Category: spirituality and religion

Look Within the Heart

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Look Within the Heart

Perhaps we can start to find the truth of ourselves and feel truly blessed to witness innate treasures! When we can see the courage behind the fear,the grace behind the afflictions,the confidence underneath the unworthiness,the beauteous above the hideous and the Light that has been waiting for a long time in the womb of the self!

Exquisiteness is hidden in order for us to take an adventure(journey) of uncovering and discovering the gems(kingdom of heaven) within.How profoundly joyful we will transform into to witness even a glimpse of the brilliance that radiates from the darkness!And we each hold the choice,the free-will to make the journey to find that Wondrous Truth!

“And now you ask in your heart, “How

shall we distinguish that which is good in

pleasure from that which is not good?”

Go to your fields and your gardens, and

you shall learn that it is the pleasure of

the bee to gather honey of the flower,

But it is also the pleasure of the flower

to yield its honey to the bee.

For to the bee a flower is a fountain of

life,

And to the flower a bee is a messenger of

love,

And to both, bee and flower, the giving

and the receiving of pleasure is a need and

an ecstasy.”

Khalil Gibran ~~~~ 18th century American-Lebanese writer, poet and Philosopher

Author of ‘To Resurrect the True Self’

Being Self-Vigilant

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Practicing Self-Observation

As humans, we like watching and looking outwardly at others to either follow blindly(politically, religiously, socially, materialistically,in the media,etc.) or to find faults(judging,being critical,etc.).

Have we ever pondered what could be the possible outcomes of both following and finding faults?Where will we be lead to?What do we truly want in our lives,increased pain and suffering or peace,comfort and relief…freedom from afflictions?In truth,both fanatical following and fault-finding is about falling into the trap of distractions,of practicing self-doubt and running away from the truth of who we truly are! We thus give away and deplete strength,valor,fortitude and wisdom of our inner power.

Could we pull away for a while to seek healing resources to regain insights of our Divine intelligence?

If we make an effort and allow courage for self-observation,introspection and reflection,what would we discover and learn truly of ourselves?

If we give the chance to sincere times of quietude,to be with and listen to the spiritual wisdom(our innate Divine nature) coming from Within,we might learn self-responsible adopting experiences.We can then perhaps accept,surrender and flower with all circumstances of life(ugly or beautiful,good or bad,happy and sad).Even when an obnoxiously negative person or situation arise,we will see it as an opportunity to learn,understand,blossom and change positively to propagate peace-giving attributes for ourselves and others.

We as humans are so habituated to react with resentment,anger,retaliation,defense,denial,hatred,holding on to grudges and bitterness whenever we are faced with adversity from another or going through a disturbing life situation.We tend to bring out the negative traits in us as defense mechanism to try to prove our ‘strength’ and ‘power’ of being in control,of not wanting to look like a loser.Yes, in truth we can and will feel bitterly hurt,irate and provoked.What do we do?Do we give in to our unhealthy instincts and go against our True nature of Loving-goodness?

Or we can practice the mindfulness of stopping to listen,to become aware in the moment of who we are,why we are,where we are and let the hurt and pains ground us into our feelings of the moment.We then can get the chance to watch,pay attention and discern what we are truly going though,feeling,thinking, and how we might act/say/express.We can start to practice the gifts of understanding,self-respect and tender embrace of ourselves and others and situations.

Have we not also caused pain to others that we might look Within ourselves to learn the meaning of ‘what goes around,comes around’?

In continuous practice of watching ourselves,we learn to not go against,fight back, resist and become combative so as not to produce more unnecessary suffering.We will learn to observe our own power of resilience,goodness, kindness and humility surfacing,we thus allow the nurturing of compassion and deep understanding to be cultivated.We will slowly start seeing our true inner treasures!

Through empowering ourselves with acts of kindness/goodness,we can stand in awe of the True Power to learn self-respect,confidance and ultimately to Love without conditions and limitations!

