10.02.2015

Soul Consciousness
Spiritual awareness (soul-consciousness) is
cultivated through deliberate practice and only
those who have understood the need for this kind
of true, inner, self-respect will make the
effort. Difficulties will arise to test your
resolve for self-upliftment - physical illness,
relationships, memories of the past, and so on.
Yet with patience and introspection, you will
come to see how these very tests are the means
to strengthen your spiritual identity.
Experience
It is much easier to believe that it's snowing,
than to experience the snow. If you just
believe, you can stay inside, stay warm and
avoid the cold. That's why people are led up the
garden path by others beliefs. It's easier and
warmer. And all this 'believing stuff' starts in
kindergarten. In the context of your spiritual
or personal growth, believe nothing, experiment
and test everything, in the laboratory of your
own experience. Only then will you be able to
separate truth from falsehood, reality from
illusion, and lead others with integrity.
Challenge and check at least one belief
everyday. And if it's found wanting, chuck it or
change it. Challenge, check, then chuck or
change, now that's a master at work.
Nurturing My Relationship With Myself
One of the most significant areas of importance
in any human's life is that of relationships.
Someone with very good, close, harmonious and
loveful relationships with loved ones, friends,
colleagues, etc. is normally considered very
fortunate or lucky. But of all relationships,
the first and most basic one is the one I have
with myself. So, how good, close or deep is
my relationship with myself? How well do I know
myself? Am I my own friend? If I think over the
last week or fortnight, how many of my reactions
were unexpected or uncontrolled or basically not
the right ones? How many reactions left me
confused, sad, unenthusiastic, peaceless,
depressed, negative in any other way or in short
uncomfortable? If there have been several such
situations, it is an indication that there are
still things deep within me that I do not know.
Normally a friend is someone whose company I
enjoy, for whom there is love and from whom
there is some benefit. As in any worldly
relationship, without knowing a particular
person to the core I can never have a deep
relationship with that person. As the phrase
'spiritual knowledge' implies, it is the
knowledge of the spirit or the self. Only by
knowing myself completely and having a good
relationship with the self, can I channelize my
inner potential that I have within myself - just
as water from a river, when properly channelized,
provides water for various purposes. In any
worldly relationship, if enough time and
attention is not given to it and it is not
nourished, it gets affected negatively. In the
same way, though it's obvious that I have to
spend a large chunk of each day involved in
situations arising from my duties, routine
activities, responsibilities and worldly
relationships; my relationship with myself
should also be given enough time and attention,
so that it does not suffer. If I am not careful
about that, my worldly life may use up my energy
completely and discharge my inner battery.
I
need to find times in the day when I give time
to my relationship with the self and recharge
myself. The peace and happiness I long for
internally will be obtained by having a good,
positive relationship with the self.
Soul Sustenance
Resolving Conflicts In Relationships (Part 1)
In relationships, sometimes we feel that the
other person is not only a problem but also a
source of conflicts.
We have to be aware that there always have to be
two people involved for there to be an unhappy
or conflictive exchange. When we are in any
conflict, it is difficult to see and understand
the true causes and the real energy of the
process of the conflict. The emotions that
arise inside us during a conflict distract us
and even blind us. In the first place, it
is important to recognize that your response in
any situation of conflict is your contribution
to the conflict. The process of responding
to any person or situation is something that
takes place in you. Nothing can make you feel
anything without your permission. If you have
been in conflict with someone for a time, for
sure, you create fear or anger towards them,
expressing thus behaviors of resistance when you
communicate or relate to them. The other person
is not responsible for your emotions or for your
behavior. Your experience of conflict and your
contribution to the conflict begin in your
consciousness and you keep them in your
consciousness. It begins with your perception of
the other (how you see others). If you
perceive them negatively you will think
negatively; you will feel negative
and create a negative attitude; you will
behave negatively, and so you will
transmit a negative energy. You don't have
to do it like that. Perception is a choice. When
there is conflict there is mental and emotional
pain, even physical. Who creates that pain? You!
Who creates at least half of the conflict? You!
Where do you dissolve it? In your consciousness
- in you. Freeing yourself of the conflict is a
matter of a decision. At any moment you can
decide not to be in conflict. One party has to
dissolve their contribution to the conflict,
even if it is temporarily, for the process of
resolution to be able to begin.
(To be continued
tomorrow…)
Message for the day
The one who has courage to bring about a change
is free from excuses.
Expression:
For the one who recognizes the need for bringing
about a change, every situation is an excuse for
doing something new. If there is no commitment
to change in every situation, excuses are given
and others are blamed. So there is nothing new
that is done and nothing new achieved.
Experience:
Life becomes very interesting
for me when I am willing to take up the
challenges that it brings. I am not afraid of
new situations and challenges but am able to
make the best out of the situation, I am free
from fear and have the courage to bring about a
change easily and naturally.