Sunday 25 May 2014

Problems and solutions

Did I mention last week how I had decided to act upon the promise of joy? Well, I have to say that the problems I had to face last week haven't changed that much, my situation is similar, yet something did change after all!
I found a solution! I know it may not make much sense but please, keep reading. It kind of might towards the end.

Our problems and the solutions are of different frequencies!

I tried too hard and for too long to solve the situation I was not happy about! Without much success. And then I heard that strange statement about the nature of problems and their solutions. I heard it a couple of months ago but I admit, I didn't really get it then. 
Until last week! I had time to read three books including Return To Love by Marianne Williamson. Nicely blended with the lesson about Joy I had learned the week before, I finally understood that principle!

As awkward as it may sound, when facing a problem, forget it! Just put it aside for a while and leave it there unnoticed!

Observe your feelings, your emotions. They are not random, meaningless results of your actions. Neither are they the faults in your character that need to be avoided.
They represent the state you are in, they reflect what you've been cultivating inside and they are most likely going to manifest your own creation in the physical world as well.
If you feel down, lost or stuck and really dwell on it, notice how you create more of that in your life. 
It is almost like when Mother Theresa famously refused to take part in fighting the war. Instead, she explained, "invite me when you will work for peace". If you wish to feel peace inside, you can't think about fighting the problems you have.

Here is how I started working in the inner peace and joy:
First, be present and aware of what is. There is no use pretending or rejecting the feelings (positive or negative). 

Second, practice undoing. Stop working so hard. Let go and let God take it over from you.

Third, do what you can right now to just feel good. Feeling good is a state where the inspiration, creativity, and enthusiasm flow. It is your natural state. 

Your part in responsibility for your life is choosing consciously the feelings and thoughts you follow.

In Zen, they call it Zen Mind or the beginner's mind. The mind that is open, non judgmental, absorbing. In Christianity, the child like mind is mentioned repeatedly and it is also a key to the Kindgom of Heaven. I encourage you this week to watch children for a while, their nature and state of mind. Be kind to yourself  and without attachment to results, find your own "solutions", ways to just feel good again.

"I am a glorious child of God. I am joyful, serene, positive, and loving." M.Williamson

This is you! Problems arise from mistakes, faults, misconception, illusion. And that's why we can never solve them there. Our true power is in our nature. Nurture it and your own light will dispel any darkness around.

" something amazing happens when we surrender and just love. We melt into another world, realm of power already within us. The world changes when we change, the world softens when we soften. The world loves us when we choose to love the world." M.Williamson





Sunday 18 May 2014

On Joy

"Hafiz tells us that the Beloved's nature is pure Joy! The closer we come to Him, the more we are able to hear and feel God's Laughter. The rhythm of His Laughter is the music of the dance of life. That music is the essence of Love!"

I would like to start today with saying that whatever I share here is what I experience throughout the week and what I perceive as I message to be shared and learnt ( by me in the first place obviously). It rarely means it is a finished story for me. Moreover, as I believe in the flow, it often seems to be interrelated and sort of evolving.
So how is joy related to the guidance I was writing about last week?

"Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other." Romans 15:32

Last weekend I said yes to every invitation I received despite my lack of enthusiasm. I said yes because I understood that the Guidance only is not enough. And so I write here again as I did last week, it is your free will whether you take a step further in that direction or not. 
And as a beautiful message and reassurance, last Sunday I received a slip of paper with the verse from Bible, Romans 15:32. Just that! And yet, I understood and rejoiced without any particular reason or need for explanation.

It is true that to fully experience, embody, and live the Divine Joy, it is necessary to trust the promise beforehand. The Joy is the essence, creative force, and it needs to be present and cultivated before we actually have a reason for it. 
You are an artist because you create and not because of the outcome. The creation itself is the art just like we know that the journey itself is the destination. 
It is as simple as that, you can't be joyful as long as you want it! 

And so that day when I got the paper with the verse, I knew the promise was given to me and I could simply let go of all the worries of "how" or "when" to bring joy into my life. 
Out of that presence and state of mind and heart, I was able to reach so deep within myself and experience such a strong divine connection that my path was perfectly paved over the week. It is the path of the meaning and purpose and I will most likely write about it next week. Today I would love to leave you with the promise the boy with a piece of paper left me with last Sunday. The God's Laughter, the Joy!
Just say yes when it comes and with a joyful heart encourage each other.

"Everyone can answer for themselves whether wanting a better life makes what already is better. Make a wish and watch your own state and your own emotions. Does it make you feel at peace? Does it feel like you want to shout into the world, "thank you dear God, thank you!”? 
You have just got it if it does!
So ask, enjoy the joy you brought into the world at this moment, and move on with whatever you do or have." Camino Called Life





Sunday 11 May 2014

On guidance

This week taught me something little about guidance, trust, and true meaning of faith. The lesson is not finished yet for me but here is what I learned so far.
If you ask for guidance, I heard, you have to trust the guide and the ways s/he takes you. We know guides know more and better, they can see farther and know safer paths. 

