Guest guest Posted December 10, 2005 Report Share Posted December 10, 2005 Comment: Almost all of us suffer from a condition known as "confirmation bias." If you agree with me, you are obviously a person of good taste and discernment. If you disagree with me, then I question your love, your motives, etc., etc. My suggestion is to read a book by someone who totally disagrees with your point of view and really, really try to see their point. People only become more and more polarized when they speak only with those who share their own views. In the interest of putting the focus back on Amma, here are some notes I took at the Michigan Question and Answer session. Q. Amma, I'm sorry to say this so directly, but sometimes you give such sweet darshans and you are so loving and giving. Yet, other times you don't even look us in the eye. Why do you do that? What can we do to draw out the most sweet darshan? A. Amma's heart is always with her children. Even when breastfeeding, a mother must take care of her other children. The child who is being fed still gets fed, even if it's not visible to you. Amma knows that we want something tangible and visible and she will try. Amma takes the blame; it's not her children's fault. Always remember that if you feel sad after darshan you can take the authority of a child and go up and ask, "Why didn't you look at me?" Even if we leave her, Amma won't leave us. Q. Are we really overcoming our vasanas? Does Amma see progress over time? Where does determined effort come from? Are some of us on a treadmill? A. It is difficult to have determination while in this world. It is like putting chocolate on the tongue and trying not to relish it. Things will drop away as we increase our longing for God. We should not worry about our lack of progress. We are aware of our limitations now, and that shows progress. She told the story of a man who was in the river when a flood suddenly came. He swam with all his might, but could make no progress. Nevertheless he kept swimming. After the flood receded, the people on the bank said, "Why did you keep swimming when you weren't getting anywhere?" He replied that even though he wasn't moving through the water, the swimming kept him from drowning. In reality we are improving. Once our worldly responsibilities are done, we must turn our attention to spirituality. The first step is a daily routine, a timetable. Perform spiritual practices unfailingly. We need an alarm within us to remind us to meditate. Even the thought "I am not progressing spiritually" shows that we are progressing. Keep trying, keep trying and we will reach the goal. The mind is like water and consciousness is like fire. Water goes down and fire goes up. Amma says take a strong resolve! "Today I will not get angry with anyone." Take a silent vow once every two weeks. Learn to adjust and adapt to various situations. Though we fall, we should get up and move forward. Don't keep worrying about when we will attain self-realization. She told the story of Narada coming to earth and talking to two different devotees who each wanted to know how soon he would be liberated. Narada went to talk to (?Vishnu?) and returned to earth to tell the first ascetic that he would be liberated after as many years as there were leaves on a big tree nearby. The man became furious and said his life's efforts had been in vain and stomped off. Then Narada relayed the same message to the second man. He jumped for joy and was ecstatic! "Oh, I'm so close!" he cried. And in that moment, he was liberated. Q. Mother, you say to fill our hearts with love. It feels like mine turns to stone. How do we fill our hearts with love? A. Love is already there. We are only interested in receiving, not giving. When we give love, the shell of the ego breaks. Childlike innocence is in everyone. In reality we are love. Say, "I am love," not "I love you." Keep trying. Q. Amma, I, too, have four questions. (Laughter.) The first is how to deal with desire, particularly the desire the brahmacharis avoid. (2) Explain what destiny and soulmate are (3) and why discrimination is necessary and (4) Is Amma always involved or watching? Desire: Amma said that diabetics avoid sugar and sweets. If a lizard urinates on your meal, will you avoid it? Yes. It takes awareness of what is real and what is not. If we are intent on the goal, things drop away. If we try to suppress it will manifest in some way. Amma doesn't want us to suppress. One day or another we must take a detached attitude. Life and soulmate: Sometimes there is no choice, but when we have free will, we must exercise it. For a soulmate, Amma said look around, but use discrimination. Don't blame destiny. She talked about the three rings in life--the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and suffering. In reality we are always alone. (4) Consciousness, creation and Atman are all one, Amma says. The sun is the witness. Amma is similar--witness. In reality there is no difference between Amma and her children. Your pain is her pain and your happiness is her happiness. Amma is like a powerful magnet that attracts iron filings by its very presence. Things just happen. Amma dwells within Her Self. (This made me think of something Swamiji often says--that Amma is doing everything without doing anything. He sees this over and over.