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"Commitment is a decision."
Commitment is not just a simple act of wishing for something. Commitment is a decision to do whatever it takes.
You may wish to be in awesome shape. But, you won't succeed until you decide to put down the chocolates, get off the couch, and start exercising, regularly!
Yes, this is hard to hear, but that's what commitment is all about – deciding to put in the sweat and effort and sacrifice, to achieve the goals you hold dear.
The sweat and effort may come from your head, as in commitment to your workplace or achieving your goals. It may come from your heart, as in commitment to a relationship or your children.
But, wherever it comes from, it requires a decision not only to start, but persevere. Remember, the rewards you seek are priceless, and worth every moment of dedicated effort.
©Jane Powell
 
FOLLOWING YOUR CALL
One man says it really happened. At the conclusion of his medical exam, the doctor asked him if he would please call in the next patient. So, he opened the waiting room door and called, "Mrs. Colchester, please." Then he left the doctor's office.
He had walked some distance along the street outside when he heard Mrs. Colchester's voice behind him, "Where are we going?"
She knew she was being called, but she misunderstood the intent. I wonder if she made it back in time for her appointment.
There are times I can relate to her. I, too, have experienced "callings" in my life, though mine have taken the form of callings to a certain vocation or a particular life-direction. And sometimes I've been confused about exactly where I am going when following that voice and just as uncertain about where I may end up.
It's an old-fashioned word, "calling." It can mean a profession or line of work. Or even a strong inner urge or impulse. In my case, callings have led me to dedicate myself to something I believed I was meant to do in life.
Oprah Winfrey says this about callings: "I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you."
It is a satisfying thing when we feel called to a worthy purpose. How beautiful (and how rare) it is to believe we are doing just the thing we're meant to do in this life. But is it realistic to think we must do THE ONE THING we were meant to do? How about doing ONE OF THE THINGS we are passionate about? Let me explain.
Consider a Swiss Army pocketknife. It is a multipurpose tool. It can cut, saw, file, snip and open up cans and jars. With it, one can turn a screw, pull out a splinter, pop the cork in a wine bottle and even pick one's teeth. (My advice: never leave home without one.)
You and I are more like Swiss Army knives than butter knives or steak knives. We can DO more than one thing. We can LOVE more than one thing. We can BE more than one thing. Likewise, we may be called to more than one thing.
Like Swiss Army knives, we have options. Ours is to discover those truly worthwhile things we feel led to do and be – things we love, that are life-affirming and deserve our best – and then to commit to them, to give ourselves over fully to them and pursue them with joy. That is what it means to be called. And that is how to make a life count.
But beware of this about callings: they may not lead us where we intended to go or even where we want to go. If we choose to follow, we may have to be willing to let go of the life we already planned and accept whatever is waiting for us. And if the calling is true, though we may not have gone where we intended, we will surely end up where we need to be.
It is like an adventure. Are you ready?
 Steve Goodier
 
Focused and relaxed
Focus intently on whatever you're doing, but not in a way that makes you uptight. Keep yourself relaxed about what you're doing, but not in a way that makes you careless.
Staying focused and staying relaxed do not have to oppose each other. In fact, they work extremely well together.
You can pay very close attention to what you do, while at the same time not letting it get you all wound up. You can truly relax and enjoy the task while also giving your very best to it.
Don't think of being focused and highly effective as being something you must fight and strive to attain. Think of it as an extremely fulfilling, natural state, because that's precisely what it is.
Give yourself permission to enjoy and to relax into a powerful, authentic focus. Feel how great it feels to calmly perform at your highest level.
Choose to stay highly focused and peacefully relaxed. And enjoy the experience of being your very best.
Ralph Marston




21valDollLOVE-is1
Rose! 
 
 
 

