just be Love

In the face of others' anger, dislike, envy, criticism, disappointment, insecurity, negativity, hostility, even toxicity ... just be Love.

Appreciation

Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.

~ Alan Cohen

We are the ones ...

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally.

Least of all, ourselves.

For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

...The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

~ attributed to leaders of the Hopi nation

A Viewpoint of Your Life

"When one is incarnate it is easy to become completely absorbed by the linear dramatic life. The focus is immediate and compacted leaving the soul distracted by all the solidness and theatrics.

If one is to truly evolve it is important to step outside of the life. A view of the bigger picture is often helpful when trying to determine your advancement.

Take in each day a moment where the energy is not one of the linear. A moment where a sense of oneness and tranquility over rides everything else. It does not have to be a standard meditation process. It can be as simple as a walk, listening to music, or appreciating the breeze upon your face as you sit in a favorite spot.

The idea of a private moment is often foreign to most of you. A breath of tranquility no matter what the source, can give you a view point of your life.

Take a pause.

Separate from the little picture and participate with the bigger one. The one where your soul resides. It will make a difference. By putting the dramatics of the day that appear so enormous in a different perspective, you will be able to see clearly the direction to go.

Design your moment of meditation. It is certainly all right to do so.

Become one with the bigger picture. Your path may be easier in the linear because of it.

Take the pause.

Become clear."


--VERONICA

Mehngai

--- this poem is written by Sunil, a young boy who goes to a school for slum kids run by my friend.

Mehngai ne le li hamare jaan

Ab karna hoga iska niptaan

Amir se leke garib tak

Sabhi log hai isse pareshaan

Toned, double toned ya full cream

Lag rahe hai kadwe jaise ho neem

Kaju kismis aur badaam

Aasmaan par hai inke bhi daam

Daal, ,cheeni, chaaval aur choon

Garib pis raha hai jaise gehu me ghoon,

Pyaaz,  tamatar aur mattar

Karidne se sab kar rahe hai katar

Daam sab cheezo ke badh rahe hai magar

Garibon ke aamdhani hai udhar ki udhar

Neta hote jaa rahe hai aur bade

Lekin garib  hai abhi bhi vahi pade

Today's gem

The higher the sun ariseth, the less shadow it casts; even so the greater is the goodness, the less it covets praise.
~ Lao Tzu

Daily affirmation

May I recover my original sense of "awareness" and dispel the illusion of separation. I am connected to all. I walk in the world today being, acting and feeling connected.

~ from Positive Daily Affirmation's FB Wall

G for Gratitude

Started a new blog :)

G for Gratitude

Phrase catcher

I got invited to join a group on FB called 'phrase catchers', this is my first entry...

phrase catcher,
tell me how you would catch,
the diaphanous, tremulous, ethereal beauty
that sits winsome around the edges of words
and moves stealthy and sinuous
into the unsuspecting crevices of our mind,
where it weaves its mellifluous magic,
then enthralls the heady heart
into a daze of ecstatic enrapture,
and finally elevates the singing soul
into bedazzled, astonished silence...

kabhi kabhi ...

Kabhi Patthar Ke Takraane se Aati nahi Kharaash,
Kabhi Zara si Baat se Insaan Bikhar Jaata hai!

source - internet

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

towards the big dream ...

The journey toward your big dream changes you. In fact, the journey itself is what prepares you to succeed at what you were born to do. And until you decide to pursue your dream, you are never going to love life the way you were meant to.

- Bruce Wilkinson  

May his soul rest in peace

Pt.Bhimsen Joshi is no more. In homage I post this song that has never failed to bring tears to my eyes.. and sometimes a shiver through my body.

Thanks to the sweet stranger who had once posted this link as a comment...

 

Saturday soliloquy

Sometimes I have this sudden sharp jab of the desire to go home. It takes a while for the resulting tumbling, clouding emotions to clear and for me to realise that I am swimming outside my comfort zone and the need for comfort beckons. It takes a further effort to see that in this comfort-deprived zone there is opportunity for learning, and of course, growth.

We are somewhat like babies in this respect. Witness the baby, trying to crawl, sit, stand, then trying to walk. Tumbling, falling, crying, and yet, trying again, never giving up. Imagine if the baby had given up after its first fall and just lain there in the comfort of the bed, content to stare at the ceiling. It would never have walked.

And so I overcome the desire for comfort with the desire for growth.

~~~~~~

Dependency on social networking and connectedness is like being a desktop computer, you always need to be plugged in to the electric supply to be able to function.

The laptop on the other hand has its own power supply, you only need to plug it in once in a while to recharge.

Being a laptop is kind of liberating.

~~~~~~

Rootlessness sounds like such a scary word. Maybe for some it really is. For me, however, it is like having wings.

to write or not ...

The secrets that lie beyond the mind are so ethereal, the moment I try to shape them into words, they lose their beauty and become like chaff, the kernel missing, only the shell remaining. It is almost like they have been brought down and somehow debased and to leave them unformed would have been somehow better. I am almost tempted to not give them shape. 

So the dilemma remains ...

Today's gems ...

"Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity." Joseph Sugarman

You can't make the same mistake twice...the second time you make it...it's no longer a mistake...it's a choice... ~ FB friend (name withheld)

We cannot be present and run our story-line at the same time. -Pema Chodron

softly, simply strung

To joyfully walk
the path of life -
‘tis but an adventure.

to gratefully accept
what life might bring -
thorn or splendid blossom;

the voice within
to heed and follow -
can Soul ever be wrong?

each shining moment
is not ours to keep -
to live and forever let go;

to merge into
the silence vast -
such stillness and such treasure.

Did you know?

did you know my love for you keeps me awake at night, lancing my heart with an aching tenderness...

did you know I guard this warm, exuberant flame within my heart with fervent zealousness, refusing to allow it to go out...

did you know that lovers can hear a song that no one else can, because the melody that comes from one’s heart only the other can hear...

did you know that you live within me, formless and nameless, and yet, when your name comes to my lips, it always comes with joy...

did you know that I dwell in your thoughts even when you don’t think of me and when you do think of me you can only call it love...

did you know that this is enough, nothing more is needed, nothing more is sought. I am full...

Universe shouting ...