If you ask for help, I realized, you need to let the helper do what s/he can. 
Yet too many times we ask for help and refuse to give up the ways/thoughts/habits/behaviors we hold on to.

I woke up in the middle of the night. Actually, it was just before 4am, still dark and rather chilly. I looked at the clock and thought of going back to sleep because I just couldn't keep my eyes open. And then I heard the voice of my guide. First, it reminded me the lines from Rumi,

"The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep."

And then, gently, reminded me my own prayer for guidance. Here it was, now I had to take that step, or not.
I got up, wrapped myself in the blanket, and went out on my balcony. There I sat, half asleep. I felt the breeze on my face, the same kind messenger Rumi experienced centuries ago. It kissed me on a cheek and whispered the secret in my ear. Birds were all awake, one last star lingered among the clouds scattered across the night sky, and tall proud trees just silently witnessed my communion.
I don't know what the secret was. Maybe I was too sleepy. Maybe I just need more time to remember the ancient language of the Guide. Maybe next time I will understand. But I am glad I obeyed, surrendered, and didn't limit my spirit by my mind.

Hafiz said it so beautifully, "I am a hole in a flute that the Christ's breath moves through - listen to this music."

The ancient Tao Te Ching is full of it,
"Practice not-doing, and everything will fall into place.
Do your work, then step back.
Can you deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course?"

And of course, Bible puts it like this,
"in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

Even my salsa teacher focused on letting go this week. Woman has to be gentle, flexible for her partner to take the lead, he said. You don't need to be dominant, you don't have to break the walls standing in your way, or harden yourself as rock to succeed. Just seek your purpose, the meaning of your journey here. Let the path unfold and unveil in front of you and be brave enough to take it.
 After all, isn't the water of the river stronger than the rocks in the way? Isn't it stronger in its softness and flexibility? It always finds its way to the sea no matter how far or difficult the way is. But you can't grasp it in your fist, and even our control over it is limited. But not its potential and ability.

I go out to find a house for myself.
I go in and find out that God has made a joint home for both of us to live in." Sri Chinmoy

"The symbol of El Camino de Santiago is the scallop shell. It is said that as the waves of the ocean wash the shells up onto the shores, the hands of God guide us to our final destination. The destination is same for all of us, despite the different routes we may take there. The scallop shell is the rising and the setting sun. It is the unity of all that is seemingly diverse. It is the open hand full of possibilities." Camino Called Life

Sunday 4 May 2014

On relationships

I am writing from the point of view of a woman, of course, but I believe men, just as much as women, need to reclaim what their true essence is, to accompany each other, not vainly looking for the wholeness outside!

The first and most important realization to start with is "being yourself, who you are truly and unapologetically and what you can build from that."

The time of silence is of immense value to find the answer to that. And so is the time spent alone. It is not always easy to face our true nature, our mind and soul, and  accept it as it is, dark as much as bright, powerful as well as weak. Accept, embrace, and release all that was left unnoticed, what you were scared of, what you rejected. 
It doesn't mean we start acting upon any feeling that arises within, manifest the darkness we all experienced. But rather, look for ways to build a path into the light, realize that we are not our feelings and regoznise our power over them, listen to their message but do not impose them on others. 

And then, when you remember who you are, look at your relationships again, anew!

Here comes another challenge, temptation. As Gary Douglas says "don't divorce yourself just because you are in a relationship with another person."
Or else, what would you build from?

      What is the purpose of any relationship, be it friendship, parenting, marriage?

Try to answer this question for yourself and examine again how much yourself is in it, how much you allow yourself to contribute to the creation that comes from relationships.

First of all, I see any form of relationship as a mean of creation on earth. We need to experience oneness, merge opposites and all their qualities to create something new. When we approach creation from the place of lack what comes to life?
A true friendship is about empowering the strengths we hold. A conscious parenting is about guidance towards full potential. Marriage of souls is a journey of seeing each other in what appears to be dual. 
So what is the purpose of relationship? Surely not completion, filling the emptiness, competition. It is not about seeing myself in the eyes of another but more about seeing the creation in the eyes of the other. It is not putting yourself in front of another, nor diminishing oneself. 

Relationship mantra: "Let me be me and you be you. And together create something new in this world, something as true, complete, and honest as we are in it."

"If only you are lucky to find the person whose eyes are your home, with no restrictions or conditions. You walk together and offer healing to each other without knowing it. With only that, with that much, you walk every day through life to wherever your place is, and each one is free to walk their own path." Camino Called Life