30 November, 2012

Chuang Tzu - The Tao For A Teacher

 

Equal in regards to the natural elements of being
and to the man made world,
the Tao of understanding is firmly rooted in the harmony of all.
Using the natural wisdom of the elements
leads a practitioner to the innermost core of the Tao,
whereas using the fault ridden wisdom of man
leads a practitioner to prematurely
die within the heart of the world.
You may be overly abundant in
the gains and losses of knowledge,
but that does not solve the problem of human existence.
Knowledge often being the product
of uncertainty and intellectual doubt,
human knowledge is as passing
as the flowering and wiltering of one season to the next.
Only a person who is imbued with the reality of reality
can harness knowledge that is really real.
The ancients who were as real as the Tao
were not against the will of minority groups
and they did not roar with the
confidence of a lion when they succeeded.
Not plagued by the hardships of success
and not pulled in all directions
by the easiness of failure,
the seemingly bright element of mind
did not scorch their sense of internalized dignity.
The ancients went directly to bed
and did not have to worry over
the dream of dreaming.
When breathing, their heels jumped for joy.
Craving after the propensity to crave,
the shallow realizations of the masses
keeps so many from more easily
finding their ultimate purpose in the Tao.
Unbiased towards the growing and diminuation
of any and all bodies, they rejoiced without rejoicing
and beamed with joy for no reason other than being alive.
The ancients thus decided to celebrate the Way of ways
by not directly trying to know the Tao in a linear fashion.
Focused on nothing but the quiet peace of a winter's day,
their hearts were as animated as the varying
phenomena of the four seasons.
When in charge of the world,
sages think of the necessities of ten thousand future generations.
Wishing to be ahead of the times,
stay focused and remain in the serenity of the Tao.
Acting for reputation,
become a silent gentleman.
Withdrawing from nothing,
withdraw into yourself.
Real sages in ancient times possessed nothing,
yet they had everything.
Alone while in the company of others
and while retiring at night,
their openness to change knew no conceivable limit.
Behaving in accordance with the social pressures of the nation,
the transcendence of their silence
amazed enough persons to no longer want to speak.
Acting only when the Tao demanded it of them,
they used their bodies as instruments of unutterable laws.
Not distracted by liking the process of disliking things and places,
Nature's Way was their long awaited friend
on the trail of Authentic Human Strivings.
Powerless in being powerful
and surrendered without having to outwardly surrender,
life and death flickers in the eyes of real sages
as the sun and moon flickers throughout
the passing of unending days and unending nights.
In love with filial devotion,
devote yourself to the transcendence of Reality.
Like fish out of water,
forget about the impediments of the Way
and become the Way out of suffering for others.
This universe weighs us down with a form
that is subject to growing tall like a candle's flame
only to evaporate into the thinest of airs.
What is truly good in life
is also supposed to be truly good when dying.
Hiding the real in the real,
the Tao is in the Tao.
The Way is the reality of the truth
of no form and of no constructed mind.
Rooted in Nothingness,
heaven and earth are its most minute byproducts.
Alchemizing ghosts and gods into sages,
the birthless birth of this universe
is a testimony to its subtle greatness.
Ancient beyond years and young beyond growing,
mountains, rivers, planets and emperors
are nothing in comparison to it.
Ascending to the stars and leaving the empire
and nation behind is he who has attained to the Way.
Approaching a master of ancient years,
the young man asked him how he still could look so young.
Having heard of the Way,
you begin to greatly resemble the Way.
Excited after hearing this initial statement,
the young man wanted to be his disciple.
Wanting to make him into not only a learned teacher
of the Way but into a master of the Way,
the ancient one told the young man to simply sit next to him.
Slowly detaching his mind from the burdensome
memories of peoples and past events,
the young man eventually reached the state
of renouncing the consciousness of the masses.
Once there, he then proceeded to see the clarity of being clear.
After even that stage of disciplined awareness,
he could see the uniqueness of transcending space and time.
Above the humdrum of an incessantly busy world
of traitors and exchangers, he went into
the emptiness of the immortal Tao.
Breaking everything down into its component parts
and re-building the universe one piece at a time,
the peace of a freed consciousness is all that is understood.
From the uncertainess of a writer
to the Void of voids,
the infinite Tao recognized its own luminosity.
Four sages, meeting on an evening walk,
began to speak in riddled tongues.
Having the Tao as my head
and Nature for a spine,
the unity of life and death
is the same for all four corners of this earth.
One day falling sick,
one of the sages lamented for the dire condition
of his body but remarked that he was in a good condition
since his mind was no longer disturbed by the ways of the world.
Looking into the waters as a mirror,
the sick sage saw all of the creative aspects
of the Tao as it was expressing itself
through his formed image of a self.
Gain being the result of the passing of time
and loss being the result of having to live in the Tao,
adapting to the balance of the moment is my way of being happy.
Why be concerned over our dilemmas when these
dilemmas are what fix the mind on negativity and impious situations.
Taking his last breath, the sick sage told his family
of the lasting power of the cosmic energies of yin and yang.
As the universe was forged like a piece of fine jewelry,
this human form will be re-made into
the peacefulness of a silent and majestic mountain.
Going to sleep in this world,
I calmly awaken in the next.
Gladly singing and dancing
over the death of the sick sage,
one sage in particular makes an observant remark
about this seemingly crazed behaviour.
Outside of the realm of social conventions,
sages can see the humor of the Tao in everything
and can make heaven and earth dance with them.
Considering life as a recurring extension of death
and death as a recurring extension of life,
the Tao is most important to abide in.
Mixing eternity with the finite,
the rituals of normality
and the customs of learned decency
do not interest them at all.
The happiness of heaven having the better of me,
we lose ourselves in the performance of the Way.
Out of the ordinary, the Tao of Nature
leads great men into being small men
and small men into being great men.
To such persons, the Way is the Way
no matter how it appears to appear.
Sitting in the forgetfulness of emptiness,
real sages are on an equal footing with the creations of the Tao.
by Julian Colgan (Copyright)
                                        emptinessofmind.blogspot.ca

