Through the Eyes of a Shepherd

This is a universal practice: the recognition that everything we need is already done.  We are told that "the kingdom of God is within you", but this kingdom that we seek is a simply a blissful state of mind  psychologically.  It is accessible by all and is a promise to peace.  For "the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want."  There is no lack but only spiritual abundance and fulfilment, a realisation that we are whole and complete without any hidden clause requiring attainment of material gains, physical appearances or a perfect job.  If you know you have the complete guidance of the divine and holds the conviction, you have 100% confidence that you are in the right place at precisely the right time.  And how can you be separated from peace when you are no longer dragged by the past with regret or projecting into the future with fear?

This is true surrender and not blind faith.  Know it, live it and experience it.

Balance of Power

Blaming is easy.  In fact it does not even have to be conscious or logical.  As long as you can identify an external factor which contributes to a failure or mishappening, you are already saying that you no longer take ownership.

But there is a trade off.  By blaming, you are taking away your own power.  For when you claim not to be responsible, you are giving up the self-curiosity to look within and transform yourself.  Not only are you forgoing the driver's seat but also a precious opportunity for forgiveness and reconciliation.  For whatever and whoever that can appear or has shown up in our world, we must have a role to play to contribute to their appearances. 

Diamond

Six senses hooked on this world
Deluded and incessant thoughts 
Attached to the ego and body 
So I can be real 
Temporal orientation that misleads
Past, future and present 
Even in the here and now
Preferences and judgements
Grossly tied with associations and projections 
Render me distant from the present 
Til the day I can empty my thoughts
And come to stillness - in emptiness
The “I” will be gone
This is the True nature 
Eons and eons shall pass
But it will not matter
For when it comes, there will be no eons 

Genes and Astrology

Astrology studies the influence of the movement and relative positions of the celestial bodies on the human psyche and the natural world.  So put it differently, astrology also represents our genetic blueprint which lays out the pattern contained within us.  Although the pattern decides how we might develop, it is neither fatalistic or deterministic.  Rather, it is a predisposition and potential.

Astrology involves the sun and moon sign, which is also referred to as archetypal father and mother.  Similarly, an offspring contains a mixture of the genetic blueprint of each parent.  Whatever your reference is, there are some of us who desire to resemble their parents and see them as primary role models, whilst there are others who will make every single effort to be unlike them.  This can apply to proneness to physical and emotional illnesses or the sharing of personality traits.  But we cannot deny the fact that we are indeed products of our parents.  To deny this is to reject a part of you, rendering you an incomplete person.  We have the power to alter the genetic expression or our attributes by changing our beliefs and adopting a different mindset.  But the transformation comes from total acceptance of your whole self before making that conscious choice.

The Feelings of Feelings

Weaknesses and sensitivities
I reject them all -
Have no qualms about controlling them
Subduing is my weapon
For they remind me of old wounds
With feelings raw and intense

I may chose to be numb within and without
I can pretend -
To be free from pain
Desensitising is my weapon
For I can make a pledge to myself
Not to be hurt again

Now that I know my feelings have feelings
I will reconsider -
Embracing my powerlessness
And accepting my entire self
For being who I am

I am

Delegation

It is a stern truth - that as humans we all have had experiences of sleepless nights when we are grief-stricken or worried sick.  The reasons of which might be logical to us or it could be inexplicable.  Either way, we have all this imagination in our heads with false evidence, yet we have absolute emotional certainty.  Though imaginative, the issues are so magnified that it is totally out of proportion, rendering us helpless and overwhelmed.  And the deeper into the night, the more our ruminating thoughts cage us in.  If given a choice, would you want to confine yourselves in the mind traps or liberate yourselves from the punitive narrative?

What if we can delegate "someone" to worry or feel sad for us?  If that sounds like an enticing idea, how about using the same imaginative power that has created our distorted reality and simply believing that we can pass on all these negative feelings that we cannot apprehend to the universe or the divine?  By offsetting the emotional load and knowing that this is all part of an intricate master plan, your thoughts will subside immediately as you hop back to the present moment and no longer regret the past or worry about the future.  This will open up space for yourselves to allow answers and alternative scenarios to appear.

Test it to believe it.    

