Author: tejvan

The Source of Happiness

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Happiness is an elusive bird that we all wish to catch. Consciously or unconsciously we are striving for happiness in both our inner and outer lives; but, what is that really gives us happiness? If we can know the source of permanent and abiding happiness we can help to make it a reality.

Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

– Nathaniel Hawthorne:

Self Giving

It is a tendency of the mind to feel that happiness is in the fulfilment of our desires and pleasing our self. However, when we pursue our own selfish interests, happiness remains strangely elusive. Through self giving we can learn the real art of happiness. Self giving is an unconditional offering to others. Through self giving we enlarge our sense of self; self-giving helps us to identify with a larger, vaster consciousness. It is through self giving that we can learn the true meaning of oneness with others. Oneness is another name for love. If we feel others as part of our own self, is this not real love? It is this expansion of consciousness that is a source of abiding happiness. It is not the selfish human love that demands and expects from others.

I am very happy
Because I have conquered myself
And not the world.

I am very happy
Because I have loved the world
And not myself.

– Sri Chinmoy

Peace of Mind

Peace of mind means that we are at peace with ourself. Peace of mind means that we are not striving and pushing to be something we are not. To have peace of mind we need to be able to control our thoughts; it is only our own thoughts that can rob us of peace mind. If we depend upon the appreciation and respect of others, we will never have peace of mind. To make peace of mind a permanent reality we need to control our thoughts and think of others, not just our own self.

Gratitude

Gratitude is cheerful acceptance. Gratitude brings to the fore our best positive qualities. If we can have a sincere feeling of gratitude for even the smallest of events we are taking the positive cheerful frame of mind. If we have no gratitude we develop a feeling of self sufficiency. This self sufficiency creates feelings of both pride and insecurity. Gratitude is the most effective remedy for these emotions. In gratitude we give due value to others and also the natural wonders of the world.

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Sri Chinmoy 1931 – 2007

Sri Chinmoy

Sri Chinmoy, my spiritual teacher, and the inspiration of this blog passed away yesterday, October 11th 2007. He was aged 76, and was fully active until the moment of death.

Sri Chinmoy dedicated his life to the service of others and striving for a world based on harmony, peace and understanding.

Press Release on the Passing of Sri Chinmoy

At the moment, it is hard to put in words the gratitude I feel for his remarkable example and inspiration.

His death was quite unexpected, and naturally he will be missed by his many friends, and disciples.

 

This is an article I wrote recently, – Should we be afraid of death?

Note:

There will be a temporary break in posting to this blog.

10 Tips To Get out of a Rut

macchu piccau

If you find yourself stuck in a rut, life can become monotonous, dreary and uninspiring. It is easy to feel life is going nowhere, especially if we have problems at work or with family. To bring newness into our lives we need to first realise that we are actually stuck in a rut. After that we can make a conscious decision to rejuvenate our lives.

Here are some Practical Tips to Get out of a Rut.

1. Set Challenges

Personal challenges are a very powerful way of motivating yourself to do something new. If there is no target it is easy to make a half-hearted effort and give up. However, when we have something very clear to aim for, it is much more likely we will actually make something happen.

2. Focus on the Present Moment

Do you spend alot of time regretting the past? Everyone makes decisions they later regret, but, if you become consumed with regret you will not be able to move forward and forget the experience. Don’t be preoccupied with the past and future, try to enjoy the present moment.

3. Do Without Some Everyday things

It is easy to get into a routine where we spend several hours doing the same uninspiring activities. If you are addicted to watching TV, surfing the net or playing computer games, make a decision to do without them for a day or week; this will force you to do something completely different. This does not mean you have to give up watching TV completely. It is just that if we become totally absorbed in one activity, it leaves no opportunity for discovering newness in our life.

4. Learn a new Skill

There are many things that we could use to improve our life. Learning a new skill gives us the opportunity to find a new avenue for creativity and inspiration. In the process of learning we can get a feeling of self improvement. This is the best antidote to being stuck in a rut.

5. Do Something for Other People

When we live only for our own pleasure, there feels something lacking. When we do something selflessly for other people, we bring out the best in ourselves. Offering useful service to other people is highly rewarding.

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Simple and Practical Ways to Live a Better life

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    • Listen to the promptings of the heart a little more, and listen to the complaints of the mind a little less.

      • O my mind,
      You talk too much!
      Do follow my heart
      That lives in silence.

