By rRequest, a repost of:

The Stone Cutter

There was once a stone cutter who was dissatisfied with
himself and with his position in life.

One day he passed a wealthy merchant's house. Through the
open gateway, he saw many fine possessions and important
visitors. "How powerful that merchant must be!" thought
the stone cutter. He became very envious and wished that
he could be like the merchant.

To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant,
enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever imagined,
but envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself.
Soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair,
accompanied by attendants and escorted by soldiers beating
gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before
the procession. "How powerful that official is!" he thought.
"I wish that I could be a high official!"

Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in
his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by the people
all around. It was a hot summer day, so the official felt
very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up
at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his
presence. "How powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish that
I could be the sun!"

Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone,
scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and laborers.
But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so
that his light could no longer shine on everything below.
"How powerful that storm cloud is!" he thought. "I wish that
I could be a cloud!"

Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages,
shouted at by everyone. But soon he found that he was being
pushed away by some great force, and realized that it was
the wind. "How powerful it is!" he thought. "I wish that
I could be the wind!"

Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of
houses, uprooting trees, feared and hated by all below him.
But after a while, he ran up against something that would
not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it -
a huge, towering rock. "How powerful that rock is!" he thought.
"I wish that I could be a rock!"

Then he became the rock, more powerful than anything else
on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a
hammer pounding a chisel into the hard surface, and felt
himself being changed. "What could be more powerful than I,
the rock?" he thought.

He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a
stone cutter.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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(as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law).
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
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"You never know how strong you are until
being strong is the only choice you have."

(from Boston Metro on-line)

***********************

A WAY TO BE HAPPIER--Justin Dowd

In a 2004 TED lecture, Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert described a shocking
study, saying a year after losing the use of their legs and a year after winning
the lotto, lottery winners and paraplegics are equally happy with their lives. 
Studies find that three months after a perceived life-changing event, with few
exceptions. Happiness remains unchanged.

Most assumptions of what will make us happy are wrong. Shawn Achor, CEO of Good
Think Inc., summarizes a nearly universal business and parenting strategy: "If I
work harder, I'll be more successful. And if I become more successful, then I'll
be happier.  But here's the catch:-every time your brain has a success. You’ll
change the goalpost of what success looked like. You got a good job--now you
have to get a better job. If happiness is on the opposite side of success, your
brain never gets there.  However. Achor's studies found a happy brain is 31
percent more productive than a negative, neutral or stressed brain. Therefore,
happiness causes success, not the other way around. One powerful path to a
positive state comes from something called the Tetris effect. When a person
plays Tetris too long, his or her brain unintentionally and habitually scans for
shapes in the surrounding world. Achor's method applies the same concept to
train your brain to automatically recognize positive patterns. First, write down
three new things you are grateful for from the last 24 hours.  Second, record a
current positive experience. This will Cause your pre-frontal cortex to relive
it. Good observations and memories automatically release dopamine to activate
learning centers and increase productivity.

After 21 days, your brain will habitually recognize positive patterns, similar
to the way a Tetris addict sees shapes. MRIs reveal this habit literally grows
positive emotion-processing areas while shrinking negative processing areas in
the brain

Nobody understands the endless complex• of happiness, but if you try this
two-minute trick even once, your dopamine receptors will thank you and you could
potentially experience more long-term happiness than from winning the lottery.

*******************

Sort of reminiscent of Irving Berlin's "Counting My Blessings", no?

W

Thanks for posting this. "Happiness causes success" is quite a
claim, but I feel proves itself over and over when recognized,
and if the criteria for success is "brings greater peace".
Peace and blessings,
Bob

"walto" <calhorn@...> wrote:
>
> (from Boston Metro on-line)
>
> ***********************
>
> A WAY TO BE HAPPIER--Justin Dowd
>
> In a 2004 TED lecture, Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert described a shocking
study, saying a year after losing the use of their legs and a year after winning
the lotto, lottery winners and paraplegics are equally happy with their lives. 
Studies find that three months after a perceived life-changing event, with few
exceptions. Happiness remains unchanged.
>
> Most assumptions of what will make us happy are wrong. Shawn Achor, CEO of
Good Think Inc., summarizes a nearly universal business and parenting strategy:
"If I work harder, I'll be more successful. And if I become more successful,
then I'll be happier.  But here's the catch:-every time your brain has a
success. You’ll change the goalpost of what success looked like. You got a
good job--now you have to get a better job. If happiness is on the opposite side
of success, your brain never gets there.  However. Achor's studies found a happy
brain is 31 percent more productive than a negative, neutral or stressed brain.
Therefore, happiness causes success, not the other way around. One powerful path
to a positive state comes from something called the Tetris effect. When a person
plays Tetris too long, his or her brain unintentionally and habitually scans for
shapes in the surrounding world. Achor's method applies the same concept to
train your brain to automatically recognize positive patterns. First, write down
three new things you are grateful for from the last 24 hours.  Second, record a
current positive experience. This will Cause your pre-frontal cortex to relive
it. Good observations and memories automatically release dopamine to activate
learning centers and increase productivity.
>
> After 21 days, your brain will habitually recognize positive patterns, similar
to the way a Tetris addict sees shapes. MRIs reveal this habit literally grows
positive emotion-processing areas while shrinking negative processing areas in
the brain
>
> Nobody understands the endless complex• of happiness, but if you try this
two-minute trick even once, your dopamine receptors will thank you and you could
potentially experience more long-term happiness than from winning the lottery.
>
> *******************
>
> Sort of reminiscent of Irving Berlin's "Counting My Blessings", no?
>
> W
>