Seeing Through, Letting Go

Letting go often sounds more like a concept than a practice.  We identify so strongly with what we hang onto, may it be a person, a situation or an object that we often lose a sense of self when we let go.  That said, we are helpless because we are so unconsciously driven that we might be totally oblivious to it.  Counterintuitively, we do not need to release the grip and force ourselves to free fall.  The antidote is to understand and see through the nature of things with a phenomenological approach.

As a basis, we need to understand the spiritual principal of the mirror effect whereby the external world is a projection of our own minds.  "As Within, So Without" is precisely that.  Contrary to what we believe in, we also have to accept that time and space are just mental constructs in this reality.   This is the single contributing factor to our separateness, the delusion that there is a "me" and "you" and a "past" and "future".  And precisely because of the mirror effect, there has to be an interface whereby there are others who can resonate with your thought pattern and collaborate with you to allow the division to occur.  The only way to experience oneness is for us to challenge and discard this deluded thought so that we are no longer attracted to the experience of separation.  Compassion has a very wide spectrum.  But only until we break off the shackles of separation, we cannot transcend and ascend with love and kindness.

Letting go is the result of contemplation and seeing through, not the cause.



  

How Gratitude Can Manifest

Many countries in the world have a tradition of thanksgiving, may it be to celebrate a harvest or to express our gratitude to ancestors.  But its spirit goes far beyond a territory or a day of celebration.  It is an act of giving thanks and a sincere acknowledgement of favours and benefits to the divine.  But how does gratitude relate to manifestation?  A lot of people give power to visualisation of their goals and generate positive feelings associated with actualisation.  Yet too many have missed out the icing on the cake - gratitude.  There is a deeper meaning to how and why we express gratitude to all the things we have, whether it is something big or small, has already happened or yet to happen.  When we are grateful, we are already making the assumption that it is occurring right at this instant.  The act of such will bring us to the present moment.  So when associated with a goal, you are also bringing that dream of yours to the here and now, thus projecting it to the reality with all the keys to manifestation.  And not to mention that there is also a great by-product derived from this - the joy and peace by being grateful.  

Power Vs Force

Inner power is different from force.  It can be a push or pull factor, a yang or yin energy.  It is fluid and malleable, and never intrusive or obtrusive.  This power comes with wilfullness but not in an overwhelming and threatening way.  This wilfulness is an art of creation which is merged with the divine will - the manifestation of love and compassion.  The clearer this goal is, the more power you gain; and the more we can create space and allow love to flow.  This is the response to "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."  After all, heaven or earth, is nothing but a reflection of the psyche.

Believing, Analysing, Practising and Proofing

A spiritual practitioner is like a scientist.  For the latter, there has to be a belief formulated at the beginning that is of value and interest to him.  It will start off with a concept that may initially appear intellectual or academic.  There may not be evidence to substantiate his belief at the onset of it, but he knows that he is working diligently towards that goal.  In other words, he seeks to bring empirical evidence to what he believes in.  Through thorough understanding of the concept, he embarks on his experiment by investigation and research.  Results are often derived from numerous rounds of trial and error until he can master the law of causation, thereby providing evidence for a belief that has set the stage for all of the above.  

In spiritual practice, we also take on a belief with a leap of faith at the beginning.  But for a serious player, this alone can never quite satisfy him. He is eager to use his life as an experiment through recognition of what is going on within his psyche and the connection with the outside world.  He is always cultivating self-awareness by bringing his mind, body and spirit in union.  He understands that at times the ego energy will be untamed and subject him to vulnerability.  But he perseveres and lives authentically as a human being.

In spirituality, you can only testify what is true to you by direct experience and not by hearsay or dogmas.  This is what real freedom is - freedom from conditioning. 

The Mystery of Fate

Fate has dealt you a coruscating hand
Sparkling secrets of scintillating tomorrows
Cascading, captivating, mesmerising
But all in your imagination
What is going on within 37.2 trillion cells
Is happening out in the perfect world
With notes in tune and singing in harmony
There is no secret but only trust
There is no fate but only creation
For those with faith -
It is already happening 

Meaning of Life vs Meaning to Live

Saying that life is meaningless is not the same as saying that there is no reason or meaning to live.  In fact, the realisation of the former will give you the power to maximise life’s full potential.  How?  Say a tree or a flower, what is the meaning of it?  None.  It will be totally different though when one can give it a context.  For instance, if you are a horticulturist, gardening gives you a sense of fulfilment, maybe even relaxation.  Plants may then represent companionship or objects of appreciation.  Otherwise, to others, they are just appearances in the backdrop.  This is the same as our lives.  It is inherently meaningless but we give it a definition.


