Talk Summaries
summaries of talks previously held at Inner Space
in 2007
No talks being held at the moment
Lucinda Drayton from Oxford
Singer/Songwriter
and Meditation Teacher, Oxford
Barry Woodhouse
Surveyor and
Meditation Teacher
Alison Marlow
Meditation Teacher
Anna Van Wonderen
Artist and
Meditation Teacher
Grace Lopez Charles
Teacher of
Mathematics and Meditation
Waltraud Idir from London
Teacher
Regina Baumgart from London
Meditation
Teacher
Michael Mackintosh
Graphic Artist and Meditation Teacher
Sarah
Cavanagh
Teacher of the Deaf from Brighton
Dr Beverley Crooks,
London
Loukas Morley,
Cambridge
Steve Willis, Chelmsford
Richard
Turner, Cambridge
Prof Reem Baghat, Cairo, Egypt
Barry Woodhouse, Cambridge
Dr Grace Lopex-Charles, Cambridge
Veejay
Thakker, Peterborough
Dr Prashant Kakoday, Cambridge
Tim Ackers, Cambridge
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©Copyright 2005 BKWSU
We are going to go on a journey. Try to keep the mind focus on the words being said.
Find a relaxed way to sit … Breathe in and as you breathe out, let go of your day … the mental challenge of your day. I can now allow myself to be completely here for the next ten minutes … I focus my attention inside my body beginning with feet and legs … allow all the energy to flow through … feel the feet and legs become soft … Move upwards to the hips and stomach … I let go of anxiety … as I let go, I feel the stomach become soft …the hips relax … I allow my spine to become soft and gentle … the tips of the fingers become gentle, peaceful … I move my awareness to the muscles in the face and neck … I feel them softening, relaxing … Allow my jaw to drop … even the hair on my head become relaxed … the muscles around my eyes become soft … I thank my body for carrying me along all day … I become still … Breathing in peace and breathing out peace … mentally I turn off the body and focus on the inside … the subtle part of me … becoming aware of this beautiful spirit inside … the real me … when all the masks are taken away and all the roles are dropped … I allow myself to see the picture of myself as a child … happy, free and creative … I see myself and remember how it felt to be a child … that part of me that is untouched … pure, gentle, loving … without fear, open and spontaneous … What were the dreams of this child? … What were the passions and hopes of this child? … I allow myself to listen … and very gently, very easily I become aware of the body … I breathe deeply, giving the energy of loving freedom to the body … I bring back the memories of that child … I open my eyes and become aware of this room.
In meditation we take our mind on a journey of discovery to find the things we are looking for. Each time we get the mind to come back to the now, bringing with it the richness of its find. The mind is like a child, continuously running off either to the past or to the future. Just as you would encourage a child who is straying away to come back, in the same you would encourage the mind to refocus. Speak to the mind with love and try to heal it from the things that it is fearful of, just as you would a child who is afraid.
Part of the practice is to have the relationship with this creative part of me which is the mind. It is nice to have this creativity, but it has to be channelled. The adult, the intellect is there to bring the child back on track. When the child and adult (mind and intellect) come together then you get clarity. Intellect must not be confused with intellectuality.
Meditation is an art form, a real creative process. In sessions like these we give you the sign posts – it is you who have to create the journey. What does visualisation mean to you? – it’s creating a picture in the mind and empowering it. Create a picture that touches your heart. The mind is a wonderful thing which we can work with. Meir Schneider is his book 'the Hand Book of Self Healing' states 'seeing comes from deep within'. Seeing is a very deep process and only happens when you let go. I have to make mu vision like a screen and put just one word on it, for example PEACE. I see how long I can hold that word in place on the screen of my mind. Each time I'm side-tracked, I come back to the screen and restate the word.
Let us take an inward journey. Imagine you are walking down a long corridor … walking into yourself … experience feelings of solitude … withdrawal from the outside world … becoming very silent … as still as a very deep, bottomless lake .. I walk down this long corridor deep within myself … the further I move inside, the more peaceful I become … and the further I am from the sounds around me … I drop down deeper and deeper into peace … I imagine myself as a tiny star light … a point sitting behind the eyes … I see out of these eyes … hearing through the ears … from a distance I observe through the mind … without judging, I let the past go … I focus on one word … peace … like an endless point … I begin to draw the picture of how I would like my life to look … As if I have a paint brush, I begin to paint this picture of how I would like my life to be … And if I find difficulty in visualising this, I feel how I would like my life to be … I put the picture/feelings in front of me and I begin to walk towards it … I am the creator of my life … I am the painter … I am the poet … I am the one who decides what goes into the picture … and what is left out … I reclaim this mastery and take it back with me … everyday, I can choose joy or peacelessness … I choose loving or judgements … I see myself as the point … that tiny star, sitting behind my eyes … light.
When I sit as a soul in this way I begin to hear and see things I don’t usually see or hear. I can catch wisdom and I can catch what it is I have to do. This is how I become a master and I channel that mastery in words or music or art. Silently sitting and coming back to the point of peace, allows me to come back to the power of vision – to create my life. When I’m out there trying to control things that is when things go wrong. I just have to sit quietly and clarity comes. I know what I have to do. If you try to force creativity, it won’t be truthful. Silence breeds creativity and then you really begin to hear the child within. When you deeply connect with silence, you are connecting from the Source – the Supreme Being – God. Everything comes through the self, but from the Source. We are all unique and so although we are bringing the same thing through, it is shape by the individual as it comes through each individually. This is a wonderful give and take of energy. When you reconnect with a powerful part of the self, then other things are allowed to happen. The world becomes a mirror of your own state of being. People who come close to me do so to show me a part of me I’ve not experienced before.
Imagine your body like a tall building with all the lights in the building on … I have to turn off all these lights … I begin with the feet and legs … I see the switch and flick it off … all the lights go out in that part of the body … I move forward to the hips and stomach … I see the switch and flick it off … moving on further to the back and shoulders … I see the switch and I flick it off … I move around towards the heart and lungs … I see the switch and I flick it off … moving into the head, I see the switch and flick it off … now all the lights in the building are off … I become aware that one light is still on … it is a tiny light in the middle of the forehead … it is like a beacon … this is the light of truth … the light of purity … the light of eternity … from deep silence, I feel myself becoming lighter and lighter … I begin to lift up … I begin my journey outwards … out into the sky … beyond the clouds … moving upwards out into the universe … past the stars until I reach another dimension of light … a world of reddish golden light which is full of such peace … such silence … as far as the eye can see there’s nothing but light … in this world of light I become aware of another point of light … a point of brightly shining light … I move towards this light … I am surrounded by a deep love as if I’m in heaven … I feel I’m in an ocean of love … an ocean of light … it is like coming home … I stay in this experience … just sitting as a point of light connected to The point of light which resides in this realm.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Africa, Barry is a surveyor in the commercial property business and has been a resident of Cambridge for 18 years. Almost as soon as he came to Cambridge he became interested in the spiritual philosophy of Raja Yoga and has been a teacher and meditator of this for more than 17 years. He is married with two daughters currently at university and so is well qualified to speak of relationships.
Society tends to influence us to gravitate towards others in order to be valued. But if we take from others we become dependent and vulnerable if things change within the relationship. Dependency is created when we look for someone to fulfil an emotional need. Then our sense of worthiness and fullness depends on another and if things change the suffering can be severe.
There are two main categories in relationships, those we choose and those we find ourselves in. The obvious choice is a partner in which relationship we hope to find happiness and self worth. This special person we choose can bring a sense of change and a feeling of wholeness. In other words, they can fulfil a void within the self. But if these expectations are not met we experience sorrow because of the feeling that we have a subtle right over the other, eg my wife.
Then we have to ask ourselves why we feel emptiness, why cannot we feel whole in ourselves. Can we not envisage a state of feeling full, secure, happy and fulfilled on our own?
If we can feel whole within ourselves, how might our relationships be then? Probably more stable and more giving. Being whole we can operate from a position of giving instead of expectations and taking.
