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.