Honoring the Self

Whose Mind is it Anyway? Well, we say it is my mind. This is my mind; it belongs to me. If so, then you are the master of it, and you are definitely not its slave. It follows your orders. It is subservient to you and to you alone. It is under your command. Think about this for a moment… Are you thinking about this are is YOUR mind wandering? Yes, YOUR MIND, the mind that belongs singularly to you, and to you alone. What is the mind anyway? Well, it is the free running computer of consciousness. Its programs seem to always be running (programs of our values, belief systems, bias, prejudice, and the like). Our mind, our personal computer, also has a complex memory system of all our experiences, which have helped to write our programming. So, we are either the one who will write and control the programming of OUR MINDS, or OUR MINDS will write our programming, the programming which defines and controls us. Therefore, when we get this, we pay greater attention to our minds, our thinking, and determine for ourselves what is good programming, and what programming we must delete and rewrite. It is important to talk to ourselves, your mind, as we reflect on the nature of our thinking and correct our thoughts (programming) when necessary. You can determine how you want your mind to run to bring benefit to your life. This does take discipline. Oh yes, discipline is a program you need to install. Make sure you are running the right version for your particular mind’s programming, or perhaps you just simply need an upgrade. The mind, what an incredible tool. It is time to honor yourself.

Life is constantly offering us the resources for our growth and wellbeing through the experiences it brings to us for the nourishment of our lives. Every moment of every day is a brand-new start. A new beginning where we can choose to let-go of the useless wrappings of the past and use the found empowering treasures provided by it. Treasures given to us in each moment by life to use as our inner resources. It is these inner resources which provide insight and are the opportunities taught to us by our daily life’s teachings. These are the opportunistic treasures, gems of life, which we can derived from those experiences as gifts to build more lustrous moments of living. Opportunities are the treasures which are always hidden in the fabric of each present moment we enter. We simply need to have mindful presence in that moment to realize it, to discover them.  

As one door closes another door or several more doors will open. Sometimes the door of opportunity is simply ajar, just slightly open. Therefore, you must not allow your aware presence to be encumbered by looking from the vailed past. You also must not allow your present opportunities to be compromised by being lost in a future dream. Can you see how that can easily happen, that of missing your opportunities? Are you open now to experiencing that door which is ajar with your next opportunity? If so, as I believe you are, then allow yourself to be mindfully present in all your moments. Have your presence be fully here now in the moment and refresh by the newness of the moment. In doing so you will realize the hidden quiet joyfulness of each moment’s potential for opportunities. It will then seem like opportunities will be peeking out from an opening door of that moment. Opportunities are there as a part of all of our days, we just need to be on time and have an open mind to realize them. There is usually no room left for realizing the opportunities of now, when we are going through our day struggling with the heavy burdens of our past, along with our worries of the future. Remember opportunities are a product or biproduct of now.  You must be present to receive them. You must be there, present in the now, to receive the prize. Honoring the self.

Darkness Embraces Light and Light Embraces Darkness

We live in a world of duality, of a balance of darkness and light. An eternally flowing cycle of constant fluidity. It is as though it is the rhythm of the universe. A spiraling intimate dance of light and darkness. It is even expressed in the play of light and its shadows. It is a relationship which is external and internal. Fairy tales, myths, religions, and spiritual texts, all express the dynamic dances of the relationships of the two in character. Light versus darkness, black versus white, and heroes versus villains. The paradox of the meaning of these two dominant influences in many ways drive our society. They definitely drive our psyches. The circle of yin and yang, black and white are in an eternal intimate embrace, wherein they’re in a constant change of sharing their space. Black becomes white, and white becomes black, night becomes day, and day becomes night, chaos becomes orderliness and orderliness becomes chaos. A ceaseless dance of happiness to maintain balance and equilibrium. One expression of consciousness doesn’t fight against the other. They work in unison, they dance.

Chaos can easily be seen as darkness, where orderliness can be seen as light. Yet they both are a part of the orderliness of the universe, of its evolution. Without chaos there could not be change, and without change there could not be growth. Most importantly of all, without growth there is decadence and decay. So, it is the decadence and decay which brings in the darkness. The darkness which promotes the change needed for growth and renewal, which results in the rising of the sun which brings in the light of a new day? Why am I expressing all of this, you may be asking yourself? Well, we are, and our world is, in its winter of humanity in its cycling phase of darkness and light. This is due to the lack of clarity, of harmony, and love among the peoples of our world. Yes, prejudices, decadence and the lack of morals, decay of values, etc. are the signs of this darkness, this winter. In turn we mustn’t fear the darkness, or we will make it seem darker.