selfimage
"The witness of all things,
Awareness
Without action, clinging or desire.
Meditate on the Self.
One without two,
Exalted awareness.
Give up the illusion
Of the separate self.
Give up the feeling,
Within or without,
That you are this or that.
My child,
Because you think you are the body,
For a long time you have been bound.
Know you are pure awareness.
With this knowledge as your sword
Cut through your chains.
And be happy!
Ashtavakra Gita – The self
"Both praise and blame cause concern,
For they bring people hope and fear.
The object of hope and fear is the self -
For, without self, to whom may fortune and disaster occur?
Therefore,
Who distinguishes himself from the world may be given the world,
But who regards himself as the world may accept the world."
Tao Te Ching – Ch 13- The Self
Forgetting Ourselves
"The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism but to study ourselves. It is impossible to study ourselves without some teaching. If you want to know what is water, you want science, and scientist wants laboratory, and in various ways they may study what is water. So it is possible to know what kind of element water has, or when wind comes, what kind of form water takes, and what is the nature of water, but it is impossible to know water itself. It is same thing with ourselves. It is impossible to know what is "I." That is why we have teaching. By teaching we will understand what is ourselves. But teaching is not ourselves. It is some explanation of ourselves. So if you attach to the teaching, or to the teacher, that is big mistake. To study teaching is to know yourselves — through teaching you should know yourselves. So that is why we do not attach ever to the teaching, or to the teacher. The moment you meet a teacher you should leave the teacher, and you should be independent. So that you can be independent you want teacher. So you study yourselves. You have teacher for yourselves, not for the teacher."
From Zen Mind: Beginner's mind by Shunryu Suzuki- Ch 12.
"If you could rid of yourself just once,
The secret of secrets
Would open to you.
The face of the unknown,
Hidden beyond the universe
Would appear on the
Mirror of your perception."
-Rumi-
 
