DETACH FROM EXPECTATIONS !

 

 

The karma yogi avoids the chaotic activity of selfish desires; he also avoids the apparent inaction of total non-wanting. He leads a life of selfless service, in which there is not the slightest alloy of any personal motive and which furthers the release of divinity in all phases of life.

Service, even when it is utterly selfless, ought to be guided by spiritual understanding; for selfless service, when unintelligently handled, often creates chaos and complications. It could even be the opposite of the desired effect.

The real danger in service lies more in the possibility of your rendering it from a false motive than in making a mistake about the spiritual demands of the situation. If you render service in order to oblige a person and if you feel proud of doing it, you are not only doing spiritual harm to the recipient of your service but also to yourself.

The consciousness that ‘I am obliging someone’ is the first to occur during the process of serving; but it can be annulled by the contrary thought, ‘I am obliged by being given this opportunity of serving’. This latter thought facilitates the attitude of detachment and secures freedom from the bondage of good actions.
Service based upon comprehensive understanding is not only selfless and adjusted to the spiritual demands of the recipient but is rendered with complete detachment. Such service takes the aspirant to the goal most rapidly.

For most people the idea of service is inextricably bound with securing certain definite results in the objective world. For them service consists of removal of human suffering or illiteracy or other difficulties and handicaps that thwart the flourishing of individual or social life. This is the type of service rendered by aspirants, politicians, social reformers and other good people. Though this type of service is of immense spiritual importance, it is in its very nature unending. Therefore, as long as the idea of service is tied to the idea of results, it is inevitably fraught with a sense of incompleteness.

There can be no realisation of Infinity through the pursuit of a never-ending series of consequences. On the other hand, service that comes after truth realisation is spontaneous expression of spiritual understanding of the true nature of the Self. And though it also brings about important results in the objective world, it is in no way complicated by any longing for them.

The sun shines and the rain falls. In the same way the God-realised person also lives a life of self-offering because of the basic structure of divine life that is at the heart of Reality and not because he longs to achieve anything. His life is not a reaching out towards something with the hope of some kind of attainment. He is already established in the fullness of the realisation of the Infinite. The overflow of the God-realised being is a blessing to life in other forms and actually brings about their uplift from the material as well as spiritual point of view. There is a vast gulf between service before truth realisation and service after realising it.

MIRROR YOUR SOUL !

I really tend to believe that people are creating their own reality. I’m sure that it’s what they do when they make their dreams come true. It’s not about bringing your whims to do the action, but to express yourself through your surrounding world, so it mirrors who you are, and the way you choose to be.

It’s not new that different people have different beliefs. Some people think they can direct their fate, and some believe that fate directs them. Some people receive inner guidance, feeling that it was given from above, and some are sure that it’s their own soul guiding them. So how do you think, is there anyone who’s in control of your life, or are you the only one who claims the right to be its master?

I really tend to believe that people are creating their own reality. I’m sure that it’s what they do when they make their dreams come true.

I still believe though that the Creator does the creating as well, but i just can’t see God and us as being something separate. I think if God was observing us, then the only thing s/he’d see would be the reflection of oneself.

But if you’re trying to see yourself being as great and loving as if you were no longer just a body and emotions, and to look at everything from the soul’s point of view, or from your Higher-Self’s perspective, you suddenly understand that you feel so tied up in your old and comfy perception of the world, that you can’t break free from your fears and worries whispered by your ego day by day. Your whole life you were doing things by the force of habit, and now, you woke up, but it’s not like you can change yourself in a wisp of light. Now it will be hard.

I, myself, as if i’ve never checked what’s going on in my head, once just realised that all my worries are about money, health, family problems, about who might die in my family and what pages of my life could be torn away. I felt that i don’t even understand who i truly am. I was just unable to realise myself, and that could make a person feel desperate, because if there’s no hint of self-realisation, there is no grasp for the life itself.

You know, it’s like there’s just no personal freedom. Like you’ve lost your right to be yourself. As if you suddenly realise that most of your thoughts are limited and not of your true nature at all; as if you’re thinking and speaking from your ego all the time, but don’t even comprehend where your soul is hiding.

