Musings on our Thoughts

(written in 2003)

    Our thoughts and us

    I've recently had a talk with a good friend about what role our thoughts play in our lives. As it happens, the Universe then served up some writings by others about this topic. They are found below:

    
    Power of Your Thoughts

    The process of creation starts with thought - an idea, conception,
    visualization. Everything you see was once someone's idea. Nothing exists in your world that did not first exist as pure thought.

    The energy of your thoughts move outward in wave patterns. Your thoughts are energy. Every person sends out energy like a radio transmitter. This energy moves outward in wave patterns.

    The air surrounding you is filled with many different frequencies. Every human has their own personal frequency. Think about how your television picks up frequencies for each channel. This is similar to how people send thoughts to each other.

    Most people are not aware of doing this because they were never taught how to do this in school. Your mind already knows how to send & receive thoughts. You've been doing it for many years, you just haven't been paying close attention to how your thoughts shape your everyday situations.

    Your choices, belief systems, intentions, and fears are all a part of how your inward state of being produces your outward experience. Since your thoughts move outward, all human thoughts are weaved together so that each person experiences the choices coming from their state of being, even if those choices were made subconsciously.

    ~ Author Unknown but appreciated ~

    "He can who thinks he can, and he can't who thinks he can't. This is an inexorable, indisputable law."

    -- Henry Ford
    The Power of Thoughts
    By Remez Sasson

    You have probably wondered whether people are responsible for their fate, and whether it is possible to be in control using the power of thoughts, positive thinking and creative visualization.

    Thoughts that are repeated frequently with concentration and desire eventually produce results Does this mean that one can be in complete control of his life and get everything he wants, or are there additional forces and powers in the game of life?

    It is a proven fact that thoughts have power. Most people are unaware of this fact, though they constantly use this power and unconsciously attract circumstances and situations into their lives. They may produce positive or negative results depending on their way of thinking. There are some who have learnt the subject of creating with thoughts, and use this power in a conscious way.

    Sometimes thoughts create and attract certain circumstances and events into your life. At other times you just find and stumble into the circumstances and events that you think about.

    The power of thoughts can also work in a different way too. If you constantly think about a certain subject, you become sensitive and aware of everything that relates to it. This means that you are more then usual conscious of opportunities, information, articles or conversation relating to this subject. You see opportunities where other people don't see anything.

    Do you know that constant concentrated thinking about the same subject also enhances your desire and motivation, which contribute to success?

    Your predominant thoughts make you act and behave in a certain way, which attracts a certain response and reaction from the people you meet. You may blame people for the way they treat you, but their behavior towards you is triggered in reaction to your actions, behavior and opinions, which originate from the way you think. This means that your life is affected both by your thoughts and behavior, and by others' people too.

    Take into consideration that on the mental plane thoughts coalesce with other similar thoughts and gain power. A group of people thinking about the same subject manifests more power then a single person. Similar thoughts strengthen each other, and opposite thoughts weaken each other.

    This is one of the reasons why thoughts sometimes do not materialize. If you desire something, and all the people around are opposed, they can neutralize your power, unless your inner power is stronger then theirs.

    There is another point to consider and this is karma. It is the law of balance. It is said that one "pays" and "gets paid" for his deeds in previous lives. If it is real then can one have power over the events of his life, if powers from former lives are at work?

    I am not going to take any stand here, for or against. I am only offering an explanation. Reincarnation is real on one level and illusory on another level. If you consider life as real, so why not reincarnation too? If you accept that nondual approach, which says that everything is just illusion, and the only real thing is the formless, eternal one and homogenous spirit, then there is no reincarnation, no birth and no death.

    If people come to this life with a previous baggage, then they already have their character and way of thinking. They are today where they are, due to their thoughts in previous lives, and may continue thinking the same way and attracting the same things as in a former life.

    If one is able to break the present pattern of thinking, and consciously start to think differently, then he can change his fate, which was "decided" in a previous life.

    Each one of us sometimes encounters situations that are difficult or impossible to change. Fighting against them may be a waste of time and energy. It is much wiser to accept them. You may not be able to change them, but you can change your reactions and point of view. This action releases inner strength and brings inner peace, and then the outer circumstances that you fought against before, cease to disturb you.

    There is another point to consider. People belong to different races, are of different nationalities and religions, and are part of different groups. The predominant line of thoughts of each of the above groups also has influence over their lives, and determines their circumstances, situations, and life's events. One needs to be real strong and detached inside to be able to neutralize the power of a group

    So can we influence our lives with the power of our thoughts? Yes we can, but not always as we want and expect. Sometimes we change outer circumstances in a direct way, and sometimes all we can do is alter our attitude, which is not less important. A change of attitude can eventually also transform circumstances.

    (c)2003 copyright Remez Sasson. All rights reserved.

    "The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible."