The universe makes no judgement, nor is there any packing order or hierarchical structure.  It is we humans that create the polars, extremes and comparisons.  But it is hard to totally escape this fact of life.  Naturally by doing something, we generate a feeling that will be different from one person to another.  And by the way we individually relate to an object or an activity, we also give different meaning to it.  If we are to make life meaningful to us, we would want to engage in things that make our hearts sing and be connected in activities that we find fruitful and rewarding.  This is what gives us the purpose to drive us to do what we do everyday.  It is when one loses this purpose, albeit artificially defined, that one loses the meaning to live.
Now that you have the option to define the meaning of your life, have you asked yourself lately what gives yours the deepest meaning?

Dealing With Boredom

We have gone far on technology dependence, and that is not talking about the efficiency and effectiveness that technology promises us.  I am referring to the dependency on mobile phones and gadgets.  The constant and immediate access to information and entertainment has meant that we can no longer live on for too long without sensory stimulation, leading to intolerable restlessness once without it.  And that boils down to the essence of the topic -- boredom.  Simply put, boredom is an emotional and psychological state that constitutes dullness.  It may sound trivial and mild but is nevertheless an irritant.  In more intense cases, boredom proneness can even be associated with attention lapses and depressive moods.  Whatever the extent is, boredom always indicates a loss in stillness and a discontent with a situation.  Whether it is attributed to a boring activity or company, one is simply not happy with what is being presented in front of him or her.

We can never truly escape boredom.  And in a world where we have unlimited choices of mental arousal within our finite 24 hours a day, it is almost unacceptable to have time wasted in banality.  But is it really true?  When you next become jaded and feels dull, invite yourself to understand the nature of boredom and befriend it.  Boredom is just a state of mind, albeit unpleasant.  Now that we have begun to investigate, we have created the space to address the root cause.  The inner resource to do this is the energy from within that allows us to remain accepting and curious with the present moment.  Whether it is a boring person or a mundane activity, we can start to focus on what is presented right in front of us and cease the craving for someone or something else.  It is by means of this strong connection that you do not let your mind wander and follow its wish to be in another place in a future time.  If we can break the natural habit of labelling it as boring, there is always something new to explore about your reaction or the situation.  We can never satisfy the appetite of our minds but we can tame it by changing the conditioned reaction of the mind and how we relate to boredom.

Contentment, after all, is peace.  

Pull and Push Factor

We as a society interprets "good" behaviour as positive.  For instance, people who are friendly and helpful are more well received by us than the opposite.  Then there are those who have established themselves from humble beginnings and are gloried because their willpower is a determinant of their "success stories".  There are also health freaks who are praised for being conscious and meticulous with their physical well-being.  If that sounds like you or someone you know, then have you ever explored which one of these camps that you or your friend may belong to -- "pull" or "push"?

There is an intent behind every behaviour of ours, and a motivation behind every intent.  Such motivation are driven by our beliefs from past experiences.  Naturally we make close association with what our behaviour might bring us.  We might have gone through a negative experience or trauma in the distant past and not consciously knowing that it has moulded us to become who we are now.  A simple and straightforward forward way to detect this is to see whether there is a pull factor (fear) or push factor (love) behind the action.  Are you kind because you are a loving individual or are you afraid that you will not get the approval from others otherwise?  Are you driven because you are scared of poverty or are you truly passionate with your work?  Are you treasuring your body and nourishing it as you age or are you working it hard because you are afraid that it is no longer as fit and healthy as it once were?

Good behaviour and acts are certainly encouraged, but it is worth you to do some self-discovery so that you can be loving, healthy and abundant not only on the outside but inside as well.  

Is Enlightment Real?

