Guest guest Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 These I learned mostly from Amma and Her Swamis ~ These are not instructions. Just a list of things that I have practiced on and off; and some I am contemplating on for the future. While I have benefited from these, I have not necessarily mastered these and what degree of mastery is required in my case( or in anyones case ) to surrender ego remains a question. This list is to let you know there are many options and that you may already be doing some or many of these. There may be no need to learn complicated rituals which may be difficult for non-Indians. Some of the simplest approaches might be the most profound; it depends what resonates with your heart? What quiets your mind and allows silence to be noticed and/or love to flow? For example, two American renunciants at Amritapuri obviously have an excellent opportunity( every morning ) to learn the chanting of 108 names, LS, Mahisasuramardini; but chanting is not their cup of tea; one does SEVA continuously and the other meditates a lot; both spend time with Amma when possible. Both like the two chai breaks per day. Another example ~ One devotee in close contact with Amma kept asking for instructions and ignoring Amma's many off the cuff statements "to smile"; when this awareness came to this devotee, "learning to smile" became a spiritual practice with good results. Of course, always ask Amma if you are not sure and/or pray for guidance. 1) Get hug from Amma ~ this is called Darshan( a Blessing ) 2) Be around Amma as close as possible as long as possible 3) Watch Amma hug people 4) Get mantra from Amma 5) Repeat mantra as much as possible ~ this is called Japa 6) Repeat Her name "Amma" frequently ~ perhaps with every breath for a period of time 7) Think of Amma as much as possible ~ the milkmaids( gopis ) had chores to do throughout the day and did not have time to sit and meditate or do puja etc; so, they simply thought of Krishna continuously as they worked ~ this was their path to enlightenment 8) Do selfless service ~ called Seva ~ as much as possible; feed the poor; help the needy; help with Amma's Programs, Charities; help devotees to get to programs; carefully, innocently introduce new people to Amma; and so many others things ~ any action without selfishness is Seva 9) Help temba with his "Innocent Desire to Help the Poor" 10) Chant daily ~ "asato ma sat gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamya, mrityor ma sat gamaya, om santi, santi, santihi"~ "lokaha samastaha sukhino bhavantu" at least three times or ten minutes for world peace or for prayer list ~ end with "om santi, santi, santihi" ~ "om sri gurubhyo namaha harihi om" 11) Chant prayer before eating ~ "Om Brahmarpanam Brahma havir; Brahmagnau Brahmanaa hutam; Brahmaiva tena gantavyam; Brahma karma samadhina." ~ also we add "asato ma…", "lokaha samastaha …(3x)" + "om santi …" + "om sri gurubhyo namaha harihi om" OR say your own prayer. 12) If time, chant 15th chapter of Baghavad Gita before eating to further purify food and environment. We haven't done this yet. Does anyone know CD, tape, internet-audio of Chap 15 being chanted? 13) Pray to God, Amma, or your Deity( if different from Amma ) 14) Cry for God intensely ~ "reveal yourself, reveal yourself" 15) Develop a continuous longing for God/Amma 16) Feel pain of separation from God/Self/Amma 17) Feel pain of suffering of others, of the whole world ~ 0060. [After visiting, hugging and talking with some very poor Tamil families] "Poor children. Mother is deeply wounded in Her mind, seeing these people's suffering. Who will take care of them? People talk about helping the poor, but no one seems to be doing anything for them. ... These children might have misused such gifts [God given faculties] in their previous births, and that is why they are suffering now. Still it is our duty to have compassion for them. In fact God created the rich to help the poor, the healthy to assist the unhealthy, and normal human beings to help and serve the mentally retarded and physically deformed." - Ammachi, Awaken Children, Vol.4, P56 ~ 0061.