Sunday, June 24, 2012

Gratitude

Qamea, Fiji

The key to happiness is gratitude.  Gratitude means that we allow reality to be just as it is.  When we are grateful, we do not have expectations as to how things should be.  We are happy and grateful for the way things are.  Since our experience in the world is a reflection of our inner state, when we are grateful, the Universe responds by providing abundance.

When we are in a constant state of desiring things, the Universe responds by not providing what we want.  This creates a constant cycle of dissatisfaction.  When we are grateful for whatever we have, even if what we have is comparatively meager, the Universe responds by providing what we need for our development and happiness.  Donald Trump is a very poor man indeed, because he never experiences satisfaction.  He is always longing for more in order to fill the hole inside himself, which can never be filled by things.

Let's be grateful for what is.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Surrender

Buffalo Road, Coromandel, New Zealand

1.  Our thoughts and beliefs are not true.
2.  We are not our thoughts and beliefs, even though we think we are.
3.  If we acknowledge and surrender our thoughts and beliefs to Universal Spirit, we will fulfill our life's purpose and experience peace, love and joy.

Let's surrender our will to God's will.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Awakening


Kamakura, Japan

In my view, there are four simple steps to awakening.  As Michael Beckwith says, it is simple, but it is not easy.

The first step is intention.  When we are so fed up with our misery that we cannot stand it any more, we look for a way out.  We are so incredibly frustrated with our lives that we think the Universe is out to get us. We are depressed, angry, neurotic and loathe ourselves and our lives.  To some, suicide is the solution.  Others discover a different way of being, one of love, peace and joy.

Sometimes, we see someone on television or meet someone who is enlightened and we desire to have the life force that they have.  Sometimes, we have a spontaneous transcendent experience.  We are briefly transported out of our miserable existence and feel euphoric and a feeling of oneness with others.  We think that if it can happen once, it could happen again, and we try to figure out how to bring back and prolong that divine experience.  To some, drugs introduce us to the euphoric feeling of oneness.  This can be a trap if we rely on drugs to experience that feeling.  Some wonder whether that same feeling can be obtained without drugs and are willing to try.

The second step is utilizing the many tools that are at our disposal which can lead us to awaken.  We can bring our attention to the present moment. We can choose to be loving instead of fearful.  We can give up our will to God's will.  We can meditate.  There are more incredible resources available to us than at any time in our history.  There are teachers, living and dead, books, websites, seminars, workshops, temples and churches (watch out for the dogma!), etc.  We should choose the path and resources which best resonate with us.

Once we begin utilizing the tools which we have chosen, it takes courage to face and acknowledge the long held beliefs and painful memories which rise to our consciousness when we are still.  The pull of compulsive thinking is very strong.  The groups we belong to will also exert strong pressure.  Our gender, religious, social and economic groups will begin to lose their power if people stop identifying with them.  Our parents, teachers, religious leaders, media figures, and friends will try to keep us in their belief systems because they believe that those systems keep them safe from the terrifying unknown.

We also need discipline to keep our attention on stillness and away from obsessive and compulsive thinking.  Our belief systems are like a magnet, constantly drawing us back to the thoughts which we believe keep us safe.  Also, it takes discipline to remain focused when there are so many distractions to keep us from the present moment.  Television, films, social media, games, shopping, gossiping with friends, etc. make it easy to distract ourselves.  The constant barrage of media can make it difficult to be alone, without distraction, in order to tune into the tiny voice of stillness.  It is well worth it.

Let's have the courage and the discipline to utilize the tools that are available to us to awaken now.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Acknowledge and Surrender


Church Bay, Waiheke Island, New Zealand

We cannot stop our thoughts.  However, we can stop identifying with them.  We can create a separation between ourselves and our thoughts by realizing that our thoughts are not us.  They arise from nothingness and disappear into nothingness.  As they arise, we acknowledge them without fear or judgment and surrender them to the Void.  We have the courage to look at our deeply buried thoughts as they arise dispassionately, without fear or judgment.  Meditation and stillness will slow our thoughts down so we can consciously see them.

Once we acknowledge our thoughts, they lose their power over us.  Unacknowledged thoughts and beliefs remain with us, tormenting us throughout our lives.  They are the cause of our frustration, our unhappiness,and our failure to live fulfilling lives.

We acknowledge our thoughts and beliefs and release them to the Universe.