For eons and galactic years, an enlightened being is like a mystic behind the black veil.  Many perceive enlightenment as a transformative experience that promises not only revelations but also answers to scientific riddles and access to divine intelligence.  But despite what gurus and masters have claimed, enlightenment may not be as dramatic or mysterious as it might sound.  There are a few aspects that are of relevance.  First, enlightenment or hell is more a psychological state even if one does experience differences in the external world.  After all, if the outside is a projection of our minds, why would enlightenment not be a reflection of what is deep inside your psyche?  Given that our minds are not static but impermanent and constantly creating, it follows that enlightenment can only take place moment by moment.  To add on, enlightenment is higher consciousness and transcends our normal state of awareness.  Physical beings are dense matters that are tactile and visible to human eyes, but it is hard to have concrete evidence to claim what the "ultimate" level is and what can be perceived beyond this 3-D reality.  At the end of the day, the nature of enlightenment is one of oneness and purity whether you want to call this transcendental potential pure light or divine consciousness.  And if emptiness is the ultimate nature of all phenomena that is beyond time and space, then how can enlightenment be described in concepts and words that will get us trapped in duality again?

Nevertheless a lot of people are intrigued by what enlightenment might bring, most appealing being the deep bliss and profound inner peace that it implies.  But enlightenment cannot be an aim or a goal.  While it might give you a sense of purpose, we should not lose sight of what is the most important for us in any spiritual journey we embark on - our human experience here and now.  True enlightenment is being the master of your own mind, unwaivered by whatever that is going on outside.

Seeing With A Pure Mind

By seeing I have chosen
By choosing I have seen
Are you aware of your choice?
Or are you a choice of your world?
Regain your autonomy
The world is a mirror of your mind
Reflecting everything
As it was, as it is, as it will be
Be the creative master
Forgo your filtered lens
Allow the light to shine
Through you, from you, and in you

Change and Changing

Change could be stimulating and exciting.  The fact that we can leave one state and move on to another is simply refreshing.  It provides the opportunity for us to reset and erase our records.  It fires up neurons and rewires our neural circuit, hence leading us to think and feel differently.  In fact, adopting new perspectives and learning continuously are what rejuvenate us.

But changing could also be uncomfortable and painful.  It involves letting go of something or someone that we are familiar with and entering an unchartered territory.  The old may not serve us but at the very least, it appears to have certainty.  So what really makes changing so challenging is the loss of control.

Sometimes, we would rather hold onto control than to have faith and allow life to take us on an adventure. Whether it is for the better or worse is something that is subjective and time-bound.  In truth, there is really no better or worse but just experiences, though they may be what you need rather than what you wish.  Crossing that bridge of change takes courage, but it is empowering and promises a payoff if one can remove judgement.  

Meditation - Why?

Meditation is a word that is synonymous with spiritual practice and cultivation.  But the word has so much more depth to it than just being associated with relaxation and stress reduction.  Meditation in Sanskrit means to be free of measurement and comparison.  You are simply at one with what is and not what should be.  It is when we can embrace every experience of ours and look beyond it without judgement that we can be truly free from suffering.  To be able to arrive at such a state requires commitment and practice, and it is through meditation that we can achieve this goal.

Most practitioners know that we calm our monkey minds by means of focusing on an object of meditation.  Indeed even with that particular object, may it be our breath, an image or a mantra, it is still a thought.  But at least we are attempting to replace our thousands of thoughts with one single thought.  Stillness is attained and it is from which that we can create the space to gain clarity to this phenomenal world.  Meditation is thus meant to lead us step to step towards sustainable contentment by going beyond the mind and returning to our primordial nature of peace and bliss.

So in adopting a meditation practice, be mindful of pitfalls that might lead you to contemplation and conceptual steps which might encourage your mind to remain unruly and undisciplined.  The aim is to free your mind and not to have more thoughts crowding in on you.

Being With, Being Alongside and Being Otherwise

My friend
Stay with me
Be here
Share presence but not conversation
I feel heard

Walk alongside me
Be next to me
Share stories but not consolation
I am accompanied

Tell me otherwise
Be thought-provoking
Share options but not condonation
I can see light

The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living

"The unexamined life is not worth living" is a famous dictum uttered by Socrates at his trial for impiety and corrupting youth. Choosing death rather than exile, these final words deeply reflect Socrates' core values.  It is a pronouncement that entails proactive introspection of what the meaning of life is.  More importantly, it involves the thinking of what allows us to make our choices and decisions by reasoning them.  Are we using logic to form our judgements?  Or are we passively driven by ideas from others?  It implies the autonomy of being the master of our fates and not being directed by the world.  The statement is indeed the bedrock of philosophy, literally meaning the love of wisdom.  To put it in another way, the love of wisdom is through self-examination and rational thoughts are what make us human and worth living.