29 November, 2012

Having as large a following as Confucius,
the sage with one leg makes the most ordinary
into enlightened practitioners of the Formless Way.

Never uttering a word and never hearing anything
besides the primordial sound of emptiness,
this one legged sage outruns the quickest of intellects
and transforms any mind into its deathless state.
Confucius, wanting to highlight the level of attainment
of this sage, said the following about the subtle state of his mind.
Though heaven and earth may cease to turn altogether,
his compassion towards such a sequence of events
will never dry away.
Clearly seeing the source of temporality
and the source of emptiness,
he is the humble director of this cosmic
churning ocean of mindfulness.
As a guardian of the source of being,
all of the Tao moves with him.
Startled by those remarks,
Confucius' companion asked of him
to explain the depth of the statements
that he has just uttered.
Preferring the unity of all things,
he disregards the events of the day
and of the state in order to completely harmonize
with the equality of unity.
Enlightened by the emptiness of his own mind,
the normality of being is his once again.
Just as everyone uses water to perceive
their own reflection, everyone, including the masses,
uses the stillness of his mind to perceive their own innate stillness.
Living out a straight and narrow life,
others are automatically straightened out.
Having control over the day he dies
though having perfect control over his subtle mind,
the deathless state is attractive to everyone's innate ability
to sense and feel the transcendence of the Tao.
As a student of the Antiquity and Obscurity of Nothingness,
I, the one legged sage, am humble enough to say
that I am the virtue of the nation
and of all the intellectual circles.
Governing no one and nothing,
my mindfulness extends to all four corners of this earth.
At ease with what can and cannot be done,
death cheats no one who is virtuous like me.
Receiving the laughter of many for having just one leg,
my master taught me the purity of floating in realms
that are the interiorization of invisibility itself.
Re-visiting Confucius day after day,
the one legged sage announced that he
had something greater and more valuable
than a running and functioning physical body.
Surpassing the need for fame and immortality,
I consider life and death to be one seamless thread
tying all of life together in a bond of eternal friendship.
Though I have nothing that I can call my own
and no position of authority in civil society,
I am nonetheless still capable of harmonizing 
the presence of the Tao for everyone
 who is receptive to following the Way of ways.
Once handed over a vast territory to govern,
I refused the king's offer for something
that shall not immediately slip out of my softened hands.
Admired for nothing in particular
and congratulated for spending my time on being empty,
my virtue is the reward of a well-balanced life.
As fresh as spring lilies, my subtle mind
outwardly reflects the moods of each changing season.
Still in chaos and in emptiness, 
the ruffles and tides of this emotional world
cannot bring me out of my sun stained contemplations.
Complete by virtue's selfless demands,
I never have to scheme my way out of life or into life.
Being one legged has made me one legged.
Being empty has made me empty.
Being the Tao, I am the Tao.
Bowing, Confucius left this master totally bewildered,
afraid that he may be highly realized or greatly insane
 due to the wild workings of the Tao.
                                              Emptinessofmind.blogspot.ca 
                                              by
 

