Tag: compassion

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!

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

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

A Lenten Meditation

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Lent

In the Christian tradition,today,which is also known as Ash Wednesday starts the beginning of Lent.Ash denotes the truth that the physical body will turn to ashes when it decays in death.So it can be termed that we are reminded of the truth of dying to all that is not permanent.In other words to our’old habituated -suffering -egoistic self’.

It is a time of withdrawal(moving inward into the self),a time of spiritual retreat.A time to utilize the test of faith,perseverence and courage in wanting to find the True Self following in the footsteps of the historical Jesus the Christ.

As we are told in the Gospels of the New Testament,Jesus left for the wilderness/desert for 40 days/nights to meditate,look within himself, to be allowed to be tempted,tested and tried.It was a time he had to harness all his energies inward into himself withdrawing from the sensory deluded world,letting go,surrendering and renouncing all forms of desires, attachments,ego-centric motivations in order to find his True Self.He needed time to spend in aloneness and solitude to fast his senses and commence the purification process from all afflictions.By going through this endeavour,Jesus had witnessed his Divinity,experienced, announced and attested that the ‘Kingdom of Heaven is Within,’which he mentions many times in the scriptures.

As we journey on this humanly life, it is necessary to find time for quietude to examine our conscience as we develop going deeper into our self to know and experience the truth for ourselves.This is the lesson and teaching that Jesus and all enlightened teachers/masters of spiritual truth would have wanted for us to learn from.They direct the way of seeking out silence to rest the mind,body and spirit and find our True Self.

Therefore lent could be likened to an addict who wisely seeks healing from unnecessary suffering and torments through rehabilitation to courageously and completely detoxify in the term of ‘cold-turkey’ away from the source of addictive temptations.

Most religious traditions delegate a time for ritualistic fasting/penances and altruistic practices to bring us back into our conscience to observe our living states.And it does not only stop when the ritualistic time period is over…it is truly a continuation to keep evolving, delving deeper into ourselves till we find and purify and free ourselves from unnecessary suffering and selfish bondages.

Lent is a time for everyone,believers and non-believers of any particular religious tradition or non at all.Lent is an opportune chance to begin the healing process of cleansing the self of all unhealthy afflictions that disturb our lives and the lives of others.It is a time to bring peace of mind and heart for the welfare of each and every single human being.And we begin with ourselves!

Author of To Resurrect the True Self

From Head into the Heart

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From Head to the Heart

Saint Augustine of Hippo said….”my soul will not rest till it rests in you Lord”

Most of my life I tried to decipher what these words actually meant and what truth it wanted to speak of.

Because of my own quiet perseverance in search for truth and love,I have come to understand its true meaning after going through long struggles with depression, unhappiness and misery most of my adult life.Like St. Augustine, I was yearning for peace of mind and for my heart to experience love in its deepest/fullest capacity.

Meditation,as I have come to practice and experience firsthand is that ‘spiritual transport’ by which all beings inherently can reach the core of the heart and find true purpose of our lives.The purpose of which is to know who we truly are,to be liberated from wasteful,unnecessary suffering and to be a lamp to help others find their way to peace and truth.

Meditation is a sacred passage by which we travel into ourselves watching our minds while we descend into the heart to find Divine Love there already waiting.By this process we come to know who we truly are empirically(direct experience).No one can bring us into ourselves but ourselves! In other words no one or any entity can save us!All true teachers are there to help point and guide,direct us on the path into the self and not away from truth and our own true nature.

We move esoterically(inwardly) from head to heart in the quietude of meditation.It is a love affair with oneself,in self-inquiry…”who am I truly?’”what do I truly want?”

By devoted sitting/walking meditation practice, we gradually become aware and conscious of our humanness,the mind is being observed and tamed.We mature in slow progression of peacefulness(contentment),understanding the true nature of things,preparing to accept all arising of uncertainties.It is not easy to sit in meditation but it becomes possible and effortless once we understand and are willing to endure it for the sake of wisdom,compassionate and joyful attainments to offer and share for ourselves and with others.