We are the miracle of force and matter making itself over into imagination and will. Incredible. The Life Force experimenting with forms. You for one. Me for another. The Universe has shouted itself alive. We are one of the shouts. ~ Ray Bradbury

Sunday afternoon insights

Like a master sculptor and skilled surgeon, God chips and moulds, cuts and incises, dismembers, stitches up, breaks and remoulds, allows to bleed, ravages with pain, heals with compassion, handles with infinite tenderness, this imperfect lump of clay, quivering mass of flesh into something worth being proud of, a masterpiece...

I just realised that reality and imagination are just two different perspectives. Reality seems more solid because it seems to be backed up by the senses. But can the senses be relied upon totally? Imagination is more powerful because it is not shackled by the hard rock of reality, and is infinitely free, thus bringing everything into the realm of possibility...

You can understand and accept others only to the extent to which you can understand and accept yourself. Self-knowledge and self-acceptance is primary, everything else will follow...

Acceptance

It’s acceptance itself that transforms difficult to easy, blame to compassion, guilt to forgiveness, condemnation to "isn’t that interesting", etc…. Both are equally true depending on perception and we get to choose which one serves us the best. What a gift. ~ Hal Tipper

Gem of the day!

Where there is an unwilling heart there are 100 excuses. 

Where there is a willing heart there are 1000 ways.

~ Arlen Price

how true !

true friendship isn't about being there when it's convenient...it's about being there when it's not... :)

(liked this so much, pinched it from FB)

2 rockers for 2day :)

You can do anything you think you can. This knowledge is literally the gift of the gods, for through it you can solve every human problem. It should make of you an incurable optimist. It is the open door. Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in yourself. ~ Robert Collier

My experience is that the teachers we need most are the people we’re living with right now. ~ Byron Katie

 (from FB as usual :)

Mindblowing thought

Rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. 

~ Lao Tzu

Inside out :)

Do not wait for your ship to come in - swim out to it ! That also includes waiting for your perfect relationship, job, happiness or anything else you're waiting for someone else to provide or manifest. True happiness is an inside job that you carry with you regardless of external conditions.

~ Hal Tipper

Tao thoughts

------ I found this on the net today -------

"To be whole, let yourself break.
To be straight, let yourself bend.
To be full, let yourself be empty.
To be new, let yourself wear out.
To have everything, give everything up.

Knowing others is a kind of knowledge;
knowing yourself is wisdom.
Conquering others requires strength;
conquering yourself is true power.

To realize that you have enough is true wealth.
Pushing ahead may succeed,
but staying put brings endurance.
Die without perishing, and find the eternal.

To know that you do not know is strength.
Not knowing that you do not know is a sickness.
The cure begins with the recognition of the sickness.

Knowing what is permanent: enlightenment.
Not knowing what is permanent: disaster.
Knowing what is permanent opens the mind.
Open mind, open heart.
Open heart, magnanimity."

Quote Of The Day

'We do not "come into" this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean "waves", the universe "peoples". Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe.'

~ Alan Watts

Infinite Possibilities

Virtually everything in our society tells us, reminds us, and insists that we are limited, aging "creatures", who live lives between luck and fate, in a hard, unforgiving world... and sadly, many of us have believed it. The truth however, and this will likely ring true in your heart of hearts, is that we are INFINITE and POWERFUL... fun loving gladiators of the Universe; Adventurers just being human, with eternity before us, and the power of our thoughts to help shape it.


WE MAKE OUR OWN REALITIES, OUR OWN FATE AND OUR OWN LUCK... that, is how powerful we are... and that is how powerful YOU are. To offset all the contradictory thinking of the masses, YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS KIND OF MESSAGE as often as you have to hear all the others...


This is NOT a motivational audio program. It's more philosophical, and it's aimed at the "Truths of Being"; becoming aware of them, understanding them, and harnessing them. My aim throughout is to remind you of:


* how POWERFUL you are,
* HOW FAR you can reach, and
* how much you DESERVE...


... so that you can begin thriving as the giant you are, in a kingdom where you have indeed been given dominion over all things.


Blood, sweat and tears AREN'T what it takes to see your dreams come true, imagination, belief and expectation are what's needed... then you're drawn into action, circumstances and "coincidences" that make dream manifestation INEVITABLE. This isn't wishful thinking, it's the way things have always been in time and space. You don't need more education, more connections, or more lucky breaks... you just need to understand the principles and concepts that every prophet and messiah has shared since the beginning of time. Principles that have nothing to do with religion, but everything to do with the truth about who we are, why we're here, and the magic at our disposal.


Your dreams are not yours by accident. You have them for a reason, many reasons, not the least of which is to make them come true. Your dreams are what's meant to be... you just have to do your part... but that can be mighty tall order... when you DON'T fully understand what your part is, nor the processes that make dreams come true. With UNDERSTANDING however... you'll find that NOTHING COULD BE EASIER than the way things have always been.


Just look around you today at those who are so-called successes. Are they smarter than you? Are they more deserving than you? Have they paid greater dues than you? NO. NO. NO WAY. Whether through their intelligence, or ignorance, usually the latter but it DOESN'T matter, they're actually living in ways that ENGAGE life's principles so that the Universe begins serving them. The good news about this... is that such people are PROOF that ANYONE ELSE can do the same. But here you'll have an advantage...


YOU'LL UNDERSTAND YOUR SUCCESSES and therefore won't have to live in fear that they could ever be taken away from you.


There is nothing you can't do, nothing you can't have, and nothing you can't be...


* You do have the power,
* You are guided, and
* the Universe IS conspiring on your behalf.


My series outlines dozens of principles that have been around since the beginning of time... principles that are now at play in your own life, whether you know what they are or not, and principles which are ridiculously easy to use. By identifying, understanding and harnessing them... you WILL access the power that literally turns wishes into reality, your wishes.


If someone told you the truth about life, reality and the powers you possessed... would you recognize it as the truth? If someone offered you the keys to the kingdom of your wildest dreams... would you accept them? Is there something in your heart, right now, that's telling you that just maybe, you could use and benefit from these simple recordings? I think there is.