Inside each of us is a light, a beautiful radiant light, a silent and loving light, which we spend so little time tending to. We seem to be more fixated on the dance of the shadows of darkness. Acting in resistance to the darkness just feeds it. Instead, we must tend to our lights, nurture our spirits of love and fellowship. It is these lights, our inner lights, and their natural nature of fellowship, which will bring in the new day of a higher consciousness and dispel the darkness.  So, do not feed the darkness with fear, which is more darkness, nourish it with your light, which is love. Our dawning lights will contribute to the hope of the world. This is what is needed. Love, compassion, personal service, caring, these are acts of being light. Even smiling at a stranger amplifies light. The choice is for you to be the darkness or be the light. Become a butterfly are remain a caterpillar. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. I add to that, “To be the change you wish to see in this world you must become the light”. Namaste.       

Truth is not a judgement it is the tested outcome of the acknowledgement of tried and tested facts. We have in society come to recognize the truth is of imperial knowledge, and therefore of the utmost authority. It is something which can be verified by a set of facts, verified by something that has actual existence. The relative importance concerning the truth is it is recognized as a foundational structure which supports reality. Truths can be substantiated. Why is this so very important? Without a universal way of establishing laws with our joint structure of reality chaos will always rein and communication will be corrupted.

Judgement on the other hand can be made based on bias, and bias is supported by one’s personal belief system. In court judgements are based on the presentation or one’s opinion of the evidence, which are not necessarily clear evidence. Sometimes they are only judgement or personal belief. The evidence presented may be the judgement of the one presenting it or supporting it, therefore potentially slanted. As we all know even our legal system sometimes overlooks the truth when making judgements.

We make judgements consistently throughout the day, which aren’t always base on facts or truth. They tend to be our choices, or our judgements made based on our personal preferences or bias, our desires. When we gossip, we are not necessarily speaking the truth. For the most part what we are doing is making judgements, projecting our personal beliefs about something or another. Truth has honor, as it is founded in actuality, and in being so can be shared with others in trust. We need to be more trusting with one another, and that means we need to hold ourselves only to the truth, as much and as honestly as possible, when we share with each other. If we are going to heal this world of ours’, we must learn to communicate with each other based on provables, which are actually grounded in facts.  Judgements are not facts. Facts are proven, and without any substantiated proof we lose touch with reality. Without a common reality all chaos will break loose on our lives.

Your Smile Leads you to Your Experience of Happiness

If you believe happiness is a destination, you will be greatly surprise when you get to your destination and you do not find it waiting for you. Therefore, it would make great sense to start your journeys with any degree of happiness. You can start it simply by wearing the smile of happiness. The power behind a smile is contagious even if you initially fake the smile. You need to just keep reminding yourself to keep its shine on your face. It will ultimately on its own spread to your attitude, and then presto, you are moving along with the attitude of happiness from that initial smile. It will be flowing all through you and around you. That is the wonder-full beauty of the smile of happiness, in case you do not remember what happiness and its smile is.Remember it does take fewer facial muscles to smile than it does to frown. So, why not start your daily journey with a taped-on shine of a smile to promote the happiness of your journey, and the happiness of your destination will always be there. It will be that you carried your happiness with you for your arrival to your destination. Of course, it is contingent on you taking ownership of the happiness which you have created. This means not trading it in for any of the lesser attitudes found at your destination. Doesn’t that make tremendous sense to you? Remember it is not your outside environment which determines your happiness, it is your internal feelings and the smile you wear. So, SMILE to raise you vibrations and spread the light of your your shine. Yes, even with a mask on people are aware of your smile, because you shine.

What is in a Legacy?

A legacy is the impression we leave the world with. It is built on our relationship with those in life. It can be said to be held by those we know, and those we don’t directly know, but in some way, they know of us. A legacy is your impression in dance of life, your painting of life, or your song about life you leave life with to remember you. It is created through the colors you used in your communication with others, or the tunes and melodies you left in the hearts and mind of those who were in your company.

Life is the stage, or canvass, or noteless page of music, we all get to create our life on. That creation is of our own choosing. Although our brush strokes, the colors of our selections, our notes sang or played, our footing and such, aren’t always directed by us alone. It is what we do with these unexpected influences which make our masterpiece brilliant. Our legacy, the finish production of our lives, is more so about what we do with those unexpected influences, as it is about anything else. Life truly is about our interactions. As it is said, “A calm sea never made a great sailor”. So, I say to you, “May you find the richness in the unexpected as much as you find it in the expected, so that when the time comes your life will be a masterpiece, a wonderful , no matter how small, still a wonderful legacy of your life”. A caring legacy wherein you have left footsteps of love, peace, and harmony.