Spirituality teaches us we do not own anyone. Meditation and self knowledge are about knowing the self fully. Otherwise we find we have a left brain or right brain tendency and the partner fills the gap. Interestingly, most prisoners serving jail sentences for murder are there because they killed their partners. Such ones were unable to understand and accommodate the female side of themselves.
We seem to have become stereotyped into male or female but all qualities are truly within both genders. Society emphasises more and more the gender distinction. In meditation we can explore the part that we are missing. It follows then that when we become whole we are going to be less dependent, less possessive, less vulnerable and much, much more giving.
The real achievement of the parent is to send out into the world an independent individual and this requires an understanding that the child is not an extension of the parent but a spiritual being, a soul, who has the right to be free and full and whole just like his parents. Then the relationship is true and the individual is free to make their own journey. It is such a privilege to have the opportunity to allow a child to reach wholeness and independence.
Also open to us of course is the opportunity to explore a relationship with the One who is perfect, full, whole, and available all the time. One who is the source of energy, love and power. That is an interesting relationship that is nurtured by a Being who cannot be diminished and the purpose of the relationship is for us to become whole and truly fulfilled.
Alison Marlow has been a resident of Cambridge for 20 years and a teacher and meditator for 17 years. She is married with a teenage son and so is well qualified to speak of the meaning of love. As well as teaching for the Brahma Kumaris , she teaches the Raja Yoga spiritual philosophy for the community at Parkside College and also the University of the Third Age. She is also interested in applying spiritual values in business.
This subject of love is important to everyone. I have a son who had a friendship which was complicated and Mum found herself telling him off when things were tricky and that created upheaval and problems in their relationship. Negative results and peace gone. However, using Raja Yoga knowledge in a practical way I started to tell him how great he was. I was able to show him I accepted him as he was and I was more loving and supportive. The change was remarkable – just like a switch he stopped all the crying. He was about 4 years old at the time but he himself said that he could sort out the problem in that friendship. He is now a teenager and really has no teenage problems
It was a big turning point for me. I realised that love is giving someone the freedom and space to change without preaching or being dogmatic because this brings out the best in someone.
Then our whole family life became based on this respect for each other. I realised that respect is really the basis of love. Being “in love” one can often be treated badly but absolute respect is the basis of real love.
Respect gives space to grow and to be open and honest so that one can talk about anything. Nothing is hidden, nothing is manipulated or controlled or undercover. When I see parents trying to control their children it seems to create confusion. Respect means we see everyone as unique souls, all different, with different experiences and so accept them - that is love.
Teenagers often refuse to do what parents tell them because they say they cannot bear to be controlled. Emotions surface and they feel their freedom is being diminished. Freedom is so important to the individual, to us all.
Respect shows natural feelings of equality. If there is that feeling of equality, everything becomes cooperative and easy. Saying something necessary with the right tone of voice and body language is quite subtle. For example, if I say to my son, “Please feed your rabbit” it is very different from saying something like, “Please will you feed the rabbit for me” in a pleasant tone of voice.
We can get caught up in our roles. When we are in the awareness of a role we are separate from someone else. As soon as we become role conscious, we want to use that position and start to dictate to someone else. For example, I am the mother and you are the son. I am superior to you so you should do as I say.
The necessary trust, openness and respect only come when we do not try to dictate to others. All are valued for the job they do. If the attitude is of respect, everyone will be willing to do anything but as soon as the role importance surfaces, arrogance comes and willingness can finish.
I know of a business that started with nobody having a named position and everyone used to get on with what needed to be done. Eventually a structure was put in place, everyone had a designated position and that subtle cooperation disappeared.
It is also important to understand that we can make mistakes and be forgiven and we can share from the heart and learn from one another without being judged. When there is trust, we do not spend energy protecting the self but have confidence in sharing.
If we shut people down they will stop giving. They will be unable to give creative energy. We all have so much to contribute but there are certain energies that suppress that and respect is what enables the creative energy to emerge.
We need to learn to protect ourselves also so we need to understand detachment. Detachment is real protection. However loving we are, if we create it without detachment, we cannot protect our love, it will go away.
Meditation is the way that helps to develop the inner power to be detached so that we don’t get hurt. In meditation, we also develop self-esteem and self-respect, getting to know the self and our values. It is a journey of self-discovery finding out what is special about the self. This protects us from the feeling that we have to become what we perceive others to expect of us. We have to be true to the self as well as loving and respectful to others. This is true freedom and at the same time enables us to appreciate other people’s uniqueness and talents.
Guilt can come when we feel others want us to play a part we are not comfortable with and so we can become defensive and then there is no cooperation. We have to play our own part. Otherwise, it is like trying to wear painfully small shoes that are not your size! The more we love the self, the more we can be tolerant and accept others and the more we will be able to have love for them.
We need to be clear about our purpose and aim or others will give us a part. We have to develop spiritual power so that we can be detached from influences, staying peaceful, content and happy irrespective of what is going on around us.
Opportunities and tests will come but they help us to become stronger. With detachment we can watch life going on out there. Every scene is just an interesting scene. Then the qualities of the soul emerge and there is no guilt. We are not afraid of any changes in the drama. It is only when we want the drama to be different or we want people to play a different part that love goes.
We need to check our motive when doing things because if we open the door for someone and then expect thanks but thanks don’t come we will be disappointed. If we open the door with love it does not matter whether we are thanked or not. We do not look for a return on our action. Often we perform actions and become angry, disillusioned and negative if there is no return, and love dries up.
The journey is love for the drama of life and if we can learn to let go of it and stop trying to control it, all sorts of magic things happen. If we operate in the drama with spiritual values the more drama will respect us and then we can trust the drama.
Then love for God is important because he enables us to be free. He gives the knowledge to free us, the power to enable us to be free and the strength and power to love even if we do not receive love in return. In any tricky situation, if we remember the relationship with God, everything becomes easy.
Learn to balance the right ingredients for a wholesome life and understand the higher purpose of your life.
“Everything in life is based on balance. This balance gives peace in us and around us. Harmony of feelings and thoughts will allow us to elevate and recognise unity in our selves and in each other. That is the purpose of our existance. This is our Ideal Self-interest.
“Unity within Diversity is the consequence of this evolution, and it is this, which is necessary for a safe i.e. sustainable existance with creative development and spiritual growth of humanity”.
(Pieter Kooistra, founder of Art Lending System – UNO income foundation, the Netherlands; 1922 – 1998)
A Human Being has the potential to express the highest, innate, divine qualities; to have a powerful state of consciousness; to see clearly; to have creative, positive thoughts; to make the right decisions; and to have a natural tendency to give in relationship. He/she is by nature a spiritual, divine being, in a physical costume (body), a conscious point of light, with complete awareness. He/she is the master of the senses, of feelings and thoughts, of words and actions.
“By realising and accepting that we are now in a time of transformation, we now have reached a period of searching for oneness again in the physical and spiritual world within us and around us”.
The human being that discovers this oneness also develops its own uniqueness in being what it really is.
Only when we find our true identity are we willing and able to let go of our artificial identity and become one in higher consciousness and able to connect truly and with each other without loss. In fact, contrary to finding any loss, we find the deeper meaning of our existence.
We have in common our original innate values, which include the giving and receiving of love and the maintenance of harmonious relationships with the rest of earth. The original qualities of every soul are Peace, Purity, Love, Truth and Bliss. These are unlimited spiritual values, not measurable by science or economics that spring from the human being’s essential spiritual nature.
However, because of losing sight of the soul we have also acquired a hard shell of materialistic values, such as love for possessions, prestige and power. These objects of desire are inevitably limited and have to be constantly fought for, becoming the cause of much distress.
The method of transformation through inner power and clarity to detach in a second i.e. to put a full stop there were any limitations are created, will enable us to expand again and again and help us to grow beyond. True harmony is only possible when we appreciate the differences and unite on basis of respect and selfless love.
