What I was thinking about...

rivers

what i retain, dies.
i let go – and
everything flies free
thoughts people
words stuff
origami birds in the wind
yet - they sing
we all belong
to Life
like rivers
we are
tracers of the Earth
and
mirrors of the Sky

Let us be rivers who fly
above
the resistance to retain
things places
people moments
Let us be
ones who marvel
in Life
and hence never
ever
die.

Can we transform the world?

Someone asked me this question the other day. My answer was ‘yes’ without any hesitation.
I was just thinking: Well, I am only one out of the 7 billion people living on this planet, but I am still a part of the world, however small!! And when I transform myself, the world automatically transforms, because I am a part of it.
Also, when I transform myself into a cheerful, calm, gentle, loving, peaceful and happy person just as Qazom described earlier, then people will notice that I have something they haven’t got and will observe me closely. That is going to be another opportunity to transform the world, by being an example.
And my final thought on how we can transform the world when we transform ourselves is by making our thoughts so positive and powerful and by sending good wishes and pure feelings to the world.

So when we transform ourselves, the transformation of the world becomes inevitable!

Stocking for the rainy days

If one lives in London one should never complain about the weather, bad weather is one of the 'givens' of this wonderful city. OK, it is supposed to be spring now, I know. I guess everyone knows too -- and maybe this is why everyone is talking about the weather in such bad mood. Or they're just in a bad mood, period.

A couple of weeks ago, the sun was shining until 9pm, everyone was outdoors, they all had smiles on their faces... like a caterpillar into a butterfly, everyone was 'colourful' and happy. This has all changed, as the weather has. As I rushed out of the rain under the canopy of the bus stop today, a man miserably announced: "tomorrow will rain as well". And turned away. I began to wonder how come we all stock so little sunshine inside of us!

How can a few rainy days (or a few unexpected and undesired events) wipe out all the happiness from us? Are we meant to be fluctuating like plastic bottles on a tide? This feeling of being at total mercy of circumstance does not seem right to me. So I have decided to work on my "sunshine stock", i.e., to cultivate positive feelings, to store inner warmth, to shine pure, vibrating energy, to be above the dark clouds that appear in life. And to be in a good mood, period. Come rain or come shine!

Are these your keys?

If God gave me the keys to peace, love and happiness and then I gave them to you (a copy of course), would you use them or admire them?

Ok so here they are, to use at your own free will!

"Now what?" I hear you say. Experience: Go within....become quiet - still, observe your thoughts, let go of everything and....use the keys - remember they were given to you to use, you're worth it! Try this: Walk it - you can walk cheerfully, calmly, gently Talk it - you can talk lovingly, peacefully and happily Share it in all that you do - just keep it flowing and keep going How do I know they work: Your mind will become free - calm at first, it will then get lighter and lighter, eventually you will fly it's a guarantee. (Spiritually speaking) Warning: Beware not to get side tracked or make excuses for not using them. Keep the attention on using them and not on what's happening out there.

Sold your soul to the devil?

I met up with a friend of mine during the weekend. I have not seen her since we graduated from university. During our conversation, she blurted out, "I've sold my soul to the devil." I asked, "What do you mean?" She replied, "Since I started working I found it hard to keep to my vegetarian diet and I went back to eating some meat again. I'm progressing so well with my career that all I do now is working day and night. I know my colleagues better than I know my family and most of all I'm unhappy and I don't like myself. But I'm doing this for a few more years and I'm out of here." My heart goes out to her after hearing her story for she has to battle each day with her so-called-devil and her conscience.

When we lose our principles and values that we hold so dearly in life, it feels as if "we sold our soul to the devil" and yet it is a conscious decision we make. Once we strike a deal with "the devil" - it takes a lot of courage and clarity of mind to back out from the deal.

I'm not willing to sacrifice my happiness over a few more papers and bricks and yet I can't choose to ignore the fact I have a family to look after and stomachs to feed. The key is to learn the art of balancing our outer life with our inner life. There are many clips of moments in our lives for taking time out (while waiting for the bus / train, in the bathroom, waiting for the computer to boot up, washing the dishes but we choose to fill the gaps with our ipods and tv...) - touching base with what is real inside and true for us is essential in creating the space for us to not get caught up with routines or the rat race...

wings and friends

There’s a story about a butterfly that wanted to come out of its cocoon. A man saw it and wanted to help the struggling poor little thing to come out of a tiny hall on the cocoon. He did, the butterfly was happy but somehow it couldn’t open its wings and stayed like that forever. His intention was good but it didn’t help the butterfly to grow. What he didn’t know was in order for the butterfly to complete its growth and fly, it needed to go through that tiny hall so that the liquid around the hall would stick on its wings and make them strong.

I saw myself as the butterfly. Sometimes we feel happy when we ask and get something we need from other people because it is much easier than doing it ourselves, like giving encouragement or respect. But there are friends who are real and they give you what you need, not what you want. You see the bigger picture later on, how they empowered you without you realising it although you might be disappointed with them because they didn’t give you what you wanted.

I said to myself: Be a true friend, love your real friends and win the race of loving yourself before anyone else does!!

“Poor me” attitude

Sometimes we tend to fall into a “Poor me” feeling and feel sorry for ourselves, especially on a grey day.
The other day I saw a man without a leg on a bike. He had enthusiasm and courage to remain active and independent even though he was missing something most of us take for granted. However, he didn’t seem to feel as if he was missing something, he was out there, travelling just like all other people… Then I realised that he doesn’t really need to feel any different from the others. We are all souls! His soul is not damaged, it is his body that is damaged.

Only when we identify ourselves with our body do we feel damaged when the body is damaged.