Ah, how good and pleasant the 21st Century can be.
My wife and I used to travel for 8 hours to attend
this Saturday night satsang and now with today's technology,
we can enjoy it from home. The 1st 1/2 to 1 hour is
usually chanting and then a speaker or 2 and a DVD
presentation of Swami Satchidananda answering questions.
Just as when we would attend in person, we consistently
find it more enjoyable (and "high") than we expected.
And of course the experience of seeing a truly enlightened
person in action is a rare blessing. Fun too! Anyway,
as they say, try it, you may just like it. Enjoy!
Peace and blessings,
Bob

Join Satchidananda Ashram's Satsang every Saturday evening

and share the archive with friends.

7:30pm Eastern, with Livestream

new.livestream.com/yogaville

In the cave of the body is eternally set the one unborn.
The earth is His body. (Though) moving within the earth,
the earth knows Him not.
The water is His body. (Though) moving within the water,
the water knows Him not.
The fire is His body. (Though) moving within the fire,
the fire knows Him not.
The air is His body. (Though) moving within the air,
the air knows Him not.
The ether is His body. (Though) moving within the ether,
the ether knows Him not.
The mind is His body. (Though) moving within the mind,
the mind knows Him not.
The intellect is His body. (Though) moving within the intellect,
the intellect knows Him not.
The ego is His body. (Though) moving within the ego,
the ego knows Him not.
The mind-stuff is His body. (Though) moving within the mind-stuff, the
mind-stuff knows Him not.
The unmanifest is His body. (Though) moving within the unmanifest, the
unmanifest knows Him not.
The imperishable is His body. Though) moving within the imperishable,
the imperishable knows Him not.
The Death is His body. (Though) moving within Death,
Death knows Him not.
He, then, is the inner-self of all beings, sinless, heaven-born, luminous, the
sole Narayana.

From the Adhyatma Upanishad
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A merchant sent his son to learn the Secret of Happiness
from the wisest of men. The young man wandered through the
desert for forty days until he reached a beautiful castle at
the top of a mountain. There lived the sage that the young man
was looking for.

However, instead of finding a holy man, our hero entered a
room and saw a great deal of activity; merchants coming and
going, people chatting in the corners, a small orchestra
playing sweet melodies, and there was a table laden with
the most delectable dishes of that part of the world.

The wise man talked to everybody, and the young man had to
wait for two hours until it was time for his audience.

The Sage listened attentively to the reason for the boy's
visit, but told him that at that moment he did not have the
time to explain to him the Secret of Happiness.

He suggested that the young man take a stroll around his
palace and come back in two hours' time.

"However, I want to ask you a favor," he added, handling the
boy a teaspoon, in which he poured two drops of oil.
"While you walk, carry this spoon and don't let the oil spill."

The young man began to climb up and down the palace
staircases, always keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon.
At the end of two hours he returned to the presence of
the wise man.

"So," asked the sage, "did you see the Persian tapestries
hanging in my dining room? Did you see the garden that the
Master of Gardeners took ten years to create? Did you notice
the beautiful parchments in my library?"

Embarrassed, the young man confessed that he had seen nothing.
His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the
wise man had entrusted to him.

"So, go back and see the wonders of my world," said the wise man. "You can't
trust a man if you don't know his house."

Now more at ease, the young man took the spoon and strolled
again through the palace, this time paying attention to all
the works of art that hung from the ceiling and walls.
He saw the gardens, the mountains all around the palace, the
delicacy of the flowers, the taste with which each work of
art was placed in its niche. Returning to the sage, he reported
in detail all that he had seen.

"But where are the two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?"
asked the sage.

Looking down at the spoon, the young man realized that he had
spilled the oil.

"Well, that is the only advice I have to give you," said the
sage of sages.
"The Secret of Happiness lies in looking at all the wonders of
the world and never forgetting the two drops of oil in the spoon."


from the book "The Alchemist"

Once a renowned philosopher and moralist was traveling
through Nasrudin's village when he asked him where there
was a good place to eat. He suggested a place and the
scholar, hungry for conversation, invited Mullah Nasrudin
to join him. Much obliged, Mullah Nasrudin accompanied the
scholar to a nearby restaurant, where they asked the waiter
about the special of the day.

- Fish! Fresh Fish! replied the waiter.

- Bring us two, they answered.

