First Change There is no greater teacher than one's own practical example. To be really benevolent therefore means that I must first change, then I have the power, the knowledge and the experience of thinking and doing for the ultimate benefit of all. Spiritual Maturity As we mature spiritually there is less need to have our self-respect bolstered by praise and special attention. As our thought processes become more compassionate and less self obsessed, we feel increasingly satisfied with ourselves and our lives. We relate to people more easily and feel no need to draw attention to our successes or complain about our problems. The Journey Of Time (cont.) becomes new. All material possessions including the human body, all political movements, religious movements, different philosophies etc. move from a state of newness to a state of oldness or decay. This is on a micro level. When we apply this principle and process on a macro level to the world as a whole, we can then easily understand why we live in an 'old world' - a world with scientific progress but overused, misused, tired and where many sectors are simply worn out. This process is sometimes known as entropy. The Law of Entropy states that a closed system moves from order to disorder or chaos, when the energy inside it reduces because it is not renewed or re-energized from a source outside that system. On a physical level, the sun sustains and re-energizes the systems of nature on the physical Earth every day. But in the recent past our exploitation of the world has started to become faster than the world's ability to renew or re-energize. We now use the trapped energy in our physical world much faster than the sun can replace it. Tomorrow, we shall explain how the Law of Entropy can be applied to spiritual energy and our virtues. Soul Sustenance Shedding Off The Attachment To A Positive Past (Part 1) A very powerful mis-identification (incorrect identification) that each one of us indulges in, to different extents, is identifying with our positive or glorious actions of the past. This identification is so strong that almost every day it comes to the surface of our consciousness when we switch on the movie of this story of these actions on the screen of our minds. By rehearsing this story repeatedly we love experiencing the same emotions and feelings that we felt at that time, emotions that we had enjoyed very much. We not only re-experience that pleasure but we also love to share the pleasure by persuading others to see that movie by broadcasting that movie in front of whoever we come across. This is normally done in the form of words by speaking about our professional or personal achievements, our educational qualifications, our experiences, actions for which we gained recognition, our history, etc., all a thing of the past. But this is not talking about the real self, this is just a story, thus it is a false identification with something we are not. Every time we indulge in this type of identification, we strengthen the incorrect belief that we are talking about our self. We believe the past is us. This is the incorrect identification. If someone were to ask us to describe ourselves in a few words, instead of talking with humility about our spiritual self, our virtues, powers, strengths, etc., which is the real self, we quickly mention all of the above features of our past, thinking this will give the other an impression of our credibility. Even when we communicate with people over email or some other mediums, we are quick to mention all these things in our signature, etc. believing this is our story and portraying that we are in love with it and other people should identify us with this story as we do and love us for the same. To remember and identify with any memory of action that we created yesterday is to identify with what we do. And we are not what we do. (To be continued tomorrow …) Message for the day To be committed towards one's own progress is to help others to move forward. Expression: The one who is committed towards his own self-progress, is free from criticizing others when he sees them make mistakes. Having realized what is wrong, such a person makes corrections immediately. He is able to realize his own mistake in a second and take the chance for self-improvement. This naturally gives the ability to help others also to bring about a change for the better. Experience: Since I am committed to my own self-progress, I am able to become stronger and stronger with each passing situation. I find that I become a source of inspiration for those around, as I continue to learn from all that happens. I don't put people down for their mistakes, but am able to give them the help to be better.