I tend to disagree with that.  Deploying rationality will also neglect the emotional part of us which defies logic but which simultaneously makes us authentic and vulnerable.  Whether it is worth living or not is an individual and subjective choice, which in its own right is already a fundamentally  proactive decision.  The respect of one's personal decision, at a collective level, is what truly makes us alive as human beings and lives worth "living".

Spiritual Alchemy

Alchemy has origins from medieval times and comes from the Greek word khemeia which means "the art of transmuting metals".  In particular the attempts were to convert base metals (impure) into gold (pure) or the universal elixir that would promise immortality and cure disease.  The philosopher's stone mentioned in Harry Potter is the legendary substance equated with that.  Shrouded in mystery and secrecy, it is a quest that remains both mystical and captivating to many for thousands of years.  Although it is often dismissed as pseudoscience, it is in fact a forerunner of modern chemistry.  

But there is a much deeper meaning to alchemy than how it is superficially defined, and the study of which is analogous to spiritual practice. The key word to look for is transmutation which is the conversion of one element to another.  To expand this further. it involves a Latin expression "solve et coagula" in the alchemical process - "solve" is to decompose and separate (dissolve), while "coagula" describes the process of bringing elements back together in a new and higher form (coagulation).  To put it in spiritual terminology, it is the letting go of our egos, fears and wounds that no longer serve us, deleting them and thereby implanting new beliefs that will allow us to integrate with our authentic selves.  The ultimate goal of alchemy is to achieve magnum opus (the great work).  Metaphorically, to create a magnum opus in life is to create an interrelationship between mind and matter or the external and internal worlds so as to experience love, joy and harmony.

Nuclear scientists have proved that the fabled transmutation of lead to gold is indeed possible.  In spiritual alchemy, we obviously do not require particle accelerators and a vast input of energy.  What we really need is realisation, detachment and most importantly, self-love.

The Mind is a Skilful Painter

Life is about self-expression
Expressed through beliefs and assumptions
Choose your label for they are nothing but thoughts
Created by the mind and projected by the mind
Onto the canvas of consciousness
Empty of an inherent or independent existence
Void of meaning and yet full of meaning
Forming everything and nothing but dreams
The mind is a skilful painter
From which our own realities are manifested

Life is about interconnectedness
Painted on one another's canvases with compassion
Choose your path for self-expression for it is nothing but love
Created by our minds and projected by by our minds
Onto the infinite universe
So too our minds must have no limits
Imagination is what creates my life and yours
What you wish to experience is here but a thought away
Why choose suffering when there is joy
Polish your skills and step up your game - recreate

Predictability and Impermanence

The search for security seems to be ingrained in the human DNA.  Imagine you tripped over and were about to fall, your natural reaction would be to hold onto something - something that you could have a firm grip on.  Now imagine further and suppose that this was played in slow motion and someone coaxed you to let yourself just fall and assured you that you would land in one intact piece, you would most likely be unconvinced.  Deep inside us, we all crave for a safe haven.  We wish to be somewhere or in a certain state of mind that can give us peace and safety, just like a mother's embrace.  Well this desire sounds totally natural and logical as survival is a human instinct.  But it becomes problematic when we mistakenly think that what is predictable can give us security.  When we look for predictability we are also seeking for permanence, or in other words, some kind of confirmation that an event or patterns of events will unfold in a presumed way.

Yet what is true is the complete opposite - there is only impermanence in life.  Searching for permanence is a distant mirage.  When you can truly embrace impermanence, there is nothing to predict and impossible to predict.  Once we have lifted the veil, we are only left with what is right in front us here and now and we can no longer be hijacked by any fearful thought of the future.  For where is the future?