A few minutes later, the waiter brought out a large platter
with two cooked fish on it, one of which was quite a bit
smaller than the other. Without hesitating, Mullah Nasrudin
cooked the larger of the fish and put in on his plate.
The scholar, giving Mullah Nasrudin a look of intense
disbelief, proceed to tell him that what he did was not
only blatantly selfish, but that it violated the principles
of almost every known moral, religious, and ethical system.
Mullah Nasrudin calmly listened to the philosopher's
extempore lecture patiently, and when he had finally
exhausted his resources, Mullah Nasruddin said,

- Well, Sir, what would you have done?

- I, being a conscientious human, would have taken the smaller
fish for myself.

- Well, here you are, Mullah Nasrudin said, and placed the
smaller fish on the gentleman's plate.
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If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
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Awakeness is an innate quality of who you are. What we call "awakening" is
recognizing not only that there is awakeness
present but that that is who you are. At some point, you
recognize the immense limitless perfection and innate awakeness
of your true self. This happens on its own with no effort on
your part. Spiritual awakening is similar to the recognition
that you are awake in the morning after sleeping. All of a sudden
you realize that you are awake, the sun is up, and it is time
to get up. In the morning you do not do anything to awaken.
When the time is right, it just happens. Spiritual awakening
also just happens when the time is right.

One of the dilemmas that many find themselves in is that they
want to awaken more than life itself and yet they can do
absolutely nothing to make that happen. The desire to awaken
and the fact that you can do nothing about it are two immovable truths, which
crush "you" between them. When you just rest in
the place where you admit both of these truths, something indescribable can
happen. When you just stay there and don't
turn away just because the situation is impossible, then these
two truths can wear away all of your mistaken ideas and illusions. What remains
is an empty spaciousness that allows the truth of
your being to become obvious. You still haven't done anything,
but everything else has fallen away, leaving a clear space for
the truth.

There is a difference between awakening, which is recognizing
the truth of who you are, and Freedom, which is the end of
suffering. Awakening is a gift of grace. That's the part that
you can do nothing about. You can't do anything to make awakening happen. It
just arrives, and it's not up to you when. However, Freedom comes as soon as you
stop resisting what is happening
or grasping after what is not happening. When you do that, the
end of suffering is instantaneous. Freedom does not depend on awakening. What it
depends on is wanting Freedom more than anything else—more than you want to
maintain the illusion of a separate self.

After awakening, there is a natural reduction in the tendency to grasp or resist
and therefore a reduction in suffering. However,
even after awakening, the tendency to grasp can still arise,
usually in more subtle ways, such as trying to hold on to the experience of
awakening or longing for that experience to return. When that happens, suffering
reappears. The good news is that
Freedom is available in every moment—before, during, and after
awakening—whenever you surrender your grasping and resistance.
By surrendering your futile efforts to change what is, you can
be free. This choice to surrender is, in fact, the only true
choice you have, since you can't choose to awaken. Then, as
always, awakening will take care of itself.

~Nirmala
Nothing Personal: Seeing Beyond the Illusion of a Separate Self
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If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.

A Conducive Atmosphere

"If a group of happy, easy-going, joyous people come
together, even a person with a morose mind in that group
feels happy. That means that, when the majority of minds
gathered together in one place have the same idea, it
creates a powerful thought vibration in that atmosphere.
When people get together in the name of meditation, they
come for a purpose, so that thought is predominant in
every mind. Even if there are a few people who are able
to do the meditation well, they create a proper atmosphere,
a conducive atmosphere for others to be benefited. Even the
mind that is restless, that finds it difficult to meditate,
can have the benefit of that atmosphere. It was for this
reason that places of prayer, worship and meditation were
created. Otherwise, the divine can be found anywhere and everywhere.

"God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

Join Satchidananda Ashram's Satsang every Saturday evening

and share the archive with friends.

7:30pm Eastern, with Livestream

new.livestream.com/yogaville

MEANING OF AHIMSA

Ahimsa or non-injury, of course, implies non-killing.
But, non-injury is not merely non-killing. In its
comprehensive meaning, Ahimsa or non-injury means entire
abstinence from causing any pain or harm whatsoever to
any living creature, either by thought, word, or deed.
Non-injury requires a harmless mind, mouth, and hand.

Ahimsa is not mere negative non-injury. It is positive,
cosmic love. It is the development of a mental attitude
in which hatred is replaced by love. Ahimsa is true sacrifice.
Ahimsa is forgiveness. Ahimsa is Sakti (power). Ahimsa is
true strength.

SUBTLE FORMS OF HIMSA

Only the ordinary people think that Ahimsa is not to hurt
any living being physically. This is but the gross form
of Ahimsa. The vow of Ahimsa is broken even by showing
contempt towards another man, by entertaining unreasonable
dislike for or prejudice towards anybody, by frowning at
another man, by hating another man, by abusing another
man, by speaking ill of others, by backbiting or vilifying,
by harbouring thoughts of hatred, by uttering lies, or
by ruining another man in any way whatsoever.