If you’re trying to find the way back to your soul, and finally do something good, or start helping someone, you still don’t, because all your inner strives are devoted to fight away your ego, or to stop hurting others and not be driven by the anger if somebody plays with your emotions. I think that, if any sense of wisdom is present, nobody actually wants to hurt anyone, or feel guilty afterward. And nobody wants to be what people say or think about them.

How could anyone know your soul so well, and tell you everything about it? How could anyone steal your freedom of being yourself, and how could it be good to bring up the whole show of being such a remarkable personality, about which people will gossip, if the thing that makes you mad and broken is that you don’t really understand who you are, and that the things like burden of guilt, age, illness, or other pains may swipe away everything that you’ve ever been, and there would be nothing left; nothing remarkable.

So mostly all my struggles have been turned into a dream to be free and forget the limitations. Like when you see a plane in the sky, and your longing and desire for liberty is so strong, that you not just desperately want to be in there, but you wish to be the very moment of self-determination, the moment of choice. But dreams are dreams, and you don’t gain anything but sadness if they stay unfulfilled. The weird thing is that even if they don’t come true, you still can’t stop yourself from hoping that they will. As if the hope is a secret knowledge that everything is going to be all right.

And if your life is similar to lives of many, you might not even realise that there is something that is keeping you from giving up, even if your entire reality is based on irritation and frustration.

You know, many people actually hate their lives, because they do not see what they want to see around, and do not feel the way they might, if only everything was different. But if the only thing you see around is the kingdom of depression, it is not about the world, and not about the life, definitely. When somebody dies, life doesn’t stop.

It must be realised that if you have devoted your life to lies or pretence, if you’re choosing to stay bound when you are free, this is not about the life. You might think that you hate it, or that nothing good will ever happen to you because it’s just not worth happening, but it is you choosing what to feel at this moment of your life, and if it’s worth of being felt at all.

You can choose to fill your day with such things like necktie colour picking, considering the size of staples you need for your work, or just spending all the time in the kitchen. But you also may choose to wake up once in the morning with strong intention to start everything anew, as if there were no regrets in your life, as if nobody ever broke you before… You are choosing your words; you’re choosing your thoughts and moods. You’re choosing the life through which you will express yourself, and your entire reality is your own reflection. If your reality is unsuitable, maybe what you feel and do is not suitable for your soul, and to change it you got to see the world as if it was the part of your entire being.

You know, there is a mantrum that was said to be one of the most powerful, which is probably not surprising because it puts you facing the truth about yourself. The one that many choose not to recognise. The mantrum is: “i love”

Strange, but even if you feel that you don’t love anything about your life, the world, or the people around you, you instantly understand what is it exactly that you love.

The places where you’ve never been, the things you always dreamed to do, the feelings you so wished to experience, the people you could’ve love, or the children you didn’t have. Even if you never had such things in your life, you still can’t keep yourself from loving them, because they’re your dreams.

Detach your service from expectation

The karma yogi avoids the chaotic activity of selfish desires; he also avoids the apparent inaction of total non-wanting. He leads a life of selfless service, in which there is not the slightest alloy of any personal motive and which furthers the release of divinity in all phases of life.

Service, even when it is utterly selfless, ought to be guided by spiritual understanding; for selfless service, when unintelligently handled, often creates chaos and complications. It could even be the opposite of the desired effect.

The real danger in service lies more in the possibility of your rendering it from a false motive than in making a mistake about the spiritual demands of the situation. If you render service in order to oblige a person and if you feel proud of doing it, you are not only doing spiritual harm to the recipient of your service but also to yourself.

The consciousness that ‘I am obliging someone’ is the first to occur during the process of serving; but it can be annulled by the contrary thought, ‘I am obliged by being given this opportunity of serving’. This latter thought facilitates the attitude of detachment and secures freedom from the bondage of good actions.
Service based upon comprehensive understanding is not only selfless and adjusted to the spiritual demands of the recipient but is rendered with complete detachment. Such service takes the aspirant to the goal most rapidly.