All is Fine

Stop fighting when you do not agree.  Does that sound paradoxic?  Only because the reverse approach might well be what you have been adopting all your life, albeit unconsciously.  Here is the real picture: When you are fighting with something that you do not wish for, you are resisting your own reality.  So in a way, you are also inviting and accepting that negative "product" in your life because of your focus, energy, and more importantly your emotional reactions to it.  Whether you are drawn to something or away from it, you still leave an imprint on your mind every time you become emotionally involved; until it reaches a point so profound that you are trapped in a dissatisfied loop with repeated encounters of the same scenario.  If you can bear no judgement, you will see that it is all to do with your personal preference of like or dislike, desire and aversion.  So the antidote is to let it flow like water and allow yourself to accept what is.  As Lao Tzu reminds us, "Highest good is like water.  Because water excels in benefitting the myriad creatures without contending with them and settles where none would like to be, it comes closes to the way."

Like your heartbeat, it will happen even if you do not order your heart to do so.  Have faith.

To Scratch or Not to Scratch

An itch is a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch.  From many aspects, it is analogous to human emotions.  To a lot of people, an emotional response is indeed a reflex and can be caused by an external stimulant or internally by one's emotional wave.  Likewise, an itch can be triggered by something outside your body such as a mosquito bite, or by something within the system like eczema.  The reflex also leads us to have a strong need to act out, like crying when sad or screaming when angry.  This is like our need to alleviate the discomfort of itchiness by scratching.  Though it feels good, many researchers claim that scratching actually triggers very mild pain in your skin.  You are temporarily distracted when your nerve cells tell your brain that something hurts.  Pain-fighting serotonin is thus released as a result of the mild soreness from scratching, so the more you scratch the more you itch.  The vicious cycle of itching and scratching is parallel to the cycle of our emotional expression whereby the more you let out your rage, the more angry you may get.

Whether it is an itch or a negative emotion, there is a human need to remove it and relieve one self by eliminating or reducing the extent of it.  However, the act of scratching is also hedonic, as one would also enjoy the sensation of scratching and finds it highly pleasurable.  It seems that we are motivated to scratch because of the reward of pleasure.  This can be troublesome though when chronic scratching leads to open wounds that have become worse than the initial itch.  By the same token, venting and catharsis could be drug-like as the brain chemicals reinforce the behaviour.  If you are used to blowing off steam, you may become dependent on it.  Whether we are referring to a physical or emotional itch, it is still part of a decision-making process and there is indeed no absolute need to have a reaction or response to everything in life.  And for those with challenges in exercising self-control, avoiding "itch triggers" and understanding what sets you off would help to restrain unacceptable impulses from being expressed in detrimental ways.

I Feel xxx Because...

No one enjoys negative emotions and we are often so eager to transform them.  But rather than being caught up with the contributing factors that may result in self-blame or blame of others, it is most effective when you can find out the mental constructs being them.  Of course, there are many tactics that one can employ, such as change of mindset or deep breathing. But those can only give us temporary cessation of pain and perhaps peace of mind in the short term.  If you are willing to contemplate on it, you will realise that the afflicted emotion can only be justified when it is supported by our thoughts, which in turn are derived from our own beliefs and assumptions.  When we distance from it and gently investigate, we will learn to understand the constructs behind it.  Very clearly we have chosen a belief that no longer serves us and that an alternative viewpoint can always be adopted in all of our experiences.  Starved of its justification, we can see how it defies logic and the afflicted emotion will diminish on its own.  This is the real transformation - transformation of the belief and not the emotion.

The Meaning of Life - Ensue or Pursue?

Life itself has no meaning.  If there was, then we will all be homogenous beings doing the same job, having the same relationships and saying the same words.  It is we, as individuals, who give meaning to our own lives.  The philosopher Friedrich Nietszche best expressed this: "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."  Another way to put it is we are here to define who we are in this world so that we can express ourselves in our own unique way.  Interestingly, such uniqueness actually allows us to be complementary to each other as we are all a part of the entire cosmic puzzle with no single piece to be missed.