When we silence the noise of the mind, we listen to Silence,we listen to Divine Intelligence,to God!

Witnessing Ourselves

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Witnessing Ourselves

When we do something altruistic,pure and out of sheer selflesness,we witness the joy and goodness that arise from Within….we feel peaceful,content,enriched and empowered.We start to develop the love affair and feel sincerely good with ourselves and truly see that Love is indeed inherently alive,not dependent on anyone or anything outside of ourselves.

When we revel endlessly in selfish motivations, we feel weakened,tired,wasted and drained.It is due to the fact that we need to chase one pleasure after another(we become dependent upon external sources).No matter how much ‘temporary happiness’we enjoy,we we cannot feel satisfied,content and comforted!This in turn becomes addictive and obsessive and leads to various afflictive dysfunctions(passive/active violence, aggression,depression, cold-heartedness,bitterness,hatred, ill-wills)).We can see that when we get what pleases us, we feel elated and ‘nicey-nicey’.Then see/witness what happens when things don’t go the way we want it to be?

Simply become aware of every circumstance and discern the wisdom to facilitate the necessary change.

Author of To Resurrect the True Self

The Light Within

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The Light Within

The Light that we need to brighten the space that is dark and gloomy around us,in the world is to be found Within.That Brilliance is buried deep underneath the debris and rubble of anger, hatred, fear,selfishness,jealousy, greed,ignorance,foolish/fleeting desires that we have allowed to stagnate in our being.How are we to see the True path without the Light of Love,Wisdom and Joy.

How are we to see that Light Within,when we enjoy noticing and revelling in the darkness without .

Why not make the effort and spend the energy excavating away the blocked path to find the Light and expose that Brilliance to make the world(our surroundings) a little brighter!

Author of To Resurrect the True Self

What could We do Today

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What will we do today?

What is our spiritual agenda for the day apart from having a little fun, and carrying out duties,work,chores and other mundane activities.

Could it be the practice of being kind in the face of un-kindness?

Could it be making an assertive effort in spending a few minutes time alone to self-reflect,to listen to the heart,to touch the heart,to rest the body and mind?

Could it be allowing the self to be Present/Aware of intentions,thoughts,actions,reactions,speech/words.

Could it be feeling of gratitude to someone to a stranger,an enemy, to life itself, for a celebrated joyous occasion?Perhaps offering a good deed in thankfulness not only to whomever that made you feel good but reaching out to be of help to others to witness that True Self of charity coming from within.

Could it be that the creative heart wants to be opened up to,not only in giving,but in being not afraid to receive goodness/kindness from others?

Worldly distractions provide a platform to forget the True Self.

Spiritual endeavours,open remembrance of our True self to the Universal connectedness with all of Creation through what we know as Unconditional Love!

Author of To Resurrect the True Self

Finding Goodness amidst the Chaos

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With all the worldly chaos getting out of control everywhere,what can we learn from this?

We learn to witness aggression,hatred, anger,disharmony,terrorism and disrespect for the sacredness of human life period! What about the subtle damaging/disturbing effects and disharmony happening in our own homes, environment,society,schools,places of worship,workplace and worse still within ourselves?

Do we want to be a participant in any form of turmoil?Or can we stop to look Within and find loving/healing resolutions that we can harness within ourselves and be that harbinger and creator of peace and kindness.We can always start where we are at,right NOW!

We can be the peace,the light, the comfort,the compassion that we wish the world would offer us at this moment.We ARE the peace, the light, the joy, the wisdom,the love innately alive within each and every human being!Why then are we ‘fighting’against each other and fostering hatred,doubt,self-loathing,unworthiness and disillusions.

We have the tender,loving, forgiving power to break free from the bondage of guilt and shame,fear,delusions,conditions and limitations. Why are we afraid to utilize them?

We can for a moment see the brighter and spiritually positive side of all the disturbances that has happened and is happening in the world,around us and within us.

