Individual Efforts

“The fruits of ones spiritual awakening are a blessing not only on ones own life, but on the world at large. ‘One soweth and another reapeth’, a reference to mass karma. Every person sows good or bad actions in the soil of his life, and not only does he himself reap the karmic harvest of those actions, but he make others reap them as well. If a person writes a degrading novel, all who read it reap the evil effects of the authors thoughts. The law of cause and effect operates in even subtler ways as well. The actions of each individual leave electromagnetic etchings in his brain, influencing his future actions; and they also leave vibrational traces in the ether, which register in and influence the minds of others.

In Mysore I visited a sandalwood factory; each piece of shaving of sandalwood contributes to the atmosphere of the whole place, and anyone who enters enjoys the wonderful fragrance. Similarly, when I come to our Self-Realisation Fellowship temples, there are so many good souls earnestly seeking God that I feel the spiritual vibration emanating from their collective goodness.

The overall quality and character of any community, any civilisation, is produced by mass karma, the accumulated effects of actions left in the ether by the populace in general. Each individual is responsible for contributing to the mass karma, which in turn influences every individual.

The person who keeps himself cleansed of all wrong vibrations produces a powerful uplifting effect on his contemporaries. One moon gives more luster than all the stars; so a mooned soul- one who purely reflects the light of God- can influence the masses much more than the masses influence each other. Thus, individual efforts can be even more important than mass karma. one who in every way tries to uplift himself, harmonising body, mind and soul with the Divine, creates positive karma not only in his own life, but in his family, neighbourhood, country and world. Hence it is not justified to say, ‘Thousands of people are misbehaving, so what does it matter if I am, too?’ No! The goodness of one soul may effectively neutralise the mass karma of millions.

Such was the accomplishment of Mahatma Gandhi: he brought freedom to 400 million people by his spiritual influence. He was scoffed at and spent many years in prison, but he still went on. Ultimately, his spirit of righteousness triumphed, and he became instrumental in freeing India by peaceful means. His life stands as a monumental example of the practical application of Jesus Christ’s doctrines. Because ones individual sowed goodness, millions reaped that goodness and freedom.

Each drop of water contributes to the existence of the ocean. So even if each ones life seems no more than a droplet in the sea of humanity, that life can have a significant influence. One who makes himself god-like automatically uplifts countless others on the divine path. One who makes himself evil demotes others from the spiritual plane by a negative effect on their potential weakness. He who has reformed himself has reformed thousands; for what one sows in the ether, by the vibrations of his thoughts and character, others will surely reap.”

~ Paramhansa Yogananda.

Man is a Marionette

“Gokarna says in the Shrimadbhagwatan: ‘This body is only flesh and bones; cease to be attached to it.’
This body is the vehicle and the Atman (Spirit) is the rider. Treat the rider separately from the vehicle. It is not easy to do so. It requires years of practice. We practice by thinking this is God’s property, not ours. The mind is God’s property, not ours; everything is Gods, and nothing is ours. In this way we free ourselves from all attachments, all constraints. Again, this concept is difficult for those who think that ‘I’ is the physical body.

A mahatma wished to live in complete solitude, in order that he could meditate undisturbed at all times. He recounted his wish to a rich man. The rich man had an isolated resthouse deep in the forest, rarely visited by mankind. He offered the resthouse to the Mahatma, and in addition provided a young servant to look after his comforts.
The young servant looked after his master so well that his heart was moved. He asked the young servant if he was content with his life, and if he could do anything to bring him happiness. The young man replied that he himself was content and happy, but he was afraid that his dead father had not achieved Self-Realisation as he was frequently appearing in his dreams. He asked the Mahatma for a remedy.
During the ensuing nights, the Mahatma was haunted by the problem of the young man’s father. One evening, the boy went to a neighbouring village to attend a marriage feast, telling the Mahatma that he would not return until the following morning. So the Mahatma locked up the house and went to bed. Now, the young servants bed was beside that of the Mahatma and lay empty. The mahatma’a mind was filled with the thoughts about the young mans father, and the failure to achieve Self-Realisation. He was quite unable to sleep in peace.
The marriage feast was over by midnight, so the boy returned to the house immediately instead of waiting until the morning. In the darkness he thought that the occupant must be the boy’s father (who had be haunting his son’s dreams because he had not achieved Self-Realisation). He recited holy mantras and sprinkled blessed water over the body, but the boy did not wake up as he was in so deep a sleep. Now the Mahatma became frightened out of his wits. He opened the window and jumped out in order to get away. In his haste he fell over with a heavy thud. The noise awakened the young servant. He chased after the Mahatma with a heavy staff thinking that he was a burglar escaping. Eventually they recognised each other before many blows were sustained, and the misunderstanding was cleared up.