    -- Richard M. DeVos

    What are you communicating?

    As there is the impulse from within, and as that impulse is recognized by the tools of manifestation, communication takes place, communication from the infinite well of consciousness merging with that which is the application of consciousness in the world in which you live. It is important to recognize that all communication, all movement of creative energy has a source deep within the consciousness of the soul. There is only one voice speaking, but it has many vibrations, many sounds, and many projections of consciousness that are then translated and taken into the manifested realm.

    Have you noticed that in communications in the outer realm there is often a response to that which is being created, and that the response is often based upon that which is of the emotional, intellectual or physical nature? Communication from that perspective might be said to be reactive or certainly conditional upon the events and the environment in which the communication is taking place.

    There is, in the midst of the stirring of the pot of manifested energy, always a connecting link to the communication from the one voice within. It is called many things. The link has many names. It is called the still voice. It is called intuition. It is called the knowing of one's true self. There are many ways to express the movement of the infinite energy of creation. It is important in the midst of your outer activities to recognize that a pattern is always in place guiding you to pause, to listen, to feel. The communication link is then established that takes that feeling of what is known and what is being offered from within into the manifested realm. There is then soul to soul communication with other embodied souls in your environment.

    There is then a time when communication occurs without words. Communication takes place through feelings, through simply knowing, through the eyes that reflect and radiate the essence of soul reality, through gentle and sensitive movement of the physical body that communicates clearly an inner feeling, an inner understanding that communicates silently that which is coming from the one voice.

    Communication is always taking place. The only question is what are you communicating? Are you communicating and sharing that which is indeed the true inspiration and movement of energy from the one voice, from the center of your being? Are you communicating that which radiates the essence of the attributes of the soul, the attributes of Love, Light, and Life, harmony, balance, beauty, and all the attributes? Or are you communicating in response and in reaction to that which is occurring externally, that which then holds the focus of attention for a moment on attachment to the created environment, rather than allowing the flow of energy from within to move unimpeded into the communication taking place?

    We simply offer this perspective to remind you that there is always communication taking place. Are you listening? Are you feeling? And are you communicating the truth of who you really are as a soul, as a statement of the eternal Love and Light of creation? It is important to know and to be aware of and to be attuned to the flow of communication. Let the statement you make each moment of your embodied existence be a clear and precise statement of the truth of who you are. You are Love. You are Light. You are the peace and harmony of creation. Let that be the communication you offer from the one voice, the one impulse of creation.

    ~ Author Unknown but appreciated ~


    It is time for us to look at the things we say we want out of life and then see what beliefs and thoughts we harbor that are keeping those things away from us.

    We are powerful beings. The power of our mind is awesome.

    We can learn to harness that power and have it work for us rather than against us. All it takes is our taking the time to pay attention to what we REALLY think and and focus on changing those thoughts to supportive ones.

    EXCERPTED FROM the article:
    Getting What You Want
    by Marie T. Russell.


    Each of us has a story about every area of our lives - our physical health and well-being, our relationships, our career, our finances. The stories we tell ourselves either empower us or disempower us. They either open us up to new possibilities for happiness and fulfillment, or they shut us down.

    Begin to distinguish the story you tell yourself about this part of your life.

    Identify what role you are playing within this story.
    Are you the victim?
    The villain?
    The damsel in distress?
    Then commit yourself this month to transforming that story so that you become the hero of your own drama.

    Go inside and ask yourself, "What internal or external shift would I need to make in order to rearrange this part of my life?"

    Remember, you are not only the star of your drama, you are the creator of it. If you don't like what's showing up on the screen, you are the one with the power to change it. Imagine that!

    You and Your Story~

    It's important to remember that our stories have a purpose.
    Even though they set our limitations, they also help us define who we are so we don't feel completely lost in the world. Living inside them is like being in a clear capsule. The thin transparent walls act like a shell that traps us inside.


    Even though we have the ability to gaze outside and view the world around us, we stay safely trapped inside, comfortable with the familiar terrain, bound by an inner knowing that no matter what we do, think, or say, we can go no further.


    Our stories separate us and draw clear boundaries between ourselves,
    others, and the world.


    They limit our capabilities and shut down our possibilities.

    Our stories keep us apart even while we are begging to belong and fit in.
    They drain our vital energy, leaving us feeling tired, depleted and hopeless. The predictability of our stories feeds our resignation and guarantees our fate. When we are living inside our stories, we engage in repetitive habits, abusive behaviors, and abrasive internal dialogues.

    The doorway to stepping outside your story is remembering who you really are. Imagine that you knew at birth that you were a master, that you were powerful beyond measure, that you possessed enormous gifts, and that all it would take to deliver your gifts to the world was your desire. Imagine that you came into this world with your heart filled with the healing power of love and that your only desire was to bestow that love onto all those around you.


    Imagine that you had the innate ability to create and have all that you want and all that you need.