There is an external cycle of time, a “quantum” of existence, within which every soul plays its part. Joy and pain are intertwined within this cycle. To begin with, there is great happiness as we live true to our original, loving selves. Gradually, as spiritual awareness ebbs away, we lose self respect and try to make this good through external achievements, but at the cost of increasingly losing sight of the inner self. As day follows night, however, the light of truth eventually returns. There is a time in the world cycle, now upon us, known as period of confluence between old and new. This transitional time enables us to learn how to live in peace and happiness once again.
The art of balance is to experience eternity, love and peace, to be, to open, to see, to feel and to learn. In the eternal unlimited point there is stillness, perfect balance. I know and experience eternal value and power.
To harmonize with everything around me, I use the power to merge and become unlimited and free from the effect of action All expansion has to be merged in the one point……
The word Power has many meanings, most of which imply (a capacity for) control or force, (though in physics the terms "power" and "force" have different meanings. Some definitions include:
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The ability or capacity to perform or act effectively.
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A specific capacity, faculty, or aptitude.
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Strength or force exerted or capable of being exerted; might.
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The ability or official capacity to exercise control; authority.
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A person, group, or nation having great influence or control over others:
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Forcefulness; effectiveness.
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The energy or motive force by which a physical system or machine is operated: The capacity of a system or machine to operate; Electrical or mechanical energy, especially as used to assist or replace human energy. Electricity supplied to a home, building, or community.
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In Physics. The rate at which work is done, expressed as the amount of work per unit time and commonly measured in units such as the watt and horsepower.
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In Mathematics. The number of elements in a finite set; The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis where it is false.
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A measure of the magnification of an optical instrument, such as a microscope or telescope.
It is the third definition of power that I would refer to in this discussion.
The power of being is the strength to remain focused in the mind. It is having an awakened mind and an alert intellect. In order to become powerful in who I am, I must start with the focus of the mind. This would have a definite impact on my breathing.
Scientists have for decades been researching the awakened mind and have now discovered that the Awakened Mind is a state that is clearer, sharper, quicker and more flexible than ordinary states; that in this state thinking feels fluid rather than rigid; that emotions are more available, easier to understand and to transform; that information flows more effortlessly between the conscious, subconscious and unconscious; that intuition, insight, and empathy increase and become more integrated into normal awareness.; and that one has a greater feeling of choice, freedom, and spiritual connection in such an awakened state.
For almost three decades Anna wise and colleagues have measured the brainwave patterns of spiritual masters, meditation teachers, and people of optimum creativity in all walks of life. The brainwave pattern that they found, named the Awakened Mind, is a combination of four categories of brainwaves – beta, alpha, theta, and delta – in the right relationship and proportion.
BETA brainwaves are the fastest. It is your normal thinking state, your active external awareness and thought process. Without beta you would not be able to function in the outside world. ALPHA brainwaves are the brainwaves of relaxed detached awareness, visualization, sensory imagery and light reverie. It is the gateway to meditation and provides a bridge between the conscious and the subconscious mind. THETA brainwaves are the subconscious mind. It is present in dreaming sleep and provides the experience of deep meditation when you meditate. Theta also contains the storehouse of creative inspiration and is where you often have your spiritual connection. DELTA brainwaves are your unconscious mind, the sleep state. Delta acts as a form of radar – seeking out information – reaching out to understand on the deepest unconscious level things that we can't understand through thought process. Delta provides intuition, empathetic attunement, and instinctual insight.
In meditation, the brainwave pattern is a combination of alpha and theta where theta provides the depth and profundity of the meditation experience and alpha provides the bridge, or the link, to the conscious thinking mind so that you can actually remember the contents of your meditation. However, the awakened mind is able to combine the intuitive, empathetic radar of the delta waves, the creative inspiration, personal insight, and spiritual awareness of the theta waves, the bridging capacity and relaxed, detached, awareness of the alpha waves, and the external attention and ability to consciously process thought of beta waves, all at the same time. It is present during “peak experience” and in all forms of creativity and high performance. The awakened mind is also the “ah-ha,” moments appearing at the exact instant of solving the problem, or getting the insight.
Creative situations happen through the power of meditation, when your mind is functioning at slower speed and is at the level of theta waves. And it is then you get the alpha moments. To really tap into your innate power, you don’t just let your mind go blank, waiting for something to happen. What you find would happen is sleep. Instead you slow the thoughts in the mind so that you can use the gaps within thoughts to access the unconscious – things that I’m completely unaware of that I’m carrying inside me. This is the delta state, when the mind is completely quiet so that deeper experiences of who you are become emerged. It is the state of connectedness with self and with God. It is also the state in which healing happens.
Let us go on a fascinating journey to see the world inside.
Sitting comfortably … I turn inwards … I watch my thoughts … and as I watch the speed of my thoughts slows down … and I select one thought … I select the thought of peace … I hold peace in my mind … as my mind becomes peaceful I can feel peace deep down within my own being … I connect within that inner space of peace … peace begins to feel natural … peace is who I am … peace is my original state of being … and in this awareness of peace … the vibrations of peace reach out … stretching far into all the world around me … peace touching human hearts … awakening hope … igniting the inner spirit again … peace touches nature … restoring harmony and calm to the turbulent elements again … peace surrounds the entire universe … we create a world of peace together … in this awareness of peace it becomes very natural and easy to recognize the eternal connection we have with the entire global family … a bond of love unite us all … a connection that is fill with care and compassion … and in this awareness of peace and love I can feel the sacred presence of the divine … the supreme being … the one who shares absolute love … a love that uplifts … a love that’s able to heal … a love that transforms … in this awareness of peace and love I come back into the awareness of my physical surroundings and I keep the peace and love within.
Why do we feel afraid to open our heart? Probably because you don’t want to be hurt; or look foolish; or you may feel that others would abuse your trust. Opening the heart is to be able to have trust for yourself and also to understand that there is a higher being than myself looking after me so that I can feel safe.
What does it mean to have an open heart? To have an open heart is to feel contentment and happiness; to be free and peaceful – not hiding nor pretending. You are then open to experiences and can become really adventurous. If my connection is with God, then it is easier to have good relationships with others. When you open your heart, you are able to communicate with others openly.
How do we begin to open our heart? One way to open the heart is to develop the nature of having good wishes for others. To become an easy person to be with is to create a space within ourselves to have good wishes. It is important to start thinking differently about ourselves. To create good wishes for others and for the self is the starting point of being able to create changes in the world around you. We can create positive and empowering atmosphere when we have a connection with each other that is positive and meaningful.
Workshop Activities
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Give yourself a good wish – work in pairs to discuss the kinds of thoughts we feed our mind.
Feedback
When we feed our mind with good thoughts, then we begin to feel contented. Every negative thought will bring you down. What you tell yourself about yourself is what creates negative experiences in your life.
How do we accumulate happiness?
We pick up the effect of the happiness of others, from the beauty of nature and also from the sunshine. In accumulating spiritual happiness, in our philosophy we look to the yogi’s – the senior meditators of the group but firstly we gain our greatest happiness from the supreme light. Where there is no light, there is lack of happiness. We all know what happens in darkness – we stumble around and become fearful. When you’re in the light it is easier to achieve a sense of happiness.
The scale of happiness starts with a happy, healthy mind. In this state of mind we remain calm and truly happy. We stay above the line of self respect. According to the stability of our self respect, we experience degrees of constancy of happiness. When we fall below the line of self respect, we realise that we are not happy and begin to search for ways to make ourselves happy. The lower we sink beneath our self respect, the more miserable we become. At the lowest stage in the scale, we no longer feel miserable and slip into a state of denial, thinking that it is normal not to have happiness. Beneath the ocean of “made happiness”, there is an ocean of sadness.
Although this scale is general, it can be useful even if you are well ahead on the spiritual path. There is always the possibility you can slip down easily. In this talk the focus is not on constant happiness, but on how we can begin to achieve a happy, healthy mind. If we are not in self respect then we are in a state of body consciousness. Our ego gives us a false sense of self respect. In that state there might even be self hate. I aspire to achieve a level of light, of high energy, which is the happy top layer of the scale. In the bottom layer there is a lack of light and also low energy, darkness.