 Your Divine Brother
 DR.BK.Satyanarayan 
   

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**********************************                      
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Rukhsana-owner@yahoogroups.com 
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Are YOU the Master of Your Mind?
How many ways can you use the word 'mind'?  What's on your mind?  I just don't mind!  Never mind that.  Mind your self.  I have a mind to help them.  It's a question of mind over matter!  I was minded to take heed!  It's all in the mind. Mind how you go!
Are these uses or misuses of the word?  When such a word is used so loosely over time, not only is meaning lost, but it becomes harder to develop an accurate awareness and clear understanding of what some describe as our most precious faculty.   It isn't helped by the absence of any exploration of the workings of the mind during our formal education.  It's a rare school that has the subject 'what is the mind' on it's curriculum.  We were told and taught 'what' to think, but not 'how' to think.  No one was able to show us how to use the full capacity of our mind because no one was sure what it was ...exactly!  At school it's mostly mistaken for memory!
Yet we all know, from our own experience, that our mind is where everything 'happens'...first!  It's where we plan, create, envision and generate our responses to others.  It's the place in the inner space of our consciousness where we think things through.  Just as all our successes will begin in our mind, so all our stresses are shaped by what and how we think.  
Most of us are now aware of the mind/body connection.  Think 'tense thoughts' and you will feel it physically in places like your shoulder muscles, or perhaps an ache in the head!  Think 'worry thoughts' and your stomach will send you a message asking you to stop!  Think 'fearful thoughts' and you will notice 'the pump' in your chest start to work overtime.  Think 'angry thoughts' and certain areas of the skin will likely turn bright red and your blood will feel pressured...so to speak!
Restoring Mental Mastery
At a subtler level our thinking can trigger 'feelings' long before they reach the physical.  If we remember some previous loss, the memory shapes our thoughts which, in turn, trigger feelings of sadness.  If we see someone we know and recall making our self upset at what they said or did, we recreate the thoughts that trigger feelings of irritation or anger.  If we are asked to speculate on some future situation we need to be careful not to trigger a memory of a similar situation when we felt we had suffered.  That then shapes our thoughts which can become dark which, in turn, reproduces similar feelings of suffering.
Just about everything evolves through our mind, revolves around our mind and involves the use of our mind.  That's why it's useful to check your levels of mental mastery.  Is your mind doing your bidding or have you just surrendered to whatever arises, whatever is triggered, whatever arrives...in your mind?     Are you the master of your mind or a slave to what's on your mind?
For hundreds of years the primary practice for mental mastery has been the art of meditation.  Over time various forms of meditation have spawned many so called 'meditation techniques'.  This includes the currently popular way of mind management known as  'mindfulness', a form of 'attentive awareness' of what the mind is focused on at any given moment.  More recently the 'positive thinking/psychology' movement has arrived to teach us how to use our mind in consistently proactive and optimistic ways.  All are useful.  But perhaps the deepest is the art of meditation simply because meditation returns us to an 'inner space' that is prior to the mind, prior to thinking.  It is a state of consciousness where there is no need to think.  However, our thinking is shaped naturally there by the wisdom of our heart and the purest vibration of the energy of our consciousness which we know as love.  It's also in this deeper inner space that we find our most natural states of being known as inner peace and inner power. 
Levels of Reality
But it's not possible to be in and consciously remain in these states until the mind is understood and mastered in such a way that it doesn't get in the way!  That begins with three essential insights or 'necessary realisations':
1 You are not your mind.  You are a being of consciousness and one of the 'faculties' of you, the consciousness being, is the mind or thinking. 
2 The mind is like a window and a canvas.  It is the 'window' through which images of the physical world 'out there' come 'in here' to the non-physical awareness of consciousness i.e. you.  It can also be likened to a 'canvas' upon which you create 'thought forms' which can take the form of ideas, images, concepts, memories etc.  
3 There are five levels of reality linked to our mind - the first level of reality is the world 'out there' as in people and situations that are happening at all times, whether you are aware of them or not; at the second level are the particular aspects of world (people and situations) that you consciously 'select' and 'allow in' as images on the screen of your mind before you interpret them; the third is 'your interpretation' and 'thoughts about' those aspects that you have brought in; the fourth level is all the ideas, beliefs and memories that are already recorded within you and which you recreate, rerun, re-emerge from within by using your mind; and then finally there is the fifth level of reality which is 'you' the interpreter, the creator, the rememberer!  Cultivating a clear awareness and discernible difference between each of these 'levels of reality' is essential to mental mastery. 
In summary the five levels of reality are: (take a moment to see if you can see each level within your self)
1  The world as it is (without any selection or interpretation)
2  What you consciously focus on in the world before interpretation
3  Your interpretation of what you focus on
4  Your inner world of beliefs and memories (close your eyes and daydream/remember/judge the memory of another)
5  You (the one that is 'doing' all the above, the one who is creating the other four levels of reality!)
Each level of reality is valid but each is progressively 'more real' than the previous.  The most real reality is YOU, the being of consciousness that is allowing the world into and onto your mind! But this reality of YOU, the reality of the self, of the 'I' that says 'I am', is the reality that we all tend to be least aware of.  
Your interpretation of what you see and bring into your mind from the world out there is real for you, but of a lesser reality than YOU!  If you were to cease all interpretation then you would be an 'innocent' and you would probably appear to others as stupid!  From a state of innocence the reality we know as 'the world' would appear to be clean and clear. It is an awareness prior to any interpretation. But that kind of innocence is not advisable as the world 'out there' is filled with others who are not innocent, not clean and clear.  And we need to be able to discern and decide how to engage with that world, with them, in ways that are beneficial to the physical health of our body and to the wellness of our being!  For that we need not so much our mind, but our intellect.  It is our intellect that allows us to interpret and discern what's really 'going on' out there!  