27 November, 2012

In the deepest of oceans lies a great fish 
who is also a great bird when outside 
of its native territories. 
Residing in heaven's pond, 
this great fish lifts itself out of its 
own conditioning to become a whirling mass of energy. 
Flying through the air, 
what greater wonder is there than a fish 
who can fly and a bird who can swim 
for an indefinite amount of time 
under the lake beds of normal consciousness. 
Energy is the collective breathing of oceanic 
and sky bound entities. 
Is the color of the sky as far reaching as it seems 
and is the sky an ocean and the ocean a sky? 
Adopting the vision of super conscious entities, 
what is ridiculous to the earth bound entities 
is not so to the boundless entities. 
If the water of your mind is not deep enough, 
then nothing that is significantly heavy 
will decide to remain within you to float 
around the perimeters of your consciousness. 
If the air of your contemplations 
is not thick enough, 
then the bird of transcendence 
will find some other place to flap its ancient wings. 
Pigeons and other miniscule birds 
openly mock the great bird, 
saying that its travels and destinations 
leads nowhere but home. 
In reality, the great bird's journey 
is what makes it more than great 
and more than capable of leading thousands 
of small minded birds back to the real home of the Tao. 
Those who are possessed of a small fund of knowledge 
cannot naturally understand those who 
have knowledge up to the rim of infinity. 
In like manner, those who are of ill experience 
cannot naturally relate to those who 
are the fundamental principle behind all possible phenomena. 
Timed by an ever winding clock, 
vegetation does not endure for longer 
than a night and a day 
and bugs of the night do not often 
make it to the next coming minute second. 
Short lived and ill tempered is that entity 
which wants to live longer 
than it should, could or would. 
There once lived a tree in the center of the Tao. 
Enduring for eight hundred springs 
and eight hundred falls, 
what can we, who live no less than eighty years, 
say about life in its sum totality? 
So small and insignificant are we 
who are predisposed to attaining mediocrity 
or perfection in just one general area of life 
or in just one intellectual skill. 
The true sage laughs at all of life, 
knowing what others praise 
is not worth the time that it takes 
in order for it to become praiseworthy. 
Not budging an instance for 
those who are attached to distinguishing 
between what is internal and what is external, 
the boundaries of the mind dissolves back 
into the natural awareness of the Tao. 
The true sage rides on the winds of heaven 
just as he rides on a wild and free horse. 
Travelling to the outermost limits of consciousness, 
no name and no self is all that is desired. 
Meeting someone who is capable of giving 
discourses on the most wonderful of phenomena 
for rivers on end, that crazy fool said that 
there were men who were as fine as dragons 
and as versatile as cosmic energy. 
Capable of living indefinitely, 
who is to believe the mad rantings of the Tao. 
The Tao, responding, says that 
the blind cannot see the light of day 
and therefore cannot appreciate 
the wild and tame tides of infinite existences. 
Deaf to the sound of wisdom, 
look elsewhere besides your mind 
for real knowledge of cosmic energy and cosmic events. 
Uniting everything into one great entity, 
the troubles of politics and social societies 
are as unnoticeable by the Tao 
as a morning star is to normal finite perceptions. 
Left with a huge old tree, 
do not consider its ultimate function 
to be based on whether it is useable 
by small minded bird like entities. 
Planting the tree of your heart 
in the infinite emptiness of nothingness, 
sleep under its cosmic branches 
of protection and freeing knowledge. 
No axe man being brave enough 
to attempt cutting away at its unending roots, 
the Tao is perceived as useless to those 
who think that they are ultimately useful. 
As humble as dirt, allow the Tao 
to step all over your pride 
so that you may be able to see 
what is truly enduring and useful 
and what is of cosmic and planetary significance. 
Humbled by the Tao, 
fortunate are those who hear from you. 
                                Emptinessofmind.blogspot.ca by

