Growth

"Failing? Not at all. Most people spend huge amounts of time and effort on one thing: avoiding the painful truth about themselves. You're doing the exactly opposite."

-Excerpt from Life After Death.

The most beneficial moments for spiritual growth are the most challenging ones in which we discover our greatest shortcomings and face the wall. Because then, we break the wall and emerge as a super version of what was before. We may choose to stay contented in that state. Or we may discover the next greatest shortcoming and face the wall. The thicker the wall, the lesser the number of walls. If we are in a very difficult phase in life, surely it is the best time to become a super-self. No wonder people who live intensely advance immensely. The more the world attacks us, the better swordsman we become. If everything around is quiet and controlled, it is time to move on to some place which is a little shaky. Only then can we quickly advance to the ultimate truth.

How About Practising This Daily?

The three things we crave most in life— happiness, freedom, and peace of mind— are always attained by giving them to someone else.

-Unknown 

Cute Quote

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.

-T. S. Eliot 

Discovery

Self-discovery is the greatest discovery in the universe. The interesting point is that nobody can do it for anyone else. Each individual has to discover herself or himself despite the fact that millions might have discovered themselves before. And every self-discovery is a boon to the mankind as a person who knows oneself will know everything else easily. Such an enlightened being can touch and improve the lives of numerous other beings. 

Too Minute

Cute Quote

All is love. With love comes understanding. With understanding comes patience. And then time stops. And everything is now. 

-  Only Love is Real

Gratitude

When we came here, we brought nothing. We were just a super tiny creature crying for some reason. Gradually, we accumulate things from this place into our body and mind. We tend to assume our right over those things and if any of them goes bad, we cry again. Even if we are not able to accumulate more, we cry. If we remember the state we were in when we arrived and see what we are today, we will feel nothing but deep gratitude to everyone and everything for taking care of us. No matter who we are, we are alive today only because the existence is so caring.

Sometimes, when we lend a helping hand to someone, our ego tricks us into believing that we are the ones helping the one in need. Isn't it so easy to see that we are just taking a piece of the existence from one place to another. There is nothing here on which we can claim ownership. Everything is loaned from the planet. However much we may claim anyone or anything to be ours, it will become free from us sooner or later.

That brings us to the question - is there anything that we can claim right over? Are we supposed to start as a beggar and end as a beggar? Is there anything at all that belongs to us? Before that, who are we? What are we? Who am I?

Observe / React

Simply doing what is needed and just observing what is happening and accepting it as a movie script, even though it may be something negative happening to us, ceases creation of karma. Life incidents, positive or negative, are best seen as a movie script and enjoyed that way. If we react to them, we are not letting that karma leave. "This too shall pass" is a wonderful way to look at everything.

It is not immoral or wrong to act otherwise, it is just beneficial to see life this way. All the energy and emotions that we have should be channeled to the pursuit of the ultimate truth and always doing what is needed, may be helping someone in need, working to improve a situation, or whatever that, according to our understanding, is needed to be done.

Self-ish

There is no such thing as unselfishness. Even mother Teresa served the poor because she felt bad for them and that feeling couldn't let her not help them. Selfishness is the motivation for all actions. It is a righteous feeling.

The inability to see the interdependence of the world leads us to serve only oneself even at the cost of hurting other life forms. More than anything else, that is plain ignorance. Ignorance is the ultimate sin. The root cause of all consequences is ignorance.

Intensity

Intensity is necessary to transcend the status quo.

From i to i-less

The purpose of ego and attachment is self-preservation. The concept of “I” exists to preserve this particular body and mind. But, this particular body and mind is as precious as another body and mind. All our activities should be in line with this idea.

Once self-preservation is achieved, we seek something else. That search may find expressions in greed, ambition, curiosity, creating an impact in the lives of people, etc. It seems we are seeking something infinite unconsciously because this search is never going to end this way. Even the most accomplished and affluent individuals such as Alexander, Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Einstein, Edison, Steve Jobs, etc. could not attain perfect bliss through towering heights of accomplishments. They all stayed miserable as far as perfect happiness is concerned.

Spirituality is about seeking that infinite consciously and finding out the ultimate truth. It is not about attaining any knowledge or reading any scripture or following any religion. It is just about consciously seeking the one answer to everything that has been, is, or will be.

Ginger and Lemon

The Final Question

Case 1. I am suffering. Even when my seemingly impossible wishes are fulfilled, I am not happy and feel the need for new and different things. There are so many more who are struggling. What is the ultimate solution to all suffering?

Case 2. I am happy, absolutely at peace with all the positive and negative events taking place. Nothing can stir me. I enjoy the beautiful world as it is. I wonder who the hell created all this, including me. Where is she/he hiding after creating this marvel? At this moment, all I can think of is that I must find the creator.

Case 3. Who am I?