    Is it possible that at some point in your life you knew that there was no one else in the world like you? And that in every fiber of your being you knew that you not only possessed the light of the world, but that you were the light of the world?


    Is it possible that at one time you knew who you were at the deepest level and you rejoiced in your gifts? Take a moment now, and see if you can remember that time when you knew the truth of who you really are.

    Although it can be scary to let go of our story, our excuses and our self-imposed limitations, what's even scarier is having the same issues, the same blocks, the same problems a year or five years from now. So I invite you to make the choice now to go deeper into this process. Now is the time to do the work so that you can embrace the enormity of who you are.

    Are you ready to share your own personal story?

    Kilia Meri
    Change Is Guided By Our Thoughts

    The fact that human beings have free will is an essential ingredient in the
    workings of feng shui. Because the future can be changed, and this change is guided by our thoughts, we can discover ways to use the universal power to create by our vision of the perfect future. This may include a loving relationship, material wealth, or a host of other awesome events and circumstances. Your intention matters because of the energy it is constantly pulling toward you. If you notice, those who constantly harp on the negative are usually surrounded by it. And those who always seem to see the good in things more often find themselves in rosy situations. And let's not forget the ambivalent ones out there, who do not focus on anything in particular and wonder why nothing ever really happens in their lives worth talking about. They probably wouldn't recognize their life path if it had a neon sign pointing toward it! Your thoughts are of great importance, and they matter. Notice the word matter? Your thoughts create matter. It is this matter that you are striving to bring about and change with feng shui.


    Thoughts control matter -- therefore your intentions are a key ingredient in feng shui. Give something mundane an intention, and its matter will change.

    Common laws of physics have proven this. You will affect even those things that you breeze by without the slightest notice. So imagine what happens if you actually give notice. Take charge of your life by evaluating what things are working for you now and what things need to be upgraded in order to do so. Find a love source inside, bring it forth, and guide it toward higher thoughts.

    Excerpted from "Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life" by Karen Rauch Carter

    If you want to transform old thought patterns be prepared with new thoughts to think.

    Free Yourself, BE YourSelf

    We not only have to deal with our own conditioned notions, and since we do not live in a vacuum we have to deal with the various influences of our environment. For most of the time we can not simply smile and roll our eyes and continue on our way. Most times it is required to attend to another being in the Moment that we are in. But first, understand that another has no power to let you or not let you do anything, it is entirely in YOUR focus.

    YOU and YOU alone have the power to be distracted or not. We can not blame another for distracting us, we must take the responsibility to do something about it ourselves. Aside from that, how can anything that is IN/AS the Moment, that is happening the very Moment, be a distraction form the Moment ? Attending to What-IS in the Moment, and responding to it as though it is the very first Moment of the rest of our lives, IS in the Moment or in the NOW.

    Indeed, the amount of Moments experienced in a single day is staggering. That is, staggering IF we try to experience them all at
    once by observing them from one of these Moments that has passed. When we observe each Moment all by itself as though it were the entirety of eternity, it is but a single Moment to experience and respond to accordingly and skillfully.

    The follow-up question would be: where are you when you are drawn from the NOW by these seeming distractions ? When we are IN/AS the Moment, whatever experience IS that Moment, is NOW.

    As is said, "discretion is the greater part of valor". As we would not want
    others to *preach* to us, likewise we should give others that same courtesy. Only when the door is opened to us should we venture through that door, otherwise it is always best to let What-IS be What-IS.

    The Wonders of the Nature, the manifested realm, that we ARE is indeed a most captivating experience. A pleasure, I might add, that does not have to be *desired* or *craved*.

    NOW you see what wretch you were. NOW you see how wretched Sleeping is. NOW you Realize why we must Wake-Up. But a clue: your *example* will be more convincing than your words. For if you tell another to focus their attention IN/AS the present Moment, IN/AS the NOW, you must BE in the present Moment responding to their entrance in that Moment that you are IN/AS -- seeming to you a distraction. But is actually simply shifting your attention from What-IS happening at one Moment to What-IS happening in the next Moment. The Moment is the Moment, so when your attention is drawn from one experience to the next it is simply a shift of attention from one Moment to the next Moment. Realize this and you will always be IN/AS the Moment.

    We must not be too hard on the Sleeping, and by that same token we should not be too hard on ourselves. Judge not another, as you would not judge yourself. Indeed the burden of Helping and Serving others in their Awakening is like a rock that we accept to carry, the cross we accept to bare. Yet only a seeming weight, for once you are more sure of your own Awakening there will be no weights or baggage at all. Trudge on, you are about to enter the Gateless Gate and Observe the legless frog jumping.

    So I wonder, is it that the waters are muddy or that your glasses are foggy and make the water appear muddy to you. For indeed, one's perception is colored by the preconceived glasses that one wears. May I offer that you would See far more clearly without the glasses (preconceived notions).