25 November, 2012

Reflections on Soul and God by Julian Colgan

As my soul wanders throughout the forest of eternal wonders, the subtle footsteps of Love are heard throughout the vast expanse of devotional mellows. Retiring into the Beloved's Embrace just as a bird disappears in the sky, my devotion for you knows no limits. Smelling the natural incense of a fall morning, the senses become alive to the presence of God's immanence. Close to God and close to Guru, my soul finds its fulfillment in serving the pure orders which emanate off of the lotus tongue of liberated souls. Basking in the sunlight of God-Realization, who is there but the Beloved to cherish and take care of? A friend to God and a lover of God is the best position to have while in the material and spiritual worlds. Amen.
Julian Colgan (Copyright)

23 November, 2012

A question of perspective

When events appear overwhelming and when we get too concerned about our varied earthly problems, it is helpful to keep a perspective on what the bigger picture is about.
This highly educational video was produced by the American Museum of Natural History:




"The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010."

Please visit at: Data: Digital Universe, American Museum of Natural History
http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/universe/

Ramana Maharishi - Guru And His Grace



Question 1: What is the grace of the guru 
and how does it bring you to Self-Realization? 

Your guru is your Self. 
You may at times doubt the truth of this statement, 
but with enough exposure to the grace of the Self, 
your guru will teach you how to be as calm and expansive as Brahman's smile is. 

His grace is thus His guidance. 
His guidance can come in the form 
of another person's instructions to turn the mind inwards 
or it can come from your Heart, which is where Brahman, Guru and Self are One. 

Question 2: What should a devotee do when with an externalized guru? 

Recognize the relationship between what is within you 
and what is without you. 
If you do this persistently, then the guru, 
who you now perceive to be different from your Heart, 
will bring you even more strongly to the Center of your being 
where the ego's wild antics will be put to rest permanently. 

With His grace, you will realize the importance 
of surrendering yourself to the Eternal Master Within. 

Question 3: Why do you initiate others through silence? 

You may love the scriptures more than the Self, 
and for this reason alone, I administer silence 
to those who are out of touch with its All-Powerful Status. 

Question 4: How do I receive your grace? 

There is no need to receive my grace 
because grace is the Self. 
Just as you do not need to newly acquire a new Self, 
you similarily do not need to acquire a newly graced Self. 

Self-Realization is here and now. 

Question 5: What do you do to make others Self-Realized? 

By being totally at peace with the Self. 
This is due to having a mind that is free of disturbances. 
Liberally conversing with the Self within the Heart, 
my happiness is without an ego attached to it. 

Merely focusing on how there is no other 
is enough to make the entire Creation stand still. 

Being unconditionally Self-Realized, 
there is nothing left to accomplish 
but to stare into the mirror of infinity 
and feel the peace that is of the Absolute. 

Here and now, you are what you wish for.

----------------------------
Another great article from  Julian Colgan 
http://sananda-healing-space.blogspot.com/

11 November, 2012

On Manifestation from Abraham - Esther Hick

One the best definitions we have come across to convey the concept of Manifestation.