[A devotee asked, "Amma, why does God keep quiet when people are suffering like this? Can't He do something to remove it?"] Mother replies: "Yes, He did something, son. He created us, hoping that we would do something to help them. We should think of them. We should try to feel their suffering." - Ammachi, Awaken Children, Vol.4, p56 18) Pray for others 19) Chant or listen to 108 names of Amma 20) Chant or listen to 1000 names of Lalita Sahasranama( or as many as you can at a time ) 21) Chant or listen to Mahisasuramardini 22) Do either "Amma/Amma" or "Ma/Om" with every ( inhalation/exhalation ) ~ this is called a Kriya ~ a popular/traditional Kriya is "So/Ham"; also "I/Am" is good 23) Learn to relax at every moment no matter what you are doing; relax physically; relax emotionally; relax mentally; but stay alert without the tension; 24) With every exhalation, "Let go and let God" 25) With every exhalation, let your mind sink from head to heart 26) Meditate on Silence 27) Do IAM( Integrative Amrita Meditation ) ~ need to take a free course 28) Do a mental puja( manasa puja ) ~ mental worship of deity using your imagination 29) Bow down often ~ physically or mentally 30) Learn a guided meditation at the retreat led by a swami early in the morning( hard to make this if up all night with Amma ) 31) Learn a guided meditation at a public program led by Swamiji A. ~ These guided meditations vary quite a bit; so, do not hesitate to customize to your temperament ~ whatever brings you into the silence and/or love more. 32) Talk to God 33) Talk to Amma; write letter to Amma 34) Surrender your problems to Amma/God 35) Talk to your mind; Amma give some examples how to. 36) Do self-inquiry ~ ask questions ~ "Who am I?", "Where did I come from?", "Where am I going?" , "What is my purpose here?" and perhaps other questions ~ "What is God?", "What is mind?", "Why suffering?", why does Amma say "the mind is a liar" ?, "What is the nature of ego?" ~ some say questions are better at quieting the mind than affirmations ~ but after the question, don't forget to listen attentively for the answer ignoring bookish answers that you already heard, etc 37) Amma says "You are not the body; identification with the body is the cause of all your problems." ~ so, what we see in the mirror is not who we are. 38) Neither are we our thoughts; so the words in our posts( either sattvik or tamasic ) are not who we are. 39) Contemplate Amma's Aphorisms such as ~ "Do not listen to your mind." There are many others; just pick one at a time and see if you can first contemplate it throughout the day and then practice it in some meaningful way. Some others : "God is the only doer." "God is all there is." "I Am the Supreme Self." "I am nothing." "I am Amma's Child." ~ What are your favorites? 40) Contemplate Amma's Aphorisms and spiritual stories in "Immortal Bliss", "Matruvani", Amma's books( "Awaken Children", etc ) 41) Sing and/or listen to devotional songs( bhajans ) 42) Sing and/or listen to Arati to Amma 43) Watch Breath 44) Watch thoughts 45) Watch EGO 46) Feel body as in corpse position or walking very slowly 47) Practice alertness( shradha ) throughout the day no matter what you are doing. 48) Notice the SILENCE and offer gratitude. 49) Know yourself as the SILENCE. 50) Smile ~ if we don't have anything to give at least we can smile. 51) Observe a fast or mono-diet. 52) Observe Silence. 53) Observe dietary guidelines; Amma gives some in "For My Children." 54) Observe and learn the nature( functionality ) of each thing especially the mind/ego. 55) Focus your meditation( mantra, deity, light ) on the heart or third eye; heart is safer if not living with guru. 56) Practice loving kindness 57) Try to surrender everything to God. Surrendering does not mean making your ego a slave to some other ego. Remember God or Amma is egoless. So, surrender means to let go of the ego and thoughts and become egoless and no-mind. 58) While doing spiritual practices, say "yes!" to whatever life offers. My understanding is that this allows things to flow more smoothly. Otherwise, resistance creates painful blocks which may create disease, other problems in life, etc. Easier said than done; but I'm trying at least to be aware of this. 59) To forgive and forget. "The past is like a canceled check." ~ it seems that ~ there is no past or future other than the thoughts in the present moment about the past( regrets or good times ) or the future( plans, fears, expectations ); with all these thoughts about past or future in the present moment, there seems to be no room for the present moment without thoughts. 60) Forgiveness helps to remove blocks of resistance. 