Are we responsible to our conscience?

With the huge amount of information that is easily available these days on all kinds of media, it requires each one to be even more aware of himself, take the self-responsibility of probing into the information, discerning if it falls into one's own philosophy, decide if it is of positive impact to him and his immediate family members and only then take it or ignore it or learn from it as appropriate as possible. 

That's a good opportunity for this generation of mankind because it actually forms the base to know more about one's own thoughts, become aware of one's own mind, body and soul.

You google around for information and reasons/background behind the information, there's loads of it. But, it will be of use to only the one who takes the effort of knowing and understanding about it and not to the one who blindly follows it.

One could google for information, you get it. One could google for the scientific reasons behind it, you get it. One could google for the spiritual reasons behind it, you get it. One could google for the age-old reasons behind it, you get it. One could google for "why-not" of that information, you get it. One could google about the region-based beliefs behind it, you get it. 

One ought to look within if what one has read/heard resonates with his thoughts/philosophy amd either follow it or learn something from it while even ignoring it.

But are we doing it? Each one of us can think of what we do as an individual and see how well we could discern/ignore/practice what we are reading and learning everyday.

One celebrity says 'you have to force wake your infant because infants can't differentiate day and night times' and there are hundreds of comments asking for the tips to force wake their infant. 

Another personality says 'you need to force feed your child' and there are hundreds of comments asking for tips to do it.

One person says 'hey, idiot'. There are hundreds who shout 'yes, idiot'.

Another personality says 'this is life' and thousands of people follow it.

What has happened to the intuition of the individual? Could one listen to his own conscience? Does one even become aware of the presence of his conscience? 

Hundreds of years back, information just passed down from the ancestral clan. Not many questions were encouraged for various reasons. The one who followed all that the ancestors have laid down is praised to be 'budhhimaan/budhhimanthudu/obedient' and those who questioned(where even the awareness to question has started maybe just less than 80 years back) is demeaned to be 'talking back' to elders.

Whether you were allowed to question or forced to follow rules in your childhood doesn't matter anymore for you to not question your thoughts and actions now at this moment.

Any moment can be a moment of change, of evolution, of seeking the truth and realizing the intuition. Are we taking atleast a step towards that direction? It's time to look within!!

- Sujaya 

Finding Peace

I happened to watch this video where Pallavi Mahajan narrates how a man is always chasing happiness instead of looking within his own self.

I connect myself to the meaning because maybe, I have had my own thoughts on this topic.
Not just happiness, but, for any conflict that man faces in his daily life, one usually tends to look outside for the solution. Once we probe within, we not only get a solution for that problem but can even reason out the problem. Isn't that wonderful?

Moreover, when two individuals are involved in a conflict of thoughts/actions, the one with an authoritative stance usually gets away with blaming or labelling. This proves no good for neither for any of the individuals involved nor their relationship.

Here, I try to write down the recital in hindi followed by the English meaning of the recital. Hope I do justice to the flow and intention that Pallavi Mahajan has carried along.




The recital written down in Hindi words(English)

sukoon ki talaash mein
tu phira idhar udhar

tha magar jahan chipa gayi nahin vahan nazar

thu soch tha raha yahi
ki ek din milega wo
jab milega sab tujhe
haan tabhidikhega wo

tho chod aaya ek shahar
tu chod aaya ek gali
zindagi ke sang chala wo jidhar jidhar chali
ye nayi si thi jagah
aasma bhi tha naya
tu udha bahuth magar phir zara sa thag gaya
is udaan ne tujhe thaa yahan bahuth diya
chahthon ko par teri naya makaam dikh gaya
tu phir uda yeh soch kar
ki jo talab thi ab talak khathm hogi ye waha jaha dikhi hain ek jhalak
lamba yeh safar raha
hosla magar rahaa
aagaya nazar mein vo jo door hi si tha dhikha
ek shaks tha waha
phere apna mooh khada
uske paas wo sukoon tujhe kabhi na jo mila
tune usse yeh kaha
ki raastha katin raha
khush magar mein hun mujhe sukoon hain mil gaya
kyun andhera hain yahan
phere mun tu kyun khada
chal sukoon ko bantle mein aadmi nahin bura

phir huyi thi roshni
wahan nahin tha koyi bhi

haan magar tha ayina
tha ayine me aks bhi
vo aks tha tera wahan jo tha sukoon ye khada has ke kehne yeh laga
mein tujhme hi sada raha

kyan wo mehes junoon tha
kya paas mein sukoon tha
kyun mujhe khabhar na thikya mujhme hi thaye kahi

kyun khudse itna lad raha
jo chahtho ne paa liya
ab samajh ye baat thu
jo tujhse mein hun khehraha

dod me yaha sabhi mujhe nahin talash the
naam dete hain kahi khaak par hain jhaan the
mein dod mein aaram hun
mein khaas na hun aam hun
har kisi mein hun basa
phir bhi sab ka khwaab hun

aankh boond tu abhi
abhi khada hain tu jahan muskurake dhoondh na me tujhme bhi chipa hua
zindagi jo thi teri chahatho mein thi giri
theerigi mein tu raha tho mein tujhe dikha nahin
to theerigi ko kaant de tu roshni ko saath le
ab sukoon ko khoj mat
hain kya sukoon ye jaan le

Meaning of the recital:

You have been roaming here and there in search of Peace

Yet, you could not put your sight on where Peace has been hiding.