Energy level is a key to make my life a good life. In psychology, there’s a lot of talk about surviving, but in spirituality, surviving is a basic minimum. There might be moments in your life when survival is critical. But there is something else in our life which is the purpose, which brings us much more satisfaction and much happiness. What could be the purpose of our life? There is such a deep longing to be connected to our true self – to be centred. In the lower regions of the line there is a state of self centeredness but this is in a very body conscious and selfish way, whereas in the upper regions there is self centeredness in a selfless way. This doesn’t mean that we do not look after ourselves, nor do we neglect ourselves. But you look after yourself on the level of self respect. Looking after oneself in a selfish way brings the desire for more and more.
The whole industry of pleasure is working at this level – the lower level, clinging to each other like a drowning man. Selflessness means helping each other – a sense of giving. In the upper region, being all that I am is helping in something greater. When I settle for less, I’m in the lower region.
How can we stay in that upper region?
In the news there’s lots of things going on at the lower level. How can I honestly be happy? How can I do it? How can we process it so we can still make our world happy?
Pity doesn’t help because it doesn’t bring positive energy. We have to get to a state beyond pity. This doesn’t mean having no mercy or no care. We have to work on a higher image. This is where spirituality comes in. Spirituality teaches us techniques to deal with things on a higher spiritual level.
Looking at life forces, we see that life works against gravity. Since we are beings in physical bodies, there’s a little tug-of-war going on against the being in this body. This inner conflict makes us heavy. Depressed people tend to sleep a lot. It is the life force that helps us to get up. Sickness can also comes below the level of self respect as well. Life force is a spiritual force that can help us to stay above the line of self respect. The source of our life force is God – The Supreme, The Higher Being.
Once I went through a serious bout of depression. I was in Ireland at the time. There I met an Indian man who gave me a strange advice (at least it seemed strange at the time). He said that instead of trying to make big leaps, just try moving from one lamp post to the next. I tried this and the significant changes that take place were enlightening. I became aware of little things. I learnt to live in the present, trying to connect with what there is around me. This simple method gave me such a heightened state of awareness. When we are in the state of depression – that state of denial – we behave as though we are in a coma. The more aware we are, the more we are able to stay above. To make our world happy we have to be aware of what is needed and how we can contribute at the time. By using our energy in this way, we are increasing our energy. Whatever we do at this stage is energy producing.
To see benefit in everything helps us to stay above when the world is down below. What is needed for this is good feelings, energy, light and more understanding. I can learn from everything that happens. If someone else makes a mistake, I can learn from it as well. Positive vision is an incredible way to bring happiness into the world. Our natural state is happiness and so we all have this potential.
About the speaker: Michael Mackintosh was born in South Africa but has lived in this country since he was four years old. He is interested in spirituality in art and also in spirituality in the context of health and wellbeing. He has spent the last 5 months in India spending time on his own inner journey in meditation and study.
Spirituality is not a faraway state on a mountain top but is a journey back to what we were before rather than coming into a new state. It is therefore a cyclical journey and a very strange one. It is also, of course, a personal journey.
As a child I thought about the size of the universe but asked what is beyond that … and that ... and that … I also thought about time in the same way so from an early age I was interested in how to make sense of the world because I had feelings about things not being right. I didn’t know what it was but there seemed to be nastiness in the world.
Round about this time my mother had become happy and relaxed through following the Raja Yoga spiritual philosophy, very different from her previous experience, so I ended up taking the course to find out more. It was exactly the right time for me because I was bored with what I was currently doing.
She shared with me that we are spiritual beings in a body and this affected me deeply because I was at the time at a loss and so being an eternal being was meaningful. Om shanti means I am a being of peace and therefore I understood myself to be a being of peace.
I explored more meditation and one commentary I heard suggested that you imagine yourself as you would like to be. I saw myself as I could be in the future and this image inspired me to start serious meditation. I attended a spiritual meeting and heard the words “I make you into kings of kings” and with these words I experienced a wave of powerful spiritual love, everything stopped and I was in an ocean of love. That gave me the reassurance that what I was doing was the right thing for me.
However that was just a beginning. Before meditation I had been unaware of my thoughts. The mind was full of scattered, wasteful thoughts and emotions and the meditation acted rather like taking homeopathic medicine where the illness erupts and comes to the surface. It may not be very pleasant to look into ourselves deeply but we must not be afraid because there are jewels inside us as well as the waste.
The Raja Yoga model of the journey suggests that the original state of the soul, the being, is peaceful so the journey is to go back to this original state because we have lost our peace.
Stress and anxiety are unnatural whereas peace is pleasant because it is our natural state. Peace, love and happiness are natural to us.
Reincarnation is a very long journey. We become complicated with more and more experiences. Past lives explain many strange things. I feel for old buildings like King’s chapel whereas I find modern life very stressful. The culture here feels almost as though it is throttling me after 5 months in India which felt more like home.
At the very beginning of our journey, we are full of all attainments. We are completely happy. The battery is fully charged. Gradually we come away from the state of fullness rather like having a pair of shoes that are shiny and perfect but as we wear them, they become creased and damaged. When we get to the point of throwing them away, we have walked a long way!
The journey is long and it will take a while to understand the self. Towards the end of the journey, we have to go back to the beginning again. It takes us a long time to wear the shoes out but we then we only have a short time to fix them and go back again.
Sato is the Indian term for the highest purity and truth. Rajo describes the warrior energy and tamo the degraded state of loss of truth. So on our journey we need to understand where we have reached and return back to the beginning, to our original sato being. It has to be a powerful process but in many ways very rewarding because of becoming deeply in touch with the self and reaching our highest potential. It inspired me because out of all things I could do, I wanted to move to the highest self and come out of negativity completely full of love and peace. I could think of nothing more satisfying. This became my mission.
It is an amazing experience not unlike the film legends with the hero star being victorious over difficulties or obstacles. Such films are all about the inner journey that we too are going on, overcoming all the stress and negativity within us and coming back to our highest state.
One thing I notice is that we want to smack any negativity with a big hammer because we know it has to be sorted. I see people beating themselves up because when anything comes up we do try to clear it. But we would not beat children who misbehave. Beating does not work with children and neither does it work on the self. We need to accept these negative things and learn to let go of them. The five vices (greed, lust, anger, ego and attachment) are like little children and give us a hard time but as with naughty children, one asks them peacefully to play outside. Stamping on the self is lack of self love and lack of acceptance and this lack leads to lack of change.
As we are gradually coming back to our highest state, there is the appreciation that those things need to be dealt with but love must be used. These negative things are attached to pleasures that we try to extract from outside the self but we need to accept ourselves and be more neutral and understand negativity to be outside the self whereas the inner state of peace is our eternal nature. We need to face these little monsters in a neutral way. If we can manage these little beasts, we become victorious but it is just a hassle if we just try to smack them every day. With neutrality we come into self respect because we are masters of the situation. Negative things then lose their power and once the children see that there is going to be no nonsense, as with a good teacher they stop being mischievous, and we are self empowered.
Our journey is to become self empowered so that no other things have control over us. So we need to see our highest self and the more we experience it, the more we see it, the more it becomes emerged in our consciousness. It we do not see our highest self we just see the monsters and try to hide them but they become bigger and stronger. With our power of peace and silence, everything else quietens down and all the monsters go to sleep like a magic spell.
This is the magic of meditation. Through meditation we can put the monsters to sleep rather than hitting them with a hammer. Then we come into our original state of being. The whole process is re-emerging what we were and we come back to that memory again.