Don't Get Lost in the Movie!
Becoming the master of your mind, with the ability to discern the different levels of 'reality', requires the practice of 'detached observation'.  This is also the main/primary step in the practice of meditation.  It is the practice of becoming aware of ones self as 'the observer' of everything.  It can be likened to sitting in the cinema but not losing the awareness of ones self as 'the viewer' of the changing colours and forms on the screen.  Not easy for most of us as we believe the whole point of going to the movies is to lose our self in the movie, to escape into the story being projected onto the screen.  
In meditation the self becomes aware that, 'I am simply observing whatever is happening on the screen of the mind'.  We mostly develop the habit of losing our sense of self in the images and events on the screen of our own mind, like we do when we watch a movie.  This is the moment when, what is known as 'attachment', happens.  The practice of meditation gradually restores your ability not to lose the awareness of being the watcher, the witness, the observer, of what is occurring on the screen of your mind.  
As a result you start to become aware of two things.  The first is a profound inner peacefulness that brings with it a feeling of stability and serenity.  The second is a growing awareness of your self as the master of your life, where before you had more a sense of being at the mercy of others and events.   
Auto Interpretation
During the process of developing this practice of 'detached observation' you will also start to notice how you automatically interpret whatever you see with your physical eyes, and feel with your subtle senses, according to previously formed beliefs and experiences.  You will notice how you are filtering everything people do and say through an inner lens made up of your beliefs and experiences.  This we know as 'perception'.  This is why we can all see the same scene, be meeting the same person, but have quite different 'interpretations' and therefore have quite unique experiences of the same scene and person.  In such moments we are creating our own reality of the scene and the person according to our own personal histories. 
The more you 'notice' this the more you will become aware of your own biases and prejudices. The more you notice this the more your thinking will slow and occasionally, for some moments, even stop. Eventually you will be able to maintain the awareness of 'the self' as seemingly quite separate from the world AND from any interpretation of the world.  That's when you will start to restore your ability to meet others and engage with others freshly, cleanly, free of what we sometimes call the 'baggage' of our past.  
This of course is not so easy to do deliberately just because it sounds like a good idea in theory.  Many people try to 'do this' but struggle because they are trying to implement and achieve an 'ideal'.  But ideals are not real! At least they are not as real as the reality of you! Being the real you, free of the habit of losing your self in what's on your mind, will not be possible until the practice of 'detached observation' is mastered.  Only then will you start to notice how your past experiences, your previously learned, assimilated and formed beliefs, which are just subtle attachments within your consciousness, are interfering and skewing your perceptions and interpretations of the world and others around you.
This is why it is said, 'your perception is your reality'.  As long as we are filtering everything through our own personal experiences and previously create beliefs we will all see the world and people differently.  Hence the saying, 'I know I do not see the world the way it truly is, I know I see the world as I am!'
The practice of meditation and mindfulness are therefore essential to mental mastery i.e being the master of your first faculty which we call 'mind'.  
Being the Ocean
Here is a short meditation/contemplation which may help.  It uses the ocean as the metaphor for consciousness, a metaphor for you, the being of consciousness.
The rain drop falls in slow motion from a cloud in the sky
As it hits the surface of the ocean it creates ripples 
However the ripples do not ripple far across the surface, before they merge back into the ocean
The drop does not sink far beneath the surface before it merges fully with the ocean
Now sit quietly somewhere where you won't be disturbed
Relax your body
Become aware of your self being the being that animates and occupies the form of the body
Be aware of your self being aware of your self, as consciousness itself
You are the ocean
The 'surface' of you, the ocean, is your mind
The drop falling into your being and onto your mind is the world 'out there'
It's one piece of information, one image, one event
As it lands on your mind it creates ripples 
You 'feel' the ripples, you feel the impact of the world on your mind
They don't spread for far or long as they quickly merge into you
While the world as a drop of information (image/idea) penetrates 'into' your consciousness it is quickly merged within your being which, like the ocean, is vast and deep
You are only momentarily and superficially affected by the incoming 'drop' of information/image/idea
The peace, the stillness, in the depths of you, which IS you, remains completely undisturbed
Just as the depths of the ocean are undisturbed by a drop of rain on the surface
Even if the information coming into your mind is like a downpour of rain on the ocean, still it only touches the surface, before it is merged in the ocean
The ocean remains, in it's depths, undisturbed, always.
As you do
Being is Deep
Being the master of your mind means not living in your mind.  Whenever you are disturbed by something or someone 'in the world' it means you are living on the surface of your consciousness, in your mind.  Then, you are easily affected, disturbed and moved by what happens in the world.  You easily lose your peace, your serenity, your ability to be loving and caring, to be available for others.  Then you are not the master of your mind, you are the slave.  
Meditation is essentially the practice of living from the depths of you, from the depths of your consciousness.  From the depths of YOU you can see and you can receive the world as it comes into and onto your mind.  Yet, you are also able to remain calm and quiet, cool and peaceful, and therefore you are able to bring the wisdom of your depths, sometimes referred to as the wisdom of the heart, to bear as you consciously create your response to 'what's on your mind'!  
What's on your mind?  Right now! Can you see? You will have to come out of your mind to see.  But you'll have to be very attentive to see, as what you see will instantly dissolve into insignificance when you return to the depths of you!
The world has enough surfaces.  The world awaits your depth!
Question: What stops you from being in and living from a deeper space within your self?
Reflection:  Contemplate the five levels of reality and find an example of each level from your experience during the last week?
Action:  Take five minutes every day and consciously detach your self from what is going on in your mind.  Notice exactly when you are pulled back into what's on your mind.