You have been thinking that you would find Peace once you achieve all things

You travelled beyond a city

You travelled beyond an area

You travelled along with your life wherever it travelled

This place is new

Even the sky is new

Yet, you flew higher

And then, felt tired

This flight of yours has given you a lot

Your desires have given you a new position

You have again flown thinking that your search for Peace would be complete and then you see a flash

Long has been this journey

you have kept up your courage

You have reached the point where you could see something at a distance

There was an appearance

standing with a straight face

He had that Peace which you could never find so long

You told him

the journey has been tough

Yet, I am happy because I have found Peace

Why is it dark here?

Why do you stand with a straight face?

Come Peace, let's hug, I am not a bad man

Then, there was lighting

There was no one standing there

Yes, there was a mirror there

And, an appearance in the mirror

The appearance was yours

It was Peace

It laughed and said - I have always been within you!

The man asked - Is this real? Was Peace so close? Why didn't I know that Peace was somewhere within myself?

The appearance said - Why do you fight so much with yourself that has been ruled by desires? Understand now what I say to you

Everyone is in a race never able to find me

They give me many names

I am the rest in your Race

I am not special, I am normal in you

I am within everyone

Yet, I am everyone's dream

Open your eyes, now

Look for me wherever you stand now and see that I am within you.

your life has been ruled by desires

You have been in so much darkness that I was not visible to you

Then, Cut out the darkness and take along light!

Now, do not look out for Peace

Understand what Peace is!!

Thanks to Pallavi Mahajan for this wonderful composition.

P.S. Apologies for any mistakes in the process of writing down the meaning in English of the Original composition

Thanks,

Sujaya

Love, Joy and Selfishness

This word love is a very tricky thing. We love to do something because we feel good when we do it. We love someone because we feel comforted in their presence. We love to watch/hear/do/paint/read/write something because that act brings joy and we are longing for this joy all the time.

Then, if love is all about making ourselves feel good, does it mean that love is selfish?

Can you love someone even if their presence brings a worry to you?
Are you brave to love a situation even though it has brought frustration to you?
Can you love an act even if you feel grief during that act?

Let's go more deep.

What is the act?

Whose is the act?

Whose is the feeling?

What is bringing the feeling?

What is causing the feeling to reach the person who feels?

Is it the environment that brings joy or one's temperament that allows joy to be felt within?

Is joy coming from somewhere outside or is it that the act according to one's temperament is opening up the window that in turn allows the joy within to be felt by the person who is feeling?

Aren't we all filled with joy inside of us?

What is stopping us to feel that joy?

Our temperament? Our thoughts? Our mind? Our judgments? Our habits of mind?

A spiritual atmosphere like say, bhajan, puja or temple might sound uplifting to one. One may seek more of that company to keep oneself uplifted more often.

So when devotion towards a particular deity/spiritual figure/act/person seems to bring joy to one and he continues to do it to receive more of that joy, is one being selfish?

Is one being selfish when he is running behind love?

Is one being selfish when he is running behind god?

Is one being selfish when he is running behind acts/people that bring him joy?

When the joy one is seeking for, the god one is looking for are all within oneself, when the subconscious is pulling you towards itself, when your soul wants to make you realise that you are the joy you are seeking and you are the god whom you are praising - when this is realised, then they're no longer exists separation among the words you, other people, god, joy, devotion and love. All feels the same. Everything is realised to be ONE.

And, there no longer exists selfishness, bad causing situations, worry causing individuals because even in such scenarios if one probe within one's self, the subconscious is still wanting you to realise the presence of joy within, your soul is still wanting you to realise the god you are and your intuition, as always, is still wanting you to respond appropriately by listening to it.

There is only ONE. There is no other.

Tat Tvam Asi

- Sujaya
- www.nurturinglove.in

Overcoming or Living in Fear?

What is the purpose of educating a child?

Does education mean imparting fear of consequences in a child so that the child will excel in studies only to gain rank whose performance is solely based on 'fear' and not 'love'.

Is participating in all the extra curricular activities solely based on the 'Fear of Missing out' effect that mainly arises from the parents. Oh, my friend's daughter is going for skating class, you should also go from tomorrow. Oh! he is writing even P, Q and R apart from A, B, C, tomorrow you should write all the alphabets A- Z in front of our guests.

What is all the peer-pressure about? The true meaning of achievement is lost all the chaos that surrounds a child's life.

Children, from very young age are being threatened. Threatened for not eating right, for not walking right, for jumping around the house, for using loud voice, for playing actively, for not doing what was told, for not listening to the class teacher, for not getting good grades, for not participating in the dance competition, for using green colour for the sky and the list goes on. Are we not burdening a child with umpteen number of fears? Is this the true purpose of education?

In my view, education is about gaining the knowledge to learn the self, the truth and finally getting liberated of all the inner fears and turmoil and not succumb to the fears created by society

Are today's parents imposing fear or leading the child to let go off the fears within? 
Are today's school imposing fear of timelines or encouraging the child to unfold on his own?

Intuition and Parenting

Intuition. 