      – Sri Chinmoy

    • Value Inner Peace above all other desires. – If we have inner peace we will be content no matter how many material possessions we have.
    • Be a good listener. Don’t always talk about Yourself.
    • Don’t expect from other people. If you expect from other people you will be disappointed at some time.
    • Be willing to do things without demanding recognition. It is only the ego that wants recognition.
    • Think of others more than you think of yourself. Self-giving is the secret of happiness.
    • Avoid acting or speaking when angry or upset. If you wait your mood will improve and you will avoid regretting it later.
    • Be Tolerant of Others. People are trying in their own way to do the right thing.
    • Don’t try and do two things at once. If you are with someone, give your whole attention to them, – don’t be planning how to pay your gas bill.
    • Don’t Try to Impress Others. There is no need.

      • “When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”

      – Lao Tzu Continue reading “Simple and Practical Ways to Live a Better life”

    Positive Thinking: Its Benefits and Limitations

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    We often hear the mantra that positive thinking is a key to our success and happiness. – It is true that thoughts are of crucial importance in shaping experiences in our life. But, what do we actually mean by positive thinking? When is positive thinking helpful and when is it a hindrance?

    What Positive Thinking is Not.

    1. Expecting that thoughts alone can bring success.

    Good thoughts are important for success. But, Edmund Hilary didn’t climb Mount Everest, just by thinking about it. Combine positive thinking by taking practical steps. Don’t just dream – Act.

    2. Ignoring our Weaknesses

    We need to develop self confidence and belief in our capacities. But, this should not be mistaken for pride and arrogance. If we feel that we are always right, this is a real mistake. This is not so much positive thinking as arrogant wishful thinking. We need to combine self-confidence with a quiet humility.

    3. Expecting People will Behave in a Certain Way

    Positive thinking should not assume that we can change someone’s nature just through positive thoughts. We should avoid magnifying people’s weaknesses, but, it is a mistake to feel that we can change someone’s nature through positive thinking. In practise we will always be disappointed. Positive thinking can be used to offer goodwill to others, but, do not expect fundamental change from others.

    4. Desire for Great Riches through positive Thinking

    George Bernard Shaw said there are 2 tragedies in life “One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it” If we feel positive thinking is repeating a mantra like ” I will be rich, i will have loads of money” – Maybe we will get money; but, is this what will give us abiding satisfaction? Positive thinking should be used for our self improvement and not our self aggrandizement

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    What is Personal Development?

    blue boat

    Personal development is our conscious self-improvement and self-transcendence. It is the aspiration to realise our higher self

    The process of Personal development involves several aspects:

    • Transcending our Negative Qualities.

    We all have negative qualities such as pride, anger and doubt. Personal development is a conscious effort to reduce and minimise these qualities by focusing on the positive aspects of life.

    • Controlling Our Thoughts.

    Control of our thoughts is essential for our own development. If we allow ourselves to be at the mercy of our own thoughts, we cannot hope to minimise our negative qualities and bring our good qualities to the fore. Meditation is the best way to cultivate a silent mind.

    • Self-Transcendence.

    Self-Transcendence is the art of going beyond our own self-imposed limitations. This means we aspire to reach new goals and not to be satisfied with what we were in the past.

    • Intuition.

    Personal development means we learn to listen to the inner voice – our inner pilot. The messages of our inner voice can only be heard with a silent mind. This inner inspiration comes not from our ego, but our Soul.

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    10 Effective Ways To Clear Out Your Clutter

    Japanese Garden

    Is your workplace is surrounded by useless stuff and clutter that you find difficult to get rid of? If you have been planning to unclutter your room, these are some tips to make sure you can actually do it.

    1. Do I need it? Is it Beautiful?

    Do you really need the item? Is the item of intrinsic beauty? Even by just asking these questions we can help to decide whether we really need it. The problem is that often we accumulate things, without questioning whether we really need them. Go through each item, if you cannot justify its use then get rid without any qualms.

    2. Start with Nothing and add only what you need.

    Another very effective way to remove unnecessary clutter is to start from scratch. Rather than looking at things to throw away, imagine the room was completely bare, and then only add what you really need. This is a great way to decide whether a thing is of practical importance or just there out of habit.

    3. Beauty in Simplicity

    To get rid of clutter you should try and keep in your mind a vision of a better alternative. If you have something to aspire for, it will become much easier to throw things away. If you really value the beauty of simplicity then it will be effortless to make this a reality. Look at catalogues of dream houses, in these “show piece settings” you won’t see piles of old newspapers, unwashed coffee cups and piles of dirty laundry.