~ product description for 'Infinite Possibilities' by Mike Dooley

Insight of the day

I have come to realise that burdening others with my expectations not only enchains them and leads to disappointment for me, it enchains me even more. By not having expectations of people I acknowledge that they have every liberty to be themselves, and not to be the kind of person I want them to be. It is very highly liberating. (And of course highly recommeneded :)

Happy New Year

For the first post of the new year, I offer you a poem and a saying that have introduced themselves to me as very appropriate for this time:

THE LONE TRAIL
The trails of the world be countless, and most of the trails be tried;
You tread on the heels of the many, till you come where the ways divide;
And one lies safe in the sunlight, and the other is dreary and wan,
Yet you look aslant at the Lone Trail, and the Lone Trail lures you on.
And somehow you’re sick of the highway, with its noise and its easy needs,
And you seek the risk of the by-way, and you reck not where it leads.

- Robert W Service from ‘The Happy Vagabond’

and

‘Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail’ (Modjeska)

Gems... and more gems ...

It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure. ~ Joseph Campbell




A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain far more awe-inspiring and more clearly visible to one passing through the valley than to those who inhabit the mountain? ~ Khalil Gibran




Invest in Love...It seems to have the highest happiness return ~ Hal Tipper




Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before. ~ Erich Fromm




Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret. ~ Miguel Angel Ruiz




Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way. Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be. ~ Marsha Petrie Sue




A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided. ~ Tony Robbins




Infuse your life with action. Don't wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen... yourself, right now, right down here on Earth. ~ Bradley Whitford




Always remember 1+1=3 ! You support their growth, they support your growth,
and you both support the growth of the relationship. ~ Gregory Ashby




Whatever we are waiting for - peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance - it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart. ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach




Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves - or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth. ~ Ayn Rand

Year end resolutions

Did I express love this year, real love? The kind of love that doesn't announce itself in flashy circumstances or structured conditions - but an authentic, quiet, internal love? The kind of love that bubbles to the surface when I gaze at another with understanding, a love that places me in their shoes, granting freedom from judgment and deepening my compassion? A philanthropic love that expresses because it simply feels compelled to, because it knows there is more than enough and everyone can benefit. If not, then I resolve to be and do better in my authentic loving.

Did I forgive this year, really forgive? The kind of forgiveness that cracks open my heart, peeling away one more layer of righteous indignation, thus allowing my soul to breathe? The kind of forgiveness that loosens my clinched fists held high at a situation so that I don't enter into the next one with guarded mistrust? The kind of forgiveness that comprehends there is a difference between understanding a behavioral choice and condoning it? If not, then I resolve to be and do better in my forgiving.

Did I stop this year, really stop? The kind of stopping that can't help but make me vulnerable by becoming more familiar with who I am without distraction, smoke screens, excuses or self-imposed numbing? The kind of stopping that turns me, naked, towards my feelings, giving them permission to express? No right or wrong - a stopping that simply lets me hear what I need to hear so that I can live more effectively? If not, then I resolve to be and do better in allowing myself to stop.

Did I seek adventure this year, real adventure? The kind of adventure that requires me to not only take a leap of faith off my cliff of familiarity but actually sends me back to get a running start? The kind of adventure that shakes the dust off my capable but underused wings and gives them an opportunity to catch the gorgeous wind of change? The kind of adventure that knows there is no outside safety net in this physical world, only an internal one? The kind of adventure that shouts, "I choose to live fully!" If not, then I resolve to be and do better in seeking adventure.

Did I seek wellness this year, real wellness? The kind of wellness that requires me to be fully conscious of what I put in my body - the kind of wellness that requires me to practice what I preach when it comes to self-love while understanding that the power to dissolve poor habits starts by simply choosing to change? Wellness that says, "This is the only body you've got. Treat me with respect, praise me daily and honor me as the holy temple that I am?" If not, then I resolve to be and do better in allowing wellness in my life.

Did I play this year, really play? The kind of play that gives value to the heavenly activity of fun - knowing that fun is sacred, that play is the equivalent of work and that during play - renewal and relaxation usher in the newest ideas and the clearest choices for better manifestations? Did I view play as a necessary life function and not a debatable luxury? If not, then I resolve to be and do better in my relationship to playing.

Did I set a goal and see it to completion this year, really complete it? The kind of completion that lets the vibration of satisfaction and confidence in my abilities heal any opposing ideas of not being good enough? Did I honor my life and its sacred purpose by utilizing my time with forward thinking and letting my mistakes be motivators not antagonists? Did I dissolve my insecurities and procrastination by understanding that my untapped genius has but one mode of expression and that is through idea, thought, word and action? If not, then I resolve to be and do better in setting and completing my goals.

Did I open myself up to learn this year, really learn? The kind of learning that entices me to enroll in being a student of life with thirst and enthusiasm? Did I set an intention for uncovering more of my potential, letting divine intellect eat from my plate and stepping deeper into the waters of wisdom? Did I open a book, take a class, study a language, learn an instrument, write a poem, visit another culture? Did I learn to surprise and thrill myself with the infinite capacity I have to master more than I thought I could? If not, then I resolve to be and do better on my personal path of learning.

Did I clean up my relationships this year, really clean them up? The kind of cleaning that requires me to break open the lock, pull back the curtain, throw open the window and start removing the dust of harsh words, grudges, false accusations and misguided choices that have layered my heart? Did I make amends for the fearful ways that disheartened another, for neglecting to honor their point of view? With careful examination, did I communicate my truth, understanding that sometimes all we may be able to do is agree to disagree and to do so without judgement or malice? If not, then I resolve to be and do better on cleaning up my relationships.

Did I share my good this year, really share? The kind of sharing that comes from the pure joy of seeing another succeed, not from what I think they can or will do for me in return? Did I tithe back to where I was spiritually fed, transformed and inspired? Did I practice random acts of kindness and give of my time, talent, and treasure realizing that my good is a part of a never-ending wellspring that cannot run dry - whose source is and always will be the infinite wellspring of the Divine? Did I commit to walking the altruistic path, remembering that every step brings healing and enlightenment to the world? If not, then I resolve to be and do better in my sharing.

Did I pray this year, really pray? The kind of prayer that is spoken not to God but AS God - prayers that affirm rather than beseech, are pregnant with knowing rather than bloated with doubt? Did I make my every day activities a prayer - realizing that every thought I think carries with it the responsibility of an effect on the world? Did I remember how truly powerful my own prayer actually is and that by simply devoting myself to the practice of it, I become the change? Did I remember that my prayer takes what I seek and introduces it to me, the seeker? If not, then I resolve to be and do better with praying.

