Leo Tolstoy on God

LEO TOLSTOY ON GOD: "When you look inside yourself, you see what is called 'your own self' or your soul. You cannot touch it or see it or understand it, but you know it is there. And this part of yourself--that which you cannot understand--is what is called God. God is both around us and inside of us--in our souls.

The more you understand that you are at one with God, the more you will understand that you are at one with all His worldly manifestations."

Sunday, August 3, 2014

In Defense of EGO: The Power of Elimination (Letting Go)

Photo Credit: Cryptik 
Elimination: The Process of Letting Go!


The beauty of nature. The simplicity of nature. The safety of nature, when everything else 
in life falls apart.
Can we take a moment to breathe in the tranquility of the scene above.

Who wants to write this man's story: Is he a spiritual guru? Is he a rich man taking a respite from demanding tasks by vacationing in the Middle East? Or, is he simply a man taking a respite from his daily travails?

We can only wonder. But the truth is the tranquility and peace emanating from this man in desert terrain
 are the goals we seek in our day-today lives: letting go and simply breathing.

We have mountains of concerns surrounding our daily lives: family, careers, finances, relationships,
 politics and short-term and long-term goals.We turn in at night with the bundle of these concerns
 neatly packaged inside our heads and twisted up in the curvature of our physical outline. We wake up every morning, and we pick up our heavy bundle of life's concerns to carry along with us through the
day.. growling before the first sip of coffee, not wanting to smile and say a simple, "Good Morning" to
 people around us... walking with hesitant steps into the day.

Life does carry with it a lot of heavy loads.

So many would tell us to "have faith" and that "everything will work out for the best." 
when troubles come. 

But life in its essence is simple.
Life in its pure state has none of the accoutrements we pick up along the way and carry as heavy 
burdens with us day and night.
So, let me restate what I said above about heavy loads: "Life in itself is self-sustaining." 
[Joel Osteen, the master teacher at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, once noted that palm trees are able to bend and fold with winds and storms, yet go back to their original form stronger than before. To support this message, Osteen cited, Psalm 92:12: "The righteous shall florish like the palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon."] 

Life becomes complicated because of the attachments we form and the accoutrements
we add to it each day. Many people believe that they cannot survive a day without a 
him or her added to their essence and in their presence. Many also believe that life 
is not worth living without all the trappings of success: luxury, plenty and more, 
much more, than enough.

[We add the sauces and spices to life, great for adding flavor, but not
always required. Photo Credit: Rural Spin] 


These are great goals to make a joyous and happy life. But the essence of life itself 
requires  only that we show up each and every day. That's all that's required. 

If we pay attention to showing up and engaging in life and the flow of life, one day, when 
we look keenly we will see that we are also waking up each day  to happiness, joy, and peace.

Of course, we can choose to do as many do and short circuit the process by 
 dropping out of the compeititive lifestyle and enter into a life of constant state of meditation,   
or take breaks and go off into the desert. We also can choose to go off and sit in the middle of a  town square and attract passersby' attention .Then, of course, we would have to worry about police charting us off to jail for loitering. 

How can we then get out of bed each day, without picking up the bundle of accoutrements we 
carry day after day?

There are many good sources of advice.

The Unity organization offers a thoughtful and complete booklet on "Forgiveness."
(Packed in this 50 page volume, "The Freedom of Forgiveness,"  are sage pieces on many achieving peace and joy through forgiveness.)
"We are the authors of what we think and feel"...
..."Forgiveness is no longer needing to 'tell the story.'"
You can obtain a copy of this booklet by calling Unity Customer Service, 1-800-669-0282 in the United States, or writing to http://unity.org. Or by clicking here:
The Freedom of Forgiveness


Joel Osteen Ministries uses Proverb 23:7 (AMP) to offer this advice:
  "For As a Man Thinketh in his heart, so is he" 

"Every morning, you should wake up and picture yourself succeeding; picture yourself healthy and whole; picture yourself and your family not only being blessed, but being a bigger blessing to others. If you’ll keep the right images in front of you and always submit yourself to God with prayer and thanksgiving, you’ll see yourself the way God sees you and experience all that He has in store for you!"
Then, there's Deepak Chopra's Center in Carlsbad, Calif.,(Chopra Center). This
 powerful spiritual center  puts out myriad audio and video works on meditation, 
personal empowerment and expanding consciousness. Without a doubt, these are some 
of the most effective tools for helping you connect to the power within you. 
Practicing forgiveness, visualization, and meditation all contribute to the overall goal of  
making your life a joyful and happy experience. Specifically, though, the 
challenge of Elimination and letting go of unwanted attributes and traits from our lives
 is a moment-by-moment decision. 

We hear things in a moment that we cannot accept as truth about ourselves, we see people
 do things to us that are unacceptable and rude. How do we respond? That's when, according
 to Master Teacher Joel Osteen, we should "Hit the Delete Button." (Joel Osteen: Hit the Delete Button.)
Don't let negative situations and negative, rude people determine your path in life. "Delete." 
Delete what they said, and if possible, delete them, too, from your life. People are  
to say, do and believe only at the level of their consciousness. Don't let them rub off 
their negative views on life onto you. Delete! 

As challenging situations arise, that's when we make a choice to do the best we can, then "let go and let God" handle it. Letting go, in the moment, allows you to look at the issue rationally and do the best you can to resolve it. More importantly,  it does not affect your emotional state and can be dissolved before it builds into a situation that eventually would require forgiveness. Or visualization of peacefulness or meditation.


Before all those techniques, comes the practice of "Letting Go and Letting God." 
Cosmic Consciousness, God, is always present and always at work. Despite
 the negative appearances we may see and experience in our lives and in the world,
 Divine Order still is supreme. We are only one set of people inhabiting the globe in this
 period and time. We must trust that in light of Eternity, Cosmic Consciousness and 
Divine Order are overseeing the big picture.


 We should remember, too, that when something happens over which we seem to have no control: Life is NOT OVER! When we gather our bearings, it is then we must dig in and remember, WHO we are as children of God!

Letting Go is the critical first step: Know this in the moment! Know that your life is just a drop in the bucket of Eternity. There is a much bigger picture at work. Rise higher to get a better view. Then...Let Go!
Next, remember you are a perfect child of God: Remember this. You were made for this season and time...for a specific reason. The way you are in the world is needed and YOU ARE perfect as just you.

                                                Photo Credit: Directtanews.it


With steady practice, maybe, one day, people will look at you, regardless of the setting,  
and wonder like the top picture: who is this person...simply sitting still, at peace and at one
 with all there is...

Who is that woman? 
Who is this man?

Surroundings don't make the person...
All of Life is within YOU! 
Eliminate... Let Go...in every moment the things that do not belong.

One day, you may just give the simple answer as the Buddha (Siddharta) did when asked:
"Who are you?"

"I'm awake."

Namaste',
Che' 

  













Personal Authenticity: "To Thine Own Self Be True"...

"To Thine Own Self Be True and it must follow as the night, the day, Thou canst not then be false to ANY man."
William Shakespeare.