 
 Your Divine Brother
 DR.BK.Satyanarayan 
   



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Recent Activity:
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**********************************                      
Moderators Rukhsana Group:
Kazakhstani1303 & Mumtaz Ali.
Contact us at: kazakhstani1303@gmail.com
Rukhsana-owner@yahoogroups.com 
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Divine Help

Many times people report the feeling of divine help and strength when they come close to breaking point. Actually divine help is always there, but I am usually so busy doing things in my own little way that I only look for it when I face absolute defeat. The tranquil nature of enlightened souls comes from their ability to take God's help constantly. A state of true surrender will lead to the feeling of victory in everything I do.
 
Internal Treasures:
Sometimes, we get offended or ill almost on purpose in order to receive special treatment. Out of a lack of self-esteem and insecurity, we depend on the appreciation and affection of the other, for them to value us, praise us and always to speak kindly to us. Even though they have given us many signs of appreciation, if for a few days they give us none, our inner world or our self-esteem collapses. We become dependent on what others do, or don't do, in relation to us, whether or not they nourish our self-esteem, and then what happens? We are always waiting for the other to give us something when in reality we can give it to ourselves.

Spirituality makes us experience our internal treasures of bliss, happiness, love and power. It makes us aware that we are gives, emitters and radiators of these qualities rather than takers. This consciousness helps us rise up above the above discussed dependencies and remain seated, stable on our throne of self-respect.
 
Internal and External Attachments

Attachment can be on two levels - either internal or external.

Some common examples of external attachments are attachments to:

* people,
* objects,
* your physical body,
* your position or role in your family, society or in your professional field,
* money,
* places,
* physical comfort/comforts,
* the way you look or dress up or carry yourself or your physical personality in general,
* a particular skill/skills,
* a particular interest or hobby like watching movies, online social networking, etc.
* your routine or a certain way of working at home or at the workplace,
* respect from others,
* how people see you or behave with you or what they think of you, etc.

(To be continued tomorrow...)
 
Soul Sustenance

Meditation – The Art of Thought Training

There is a common impression that meditation means to empty the mind of all thoughts in order to experience the stillness or peacefulness of the mind. The mind is not to blame for our existing distress or confusion. It is really only a screen upon which thoughts are projected. The waywardness and naughtiness of the mind is due to the quality of thoughts that arise in it and not due to some problem inherent in the mind itself.

Though this emptying of the mind may bring temporary relief, it's not a natural part of living to have no thoughts. Instead, the mind has to be trained to create the types of thoughts that lead to harmony and peace. Thus, each session of Raja Yoga meditation (as taught by the Brahma Kumaris) can be seen as one of thought-training in a similar way to a tennis player who, seeking perfection, practices his serve, back-hand and volley in order to improve them.

Meditation is the journey towards soul-consciousness and god-consciousness guided by the use of the thoughts created in the mind and the deep and inner memory of the original and basic state and virtues of the soul. I first have to withdraw my attention from all outer circumstances and direct it within towards inner dialogue.

Message for the day

To be an embodiment of power is to be free from effort.

Projection: When we are faced with a difficult situation we usually try to make our mind positive at that time, but we find it very difficult to do so. We then give up making effort thinking that we don't have the power to change our nature. We continue to work with the weakness and strengthen it further.

Solution: In order to win over our weakness we need to become an embodiment of power. For this we need the practice of a long time of being powerful so that we experience the power within. Then the power that we want at that time will emerge naturally. Like a master we'll be able to order our inner powers and be free from the effort of changing negative to positive. 

 
 Your Divine Brother
 DR.BK.Satyanarayan 
   

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
Enjoy your stay at Rukhsana Group.
**********************************                      
Moderators Rukhsana Group:
Kazakhstani1303 & Mumtaz Ali.
Contact us at: kazakhstani1303@gmail.com
Rukhsana-owner@yahoogroups.com 
**********************************                      
.

__,_._,___
 
__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
Enjoy your stay at Rukhsana Group.
**********************************                      
Moderators Rukhsana Group:
Kazakhstani1303 & Mumtaz Ali.
Contact us at: kazakhstani1303@gmail.com
Rukhsana-owner@yahoogroups.com 
**********************************                      
.

__,_._,___
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
美丽的鸟儿
 
 
美丽的鸟儿
 
 
美丽的鸟儿
 
 
美丽的鸟儿
 
 
美丽的鸟儿
 
 
美丽的鸟儿
 
 
美丽的鸟儿
 
 
美丽的鸟儿
 
 
美丽的鸟儿
 
 
美丽的鸟儿l
 
 
 

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
Enjoy your stay at Rukhsana Group.
**********************************                      
Moderators Rukhsana Group:
Kazakhstani1303 & Mumtaz Ali.
Contact us at: kazakhstani1303@gmail.com
Rukhsana-owner@yahoogroups.com 
**********************************                      
.

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