Life 04 (Aug 09 - Sep 09)

[winston]

The One Thing That Changes Everything by Alexander Green, Spiritual Wealth

Whether you realize it or not, one indispensable quality affects every relationship in your life.

It holds together all your associations. It determines whether you realize your dreams, both personal and professional.

And it virtually defines you to others. Without it, true success is impossible.

Stephen M.R. Covey is even more emphatic. He writes "There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy, and civilization throughout the world - one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love.

On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, that one thing has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension of life. Yet, it is the least understood, most neglected, and most underestimated possibility of our time.

That one thing is trust."

Simply put, trust is confidence in an individual or organization. It is other people feeling good about relying on you.

And its value can hardly be overstated. Trustworthiness is the universally accepted test of good character.

When you trust someone, you have confidence in his or her honesty and abilities. You can delegate things easily and effectively. You can relax. You have peace of mind.

But when you doubt someone's integrity, question his accomplishments, or worry about his agenda, confidence is replaced by suspicion and anxiety.

Take a moment and picture someone you trust implicitly. It could be a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a friend, or a business associate. How does this relationship make you feel? How easily do you communicate? How quickly do things get done?

Now imagine someone you distrust. How does this relationship feel? How easily do you communicate? Do you enjoy this relationship… or is it complicated, cumbersome and draining?

The difference between a high-trust and low-trust relationship is night and day. In a high-trust relationship, you can say the wrong thing and your listener still understands you. In a low-trust relationship, you can choose your words carefully, be very precise, and you may still be misunderstood.

Sadly, trust is at an ebb in our society. A Harris poll reveals that only 27% of Americans trust the government, only 22% trust the media, only 12% trust big companies, and only 8% trust political parties.

Personal trust is waning, too. Many people nowadays look back on contracts or commitments as something to negotiate. Half of all marriages end in divorce. Many (perhaps most) of them founder on a lack of trust.

Each of us naturally gravitates away from individuals we can't believe or rely on and towards those we can. Low trust is the very definition of a bad relationship. And once you forfeit someone's confidence, it's awfully hard to win it back.

This is particularly true in business.

We all survive by selling a product, service or skill. Yet every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.

If trust is lacking, forget the other four. You're done. The moment someone suspects your motives, everything you do becomes tainted.

That's why successful companies make a priority of building and maintaining confidence. John Whitney, a Professor Emeritus of Management at Columbia Business School, estimates that mistrust doubles the cost of doing business.

You may have the best product, great service, competitive pricing, mountains of supporting facts and figures and testimonials galore. But if you don't command and deserve trust, you will not enjoy long-term success.

It is never enough to simply invite trust. It must be earned.

In personal relationships, that means handling responsibility, proving your credibility, allowing yourself to be relied upon again and again. It's not just about integrity. It's about looking out for the other person's interests as well as your own.

Employers build trust with employees by assigning them important responsibilities, giving them the freedom to make mistakes, and setting an example. Real leadership is about getting results in ways that inspire confidence.

In a world that changes as quickly as ours, trust is a critical factor. It is the vital currency.

Business consultant Tom Peters calls trust "the issue of the decade." Trust makes work easier and more productive. It makes relationships stable and predictable. It creates a sense of community.

That's why it's crucial that we not violate it. Trust can take years to build but only a moment to destroy. And you may not even get an opportunity to try to restore it.

For each of us - and for every organization - trust is something to be built up, protected, valued, cherished, and carefully preserved.

It is the one thing that changes everything.

[winston]

To see that the mind is conditioned

All that we can do is to see that the mind is conditioned and, through self-knowledge, to understand the process of our own thinking.

I must know myself, not as I would ideologically like to be, but as I actually am, however ugly or beautiful, however jealous, envious, acquisitive.

But it is very difficult just to see what one is without wishing to change it, and that very desire to change it is another form of conditioning; and so we go on, moving from conditioning to conditioning, never experiencing something beyond that which is limited.

The Collected Works vol IX, p 114

Source: Jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

Any number of examples can be given to prove the existence of Divinity.

Who made the chillies hot and spicy? Who is the cause of bitterness in Neem and fragrance in flowers? These are simple examples for the manifestation and expression of Divinity.

Every object in the world has a unique attribute which proves the existence of Divinity as its very life principle. You do not need to undertake any particular Spiritual Practice in order to visualize Divinity.

When you understand the Divine Principle in full, you can worship the Divine in true sense. You can worship the Divine in each and every atom and in each cell of the creation. Purify your heart and try to know your own Divine Nature. Make efforts to visualize and experience this oneness.