    4. Don’t be Overly Sentimental.

    Do you really need to keep your school notes from Grade 5? – It’s not as if you were any good at Maths anyway. Unless you are likely to reread elementary geometry in the next 12 months, you can probably chuck out these painful memories of old school days. This doesn’t mean you have to throw everything away. Do keep things of great sentimental value, but don’t feel guilty about not keeping everything.

    5. Choose top 10 Items

    If you have difficulty throwing ornamental things away, why not try making a list of just your favourite top 7 or top 3 items? This forces you to be ruthless and only keep the things that you really want.

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    How To Gain Control of Your Own Thoughts

    setting-sun

    Quite often we find ourselves with many negative thoughts going through our mind. These trains of thoughts can become very powerful as we endlessly repeat them in our mind. The problem is that that the more we focus on the thoughts, the more powerful they become. Therefore, it can become very difficult to stop these endless cycles of thoughts.

    However, it is definitely possible and these are a few tips to control our thoughts.

    1. Make a conscious decision to Stop the thoughts

    The problem is that sometimes we attach ourselves to certain ideas and problems, and we subconsciously get a kind of pleasure from going through a certain problem / issue. If we subconsciously keep inviting the thoughts, we will never be able to stop them. Therefore, the first stage is to make a clear and conscious decision to stop the repetition of the thoughts. Be aware of their negative impact and don’t allow them to come any more. This conscious step is an indispensable stage in controlling our thoughts.

    2. Look upon the Thoughts as being Outside of yourself.

    When we first try to stop the thoughts, it seems very difficult because they feel such a strong part of our mind. Therefore, the second stage is to feel that the thoughts are separate to our self. When a thought appears in your mind, look upon the thought as coming from outside yourself. This is a very powerful way to reduce the impact of thoughts on our mind. Once we realise our thoughts are separate to ourselves it becomes possible to stop them.

    3. Who is it who listens to thoughts?

    This is a technique to try and discover the origination of your thoughts. Whenever a thought appears, just ask yourself, who is it who is thinking this? What we do is to try and discover the source of thoughts. Through asking this question we realise that there is an “I” which can decide to accept or reject thoughts. By asking this question we will be able to stop the thoughts as soon as they enter. You are not a victim of your own thoughts, it is you who either rejects or gives life to thoughts.

    4. Catch thoughts as soon as they appear.

    This exercise requires a determined effort on our part. We need to be vigilant and watch every thought that enters our mind. As soon as we see a negative thought enter, we must immediately discard it and refuse to follow it. The more we follow thoughts, the more difficult it becomes to stop them later. Therefore, it is best to catch them as soon as possible.

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    Best of September at Sri Chinmoy Inspiration

    Welcome to new readers, and thanks for subscribing to our RSS feed. These are some selected articles from Sri Chinmoy Inspiration and from other sites in September:


    Other Recommended Articles

    How to Avoid Procrastination

    allsouls

    Procrastination

    “To delay and put off doing what could be done now, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness. Often associated with feelings of guilt.”

    To some extent we all engage in procrastination, but, if we are not careful, procrastination can easily become a habit that we are not even aware of. Yet, when we procrastinate we in a state of limbo; neither enjoying a period of relaxation or gaining the satisfaction of achieving something.

    Why do We procrastinate?

    The first reason we procrastinate is that we aim for perfection, but feel this perfection is not possible for us to achieve. Because we want to attain perfection, we feel it is justified for us to wait until we are in a better frame of mind, or circumstances are more favourable. However, when we wait for circumstances to be “just right” we may never start at all. Related to this aim of perfection is the fear of failure, or fear of living upto our high expectations. Subconsciously we do not want to start, because we feel we will be embarrassed or let down by our achievements. This fear of failure can be exacerbated by concerns over what others may think. Therefore, rather than risk disappointment, we put off doing the task at all. Another reason for procrastination, is that we prefer to do things that are easier and more enjoyable. Procrastination is often most serious when we are completing our academic studies; there are many more enjoyable things to do than write essays. Procrastination is made even easier when we are working on the internet. Technology like the internet, gives us many options to spend time without much effort. Therefore, we can easily spend time, surfing the internet and checking email; these tasks are much less effort than doing something productive.

    Continue reading “How to Avoid Procrastination”