61) Not to criticize others. See our own faults and weaknesses and make an effort to overcome them. Constructive criticism? Advice? Need to be very careful; we ourselves are not perfect; are we? 62) Contemplate "What would Amma want us to do in this situation?"; "How would Amma respond?"; "What am I capable of at this time?" 63) Read "Awaken Children!" especially vols VI and VII This is a work in progress; comments welcome; thanks. Amma Bless, amarnath Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha! Visit your group " Terms of Service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 I would add: Read Awaken Children V. (What is the address we might use to send a letter to Amma?) My practice is to wright the letter and put it on my altar and await a response...and it may or may not come, or it may come in various ways....in a dream, a conversation with another....on the radio... *****Please as well will someone speak of their experiences at Amritapuri...and how they got there..how long they stayed and what it is like living there. I know that it has changed very much over the past 30 years...and that people have their own apartments there...so that one could live there if they choose to. ONS Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha! Terms of Service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 "children ,do you know what expectations AMMA has for you?you should be like the sun,not like a firefly.fireFlies make light simply for their own needs.dont be like that.selflessness is all you should ever wish for.you should be the ones to raise their hands to help others,even at the moment of your death"-AMMA eternal wisdom ;part two page 168 "we should be willing to pray for the upliftment of others ,rather than for our own progress.my children ,to develope such selfless love is the greatest progress we can make.true worship is seeing the suffering of others as our own suffering,and their happiness as our own happiness.true devotees see themselves in others.theirs is a world of peace and contentment."MOTHER STOPPED TALIKNG.HER GAZE WAS SOMEWHERE FAR AWAY. eternal wisdom part two pg.169 "MOTHER is ready to take any number of births to serve the devotees and the suffering."awaken children volume one pg.169 "no one will make progress as long as there is selfish interest"-AMMA >"amarnath" <anatol_zinc > >Ammachi >Ammachi > Many Spiritual Practices from Amma >Mon, 15 May 2006 18:11:55 -0000 > > >These I learned mostly from Amma and Her Swamis ~ > >These are not instructions. Just a list of things that I have >practiced on and off; and some I am contemplating on for the future. >While I have benefited from these, I have not necessarily mastered >these and what degree of mastery is required in my case( or in >anyones case ) to surrender ego remains a question. > >This list is to let you know there are many options and that you may >already be doing some or many of these. There may be no need to >learn complicated rituals which may be difficult for non-Indians. > >Some of the simplest approaches might be the most profound; it >depends what resonates with your heart? What quiets your mind and >allows silence to be noticed and/or love to flow? > >For example, two American renunciants at Amritapuri obviously have >an excellent opportunity( every morning ) to learn the chanting of >108 names, LS, Mahisasuramardini; but chanting is not their cup of >tea; one does SEVA continuously and the other meditates a lot; both >spend time with Amma when possible. Both like the two chai breaks >per day. > >Another example ~ One devotee in close contact with Amma kept asking >for instructions and ignoring Amma's many off the cuff >statements "to smile"; when this awareness came to this >devotee, "learning to smile" became a spiritual practice with good >results. > >Of course, always ask Amma if you are not sure and/or pray for >guidance. > >1) Get hug from Amma ~ this is called Darshan( a Blessing ) >2) Be around Amma as close as possible as long as possible >3) Watch Amma hug people >4) Get mantra from Amma >5) Repeat mantra as much as possible ~ this is called Japa >6) Repeat Her name "Amma" frequently ~ perhaps with every >breath for a period of time >7) Think of Amma as much as possible ~ the milkmaids( gopis ) >had chores to do throughout the day and did not have time to sit and >meditate or do puja etc; so, they simply thought of Krishna >continuously as they worked ~ this was their path to enlightenment >8) Do selfless service ~ called Seva ~ as much as possible; >feed the poor; help the needy; help with