This thing we call magic, what is it? That is happiness, isn’t it? It’s like being able to move around the world. The feeling is that the glass is always half full. It’s being able to see special things around me and in myself. Magic in my life is only a thought away. It’s as quick as that. And I just have to choose the right one. We’re going to explore that today. From a spiritual point of view when we talk about magic it’s about beauty and love and specialness – the type of star dust thing as oppose to something a bit darker. So finding the magic is magical, light and benevolent. And I was thinking do we need a teacher for that. I certainly did, even if it was the best kind of teacher who would say to me “you’re already have it in you, all I’m just going to do is to teach you how to get it out.” They’re not actually teaching me anything new in a sense. I do need knowledge and I need skills. And I do already have them inside but maybe with time they sort of entropied a little.
Another word that comes to mind about magic is apprentice – the sort of little broken character that someone pulls from the shelf and say come and learn. And before long this little pauper turns into a king. This is the stuff magic is made of. Another little story that brings this over clearly is the story of sleeping beauty. The beautiful little princess who was so happy until this wicked witch cast a spell over her. She pricked her finger and fell asleep for 100 years. And the whole kingdom fell asleep and became overrun with thorns and remained forgotten, until this white knight comes on his white horse and hacked away at the vines and thorns and gives the princess the kiss of life and then she awakens and the whole kingdom awakens. This is like our story. We were these beautiful beings full of life until some dark force came over us and we forgot and fell asleep. Now the teacher has come and is teaching us once more to become that again.
When I was studying the blurb for this talk I decided to split that into three parts; discover, envision and create. So let’s start with discover. Discover becomes magical when I start to look at things. It is a study, so there would be a reward of that. When you study something you feel great. Discover is also adventurous. We explore. These journeys are great explorations. We don’t have to have huge trips to the North Pole, but certainly my own journey is a trip inside myself. There are secrets to be had when you discover things. It is really interesting the way the ancient esoterics worked. They would pass their secrets on to those who understood them or share them with everyone but only those who understood them would take power from them and use them. It is really beautiful in what I discover in that package within me. Then I understand how I work and how the world works. We can go undercover. And the good thing is no one knows that I’m doing it. And this is the best part of this. No one knows that I’m going inside and working with these secrets. Fantastic! We become invisible as well. In the sense that we are involved in wanting to understand our truth. When we’re like that, we become very still. We can be very still physically but when we become still inside, we shut down and we’re able to discover very deep things in there. And the nice thing is no one can come in, so we become invisible. There’s lot of safety in that. Who is it that does all of these things? And what is it that I discover when I go in at that level?
So who am I really? You might have heard the word soul, or maybe spirit or consciousness. What is the form? I am energy, self-illuminous, self energising to a degree and we move through time. So we are the ultimate time travellers. We go through birth after birth and in each birth we have an adventure. When I play with the ideas of rebirth, I have the feeling that I was around about a thousand years ago. The beautiful aspect of this is not just discovering the present but understanding that I have a past and that conversely I have a future. What the mystics told us many, many years ago scientists are now discovering. And of course we call this quantum physics. A good analogy is the pebble in the pond. It’s dropped in and at first there’s a ripple, and that creates another. The ripples become larger and larger and continue in this knock on effect moving outwards. And after a while I can’t see the ripples but it would continue moving outwards to the bank and up the trunk of the tree. It would be getting weaker and weaker. So there are things that are moving around that I cannot see.
Synchronicity is another type of magic. The experience of “I was just about to phone you when you phoned me”. When we need to know more – some bit of information or to allow us to discover a bit more, the information comes like magic. And this is what synchronicity is about. So once I discovered what’s going, I need to take it inside and process it. So who am I really? I am a being who has moved through time, who has had a lot of power and has lost that power and is very special. I need reminding of that and I need to sustain those reminders. I was thinking about visions. What does that mean? It really is perceptions. It’s not what I see with these eyes at all. Some people have visions – their own internal little film. But most of us create our own visions. Toying along with perception, you know the saying “when the student is ready the teacher would come”. Perception starts with me. When my internal perception becomes clearer, I begin to have a higher vision of myself and look at my own specialities, not in a sense of arrogance or comparison but with self respect. In Raja Yoga the teachings we learn tells us about the vision of the past and the future. So if you are getting grumpy don’t worry, just know that with spiritual power you can change it. You can recharge the battery and become the king again. Envisioning the self in this way, that is the magic. We can see beauty, clarity and depth by just being a little more attentive and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Part of this discovery is courage. That is what we remember of those who boldly go where no one has gone before.
The third thing is about creating. I’ve discovered; I’ve looked at it; I’ve seen that there are abundance to be found – magical moments; I’ve moved into envisioning; I’ve gone inside a little bit and I’ve seen that there can be an outcome when I work with these things. The reality is that would create my reality. I have several prompts that I put for myself. One is my inner world and something which I saw just recently as I watched how we create our world around us. I’ve been watching somebody (from the point of a detached observer) maybe being quite negative and disempowering. They often used the term “useless” or there was the sense that they found the world around them as useless. Because that’s what they thought of the world, the way they speak to others – the vibrations they give, the words that they used, deliberately trying to trick someone. Again no judgement, it’s just me watching. It was a magical scene put there for me to watch, so I can understand how not to behave. So this little scene came up before me. And because that’s the perception they had of the world around them, it meant that they responded in a particular way and talked to people in a particular way. Someone comes in front of them, who’s normally strong and confident would give an idea and that one would deliberately ask awkward questions that make the person doubt herself. And suddenly the person completely crumbled and was in effect useless. So that one had his world confirmed that everyone is useless. By the same token if I want a world that is filled with magic – if I want peace, clarity, the awe and wonder, I have to choose the one second way. So here’s the problem – no it’s an adventure. Instantly I change that problem into an adventure. And if it is an adventure, I need courage, I need supplies, I need a map – knowledge, I need skills – how to sail the boat. And so I can change my world around from being difficult into being beautiful. My world would be created like that.
We are alchemist; that is magic. We turn ourselves, the batteries run down, we were a bit heavy and a bit dark and we say “I’m not going to budge cause I’m safe”, and we become gold, soft, shiny, sparkling, valuable. So we are the ultimate alchemists. An example that I particularly like comes from Lord of the Rings. It’s about a kingdom. The kingdom moves through time, pollution comes – internally and externally, goes into conflict, goes into violence; then something happen to conquer that badness and turns it back into good again. In the story the author wrote in details about the beautiful beings he called elves. They moved very gracefully and silently; they were artistic; they have a higher consciousness and sharp hearing – all those beautiful qualities. And in the film whilst walking in the snow, even though the snow was getting more and more to almost cover someone, the elf manage to walk on top of the snow, not sinking at all. This is our magic when we can remain above in this higher consciousness. Then we are able to transform any situation like magic.
The Antidote to a stressful life is something we can all be reminded of from time to time. I’ll be sharing things that work for me. We are here to be the best we can be. We need to recognise that when we are in a particular place of stress and anxiety that we don’t have to actually take on board or absorb all the feelings around us.
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If I find myself in a stressful situation one thing I can do is to stay out. As adults we have a choice, we can get up and move and find a space and place that is more conducive to where you want to be, how we want to be thinking and what it is we’re trying to do.
For those of us who work in open plan offices, where we are surrounded so much by others, there is the difficulty in trying to work at a pace, in a way that we want to. This comes just by being around other people. We are actually taking up their stuff as well. We’re taking on board their feelings. You actually walk into the office quite fine but by 11am you feel so wound up and that is just by being around so many others with so many different anxieties. What is important is minimising your exposure to such situations. How do you do that? You could actually spend a lot of time outside the office if you’re not careful, if you’re thinking of moving. It is important that you actually have permission to move around in the office. I think it is every 20 minutes you need to take a break from your computer. So it gives you space to get away from anxious situations –time to fill yourself with thoughts that are positive, constructive, of your own generating and not the thoughts of others – finding that stillness.
Before going into the office it is really important to spend the time with yourself to be still and overflowing with positive thoughts, because the environment can eat away at where you’re at and what you hold dear. There’s a lot of people who don’t have that peaceful state, who are not where you’re at and who don’t have that sense of contentment. And because of that what you go in with is quickly depleted. What is important is that how your think affects other people and how other people think affects you too. Where thoughts go energy flows, where energy flows things grow. The more you think about something that is positive the more it is going to affect your state of mind and how you relate to other people.
