Category: Spiritual Writings

Take A Pause – “The Practice of Remaining Like a Log”

“In The Way of the Bodhisattva one of the most influential texts in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, the 8th-century Indian Buddhist monk Shantideva says:

When the urge arises in the mind
to feelings of desire or wrathful hate,
do not act! Be silent, do not speak!
And like a log you should remain.
When the mind is wild with mockery
and filled with pride and haughty arrogance,
and when you want to show the hidden faults of others,
to bring up old dissensions or to act deceitfully…
It is then that like a log you should remain.

This practice tells us to take a pause before reacting, which gives us the space to breathe in and out and start dissolving the tension. Through this action, our thoughts may calm down, and we may be able to see things more clearly.

This takes practice, and as such we must engage in it consistently. We can start with little triggers, like losing our keys, misplacing our wallets, experiencing laptop issues, or running late to a meeting. This way, we train our brains to respond mindfully and wisely when provoked by greater threats.

Taking responsibility for what we are experiencing rather than avoiding or repressing anger is empowering. Feeling the feeling is where the healing begins. Only then, we will be able to have clarity of mind to take a wise step forward.”

lionsroar.com, MONICA JORDAN

Using Your Internal Spiritual Guidance

“Everyone has a conscious mind, a subconscious mind, and a spiritually connected mind. It is through your all-knowing, still, small voice that your spiritual mind communicates with you.  This spiritual inner guidance system is the most important law of attraction component and without it nothing will manifest as long as you follow its guidance.

You must be aware that you have within you this innate (GPS) inner guidance system.  The inner guidance system directs you to all of your divine gifts. It is not a voice outside of yourself but an inner feeling that tells you something is important that you need to be aware of.  Listen carefully and you will be told what time and location you will find what you have asked for.

Try and stay on a high vibration when making decisions. You must be clear-headed, and free of alcohol and drugs. Don’t react when you feel anger, revenge, jealousy, rage, or fear, which can get you into trouble.

If it feels right within your gut, and you are sure it is a positive decision, then follow its guidance. When you are getting negative messages not to proceed, it could be a warning that you need to be careful, and be fully aware of the situation you are experiencing.

It is important that you don’t get frustrated when you have followed your inner guidance system’s directions and nothing has manifested.  The law of attraction process takes time and practice.  The more you use it the better you will become at hearing your messages, and the directions you must follow to manifest what you desire.”

Ask, Believe, Receive… A Divine Gift – A Guide To Manifesting Love and All You Desire Through The Law Of Attraction, Anne Lauren, p. 52 – 54.

 

 

What Does Being Unconscious Mean?

“It is misleading to say that somebody ‘chose’ a dysfunctional relationship or any other negative situation in his or her life.  Choice implies consciousness — a high degree of consciousness.

Without consciousness, you have no choice.

Choice begins the moment you disidentify from the mind and its conditioned patterns, the moment you become present.  Until you reach that point, you are unconscious, spiritually speaking.

Unconsciousness means that you are compelled to think, feel, and act in certain ways according to the conditioning of your mind.  That is why Jesus said: ‘Forgive them, for they know not what they do.’

This is not related to intelligence in the conventional sense of the word.  I have met many highly intelligent and educated people who were also completely unconscious, which is to say completely identified with their minds.  In fact, if mental development and increased knowledge are not counterbalanced by a corresponding growth in consciousness, the potential for unhappiness and disaster is very great.

Nobody chooses dysfunction, conflict, and pain.  Nobody chooses insanity.  They happen because there is not enough presence in you to dissolve the past, not enough light to dispel the darkness. You are not fully here. You have not quite woken up yet.  In the meantime, the conditioned mind is running your life.

If you are run by your mind, although you have no choice you will still suffer the consequences of your unconsciousness, and you will create further suffering.  You will bear the burden of fear, conflict, problems, and pain.  The suffering thus created will eventually force you out of your unconscious state.

When you surrender to what is and so become fully present, the past ceases to have any power.

You do not need it anymore.  The realm of Being, which had been obscured by the mind, then opens up. If you abide in this state of acceptance, you create no more negativity, no more suffering, no more unhappiness.  You then live in a state of nonresistance, a state of grace and lightness, free of struggle.

Suddenly, a great stillness arises in you, an unfathomable sense of peace.  And within that peace, there is great joy.  And within that joy, there is love.

 

Presence is the key.  The Now is the key.”

The Power Of Now – A Guide To Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle, pgs. 221 – 229.

 

God’s Help Is Timely

“The bags we grab are not made of leather; they’re made of burdens.  The suitcase of guilt.  A sack of discontent.  You drape a duffel bag of weariness on one shoulder and a hanging bag of grief on the other.  Add on a backpack of doubt, an overnight bag of loneliness, and a trunk of fear.  Pretty soon you’re pulling more stuff than a skycap.  No wonder you’re so tired at the end of the day.  Lugging baggage is exhausting.

No one has to remind you of the high cost of anxiety.  Worry divides the mind. The biblical word for worry (merimnao)  is a compound of two Greek words, merizo (to divide) and nous (the mind).  Anxiety splits our energy between today’s priorities and tomorrow’s problems.  Part of our mind is on the now; the rest is on the not yet.  The result is half-minded living.

That’s not the only result.  Worrying is not a disease, but it causes diseases.  It has been connected to high blood pressure, heart trouble, blindness, migraine headaches, thyroid malfunctions, and a host of stomach disorders.

Anxiety is an expensive habit.  Of course, it might be worth the cost if it worked.  But it doesn’t.  Our frets are futile.  Jesus said, ‘You can’t add any time to your life by worrying about it.’ (Matt. 6:27)  Worry has never brightened a day, solved a problem, or cured a disease.  But you can overcome worry.

God leads us.  He tells us what we need to know, when we need to know it.  As a New Testament writer would affirm, ‘We will find grace to help us when we need it.’ (Heb. 4:16 NLT) or ‘Let us therefore boldly approach the throne of our gracious God, where we may receive mercy and in his grace find timely help.’ (Heb. 4:16 NEB)  God’s help is timely.”

Traveling Light – Releasing The Burdens You Were Never Intended To Bear – The Promise Of Psalm 23, Max Lucado, p. 171, 48-49.

When You Are Around People

“When you are around people who think of evil in life and direct this kind of emotion toward you, you can absorb this negative energy, if you are not prepared.  Because you are sensitive, it will become part of you for a while until you learn to cleanse it.

Begin by addressing the fact that you are a spiritual entity with nothing but neutral and positive energy;  I guarantee you that you will not have the problems that you had before.  Be aware of how energy is directed toward you and what people say to you.  Make yourself like a funnel or a sieve.

If a person gets mad at you for no reason and starts offending you, then say to yourself — mentally, if not directly to the person — ‘I do not accept your anger, rage, or hostility.’  Feel as if it is beautiful, clear water running through a sieve.  You have purified and neutralized the energy sent to you.  You have done a very beautiful thing: Now that you have neutralized that negative energy; it cannot harm you.

You have to say, in all truthfulness, ‘Give it your best shot!’  Instead of resisting, try to just relax and let it pass through.  If you do, it goes away.  The harder you fight, the more negativity you add to it.  They really cannot do much beyond scaring you.  Let them do whatever they wish.  Trust me when I tell you that it will subside.

When you get a harsh note from someone, when there is bad news, or when you get something that gives you anxiety, take a deep breath and say, ‘I will not let this impact me.  It cannot affect me.  I am like a sieve through which water just simply runs.  It cannot stick or cling to me; I will not give any voice, knowledge or reality to it!’ ”

God, Creation, And Tools For Life, Sylvia Browne, p. 180 – 181.