A word that is very powerful and very dear to me. I first heard about it's importance in one of the math lectures of Late Sri. Koteswara Rao Garu. He was a genius in Maths. Where does the genius come from? For some it comes by practice. But, for some it is just the intuition that takes the shape of actions. He used this term while solving mathematical problems. To his own question 'how do you guess that this should be the approach?' he would answer 'There is something called intuition and it should kick in at the right time.' I didn't ponder over it much, then. 


Gradually, as days passed by and as I learnt more about life and its experiences, I had been awestruck with the power of intuition that takes effect in most of my behaviour. I usually do not realise it's importance right when it took effect. But, at the end of day, when I ponder over my experiences and decisions at various instances of my life, I could not thank my conscience enough for the intuitive power within. 





So, what is intuition? Does it kick in at an emotional level, physical level or intellectual level? 


Some lines by famous people on intuition:


"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." - Albert Einstein


The only real valuable thing is intuition. - Albert Einstein


I believe in intuitions and inspirations...I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am. - Albert Einstein


Intuition is seeing with the soul. - Dean Koontz


Often you have to rely on intuition. – Bill Gates


All great men are gifted with intuition. They know without reasoning or analysis, what they need to know. - Alexis Carrel


Don't try to comprehend with your mind. Your minds are very limited. Use your intuition. - Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time


An example of intuition in math...


S. Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician who became famous for his intuition for numbers. When the English mathematician G. H. Hardy came to visit him in the hospital one day, Hardy remarked that the number of his taxi was 1729, a rather dull number. To which Ramanujan replied, "No, Hardy! No, Hardy! It is a very interesting number. It is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways."


Some of us might be intuitive at work, say, designing algorithms comes very intuitively for some, doing the math is another's intuitive ability. Some may be quite intuitive in dealing with people, while, some in analytical skills. 


Intuition is something that comes from within us, the subconscious entity, the soul. You don't analyse the scenario to reach it. You don't ponder over the pros and cons to know about it. Your inner self knows it and it sends the signal for your brain to receive. How well you receive depends on how able you can listen to your intuition which in turn depends upon how close you are to your inner self or your subconscious or your soul. 


Ideally, realising your intuitive power in every aspect of one's life is important. Because, our subconscious is what we really are. Leave about how beautiful we are on the physical plane, all that matters is, how beautiful you are at your subconscious level or how beautiful your soul is. Once you are truly connected to your inner self, you will receive answers to all your questions in life. 


So, what is all this in the context of parenting? 


Intuition plays a major role in parenting. Because, all that is needed in parenting is love - unconditional love. The love that does not have to think over what just happened on the physical plane(whatever mess the child has done) before expressing it self towards the child. Love that knows no favours, no rewards, no returns. Love that can be expressed not only when the child achieves laurels in school but also when the child is shouting at the top of his voice. Love that could be shown not only when the child is giggling, playing, running, hugging but also when the tired child, who is unable to contain his immense tiredness within, is rolling on the floor crying . Love that can be shown not only when the child has just started playing in park but also when the child is not willing to leave for home from park. And, many more instances. 


So, how does one achieve to this stage of showing unconditional love in the most tiring phase of a day. It is time to go to school, your child doesn't move an inch to freshen up, how do you show the unconditional love? You made many arrangements for your child to perform an act on stage and all that he does is just go and stand still/cry on the stage. How do you show your unconditional love?
What is all this about unconditional love? How does one practice to have unconditional love? (Is this question even right?) How can the response of one person differ from the other to the same stressful situation? Does one actually get the expression of unconditional love? NO!



Unconditional love is something that comes from within. It comes from your subconscious level. It does not matter how stressful situation you are in or how much mess your child has created in front of you. Unconditional love does not judge what the child has done. Unconditional love just shows love towards the subject and this particular response comes from our subconscious. You cannot practice the expression of unconditional love. It shoots itself from within.


How many times have to decided not to yell at your child, still end up yelling and feel bad about it later? Is it because of lack of practice? No, it is because you are not listening to your inner self. In any kind of situation, your inner self is always telling you what should truly be done. For example, for a child who is yelling and crying, your inner self is always telling you to pick her up and show some warmth. But, rarely people listen to their inner self, instead, end up yelling at the child to just shut her mouth and stop crying be it whatever reason it was for. 





So, who is doing what? A child who lacks self-control is crying which is absolutely fine. Young children lack self-control and tend to take to extreme behaviors to express their joy and anger. It is perfectly OK for the child to behave so. Now, about the adult. The adult, who is supposed to listen to her inner voice, understand what is ought to be done and do it the right way, does not even make an attempt to learn what went wrong with the child before asking the child to just STOP crying immediately. 


Can each of you think of the number of times you had thought of not yelling, controlled yourself for 10 times but ended up yelling at the 11th time? What is it that's going wrong? Why isn't there harmony between souls? What are you missing?


With a strong intuition, and, by intuition I mean, closer connect to your soul, you listen to what your soul says, you respond just as your subconscious directs you to and in the process, understand and connect to your child. Every single time you do this, you make a lasting connection with your child. The sooner you understand the concept, the earlier you make the connection with your child.
So, what really went wrong when you ended up yelling instead of staying calm is not the lack of practice or inability to follow the parenting tips or tricks but lack of your attempt to know your own self. Know who you really are. Know who your child truly is. Learn about your subconscious levels. Draw yourself closer to your soul. Listen to your intuition. Learn about why physical beings exist. Learn about life. Learn about the BIG things that life has to offer and the stress you might be feeling at any moment can never be significant to you. 