In such a way, just a momentary thought stealing unconsciously into the mind, will make its home there; then it appears later at some inopportune moment to cause much mischief. Reels and reels of such thoughts from thousands of years (in many lifetimes) are lying imprinted in our minds. They will not let us have peace, unless we develop the same attachment towards God as we have towards the world.
Our desires (wishes) are like so many strings that pull us towards the world. (Mr Ouspensky: ‘man is a marionette pulled by invisible strings.’)
Let this pull be towards God, Instead of towards the world. The method is to think (see) that everything, including one’s physical body and mind, belongs to God. Whatever actions we do, including eating, drinking, reading, writing and looking after our duties, should all be dedicated to God.”

~ The Orange Book

A Journey

I have noticed recently that there are several random viewers from different parts of the world beginning to be more frequent. As well, I would hope, as those of you who like to read whenever you can. This being said, before going any further, if you enjoy this blog or have enjoyed any other blog you have read, please share the whereabouts with someone you know. This may not be easy, as many are not the slightest bit interested. But try, if you can.

The reason for this blog; I am about to depart for a weeks holiday in Tenerife with my beautiful family. As well as this journey I will be taking another one, of a different nature. I will be reading Paramhansa Yogananda’s ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’. For those of you who have heard of this book, or even read it, will know what I am speaking of. Those of you who haven’t. Make some practical use of the internet and google it!

I am sharing this information with you who read this to say that I will not come back from Tenerife the same person as I went away. I will have read one more book, seen 7 more sunsets, seen my sons smile countless times. What more is there to pray for?

When I return from my holiday, I will be sharing several insights from this great book, by this great man. And for those of you who are interested it will take you about 3 minutes to read them. Or roughly as long as it has taken you to read this. There will be a Yogananda category and a Kriya Yoga Category for you to Read, enjoy and share.

Have a Blessed week. Enjoy the ups and downs. But, first, form your opinion about this post.

10,000 hours

10,000 hours, or the equivalent of seven to ten years depending on intensity. According to research this seems to be the amount of quality time required to reach a high level of skill and can be applied to all areas of life. Composers, chess players, athletes, learning skill sets, and the like can all be seen in the light of this rule of 10,000 hours.

The number has something about it, especially when you think about what it entails to do just one thing for that amount of time. It has a magical or mystical resonance to it. It means that so much time- no matter the person or the field- leads to a qualitative change in the human brain.

The reason why all of us cannot reach this magic number which would lead to mastery of a thing, is the amount of effort required. To stick with one particular thing in this day and age is very rare, people seem to have attention fleeting from this thing to that thing, in a matter of minutes and hours. Add to thins the amount of resistance that one would come up against and it is very clear to see why there are so few masters living today!

To sum up: Concentrated practice over time cannot fail but produce results. This will only be significant to the minority, those of us who wish to achieve, and who aspire to evolve and be great. But, there is no reason why this cannot be realised this very day. Begin today. Become the perfect you!

You cannot produce anything worthwhile in this world unless you have first developed and transformed yourself!

Never, ever give up!

I came across this inspirational YouTube clip earlier today. I watched it and felt inspired to share it with everyone who reads or visits my blog. I urge you to share it as it really warms the heart and makes us realise that anything IS truly possible. If we only believe in ourselves and trust the process.

Take the time to watch this, you will not be disappointed!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bIXOo8D9Qsc

Attitude

For every circumstance there is a corresponding attitude toward that circumstance.

I will not list the various circumstances as this will be time consuming and unnecessary. But, for you, an individual, in the surroundings you find yourself right now will have a circumstance, and an attitude towards it.

Ask yourself. ‘What would be easier?’ To change my circumstances; job, home, relationship status, health, fitness etc.. Or to change my attitude. If you think sincerely to yourself without a hint of deceit you will realise that it is your attitude that is important!

And luckily for you and me and everyone else alive today, it is a relatively simple thing to change ones attitude. Far simpler than the time and effort it will take to recreate ones whole life.

In essence it is as simple as the phrase one would say to a small child; ‘turn that frown upside down.’ Be aware that conditions are fleeting, ephemeral and can change at any moment. Develop an optimistic outlook and know that things will improve, if that’s what you want of course.

The Dream

A man lay on his bed at the end of his life waiting to die.

His dream came to pay its last respects and to bid farewell to the man who had never used it. As it entered the room the man looked down in shame.

“Why did you not realise me?” the dream asked.

“Because I was afraid,” said the man.

“Afraid of what?” Said the dream.