My new phrase is “it’s all good”, whatever is happening around me at whatever time is all good. We might always see the good in that moment of time. It is not the situation that is difficult but is how you relate to it makes it difficult. How we respond to things that make them difficult. The important thing is stillness. Even when things are not going quite the way you want it to go, if you are not in that place of stillness you can have enormous strength. All the things you’re looking for externally I already have. If I’m still enough for long enough, then I’m looking at myself internally and finding that place that is all seeing, all knowing, all understanding. The key thing about being free from stress is being still. The most important thing of all is quiet. Sometimes it is difficult to find a quiet place in a busy office setting, but a simple thing is remembering to breathe. Really breathe –like a baby breathing from the abdomen – real deep breathes.
This is like some of the preparation you need for meditation. Find a still space to be quiet, breathe deeply. Now the key thing is that you can do this where ever you are. All you need to do is to pick up the phone (no one needs to know that there is no one at the other end) so no one else could speak to you. One minute to find that inner peace calm and contentment and I guarantee that the next situation that comes along which is potentially stressful you would react to it in a much different way. To how you would normally deal with it. You didn’t need that packet of crisps or cup of coffee – all the things you think you need when you are stressful. And certainly my answer to stress is removing myself from stressful situation and also don’t take on other people’s stress.
One of my mothers mottos was “watch yourself, check yourself, change yourself” it is the constant awareness of checking and balancing that gives me a sense of responsibility for my own behaviour. You can continue doing the same thing that makes you anxious or stressful you can say no I’m not going to do that I’m going to stay calm. Ask yourself “is this the type of people I want to be around?” it is what you put intro your mind that is what comes out into the atmosphere. Positive self talk is crucial to this process. If we don’t say to ourselves congratulations for each thing we’ve done well, we can wait a long time for others to say it. We are more programmed to focus on what we’re doing wrong. We are pressured by others to achieve. But the important thing is not giving up – don’t pressure yourselves, you only fail once you stop trying. The pressures that come to us from other people, we can choose not to take. We have a choice always.
Raja yoga has taught me that every morning is the best time to recharge the self. That time is so quiet so still. Be still enough, to fill and tap into that peace that centeredness. This would allow you to go through the days weeks and months without getting stressed out. You do not allow yourself to become stressed. We all have twenty four hours but what is different is how we use it. You need to make time for this just as you make time for eating, sleeping etc. You have to timetable your time to be still. You also need regular top ups during the course of the day. In so doing, you creating the state of mind that whatever is happening is good. The power of silence cannot be overlooked in this stress antidote. What is important is where you’re at what you surround yourself with. Silence gives an opportunity to tap into what makes you feel at one with yourself. It is like an internal retreat.
When we spend all our time trying to control other people, trying to control the situation, what we need to be doing is trying to control ourselves. We are all sitting in the tree but we’re seeing it from very different perspectives, depending on where we’re sitting in the tree. So much of what we’re thinking and doing depends on where we’re at and how we see ourselves. How we respond to others is very much to do with me. We need to do is work on ourselves. If you’re really stressed out and worry about other people, the key thing is to work on yourself and where you’re at. Everyone is doing what they need to do because of the space and place where they’re at and the path that they’re on and the part they have to play. Particularly with responsibility for young people, what we think they should do should be the things we do ourselves. We need to get them to value what they have and how hard they work to get it. This is discouraging them from wanting what others have.
The greatest antidote to stress is to give the right energy to the situations. Find the quiet time in between to create the right response.
We can liken our mind to a water tank, within in which there is a reservoir of thoughts – a very good mixture of thoughts. From this reservoir there is a drip of constant thoughts. From the mind we experience these drips of thoughts coming all the time. There are some that we use and some we don’t use and they go through what looks like a sieve but is called the intellect. We can decide whether they are good thoughts or bad thoughts. Then they come into action after this which is an effect. From the effect comes a feeling or emotion. So if I have the thought “I am not very good”, “Nobody likes me”, that is the experience. Then that experience goes into the reservoir. So this reservoir is filled with a whole library of different experiences, emotions and events. Our thinking affects the way in which we experience our life.
What types of thoughts create disease? Thoughts like worry, anger etc. are likely to cause disease in our life. Thoughts that are likely to give us ease might be thoughts of giving or sharing, nurturing thoughts, cultivating thoughts, inspiring thoughts or supporting thoughts. So the library is quite extensive. Then we get to the farmers and we get to use the watering can. So the plants grow into whatever I want them to. I can water it with negative thoughts which might come from my influences. Things might not have been very helpful for me and so pulled me into this effect and I have to observe and learn from my many mistakes what cause these. But then I also realise that in my mind there are very, loving thoughts – very powerful thoughts. But I need to spend time in contemplation and in silence to touch on these thoughts and also to not let these other thoughts of worry and fear get the better of us. I have to be able to use that sieve (the intellect) and know “is this helping me or not helping me”. So the intellect is very useful.
The things that help us come out of the spiral of negative are things that are nurturing. But what it is that we do for ourselves that are nurturing? What lifts you? It might be nutrition, exercise, resting or accepting. And that’s accepting everything, even those we label “bad”. Appreciating might also be another. And so we come into values – what sort of values do we have. Ultimately we want to mother ourselves. But sometimes we tend to forget ourselves and throw our attention on someone else. We get busy doing other things that are not helpful to our spiritual growth – our personal growth. We get caught up in our jobs and what our friends are doing and we lose ourselves in that. And so we become externalised.
So how do you see your day? You can draw your own picture from the time of waking until time of going to bed. When we see ourselves in this elliptical situation, how do we see ourselves changing the picture of ourselves to make our lives easier? What would you see yourself doing? What would you see yourself being? So this is the external chart for ourselves, but there is also the internal chart. This is to do with our thinking – how we can use our thoughts. This is something that we can structure into our day. It means adding good thoughts, happy thoughts, peaceful thoughts, which help us to stay in gratitude for whatever happens in our day. Everything is beneficial, even if it tells you you’re going the wrong way. It depends also on the amount of power, attention, meaning and intention behind the thoughts to create the experiences that we have.
So living a life of ease is about creating happiness in our lives and showing happiness in our lives. It is that quality of thinking and being and interacting that help us. Through meditation, a very useful practice is becoming introverted and getting in touch with yourself and realising that there are lots of things entirely we all experience and we’re not alone in this. There is great acceptance in understanding that there’s a side of us that is very negative. But also there is something very positive and wonderful in all of us. But beyond all this there is something greater than ourselves. And it’s this that we’re looking for and feeling for. When we spend time in meditation and we go beyond the negative thinking patterns and behaviours, it is here that we start to grow and we become more self assured more confident about it, because we having a look. We are deciding to make a more conscious look inside.
Ultimately what we need is to have cultivating thoughts. We need to look at our thinking and see what thoughts are in our mind and check and charge them. What we put in the storehouse of the mind are the things we would like to experience in a positive way.
What can we put in this storehouse that can enhance our lives. We can be more generous – more giving instead of taking. We can be self confidence and self accepting. We can fill ourselves with knowledge – sort of truth seeking knowledge. These are some of the things that help to make us grow. Now we have to make sure that the thoughts we create are to nurture and encourage these qualities to grow. Our thoughts are very valuable to us.
(top)Steve Willis, Chelmsford
One key aspect of meditation is the aspect of going inside the self and looking within. Meditation is becoming introversion – it’s going in and looking inside. there’s the famous saying “man know thy self”. What are we going to see when we look inside? Or what do we want to see? When we look inside, is that what we want to experience? The beauty of this meditation is when we look inside we see two main little boxes. There’s a box on the right hand side and there’s a box on the left hand side. One is like a little treasure box and the other is a box. Inside each of those boxes are things that we look for and things that we use in or day to day life. So what’s in the left hand box and what’s in the right hand box? In the right hand box, there are all the things that we want to be. We all want to be peaceful, don’t we? So in the right hand box there is peace, happiness, love. Love is important – it gives the form of cooperation and harmony. There is also power in the right hand box – we need strength of mind. Strength of mind is not to get upset when someone “cuts you up” (when driving or even if you’re on your bicycle). Strength of mind is not to get upset by those little things, not to get disturb by those minor things. Meditation is about dealing with the little things. Start with the little things and the big things would sort themselves.