Did I do all these things because deep down inside I fully understand how precious I am and that these activities will help me to see that I am held in the light as a perfect idea? Did I remember that I have been perfectly conceived and am always held in the perfect mind of God as perfect being? Did I know that there is nothing that I can ever say, nothing I can ever do that will separate me from the love of God? If for any reason, I forgot my divinity this year, then I resolve to be and do better in my knowing of it, to fully understand and embody the truth that it is done unto me as I believe. And I believe in the power of Good, for me, for you, for all.


(c) Rev. David Ault

Tuff choice :)

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.

~ E. B. White

The Power of Thought

If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for the Creator, there is no poverty.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke




The greatest revolution in our generation is that of human beings, who by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.
~ Marilyn Ferguson




As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
~ Henry David Thoreau

Sau gram zindagi

Thodi si meethi hai, zara si mirchi hai...

Sau gram zindagi, sambhal ki kharchi hai

Asli hai, joothi hai,

Khaliz hai, farzi hai

Sau gram zindagi...

Sau gram zindagi yeh, sambhal ke kharchi hai

Thodi si meethi hai, zara si mirchi hai...

Thodi si meethi hai, zara si mirchi hai...

Der thak ubali hai,

Cup mein daali hai

Kadvi hai naseeb si...

Yeh coffee ghadi, kaali hai

Chamach bar cheeni ho, itni si marzi hai

Sau gram zindagi yeh...

Sau gram zindagi yeh, sambhal ke kharchi hai

Khari hai, khoti hai

Rone ko chotti hai

Dhage si khushiyon ko silti hai...darzi hai

Sau gram zindagi yeh...

Sau gram zindagi yeh, sambhal ke kharchi hai

Thodi si meethi hai, zara si mirchi hai...

Life is good...

Life is wonderful...

Life is pain...

Oh yea yea yea

Life is good, life is good...

Life is wonderful, wonderful...

Life is pain...

It's all part of the game

Life is good...life is good

Yea all good..

Life is a pain...

Sau gram zindagi....

Sau gram zindagi,,, so lightweight and yet so potent.. the various hues and shades that life can be, all summed up beautifully in this gently hopeful, lyrical song ...

Listen to song here

Ke tera zikr hai...

Ke tera zikr hai?

Ya itr hai?

Jab jab karta hu...

Mehekta hu...

Behekta hu...

Chehekta hu...

Sholon ki tarah

Khusbuyon mein dehekta hu

Behekta hu

Mehekta hu

Teri fikr hai,

Ya fakr hai?

Jab jab karta hu...

Machalta hu...

Uchalta hu...

Fisalta hu

Pagal ki tarah

Mastiyon mein

Tehelta hu...

Uchalta hu

Fisalta hu

Lovely, lovely song from the film Guzaarish. It is so deep in meaning as to almost resemble a Sufi's ardent love for God...

Watch video here

Everywhere I look, Oh Lord

Everywhere I look, Oh Lord,

I see you and only you,

alive, in the manifest,

asleep, waiting to be born.

Every blossom bears Your scent,

pain sublime in every thorn.

Laughter, grief, sorrow, doubt,

wear Your face in turn.

Here it is, the Universe,

rolling in ecstasy at Your feet,

here I am, rapt in awe,

lost in love, in Your arms.

the Force

'May the Force be with you' can now be paraphrased to 'The Force dwells within you, may you always be connected to it, be aware of it and dwell in it'.

Celebration

With all these festivals coming and going, it must be celebration time, buying new things, cleaning the house, making sweets. And I am thinking, what is the point? If we only clean the house but do not get rid of the cobwebs in our mind, buying new stuff while we hold on to old, limiting thoughts and prejudiced opinions. If we cannot pave the way for the darkness within us to give way to light, what is the use of lighting a thousand lamps or sending up thousands worth of fireworks.


And, why wait for a festival or occasion to celebrate. Shouldn't each moment be celebratory, each moment that we have been given to love, each precious moment that can get us closer to our Self, each step that takes us closer to the Divine, shouldn't we celebrate?

the way to love...

Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek & find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

~ Rumi

The forty rules of love

I read a fascinating book recently called 'The Forty Rules of Love' by the Turkish writer Elif Shafak in which she unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives - one contemporary and the other set in the thirteenth century, when Rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the whirling dervish known as Shams of Tabriz - that together incarnate the poet's timeless message of love.

The rules themselves are timeless and pertinent and I will try to share as many as I can here -

1. The path to the truth is a labour of the heart, not of the head. Make your heart your primary guide! Not your mind. Meet, challenge, and ultimately prevail over your nafs (false ego) with your heart. Knowing your ego will lead you to the knowledge of God.

2. Each and every reader comprehends the Holy Qur’an on a different level in tandem with the depths of his understanding. There are four levels of insight. The first level is the outer meaning and it is the one that the majority of the people are content with. Next is the inner level. Third, there is the inner of the inner. And the fourth level is so deep it cannot be put into words and is therefore bound to remain indescribable.

3. You can study God through everything and everyone in the Universe, because God is not confined in a mosque, synagogue, or church. But if you are still in need of knowing where exactly His abode is, there is only one place to look for Him: in the heart of a true lover.

4. Intellect and love are made of different materials. Intellect ties people in knots and risks nothing, but love dissolves all tangles and risks everything. Intellect is always cautious and advises, ‘Beware too much ecstasy,’ whereas love says, ‘Oh, never mind! Take the plunge!’ Intellect does not easily break down, whereas love can effortlessly reduce itself to rubble. But treasures are hidden among ruins. A broken heart hides treasures.

5. Most of the problems of the world stem from linguistic mistakes and simple misunderstandings. Don’t ever take words at face value. When you step into the zone of love, language as we know it becomes obsolete. That which cannot be put into words can only be grasped through silence.

~

Distractions

---------- beginning of quote --------


Distractions are so embedded in our lives, we are bombarded with layer after layer to the point that we need distractions from our distractions. The Paredo principle states that only 20% of our efforts bring 80% of our results. That roughly translates to 80% of our time spent in unproductive distraction ! What are your distractions that keep you from claiming what you say you want in your life?