Again, this does not mean that you do not have to give importance to your child's cry over the simplest thing. Instead, when you are connected to yourself and your child, you, very correctly know, how you have to respond in any situation. There may be hundreds of TO-DOs and NOT-TO-DOs lists about parenting. You may be overwhelmed with the hundreds of resources and various styles of parenting that exist. But, what you have to follow is that which works for you and your child. And you will understand what it is only when you truly connect to your soul. Of the many ways that exist, meditation is one way to connect to the inner self. That is when you start listening to your subconscious and that is when your intuition kicks in, in every instance of your life. You start to realise the power of intuition and fall in love with it. 

Let's embrace the power of intuitive parenting. What it means is that you listen with your heart. It means that you keep open your senses to listen to what your child is trying to convey with his behaviour and letting your response come from within, may not be exactly the same as you had read in xyz parenting guide last week. You listen to your child before responding, by first, listening to your inner self. 


Someone rightly said, 'Intuition is the highest form of intelligence' and true it is. 

May we be more intuitive in our parenting journey and rear children who grow up to be intuitive adults. 

Know thy self

Do you spend time with yourself? Do you talk to yourself? Do you spend time in knowing yourself?
Do you spend time in realising yourself?

Too many questions?

Yet, they are important!

In this page, I write relevant articles on knowing one's self, my understanding of life, etc.
This post lists links for all other posts and is kept pinned to the top of this page for easy reference.

1. The energy of creation
2. Love the moment. Live the moment.
3. Passion
4. God, space and energy
5. Energy Healing
6. Self Empowerment and Spirituality
7. Living to Die and Dying to Live
8. Get over fear to realise the self
9. Significance of festivals
10. Having faith in yourself
11. The momentary and the permanent
12. Purpose of life
13. Living Life Lovingly
14. Awaken the soul
15. Role of brain in spiritual development
16. Give it a thought

Love the moment. Live the moment.

Are you living your life? Or do you feel, life just goes by?

Are you loving your life? Or do you constantly feel about changing things/people around you so that you can start loving them?

Do you have thoughts like - If it would have been that way, it would be better. If it didn't rain today, I would have done better. If my parents weren't so, I would have been better. And this list can go on.

For once, stop all those thoughts running in your mind and just start loving the moment. Realise every moment in your life. Be conscious of what you are doing and how you are feeling. Love every moment in your life and it is when you start living your life.

Sure, most of us have goals in mind, are constantly striving to earn more, save more, do more, but, are you living enough? Remember, life is more about the journey than the destination. It is the journey that shapes us, it is the journey that has to be lived, not destination. Whatever be the material goals in life, late or early, everyone dies and life in this particular physical body comes to a stall. What has grown, what stays here, and what inspires others is your personality that has taken shape until then. Focus on loving life, loving what comes by, loving the moment, do whatever you love to do, consciously, and you will realise you are being driven to your goal. When there is love in you, love comes back to you. Circumstances fall in the right place, everything comes right in front of you. You can see your goal taking shape.

Whether you know it or not, life is never random. There is a reason behind everything that happens. You don't do things randomly. If you feel you act random and things always happen in unpredictable way, it is only that you do not spend enough time in your conscious self. You do not probe for the reason behind every action. You do not spend time in knowing yourself. And hence, attribute the unknowing self as 'random'.

Knowing one's self is the first step in starting to love one's self. Realising every action that you do is the starting point in loving every moment. You wake up every morning, freshen up, pull yourself in car and drive to school/office. Your mind doesn't wake up from sleep just randomly. Your self has woken up, because, the love within drives your self  to wake up and go to certain place for doing certain thing. There is love within the self that drives every act of ours. We just need to realise that love, realise what we are doing.

Did you just complain about the rain? Well, there was someone who was praying for rains very badly. Did you just complain about the potholes while driving? There were people who fell into some of them and lost their lives. Did you just complain of the heat and turned on AC? There are people who work directly under sun for hours together. Did you complain that you are not being understood by your family members? There are few who do not have a family.
Always remember to remind yourself that wherever you are, whatever you are doing, it is definitely a better position as long as you love the moment. When there is love, you always look at the positive side of any situation, positivity comes back to you and you love your self and your life even more.

For once, stop complaining and start living.

The energy of creation

(Image Source: gettyimages.in)

The phrases 'Our little bundle of joy', 'proud parents', etc. are very commonly heard from new parents or their near and dear. So, what was the bundle of joy? What or Why is the joy? and Why is it proud?

Parents claim themselves as creators of life. Is it really so? Who decided? Who created? and Who was the channel of creation?
In the vast quantum of energy surrounding this universe, we are negligible part. This energy, also called 'GOD' by few is neither the creator nor the destructor but a mere transformer between various forms of energy. We, as living persons are also made of this energy.

As is already proved by science, energy can neither be created not destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form to another. Few forms of energy as explained/ named in science being: gravitational energy, electro magnetic energy, magnetic energy, electrical energy, mechanical energy, rotational energy, etc..

