Tag Archives: Self

Who Am I?

Spiritual Aids,

This one paragraph from Sri Ramana Maharishi really turned my head around.

What is the means for constantly holding on to the thought ‘Who am I?’

When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire: ‘To whom do they arise?’ It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, one should inquire with diligence, “To whom has this thought arisen?”. The answer that would emerge would be “To me”. Thereupon if one inquires “Who am I?”, the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source. When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the sense-organs, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear. Not letting the mind go out, but retaining it in the Heart is what is called “inwardness” (antar-mukha). Letting the mind go out of the Heart is known as “externalisation” (bahir-mukha). Thus, when the mind stays in the Heart, the ‘I’ which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine. Whatever one does, one should do without the egoity “I”. If one acts in that way, all will appear as of the nature of Siva (God).

It’s all happening at the zoo

Change is coming, , , , , , , , , ,

Being a seeker means believing in change and that change is good. First and foremost it means believing that change in yourself is healthy and second, believing that change in society helps you change yourself. I believe society is about to change radically. How exactly that transformation will present itself is unknown but change should be showing in long hold institutions before very long.

The New Agers, born again Christians, Native Americans and various other groups have been saying for a long time that the world will go through a radical change. I have been waiting and waiting for something to happen and in the past few years have begun seeing many changes, including the fall of communism, the rise of China, the fall of the Catholic Church. severe weather changes and more. It’s now time to change the institutions that we count on for daily living to get us out of this downward spiral. 

We are spiritual beings living a human existence, yet we don’t act very spiritual. The United States was attacked by a radical fundamentalist group who do not believe in a loving God. What did we do? We took over two countries. The people earning most of the top dollars today are in the sports and entertainment industries yet most of the examples we hear of their lives are something we would not want our children to hear. And yes, the teachers who are responsible for raising our future leaders are some of the lowest paid professionals around. It’s almost like watching the fall of Rome.

What can we do? We can always begin with ourselves. Look for love in your heart even when it would be hard to find. You didn’t choose your mate just to find all their flaws so start expressing some of the qualities they have that you love best. I’m sure you didn’t want to raise your children exactly as your parents did, instead choosing to be the best parent you could possibly imagine. Start becoming that person. Read self help books, see a therapist, share your feeling about your life with someone close. Pay it forward by being kind to a stranger. Maybe it’s the cashier who is having a bad day and is grumpy. Just repeat the words “love, love, love” silently to them and see if there is a change. It’s actually fun. Remember, do unto others as you would have them do to you.

The world is about to get rocked. Make sure your foundation is a good one.

My first remembered spiritual experience

Experiences, , , , , ,

Other than the flying dreams I had all throughout childhood, the first time I can remember anything happening to me which was unusual was in 5th or 6th grade. Our family had gone to visit my grandmother who lived next to a lake. I got up around 6 am one hot sumer morning and went down to the lake by myself. I swam out to a raft and just laid there. It was a time before all the boats and water skiers had arrived, just me and a couple of fishermen on an 11 mile long lake. The water was smooth as glass. You could hear all the insects just out looking for breakfast. There were a couple of beautiful dragonflys that were buzzing the raft but left after their curiosity was satisfied. The small waves generated by my swimming to the raft and a passing fishing boat were enough to lull me into a reverie such that life just became perfect. Even now, I still remember that feeling. In that space I could have laid there forever. It was just such a perfect peaceful feeling that I had no desires, no wants for anything at all. I felt like I was being gently rocked by God and there was a feeling that it would never end. I was cared for unconditionally and could do no wrong. I was puzzled about what was happening since I had not started my spiritual seeking yet but I couldn’t label it at that time. It was perfection, and four decades later that experience is still indelibly imprinted on my consciousness. Namaste