So what’s in the left hand box then? All those things that we use, that are perhaps not so good. In the right box is your little treasure box. Your little cherub is in the right box. We know what cherubs are, don’t we? They are those stubby little things that always fall over, with short legs and little wings that are nut fully grown. We are all angels, in the cherub stage. So what do we have in the left box? We have an angel in the right and in the left one there’s a little devil. So when you open that box what comes out? The first thing is anger. We use anger against people. When we get angry, we try to frighten people, we try to control people or we try to dominate them. It’s like having a ten-headed snake. If you look at someone who is angry, it doesn’t look nice does it? Getting angry is not very nice. When it comes to little children, we could let it go. But when adults are angry and they let their ten-headed snakes out of their eyes (it comes out of the eyes, when it’s anger), you feel the atmosphere changes, the tension increases. We all use anger to get our own way sometimes. That ten-headed snake can become a very clever snake sometimes. The worst moment of anger is cleverness – becoming calculative. We see a lot of clever anger, deceitful anger and cunning anger in the world today. Outside we have our little angelic costume on, but inside the anger is there. We’ve got so much anger in that box. And it’s difficult to keep it shut. Not only does it contain anger, but it also contains dislike and annoyance. It’s a lot to carry around. It’s a big box.
In meditation, I go inside myself and check the boxes. If I have to change anything within my self, I have to first accept that I have those things within me. the second stage is not just to accept that I have it, but to accept that I want to change it as well. When our left box is opened, our world becomes murky. Past present and future also merges. You can’t see the previous actions. You can’t see where it’s leading you. So it’s not a good box to open, but it pops up so quickly. If you try to open up the one where the angel is, it is so much more difficult. But this is what meditation is for. It is going inside and opening up that box and absorb myself in this good qualities. Meditation is about feelings. You have to feel those qualities. It is reminding myself I am peaceful. I am the one driving this chariot (the body). I sit comfortably in the centre of the forehead and concentrate in the things in the right box. What we need to do is practise continuously “I am an angel of peace”. We need to allow the little cherub to grow. We need to look after it and nurture it. When you sow a seed, you have to keep watering it and looking after it, encouraging it to grow. It’s the same with our good qualities. We have to nurture them then try to bring them into action like “love that person whom you haven’t liked for ten years”. That’s what we have to do. We have to transform ourselves – reform the way we feel inside. When we let go of those left hand box experiences, we feel lighter. They’re heavy and weigh us down.
Begin each day with sitting in silence and opening up the little treasure box of good qualities and then bring those qualities into actions. You need to fill yourself up with those qualities then meet the wife/husband, children, work colleagues. The more we can act those qualities, the stronger those wings will become. Living these qualities come with effort, as earning medals. You have three medals. You have bronze – this is when
You’ve lost it – you tried but didn’t quite get it. You opened up the left hand box and let the ten-headed snake out. So that’s your bronze medal. This happened because we lose concentration. What happens is we then realised we’ve let the ten-headed snake out, so we quickly put it away and close the box. But we begin to beat on ourselves. Allow a short time to lament then quickly begin to think of ways to remedy it.
Now what’s silver? If someone comes around and gives you a hard time, you didn’t get angry with them but you don’t have a good thought for them either. You haven’t let out the snake, you didn’t do anything wrong but you didn’t have good wishes. Unlike the silver medal, the gold medal is had when someone does something wrong to you and you have let out the snake and you’ve had good wishes for them. The gold medal brings cooperation because you actually make the effort to try and resolve the situation.
If someone is not doing the things you want them to do, and it may be the right thing for them to do, what do we do? The best thing for you to do is to do whatever you want them to do yourself. You be the role model. It’s a different way – different from the way of confrontation. Whatever confrontation that we use does not work. The method of modelling works in a matter of weeks, whereas confrontation method could last for years before any result (and that is if there is really a result). To help others, we have to become humble. By bowing down (that is by doing it yourself), you help others to understand what they should do.
I find this a very interesting topic. I’ve chosen this topic mainly because I think what it means to me is like knowing the secrets in life – knowing how life works, how the inner reality is working. We are all involved in this massive human drama and we all have our individual unique parts. We all have our own specialities, our own divine gift to give to the world and to share with others. Also every action is having an impact somewhere. Whether it’s things that we buy having an impact or whether there’s the thoughts that we have that’s having the impact. So when we’re interacting with other people, and our thoughts and our attitude are of good-will and best wishes, then that really reaches everyone and it has an impact. So to know what’s going on in this world and how our actions really impact are what we are going to explore this evening.
The main thing is to understand how we interact with this world. What happens when we perform actions? And the most powerful thing in this world is our own mind. If we think of all the technical inventions, whether it is a rocket or some new gadget, these things all began in someone’s mind. Ideas, thoughts and concepts – these things cannot exist in practical form without it first coming into the mind. I’m really coming into terms with how this affects us, not just as inventions but day-to-day, reality type of experience. Whatever I’m experiencing right now and whatever I’ve already experienced, again it comes back to the mind. What’s going on in my mind? What thoughts are there? What beliefs lie beneath the surface? So anything that ever happened in this world, anything that is happening and will ever happen is in your mind. Everything I’m experiencing is a result of what’s going on in my mind.
If we take the example of an iceberg, what we see above the water is only a small fraction of the whole iceberg. In reality 90% of it lies below the water. So we we can see something things happening all around us – we see people performing actions, interacting, doing all sorts of things. There is so much stuff happening all the time, like earthquake, wars, etc. But that’s just like the tip of the iceberg. What actually cause all that stuff is the 90% you can not see. It’s like metaphysics – relationship between your mind and what’s going on. It’s that the thoughts and action I’m having now is having an impact. My feelings would be affecting you and your feelings would be affecting me. We’re all affecting each other. And so whatever happens in the next hour or so is as a result of how we feel inside. The twist of the events – the story of events that happens in this world – is like a chain of reaction that keeps on flowing from one event to the other. But that’s all the tip of the iceberg.
So what is going on under the surface? We can call the unconscious or the unmanifested – the hidden structure. We see the inventions, but we don’t see the mind and the thoughts that go into making the inventions. The mind is the single most important thing in the whole world. We can look at the mind in terms of what we can do with it – the potential of the mind. So whatever I’m experiencing right now is as a consequence of what’s going on inside me. This comes down to what I want to experience in life. We want to feel good and if we’re not feeling that, then it comes down to the thoughts we are creating inside ourselves. Raja yoga teaches us that it is that subtle hidden stuff that actually creates our state of being. So basically it is our beliefs and perception that creates our whole reality. The most important belief and perception we have is the concept of who we think we are. Just try for the next ten seconds to close your eyes and ask yourself who you think you are and see what comes up in the mind. There might be positive stuff or negative stuff that comes up. In my belief structure, there’s a whole lot of negative stuff and some positive stuff inside. If I have positive stuff going on inside then I feel positive and the same if I have negative stuff then my feelings would be negative. These are all hidden stuff and getting to that stuff and transforming it requires depth of understanding and patience. All the stuff we have inside us – good our bad – is all our creation. It is all ready for the change as soon as you command it to do so. We are the masters – 100% - of our own experience. If we’re feeling in a certain way, there’s a good chance that we’ve chosen to go that way. However I feel inside myself is going to impact on everything.
Years ago people this attitude was termed the egocentric belief. They felt that human beings were the centre of the universe – the whole universe revolved around the earth. Later, with science, this came to be seen as a very naïve attitude. However, in a metaphysical way, we are the centre of our own universe, because we cannot experience anything other than that what’s going on inside of us. If we really want to make changes, we can’t do it from an intellectual level. We have to be deeply connect on a subconscious level and that allows us to come to terms with what’s going on inside us. By creating happy thoughts then those thoughts that are not so happy come up to the surface so that you can transform them to happy thoughts.