For most people the idea of service is inextricably bound with securing certain definite results in the objective world. For them service consists of removal of human suffering or illiteracy or other difficulties and handicaps that thwart the flourishing of individual or social life. This is the type of service rendered by aspirants, politicians, social reformers and other good people. Though this type of service is of immense spiritual importance, it is in its very nature unending. Therefore, as long as the idea of service is tied to the idea of results, it is inevitably fraught with a sense of incompleteness.

There can be no realisation of Infinity through the pursuit of a never-ending series of consequences. On the other hand, service that comes after truth realisation is spontaneous expression of spiritual understanding of the true nature of the Self. And though it also brings about important results in the objective world, it is in no way complicated by any longing for them.

The sun shines and the rain falls. In the same way the God-realised person also lives a life of self-offering because of the basic structure of divine life that is at the heart of Reality and not because he longs to achieve anything. His life is not a reaching out towards something with the hope of some kind of attainment. He is already established in the fullness of the realisation of the Infinite. The overflow of the God-realised being is a blessing to life in other forms and actually brings about their uplift from the material as well as spiritual point of view. There is a vast gulf between service before truth realisation and service after realising it

FIND THE PURPOSE!!!

Spirituality lies beyond the material world of proof, beyond what can be measured or counted. It is made up of the inner life, the realm of belief, mystery, and faith. And yet for all the mystery that surrounds it, spirituality is vital to our well-being.

It is the foundation of our most closely held values, the seat of our trust and hope. Spirituality brings purpose and meaning to life, and as we develop it we grow in wisdom and love. We begin to experience a sense of awe, a sense of connection to all of life, and a deep reverence for the Divine. We find ourselves moved to prayers of gratitude and moments of spontaneous worship. Spirituality calls a human being to a life of trust and service.

When our spirituality is nurtured and vibrant, we are connected. This connection is both a sense of relationship to the Creator, Great Spirit, or God (divine force), as well as a relationship to all people and to Mother Earth (our life-giving environment). Spirituality takes us beyond our ego-centered lives by expanding our hearts with compassion towards all.

Spirituality does not dwell in a realm apart. It is not an extracurricular activity. Spirituality involves a reverent attitude toward all things because it awakens us to a divine presence in all things. In this way of seeing and being, all things and persons are interconnected and interdependent. In the Sioux native language, the word for the Great Spirit is Wakan, which means ‘the great mystery.’ Yet this spirit, full of mystery, is every bit as real as the visible, tangible world.

It is important to differentiate spirituality from religion. Some people have rejected religion in order to escape what they consider to be oppressive rules and regulations. In the process, however, many lose the great gifts of joy and compassion that spirituality brings.

Religion and spirituality are related and intertwined, but they are not the same. A person may experience spirituality without being a member of any specific religious affiliation, and even the most religious person may feel spiritually bereft. The true purpose of religion is to enhance spirituality through ritual and practice. This is accomplished when a person approaches his or her religion as a way to enter the great mystery, to become aware of the sacredness of all life.

Religion can become a barrier to spirituality when it insists on narrow, judgmental dogma, and estranges its followers from a sense of connection with the Divine. Religion serves us best as a vehicle to nourish and develop our spirituality.

It is possible, however, to get too caught up in the vehicle, the religious practice, while losing sight of the destination, spirituality, which is communion with the Divine and compassion for all. For modern, academically oriented professionals, like physicians and health care workers, spirituality is often a difficult subject.
Their training is framed by science. They depend on logical, analytical, and rational approaches, and for good reason. These approaches have successfully ushered in a host of life-changing improvements in health care and technology. While honouring science and the mind, our cultural tendency urges us to devalue belief and mystery, but the result is costly: They are left spiritually starved and out of balance.

