A Minha Vida

Thanks Laide ;-)

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:6, New International Version http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Matthew+6:6

Our infinite selves

The body is a vessel that carries the soul from birth to death.  The way in which we care for it, hopefully in a good way, will make us better equipped to deal with the various challenges that we will inevitably encounter whilst we are human.  The experiences of humanity, albeit positive or negative, provide the soul with the necessary growth, which is required to reach its highest form of consciousness.  So, when you have a bad day just remember to look on the positive side, no matter how hard that might be, and remember that everything happens for a reason.  Happiness is a state of mind, which in most cases is achieved through self awareness and acceptance. 

- Evete Van de Saar

Why God did not help us

Master and disciple are walking through the deserts of Arabia. The Master uses each moment of the journey to teach his disciple about faith.

“Entrust your things to God,” he said. “Because He never abandons His children.”

When they camped down at night, the Master asked the disciple to tie the horses to a nearby rock. The disciple went over to the rock, but then remembered what he had learned that afternoon. “The Master must be testing me. The truth is that I should entrust the horses to God." And he left the horses loose.

In the morning he discovered that the animals had run off. Indignant, he sought out the Master.

“You know nothing about God! Yesterday I learned that I should trust blindly in Providence, so I gave the horses to Him to guard, and the animals have disappeared!”

“God wanted to look after the horses,” answered the Master. “But at that moment he needed your hands to tie them up and you did not lend them to Him.”

source: www.warriorofthelight.com

Gutei’s Finger Pointing to the One

Be true to yourself, because your own truth can lead you to the ultimate truth. Nobody else’s truth can be your truth. You have a seed within you. Only if that seed sprouts and becomes a tree will you have a flowering; then you will have an ecstasy, a benediction. But if you are following others that seed will remain dead. And you may accumulate all the ideals in the world and become successful, but you will feel empty, because nothing else can fill you – only your seed, when it becomes a tree, will fill you. You will feel fulfilment only when your truth has come to flower, never before.

The Zen master Gutei made a practice of raising his finger whenever he explained a question about Zen. A very young disciple began to imitate him, and whenever anyone asked the disciple what his master had been preaching about, the boy would raise his finger.

Gutei got to hear about this, and when he came upon the boy as he was doing it one day, he seized the boy, whipped out a knife, cut off his finger, and threw it away.

As the boy ran off howling Gutei shouted, “Stop!” The boy stopped, turned round, and looked at his master through his tears.

Gutei was holding up his own finger. The boy went to hold up his finger, and when he realised it wasn’t there he bowed. In that instant he became enlightened.

This is a very strange story, and there is every possibility that you will misunderstand it, because the most difficult thing to understand in life is the behaviour of an enlightened person.

Masters never do anything unnecessarily, not even raising a finger… Gutei didn’t always raise a finger, only when he explained a question about Zen – why? All your problems arise because you are fragmented, because you are disunity, a chaos, not a harmony.

And what is meditation? Nothing but coming to a unity.

Gutei’s explanations were secondary; the one raised finger was the primary thing. He was saying, “Be One! And all your problems will be solved.” The boy began to imitate him.

Now, imitation cannot lead you anywhere. Imitation means that the ideal comes from without, it is not something happening within you. You have a seed within you; if you are imitating others that seed will remain dead. Gutei must have been very very compassionate. Only out of compassion you can be so hard – the imitation has to be cut severely.

The finger is just symbolic. The boy has to be shocked severely, and the suffering must go to the very root of his being. A very intense moment of awareness, a very great device…

Source: www.theyogashop.co.uk

The Marriage Deal

The ideal that marriage aims at is that of spiritual union through the physical. The human love that it incarnates is intended to serve as a stepping–stone to divine or universal love.

- Mind of Mahatma Gandhi (YI, 21-5-1931, p. 115)

Patience and Speed

A Warrior of Light needs patience and speed at the same time. The two biggest mistakes of a strategy are to act prematurely and to let the opportunity pass by. To avoid making these mistakes, the warrior copes with each situation as if it were unique, and applies no formulas, prescriptions or the opinions of others.

Caliph Moauiyat asked Omar Ben Al-Aas what was the secret of his great political skill: “I have never gotten involved in any matter without first studying the way out; on the other hand, I have never become involved and wanted to get out right away,” was his answer.

- Paulo Coelho

Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth occurs all of the time regardless of whether you are preoccupied with all of the trivialities of day to day living. It grows even more so when we least expect it. Our soul is infinite and therefore it is constantly at work, developing and expanding; it is an eternal growth process. The realities of life can be harsh and at times the physical self can become so engulfed in the here and now. After all how can spiritual growth be measured in a tangible form?