All these are merely various forms of the powerful universal energy, which, according to spiritual gurus is termed as the spiritual energy. Hence, the entire space constitutes of nothing but energy. Every living and non living being has a fraction of this energy or in other words fractions of universal energy has transformed into various forms on the planet - living and non living beings. (By the word 'fraction' I do not mean that a being is limited to just a  fraction of energy, any being is always a source of infinite energy). Remember, even a non living being constitues of energy, termed as potential energy in science. In essence, there is energy everywhere in various forms in the universe.

So, when the universal energy has conspired to transform a part of it as a living form and start its life on the planet, it chooses a channel to do this. That is the reason it is said that we choose our mother, our father, our time of birth, our friends, our relatives and every other single relation that we would have to be in during our stay in this body.

On a higher level, cause of birth is the universal energy. The one who is born is nothing but a lump of energy with facial features similar to those in society he/she/it has chosen to be born.
Now, on a relatively lower level, or I would say, on another plane of thinking, it appears that birth occurs as a result of intercourse between two genders of life and that the parents choose or decide the birth time depending on when they think they are ready to have child. They think they are the masters of creation. But the underlying point is their course of action is all being directed by the universal energy and they are merely a channel or tool by which energy in living form is brought into existence.

Every living being, having realised the reason or purpose behind its existence, should strive to lead a blissful life and merge oneself with universal energy eventually. It is indeed the duty of parents, who were the channel for bringing energy into a life form to guide and help their children realise one's purpose of existence or birth.

When a child realises his ultimate goal in life and spends time in achieving that, in knowing the self is when the parents can actually feel satisfied and proud that they have done what they were intended to do.

Passion

No matter what thought the mind is busy with or what action one does, the soul craves for something- something that may be exactly what one is doing, or may partially belong to it or completely different from that one is doing at the moment. But, for sure, something real exists that the soul aims to do. This is ‘Passion’. It may not bring you good amount of money at the moment, or may not make you an expert right away but that serene feeling you experience within yourself, within your soul is all that is needed to stay in peace.

Once the soul is set calm, one can never experience any ill feelings like frustration, anger, stagnation etc. One who realizes his soul’s true passion would always try to keep away from any ill feeling by taking the direction of his soul’s interest. When the mind is filled with thoughts about something you love, you do not give place to think about something you don’t like about and those are all the ill feelings that everyone wants to drive away.

This passion that one realizes and grows gives him both physical and spiritual satisfaction as that is the ultimate source of happiness for one’s soul.

Sometimes, one feels incomplete even with all his relations well placed around him - a loving partner, affectionate friends and all other relatives. All the relations could give physical satisfaction of love, consolation etc., yet, one seems like he is missing something inherent in life. That is the best moment to listen to your soul. Meditate, talk within, know about yourself, know about what you want to achieve in this life, how you want to spend your time, who you want to be around etc. Once you start probing within yourself, you stop only when you realize your passion. This may take multiple attempts. You may take up an activity; feel contended for the moment and then move away from it as time progresses. There is nothing to feel bad about. After all, you are looking for the ‘ONE’ passion that your soul is craving for. You will be immensely happy and satisfied when you catch hold of that interest.

Keep in mind the following points when you feel low in life:

• That moment when you feel low is not what life is all about
• There is something great you can achieve and you need to listen to your heart first
• Probe yourself – bring out all the ill feelings that seem to reside in your heart, find ways to drive them away.
• Direct your thoughts within you, imagine you doing something, imagine what your reaction would be at the result, assess yourself and see if that is what you want
• Attempt, attempt and attempt – that said, take up some activity and keep taking up some activity at every point of time. You never know which one you would fall in love with.
• And the most important of all - never stay idle. Remember the saying ‘an idle mind is a devil’s workshop’? This is very true. Attempting to do something is the least that we can try to realize the ultimate passion of our soul.

(This article was written for an order)

God, space and energy

We often hear phrases like 'God is everywhere', 'All your actions are watched by God', 'God is one', etc. So, if there are billions of living beings, are there billions of God overlooking each of the living being on a one-on-one basis?

Is god a human or animal or half human - half animal? Does God have brain? How fast does it process? If there is only one God and one brain with the God, how can it process its neurons over billions of living beings ar the same time? One says 'give me bread', another says 'give me money' at the same moment, which plea does God's brain focus on?

Well, in this perspective, the word God seems very complex.

Let's start our discussion with 'space'. Space is something very common. You see it here, there, everywhere. When say, the elevator is full, you say there is no space for an extra person or luggage in elevator. You occupy certain space in a room. Or in fact, every object, living and non living, occupies certain space. Space is a very well known word.

Now, let's consider energy. Energy is something that we have heard of in school as being present in a rock placed on an altitude or any level in the form of potential energy, in a moving ball in the form of mechanical energy, in a wire connected to electrical appliance in the form of electrical energy, in a magnet as magnetic energy, in a rotating fan or windmill as rotational energy.
Simply put, every object - living and non living constitutes of certain energy. No matter if it is moving, idle, revolving, rotating, anything, It has some energy associated with it.

The bigger picture is to realise that there is energy over the entire space - be it within you, on your right side, on your left side, in the planet, outside the planet, anywhere. There is energy all around. Every object is simply a form of this energy. Every object is made of that energy and has a certain form to be called as that object - living and non living.