One way you can exercise strength, self-respect, and contentment in life is by preventing yourself from being drawn into the trivial things that are happening around you. It takes the power of discernment, a self-mastery tool, to determine what are the things which are going on around you are important enough for your interaction. Sometime silence and observation are all that is needed. This is an aspect of mastering the self, which allows for you to maintain a peaceful attitude throughout your day. Life is, and always will, churn-up plenty of useless minutia to distract you. Like shiny objects vying for your attention. You can choose to be mindful, and rest from interacting as you declutter your minds, and simply observe while you are being entertained by life’s goings-on. Everything that is happening around you doesn’t need your opinion or action. You needn’t simply be drawn into things which just drain you of your energy. Raise your vibrations and become a master of your life, a self-sovereign.Creating boundaries for your interactions in life will enable you to retain your peace. Try it. Be mindful, you will be glad you did.

The Garden which Grows Our Personality
When you reflect on life and who you are in any given moment, is it based on your aspirations, or is it a reflection of the actions of those around you? In other words, do the people around you have a greater affect on your life than you do yourself.

Our character or personality is of the making of our inner and personal garden. Which we personally tend so it may reflect outwardly the nature of our being, who we aspire to be in life. It is what we grow there, in this our sacred place, we offer out to the world as an experience of who we are, of our inner being. How do you see your inner garden and how well have you tended it to be as you wish? When we allow the actions of other peoples’ misbehaviors to plant their attitudes in our garden, their weedish behavior takes root and begins to choke out the beauty of our garden. We can observe these behaviors, but we needn’t absorb them. We do not have to act toward them as they act toward us. So, when someone offers you weeds, you simply can refuse to take it in. Instead offer them one or more of the beautiful flowers from your inner sacred garden. These are the flowers which reflects the beauty of your aspired nature. They are who we aspire to be, not the weeds.

When someone comes to you tangled in hate, cut them free with the flower of love. When someone comes to you burning in anger, quench their flame with the flower of peace. When someone is starved by sorrow, offer them the food of the flower of compassion. When someone brings to you the blindness of hurt, offer them the sight of the flower of healing. Those can be the greatness of your offering from the flowers which you can grow in your inner and sacred garden. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Namaste, and have a joyful day tending your sacred garden.

The Heart Chakra is the Chakra of Love, which Holds a Place for Peaceful Understanding

The fourth chakra of the seven chakras is Anahata, the Heart Chakra, which governs the pure synergistic aspects of love. Anahata, which is green in color, is at the center of the body between the sacrum and the color bones and is the center chakra of the chakra system. Being at the center of the system it is the fulcrum and equilibrium between the three lower chakras of our body and relationships (Earth), and the three upper chakras of our mind and higher consciousness (Heaven). Anahata, the consciousness of the heart, is the well-spring of spiritual or altruistic love. This degree of love is of a higher nature and is not influenced by fickle emotions, it is a mature love. The name Anahata which is Sanskrit, means the sound which is made without two things striking, or unstruck, and unhurt. Such is the love of Anahata, the heart chakra.

The pure and unadulterated innocent presence which is the driving purpose promoted by the balanced of energy from Anahata is equilibrium, equanimity, and equality with all things and all experiences in one’s life. It is to experience all things in balance, that is in being free of their dualistic nature. This vibrant and harmonious power brings all things into a state of synergy, through which is experienced inner peace. This peace is of the nature of love and is of the greatest of all loves, it is innocent, altruistic, and a source of healing. This love is born out of a deep and balanced understanding. An understanding which is created by the harmonious and energetic alignment of earth with heaven, which is the balance of the lower three chakras with the upper three chakras. It is the balance of the body with its emotional sense of personal power, with the conscious and unconscious states of mind. This love is peaceful as it is not disturbed easily, if at all, because its strength lies within itself without having any needs. This love is of giving not receiving. It doesn’t depend on external support. This synergistic spiritual love supports itself, and self-love is its support for giving. This is what makes it altruistic love.

Anahata, the Heart Chakra is of course the center of the chakra system, as is synergistic love the center of all things in the universe, and of consciousness itself. This love is the peace which is the foundation of unlimited understanding, and an opening to God consciousness. Altruistic love, synergistic love, joins all things together in a balance togetherness. It is this energetic and synergistic center which radiates love, compassion, self-responsibility, honesty, and forgiveness, initially and especially to one’s self. It is a balance which marries you (ego) with self (one’s divinity). To maintain this balance, a healthy flow of conscious energy must flow through this center from the lower three chakras in tandem with the upper three chakras. This will ultimately support the wholeness of a balanced homeostasis sharing of energies within and through all the chakras of the chakra system and provide a loving and peaceful state of wellbeing.