There is, however, a paradox to this.  We are so used to pursuits and goal setting that often we are blindly searching for meaning in life, as if it is a commodity that can be sought.  Like happiness and success, the secret to finding meaning is to not search for it, but just let it happen as a by-product.  Since our consciousness is a stream with thoughts and ideas sprouting moment by moment, the meaning of life is also something that you can only capture here and now.  When you are engaging in activities you fully enjoy, embracing some fascinating experiences and connecting with people you love, the most satisfying forms of meaning will naturally arise.  Plus, of course, the side-effect of happiness.

Seven Deadly Sins (Re-defined)

Sins is an important chapter in any religious studies.  The existence of sins contributes to human suffering regardless of one's denomination.  To alleviate our pain, we need to repent and not to add on guilt to ours sins and multiply our suffering.  Repentance, however, can only happen with understanding - understanding of the motivation and reasons behind our sins that we have committed.  When we name the seven deadly sins and try to gain some insights and empathy, would you see them differently?

Pride -  Is it out of fear of not being valued and recognized?
Envy - Is it because of fear of being imperfect and incomplete?
Wrath - Is it due to fear of being separated and attacked?
Gluttony - Is it attributed to fear of insecurity and loss of control?
Lust - Is it actually fear of not being loved and accepted?
Sloth - Is it stemmed from fear of shame and failure?
Greed - Is it caused by fear of inadequacy and deprivation?

Now, what is the verdict?  Are they deadly sins or deadly fears?  If yes, should the "sinners" be berated or empathized?

Serendipity

We know that serendipity is the gift of finding something good while seeking something else.  But this intriguing word that is naturally connected with good fortune also has an interesting story behind it.  Serendipity was invented by the writer and politician Horace Walpole in 1754 as an allusion to Serendip, an old Persian name for Sri Lanka.  In a letter that Walpole wrote to his friend he explained an unexpected discovery he had made about a lost painting of Bianca Cappello by Giorgio Vasari by reference to a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip.  The princes, he told his correspondent, were "always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of".  

Once in a while we might have beneficial occurrences of events in our lives which is regarded as a fortunate stroke of serendipity, and they usually come with a smile when we mention them.  Is it a stroke of luck or pure randomness?  Or is it by chance or part of destiny?  What is relevant though is that serendipity always comes unplanned and without expectations.  And when there is no expectation, you do not get attached to a desired outcome and be forceful. You are open to whatever that comes along and embrace any change with open arms.  There is complete spontaneity as you have no preconception on what might pop up. 

If this occasional development of serendipity can render us happy and pleasantly surprised, then maybe we can be as unplanned as we can in terms of outcome on all matters. It is not saying that we do not have plans and strategies in lives, but we need not be caught up with the results if we truly love what we do and do what we love.  Let whatever deemed to happen, happen.

Destiny or Creation

Is everything already written in the stars?  Is there a force that controls the future?  Or is there a God's or divine plan that has everything being monitored?  I do believe that there is a grand scheme of things that governs what we are supposed to learn in this lifetime.  And I would even choose to believe that there is more than one possibility on how things can unfold to become what are so-called our destinies, all against the backdrop of parallel universes.  And precisely because there are so many possibilities, we are not fated.  While our paths might be pre-determined, we are also creating every second with our thoughts.  How we are creating and what we are creating will lead us to "download" what will become our chosen path, amongst all.  Indeed, the more we can go with the flow and not judge our experiences, the more we can accept our encounters with peace and joy.  Perhaps what we have to cultivate is the faith that it will be an "optimal" path in front of us.

As always the universe will provide us with what we need in terms of our personal growth rather than what we want in terms of what we desire.  Through the understanding of this very fundamental principal, you come to know what equanimity truly means, which is to achieve a state of serenity and even-mindedness and thus see everything that arises without discrimination.  

Narrowing the Gap

People often tell others what changes they would like to adopt for their lives, especially at the beginning of the year when the discussion of new year resolutions is always a handy ice-breaker for starting mundane conversations.  Even without statistical findings you might agree that stress reduction or weight loss are common goals for a lot of people, attributing to a greater awareness of health in general.  Yet what people aspire to do and what they are actually doing often have a huge gap.  For instance, they might want to have longer hours of sleep and shorter working hours, only to find themselves hooked on social media at 1am in the morning.  While knowing conceptually that rest is important, we really need to be curious about what makes us feel satisfied deep within us.  We are all wired in our own unique way and what is right even for the majority might not be right for you.  Perhaps virtual connection with human beings is more important than longer hours of sleep, then why not go for it?  To take one more step, how about trying to demystify and feel if such kind of connection is a healthy one, or are you simply recreating some childhood non-fulfilment?  The same applies to weight loss, are you starving for calories or love, or craving for fat or security?  We need to be compassionate to ourselves whatever the reason is.