All harsh and rude speech is Himsa (violence or injury).
Using harsh words to beggars, servants or inferiors is Himsa. Wounding the
feelings of others by gesture, expression,
tone of voice and unkind words is also Himsa. Slighting
or showing deliberate discourtesy to a person before others
is wanton Himsa. To approve of another's harsh actions is
indirect Himsa. To fail to relieve another's pain, or even
to neglect to go to the person in distress is a sort of Himsa.
It is the sin of omission. Avoid strictly all forms of
harshness, direct or indirect, positive or negative, immediate
or delayed. Practice Ahimsa in its purest form and become
divine. Ahimsa and Divinity are one.

AHIMSA, A QUALITY OF THE STRONG

If you practice Ahimsa, you should put up with insults,
rebukes, criticisms and assaults also. You should never
retaliate nor wish to offend anybody even under extreme
provocation. You should not entertain any evil thought
against anybody. You should not harbour anger. You should
not curse. You should be prepared to lose joyfully even
your life in the cause of Truth. The Ultimate Truth can be
attained only through Ahimsa.

Ahimsa is the acme of bravery. Ahimsa is not possible
without fearlessness. Non-violence cannot be practiced by
weak persons. Ahimsa cannot be practiced by a man who is
terribly afraid of death and has no power of resistance and endurance. It is a
shield, not of the effeminate, but of
the potent. Ahimsa is a quality of the strong. It is a weapon
of the strong. When a man beats you with a stick, you should
not entertain any thought of retaliation or any unkind feeling towards the
tormentor. Ahimsa is the perfection of forgiveness.

You're sitting comfortably in your favorite spot, all is well,
you're calm, cool, and collected. You start to meditate,
perhaps repeating a mantra, and then you find you just can't concentrate. Let's
say that you intend to say OM over and over.
What sometimes happens is that after you say OM a few times,
your inner chatterer starts making comments. It may go like this…
"Om sounds like home. Boy, wouldn't it be nice to buy a new home.
" And then it continues "They just built a few new homes in New Jersey. If I
take the turnpike I can get there pretty quickly.
But there may be a lot of traffic. I might get stuck in it for hours", and so
on, and so on. So, there you are, not just not experiencing OM, but now you're
in gridlock and starting to feel
road rage! Then, you realize that you've lost your concentration
and instead of just returning to meditating on OM, your inner chatterer starts
chastising you with statements like "You can't meditate! You're no good! You're
incompetent!' and so on. Then
it starts filling you with self-pity things like "I suffer so.
If only I could control my mind, but I can't and never will."
Of course, this is even further away from OM than driving on the turnpike. But
there is also something very good happening as
well, and it may prove to be far more beneficial in the long run
than if you would have had a meditation that included visions of heaven and
feelings of bliss.

There is an awareness, a consciousness within you that is a
silent Witness to everything your senses react with, your mind thinks, and your
emotions feel. It has been witnessing since you
were born. When you were a baby and couldn't judge, compare, or comment in any
way about anything, it was already witnessing.
As a matter of fact, this Witness is your only hope of eternal
life. Your body will drop. Your thoughts and emotions will stop. These things
have never had any permanence whatsoever. The only
thing about them that never changes is that they are always
changing. Our Witness is the only part of us that has been
changeless and is the only part of us that has the possibility
of surviving death.You are not your body, you are not your
emotions, you are not your mind. The Witness is the Real Self.
When you meditate it is the Witness who will recognize that
you have stopped concentrating, or are distracted, or are
demeaning yourself. You then can stop it and direct your consciousness to what
is appropriate. This is Real Self-control.

This puts you in the position of benefiting greatly when your
attempt at meditation "fails". You will begin to recognize not
just that you have lost your concentration, but what caused you
to divert your attention. Sometimes you will be able to become
aware of habitual behaviors that have distracted you. For
instance, sounds or other physical sensations may cause you
to tense up or get emotional. Certain type thoughts or emotions,
like lustful ones, may lead to diverting your focus. When these subconscious
reactivities come to the surface under the light of
the Witness, you will be free from their power.

There is no doubt that if you realized that your head has been hurting because
you have been banging it against a wall, you
would stop doing it. And your pain would disappear. Similarly,
when you cease reacting to the conscious and subconscious distractions that have
been banging you around, your concentration will be firm and your meditation
will flow freely to you,
infinitely and eternally. These are the good things bad
meditations present to you. Most importantly, they almost force
you to seek refuge in your Witness, and the more you do, the more
you realize and experience the reality of your union with the
pure consciousness that is your real identity. And your suffering ends. So, when
you are having a "bad" meditation, it is a
tremendous opportunity to learn and evolve. All the things that
have been interfering with your at-oneness with your Witness will
be laid bare before you. Therefore, when you're having any type meditation, it's
"good" and leads to the inevitable – living
happily ever after.

Just wanted to mention that when we get emails or talk
to people about their having "bad" meditations, as you
can see, we share this Concept of Meditation here. This
week we had several such emails and conversations.

When you stir up the dirt covering the surface
of your field of heavenly dreams, dust always comes
up. This is an opportunity to see "who" is reacting
to it and Who" witnesses it, as well as just physically,
mentally and emotionally reacting in a rote fashion .
And that's "good".

So, perhaps reading this again, or for the 1st time, will
be of benefit to you. That is certainly the intention.
Enjoy!