"Every thought that you think is vibrating at a very personal frequency . . . and by the powerful Law of Attraction (the essence of that which is like unto itself, is drawn), that thought is now attracting another thought that is its Vibrational Match. And now, those combined thoughts are vibrating at a frequency that is higher than the thought that came before; and they will now, by the Law of Attraction, attract another and another and another, until eventually the thoughts will be powerful enough to attract a "real life" situation or manifestation."
--- Abraham
Excerpted from the book "Money and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Health, Wealth and Happiness" # 620
Our Love,
Esther (and Abraham and Jerry)

Please check out and sign up on the daily quotes at  www.abraham-hicks.com/
(Link provided under Links tab)

10 November, 2012

Dhammapada - Thirst

Urged on by innumerable amounts of varying degrees of desire,
the urgent desires of the urgent minded
grows like a creeper up the tree of mindlessness. 
In imitation of monkeys,
the urgent minded are always jumping from
one desire tree to the next,
lifetime after lifetime.
Unable to distance oneself
from the urging self,
pretentions grow like
wild weeds in the forests,
that is, without restraint and abundantly.
Abundant in mindfulness,
every drop of sorrow
will fall off from one's lotus heart,
leaving a mist of happiness rising from the depths of Emptiness.
One may succeed in many attempts
at shortening the life span of one's desires,
but until one's thirst for one's urges
is quenched by Wisdom's Flame,
one's desire tree will continue to grow and re-grow unimpeded. 
Flowing in every direction
and impacting everything in an equal manner,
the urges of an unrestrained mind
carries away everything that is needed to attain to a genuine peace of mind.
Plagued by the thirst
to be always satisfied by the senses,
frightened are those who run about like hunted animals.
Hunted and haunted by their own desires,
this thirst for cyclical existence
should be the cause for one's future Enlightenment.
Using desire against itself,
desire can be a force of virtue 
if utilized in the Consciousness of the Buddha Nature.
So strenuous is the path to Nirvana,
for once freed from one forest of desire,
most are then unknowingly guided
into another more well disguised forest of desire.
Trapped in one's own network of ideas and urges
as a spider often ensnares itself in its own web,
those who are faithful to the Dharma
manage to find a way out of the maze of the mind.
Unattached to the past, present and future,
the mind can then think for itself
without needing to consult with the phenomena of time
in order to soar above the forest of desire.
Without having a thorn in one's side at all moments,
those who leave everything as it is
teach themselves about the Emptiness of the teacher-disciple relationship.
Having no one to teach
and no one to learn from,
the Buddha Nature is what it is.
Empty from the beginning of Samsaric existence
and Empty till the end of Nirvanic existence,
Emptiness is all that one needs
to be acquainted with,
for Emptiness is Freedom Without Condition.
Conditioned by willing oneself to suffer,
decondition oneself by being Empty.
Empty of desires,
an Empty Mind is as Fresh as a Thousand Oceans of Buddhic Joy.
By Julian Colgan
Awake to Buddhahood (Copyright)

07 November, 2012

Tao Te Ching: by Julian Colgan


We came across another gem form one of our favourite authors and poet and present it in gratitude. (Ed)


Knowing what is masculine within you, 
equally pay attention to what is feminine within you. 
By humbling yourself before the world, 
the eternal power of the Tao 
is yours and is meant to be used for 
your return to the innocence of beauty. 
Knowing what is white within you, 
equally pay attention to what is black within you. 
By being an exemplary practitioner for the world to admire, 
the eternal power of the Tao 
transforms you into what is infinite. 
Knowing what is glorious within you, 
equally pay attention to what is counter productive to glory within you. 
By being as open as the world, 
the eternal power of the Tao 
drives you to what is simple. 
Making instruments that will never be used, 
the greatest of sages do not work while working. 
 
Wanting to control the world 
and wanting to manipulate it according to your means, 
the world will not budge one inch for you. 
The world is a sacred vessel that 
cannot be altered so easily. 
Those who try to do so are lost 
and lose what they cling to. 
Everything goes and follows something else. 
Everything breathes in strength and blows out weaknesses. 
Everything begins in something and ends in something. 
Sages are quick to get rid of the extremes 
of an arrogant attitude towards the Tao. 
Equipoised in nothingness, 
the Tao speaks like never before. 
 