Most of my adult life,I thought living was just one big arena for foolish/selfish fun and play,reveling in reckless/restless activities.In the midst of all those reveries,there was always a deep ache and longing for something more,something fulfilling and meaningful that I hungered for.It was something I could not put a finger on but I knew that all these fun and worldly pursuits were not truly what life should be all about totally and aimlessly. I am not against fun,enjoyment and rest/recreation…but only that no one is hurt or harmed or abused and taken advantage of leading to further suffering.Another pitfall of wanting perpetual fun and happiness is that our senses become deeply attached/addicted to its pleasurable tendencies.Happiness hence becomes a suffering trapped in a tiresome,energy draining cycle,repeated over and over unable to be freed from chasing one desire after another(the mind/psyche sustains no peace).If desires are not met,we become agitated and restless which could lead to subtle or vicious aggression and maliciousness.

The world is out there acting as an assistance usually by the subtle and harsh realities of difficulties,chaos,hardships,challenging people/situations,false/empty offering of happiness/glory/beauty and riches which creates opportunities for us to change directions into one of spiritual conversion/transformation thus leading us to introspect and look within ourselves.

A quote from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 7,verse 13-14 illustrating what Jesus had to say about walking through the narrow road which means inwardly into the self and not blindly following ideologies, hearsays,opinions/beliefs of others(world) through the wide gate and broad road with the many distractions that destroy inner peace and truth.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

~~~~~ Jesus ~~~~~

If inclined to,practice spending a few minutes at a time being in quiet presence to rest the body,mind and soul.To have the right intention of understanding why we need to practice.In order to be opened to peace and loving intentions which bring relief,comfort, to nurture and cultivate wisdom and spiritual maturity.

I write not intending for anyone with any particular religious belief but for everyone as we are all human,yearning to know the truth of ourselves but still not ready or prepared to do so.

Author of To Resurrect the True Self

Courageous Humility

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Courageous Humility

In the true act of courageous humility,the being becomes aware of the log(guilt, fears,faults and negative affictions)) in one’s own eye first thus we can begin to understand the speck(pain and sufferings) seen in another’s eye.

In this process,the devotee chooses to make a courageous effort to pull out that ‘infected’ affected log from its own eye while resonating in compassion for the speck seen in another’s eye.

We all as human beings do suffer.When we see and feel and acknowledge our own suffering,we humbly stop to contain it in the wisdom of not wanting to pour it outwards to inflict pain and annoyances upon others.And this includes the discernment to not be influential in encouraging others to engage in unwholesome activities which does not empower and enhance spiritual healing,growth and humane betterment.For to help bring peace and joy to ourselves, our homes, our environment,to the world,we can mindfully discern to not indulge in meaningless,childish(selfish) and fearful behaviours which only stuns healthy development for ourselves and people we say we care for.

What can we learn from the two criminals who were crucified alongside Jesus on that fateful historical day some two thousand years ago?

The first criminal(the arrogant one),while hanging and dying on the cross mocked Jesus by saying “if you are the son of God,why don’t you come down from the cross and save yourself!”

The second criminal(the humbled one),also in the throes of suffering in pain and close to death on the cross chose the courage to be humble.He chose to defend Jesus,to defend truth and goodness.He spoke quietly to the arrogant man and said……”this man(Jesus) is not a criminal and does not deserve to die like us!”

And Jesus responded to the humble man…..”on this day,you shall be with me in paradise!”

What would suffering allow us to learn from? Humility or Arrogance?

Opening up to Our Conscious state

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Opening up to our Conscious State

How can we grow from purifying our false(negative)state of being to find peace and joy?

How can we truly practice to be courageous in order to live in our True State of Being to share with others?

How do we manifest/witness peace,loving-kindness and joy from within ourselves and outwardly to others?

How to make our lives within our family/friends/circle of people we associate with,our environment and our world,a harmonious place to thrive in?

When there were moments to be angry,abrupt and obnoxious

what did I do or can I choose to do?______

When there were chances to hate,to resent and hold on to bitterness,

what did I do or can I choose to do?______

When there were the opportunity for pride and arrogance to arise,

what did I do or can I choose to do ?______

When there were openness to be selfish,greedy and materialisitic,

what did I do or can I choose to do ?_______

When there were trials and temptations,

what did I do or can I choose to do?_______

When there were times of fear and defending falsehood,

what did I do or can I choose to do?_______

When there were reasons to blame,speak against,spread rumours and be irresponsible,

what did I do or can I choose to do?_______

When I felt Loving, joyful and kind,

what did I do?_____________________________________________

Author of To Resurrect the True Self