Peace and blessings,
Bob

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, medit8ionsociety
<no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> You're sitting comfortably in your favorite spot, all is well,
> you're calm, cool, and collected. You start to meditate,
> perhaps repeating a mantra, and then you find you just can't concentrate.
Let's say that you intend to say OM over and over.
> What sometimes happens is that after you say OM a few times,
> your inner chatterer starts making comments. It may go like this…
> "Om sounds like home. Boy, wouldn't it be nice to buy a new home.
> " And then it continues "They just built a few new homes in New Jersey. If I
take the turnpike I can get there pretty quickly.
> But there may be a lot of traffic. I might get stuck in it for hours", and so
on, and so on. So, there you are, not just not experiencing OM, but now you're
in gridlock and starting to feel
> road rage! Then, you realize that you've lost your concentration
> and instead of just returning to meditating on OM, your inner chatterer starts
chastising you with statements like "You can't meditate! You're no good! You're
incompetent!' and so on. Then
> it starts filling you with self-pity things like "I suffer so.
> If only I could control my mind, but I can't and never will."
> Of course, this is even further away from OM than driving on the turnpike. But
there is also something very good happening as
> well, and it may prove to be far more beneficial in the long run
> than if you would have had a meditation that included visions of heaven and
feelings of bliss.
>
> There is an awareness, a consciousness within you that is a
> silent Witness to everything your senses react with, your mind thinks, and
your emotions feel. It has been witnessing since you
> were born. When you were a baby and couldn't judge, compare, or comment in any
way about anything, it was already witnessing.
> As a matter of fact, this Witness is your only hope of eternal
> life. Your body will drop. Your thoughts and emotions will stop. These things
have never had any permanence whatsoever. The only
> thing about them that never changes is that they are always
> changing. Our Witness is the only part of us that has been
> changeless and is the only part of us that has the possibility
> of surviving death.You are not your body, you are not your
> emotions, you are not your mind. The Witness is the Real Self.
> When you meditate it is the Witness who will recognize that
> you have stopped concentrating, or are distracted, or are
> demeaning yourself. You then can stop it and direct your consciousness to what
is appropriate. This is Real Self-control.
>
> This puts you in the position of benefiting greatly when your
> attempt at meditation "fails". You will begin to recognize not
> just that you have lost your concentration, but what caused you
> to divert your attention. Sometimes you will be able to become
> aware of habitual behaviors that have distracted you. For
> instance, sounds or other physical sensations may cause you
> to tense up or get emotional. Certain type thoughts or emotions,
> like lustful ones, may lead to diverting your focus. When these subconscious
reactivities come to the surface under the light of
> the Witness, you will be free from their power.
>
> There is no doubt that if you realized that your head has been hurting because
you have been banging it against a wall, you
> would stop doing it. And your pain would disappear. Similarly,
> when you cease reacting to the conscious and subconscious distractions that
have been banging you around, your concentration will be firm and your
meditation will flow freely to you,
> infinitely and eternally. These are the good things bad
> meditations present to you. Most importantly, they almost force
> you to seek refuge in your Witness, and the more you do, the more
> you realize and experience the reality of your union with the
> pure consciousness that is your real identity. And your suffering ends. So,
when you are having a "bad" meditation, it is a
> tremendous opportunity to learn and evolve. All the things that
> have been interfering with your at-oneness with your Witness will
> be laid bare before you. Therefore, when you're having any type meditation,
it's "good" and leads to the inevitable – living
> happily ever after.
>

Live Your Meditation

"Ultimately meditation should be lived all through
the 24 hours of the day. It's not that you just meditate
only in the morning or in the evening. Meditate on
everything you do, on everything you think. When you
talk, meditate on that. When you eat, meditate on that.
When you sleep, meditate on that. So I say concentration
should be on everything. When we eat, we don't seem to
concentrate on eating. We are very busy doing business or
talking about some serious world problem. When you eat,
if you don't concentrate on eating, you don't know exactly
what you ate and how much you ate. Concentrate on eating.
Chew well. Swallow well. Drink all your solids. Eat all your liquids.

"God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Join Satchidananda Ashram's Satsang every Saturday evening

and share the archive with friends.

  7:30pm Eastern, with Livestream

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Dear Ones,

I am an independent documentary film producer and my work on consciousness,
science & spirituality is non-profit, non-commercial & educational and has been
made available to the public for free.

Please enjoy this short, 7 minute trailer for my film trilogy to get the essence
of what they are about:  https://vimeo.com/60887570.

The films are very thought provoking and profound.

Warm regards,

Frank
http://www.beyondmefilm.com

This seemingly simple sharing gives one an excellent opportunity
to Witness your "Inner Chatterer" at work, while getting you
more familiar with who you really are when you say "I Am". But
only if you actually do it!

"Try a little experiment. Close your eyes and say to yourself:
'I wonder what my next thought is going to be.' Then become very
alert and wait for the next thought. Be like a cat watching a
mouse hole. What thought is going to come out of the mouse hole?" -

Ekhart Tolle

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authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that
this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web
constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material
(as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law).
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.

Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings,
but contemplate their return.