-Divine Discourse, Oct 11, 2002.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Chautauqua Online by Bob Tschannen-Moran

The Chautauqua Institution is a 135-year-old institution that describes itself in this way:

"Founded in 1874, the Chautauqua Institution is famous for presenting the world's top thinkers from the fields of art, education, religion, and recreation.

On Chautauqua's Amphitheatre stage, Susan B. Anthony argued for women's suffrage in 1892 and Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his "I Hate War" speech in 1936. Margaret Mead, Amelia Earhart, Thurgood Marshall, Freeman Dyson, Jane Goodall, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Kurt Vonnegut have all spoken here."

I enjoy spending a week there each summer to take in the likes of such richness. If you can't make it to the grounds during their nine-week summer season, you can access the lectures online in two ways:

Audio recordings can be previewed and downloaded at TheGreatLectureLibrary.com. The Library includes over 1,200 lectures and sermons in 45 major categories of interest, including but not limited to: Art, Business, History, Religion, Government, Health Care, the Environment, Family, and Ethics. Featured speakers include Jane Goodall, Loretta LaRoche, David Kozak, John Akers, Lynn Sherr, Alan Simpson, Patricia Schroeder, Jesse Jackson, Kenneth Starr, Jane Hirshfield, Roger Rosenblatt, Karen Armstrong, and Roger Wilkins.

Streaming video can be accessed through Fora.tv. Although Fora includes a small video archive from years past, I like the fact that you can sign up to watch live streaming video of current Chautauqua lectures and to submit questions which are then asked in real time as part of the lecture forum. We had several examples of this last week, and it made for a richer, more stimulating experience.

I hope you will take the time to check out the available resources and to get connected with what's happening at Chautauqua. It really does help to invigorate, inspire, and illuminate the mind.

[winston]

When you respect and love an individual, they will respect you and love you in return. But, when you love and respect everyone, the Divine Himself will respect and love you.

You should make efforts to become recipients of the Divine's Love. One should not pray for temporary results. Instead, one should pray for Divine Grace with pure, steady and selfless devotion.

Once you have Divine Grace, you can achieve anything. If you aspire to attain Divinity, you have to make efforts to acquire the necessary eligibility. That is the essence of true spirituality.

-Divine Discourse, Oct 11, 2002.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Centuries of conditioning

For centuries we have been conditioned by nationality, caste, class, tradition, religion, language, education, literature, art, custom, convention, propaganda of all kinds, economic pressure, the food we eat, the climate we live in, our family, our friends, our experiences—every influence you can think of—and, therefore, our responses to every problem are conditioned.

Are you aware that you are conditioned? That is the first thing to ask yourself, not how to be free of your conditioning. You may never be free of it, and if you say, “I must be free of it”, you may fall into another trap of another form of conditioning.

So are you aware that you are conditioned?

Freedom from the Known, p 25

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

The most magnificent Creators don't want to get together with people who think just like they do. They're looking for people who have other thoughts, because out of the contradiction, comes ideas that could not be born out of sameness.

Your relationships will be ultimately more if you're not identical twins just "yessing, yessing, yessing" to everything that the other one is about.

--- Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, July 24th, 1999 #190

Source: abraham-hicks.com

[winston]

The most magnificent Creators don't want to get together with people who think just like they do. They're looking for people who have other thoughts, because out of the contradiction, comes ideas that could not be born out of sameness.

Your relationships will be ultimately more if you're not identical twins just "yessing, yessing, yessing" to everything that the other one is about.

--- Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, July 24th, 1999 #190

Source: abraham-hicks.com

[winston]

What is the right way of taking food?

If you talk while taking food, the digestive system will be spoiled. Once the digestive system is spoiled, several diseases will confront you.

Before partaking your food, pray to the Divine silently keeping your eyes closed. Take your food in silence in a calm environment. Do not howl, talk and chit chat while taking food.

Do not cry or laugh too. Do not entertain worry before or while taking food.

These are some of the precautions to be taken to lead a happy life.

- Divine Discourse. Oct 12, 2002.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Practice Unconditional Love

When we release others from the expectation that they should behave a certain way, we release them as well as ourselves from the bondage of conditional love.

No one is here to conform to our desires, hopes, expectations or wishes. No one is here to conform to our idea of what a perfect mate, friend, parent, child, coworker, etc. should be or do. No one is here to make us happy.

Practice unconditional love by allowing others to be exactly as they are. Practice unconditional love by not placing any conditions on anyone. Practice unconditional love by making yourself happy rather than expecting it to come from others.

Source: followyoursoul.com