A Flower Is An Educated Weed

I was taking a walk in a garden with someone who loved her garden...and it was a beautiful garden...she tended to her garden daily. As she pointed out to all the beautiful flowers, we passed by some weeds and she said 'weeds are just plants growing in the wrong place'.

I immediately thought about the weeds in my mind...sometimes we carelessly scatter seeds (thoughts) in our mind, holding onto thoughts that are no longer useful to us, not valuing the garden of our mind and so weeds begin to grow. Using both wisdom and love I can know when, where and what seeds to plant in my mind...and as I discover the weeds in my mind let me not reject them but with compassion, transform them.

~a weed is but a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered~
~a weed is but an unloved flower~
~a flower is an educated weed~

Itch itch and scratch scratch - guess what?

*sneeze* *sneeze* It is spring time now and summer is coming, and I'm starting to suffer from the infamous hayfever. Itching eyes and running nose are taking residence of my body. It is during spring time where one is supposed to enjoy the sun and the growth of life. However this comparison came to mind, that we can be compared to being walking 'pollen' dispensers! We leave our mark wherever the wind (i.e. life) takes us, leaving seeds in people's hearts. We can distribute either good or bad pollen. Bad 'pollen' causes a series of 'allergies' to be set off, not only in ourselves but also to others. Our actions, behaviour, words, smile and body language all leave an impression in people's hearts. So why can't I be the good 'pollen', who plants seeds of smiles, kind words and wisps of niceness deep into the hearts of many? Is causing allergies just a behavioural pattern that we have acquired or have we been pre- programmed to?

Nothing is impossible!

"I have plans that are unbelievable, but then wanting to be a guitar player seemed unbelievable at one time." - Jimi Hendrix

It seems that all that is needed in order to succeed is to believe that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.

Make a plan and go for it, the success is yours!

Spiritual Investment

There are good and bad investments. When it comes to investing our money or our savings we are relatively careful. We read about the investment we are interested in and weigh up its risks versus its returns. When we invest properly the return could be many times more than...However when we make a bad investment we not only lose our initial capital but we might also end up in debt.

This also applies to us spiritually. We reap what we sow. We have to be aware of how we invest our energy and thoughts. I have found that when I invest my thoughts positively everything seems to go my way. In contrast, when I start having wasteful or negative thoughts my 'spiritual bank account' goes down quickly and before I know it I am left in a pickle.

So, let me invest my thoughts and energy carefully, beginning by paying attention to my thoughts and by checking my account of thoughts regularly. Where did my thoughts go a minute ago? Were they wasteful or positive, necessary or unnecessary?

Have you ever heard of 'clever' spiritual businessmen? - let you and me be one.

Just Be : )

I'm a human being, pleased to meet you?
Are you a human being or a human doing?

A do do do, a da da da - that's all I have to say to you........

I was thinking to myself, just be content!
Let's change the song. Stop the record!

A be be be - that's all I have to say to you!

Yes do do do, and while you do, be be be!!!!!

Be happy
Be content
Be light

Be - you can't loose anything - yet, you find everything in abundance!

Just Be : )

Be a STAR!

“All the world is a stage…” - William Shakespeare.

If the world is a stage, then we are all actors and we all have our own roles.
Do you ever get tired? Well, if you get tired it means you are not playing. Remember? Roles are to be played and not lived!
Play your role and enjoy it.

Be a STAR!

a peaceful room of your own

Here is a commentary for busy minds. Imagine having a peaceful room of your own in the middle of a busy street in London! Sounds great!

I am standing in the middle of a busy street… There are people every where, traffic and noise… I see some steps and walk up them… I look back and I see the scene slightly from above… It looks different… I continue to climb up… I come to a door and I open the door… There is a long corridor… I go through the door and I close it behind me… The noise is blocked…
I walk down the corridor… The noise recedes… There are doors on both sides of the corridor but I don’t go through any of them… Then I see a door that I want to step through… It opens into a very simply decorated room…sunlight from above…
a gentle breeze is coming into the room…the carpet is very soft… In the centre of the room there is my favourite chair… I sit on the chair… breathing out all tension… There, I feel totally comfortable... This room is mine alone… This is my retreat… All my worries melt away… I absorb the silence, stillness and peace… I capture that experience and hold on to it……. I gently stand up and look around with appreciation, because it is my space…
I go back to the corridor… walk down……… I am back in the street now……… I feel such a different feeling now, because of that inner experience.

As you practice this visualisation, it becomes so real that you could just go there and reconnect with that experience.

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.

Angels

I was toying with the idea of angels. Surely they are not beings with wings and halos... but people who sparkle. People who inspire through divine actions. People who have pure, kind, generous feelings -- those who are light. Imagine the uniqueness of the thoughts, words and actions of angels! Imagine making that visible in you... fly!

Happy Measure

The BBC has put together a six-part series on what it could be that makes us happy. I was reading about it over the weekend and found this article rather intriguing, click on the link below to see the full article.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/happiness_formula/4783836.stm

We all seek happiness in everything we do – hoping that the bigger house or the better job or the better partner will make us happier. We all know that physical things are just temporary and yet we seek these things to make us happier. This happiness perishes with these perishable things. So where do we find imperishable happiness i.e. spiritual happiness? From deep within ourselves. Here no-one is the source of my happiness or sorrow - only myself. So let me start counting my blessings and enjoying the present… Join me!

Time?

To say "I don't have time" to something that I consider to be important is a lack of self-respect. Where am I spending my time? Can I honestly say that I am using my time in the best possible way? Actually, if I am using my time in a worthwhile way, there will never be the complaint "I don't have time". Wow, I have to learn this lesson :-)

BOL