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P.S. very pertinent to what we were talking about today, Rukmini.

Appreciation

Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.

~ Margaret Cousins

The beauty of adversity

The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.

~ M. Scott Peck



Self-acceptance comes from meeting life's challenges vigorously. Don't numb yourself to your trials and difficulties, nor build mental walls to exclude pain from your life. You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.”


~ J. Donald Walters.


From a friend's Facebook Wall

Know yourself

Happiness is mental harmony; unhappiness is mental disharmony, ~ James Allen

All personal achievement starts in the mind of the individual. Your personal achievement starts in your mind. The first step is to know exactly what your problem, goal or desire is. ~ W. Clement Stone

The rapture of love

Oh lord, my Lord,

you smote my heart

again and again,

and each time

love flowed out,

sweet and fragrant,

a gushing river,

ebullient, exultant,

breaking the bonds

of time and space,

expanding to embrace

the whole existence.

Look, Oh Lord,

now only your name

comes to my lips,

your breath flows in me

a river of life,

joy like a drug

throbs through my veins,

and love beats a tune

of enchanted silence.

Look, look, Oh Lord,

how I am irrevocably lost

in the rapture of love.

Some gems of thoughts

Manifestation is an act of trust. It is the soul pouring itself out into its world, like a fisherman casting a net to gather in the fish he seeks; with each cast properly made, we will bring what we need to us, but first we must hurl ourselves into the depths without knowing just what lies beneath us. ~ David Spangler

Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose, to respond, to change. ~ Stephen Covey