Some of life’s most difficult questions are the spiritual ones. What is the purpose of life? Where does real meaning come from? What is of real value in our lives? If there truly is a God who loves us, how could there be so much suffering and unfairness in the world? Part of our addiction to the busyness of life is an attempt to prevent ourselves from thinking about our mortality, the inevitable fact of our own death. But when we keep ourselves too busy to consider the purpose of our existence, our lives cease to have meaning. Strangely, it is only when we fully accept the reality of our mortality that we truly begin to live. This is the point at which we begin to enter into and learn about the spiritual dimension of our humanity.

As French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin remarked, “We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a physical experience.” Our spirituality is our true essence. It is that part of our life which relates to our soul, which from a spiritual perspective is connected to the Divine and is infinite. This lifetime is but the physical experience of our deeper reality, our spirit, which is our fundamental nature.

At this point, you might ask yourself several questions to help assess your own spirituality. Do i have a sense of connection with the Divine? Do i feel compassion for others? Do i feel awe and reverence? Do i live a life of trust? Am i called to service? Is prayer or meditation an important part of my life?

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ANSWER THE CALL!!

Is life challenging you to take a bigger leap? Are you restless with the status quo of your daily routine? Do you feel you are flying blind with an invisible co-pilot?

Often times, the soul calls to us in the midst of a crises or two-by-four. When pieces of your heart are all over there’s a quickening that seems to come from the beyond.

In those moments it’s difficult to pull our attention away from the hurt, fear or disappointment. Our mind searches for how to clean up the mess — not what is the greater learning. The heart feels raw — not ready to expand.

You might be experiencing a soul call! “Ah,” says the heart. “I have been waiting for this. But there’s static on the line.” Learning how to shift frequencies and tune in to the soul channels requires us to get quiet, get present and get out of the way.

Soul speaks through stillness. So, it is very important to be calm.

Finding a quiet time to go within and silence the monkey mind, that keeps wandering, through breathing or chanting allows the body to settle and relax. Then we hear the deep stirrings of the the sound that quickens the heart.That is when we hear the soul calling.

Soul listening is tuning in. When we dial in the frequency a profound peace and well-being floods our body. Operating from an inner place of peace, rather than fear or anxiety, permeates the space in which we move and have our being.

Soul time is expansive, not hurried or driven. A client remarked the other day, “I always thought my stress came from having too much to do and an inability to say ‘no’. Now i realise that if i continually see with my soul eyes there is plenty of time. I am content. There is not a lot of wasted energy and time spent in worry, or anxiety about doing it right. And i get so much more done.”

Turning inside away from the world and its distractions feels foreign to your reactive human nature. “Won’t life be boring?” your head asks. Soul’s agenda is learning, growth, expansion and revelation. Regrets about the past or worrying about the future takes energy and focus away from what is here and now. Living in the present is very important to listen to soul’s calling.

All channels to and from the divine must be cleared of obstructions. A channel can be anything that serves to receive inspiring thoughts, intuitive hunches, body sensations, heart openings or light ‘pay attention’ taps on the shoulder. The most common distortions are caused by old beliefs about our story. Because the human nature’s job is to maintain the status quo of ‘what has come before’ it can kick up quite a bit of doubt and confusion.

Compassion, acceptance, loving and patience (all attributes of the soul) equip the cocreator when old conditioning reminds you of past mistakes, the cost of not being right or in control, and fear of failure. Messages from the Soul provide direction and reassurance.

Many times the message is to do nothing. Asking for and living the highest good reminds me that spirit’s timing can test the best of intentions to stay patient. Getting limiting actions, beliefs and fears out of the way brings in new discoveries about the nature of God. The highest good teaches us about God. It’s like saying, “God, this is yours. I don’t have any idea what needs to happen here really. I know what i would like, but I don’t see the bigger picture. You do. So i am letting and allowing you to show me the revelation so i can grow in my understanding of you.”

The highest good invites us to stay neutral and impersonal. As a spiritual scientist i can let go of a desired outcome saying, “I wonder how God is going to work this one out?” or “Ok God, do your stuff. I am looking forward to seeing the highest good in this situation.”