    Why bother to be opinionated in the first place. And what do you fear ? And why is it that you cling so dearly to desires ? Until this point I
    considered your posts as good examples of that which every great Sage and Teacher and even the icons of the religions such as Jesus and Siddhartha and Muhammad and the rest have all told us to discard.

    An example of the control and manipulation such desires have on us. Though I say that we are not to be followers of any, it would behoove us to Truly Listen to their Wisdom and apply that Wisdom to our own situation when possible. But to be so diametrically opposed to such Teachings is also an example of the Dark Age Kali Yuga that we are getting deeper and deeper into. That is to say, that for those Truly endeavoring to start Awakening -- times will get more difficult before they get any better.

    Desire, in case you have not noticed, is at the very root of war and greed and selfishness and conflict and crime and any other ill that faces
    humanity. We here in this Community are of the breed who would rather see the wars and greed and selfishness and conflict and crime not be a part of our daily lives. So we are willing to Openly and Honestly look into the Mirror of Truth and let go of the Causes of our Suffering. Though, many do not see war or greed or selfishness or conflict or crime as Suffering so the desires that Cause that Suffering are not Causes to them. This is a sad state of humanity's so called Spirituality. Sad, because they want to get rid of the Suffering but are unwilling to let go of the Cause of that Suffering. So they Suffer, and are conditioned to enjoy it. Though I dare say that none here are Awakened, Enlightened, we are Aware enough of the Suffering that is in our lives that we Realize that it is time to look into doing something about that Suffering. That is what we talk about and share here -- ways that we can get rid of the Suffering by getting rid of the Causes of that Suffering.

    Though indeed the Internet, as great a resource as it is, is home of many sewers of physical plane orientation. For desires are of a physical plane nature, so it is the desires that defile this resource. If you look
    carefully (and it not really hidden !), we here address those conditioned
    elements of the physical nature that control and manipulate our ability to
    Free ourselves from such chains. Has not humanity suffered enough at the hand of desire ? Has not humanity Suffered enough at the hand of the Grand Trickster the conditioned mind ?

    World Scriptures, like writings of Wise Sages, contain Wisdom as Pointers for our use in Unfolding our Awakening. I did not say not to read them, I said not to interpret them. That is, not interpret them based on conditioned notions projected into the reading for interpretation. There is nothing wrong with familiarizing ourselves with True Scripture for the time when we let go of those conditioned notions and can Understand it.

    "We are the authority on God, because this is our book and it is the Word of God". "Here is the Word of God and we will tell you what it means". "Because it is written in a language that only authorized authorities on God can understand". "And since we are giving you the Word of God, we are obviously the authority on God". Did not Jesus say that "many false prophets will come in my name to deceive you" ? The Grand Trickster works tirelessly and continuously to thwart your efforts to start Awakening. And will flood the visual cortex with so much drivel that you get tired of fending it off and take some of it to appease him.

    As stated, all True Scripture is worthy of our attention. Just save the
    interpreting until you are able to do so when Awakening. And, of course, get a translation as close as possible to the original.

    Once you let go of all conditioned notions that impede Awakening, and the Scriptures reveal to you what it means rather than you projecting
    conditioned notions into/onto the Scripture telling it what you *think* it
    means, then and only then can you Truly Understand True Scripture.

    *WHACK* Give up your Awakening to the Grand Trickster ? He would like that.


    It would no doubt be easier if we had someone to blame for our ignorance. But alas, there is no one to blame that we are ignorant, rather we are to blame if we do nothing about it. For no one Saves us but ourselves, no one can and no one may, others can Point to the Path, but we ourselves must Walk the Way. *WHACK*

    As we Walk along the Path we are beguiled by the Wonders of Awakening, and a certain self-confidence is built by our steady pace. Not being Mindful, we stumble in the many ruts that are always in our Way. "You idiot", we say to ourselves, "you did not see that conditioned notion right there under your nose ?" We push our face up from the ground and look around, and indeed other Journeymen on the Path look on. "You fool", we say to ourselves, "you are a failure in the eyes of others". But if the onlookers are Truly on the Path, they will extend a Helping Hand to pick you up and dust you off.

    For they too have stumbled in that same rut as you did. Us average sentient humans have no birth as a Dalai Lama, we have to fight the battle that Arjuna had to fight to gain his Freedom, his Liberation, his Awakening. A battle that few come away unscathed.

    Disheartened because you need a *WHACK* now and then ? The easily
    discouraged NEVER start Awakening. Only Persistence and Perseverance will see you though in spite of the many ruts we stumble in. Actually, if you never stumble in those ruts you are fooling yourself that you are on The Path. You see, the Grand Trickster would not trip you up if you were on his path -- only when you are on The True Path will he trip you up. Welcome Home.