How can you open to greater trust that you’ll always have what you need?
Fear, doubt, anxiety and disbelief all serve to repel abundance from us. Faith, love and gratitude for the gifts of our lives keep energy and abundance flowing. The more we trust in our well being, the more it will be realized. ~ Higher Awareness

 ~~~ from a friend's Facebook Wall

Love

Personal love is binding,

universal love, liberating.

Note from the Universe

When you understand why something hurts, it stops hurting.

When you understand you have options, you take action.

And when you understand you have wings, you can soar again.

~ The Universe

Haiku

A hazy morning

air thick with fog

and the dust of memories.

Seek Your Soul

"Often in the physical it is difficult to determine if one is evolving spiritually. Dramas unfold causing great confusion in the hearts of those incarnate.

In pursuit of the truth, outside linear input can often mislead those who seek a plateau of spiritual connection. It is spirit and only spirit in harmony with you that will lead to the advancement of your soul.

It is important to take time in the chaos of a life to center one's perception of the self. A quiet thought has great worth when seeking spiritual alignment. If you find yourself in a sea of doubt or a confused arena of perspective, seek your soul. As we have said many times, it will not abandon you... ever.

Physical life offers opportunity to experience, but the imperfect energy can often derail your progress. Your spiritual perspective can repair the misalignment. All one need do is step back from the dramas and align with spirit.

Feel the pulse of yourself and the pulse /vibration of your soul. It will make a difference. This life is but one chapter in a novel of your evolvement. It will resolve itself if you reach out spiritually.

Go ahead.

Give it a try."

- VERONICA

Conflict

All conflict is inner conflict because that's where we experience it. That's the good news !! Why? Because that's where we can change the perception of what it means and transform it into a new meaning that is more empowering and positive. The question is never "why is that person doing this" The power question is "What is it about my reaction that I need to learn from?"

~ Hal Tipper on Facebook

Haiku

I write not myself
words are given to me
a gift I must pass on.

Infinity

If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. 

~ William Blake

Gratitude

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.


~ Melody Beattie

Underwater babies

Click here to see some amazing photos that will take your breath away!

Power lies with us

Man is made or unmade by himself. By the right choice he ascends. As a being of power, intelligence, and love, and the lord of his own thoughts, he holds the key to every situation. 

~ James Allen

*#$%

Frustration is an exciting signal. it means that your brain believes you could be doing better than you currently are.

- Anthony Robbins

My Monday morning work motto

Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. ~ Coco Chanel

Paraphrased to -

Don't spend time trying to motivate Indians hoping to transform them from apathetic workers to passionate ones...

(more like my Monday morning rant :(((( )

Quote Of The Day

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
~ Victor Frankl

Thought for the day ...

I have found that pain assaults my consciousness whenever I forget how blessed I am. I then go from a glorious feeling of abundance to one of abject lack. So, quite clearly, an attitude of gratitude is a powerful antidote to misery...

Connections?

Social interconnectedness is highly over-rated by those who don't know or understand or won't acknowledge the value of solitude and silence. What is the point of being interconnected and networked with the world but not being able to connect with one's own soul?

How true!

Perception is reality ...


(to think that I found this absolutely stunning bit of truth on a page full of technical matter shows that gems of truth can be found anywhere, one just has to keep his eyes open :))

Food for thought

I count braver him who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; 
for the hardest victory is over ones self.

Source - internet (possibly the Koran)

Quotes from Samsara

Saw a wonderful movie called Samsara, about a young man who becomes a Buddhist Llama but is unable is resist the lure of the world. He puts aside his robes, falls in love, marries and starts a family. The death of his old master and a cryptic note he leaves behind makes him rethink his purpose in life and brings him once again to the crossroads.

Some memorable quotes from the movie, quoted out of context here but still retain their wisdom and stay in mind for long after -

There are things we must unlearn in order to learn them
and there are things we must own in order to renounce them.

How can one prevent a drop of water from ever drying up?
By throwing it into the sea...
 
What is more important -
satisfying one thousand desires
or conquering just one?

The spark

Being in the state of awareness, one needs to examine closely the notion that one is a human being, examine the various thinking processes, concepts, assumptions that go into the making of that notion and one will find that it is nothing but a notion, carefully built up over the years by our own experiences and input from others. Once we clearly see that it is nothing but a notion then we can slowly deconstruct it. Take it apart, piece by piece, until it disappears and we stand revealed as divine.

Our whole world view of reality is based upon input mostly from our sense organs. And our mind then takes all that input and makes it own stories. What we call reality is nothing but a personalised story that we are constantly scripting. Therefore, my ‘reality’ will be totally different from everyone else’s and so likewise everyone’s else’s ‘reality’. If this so-called ‘reality’ exists only in our experience, then where or what is the real thing? For finding out, obviously, we have to get out of this illusion-churning-out thing called the mind.

Because our ‘reality’ is based upon input from the senses, the purview of our world is limited by the scope of the senses. Therefore we perceive ourselves as limited beings, separate from everything else. But once we debunk the myth that we are the body and lose our identification with it, then the limits that our senses have set fall away and then the boundaries that we have set for ourselves and for others also disappear. In that boundary-less world all is one. It is just one matrix of interconnected energy. This reality is universal. It is not personal and not defined by individual experience nor bound by the limits of the senses.

The desire to reach this state of universal consciousness is a spark that lies buried within all of us. Our job is to nurture this spark and make it grow. This desire to reach our real state is so strong that if nurtured it will attract all the knowledge and wisdom required to cut through the veil of illusion, to wake us up from the sleep state of maya. The only effort that is required of us is to nurture this spark, and see to it that it doesn’t get snuffed out. Then the flames will grow into a conflagration that will consume the false world of maya and reduce it to ashes. Then reality will stand revealed.

Zen and the Art of Car Driving in India - 2

Well, the day comes when Ismail announces that I have been first-gear-trained enough and now it’s time to take to the road. The actual road, not the back-roads of sleepy hamlets where we have been practicing so far. The only problem being that the ‘road’ in question is the National Highway which runs close to my house. So, heart pounding, pulse racing, hair standing on edge and hand-gripping-wheel, I set out to brush bumpers with overloaded interstate lorries, burly State Transport buses and autos with the hyperbolical legend ‘to seat only 7’, when there is thrice the number clinging to its insides and dripping from its sides. From then on it is pulse-racing, heart-stopping action. Terminator-look-alike lorries bear down on me with exhausts fuming and horns blaring. Buses stop in the middle of the road without warning to upload or download passengers, with scant regard for courtesy or the passengers’ lives, sending me into panic-mode and causing Ismail to jerk the hand-brake. Autos, with their over-flowing humanity materialise from nowhere and streak across my path, making me freeze with fright and Ismail to yet again, pull the hand-brake. And most inexplicably, vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road, approach us head-on, while I stare at them saucer-eyed, bracing myself for a collision, their occupants jaunty and mindless, while I pick up my scattered nerves and shake my head in disbelief. The only thin veneer of safety I have in this unruly medley is the ‘L’ board which we have decided to put up even though I don’t have a learner’s license, but which sends out hidden signals to other drivers, ‘be warned, this car is liable to behave irresponsibly and stop without notice or reason’.