Let's focus on humans who are proven to have advanced brain structures among all living creatures and are said to have the ability to think well beyond the observable limits.

The only limitation of human is that he is limited to just five senses - feel, sight, audio, speech and taste. He believes something exists only if he can experience it by one of his five senses i.e. either touch, see, hear, talk or taste it.

Universal energy is one thing that can only be experienced by focusing on one's self, the soul within and is not something that can merely be proven by any of the five senses. While running behind temporary joy, laughing for joy and crying for sorrow, not knowing why he is doing what he is doing, man has long forgotten to focus within his soul, know the self and unleash the universal energy.

To help mankind realise and merge with its inherent energy, universal energy has taken a form and spoken to mankind so that man could hear and believe there is something beyond observable life. This form, called as God or Guru by few. And people start believing that he is a miraculous person that the gurus have some miracle powers and that they can just wipe off all their worries in a jiffy.

People tend to forget the fact that it is the same universal energy that is present in their self and the so called God or Guru. It only needs to be realised.

When we say God is everywhere, what we actually mean is that energy is everywhere and this energy is being called as God.

You are power. You are energy. You are God.

Aham Brahmasmi

Energy Healing

Energy – The very source that drives every single entity right from the tiny cells in a creature to the gigantic universe around us. Energy is all we need to do anything, from just opening our eyes to travel to work to think and plan for our future and everything that we do.

 So, when we have so much of energy within us and around us, why is someone talking about healing? Here is the point, like many things in the universe, this one too has two sides to it- the positive energy and negative energy, rather I would say energy and something that is void of energy.  This void or this absence of energy is the root cause of all the mental problems which again is the cause of the physical and emotional problems that people face in everyday life.

There is a thought behind every word and action. That thought is what is important and it simply is manifestation of the energy within us. Hence, it is this energy that drives every thought, word and action.

When we say that the absence of energy is the main cause of our problems, there definitely has to be a way to fill in this absence with just what is required and this is energy healing.

To start with simple concept, in space, there is always a transfer of energy between any two bodies. Like, you feel hot when you go out in the sun. It is because the heat energy has been transferred to your body and you feel it. In a generic view, energy transfer happens between every two bodies of mass in space.

Now, when something is not going right in our life and we realize that our thought process needs to be changed, we channel the energy within us in that direction i.e., we focus upon the energy within us and use it for that purpose. There may be times when the problem seems more complex and the solution doesn't seem to be in our hands. This is when we reach out to people who can purposefully channel the universal energy towards our body and enable us think in the right direction. Physical problems take shape when the way we think is not right, we are losing out on the energy we possess within us and this takes form as some organ in the body not working as efficiently as it should. If there is a physical damage (something that is void of energy) in our body, the energy can be targeted towards the damage that helps heal the wound faster. Emotional problems arise when you don’t get what you expect in life – again, this has a thought behind it. The purposeful utilization of universal energy to tune our mind and the way we think can be achieved by Energy Healing. This, in turn, is the solution for our mental problems, physical problems and emotional problems.

There are various methods of energy healing: Reiki, Meditation, Distant Healing, Contact Healing, Qigong, Chakra Healing and many more, the underlying principle of all methods being the same.

(http://www.transformationweek.com/uncategorized/seven-reasons-to-learn-energy-healing)

Self Empowerment and Spirituality

Self empowerment - empowering one’s self - who doesn’t want to? Everyone would love to move to a higher level in their lifestyle, find a better relationship, get a better job, start a business, lead a healthier life, earn more, save more etc. All these can be categorized as physical empowerment, emotional empowerment, mental empowerment and the most important of all spiritual empowerment.

Any change in one’s self for the betterment of their lifestyle always starts with getting to know one’s true self and that is what spirituality is all about.

The word spirituality may seem complex, the concept being simple; it is about probing into one’s inner self. And what do you benefit out of it? You learn your strengths, weaknesses and the actual purpose of your life. Spirituality makes us realize the infinite energy that lies within us. This energy is the same as that which is spread across entire universe termed as universal power. Realizing the fact that our true self is neither the body nor the mind helps in discovering who we really are and what our purpose of living is, thus directing our thoughts in the right manner so as to aid in the betterment of our lifestyle.

Many factors in our daily life play a role in shaping our lifestyle. For example, usually, we are immediately hurt when someone does not respond to us in the way we expect them to do that eventually causes grief within us and affects our mental state due to which we fail to carry out our physical duties with heartfelt gratitude. And, where there is lack of love, there is lack of positivity and hence lack of fruitful result.

This is just one of many instances where the result of our actions is not as desired, the reason being our mind focusing on others’ behavior towards us.

Once the fact that our true self is not merely the materialistic body but the inner soul which is to be nurtured and understood that it cannot be affected by another person’s behavior or comments is realized, our level of thinking will be elevated by which our self is empowered and our lifestyle will be changed for good.

(This article was written for an order)

Living to die and dying to live – Which is the end?

There may be many discussions and articles doing the rounds on how happy or contented one can lead his/her life. But, have we ever thought about how well or how perfectly one should be dying so that he/she does not fall back into the path of life?

Well, simply put, we live to die and die to live. The former is a play of nature and is inevitable whereas the latter could be altered based on one’s wisdom.