Amma's Programs, Charities; >help devotees to get to programs; carefully, innocently introduce >new people to Amma; and so many others things ~ any action without >selfishness is Seva >9) Help temba with his "Innocent Desire to Help the Poor" >10) Chant daily ~ "asato ma sat gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamya, >mrityor ma sat gamaya, om santi, santi, santihi"~ "lokaha samastaha >sukhino bhavantu" at least three times or ten minutes for world >peace or for prayer list ~ end with "om santi, santi, santihi" >~ "om sri gurubhyo namaha harihi om" >11) Chant prayer before eating ~ "Om Brahmarpanam Brahma havir; >Brahmagnau Brahmanaa hutam; Brahmaiva tena gantavyam; Brahma karma >samadhina." ~ also we add "asato ma…", "lokaha samastaha …(3x)" >+ "om santi …" + "om sri gurubhyo namaha harihi om" OR say your own >prayer. >12) If time, chant 15th chapter of Baghavad Gita before eating >to further purify food and environment. We haven't done this yet. >Does anyone know CD, tape, internet-audio of Chap 15 being chanted? >13) Pray to God, Amma, or your Deity( if different from Amma ) >14) Cry for God intensely ~ "reveal yourself, reveal yourself" >15) Develop a continuous longing for God/Amma >16) Feel pain of separation from God/Self/Amma >17) Feel pain of suffering of others, of the whole world ~ 0060. >[After visiting, hugging and talking with some very poor Tamil >families] "Poor children. Mother is deeply wounded in Her mind, >seeing these people's suffering. Who will take care of them? >People talk about helping the poor, but no one seems to be doing >anything for them. ... These children might have misused such gifts >[God given faculties] in their previous births, and that is why they >are suffering now. Still it is our duty to have compassion for >them. In fact God created the rich to help the poor, the healthy to >assist the unhealthy, and normal human beings to help and serve the >mentally retarded and physically deformed." - Ammachi, Awaken >Children, Vol.4, P56 ~ 0061.[A devotee asked, "Amma, why does God >keep quiet when people are suffering like this? Can't He do >something to remove it?"] Mother replies: "Yes, He did something, >son. He created us, hoping that we would do something to help >them. We should think of them. We should try to feel their >suffering." - Ammachi, Awaken Children, Vol.4, p56 > >18) Pray for others >19) Chant or listen to 108 names of Amma >20) Chant or listen to 1000 names of Lalita Sahasranama( or as >many as you can at a time ) >21) Chant or listen to Mahisasuramardini >22) Do either "Amma/Amma" or "Ma/Om" with every ( >inhalation/exhalation ) ~ this is called a Kriya ~ a >popular/traditional Kriya is "So/Ham"; also "I/Am" is good >23) Learn to relax at every moment no matter what you are doing; >relax physically; relax emotionally; relax mentally; but stay alert >without the tension; >24) With every exhalation, "Let go and let God" >25) With every exhalation, let your mind sink from head to heart >26) Meditate on Silence >27) Do IAM( Integrative Amrita Meditation ) ~ need to take a >free course >28) Do a mental puja( manasa puja ) ~ mental worship of deity >using your imagination >29) Bow down often ~ physically or mentally >30) Learn a guided meditation at the retreat led by a swami >early in the morning( hard to make this if up all night with Amma ) >31) Learn a guided meditation at a public program led by Swamiji >A. ~ These guided meditations vary quite a bit; so, do not hesitate >to customize to your temperament ~ whatever brings you into the >silence and/or love more. >32) Talk to God >33) Talk to Amma; write letter to Amma >34) Surrender your problems to Amma/God >35) Talk to your mind; Amma give some examples how to. >36) Do self-inquiry ~ ask questions ~ "Who am I?", "Where did I >come from?", "Where am I going?" , "What is my purpose here?" and >perhaps other questions ~ "What is God?", "What is mind?", "Why >suffering?", why does Amma say "the mind is a liar" ?, "What is the >nature of ego?" ~ some say questions are better at quieting the mind >than affirmations ~ but after the question, don't forget to listen >attentively for the answer ignoring bookish answers that you already >heard, etc >37) Amma says "You are not the body; identification with the >body is the cause of all your problems." ~ so, what we see in the >mirror is not who we are. >38) Neither are we our thoughts; so the words in our posts( >either sattvik or tamasic ) are not who we are. >39) Contemplate Amma's Aphorisms such as ~ "Do not listen to >your mind." There are many others; just pick one at a time and see >if you can first contemplate it throughout the day and then practice >it in some meaningful way. Some others : "God is the only >doer.God is all there is.I Am the Supreme Self.I am >nothing.I am Amma's Child." ~ What are your favorites? >40) Contemplate Amma's Aphorisms and spiritual stories >in "Immortal Bliss", "Matruvani", Amma's books( "Awaken Children", >etc ) > >41) Sing and/or listen to devotional songs( bhajans ) >42) Sing and/or listen to Arati to Amma >43) Watch Breath >44) Watch thoughts >45) Watch EGO >46) Feel body as in corpse position or walking very slowly >47) Practice alertness( shradha ) throughout the day no matter >what you are doing. >48) Notice the SILENCE and offer gratitude. >49) Know yourself as the SILENCE. >50) Smile ~ if we don't have anything to give at least we can >smile. >51) Observe a fast or mono-diet. >52) Observe Silence. >53) Observe dietary guidelines; Amma gives some in "For My >Children." >54) Observe and learn the nature( functionality ) of each thing >especially the mind/ego. >55) Focus your meditation( mantra, deity, light ) on the heart >or third eye; heart is safer if not living with guru. >56) Practice loving kindness >57) Try to surrender everything to God. Surrendering does not >mean making your ego a slave to some other ego. Remember God or Amma >is egoless. So, surrender means to let go of the ego and thoughts >and become egoless and no-mind. >58) While doing spiritual practices, say "yes!" to whatever life >offers. My understanding is that this allows things to flow more >smoothly. Otherwise, resistance creates painful blocks which may >create disease, other problems in life, etc. Easier said than done; >but I'm trying at least to be aware of this. >59) To forgive and forget. "The past is like a canceled check." >~ it seems that ~ there is no past or future other than the thoughts >in the present moment about the past( regrets or good times ) or the >future( plans, fears, expectations ); with all these thoughts about >past or future in the present moment, there seems to be no room for >the present moment without thoughts. >60) Forgiveness helps to remove blocks of resistance. >61) Not to criticize others. See our own faults and weaknesses >and make an effort to overcome them. Constructive criticism? Advice? >Need to be very careful; we ourselves are not perfect; are we? >62) Contemplate "What would Amma want us to do in this >situation?"; "How would Amma respond?"; "What am I capable of at >this time?" >63) Read "Awaken Children!" especially vols VI and VII > >This is a work in progress; comments welcome; thanks. > >Amma Bless, >amarnath > > > > > _______________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ ------------------------ Sponsor --------------------~--> You can search right from your browser? It's easy and it's free. See how. http://us.click./_7bhrC/NGxNAA/yQLSAA/XUWolB/TM --~-> Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha! <*> Ammachi/ <*> Ammachi <*> Your Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 Dear Amarnath, Thank you for taking the time to compile all of these! What a great and inspiring list... =) Namah Sivaya, Iswari -- In Ammachi, "amarnath" <anatol_zinc> wrote: > > > These I learned mostly from Amma and Her Swamis ~ > > These are not instructions. Just a list of things that I have > practiced on and off; and some I am contemplating on for the future. > While I have benefited from these, I have not necessarily mastered > these and what degree of mastery is required in my case( or in > anyones case ) to surrender ego remains a question. > > This list is to let you know there are many options and that you may > already be doing some or many of these. There may be no need to > learn complicated rituals which may be difficult for non-Indians. > > Some of the simplest approaches might be the most profound; it > depends what resonates with your heart? What quiets your mind and > allows silence to be noticed and/or love to flow? > > For example, two American renunciants at Amritapuri obviously have > an excellent opportunity( every morning ) to learn the chanting of > 108 names, LS, Mahisasuramardini; but chanting is not their cup of > tea; one does SEVA continuously and the other meditates a lot; both > spend time with Amma when possible. Both like