Former president George H.W. Bush celebrates his 90th birthday by jumping out of a helicopter; June 12, 2014 Open Mind The mind is like a parachute - it works best when it is open. How quickly we make assumptions, jump to conclusions and close our mind. How easily we form and hold fast to our opinions and then close our mind. How fast do we make a judgement, slap on a label and then close our mind. A closed mind never knows the delight of playing with possibilities, being enlightened by others point of view or enjoying the diversity of human life. An open and understanding mind never assumes, doesn't jump to conclusions and won't hold fast to any opinion. Perhaps it is no wonder a closed mind is not a very relaxed mind. Full Potential Self-respect is often mistaken for arrogance when in reality it is the opposite. When we can recognize all our good qualities as well as or faults with neutrality, we can start to appreciate ourselves as we would a dear friend and experience the comfortable inner glow of respect. To embrace the journey towards our full potential we need to become our own loving teacher and coach. Spurring ourselves on to become better human beings we develop true regard for ourselves and our life will become sacred. Enjoying My Stay Inside The Physical Body An interesting comparison to understand clearly the relationship between the soul and the body is that the soul is the resident of a house or an apartment which is the physical body. It's the awareness of who is the resident living, which is separate from where he is living. I need to realize, that like a resident of a house cannot be the house; he does not and cannot identify with the place in which he resides; in much the same way, I am not my body, the place in which I reside, but I am a resident. A resident of a physical house may or may not stay in the house for 24 hours, depending on his/her role. But I, as a spiritual resident of this physical body spend all my time inside it, in fact a complete lifetime, then I move in to another house or apartment. Since I spend so much time inside it, I need to maintain the body, take care of its upkeep and the kind of physical and spiritual atmosphere that exists inside it. When I keep it clean, fresh and vibrant, only then can I live in it comfortably. Do not forget, there's plenty of rubbish and dirt waiting to enter the apartment. My apartment's windows are my eyes and ears, through which rubbish can come in. This rubbish can be in the form of negative information, scenes, images and words. Rubbish dirties the resident, in this case my consciousness, taking me away from my true, positive, spiritual state. My nose, facing outwards, is like the front door of my apartment: it's the first part of me that faces the world. If harsh winds of difficult circumstances blow, and I don't know how to protect myself, I will catch a cold or fall sick i.e. my front door will be harmed and I'll become vulnerable. The living room of the apartment is my tongue which makes the first impression on anyone, whether it be positive or negative. There will be constant attacks on our windows, doors, living room, etc. But if I am aware and alert, I will keep my house in order. If any rubbish does get in, I need to soon clean it out again, so that the atmosphere inside the house remains positive and I, the resident can enjoy my stay in it. Soul Sustenance The Art Of Stepping In And Stepping Out In Relationships (Part 2) In the same way as the gardener (explained yesterday), we have the duty, or rather the honor, of planting positive seeds of good intentions, love, respect and tolerance, at the same time allowing others and the forces of the universe to be given the space to work and respond according to their time and inclination. Very often we plant those seeds but want an immediate result: * I have shown so much patience, but she doesn't change. or * How much longer do I have to tolerate? I feel suppressed. We become attached to what we do, so there is no space for things to happen at their own appropriate time. Sometimes we have the wrong type of mercy, or we want to take control, thinking we know better, so we step into people's lives too much. This interference and lack of free space provokes hatred, resentment and conflict with others. At other times, we get fed up with others; our tolerance and empathy is completely reduced and we say, * I've had enough or * I have got to do my own thing and so we step out, but in a selfish way, that is, we isolate ourselves from others, or situations. We justify, or disguise, this isolation and rejection and dislike towards others with such phrases as * I need my own space or * Let them stand on their own feet. In actual fact, we aren’t bothered anymore; we have stepped too far out of the picture because we have not cultivated the patience which allows the good and positive to germinate and grow in its own time. It is an art to know when to step back and when to step forward, but a very necessary one if well-being is to be achieved. Message for the day The power to merge brings success in relationships. Expression: The speciality of the ocean is to merge. The most beautiful pearl is made of the dirt that is thrown into the ocean. So also the power to merge actually allows one to look at the positivity in spite of the obvious negativity that is expressed by the other person. So the relationship with the other person is only with their positivity. Experience: When I am able to merge the negativity of others, and look at the positive aspect in them instead, I can automatically experience being light and positive within. Also I find others relating to me with their positivity. I am able to be successful in my relationship with others, however difficult the personality traits of the other person may be.