Real Renunciation On the path mapped out by the true spiritual philosophers and pioneers, there is great emphasis placed on the idea and need for renunciation. It is seen as the way to enlightenment, and freedom from the attachments which we misuse as sources of limited happiness and contentment. Renunciation does not mean giving everything away, shaving our heads, saying farewell to family and friends and finding a Himalayan mountain top. It means seeing our attachments and dependencies, our weaknesses and our evasions, and consciously giving them up. There is no sense of loss. The material necessities still come to us, paradoxically more will come. And when we renounce our own weaknesses and dependencies, there is always a strength and a new freedom to be found hiding underneath. Renunciation is a pathway to a simpler life and a highway to spiritual freedom - one of spirit's deepest yearnings in 'the age of accumulation'. Change To bring about a change within is to bring about a change outside too. When there are challenging situations, the usual way is to react to them and expect them to change because of these reactions. But the only way to change these situations is to bring about a change within the self. When there is the ability to do this, there is the ability to use all the resources for this purpose. When I have the commitment to bring about a change within myself, I am able to be confident and courageous in all situations. There is neither fear nor the desire for things to change according to my wish. I am willing to work on the situation and change the situation. Understanding What Is Time We created the concept of time to measure our experience of the space between events. Time passes only because we experience change. What is change? Change is only a series of events. So time is our experience of the speed of events. This explains why time seems to be moving faster today, because both the speed and the number of events are increasing. And it seems even faster if we participate in those events. If the speed and number of events was less, we would experience time to be moving slowly, as it used to be a little earlier in the history of mankind. Today, sitting in our living rooms and offices, electronic, print and other media allows us to observe hundreds of events from all over the world, every day. To observe them actively is to participate in them. If you want to slow time down, learn to be a detached observer of the thousands of events around you - participate or observe actively only when necessary. If you want to stop time, meditate and be in your original, timeless, eternal consciousness. Meditation is after all an art of shutting down your senses and slowing down. Today, we fear time, as a result we hear ourselves saying many a times, * Hurry up, time is running out! or * I hope to have more time tomorrow! or * I need to save time! Ultimately time, is our life: it cannot be saved or lost, but must be lived now. This is where your will-power is important - we can choose exactly how we spend our time at any moment. Soul Sustenance At Peace with Time - The Key To Relaxed Living (Part 4) You choose whether, each morning, you want to get up and begin with watching television, reading the newspaper over a cup of tea, or you want to get up and meditate, listen to peaceful music, read a couple of pages of spiritual knowledge that inspire you and you begin the day with enthusiasm and by visualizing it positively: today will be a marvelous day, I shall enjoy it … yes!! Such meditative and spiritual practice will give you a feel of time being elastic. In such a consciousness, a minute will seem eternal i.e. time can seem to come to a standstill (if I am surrounded by a positive set of circumstances which are spiritually uplifting) or can seem an instant, i.e. I get a feeling of time passing very fast (if in a negative set of circumstances). Thus, I learn to be a creator of time; living in time without being a slave to it. True freedom lies in being content now. You can be content in the present moment by resolving the inner dialogue that generates stress and conflict in you. When you are content, enjoying yourself and having a good time, you don't realize how time passes. This means that, if we lived in a state of constant happiness, we wouldn't realize how time passes. Time would be at our service. We would be the rulers and controllers of time and not the other way round. Message for the day To perceive the need to change is to bring about change for the better. Expression: When something goes wrong, there is generally a feeling of being right. There is always a desire expressed to change the situation or the person. So there is no introspection, but only blame. Such words discourage others too as they are constantly made aware of their negativity. Experience: When I am able to understand the importance of bringing about change for the better in every situation that I am faced with, I am able to recognize the message that the situation gives me. I am able to use the situation to better myself and gradually progress towards the vision of perfection that I have for myself.