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 10, 2005 Report Share Posted December 10, 2005 Namah Shivaya Jyotsna, Thank you very much for posting this. "Confirmation Bias" is definitely something to think about. Your suggestion to read a book that expresses the opposite view from ours is certainly a way to keep an open mind. Thank you also for posting your notes from the Q&A session. It's great hearing Mother's latest nectarian words. Jai Ma, Prasadini E. Lamb wrote: > Comment: > > Almost all of us suffer from a condition known as "confirmation bias." > If you agree with me, you are obviously a person of good taste and > discernment. If you disagree with me, then I question your love, > your motives, etc., etc. My suggestion is to read a book by someone > who totally disagrees with your point of view and really, really try > to see their point. People only become more and more polarized > when they speak only with those who share their own views. > > > In the interest of putting the focus back on Amma, here are > some notes I took at the Michigan Question and Answer session. > > Q. Amma, I'm sorry to say this so directly, but sometimes you give > such sweet darshans and you are so loving and giving. Yet, other > times you don't even look us in the eye. Why do you do that? > What can we do to draw out the most sweet darshan? > > A. Amma's heart is always with her children. Even when breastfeeding, > a mother must take care of her other children. The child who is being > fed still gets fed, even if it's not visible to you. Amma knows > that we > want something tangible and visible and she will try. Amma takes the > blame; it's not her children's fault. Always remember that if you feel > sad after darshan you can take the authority of a child and go up > and ask, "Why didn't you look at me?" Even if we leave her, Amma > won't leave us. > > Q. Are we really overcoming our vasanas? Does Amma see progress > over time? Where does determined effort come from? Are some of > us on a treadmill? > > A. It is difficult to have determination while in this world. It > is like putting > chocolate on the tongue and trying not to relish it. Things will drop > away as we increase our longing for God. We should not worry about > our lack of progress. We are aware of our limitations now, and that > shows progress. She told the story of a man who was in the river > when a flood suddenly came. He swam with all his might, but > could make no progress. Nevertheless he kept swimming. After > the flood receded, the people on the bank said, "Why did you > keep swimming when you weren't getting anywhere?" He replied > that even though he wasn't moving through the water, the swimming > kept him from drowning. In reality we are improving. Once our > worldly responsibilities are done, we must turn our attention to > spirituality. The first step is a daily routine, a timetable. Perform > spiritual practices unfailingly. We need an alarm within us to > remind us to meditate. > Even the thought "I am not progressing spiritually" shows that we > are progressing. Keep trying, keep trying and we will reach the > goal. The mind is like water and consciousness is like fire. > Water goes down and fire goes up. Amma says take a strong > resolve! "Today I will not get angry with anyone." Take a silent > vow once every two weeks. Learn to adjust and adapt to various > situations. Though we fall, we should get up and move forward. > Don't keep worrying about when we will attain self-realization. > She told the story of Narada coming to earth and talking to > two different devotees who each wanted to know how soon > he would be liberated. Narada went to talk to (?Vishnu?) and > returned to earth to tell the first ascetic that he would be > liberated after as many years as there were leaves on a big > tree nearby. The man became furious and said his life's > efforts had been in vain and stomped off. Then Narada > relayed the same message to the second man. He jumped > for joy and was ecstatic! "Oh, I'm so close!" he cried. And > in that moment, he was liberated. > > Q. Mother, you say to fill our hearts with love. It feels like > mine turns to stone. How do we fill our hearts with love? > > A. Love is already there. We are only interested in receiving, > not giving. When we give love, the shell of the ego breaks. > Childlike innocence is in everyone. In reality we are love. > Say, "I am love," not "I love you." Keep trying. > > Q. Amma, I, too, have four questions. (Laughter.) The first > is how to deal with desire, particularly the desire the > brahmacharis avoid. (2) Explain what destiny and soulmate > are (3) and why discrimination is necessary and (4) Is > Amma always involved or watching? > > Desire: Amma said that diabetics avoid sugar and sweets. > If a lizard urinates on your meal, will you avoid it? Yes. It > takes awareness of what is real and what is not. If we are > intent on the goal, things drop away. If we try to suppress > it will manifest in some way. Amma doesn't want us to > suppress. One day or another we must take a detached > attitude. > > Life and soulmate: Sometimes there is no choice, but > when we have free will, we must exercise it. For a > soulmate, Amma said look around, but use discrimination. > Don't blame destiny. She talked about the three rings in > life--the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and suffering. > In reality we are always alone. > > (4) Consciousness, creation and Atman are all one, Amma > says. The sun is the witness. Amma is similar--witness. > In reality there is no difference between Amma and her > children. Your pain is her pain and your happiness is > her happiness. Amma is like a powerful magnet that > attracts iron filings by its very presence. Things just > happen. Amma dwells within Her Self. (This made me > think of something Swamiji often says--that Amma is doing > everything without doing anything. He sees this over and > over.) > > > > > > > Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha! > > > ------ > > > * Visit your group "Ammachi > <Ammachi>" on the web. > > * > Ammachi > <Ammachi?subject=Un> > > * Terms of > Service <>. > > > ------ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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