Each separate being in the universe
returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.

If you don't realize the source,
you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you came from,
you naturally become tolerant,
disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother,
dignified as a king.
Immersed in the wonder of the Tao,
you can deal with whatever life brings you,
and when death comes, you are ready.

Tao Te Ching 16

--------------------------------------------------------
Fair Use Notice: This document may contain
copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically
authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that
this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web
constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material
(as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law).
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.

Balancing Emotions

"Emotional upsets are due mostly to our lack of understanding.
If we use our reasoning, we won't get into emotional upsets.
We shouldn't give room for upsets, but that doesn't mean that
we should be completely free from emotions. Emotions work from
the heart. We should be loving. We should have tender hearts, compassionate
hearts, but not blind attachment. Heart and head
should go together. The head alone will not help us much. In the
same way, heart alone will not help much. Mere reasoning without
any feeling will be of no use. We'll be machines, robots, that's
all. There should be feeling and will; use your will to balance
your feelings. They should go together.

  "God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."

  Join Satchidananda Ashram's Satsang every Saturday evening

and share the archive with friends.

  7:30pm Eastern, with Livestream

new.livestream.com/yogaville

You are not who you think you are. They are not who
you think they are. S/He is not who you think they are.
The world is not what you think it is. The solar system
is not what you think it is. The galaxy is not what you
think it is. The universe is not what you think it is.
Sub-atomic particles are not what you think they are.
Atoms are not what you think they are. Elements are not
what you think they are. Structures are not what you
think they are. Organisms are not what you think they
are. All things are not what you think they are. Your
body, mind, and your emotions are not what you think
they are. Your thoughts are not what you think they are.
Your Inner Chatterer that is saying "Yes they are" is not
what you think it is. The Witness within that sees the
chattering is not what you think it is. Consciousness is
not what you think it is. Duality and Oneness are not what
you think they are. Understanding is not what you think
it is. Infinity is not what you think it is. Eternity is not
what you think it is. Peace is not what you think it is.
Bliss is not what you think it is. Life is not what you think
it is. Blessings are not what you think they are. Truth is
not what you think it is. God is not what you think S/He is.

Thinking about It, isn't IT. Not thinking about It, IT still is.

"Because every thought enters the heart in the form of
a mental image of some sensible object, the blessed light
of the Divinity will illumine the heart only when the heart
is completely empty of everything and so free from all form.
Indeed, this light reveals itself to the pure intellect in
the measure to which the intellect is purged of all concepts."

St. Hesychios the Priest

What is that consciousness, which is expressed in each
living act of mind and body? It is the knowing of that
self which is present always, throughout experience.
That's what self truly is, in each one of us, beneath
our different personalities. It is that self which does
not part with anyone, not even for a moment. Its knowing
is no physical or mental act, which self starts doing
at some time and stops doing later on. Consciousness is
not a put on act that later can be taken off. Instead, it
is the very being of the self, exactly what self always is.

In truth, the self is consciousness, whose very being is
to know. It knows itself, shining by its own light. All
appearances are known by their reflection of its
self-illumination. We know them only when they come
into attention, where they are lit by consciousness.
But then, how can that consciousness be known?

Consciousness is not an object that is known. Instead, it
is just that which knows. It is thus known in identity,
as one's own self, by realizing one's own true identity
with it. That is the only way in which it can be known.

As a matter of ingrained habit, we think of consciousness as
an activity of body, sense and mind. Hence what we take for consciousness
appears confused with a great complexity of
physical and sensual and mental actions.

In every one of us, consciousness is actually experienced
in the singular, as one's own self. But when a person looks
through mind and body, at a world that seems outside, it
there appears that consciousness is different and changing -
in different persons, different creatures and their varied
faculties. Or, if a person looks through mind alone, into
the mental process of conception, it then appears that
consciousness is made up from a passing sequence of
perceptions, thoughts and feelings.

Thus, in itself, consciousness is quite distinct from
the differing and changing appearances that we habitually
confuse with it. As it is experienced directly, at the
inmost core of each individual's experience, it is pure
self - utterly impersonal and impartial, beyond all difference
and change. That is the inmost, undeniable experience that
we share in common, deep within each one of us. Yet, very
strangely, that undeniable experience is ignored and somehow
covered up, by the vast majority of people in the world.

It gets ignored because of a confusion that mixes self
with body, sense and mind. For this produces a mistaken
show of physical and sensual and mental actions, which are deceptively confused
with the clear and unaffected light of consciousness. As people identify
themselves with different
bodies and with changing minds, they mistake themselves as
jivas or persons, who are disparate and uncertain mixtures,
made up of knowing self confused with improperly known objects.

Such persons take an ignorantly made-up stand, upon divided
and uncertain ground, built artificially from alien things. Accordingly,
experiences seem partial and appear divided by
our personalities, as people get unhappily conflicted in
their seeming selves.