Imagine a world in which relationships are woven of heavens instead of hells? Imagine a planet of people so committed to inner growth and expansiveness that no one would be allowed to go hungry or homeless? Impossible, you say? Idealistic? To the soul, who lives in limitlessness and knows your magnificence, the answers to these dilemmas are already present. Ask today to see with those eyes and respond to the call. All will be blessed.

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HE NEEDS A MONITOR!

What’s the most jaw-droppingly stupid thing you could do if you’re on trial for attempting to steal computer equipment? Ask Jon Eipp.

His strange story began with burglar alarms at Portal Publications in Novato, California, just north of San Francisco. Police rushed to the scene and caught Eipp, 39, and an accomplice running away, leaving an array of stolen computer equipment outside the office building.

Both men were arrested, and Eipp’s trial began last fall in the Civic Center courthouse in neighboring San Rafael. Two days into the proceedings, some Civic Center employees showed up for work, went to their cubicles and got quite a surprise. Their computers and monitors had been swiped. Yep, Jon just couldn’t help himself.

The previous evening, after his hearing, Eipp had hidden on a balcony until the Civic Center pretty much cleared out. Then he ducked into room C-10, loaded computer equipment into a recycling bin and wheeled his cargo outside. There, he stuffed it all into a large box that he tucked out of sight. Eipp was lucky enough to get his high-tech haul out of the building, but his stupidity caught up with him.

By the time Civic Center workers discovered their equipment had vanished, Eipp was already in police custody. It seems one heist just wasn’t enough: Shortly after leaving the Civic Center, he’d been caught right down the street trying to steal a Volkswagen. Not that he wouldn’t have been nabbed soon enough for the computer job, since fingerprints and a shoe print, along with video surveillance, made it clear Eipp was the culprit.

Now he faced charges that included attempted auto theft, burglary and grand theft. Last September, he pleaded guilty to them all. Speaking to a reporter, Eipp blamed his thievery in the courthouse on a drug problem, saying he’d stolen the computers because “I needed help and didn’t know how to ask for it.”

In the end, Eipp chose to help himself — to about four years in prison.

SAVE IT FOR HALLOWEEN!

As fantasies go, Jose Santiago, Jr., had a rather strange one. Too bad he decided to act it out.

One Sunday evening in April 2006, the 33-year-old decided his hometown of Gurnee, Illinois, could use one more cop. Guess who? It would help his charade that he had bought an old police car — a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor — and mounted red and blue lights on its dashboard.

When a driver pulled into Santiago’s apartment complex, the rookie was ready for his baptism. He blocked the guy’s car with his own, then motioned him over. A slender man with short, dark hair walked up to him, puzzled.

Santiago, who wasn’t wearing a cop’s uniform, barked, “Do you have a problem?” and then started laying into the man about his driving, claiming he’d been doing 65 mph.

Are you a police officer?” the man asked. When Santiago said yes, the guy asked to see his ID. Santiago refused and continued with his tough-cop routine. Growing suspicious, the man asked again if he was a policeman. This time, Santiago said he was a deputy, but claimed he didn’t have any identification on him.

That’s when it turned into a fake cop’s worst nightmare. The driver had no problem pulling out his own wallet and showing his identification. His name was Jeremy Gaughan, and he happened to be an off-duty Gurnee police officer.

Whoa. It probably seemed a bit late to let him off with a warning. Instead, Santiago went to plan B. He really was a cop, he said, but he wasn’t on the Gurnee police roster because he actually worked for the county as a reserve deputy. Gaughan said he’d check with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. Santiago said okay and drove off rather eagerly.

Three days later, Santiago pulled up to his residence to find Gurnee police officers waiting for him. Charged with false impersonation of police and using unauthorized flashing lights, Santiago pleaded guilty to both and was sentenced to 50 hours of public service and 24 months’ conditional discharge.

Officer Gaughan’s colleagues still get a laugh when they think about their buddy’s encounter. “It’s dangerous enough for real cops to stop drivers on the road,” says Commander Jay Patrick. “For this guy to want to make it his hobby is really bizarre.”