“I was afraid I would fail”.

“But haven’t you failed by not attempting to use me?”

“Yes, I did, but I always thought there would be tomorrow”.

“You fool, said the dream, did it never occur to you that there was only ever today? The moment you are in right now? Do you think that now that death is here that you can put it off until tomorrow?”

“No.” said the man, a tear gently rolling down his cheek.

The dream was softer now, because it knew that there were two types of pain, the pain of discipline, and the pain of regret, and while discipline weighs ounces, regret weighs pounds.

Then the dream leant forward to gently wipe away the tear and said,” You need only have taken the first step and I would have taken one to meet you, for the only thing that ever separated us, was the belief in your mind that you couldn’t have me.”

Then they said goodbye, and they both died unfulfilled.

Karma

We are approaching a time of the year which calls us all to look back on our last 365 days we have experienced and make a resolution. To look inwardly and ask if the year unfolded as we would have liked it to. Did we lose the weight we set? Did we do the studies we thought we could, learn a language or simply read a few more books.. Ultimately to become a better person.

The following quote is about Karma. The principle that where you find yourself right now is exactly where you need to be. If it could be different then it would be. Every impression you received this year, every choice you made, thought you had, word you spoke. These things have brought you to where you are.

“Karma is the Law of Cause and Effect. Karma is the Ultimate Law of the Universe, the source, origin and fount of all other laws which exist through Nature. Karma is the unerring law which adjusts effect to cause, on the physical, mental, and spiritual planes of being. As no cause remains without its due effect, from greatest to least, from a cosmic disturbance, down to the movement of your hand, and as like produces like, Karma is that unseen and unknown law which adjusts wisely, intelligently and equitably each effect to its cause, tracing the latter back to its producer.”

Put simply, the universe will give you exactly what you put in. If you need to change something, then go and change it. Learn something, go and learn it. But do not expect it to come without resistance, the thing which most often stops us in our tracks. Push through the hardships and setbacks, knowing ultimately your life will change. It is a universal law. Once you understand it’s workings, everything is possible.

Don’t Idolise, Emulate

How we perceive the world will shape our experience of life. If we perceive it negatively, life will be negative. If we perceive it with a positive light, we will experience life in a positive way. These are elemental universal laws.

If we spend our time idolising stars, people with status, or blindly follow some Guru we will get left behind. Sitting on the couch idolising someone is no way to spend our days. But if one try’s to emulate someone who has achieved great things, be it in sports, politics, religious or spiritual matters or anything else. This is something we can all aspire to.

Think how amazing it will feel to spend the rest of your life aiming high and achieving greatness. And there is no waiting around. To emulate someone and be the best you can be starts now, this very day. If we wait for circumstances to be ‘better’ or ‘right’ we will never begin.

So get out of your armchair, plan you evening once you have finished work, take some time in your lunch break. But most importantly stop making excuses and idolising. The best feeling in the world is that of achievement. Achieving something you have set as a goal in the near or distant future will never get boring. Today is the only day you will ever experience, tomorrow never arrives. Always today, so start now!

The Mind and it’s Plasticity

“You must convince yourself of the following: people get the mind and quality of brain that they deserve through their actions in life. Despite the popularity of genetic explanations for our behaviour, recent discoveries in neuroscience are overturning long-held beliefs that the brain is genetically hardwired. Scientists are demonstrating the degree to which the brain is actually quite plastic- how our thoughts determine our mental landscape. They are exploring the relationship of willpower to physiology, how profoundly the mind can affect our health and functionality. It is possible that more and more will be discovered about how deeply we create the various patterns of our lives through certain mental operations- how we are truly responsible for what happens to us.”

~ Robert Greene.

I have shared many blogs on this subject. These can be found in the ‘mind’ and ‘positivity’ sections, and scattered elsewhere throughout the page. This quote summarises very well the recent scientific discoveries which are being made to help cement some of these ideas.

There are schools of thought such as positive awareness and affirmations, which many people will discount as nonsense. For me, even before finding this quote, through my own experience, I am a believer in these mental operations. It is my belief and I will pay little attention to the sceptics who will try to belittle these ideas.

Now over to you.. Maybe you are already aware of this concept. You have been practicing affirmation for years. Maybe you walk next to God on a daily basis.. But, if you find yourself in a place in life which is less than satisfactory to your individuality, begin right this second to change your surroundings. Re-read the quote at the top of the page and start to explore for yourself the relationship of willpower to physiology, and how the mind can effect our health and functionality.

Remember: No one else can do this for you. This is why it is so beautiful. We can talk about it all day long, and tell everyone about it. If we do not practice it often throughout the day we will have no results.