Life 04 (Aug 09 - Sep 09)

[winston]

The ending of a quality is not a matter of time

The ending of a quality such as violence or greed is not a matter of time, and it does not come about through ideals; it has to be done immediately, not through time.

We get caught up in the gradualism of ideals when we are concerned with time.Please do not jump to conclusions or say, “Without ideals I shall be lost”, but rather listen to what is being said. I know all the arguments, all the justifications of ideals. Just listen, if you kindly will, without a conclusion, and try to understand what the speaker is talking about; do not block your understanding by saying “I must have ideals.”

Ideals have existed for centuries. Various religious teachers have talked of ideals, but they may all be wrong and probably are. To adhere to an ideal is obviously to postpone freeing the mind from violence, greed, envy, ambition and the desire for power. If one is concerned, as one should be, with righteousness, which is the foundation upon which rests all true inquiry into what religion is, then one must investigate the possibility of ridding the mind of violence, of greed, of envy, of acquisitiveness, not at some time in the distant future, but now.

The Collected Works vol X, pp 224-225

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

Some people say that they are facing hardships and are leading a miserable life. It is foolish on their part to say so.

The Divine, the indweller has absolutely no sorrow and worries. He is the embodiment of supreme bliss. The Divine Himself says, "I am present in you. You are but a spark of my Divinity." Such being the case, how can one be affected by difficulties and sorrows?

When you enquire on these lines, you will realize that the demonic and bestial tendencies in you are responsible for these feelings. You will not be able to experience the truth that the Divine is all-pervasive unless you give up evil qualities. The Divine is present in all elements and in all beings in the form of radiance.

-Divine Discourse, 9 Oct, 2002.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

When the contrast gets greater, the desire gets greater too, and that's what miracles are from.

A miracle is nothing more than a terrible situation that has caused strong desire and then somehow an alignment of Energy with the desire. Every day life creativity, that's all that it is.

--- Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in Chicago, IL on Sunday, November 2nd, 1997

Source: abraham-hicks.com

[kennynah]

this is Life

[winston]

Love develops divine power in you. There is nothing that love cannot conquer in this world. Sages performed penance in dense forests infested with wild animals. They did not possess any weapon for self- protection. The weapon that protects them is their intense love and yearning for the Divine.

They tame the wild beasts with their power of love and transform them into docile beings. You should not merely exist as a human being in form. Speak good, see good, do good and be good. Divinity will manifest in you only when your conduct is good.

- Divine Discourse, Sep 9, 2002.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Go Ahead, Have a Tantrum

If life has gotten you down, if you feel beaten and worn, it's ok. Don't fight those feelings because you think it's not "spiritual" to feel that way or because it's not the "enlightened" thing to do. Allow yourself to feel beaten. Go ahead, have a tantrum. Cry. Scream. Kick. Beg. Plead. Freak out.

While it may seem contrary to what you've learned about positive thinking and feeling good, allowing yourself to feel whatever you feel, no matter how bad, can often lead to feeling better. Sometimes you just have to go through the emotions to get to the other side of them. It may not always be true; sometimes you can put your focus on something else and immediately feel better. But when you feel beaten by life and can't seem to pick yourself up, sometimes surrendering to those feelings can bring huge relief and can actually be the catalyst to help you out of them.

So often those of us on the conscious spiritual path try to deny those feelings. We think we need to be happy, peaceful and loving all the time and when we're not, there's something wrong with us. So we try harder and push harder against the bad feelings, but it is often our resistance to them, our shame and guilt about feeling them, that make them stronger.

Accepting yourself no matter where you are, no matter how you feel, is often the key to feeling better. If you can accept that you feel horrible and that it's ok to feel that way, you've taken a huge step in finding relief, in finding your footing again.

Just feel whatever you feel and do your best to get out of it if it's not to your liking. And sometimes doing your best to get out of it means giving in to it. There is tremendous power in acceptance and non-judgment.

Source: www.FollowYourSoul.com.

[winston]

Psychologically, is there evolution?

There is an evolution of the primate to the so-called man. There is evolution from not-knowing to knowing. Evolution implies time; but psychologically, inwardly, is there evolution?

Are you following the question? Outwardly one can see how architecture has advanced from the primitive hut to the modern building, mechanics from the two-wheel cart to the motor, the jet plane, going to the moon, and all the rest of it—it is there, obviously there is no question whether these things have evolved or not. But is there evolution inwardly, at all?

You believe so, you think so, do you? But is there? Do not say “there is” or “there is not”. Merely to assert is the most foolish thing, but to find out is the beginning of wisdom. Now, psychologically, is there evolution? That is, I say “I shall become something”, or “I shall not be something”; the becoming or the not being involves time—does it not?

“I shall be less angry the day after tomorrow”, “I shall be more kind and less aggressive, more helpful, not be so self-centred, selfish”, all that implies time—“I am this” and “I shall be that”. I say I shall evolve psychologically—but is there such evolution? Shall I be different in a year’s time?

Being violent today, my whole nature is violent, my whole upbringing, education, the social influences and the cultural pressures have bred in me violence; also I have inherited violence from the animal, the territorial rights and sexual rights and so on—will this violence evolve into non-violence? Can violence ever become love?

Talks with American Students, pp 177-178

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

There is no source of evil. There is only a Stream of Well-Being, which you are allowing, or not.

But under the name of righteousness and goodness and religion, you drop bombs on innocent children. And then you say, "it's for the good of all of us." And we say, we don't see that. And you don't see it from your Non-physical perspective, either. It's only in your disconnection that those things make sense.

--- Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in San Rafael, CA on Saturday, February 26th, 2005

Source: abraham-hicks.com

[winston]

One's character gets transformed into good or bad depending upon his/her company.

Noble company bestows noble feelings and bad company gives rise to evil traits. Your speech and conduct are based on your feelings. Form alone does not constitute a human being. A true human being is one who embodies good habits. You deserve to be called a human being only when you develop good feelings in you. Let your thoughts, words and deeds be suffused with sacred feelings.

- Divine Discourse, 9 Oct 2002

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Is there a tomorrow, psychologically?

When we are talking about time, we do not mean chronological time, time by the watch. That time exists, must exist. If you want to catch a bus, if you want to get to a train or meet an appointment tomorrow, you must have chronological time. But is there a tomorrow, psychologically, which is the time of the mind? Is there psychological tomorrow, actually? Or is the tomorrow created by thought because thought sees the impossibility of change, directly, immediately, and invents this process of gradualness?

I see for myself, as a human being, that it is terribly important to bring about a radical revolution in my way of life, thinking, feeling, and in my actions, and I say to myself, “I’ll take time over it; I’ll be different tomorrow, or in a month’s time.” That is the time we are talking about: the psychological structure of time, of tomorrow, or the future, and in that time we live.

The Collected Works vol XVII, p 26

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com