But where confusion ceases, as in deep sleep or in moments
of impartial clarity, there personality dissolves and self
stands on its own, shining by itself as happiness and peace.
Thus, pure happiness and unaffected peace can be seen to
shine out in deep sleep, as manifesting aspects of the self's
true nature.

by Ananda Wood, a disciple of the sage
Atmananda Krishna Menon (1883 - 1959)

"SELECTIVE DISCUSSIONS ON BHAGVAD GITA- Intricacies of the creation and our
conduct therein
GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES IN YOUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY THE LATEST VOLUME OF THE
SPIRITUAL WEB SITE www.ahwan.org (or www.ahwan.com) : VOLUME 144, March 2013
ISSUE,  has been published and uplinked. If you visit the site, and have any
observations to make, I shall be grateful. In this issue we have also
interesting questions from readers dealing with "Lull in Meditation", "World
Bondage", "Gods and Lesser beings", "Continuing faith in God for progress" ,
"Knowing the Future" etc.
You can also browse the previous articles by clicking on the ikon `articles'.
Please share it with your friends and dear ones.  God bless you-  Sri Bimal
Mohanty. (bimalmohanty@...)
PS – To continue spreading the benefit of AHWAN to all, we need your assistance
if you please. Click on `special information' on the homepage of www.ahwan.org.
If you do not wish to receive this information about future issues, please
e-mail accordingly - Thank you.
If you wish someone to receive this information as compliments from you please
indicate his/her e-mail address.
____________________

You can usher a qualitative change in your life, the spiritual way- the
effective way. Visit the website www.ahwan.org. or www.ahwan.com.
regularly. Share it with your friends and dear ones in any manner convenient-
through discussing, speaking, writing, inter-netting.

I am afraid there is something wrong with the link you've shared.
I am providing a transcript of the error message I received when
I attempted to visit the site you were recommending.

Riv

Quote On*********
                                                               406
Not Acceptable                                  Not Acceptable

     An appropriate representation of the requested resource /
could not be    found on this server.

     Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while
trying to use    an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

_________________________________________________________________
_


      Apache/2.2.14 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.14 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5
     FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 mod_bwlimited/1.4
mod_auth_passthrough/2.1     Server at www.ahwan.org Port 80
Quote Off*********

Feel free to visit my website and my blog and learn more about me
and what I stand for.
My Website @ http://riverwind.shellworld.net
My Blog http://windraven13.livejournal.com/

On Sat, 16 Mar 2013, bimal wrote:

> "SELECTIVE DISCUSSIONS ON BHAGVAD GITA- Intricacies of the creation and our
conduct therein
> GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES IN YOUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY THE LATEST VOLUME OF THE
SPIRITUAL WEB SITE www.ahwan.org (or www.ahwan.com) : VOLUME 144, March 2013
ISSUE,  has been published and uplinked. If you visit the site, and have any
observations to make, I shall be grateful. In this issue we have also
interesting questions from readers dealing with "Lull in Meditation", "World
Bondage", "Gods and Lesser beings", "Continuing faith in God for progress" ,
"Knowing the Future" etc.
> You can also browse the previous articles by clicking on the ikon `articles'.
Please share it with your friends and dear ones.  God bless you-  Sri Bimal
Mohanty. (bimalmohanty@...)
> PS – To continue spreading the benefit of AHWAN to all, we need your
assistance if you please. Click on `special information' on the homepage of
www.ahwan.org.
> If you do not wish to receive this information about future issues, please
e-mail accordingly - Thank you.
> If you wish someone to receive this information as compliments from you please
indicate his/her e-mail address.
> ____________________
>
> You can usher a qualitative change in your life, the spiritual way- the
effective way. Visit the website www.ahwan.org. or www.ahwan.com.
> regularly. Share it with your friends and dear ones in any manner convenient-
through discussing, speaking, writing, inter-netting.
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Love for Love's Sake

"Please don't do business in the name of love. The hubby
looks at the wife and says, `Honey, I love you,' and then
keeps on looking at her face. She should turn around and say,
`Darling, I love you too.' And, if that honey refuses or fails
or even hesitates to return that love, where will the honey go? Straight to the
divorce lawyer. That means that I love you, but
only if you love me. If you don't give your love, I won't love
you anymore. Is that what you call love? In my language, it is business. That's
why there is so much unhappiness in relationships, because we do business
constantly. Let's not mistake business for
love. Love for the joy of loving and you'll always enjoy.

"God bless you. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti."
------------------------------------------------------------------
  Join Satchidananda Ashram's Satsang every Saturday evening

and share the archive with friends.

