Monthly Archives: July 2013

FAITH

I am full of faith and place all my trust in the Divine – the Supreme Being and Almighty God.

It is very easy to lose faith these days.  However, I know that everything is happening for the best.  I know that everything is proceeding for the highest good of every living thing in Creation.  When the inherent perfection of Creation is truly apprehended, then our lives can be understood as an outworking of that perfect order.

image007

Although I may lose heart in moments of great adversity, I know that it’s always in these moments that the greatest spiritual growth and inner transformation will occur.

Continue reading

SELF RESTRAINT

Self restraint = Atma-vinigraha

I live my life immersed in the Self, the divine joy within; then, self restraint comes of its own accord. Self restraint creates its own sublime joy with each act of self control.

Oh boy! This is a tough one, especially during an age that is so fraught with stimulation toward the practice of its opposite.

Not only that, but these are rough times for everyone. Truly, we are living through an extraordinarily difficult period of human history. In some way or another each of us is being stressed and challenged and stretched beyond our limits. It is in times like these that it is very easy to fall back compulsively on what gives us comfort, pleasure and gratification. This especially becomes problematic when such pursuits of the pleasurable are done in excess, or to the detriment of one’s body, mind or soul.

Continue reading

FORBEARANCE

I live my life totally absorbed in forbearance – and cultivate peace and joy wherever I go.

Life on planet Earth is really heating up, isn’t it?! Here it is very hot; there it is very cold. In some places it is very rainy or completely under water, while other regions suffer from unending drought and years without rainfall. One never knows what is just around the corner that will test one’s mettle and forbearance.

This evolving fact of life is especially true in the more ‘civilized’ nations of the West where many have lived a relatively pampered existence. All of the taken-for-granted luxuries are now under threat of loss due to the economic downturn. Unlike the third world countries, which have always suffered from lack, many of us are now experiencing deprivations for the very first time. This emerging context demonstrates the need for me to be truly detached from the vicissitudes of life. Planetary transitions, with such profound and fundamental change, are never easy or without major challenges.   Continue reading