    Stress and suffering is not natural so alleviating such is the reason that
    we must start Awakening. For we are not satisfied in enduring our stress and suffering, we take it out on the rest of humanity in the form of wars and conflict and greed and selfishness. So indeed, renunciate such defilements as stress and suffering by letting go of the Causes of such -- it is a step toward Awakening. Such Awakening beckons your attention and so urges you to Surrender to it. But alas, the Grand Trickster is always there to confuse you and muddy the water.

    We can not serve two masters at the same time. The Grand Trickster will not give up without a major struggle. The best way to deal with the Grand Trickster is to laugh at him. He does not like to be laughed at, so it will irritate him, causing him stress and suffering. A taste of his own medicine that he tries to feed us. But then a major battle will ensue, for he is not without resources. He will call up all his minions from the NetherWorld and vex you to the Core. Yet alas, when he gives a war and you do not attend, he is quite helpless. For you see, the Grand Trickster is non-existent IN/AS the Moment. Aha, when the Grand Trickster gathers his minions we simply focus our attention IN/AS the Moment, projecting no conditioned notions into/onto that Moment, he can not find us for we are not in his realm. He will have lost us -- lost us to ourselves. The more Moments you spend IN/AS, the less Moments you will spend with the Grand Trickster. He, Sleep, is the Cause of your stress and suffering.

    Oblivious out of fear that the Grand Trickster will catch you in this
    confessional and thwart your whole Being with his wrath. In this fear
    driven comatose oblivion you have actually escaped his grasp, and so your Observation flows quite freely. Perhaps unrecognizable, but this fear driven comatose oblivion has driven you INto the Moment. Stay there, the Boogiman can not get you there.

    "This thing" is your natural urging to Wake-Up. It is not natural to Sleep
    our life away, so we go through life always wondering what is missing. Most never find out what is missing for the Grand Trickster keeps them quite full, full of conditioned notions. For it is in the Emptiness that we
    Realize our Fullness.

    Language, a lesser medium of communication, is most times cumbersome and may reflect that which is not so. For it is not in the naming that we possess that which we name, it is in the attachment to the name that we are possessed by the name. Words of Wisdom are not Wisdom, they are just names that hold no intrinsic Wisdom in themselves but rather that Awakening we can Realize the Wisdom between the words. So name at will, for naught is in a name -- "a rose is a rose is a rose, by any other name is still a rose".


    For every action there is an equal and opposing reaction. The Grand
    Trickster will always block your move toward Awakening, so always be
    prepared for a most worthy battle. IF you are not IN/AS the Moment. IN/AS the Moment, there can BE only One. Not IN/AS the Moment, there are more opposing forces than you can shake a stick at. Duality is more than one, Dueling with one another.

    It is a matter of a simply Recognition of What-IS and What-ISNOT. A simple recognition of what Helps in our Awakening and what is just more conditioned drivel. We do not have to label it or judge it or condemn it, just Recognize it and always go the Way of Awakening.

    Awakening is very simple. In fact, to Awaken, you can not try to Awaken. The hard part is getting rid of the conditioned notions and illusions and fantasies so you can Awaken. Then Awakening is simply there (where it was all the time) and you do not have to do anything about it. Except not cover it back up with different conditioned notions and illusions and fantasies.


    I would only add a *Rule of Thumb*: if it controls and manipulates one's
    thinking and/or behavior in any way shape or form -- it IS conditioning.
    Sometimes blatantly overt, yet most of the time quite subtle and subliminal. Money, greed, is only part of the reasons that one would condition another. There is also the power of misdirecting another to one's liking. The bottom line is: if it prevents one's Awakening, get rid of it.


    ~ Free Yourself, BE YourSelf ~

    ~ Author Unknown but appreciated ~


    Meditation thoughts
    Understanding Meditation Through Models

    Models, examples and parables are often more effective than word
    descriptions in enabling us to understand new concepts. You have heard the saying that a picture is worth a 1000 words. Well, the same holds true for a mental picture. It facilitates our comprehension of a new subject by using a example with which we are already familiar. It helps to understand mental or spiritual concepts in terms of material examples.

    We have already used a number of examples in the previous chapters, such as the example of the river grasses, the boat on the sea, the fire in the bedroom, the pressure cooker and others. Here we will offer a few more examples, which we have found useful in understanding the various aspects of meditation and its benefits. Be aware, however, that no model or example can ever be perfect. There will always be flaws or possible contradictions. Their usefulness, however, is not diminished by that fact.

    THE MAGNET AND THE IRON

    An interesting phenomenon has been discovered by scientists studying magnets and pieces of iron. A magnet is simply a piece of iron in which all of the molecules are oriented in the same direction, which means that they all have their positive pole in the same direction and their negative pole in the opposite. The molecules are ordered. In the common piece of iron this is not so. The molecules are randomly oriented and not organized.