By Julian Colgan
(Blue Cross and Shining Sunset Academy) Copyright

05 November, 2012

Dhamma Motion - When we live in grief

It is with pleasure that we feature this creative work produced by a young talented Thai artist Chakra Veerakul a student of Buddhism, currently studying in Colorado USA.
We met Chakra several times prior to his departure and we look forward to seeing even more of his creative and thoughtful work on his return.
This work was inspired by his reflections on impermanence and transformation during the devastating floods that struck Thailand in 2011. He also supported flood relief efforts and events coordinated by the 1000 Star Foundation.
We wish Chakra well in his studies and look forward to seeing more of his creativity and originality in action.


by Chakra Veerakul: Copyright of author

This motion art is a gift for those who are in grief, and those who desire to be free from suffering. The narrative uses symbols to explain Dhamma and the practice of awareness meditation. For a thorough explanation, please read the following:

1. When we live in grief, we always worry about the past and the future, as if they are happening in the present. This is like the person who keeps thinking of crocodiles approaching him. Whenever we notice the mind that thinks, the thinking process stops.

2. The more we try to avoid and block negative thoughts, the more we dwell on them. If we find a way to relax and become aware of the uneasiness with compassion, we will discover that it is just a state that the mind holds on to. This is comparable to a cloud concealing the mind.

3. To practice awareness meditation, we frequently observe the state we currently experience. We may feel happy, sad, neutral or not knowing what the feeling is. It is not important to know what they are called. All states are natural phenomena occurring in cycles like the sun and the rain.

4. There are times of troubles and times of peace. We need to think to avoid dangers and to function in life, but there is no need to dwell on unchangeable past and delusional future. This is compared to the tiger and snake passing by. They are on another level, signifying the mind that is not obsessed with daily occurrences.

5. When the mind sees the impermanence over and over, it will feel neutral to changes and no longer try to avoid suffering. Once the mind deeply realizes that the cycle of feelings is impermanent, it would lead to the realization that all things, including our body and mind, are impermanent.

6. Practicing awareness meditation is like set sailing. Whether we reach the shore or not is beyond our control. However, we have control of every present moment, and we should feel fulfilled each time we row the boat, as we are on the path to end suffering. The boat is similar to Dhamma. It saves us and passes on to the next generations.

7. The person living in grief becomes the person who embraces the impermanence. The Buddha himself was born with suffering not different from us.

8. Art is a combination of lines and colors, not different from the body and mind, which are masses of elements.

02 November, 2012

Symbols and Us



The human mind expresses itself through symbols. In fact we produce images constantly projecting ourselves into past and future. When we think, we often recall images of our experiences and produce and recall fantasies of people, places, events.When we are angry, we re-visualize over and over the event
and details of what made us so.

So its difficult to argue that the mind does not use images to store, process and decode data. Symbols are as old as the first human's attempt to capture a concept through a simple drawing. Symbols carry information either consciously or unconsciously. They are tangible and do produce measurable effects on
our being. For example images and symbols that are positive will trigger positive physiological responses. Likewise symbols that are very negative will trigger off sensations of fear, aversion and distress.

Unfortunately it is a fact that our minds tend to focus mostly on negative patterns. If we were to examine our mind for about 10 minutes we would be able to establish that more of our thoughts are actually regressive: we worry about what we need to do, what we or someone else has said or done, we worry about
the time, our job, our family, what is going on in the economy.  With such an overload of images that pulsate disturbed energy (each thought is energy) throughout our consciousness, it is little wonder that we experience many ailments the most obvious being stress related; anxiety and depression.

So is it possible to reprogram the mind to vibrate at higher and more beneficial frequencies ? Yes: I and many others believe that. All healing and meditation masters have known this for millenia. The medical profession has also acknowledged the physiological response to a negative state of mind and its impact on
our immune system and physical health.