There is a positive potential in each one of us!For when we choose to admit sincerely and submit to the surrender of repentance and opening up of our conscience to our faults,aggression and inner pains…what a magnificent transformation will take place! And it will make a huge positive difference in the world! We will learn, understand and teach to benefit ourselves and others.

Every little positive change we make within the self, affects the shift and the raising of collective consciousness in the Universe.We need to turn inwards first to witness goodness amidst the chaos…..

Everything we need to do to bring about Peace and Joy is about living from that Goodness that we are from Within.

Author of To Resurrect the True Self

Making Ourselves a Channel of Peace

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Make me a Channel of Peace!

Where there is hatred let me bring your love

Where there is injury, your pardon Lord

And where there is doubt true faith in You

Make me a channel of your peace

Where there is despair in life let me bring hope

Where there is darkness only light

And where there’s sadness ever joy

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek

So much to be consoled as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love with all my soul

Make me a channel of your peace

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned

It is in giving to all men that we receive

And in dying that we are born to eternal life

In a time of tremendous violence,suffering,confusion,greed,depravity,self- centred pursuits and strife,serious questioning of the meaning of Life can be found in these profound words of the beautiful man Saint Francis of Assisi in his peace prayer above.

This man whom I intensely revere.This man who taught me the meaning of peacefulness, compassion,humility and forgiveness.This man who left every riches of the world to find his True Self!Each time I read this peace prayer, tears flow as it touches the depth of my being.

What do we truly need in life, what do we need to declutter from our lives and what do we hold valueble in order to be that Light unto ourselves and others?

THE SELF IS HUNGRY FOR LOVE AND HAPPINESS. THE WORLD HUNGERS FOR LOVE AND PEACE!

What are we doing,what can we do,what will we do,where do we begin?Surely,with ourselves first!

How to begin?

By dying to what is false and untrue,to what is damaging for spiritual prosperity.By watching ourselves,observing the mind and its intentions and not be caught in the stories it creates!By not identifying with conceptions it conjures,being mindful of the speech and how we affect people with rude,crude and disrespectful, argumentative words/conversations.We can start to notice our actions and reactions and how people react/interact with us.In everything we do, we apply the wisdom of being aware.When we are aware, we can change what we deem unfavourable for peaceful and kindly living conditions.

Author of To Resurrect the True Self

Our True Nature

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Our True Nature is Love, pure consciousness,goodness, kindness,benevolence and benediction.But why have we forgotten our True Self?

As long as we live fearfully and convinced by what the illusory,noisy and enticing world indoctrinates unto us, we will overlook the beauty within us! This beauty is nudging incessantly to awaken us to look within and find the treasures we are to discover and display and share!How can we listen to the call of our own Self?We start the practice of being aware of our own Presence,we watch ourselves.We learn to be present to wanting quiet time to see our preciousness in life,the potential goodness and peacefulness we can offer.

Do we hanker and opt to be influenced by the crowd or could we choose to have courageous wisdom to stand up alone and listen to the voice beckoning from Within?Are we to waste our lives in constant fleeting reveries?

“From the roots of evil….there will spring shoots of goodness

Just as surely as there is the darkness of night…it will dawn into the brightness of day

From the terrorism of fear…..there will come forth the Innate protection of strength and courage from within