BEFORE THE SUN SETS, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!

Though restless and battered by complex problems, disillusioned and dissatisfied, many of us continue to remain engrossed with the exterior. Whereas, undeterred by social pressures, the Bauls, saffron-clad folk singers of rural Bengal, sing on “Why do you run after mirages? Look within yourself to attain happiness and tranquillity. Peace does not come from outside. You cannot discover peace by owning the world”.

The Bauls travel from village to village singing with their ektara, which is a simple one-stringed instrument, and drum called dubki. The Baul songs of joy, love and longing for union with the Divine deliver the message that God lives within every human being. The songs imply the importance of human soul or the “maner manush” which the Bauls perceive as the true God within every one of us. Hence the Bauls find no difference between people. Universal brotherhood is a fundamental of Baul ideology. They find no reason not to be at peace with all of mankind regardless of how people perceive the Supreme Being or the manner in which they practise a faith.

The Bauls reject the rigid rituals and the social mores of mainstream society. On account of this unconventional approach, the Bauls derived their name from the Sanskrit word “Batul” which means “afflicted with the wind” or “mad”. It is this “madness” and their acceptance of the Oneness of all life that sets the Bauls apart from most.

The Bauls believe that authentic worship of God takes place only deep within each person where God is enshrined. Individual inquiry is stressed, emphasising the importance of a person’s physical body as that which enshrines the Supreme.

The essence of the Baul belief is that God is hidden inside each one of us and neither priests nor rituals can help us to find God there. For the Bauls, searching within for God, the true soulmate, is a lifelong journey. They meditate through their songs searching for answers from within. The philosophy of their living path is intertwined with their songs. Their search for God is a personal one and they believe it to be something that each individual should carry out for himself.

The Bauls believe that God must first be perceived before being experienced and realised through
the pursuit of inner enlightenment. With this goal in mind, the songs they sing and the accompanying dances are meaningful meditation focused on the soul.

The Bauls believe that the body is a microcosm of the universe in which the Supreme Being resides and the essence of innermost being or “self” makes human nature divine. The Bauls profess that when you search for God, you are searching for “self” within. Though God assumes various personal forms to reveal Himself, God is actually within every human heart. If you desire to attain the knowledge and realisation of the Supreme Being, then you should focus on the inner being.

God is present in every moment and closeness with God is possible to experience during one’s lifetime through surrender to Him. Understanding that thought, emotion, feeling and self-image are not only gifts from God but manifestations of God. So, the Bauls sing: “Harvest before the sun sets. Know thyself before you sail for the unknown”.

THE WAR WITHIN!!

The conflict that rages within is an integral part of all of us. It is the war between good and bad, right and wrong, hate or love, mercy or vengeance, want and need, lust and relationship and much more. It starts the very moment we open our eyes and enter this world and it continues until the day we finally close those eyes and leave this world. Those who remain are left to deal with our influences. When we are born, conflict enters on a personal note through our body needs and wants. We cry, yell, annoy, interrupt — those of us who have raised babies understand. We care not about others, we only care about us. We recognise just what is required through our inner self. As we get older we shape those needs and wants via our senses, opinions, desires, environment, influences, education and outside impacts. It is now that the true war begins not only with ourselves but also with every single being we come to interact with. Some of those interactions are good and some are bad. The bottom line we are consistently at war within and it is a consistent and constant battle. Now this war relates to the choices one makes. It could be said it is the path you chose. The inner being is the real you in effect your intellect, your spiritual being. That is who you are. Our outer being most likely demonstrates that which we have installed as part of our shield, that book cover we show to all and which demonstrates that which we accept as right and perceive as acceptable by those whom we want to accept us. That which we have been taught, instructed and accepted as being right. However, who is to say what is right or wrong? We all dream, fantasise, want, need, seek, and covet. It is however, the disciplines and controls, the safety mechanisms that we have set, accepted and installed that keep us on the path and which we perceive as good, verses that of bad. Well that is where society as a whole emerges. Society is the collective thoughts of many which are translated into laws, norms and traditions

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