Every person takes birth with a specific purpose or goal in his life. What one accomplishes during his lifetime may be personal to him but spiritually speaking, the ultimate goal of all is to die wisely so as not to be born again. Sadly, man going behind the temporary pleasures since his birth becomes unaware of this most important purpose. He wins accolades for his work and feels that was the only purpose of his life. Then comes death, which is inevitable for any creature in the universe. After death is when he connects his soul to the source of universe from which any life takes birth. He realizes how his past life was, how well he could have lead, what he should be doing in the next life. He chooses his biological parents and time of birth, thus making his way in the journey of life.

So, what is it that actually happens after death? There is no being or body. There is only soul, also known as spirit in generic language, connected to the universal power governing the entire universe. There is neither he nor she. All that is there is the infinite and vast energy over looking all beings in the world. That is when the spirit realizes not only his relation to mankind, his peers, siblings, parents, the purpose of being related to them and also the power of universe. That is when the importance of life is understood and the yearning to be born and lead a good life begins.

Now, ask yourself the BIG question, are you willing to die wisely?

(This article was written for an order)

Family – The way you see it

Relations are an integral part of life. Such relation to be everlasting, blissful and be a mutual source of happiness is very important. The first set of relations for any individual is the family – the place where one is born, or spiritually speaking, the place where one chooses to be born. Most of an adult’s behavior is based on health of the relations in his early childhood. Though a person cannot exactly remember how he/she had been treated in the first 5-6 years of his life, subconsciously, it is that crucial 5-6 years that play an important role in shaping the social personality of a man.

So, the big question parents have is – how can we be sure that our kids are being brought up in a positive manner. The immediate thing that is to be pondered over is – how is your relation with your spouse? How is your relation with your parents? How is your relation with your immediate family members? This actually means that, for any person to grow with good sense of maturity, not just his but every other relation within a family must be healthy.

What does a healthy relation really look like? Are there no misunderstandings? Are there no differences in opinion? No! There are, definitely, unique personalities in a family which lead to them having different opinions that in turn, may cause misunderstanding. But, people should have the open heart and patience to hear out others’ view, have discussions, and come to a conclusion in a positive manner. That being mentioned, it is clear that such healthy relation should first be implemented among the elders as kids spend most of the time with their parents/elders and it is them who they consider as role model. World’s most powerful recording system is a child’s brain. Everything that parents do, the way they act with others is being recorded only to be played back when they grow old.

(This article was written for an order)

Thoughts to ponder

A festival is here

Know the concept behind it.

Coz, you are here

Only because you ignored it.

Throw off the demonic nature

Coz, you as a human are of godly nature.

Throw off the you in you

Coz, you are not you but the almighty power/god

The universe is a mystery

Your present becomes history

Wake up to the call

It should never be a fall

Time does not stand still

You being here is all your will

There is no you in you

Better realize before it turns dew

The world is an illusion

Your life is your hallucination

Get over fear to realize the self

Important: This post is not directed to any one in specific. Those who pray knowing the true meaning do not relate to this post. 

God is present in one's own self, god is present in every being - living and non living.

Some people have blind faith in super human personalities who have become famous in their region. They have never seen the super human nor spoken to the super human, yet, they believe only to receive something in return. What's worse, few even bargain with the so-called god.

This is because they fear.

They do whatever their parents/friends/inmates have told them without knowing the reason. It is because they fear.

They do whatever is told by their local guru. It is because they fear

They recite all kinds of hymns without knowing the reason behind it. It is because they fear.

They fear so much that they don't dare examine what is in the self and around them.

They fear so much that they don't dare to probe into what or who god is and what the temples are for.

For what sake is this blind devotion, devotion- they call it!!

They fear so much that they don't think beyond what is being preached or what is being followed at home.

Grow up!!

Do not fear god. Do not be god-fearing.

Be friendly with god. Know who he is. Know more and more about him and keep probing.

There is nothing to fear.

Break the doors of materialism, religions, superstitions and open up your mind. Think beyond the daily chores.

Probe into why things are happening the way they are. Get the good. Get the bad. Renounce all and get God. And then you realize that god is none other than your own self. 

Doing whatever is being told to you, doing your duty at office and home, talking about places and people is not all what life is. There is much more beyond that. Discover life. Know what living is.

P.S.
I neither support nor deny the beliefs behind regional or religion practices. My main intention is, spend some time in knowing what you are doing and the prupose behind. I have invested good in this matter and happy with my experience. I believe in the concept of getting inspirired by sharing experiences and this is my small attempt in inspriring those few who are willing to know who they are and what their purpose is in this life.

Thanks for reading.

Significance of festivals

Ah!! There is a festival tomorrow. An opportunity to munch on all the special dishes, buy new dresses, get ready prettily, meet relatives, friends, ending the day with a blast. How many of us think this way? Do you relate yourself to it?

(Image Source: gettyimages.in)

Think beyond what you see.

A festival is not merely meant for shopping, dressing, eating, roaming. There is much more.
First, know the story behind a festival, its reason of existence and probe into how you can relate your life to it. In a wider aspect, any festival means 'the win of good over evil' and hence celebration follows. In this age where people concentrate only on celebration and take it's literal meaning should also try to know more about what the good was, what the evil was, and how evil could be conquered by the good.