  7:30pm Eastern, with Livestream

new.livestream.com/yogaville

Thanks Riv. Both of Sri Bimal Mohanty's URL's now seem
to be working --- www.ahwan.org or www.ahwan.com

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com, RiverWind <riverwind@...>
wrote:
>
>
> I am afraid there is something wrong with the link you've shared.
> I am providing a transcript of the error message I received when
> I attempted to visit the site you were recommending.
>
> Riv
>
> Quote On*********
>                                                               406
> Not Acceptable                                  Not Acceptable
>
>     An appropriate representation of the requested resource /
> could not be    found on this server.
>
>     Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while
> trying to use    an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> _
>
>
>      Apache/2.2.14 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.14 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5
>     FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 mod_bwlimited/1.4
> mod_auth_passthrough/2.1     Server at www.ahwan.org Port 80
> Quote Off*********
>
> Feel free to visit my website and my blog and learn more about me
> and what I stand for.
> My Website @ http://riverwind.shellworld.net
> My Blog http://windraven13.livejournal.com/
>
> On Sat, 16 Mar 2013, bimal wrote:
>
> > "SELECTIVE DISCUSSIONS ON BHAGVAD GITA- Intricacies of the creation and our
conduct therein
> > GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES IN YOUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY THE LATEST VOLUME OF THE
SPIRITUAL WEB SITE www.ahwan.org (or www.ahwan.com) : VOLUME 144, March 2013
ISSUE,  has been published and uplinked. If you visit the site, and have any
observations to make, I shall be grateful. In this issue we have also
interesting questions from readers dealing with "Lull in Meditation", "World
Bondage", "Gods and Lesser beings", "Continuing faith in God for progress" ,
"Knowing the Future" etc.
> > You can also browse the previous articles by clicking on the ikon
`articles'. Please share it with your friends and dear ones.  God bless you- 
Sri Bimal Mohanty. (bimalmohanty@...)
> > PS – To continue spreading the benefit of AHWAN to all, we need your
assistance if you please. Click on `special information' on the homepage of
www.ahwan.org.
> > If you do not wish to receive this information about future issues, please
e-mail accordingly - Thank you.
> > If you wish someone to receive this information as compliments from you
please indicate his/her e-mail address.
> > ____________________
> >
> > You can usher a qualitative change in your life, the spiritual way- the
effective way. Visit the website www.ahwan.org. or www.ahwan.com.
> > regularly. Share it with your friends and dear ones in any manner
convenient- through discussing, speaking, writing, inter-netting.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
>

Thanks for all the interesting and varied emails about
this post. They varied from "...thought stopping..."
to "...thought provoking..." Just "thought" (without
thinking about it) this result about IT was worth sharing.
Peace and blessings,
Bob

--- In meditationsocietyofamerica@yahoogroups.com,
medit8ionsociety <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> You are not who you think you are. They are not who
> you think they are. S/He is not who you think they are.
> The world is not what you think it is. The solar system
> is not what you think it is. The galaxy is not what you
> think it is. The universe is not what you think it is.
> Sub-atomic particles are not what you think they are.
> Atoms are not what you think they are. Elements are not
> what you think they are. Structures are not what you
> think they are. Organisms are not what you think they
> are. All things are not what you think they are. Your
> body, mind, and your emotions are not what you think
> they are. Your thoughts are not what you think they are.
> Your Inner Chatterer that is saying "Yes they are" is not
> what you think it is. The Witness within that sees the
> chattering is not what you think it is. Consciousness is
> not what you think it is. Duality and Oneness are not what
> you think they are. Understanding is not what you think
> it is. Infinity is not what you think it is. Eternity is not
> what you think it is. Peace is not what you think it is.
> Bliss is not what you think it is. Life is not what you think
> it is. Blessings are not what you think they are. Truth is
> not what you think it is. God is not what you think S/He is.
>
> Thinking about It, isn't IT. Not thinking about It, IT still is.
>

Dear Friends,

I hope you are all doing well. I wanted to inform you that I just
posted a new article on our website, which you may find helpful in your
meditation practice: How to Slow a Racing Mind.

This article discusses the sources of mental agitation and how to
overcome them, so you can get the most from your meditation practice.
You can read the full article it at: http://wp.me/p22v0Y-wn

I hope it helps you on your spiritual journey.

Warm regards,
Charles A. Francis

P.S. Please remember to share it with others through Facebook, email,
or other social media. Thanks!

Though thou shouldst be going to live three thousand years,
and as many times ten thousand years, still remember that
no man loses any other life than this which he now lives,
nor lives any other than this which he now loses. The longest
and shortest are thus brought to the same. For the present
is the same to all, though that which perishes is not the same;
and so that which is lost appears to be a mere moment. For a
man cannot lose either the past or the future: for what a man
has not, how can any one take this from him? These two things
then thou must bear in mind; the one, that all things from
eternity are of like forms and come round in a circle, and
that it makes no difference whether a man shall see the same
things during a hundred years or two hundred, or an infinite time;
and the second, that the longest liver and he who will die soonest
lose just the same. For the present is the only thing of which
a man can be deprived, if it is true that this is the only thing
which he has, and that a man cannot lose a thing if he has it not.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fair Use Notice: This document may contain
copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically
authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that
this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web
constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material
(as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law).
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.

Be Here Now

Remember, now, be here now
As its not like it was before.
The past, was, be here now
As its not like it was before - it was

Why try to live a life,
That isn't real,
No how
A mind, that wants to wander,
round a corner,
Is an un-wise mind

Now, is, be here now
And its not what it was before,
Remember, now, be here now
As its not like it was before - it was
--------------------------------------------------------
Fair Use Notice: This document may contain
copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically
authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that
this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web
constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material
(as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law).
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes
of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.