August 14, 2013

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FAITH?

Faith is a funny thing. As with all things, it means different things to different people.

Today I was considering the concept of prayer…when one’s “wish is granted” (so to speak), there is celebration and happiness. However, if the result is not as desired, some question their God and wonder why their “prayer” wasn’t answered. There is pain and suffering and a lack of acceptance of reality. Depression is caused by staying in this place and refusing to find peace in the present moment.

Perhaps morbidly, I think this is especially true with death. I believe some try to bargain with God for more time for themselves or loved ones. This is understandable, but unfortunately not how it works. I read this brief quote today:

Life asked Death, “Why do people love me but hate you?”

Death responded, “It is because you are a beautiful lie and I am a painful truth.”

Wow. This struck me very deeply. I believe we are trapped in the bondage of illusion…we see the world not as it is…but from a jaded perspective of how we think it should be. Whether right or wrong (who can really say what is right or wrong?), this creates faulty expectations. I think some people want to believe that we will all live forever. (I decided today that worry is simply a lack of faith.)

So my questions today were:

  • What happens to one’s faith when things do not happen as desired?
  • Why is there hesitation to believe that things are unfolding for the highest good in a way that we may not understand?
  • Why is there a reluctance to accept reality when it does not conform to our expectations?
  • How do we flow through life without becoming attached to every faulty worry and unrealistic expectation we decide is right?

As if the universe sensed my questions, a friend magically shared this solution:

“Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.” – Wayne W. Dyer

Awesome :)

 

Photo source: Jerusalem (beautiful capture!)

(With special thanks to E. for sharing the Dyer quote that reminded me that I needed to create this post! ;)

 

August 10, 2013

STAYING GROUNDED

When a triumphant general returned to Rome, he would ride through the street while the crowd cheered on both sides. Yet he always had an attendant sitting in the carriage to whisper in his ear, “Respice post te! Hominem te esse memento! Memento mori!”  (“Look behind you! Remember you are only a man! Remember you will die!”) The general would smile.

I believe that perspective is always required when we view our lives. Just as we eat plants, the time will one day come when we will become fertilizer for plants. It is just a fact of life. One thing that we know for sure about life is that it will one day end. In the time that we have,  our true goal should be to recognize, embrace, and celebrate the true oneness of things and the beauty of nature. Everything else is just a distraction.

By recognizing that we are just a part of the universe, we can unburden ourselves of the cares of the world. Flowing with nature, taking care of each other (and all creations), and taking things less seriously is the key to true peace….that, and knowing that love is always the answer :)

Photo source: The Colosseum, Rome

August 6, 2013

TOMORROW IS AN ILLUSION

A Japanese warrior was captured by his enemies and thrown into prison.

That night he was unable to sleep because he feared that the next day he would be interrogated, tortured, and executed.

Then the words of his Zen master came to him, “Tomorrow is not real. It is an illusion. The only reality is now.”

Heeding these words, the warrior became peaceful and fell asleep.

 

-Zen story

 

Photo source: reclining Buddha (Thailand)

August 6, 2013

HOW DO YOU KNOW?

One day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a pond. “Look at the fish swimming about,” said Chuang Tzu, “They are really enjoying themselves.”

“You are not a fish,” replied the friend, “So you cannot truly know that they are enjoying themselves.”

“You are not me,” said Chuang Tzu. “So how do you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves?” 

-Zen story

Photo source: koi girl :)

August 4, 2013

DETACHMENT

Junaid was going through the market-place of the town with his disciples. And it was his way to take any situation and use it. A man was dragging his cow by a rope, and Junaid said, “Wait” to the man, and told his disciples “Surround this man and the cow. I am going to teach you something.”

The man stopped – Junaid was a famous mystic – and he was also interested in what he was going to teach these disciples and how he was going to use him and the cow. And Junaid asked his disciples, “I ask you one thing: who is bound to whom? Is the cow bound to this man or is this man bound to this cow?” Of course, the disciples said “The cow is bound to the man. The man is the master, he is holding the rope, the cow has to follow him wherever he goes. He is the master and the cow is the slave.”

And Junaid said, “Now, see.” He took out his scissors and cut the rope – and the cow escaped.

The man ran after the cow, and Junaid said, “Now look what is happening! Now you see who is the master; the cow is not interested at all in this man – in fact, she is escaping.” And the man was very angry, he said, “What kind of experiment is this?” But Junaid said to his disciples, “And this is the case with your mind.

All the nonsense that you are carrying inside is not interested in you. You are interested in it, you are keeping it together somehow – you are becoming mad in keeping it together somehow. But you are interested IN it. The moment you lose interest, the moment you understand the futility of it, it will start disappearing; like the cow it will escape.”

People come to me and ask, “How to stop this mad mind?” I say, “There is no need to stop, all that is needed is that you become disinterested in it and the rope is cut.” That is the meaning of sannyas: become disinterested in the mind. That is the meaning of real vairagya, detachment.

It has nothing to do with renouncing the world, but it certainly has something to do with cutting the rope to the mind. Just become disinterested in the rubbish and slowly slowly you will see a gap arising. The cloud that used to surround you always is getting farther and farther away and, one day, suddenly it is no more there.

And when you are left without mind, that is the state of spiritual perception, that is the state of darshan, that is the state when you can see, you have eyes; otherwise your eyes are so full of smoke you cannot see.

Source: “The Sun Rises in the Evening”

Photo source: in the market

August 3, 2013

LOVE IS…

I woke up today to an email from a dear friend with a link to my website as a part of her signature…Omg! And earlier this week, my sister told me a out her enthusiastic referrals of my site to others…Wow! My mother has taken to quoting and referencing bits from my site when we talk…haha!  So to them and to you, I say thank you for being here. You inspire me to keep sharing :)

The joy from this show of love and support reminded me that happiness really comes from helping others. You get what you give :)  It is also a reminder to put positive energy in the the universe and to strive to create friends and not enemies.

I don’t believe that love can ever be described in words. I won’t try here. But I do believe that love of yourself consists of taking care of yourself…eating well, exercising, meditating, eliminating negative thoughts/emotions, having a deep gratitude for all that is and appreciating and sharing your gifts. Loving others is simply an extension of self-love. We are all one.

With love in my heart, I wish you a beautiful day :)

 

Photo source: simply awesome :) caring is sharing ;)

 

 

July 31, 2013

NO ISOLATED ACTIONS

One day Nasrudin was walking along a deserted road. Night was falling as he spied a troop of horsemen coming toward him. His imagination began to work, and he feared that they might rob him, or impress him into the army. So strong had this fear become that he leaped over a wall and found himself in a graveyard. The other travelers, innocent of any such motive as had been assumed by Nasrudin, became curious and pursued him.

When they came upon him lying motionless, one said, “Can we help you — why are you here in this position?”

Nasrudin, realizing his mistake, said, “It is more complicated than you assume. You see, I am here because of you; and you, you are here because of me.”

—

If you look at any action which you or anyone else does, you will find that it was prompted by one of many possible stimuli; and also that it is never an isolated action — it has consequences, many of them ones you would never expect, certainly which you could not have planned. All events are associated with all other events.

– Sufi wisdom (from The Sufis by Idries Shah)

Photo source: everything connected

 

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