All of us, for sure, in spite of being godly by true nature, depict evil qualities for momentary happiness in life without realizing where that would lead us to.

I.e., we in human form have good as well as evil qualities within us. Having said this, we should immediately realize that the evil has to be conquered by good and that is our sole endeavour in this life-to destroy all evil qualities and return to the universal power.

Hence, if not the entire year, at least on the occasion of festival one needs to understand it's importance.
Try eliminating just one negative quality in one's self  for each festival and know what real celebration is. Thus, try giving up all negative qualities one by one and realize how powerful the 'real you' are. Know for yourself how good life is when you realize and depict god in every action of yours.

(Image Source: gettyimages.in)

Hoping each of you would have the experience of true celebration in life.
Cheers!!!

Having faith in yourself

Faith - the word which keeps us going. It is that gut feeling which you have in spite of all odds, that which assures you there is much beyond what is visible to the eye.

Faith plays a major role in our living. Faith reassures you that the ‘real you’ is not the one who is affected, that the ‘real you’ is not the body, nor the mind, the ‘real you’ is the unique soul which can never be affected by anything.

And all this can be realized by having faith in your own self.

Faith unleashes your true identity. Faith helps you realize that the pain or any ill-feeling you get occur only on the physical level. Anxiety is felt only because the heart pumps more blood than required. You feel pain when your leg is hurt, only because the skin has torn apart and there is a need for the existing cells to divide and make a new portion. So the pain/stress is only because there is a mechanism to safe guard the physical case which holds the soul (the ‘real you’) in it. Irrespective of what or how the physical case is, the soul, well aware of all the lives which it has taken, the great storage reservoir, which has in it all the memories of all the life times, is in bliss always. Once this is realized, your mental thoughts take a diversion, your stress tends to nullify because you are controlling your mind with your realization instead of it controlling you. A man under mind's control goes wayward in any random direction wherever his mind takes him to. The mind is just another organ installed in our body which helps in sending and receiving nerve signals and guides other parts of the body in their duty. One who realizes this can never fall in its trap. Instead he will carve a path for himself and tune the mind to take it.

Once such level of control is established, there is no way one can feel stress. It is all happy living ever after because he knows the level at which things happen around him. He knows when to cry and when not to. He knows the essential art of living - being happy. All this can be developed by trusting one’s own self.

Published in November 2013 edition of Heartlight magazine. Link:

http://issuu.com/ambersluiter/docs/heartlight_magazine_november_2013?e=9415879/5488730

The momentary and the permanent

What is happiness? How can it be attained? Is that self satisfaction? What then is satisfaction? Is it getting what you desire? Why then should you desire? Why don't you attain what you desire for? How do you attain what you desire for?

Happiness - there's lot in this word. Happiness is to 'feel what’? Which part of your body is exactly *feeling* happy? Why is there sadness, in the first place? What is it that makes us *feel* sad?

What is all our being made of?

There is body - the physical form, mind - the entity which enables us to reason, soul - that which gives us life for our survival, spirit - more or less, the soul itself, blood, bones, brain - how is this different from mind? Brain is just that organ which is present. Mind is that which enables us to think/reason things, flesh, nerves, heart, lungs, liver, intestine, kidneys, nails, hands, legs, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and it goes on.

Summing up everything, the whole being simply reduces to a machine, which you need to look after regularly, failing which it malfunctions.

So, what is it that is *feeling happy*? Which organ in our body feels happy?

The soul is always in bliss. You do not need to impress anyone for providing it happiness. You only have to realize your soul and its blissful state and awaken yourself.

The reason you feel happy for something is you feel you have achieved something, you feel satisfied, the brain transmits happy hormones in your body and you feel elevated for that moment. Notice this – it is only for that moment.

Next moment, you are upset with something happening around you. It is because your blood has pumped more blood that required and your brain transmits anxiety hormones due to the blood pressure and you feel sad for that moment. Again, it is for that moment. 

So in our entire life, what is permanent? The soul is permanent and its blissful nature is permanent.

What is the machine for? What is the body for? Body is just a case which carries the most integral part of the machine, the soul.  Also, realize that it is the soul which gives the body the ability to keep it within itself. Body is the means by which we carry out our daily activities. Soul is the ultimate reason for which we are here. Until we place the soul, present in this temporary case back in its celestial abode, we keep changing our case.

How long do you want to keep changing the case?

Purpose of Life

Why is all the rush in every one's life? For what is the running? Get up, go work, come back, eat, sleep. Is this all what life is of? What is all the craving for? What is all this about? Why is all the competition? Is it only about survival of the fittest? What is all the worry about? Why do people always crave for something in life? Is this all to prove to the world who or what you are? Is it all only about recognition? Isn't there anything beyond the present world, the present life, beyond that which is visible to the eye?

What is it that is important? Spiritual success or material success? True success in spiritual world will anyways lead to success in material world. But not true the other way round.

Why is the mind always occupied? What are all the relationships for? What is social living? What is it to succeed? What is all the education without any human values? Pity those kids who are not exposed to any concepts other than the books, the bookish world. Do something BIG in life and then never return to the place you are in. there is lot more to explore beyond the visible world. That BIG differs from person to person.

Now, what is your BIG?

P.S.: Please do not post answers to the above questions in the comments section. Those questions are for asking your own self. I am well aware of the answers.