Lesson five : Driving on the National Highway is good for the heart. It gives it a workout even while seated seat-belted in a vehicle with the AC on.



New Zealand as you might know is a pacifist state, in politics and temperament, where there are ‘give way’ signs everywhere and we have been taught to drive defensively. So it is common practice for motorists to stop and give way to other cars and pedestrians. So true to my NZ training, on the first days of my foray into the big, bad jungle of Indian roads, I am giving way with such tameez and taqaluff that would put any Lucknowi nawab to shame, until it prompts Ismail to proclaim in exasperation, ‘if you drive like this you will never get anywhere. You must not give in to muscling-in tactics, otherwise you’ll get edged out of the road’. I protest with equal belligerence that I am not used to vehicles coming so close to my vehicle, I am used to COURTESY. To which Ismail pointedly points out the obvious, ‘but you are not in NZ any more, this is India. Yahan koi bhi kissi ke liye rukne wala nahi’.  Reality check. And check-mate. Bolti band. Heart down in my boots wishing I was catching the next flight out to NZ.

Lesson six - Reality bites. Bites big-time in India. But what is reality but the people and their attitudes. And my response to them.



Anyway, it so transpires that after a few days of being edged out and pushed around and stopped in my tracks by the likes of pedestrians, cyclists, even buffaloes, my hitherto unknown Amazonian genes kick in and decide to kick-ass. No more taqaluff, and most certainly no more tameez! Stopping and giving way? Pooh! what is that? After all the road is mine too, I proclaim belligerently to Ismail, while kindness cringes in my heart and courtesy cowers dumb-struck. I stare aggressively at hungry-looking underpaid drivers, disdainfully turn my nose up at muscled-mustachioed glaring men and frown down at sneering autorickshaw wallas holding my own and not giving in an inch. All the ‘give-way’ rules are wiped clean from my brain, courtesy gets tossed overboard and crushed underfoot. Tameez dries up quickly in the dry heat, while taqaluff was last seen hitch-hiking in the direction of NZ as I slowly get programmed into ‘jungle’ mode in a brilliant case of regression. Sad to see it though, sad to see myself get into ‘survival’ mode, where all one is thinking about is ‘I, me, myself’ with all the others ‘gaye bhaad mein’. 



Lesson seven - when in Rome, drive as the Romans do. Even if it turns you from a sweet-tempered, courteous, pacifist into an aggressive gargoyle with a wicked glint in your eyes and a snarl on your lips. Like Chief Seattle so poignantly put it, “end of civilisation, beginning of survival’.

Home is where the heart is ...

Click here (Hutt Valley) to see a panoramic view of where my heart lies ! Sigh !


And here is where I used to work (Wellington)

Pleasure and pain

Pleasure puts you to sleep and pain wakes you up,

if you don't want to suffer, don't go to sleep.

- Nisargadutta

I absolutely loooooooooooooooovvvvvvve this :))))))))

Listening

 
     "In the linear reality many aspire to be proactive in their participation.  They gallantly display their energy to anyone who may be near.  Seeking the connection to their existence they often speak of the connection of mind, body, and spirit.
 
     It is a habit of those embodied to speak more than they listen.  The resonating tenor of their voice makes them feel productive and vital in the physical environment.  It is happening everywhere one looks.... a lot of talkers but very few listeners.
 
     We are sure that the many who have much to say are lacking when it comes to hearing the whispers of their own souls.  An unfortunate moment since it is often the subtle expressions that provoke the most growth.
 
     We would advise all who aspire to connect with their souls to listen carefully to the breath of a newborn, the song of a grass hopper, and the cry of a kitten as it searches for its mother.
 
     The vibration of your own soul can be heard on a clear evening in the garden.  It is the desire to focus on these simple moments that begins the greatest growth.
 
     Be still.
 
     Listen to the pulse of your soul.
 
     The rhythm will sound out a clear message to your heart.  If only you would listen the wonders of the universe would be revealed.
 
     Try.
 
     See what occurs.
 
     Listen."
 
 - Inner Whispers by VERONICA.

discovery

Each day I’m discovering that the one person I can always depend on is me.
And I am finding out that I am much stronger than I ever imagined to be!

Bonding

People bond according to their highest values.

- Antony Robbins

Aashayein

Saw a beautiful movie called Aashayein. Made by Nagesh Kukunoor about a group of terminally ill people awaiting death. Not very deep, but quite sensitive. Had my ex-heart throb Girish Karnad now grown elderly :))) And a wonderful actress called Anaita Nair. And the added bonus of seeing John Abraham really actually ACTING :))))

Some lovely songs from the film with lyrics -

Ab mujhko jeena

listen to 'Ab mujhko jeena' here...

Ab hai ujaala, ab hai savera
Ab inn hawaon, pe kar loon basera
Ab main zamaane ko humraaz kar loon
Ab aasmaano pe parwaaz kar loon
Iss pal mein, hai mujh ko jeena
Ab mujhko jeena

Nakaamiyon se darna kya
Jeene se pehle marna kya
Jhoom kar mera dil ab yeh mujh se kahe
Zindagi hai to zinda dili bhi rahe
Ab iraadon ko hai thaan lena
Ab to khwaabon pe hai jaan dena
Iss pal mein, hai mujh ko jeena
Ab mujhko jeena

Anjaana kal na maanoon main
Yeh pal hai apna jaanoon main
Yahan chaaron taraf pyaar ke silsile
Dekho veeraniyon mein bhi dil hain mile
Apni manzil ki mujh ko khabar hai
Ab to himmat meri humsafar hai
Iss pal mein, hai mujh ko jeena
Ab mujhko jeena

Shukriya zindagi

listen to Shukriya zindagi here...

chan ke aai to kya, chaandni to mili

chand din hi sahi yeh kali to khili

shukriya zindagi, shukriya zindagi

teri mehrbaaniyan, teri mehrbaaniyan

sirf ek rang se tasveer hoti kahin

gham nahi to khushi ki qeemat nahi

dhoop, chaaon hain dono to dilkash jahaan

kya shikaayat karain, fursat kahaan

shukriya zindagi, shukriya zindagi

teri mehrbaaniyan, teri mehrbaaniyan

apni taqdeer ki hai yeh daastaan

kabhi qaatilaana, kabhi mehrbaan

mehrbaani jo dil ko qaraar aagaya

apne qaatil pe bhi pyaar aagaya

shukriya zindagi, shukriya zindagi

teri mehrbaaniyan, teri mehrbaaniyan

aaj kismat yahan humko laaye toh hai

ek lamha sahi muskuraaye toh hai

shamma bhuji hai toh kya gila

bhujta wohi hai joh tha jalaa

shukriya zindagi, shukriya zindagi

teri mehrbaaniyan, teri mehrbaaniyan

The greatest place of wonder

     "Most people in their lives are ever seeking the external, the perfect relationship, experience, job, place, etc.  As a culture it is taught to seek fulfilment outside the self.

     Of course being physical places you in a culture where survival is determined by the amount of physical abundance one has acquired.  This is not something disagreed with.  It is important to feel safe and secure in your environment.  The concern lies with where one looks to find this abundance.

     Much has been said of late about the ability to create what one wants through their thoughts.  It is interesting that most move directly towards material things before seeking alignment with their soul.

     Having said that, we reiterate the concept of thought creating reality.  The way to abundance does not begin externally.  It begins in that place of wonder called your soul. 

     If one discovers the beauty and power there, the reality will align its self.

     Seek then a relationship with your soulful energy.  It will lead you to the next place of wonder.... "abundance". Someone once said, money does not grow on trees.  Abundance, however, grows within you and will manifest according to the energy of your soul and your internal relationship with it.

     There is no greater place of wonder."

- excerpt from Inner Whispers by Venonica

Zen and the art of car driving (in India) - 1

-ONE-

Yes, yes, I went and bought a car. That too a brand new one. Silky silver. The reaction to this has been varied. Some people said, ‘Wow!" Most seemed happy, but my friend in New Zealand put it all into perspective. She said, “Jolly, I’m amazed you bought a car”. She should know. She's travelled widely in India and knows that traffic = chaos here. Another friend in NZ said, “Good for you with the car, you really are a strong person”. That was kinda perplexing. She has never been to India so I’m still trying to figure out the connection. Maybe she thinks that cars in India don't have power steering. Mum said, ‘What colour is it?” Gosh, Mum, now I have a vehicle capable of causing death and destruction and you are enquiring about the colour? Mum does make profound statements like that sometimes.