I am not dismissing the need for a right balance.  Our body, mind and spirit have to be working in tandem towards an equilibrium so that our ability to partake in activities that we desire is not impaired.  The key is that we have to find out our own unique formula and not just follow a hard and fast rule for all.  Pointing at the root cause of a phenomenon or behaviour, desirable or not, is probably the first step to de-conditioning. 

Don't Chase Your Own Tail

Let go of your ego by losing yourself -
Into the spaciousness of your heart
Not by learning to forget the self

Only when you can feel but not think
Can you recognise the habits of the mind
Drop the approach and forgo the method
Create not a concept on another concept
And massage the ego no more
Connect with the spiritual heart
See through and see beyond the mind
Come to know its intrinsic value
Where the divinity resides -
With with we merge

Wish For Freedom

What is the biggest freedom that one can wish for?  Can it be the freedom to have a job that you are passionate with?  Or the freedom to say what you want without having to bear with the consequences?  How about the freedom to acquire material things and knowing that it will be well within your means?  And wouldn't it be enticing if you only need to be with people of your choice?

Perhaps you or someone that you know have had some experience of what is being mentioned here, may it be for a short period or for long.  But how many of them are truly happy even after all these “dreams” have come true?  Whatever we wish for in life, there is clearly only one objective - to be happy.  So maybe you may start to wonder whether one’s biggest freedom is really the freedom to be happy.  And if yes, then your wish has indeed already come true, as you always have the choice to relate to people and situations in a positive manner, right here and now.

When "Be" is Beyond Words

With Awareness comes Body
With Body comes Mind
With Mind comes Ego
With Ego comes Thoughts
With Thoughts come Actions
With Actions comes Karma
With Karma comes Rebirth
With Rebirth comes Suffering
With Suffering comes Realization
With Realization comes Liberation
With Liberation comes Bliss.
With Bliss comes -------------.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

To understand the depth and facets of human existence requires maturity and wisdom.  Another way to look at it is, there is often something more fundamental or deep-rooted that is supporting a certain trait of a person.  In fact, we may not even be the person we purport to be.  Take independence, a trait that gives people the connotation of power, strength and self-accountability, but the price to pay may be the fear of dependency.  Perhaps you were once a tender soul who got ignored when you most needed a shoulder to cry on and thus left you with complete helplessness.  How about a well-poised person who can always control him- or herself and is non-reactive to outside circumstances?  Could he or she be born spiritually enlightened or is that someone who was once painfully shamed when rage was expressed?  By the same token, a highly organised individual who is always well-planned and ahead of his or her game wins high praise.  But how much is this characteristic a result of a traumatised experience when that person had lost security and certainty in life?

There is no problem at all in having all these so-called positive traits, as often enough they will work for you reasonably well at a mundane level.  But we need to work through the process of self-awareness and understand how we have come to become who we are now.  Preserve your traits by all means, just make sure that you notice it when it is motivated by fear and do not let that consume you.      

Arising and Ceasing

Any form that exists in this reality is subject to impermanence and is thus short-lived and unstable.  Nothing can be exempted from this rule - everything arises and ceases.  And of course, the fact that time exists also provides the backdrop to make it looks real with the human concept of past, present and future.  This dualistic outer world is created by our mind, the concept of "I" as well as our breath.  All of these elements being slaves to time, also arise and cease, come and go.  Although this is a natural phenomenon, it is a source of our sufferings and can even lead to an aching existential crisis.

To cultivate true happiness and transcend all sufferings, we need to realise the essential nature of this reality where impermanence is at the mercy of time and duality.   If that is the case, then maybe the key to it is to break away from duality and try to see birth and death as the perception of "one" but from different angles.  This is not just about physical death but any changes, appearances and disappearances in our living world.  When we can do that, then death will be a promise of birth, until one day the two can merge to become eternity - our true divine essence.