From the abyss of hatred….there will be stairs leading up to compassion

In the end nothing remains permanent,

all will dissolve in the ocean of Love!”

~~~~~~~~~~excerpt form ‘To Resurrect the True Self’ pg.99~~~~

Author of To Resurrect the True Self

Grounded in Love

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Grounded in Love

How do we find ourselves reacting when we are feeling disappointed,down,lonely,miserable,anxious,worried,troubled,despairing,etc.It might be that our first reaction would be to be kept occupied/distracted,pick on, project our disturbed state at others,do something unreasonable/negligent and continue in various other negative ways.

There is another way,the healing way,which is to stay and be aware/present with the ongoing pain and disturbances.We can acknowledge it and not fight with it,let it become a friend rather than an enemy.Embrace it in tenderness and understanding that sorrow has come to ignite the flame of love,compassion,forgiveness,humility and kindness within.It has come to help us act wisely and not escalate the fire of disasters namely-hatred,anger, bitterness,resentments and selfishness.As we welcome the pain instead of running away(not wanting to face consequences), the pain and the problem will find its way out eventually.It will keep us learning to deal and brace ourselves with courage and compassionate wisdom.In the meantime, we do whatever we can to find some comfort and resolution that aid the healing process,it could be to trust,to have faith,to allow yourself to be humbled,to be open to honest communications rather than closing up,tenderness for oneself leading to forgiveness,to do kind deeds,etc.

In my spiritual walk, I faced many many adversities and persecutions,being poked fun at, taunted,called names and chided at.It felt like I was walking through a tunnel of fire scorching me from all sides,yet always getting through unscathed by remaining centred on the strength of reminding myself of the Love Within that no one or anything can destroy.Then walking out of the tunnel renewed with a fresh beginning,knowing that being grounded in Love carried me through the difficulties!

In the face of any kind suffering,we can get through with the humility of taking responsibilities,patience and resilience of not blaming(oneself or others), or be carried away in anger, self-hatred resentments,unkindness,become unforgiving,acts of malice and to grow cold/hardened.When we stay grounded and be strongly aware of the courage and humble strength and goodness that we are rooted in we become sustained by it and connected to loving actions!

Author of To Resurrect the True Self

Finding Peace in Life

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Finding Peace in Life

Do we truly want inner peace?How do we find inner peace?

We are plagued by incessant restlessness,worries of the mind,agitations,unconscious anger(kept silent or expressed),frustrations,fears,addiction of all sorts(being tired of its wasteful fanaticism) and unsettled resentful feelings,etc.This is the time of true testing when we can do something to help ourselves make an effort to learn from all adversities.This is the time we can learn to melt into the courage and strength of humility.We can then be our own true best friend,to say I need help and guidance to seek peace within myself.

But we say there are so much disturbances within myself and troublesome situations and people around who are aggravating my life!!

It all begins with the awareness of our own true sincere acknowledgements and recognition of all annoyances within the self and external circumstances.We can start to potentiate peace right NOW and it doesn’t matter who,how or what are disturbing us.We stand up tall to focus on PEACE itself.Where we are,where we sit,who we are mingling with,whatever we are doing,we can be aware of our thoughts and feelings and actions and speech.Then we can slowly observe ourselves and apply an effort to make a quiet change when we see the anger rising,the hatred seething,being gripped in uncontrollable tiresome habits, the restlessness looming,the resentments flaring up and the harsh,cynical/critical speech/voice surfacing.When we can allow sincere humble courage and not to be discouraged or be harsh to check ourselves in that moment,we can trigger a mild change.We can keep in constant practice of this simple exercise anywhere with anyone till it gets deeply rooted,till we witness our self-respect,understanding and confidence and heart warming up…compassion commences for ourselves and for others.We can continue to work with those around us by sincere understanding dialogue and actions.It is not easy but not impossible,we have all the gifts and sacred tools within us to warrant peace.

No matter how much we pray for peace or turn to ‘God’ and ask for healing and want an end to any type of misery, suffering and pain,we have to take action for it,to strive positively for it.No one can hand peace, joy, happiness and healing to us on a golden platter as each of us are looking for the same…it must come from within.Naturally,when we say we want peace and don’t do anything for it and remain ‘at war’ within ourselves and unconsciously to others,will we find or be an instrument of peace at all?

Yes,we can pray or chant or meditate or reflect but it has to be together with practical actions,self-assertive awareness and undertaking responsibilities,life can always change for the better no matter what situation we are in or whoever seem to be troubling us.

Just as when we want the freedom to drive a car,we need to find a competent driving instructor to go through a bit of difficulty to be trained to learn to drive first or we might be a danger to our selves and others while being incompetent on the road…or in this case on life’s journey!

Author of To Resurrect the True Self