Something to keep in mind:

It is important to reflect on your day; to remember the people and situations in it. It is all too easy to overlook the development that your so called ‘shitty day’ has given you. We instinctively deal with situations on a sub conscious level, in business and in our personal lives; the progress is there and if you sit and reflect you too will realise that you deal with life a little bit smarter each day because you have learned from the activities of the day before. Your soul works much in the same way but of course on a much deeper level.

It is important to Meditate:

• I know that we read this often and it becomes a bit boring even writing it but it is a significant act. It is the act of synchronising with our higher self; our soul and the divine presence. Synchronisation happens all of the time but this does't mean that you are fully conscious of it. Meditation is when your mind, body & soul become one; an epiphany or moment of realisation. These moments happen often in life, so don't think it is a one off. This is the way that the universe shows you that you are growing.

• Mediation doesn't have to entail this stereotypical archetype involving a room full of incense and Tibetan temple music; however it has been known to help a bit. On the contrary, I have learned that sitting in London traffic can be an excellent opportunity to unwind and reflect. Notwithstanding that it also teaches you to be very patient!

• In your quiet moments, it is important to test yourself; sit in your own silence without distractions or comforts. It might be an idea to try this before you go to bed or first thing in the morning. Just breathe and listen; try not to think too much about what you need to do today or tomorrow (this is much easier said than done). What do you hear? How does this make you feel? Are you relaxed? Find your central point - this is a place where you feel at ease and free. I won’t lead you to believe that this place is found easily. Meditation is a discipline and with time it becomes second nature to go to your central point much easier and in any environment.

The Soul:

The soul is the human body's teacher and guide. It knows to put us in situations that will benefit our physical and spiritual growth. It learns at a much faster pace than we do. It has played the life game quite a few times now and so has learned quite a bit through these experiences. Your soul knows exactly what it is that it will gain from your lifetime. This was agreed well in advance of your birth. The soul doesn't speak a language that is understandable to humanity; this is something that you learn through time. You also learn to have faith in the energy and the fate in which your existence is made of.

Learn to Love:

Another aspect to keep in mind is that it is very important to learn to love who you are and what you will become through time. I have learned through my spiritual work that many people think that love is something that you can control or make happen. It is common to assume that the feeling of love can only be felt when you are with another person. The reality is that not everyone will experience; a twin soul experience in this life nonetheless it is important to learn to love yourself and your experiences always.

Love to Learn:

Education will always be the most important resource that any human can utilise in order to obtain a better knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of life and the various aspects in it.  Never shy away from learning anything new or old.  I promise you that even when you think you have learned all that you can, there is always going to be something new that comes and challenges your beliefs and views.  Arrogance wins nothing and therefore always be humble with your intellect and never assume you know more than your peers; each person has a different lesson plan.  We are all intelligent in our own way.

Learn to Listen:

If you listen you will realise that life never stays still; the noise from the cars outside, the birds singing, the central heating or your clock. It is impossible to turn life off. Over time we adapt to our environment and we learn to fade out the noises of life; selective hearing. Everything has its own rhythm and slowly we learn to become in harmony with all that is around us. In the process this can sometimes make us feel very restless; the need to move around and be active; this is due to the changes that you are undergoing. Be patient but also don't resist the unknown.

written by: Evete Van de Saar © 2006

Manifestation

Practice

"We call prayer... that speech of man to God which, whatever else is asked, ultimately asks for the manifestation of the divine Presence." -Martin Buber (1878-1965)

The divine Presence is with us always. Here, now and always. It's just that we are not always aware of that presence. We're so busy getting things done and just handling life that our attention is elsewhere. That's why it is so important to spend time on our spiritual practices. During that time, we remind ourselves of who we really are, and of what is really important. Taking some time to center ourselves with spiritual practice helps everything in our lives flow more smoothly.

-Lissa Coffey

Perception

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." -Buddha

Our perception tends to be that growth is hard, that it is a struggle, that it is work. But the truth is that we are only making it hard on ourselves. We cling to the past, try to control our futures. Are we willing to get out of our own way and just let it be? It could be so simple! Look at the flower. Learn from the flower. We can bloom just as easily.

-Lissa Coffey

From an Anglican Bishop in the Year 1100

When I was young and free, I dreamed of changing the world. In maturity I discovered that the world would not change, so I decided to change my country. After some effort I ended up understanding that this too was impossible. At the end of my years I tried to change my family but they went on being the same as they were before.

Now on my death bed I discover that my mission was to change myself. If I had done that, I would have been able to change my family. Then, with a little luck, that change would affect my country, and then – who knows – the whole wide world.