    You will have noticed that when we put an ordinary piece of iron in contact with a magnet, it temporarily obtains the qualities of the magnet and can attract other pieces of iron. While in contact it obtains magnetic powers.


    When it is removed from the magnet, it looses those powers. But what
    scientists discovered was that the ordinary iron was not exactly the same after this contact. Some subtle changes had taken place. Some molecules had, under the power of magnetic field, actually changed position and more of them were oriented in the same direction. This slight change after each contact between the magnet and the iron is called "the hysteresis effect". If this contact occurs for a long enough period of time, or for sufficient number of repetitions, then the ordinary piece of iron undergoes enough of a change in its molecular orientation, so that it permanently becomes a magnet. After such a transformation, it maintains its magnetic powers even when it is not in contact with the magnet.

    This is an excellent example of what happens to the mind after years of
    meditation. The magnet is the inner self, soul, spirit, higher self or
    higher intellect, or even God, depending on the way in which you have
    learned to view the spiritual self. The ordinary piece of iron is our mind.
    During meditation we bring the mind into contact with this higher aspect of our being. Temporarily, for the duration of this contact, the mind obtains the qualities of peace, clarity, freedom, bliss and wisdom. It is under the influence of the power of the spirit. We come out of meditation, we return to our ordinary way of thinking and reacting. But a small, imperceptible change has taken place like the "hysteresis effect" in the piece of iron. Our mind has been slightly altered by this contact. Our mental energies are slightly more organized, more focused in a spiritual direction, less scattered, more centered.

    When this goes on for years, then we begin to experience those spiritual qualities throughout the day more and more. These feelings are no longer limited to the duration of the meditation. Just as the piece of iron, through repeated contact with the magnet, obtained magnetic powers, the mind, through regular daily contact with the spirit, obtains spiritual qualities and our energies are more spiritually oriented.

    

    THE LIGHT BULB AND THE LASER

    The difference between an ordinary light bulb, say of 60 watts of power, and a laser, is not in the power available. The difference is that in the ordinary light bulb the rays of light vibrate at various frequencies and go out in all directions, whereas in the laser all the rays have the same frequency of vibration and the same direction. Thus, while the light from the light bulb can simply light up a room and cannot penetrate through any surfaces, the laser, with the same available power, can penetrate through surfaces as it burns through them. It has penetrating power. This is because its energies are organized, synchronized and unidirectional. There is no loss of energy to other directions or other frequencies.

    The same difference exists between the ordinary mind and the mind
    intensified by meditation. After years of meditation, our mental energies
    scatter less and become more focused. We eventually see that many pursuits, which were previously so important to us, are in reality superficial and not worthy of spending energy on. We begin to have greater faith and loose less energy in fear, anxiety and worry. We accept ourselves and need to expend less energy on seeking self-affirmation. Thus our mind, like the laser, begins to function on the basic frequency of spiritual evolution and its energies flow all the more comprehensively in this one basic direction. The mind gradually becomes like a laser, which is able to penetrate into problems and situations and see them as they really are, and not as our programmings and mechanisms pretend that they are. We are able to solve problems more effectively and create and produce with greater freedom of thought. The mind is more effective.

    

    THE WAVES AND THE SEA BED

    The mind is like the sea. It is in a constant state of movement. Underneath the sea is the seabed, which is stable, unmoving, and permanent. This stable, unchanging structure, upon which the mind is moving, is the spirit. Regardless of whatever may be happening in the mind, deep in ourselves, our spiritual being is steady, peaceful, unchanging bliss. Here there is no fear, no doubt, no effort, and no anxiety. This is the eternal peaceful witness who is unaffected by the ups and downs of our emotional life.

    When the water is disturbed by waves we cannot see the bottom. Its
    appearance is distorted by these movements, particles, and objects. These movements are our thoughts and feelings which continuously disturb the peace in the sea of our mind. As long as there are these thoughts and feelings, we cannot even sense the existence of this inner spiritual self. When the waves calm down and there is no movement at all, then we can see the bottom clearly. In the same way when there are no thoughts or feelings we can then experience that deep inner peace of our spiritual self. Meditation is the process through which we calm the waves and bring the thoughts to total silence, so that we can experience our real self who, is usually covered by the incessant waves of thoughts and feelings.

    THE MIND IS LIKE A PIECE OF CLOTH

    The mind is like a piece of cloth in which the threads are our thoughts,
    emotions, expectations, habits, needs and desires. Each thread adds its own reality to the mind. If all threads were removed, the mind would be empty. It has no reality of its own. Like any cloth, our personal reality is created by the type of "threads" (thoughts) which make it up.