There are two methods that I have used and that have brought great energy and benefit and I think its appropriate to share them on this site as it also relates to artistic symbolism. The first method that has been used both in therapy and in creative work is that of visualization. I will briefly summarize this technique
in the following steps:

1) Focus your mind on what you wish to achieve: either visualize a clear mental picture sitting quietly when your mind is still fresh, or you can create a "vision board" if you find it easier. Both approaches work just as well. Use a bulletin/notice board and place the images or photos of what you desire. This
can be quite fun. We all have magazines lying around, so you can cut and pin those photos, pictures that reflect your wishes. If you are artistic you may also paint and draw. Place the most important desire you have in the centre and then add the other wish lists images that are important to you. It is better to focus
on the more important ones, putting hundreds of wishes on a board is a bit difficult to manage. Remember the mind responds to intention so any symbol or image that represents what you wish will be effective. What do you wish to achieve: success? love? money ? (of course)...spiritual growth ?
2) Next feel very intensely what it feels like to have achieved that. Feel above all, the joy as if you have fulfilled this desire not just for your own motives but knowing that this will benefit others. (If you are happy, healthy, wealthy it is easier for you to share that and its good to be around happy people right ?) One
important factor in ensuring the success of manifestation is to FEEL what you wish for as REAL.
3) Have faith and gratitude that you will receive this. Why ? The mind once set in motion towards a goal is wired so that all emotional, spiritual, psychological energies will set about creating those goals. That is why people make aspirations and practice "thamboon": and often get what they want. However abusing
this for very selfish motives exhausts the good energies quickly and many are those that have made a fortune through luck and lost it. 
Use any gift you receive to further your highest purpose.

4) Once you have done this with great clarity let it go. Do not chase this impatiently waiting for it to happen. Let me give you a simple example: have you ever had an experience where you thought of someone you had not seen for a long time with feeling, forgot about it and then that person either called you or you ran
into them somewhere ? This is exactly the same process. The purer and clearer the intention, the easier and faster it will manifest.

5) Work to try to create as much positive energy in your mental continuum as you can. Every day offers you the chance to be of help and service to others and build a store of positive energy in your mind stream.

The next method is to actually work with specific symbols that are meaningful for you and spend about 10 minutes or so contemplating and focusing on them undistractedly. Just observe the shapes, colours and textures without distraction. Choose the symbol that you wish to express your desire: more energy ?
More wisdom ? Success ? Strength ? Health ?
Observe the symbol quietly and let it be imprinted in your mind. When you have completed your brief meditation, feel that you have attained that quality, feel that the seed has been planted and just relax knowing that it will be so.

Asian symbolism and all the symbolism of ancient cultures possess great strength especially when these are present in the same culture. So for example the 8 auspicious symbols will be of meaning to different folks in India, China, Japan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan etc,. People from these cultures or those that feel a
deep connection with them will often have these in their homes, cars, offices. They act as a bridge between the rational world we have to live in and our more natural creative and spiritual qualities. Where these symbols carry the pure energy of the artist you can immediately sense the power through the colours,
structures, they seem alive and vibrant. In the same way that a good book inspires you with wisdom, art and symbols can do the same. Sometimes you find you are very attracted  to a piece of artistic creation but do not know why.
So now its time to get to work: using either of the two approaches, surround yourself with the most positive images and let go slowly of all that does not help you to maintain a good energy flow.

Life is too short, the moment of our passing uncertain. Lets recreate our energy to be more part of the wondrous nature of this existence and world.
We are what we think and we create what we think. Lets make that truly unique while we have that chance.

Contributed by Karma Choepel
November 2012

Tao Te Ching

If you desire to control something, 
you should let everything in your life become infinite. 
If you desire to make something within you grow weak, 
you should make the universe within you grow strong. 
If you desire to let something grow away from you, 
you should deliberately set about growing towards it. 
If you desire to take away something from yourself, 
you should be at peace with your decisions now and in the future. 
This is what is known as the subtle illumination of consciousness. 
Being flexible and inflexible is what 
makes you overcome all imbalances. 
 
by Julian Colgan (Copyright)
(Blue Cross and Shining Sunset  Academy)