things in this world.
For example, I may want to "save" someone by introducing them to a spiritual path. However, we are all on a spiritual path, even if we do not know it, and are just in different stages. Each person will get to where they need to go in their time of readiness. Injustice is a tricky one, because it implies a notion of justice, right and wrong. However, right and wrong are merely labels. If we can help others from a place of Love, then this is a better motivation for our actions.
There seems to be a tie between spirituality and the environmental movement. Trying to heal our planet for fear that it will uninhabitable some day is trying to cling onto the form of this planet. Instead, our motivation should be from one of love for the planet, animals and nature. Our identity should not be wrapped up in how environmentally conscious we are yet this desire comes from us seeing God in all things. God is in the stones, trees, air. She makes up our very being. The tiniest molecules that form our bodies are held together by the thought of God as are the things we perceive with our senses.
If our instinctive desire is to change our environment or others, this should be a cue that we need to change ourselves. Focus that desire for change on your inner life, because that is why you have the desire in the first place. On some level, you know that there is a veil of separation between yourself and the Divine and this desire for change runs through an improper channel. If we look at the inner life, we see that what needs to change is accepting both the dark and the light of ourselves. What needs to change is getting rid of accumulated emotional and intellectual baggage we have accumulated in our life time. In short, we need to accept ourselves.
Once we accept ourselves as whole, complete beings that are perfect as we are, our outlook on life begins to change. We see that the world is exactly as it should be and we do not need to change it. We are all engaged in this game called life. If you wish to help others and the world, then that is what you should do. However, our actions arise not from a desire to change others or the world but from an inward outflowing of love for all that is.
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