    Meditation and all efforts on the spiritual path are the process by which we remove, one by one, these various threads from these weave of the mind. Gradually, as the years pass the density of the threads is diminished and in this way the cloth becomes more transparent, more porous. This is important, because when this cloth is densely woven, very few experiences can pass through it without getting caught up in it. This means that very few things that happen to us are able to pass, through our mind without triggering off some belief or emotion, which causes that experience to remain in the mind and occupy it to some degree. When one is totally secure, he does not need to hold onto experiences, but can let them pass, so that the next moment he may again be in the present.

    We can understand this difference by moving temporarily to another example. If we drag a knife across a piece of metal or stone, which are inflexible, then it will leave a mark, which is, for all practical purposes, permanent.

    If we drag the same knife with the same strength over a body of water, the water will react momentarily in the form of outflowing waves. It will then return to its natural state as if nothing had happen. Because of its
    flexibility, it does not retain the past but returns to its responsiveness
    to the present stimuli.

    Returning to our original example of the cloth, the denser the cloth, the
    greater the weave of the past, because the threads are basically the imprint of the past onto the mind. Through meditation we gradually remove these threads and the programming of the past. Eventually the weave is quite loose, which means that we are more open to the moment because there are less threads of the past to hide and distort the present. Gradually, after many years of spiritual practice, the mind becomes an open channel and very few experiences can disturb our flowing peace, our inner security, which is now based on our contact with our inner spiritual SELF.

    Since few events can now annoy us, we become more open, more loving and experience more unity with all. When the mind has become totally freed from all threads, then we experience the state of enlightenment and become open channels for all the qualities of the divine.

    

    THE MIND IS LIKE A PLASTIC BAG

    As in the previous example, the mind has no reality of its own. Its reality is formed by its contents. It is like a plastic bag or cellophane that takes the shape of whatever you put into it. If you wrap up something long and slim then it takes that shape. If you wrap up something sound, it assumes that shape. It obtains the shape of its contents. Thus the mind takes the shape of the thoughts, feelings, desires, needs, habits, expectations which occupy it. When specific thoughts, emotions or desires occupy the mind frequently, or for long periods of time or, in some cases, incessantly, the mind begins to crystallize around those thought forms. It loses its flexibility and becomes almost permanently obsessed, or associated, with a particular subject or concept. In such a case the mind is not free to experience the present. It is not free to think of subjects other than the one with which it is obsessed. It cannot derive joy from what is offered to it because it is stuck in that particular thought-form, which limits its ability to connect with other realities from which it could learn and receive joy.

    In many cases, these thought forms around which the mind has crystallized, are negative thoughts and beliefs, such as that we are weak, that we need someone else or something else for our happiness, or fear for ourselves or loved ones. In such cases, these negative thought forms often actually create the negative realities upon which our mind is dwelling.

    Meditation is the process through which we temporarily (and, eventually
    throughout the years, more permanently) empty the mind of these various thought-forms, which have crystallized, and give this inflexible form to the mind. The mind becomes softer but stronger, more responsive to the present moment, experiencing greater unity with all.

    CLIMBING FOR THE COCONUT

    We can imagine that a coconut, which is high in the palm tree, is like our spiritual reality, and that its shadow on the ground is the physical
    reality. Our physical reality with all of its physical objects is actually
    simply a shadow of the spiritual reality from which this material reality is
    manifested.

    We see the shadow on the ground and seek to grab it, just as we seek to accumulate riches, objects, relationships etc. But the shadow passes through our hands and we are left with the sand on which it was projected. In the same way we are left with nothing after all our efforts to find happiness
    through the material world.

    After a number of years of vainly trying to find happiness, seeking after
    shadows of these coconuts on the sand, one day it occurs to us to look upward and we notice perhaps for the first time the coconut high up in the tree. We begin to realize that the shadow is the result of the coconut and that, if we can get the coconut, we will also have its shadow. It is not so easy, however, to climb the palm tree. It takes strength, stamina, perseverance and much practice until we are able to reach that height. This is the process of meditation and all spiritual effort. Once we realize that we will have both worlds - spiritual and material - when we obtain the spiritual, then we begin to direct our energies in that direction, withdraw our attention from the shadows and start directing it towards the spiritual realities from which those shadows are created.

    MOVING UP THE INNER STAIR CASE

    Our mind, with its various centers of consciousness, is like an apartment building with seven stories. The view from each story is different. The higher up you are, the more you see, and the clearer you see. You can see the same events and external realities but you see them completely differently, because you have a higher viewpoint. The higher up you are, the more objectively and in their proper perspective you see things.

    Meditation is the process of moving up that inner staircase to the higher stories, where all is much clearer and more in perspective. At first you can only temporarily visit these higher stories. Eventually, after many years of meditation, and other spiritual practices, you can begin to reside there permanently.

    * *article by Robert Elias Najemy http://www.HolisticHarmony.com

    LIVE IN THE MOMENT

    There is a statement of being that is most important to recognize and to integrate into the conscious application of your life energy within your embodied experience. This statement of being has been called many things, but let us simply call it living in the moment.