Lesson one - don’t take yourself or your acquisitions seriously and don’t lose perspective.

Well, step one over, the next challenge is to drive it. Hardly a challenge one would think for someone who has been zipping up and down highways in NZ at well past the speed limit, except for one small detail. This car has a clutch pedal. Never would I have thought that an insignificant looking piece of metal, less than 6 inches in length could make such a difference to my life. Or would turn driving from a pleasant meditative experience to a harrowing lesson in concentration and coordination. Yet, a challenge is a challenge and in order to tackle it I get myself an ally. Called Ismail. My self-appointed driving instructor.
Lesson two - when God gives you challenges, he also sends help. Sometimes it just materialises on your doorstep.

So driving lessons begin in ernest. At early hours of the morning. Too early for my protesting body clock to handle. So half-asleep and irritable, I try to solve the difficult enigma called the manual transmission and for the first time in my life I wish I was rich. Rich enough to buy an automatic transmission car. Yes, my angst is so great that when Ismail (he must have an especially large cruel bone) points out passing automatic cars, I almost drool with desire. Yes, yes, I keep reminding myself, (after the car has stopped again in the middle of the road), if 10th-fail taxi drivers can do this, so can I, after all it’s just a matter of making the left foot-brain connection. My poor left foot who for so long has relaxed comfortably against the car carpet rousing itself into action to render some foot-tapping accompaniment to zesty music is now being put through the drill of having to constantly ‘clutch dabaa ke 1st gear mein daalo’. Or to get even more scientific, my poor right brain who for so long was given to writing rhapsodies about the silken smoothness of petals silhouetted against summer skies has now got to frantically descramble stimuli coming thick and fast from all over the place and send messages to my left foot to not forget that there is a vital ‘under-6 inch’ piece of metal and to not (for the nth time) release it in first gear. Or even more important - to depress it while changing gears.
Lesson three. There exists a vestigial right-brain---left-foot connection which had been lying unconnected and dormant for long (or maybe holidaying in Greece) and which needs to be reconnected (holiday cut-short) pronto and on the double.

In my solitary moments I secretly think that Ismail is too much of a first gear enthusiast. In fact I think he’s obsessed with it. Else why would he spend so much time teaching me something that is used only while starting the car? Wait, he tells me ominously, wait until you start driving in traffic, then you’ll remember all your first gear lessons. I nod my head in great doubt. But in spite of his obsession with the first gear, this Ismail is quite a character, chatty and friendly and philosophical. It is easy to get talking to him and the topics of our conversations are wide-ranging. In fact we get into such deep discussions that I even begin to suspect that I am taking so long to master the first gear because my mind is focussing more on the topic on discussion rather than the topic under foot. One day I ask him if his wife wears a burkha. ‘Yes, it is said she must in the Koran.’ I digest that for a bit. Then, just out of curiosity, ‘is your wife good-looking?’ I’m thinking, why would anyone want to cover up a plain-looking woman? ‘It says so in the Koran’, is his stoic answer. ‘No, no,’ I protest, wondering what the connection is, ‘I’m not asking about the Koran, I’m asking if she looks good’. ‘I don’t know, but it says so in the Koran’. This parrot-like repetition irks me a bit so I say with some exaggerated patience, ‘Ismail, forget the Koran, what has the Koran to do with your wife’s looks, just tell me how she looks.’ ‘Parwah nahi’, he says. His tone has suddenly changed from open friendliness into stony coldness. I am stunned into silence, so stunned am I by the indifference in his voice that I take my eyes off the road and look at the closed indifference etched in his body language. Suddenly, the clutch pedal looks so much easier to handle, so much more amenable to reason than people’s attitudes.
Lesson four. Car mechanics, any mechanics, laws of physics, laws of pure science, all clean, all manageable, maybe tough to crack but easy to master. Laws made by man is another matter altogether.

------ to be continued --------

Poems from 'Udaan'

Lovely poems from a wonderful movie called 'Udaan'

Chhoti chhoti chitrayi yaadein

Chhoti-chhoti chhitrayi yaadein


Bichhi hui hain lamhon ki lawn par

Nange pair unpar chalte-chalte

Itni door chale aaye

Ki ab bhool gaye hain ki


Joote kahan utaare the.


Aedi komal thi, jab aaye the.


Thodi si naazuk hai abhi bhi.


Aur nazuk hi rahegi


In khatti-meethi yaadon ki shararat

Jab tak inhe gudgudati rahe.

Sach, bhool gaye hain

Ki joote kahan utaare the.


Par lagta hai,


Ab unki zaroorat nahin.

Jo lehron se aage nazar dekh paati toh ...

Jo lehron se aage nazar dekh paati toh tum jaan lete main kya sochta hoon,

Woh aawaz tumko bhi jo bhed jaati toh tum jaan lete main kya sochta hoon.

Zid ka tumhare jo parda sarakta khidkiyon se aage bhi tum dekh paate,

Aankhon se aadaton ki jo palken hatate toh tum jaan lete main kya sochta hoon.
Meri tarah khud par hota zara bharosa toh kuchh door tum bhi saath-saath aate,

Rang meri aankhon ka baant-te zara sa toh kuchh door tum bhi saath-saath aate,

Nasha aasmaan ka jo choomta tumhe bhi, hasraten tumhari naya janm paatin,

Khud doosre janam mein meri udaan chhoone kuchh door tum bhi saath-saath aate.

Aazaadiyan

Pairon ki bediyan khwabon ko baandhe nahi re, kabhi nahi re
Mitti ki parton ko nanne se ankur bhi cheeray, dheere dheere
Iraade hare hare, jinke seeno mein ghar kare
Woh dil ki sune kare na darre, na darre

Subah ki kirno ko rokein jo salaakhein hai kahan
Jo khayalon pe pehre daale woh aankhein hai kahan
Par khulne ki deri hai parinde udh ke choomenge
Aasman aasman aasman

Aazaadiyan, aazaadiyan
Maagey na kabhi, mile mile mile
Aazaadiyan, aazaadiyan 

Watch the 'aazadiyaan' song here

In essence

When I think of all the great poets, artists and other creative people down the ages and their creations, I realise that their creative expression is simply the purest expression of the Spirit. What is poetry but the pouring of Spirit into words and then taking form? Likewise, wouldn’t Spirit have ignited the imaginations of artists and moved their hands into creating works of awe-inspiring beauty. Similarly, we can look at ourselves and others and find pure expressions of Spirit. It could be the ability of someone to cook wonderful meals, or the simplicity of their nature, or their proclivity for going out of their way to help, or the mere sparkle in their eyes. It is all the Spirit showing through. From this point it would not be hard for us to see Spirit in everyone. If it is not immediately evident, it does not mean it is lacking, it only means that our vision could be clouded by prejudice and judgement. For aren't we all Spirit in essence ...

Mind Monkeynomics

"Throw out all you talking, concepts and words! After all, what is the mind? It is just the noise that goes on inside. With waking begins the chattering, and the talk goes on endlessly thereafter. This is your mind and you run after it"


- Nisargadatta, The Nectar of the Lord's Feet

Quote for today

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." - Confucius

Companionship

Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort, of feeling safe with a person. Having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pour them all out just as they are, chaff and grain together, and a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.  

 (George Eliot)

Know yourself

Leave aside all notion that you are a human being who has a body, mind, desires, fears and know yourself to be a being from another dimension, pouring yourself into little cups of life, now here, now there, but never confined to any, playfully tasting the flavours that each cup offers but never attached to any. Boundless, formless, that which gives life to life but is not life, that which gives intelligence but is not intelligence. That which cannot be quantified nor ascribed any quality. Here, but not confined to space. Present, but not confined by time. Know yourself as that which cannot even be named.

stillness ...

Only if you are utterly still can you hear the angels ...