In raja yoga we are taught that all of us are essentially positive, really happy beings. But this core experience has been covered up by many other beliefs. And consequently we are experiencing all that other stuff, so that’s what we think we are. Identifying with this other stuff creates our experience and identifying with the being inside creates our experience. The essence of this topic is simple. If you have positive beliefs, you bound to have a positive life. It sounds quite simple, but as was said earlier the beliefs are the 90% below the surface – the bit we can’t see. When it comes to changing the self, it is more than just changing my thoughts – the way I think. It is also taking responsibility for my own experience in life. And rather than just being blown around in the mind – this happen and I feel happen; this happen and I feel sad – really taking charge of what is happening in my life. Take the reins of responsibility in life and say “I’m the master of my own experiences; I’m the master of myself”. Whatever I want to experience in life let me do that actively right now. Work on the level of self belief with the conviction of reforming myself. Bringing about internal change really requires commitment. It is so easy to forget. I might have great plans in my mind today to reform myself. But tomorrow I might not remember them or they might not have the same impact. But even if I create great thoughts and have forgotten about them, they haven’t gone to waste. There must be something that have gone in there and that will manifest in its own way. It requires a willingness to face all the stuff that have gone in and which are alien to my being.
Where do I come to learn about who I really am? To get the answer to that question I have to go within. If I come to know who am I then I come to that point of real positivity. Positivity is not out there somewhere, it is inside. So we have to go inside. Meditation is an excellent way of doing that. Once you know inside that you are a positive, happy being and the only reason you’re not experiencing that is because you’re identifying with all the stuff outside the self. Once you have that conviction it doesn’t matter what comes. You’ve got that reference point. Meditation helps you to do that – to remember and experience what is true positivity and happiness. Meditation is like a near death experience; it takes you right out of yourself. The whole point of meditation is going inside and connecting with yourself. But that self is something very different. It is a non-physical being – a spiritual being – like a tiny star; a being of light, who is a traveller, a guest in this life. To have this perception of self so embedded, just think what that would do to your life. To reconnect that original self is the single most powerful thing that I can do for myself.
Prof Reem Baghat, Cairo, Egypt
Anthony Strano, Athens, Greece
Anthony told the story of someone who was having difficulties with her daughter-in-law, and who felt totally justified in blaming her daughter-in-law for the problems between them. She just couldn't accept the idea of taking responsibility for changing the relationship by changing her own consciousness. As a final attempt to help her to change, it was suggested that every day she wrote down positive qualities that she saw in her daughter-in-law, for a week. At the end of the week, when she was asked how much success she'd had, she said she couldn't find one positive quality in her no matter how hard she tried. It's not possible to help someone if they are not willing to take responsibility to change their consciousness.
We have to change our consciousness every day, think about good things, positive things. We experience conflict and bad feelings because we don't transform inside. One of the blocks which prevent us from changing is our own self-righteousness. We always think that we are right.
To experience a meaningful relationship we have to learn to let go of things of the past.
'I gave everything and they abused it'. Who asked you to give everything? It's our neediness to give or do everything for someone which causes the problem. In a balanced relationship we have to keep our self respect, otherwise we become too dependent on someone else. We allow others to exploit us. Learning will only happen when we don't blame others. Sometimes we suppress how we feel and don't have the courage to speak out. We need to learn something from every good and bad situation which happens to us.
This situation has come for my benefit, for my freedom. We need to learn to put a full stop otherwise we play the scenario over and over in our head and don't move on. Take the opportunities which the situation presents to us. This is the point of life. Situation are only meaningful to us when there's newness in every day, an appreciation in simple things. There is always a solution if we're willing to see it.
We either blame and criticise others or we blame the self. We experience regret and go over and over the situation again and again in our mind. If we do this we are not changing anything. We would never say 'I want this negative experience', but subconsciously there may be a reason why we persist in creating this negativity.
We need to create the ability to be quiet and still.
There are three main things which create a sense of well-being.
1. a sense of identity
2, a sense of belonging
3. a purpose of making a contribution.
If any of these are missing, our life feels imbalanced.
SENSE OF IDENTITY
Where
do we get our value for our existence? From approval, success,
our talents, our job? These are dangerous because life is about
being accepted one minute and being rejected the next. If we
don't have a strong sense of identity, then we become dependent on the
external things which, by their very nature, are always changing.
There are three main identities which are necessary for our life:
physical, social and spiritual
The spiritual identity is the key to having success.
The spiritual identity is the engine and the other two are the carriages. We need to be very stable in our spiritual identity because within this identity are the resources which make human life worth living. One of the problems which we experience is that our spiritual identity is not constant and the fluctuation makes us ery tired and eventually hopeless. When we are dependent on external things we experience a lot of disappointment. Weak self esteem creates a very active imagination and wastes a tremendous amount of energy.
Whatever happens on an external level, we need to be able to return to our roots, the soul. Learn very deeply who we are and experience this truth. This will nourish us. Anthony gave the example of the bush fire in Australia where everything was burnt and became like charcoal. After some rain, new shoots began to grow from the burnt down bushes and trees. When he asked a friend, who was a conservationist, how this could happen, he explained that the roots went very deep, sometimes miles underground and the rain activated a process where the sap would rise and promote new growth.
Don't take things too seriously. The root of self respect is very deep within the soul and if we don't access this, we become fragile when something comes along. It's not enough to know about values, we have to connect with them in silence. Take this nourishment in silence. Go deep inside and concentrate. know something, accept it and believe it. We shouldn't protect ourselves by being aggressive or by suppressing something - neither is healthy. Humility comes when we have respect for the self and is not a weakness or subservience. It's very important to understand something before we practice it, otherwise we find ourselves practicing the wrong thing. For example, tolerance is not putting up with something we don't like.
Learn to protect ourselves with our values and we won't get eaten up by reaction. Some say, 'we need a bit of ego or others will walk all over us'. What we don't realise is that by using something a little, it will grow and later becomes a problem.
BELONGING
We all need a sense of belonging, to love and be loved, not the Hollywood type of love, but spiritual clean, genuine accepting love, love which doesn't fluctuate, This is missing a lot in our society. To be rejected causes a great deal of pain and leads to resentment. Self esteem is love for the self. Often religion can be the cause of making us feel guilty, and can have a huge influence on our self esteem. Love should be a liberating experience and should be stable. Respect comes before love, otherwise love is just an emotional experience which comes and goes. We need to respect others, respect that everyone is different, and see them as a soul. We need to respect what the other is, give them space and not interfere. They have a right to be here, they have a right to exist. Lack of love leads to a feeling of isolation, loneliness and feeling misunderstood.
Anthony tells a story of his brother who had just failed in his fourth marriage asking Anthony, 'What's wrong with women these days!?
SENSE OF PURPOSE
We usually get this sense of purpose or feeling of making a contribution through our work. We need to use whatever talents or skills we have acquired or been given in the service of others and make a contribution to the beauty of the whole. In a good relationship we give the best of ourselves to others, otherwise we feel that we are giving a lot but not getting anything back in return.
This is selfless sharing. With a spiritual identity it is easy to be generous and we are happy to see others moving forward, If we plant one seed, do we only get one apple? And yet we do this ourselves. If I do thing one thing for you, then you give me something in return. I smiled 3 and a half times and they didn't smile once! Trees give generously, providing thousands of apples every season, fulfilling its task. The best things in life grow when you give them away. We can't approach important things in a materialistic way.
To recharge the inner battery we need silence. We need to put a brake on the mind. The mind doesn't always obey. The intellect understands but the mind is activated and influenced by our habits. It's up to us to stop the negative habits and direct our energy. Habits or addictions don't stop easily, they don't respond well to force or suppression because this just gives more energy to the negativity. Instead, think of a positive alternative.
Peace leads to freedom from waste thinking. We only need ourselves to experience