    There is much that is implied by this very simple statement, so we will
    offer a few perceptions in a simple, easily-understood manner that will
    expand perhaps the perception of what living in the moment really means.

    Living in the moment means letting go of history, letting go of past
    interactions in the physical, emotional, and mental activities, letting go
    of past lifetimes and experiences that are held onto as though they still
    have meaning and still have some relevance in the moment.

    Living in the moment means releasing all expectations of the future, for
    what is the future but the result of what you do in the moment? There are trends and patterns that surround your embodied experience. These trends and patterns become integrated into your point of focus and they become absorbed and accepted as being your pattern and your expression of existence. But these trend and patterns are what are the created patterns of the worldly perception. There are patterns that are part of your social structure, part of your economic structure, part of your cultural statement as an embodied soul.

    How do you perceive these patterns? Do they influence and become the
    guiding light of that which you are perceiving in the moment? Or can
    you simply let them be what they are and live fully in the moment which has neither a past nor a future?

    There are many ways of expressing the concept of living in the moment. We would suggest that living in the moment means focusing on that which is occurring at the very moment. Living in the moment means remembering who you really are and being who you really are every moment. Living in the moment means radiating the Love and Light you are in the midst of whatever the trends and patterns are externally within the worldly environment. Living in the moment means being totally conscious of the flow of energy from within. Living in the moment means listening and being aware of that inner urge, that intuitive hunch, the inner nudging that takes you along your pathway.

    These are the points of impact of the moment and must be listened to if the moment is to be fully realized for the potential that lies within the
    moment. And what is that potential? The potential is to move beyond the physical, beyond the emotional, beyond the mental boundaries, beyond the history of remembrances and future of the trends and patterns in the outer world. Living in the moment moves beyond all of these limited and structural perceptions. Living in the moment means being all that you are, fully aware, fully in tune with and aligned with the reality of who you are as a soul, and then being all that you are each and every moment of your existence.

    Reflect on what is offered as perceptions on living in the moment and apply that which you hear, that which you feel, that which you sense that lies beyond the words that are being offered, for the words are simply doorways.


    Feel the inner meaning, and the meaning behind the meaning of these words.


    Know that you truly are the living Love and Light of creation. When you
    live in the moment., you express that Love and light fully with every
    thought, with every word, with every action. The past becomes the history of what has occurred in the moment. The future becomes the pathway for fulfilling and expressing that which occurs in the moment. But, the past and the future have no substance as separate concepts. Live in the moment and be all that you are.

    ~ Author Unknown but appreciated ~

    EACH MOMENT IS PRECIOUS

    Has it ever occurred to you how precious each moment is, each moment of existence? Has it ever occurred to you that each moment contains one hundred percent of the potential for fulfilling your destiny this given lifetime? Each moment contains all that is. It is only in the misdirected proportion of attention given to the past and the future that the moment is, to a measure, forgotten or perhaps simply not accepted in its entirety.

    Take each moment, each millisecond of your time, or even more
    infinitesimally each infinite moment where all eternity exists, and simply
    accept, simply merge. Let go of all that would draw you from this very
    moment and realize consciously that you are existing, not in the physical world, not in the mental, emotional world, not in the three-dimensional world, but you, the real you, is existing in a moment of eternal bliss, of an eternal statement of Love and Light being made manifest.

    Look out through the eyes of the body that you inhabit and see not the relationships of the physical world, but see the relationship between who you really are that is immersed in the physical body and various
    relationships, and see the relationship of the Real You to that which
    surrounds you.

    You see, it is like infinity looking at a segmented part of the whole. When you look from the perspective of the moment, of the eternal infinite statement of who you really are, you begin to see not the segments, but you see creation in its entirety and you know that all that you are viewing that is of the three-dimensional world, this too will pass. But that which you know from within, from the eternal statement of truth of the very moment, that is the Real You that exists forever.

    Take each moment, recognize how precious each moment is. Live each moment fully and know the truth of who you are as an infinite statement of Love and Light being made manifest within the infinite presence of each moment.

    ~ Author Unknown but appreciated ~

    The contrast between meditation's vast potential and our own experience is sometimes daunting. It would be wonderful if our meditations were always deep and blessed with blissful experiences of God. But if this were true, it would mean that we were already a highly advanced soul with little or no karma to work out.

    God constantly works with us in our meditations to help us perfect our
    relationship with Him. Every obstacle we face in meditation is an
    opportunity to learn how to love God the same way He loves us. Spiritual experiences will flow freely to us when we learn to meditate with the right attitude.

    Without spiritual challenges we would continue on in blissful ignorance and our lives would remain the same. The efforts we make to overcome the challenges inherent in meditation make us better meditators and more in tune with God. So in a way, we can view obstacles as friends who show us exactly where we need to work if we are to grow spiritually.

    from Yogananda