the two chai breaks > per day. > > Another example ~ One devotee in close contact with Amma kept asking > for instructions and ignoring Amma's many off the cuff > statements "to smile"; when this awareness came to this > devotee, "learning to smile" became a spiritual practice with good > results. > > Of course, always ask Amma if you are not sure and/or pray for > guidance. > > 1) Get hug from Amma ~ this is called Darshan( a Blessing ) > 2) Be around Amma as close as possible as long as possible > 3) Watch Amma hug people > 4) Get mantra from Amma > 5) Repeat mantra as much as possible ~ this is called Japa > 6) Repeat Her name "Amma" frequently ~ perhaps with every > breath for a period of time > 7) Think of Amma as much as possible ~ the milkmaids( gopis ) > had chores to do throughout the day and did not have time to sit and > meditate or do puja etc; so, they simply thought of Krishna > continuously as they worked ~ this was their path to enlightenment > 8) Do selfless service ~ called Seva ~ as much as possible; > feed the poor; help the needy; help with Amma's Programs, Charities; > help devotees to get to programs; carefully, innocently introduce > new people to Amma; and so many others things ~ any action without > selfishness is Seva > 9) Help temba with his "Innocent Desire to Help the Poor" > 10) Chant daily ~ "asato ma sat gamaya, tamaso ma jyotir gamya, > mrityor ma sat gamaya, om santi, santi, santihi"~ "lokaha samastaha > sukhino bhavantu" at least three times or ten minutes for world > peace or for prayer list ~ end with "om santi, santi, santihi" > ~ "om sri gurubhyo namaha harihi om" > 11) Chant prayer before eating ~ "Om Brahmarpanam Brahma havir; > Brahmagnau Brahmanaa hutam; Brahmaiva tena gantavyam; Brahma karma > samadhina." ~ also we add "asato ma…", "lokaha samastaha …(3x)" > + "om santi …" + "om sri gurubhyo namaha harihi om" OR say your own > prayer. > 12) If time, chant 15th chapter of Baghavad Gita before eating > to further purify food and environment. We haven't done this yet. > Does anyone know CD, tape, internet-audio of Chap 15 being chanted? > 13) Pray to God, Amma, or your Deity( if different from Amma ) > 14) Cry for God intensely ~ "reveal yourself, reveal yourself" > 15) Develop a continuous longing for God/Amma > 16) Feel pain of separation from God/Self/Amma > 17) Feel pain of suffering of others, of the whole world ~ 0060. > [After visiting, hugging and talking with some very poor Tamil > families] "Poor children. Mother is deeply wounded in Her mind, > seeing these people's suffering. Who will take care of them? > People talk about helping the poor, but no one seems to be doing > anything for them. ... These children might have misused such gifts > [God given faculties] in their previous births, and that is why they > are suffering now. Still it is our duty to have compassion for > them. In fact God created the rich to help the poor, the healthy to > assist the unhealthy, and normal human beings to help and serve the > mentally retarded and physically deformed." - Ammachi, Awaken > Children, Vol.4, P56 ~ 0061.[A devotee asked, "Amma, why does God > keep quiet when people are suffering like this? Can't He do > something to remove it?"] Mother replies: "Yes, He did something, > son. He created us, hoping that we would do something to help > them. We should think of them. We should try to feel their > suffering." - Ammachi, Awaken Children, Vol.4, p56 > > 18) Pray for others > 19) Chant or listen to 108 names of Amma > 20) Chant or listen to 1000 names of Lalita Sahasranama( or as > many as you can at a time ) > 21) Chant or listen to Mahisasuramardini > 22) Do either "Amma/Amma" or "Ma/Om" with every ( > inhalation/exhalation ) ~ this is called a Kriya ~ a > popular/traditional Kriya is "So/Ham"; also "I/Am" is good > 23) Learn to relax at every moment no matter what you are doing; > relax physically; relax emotionally; relax mentally; but stay alert > without the tension; > 24) With every exhalation, "Let go and let God" > 25) With every exhalation, let your mind sink from head to heart > 26) Meditate on Silence > 27) Do IAM( Integrative Amrita Meditation ) ~ need to take a > free course > 28) Do a mental puja( manasa puja ) ~ mental worship of deity > using your imagination > 29) Bow down often ~ physically or mentally > 30) Learn a guided meditation at the retreat led by a swami > early in the morning( hard to make this if up all night with Amma ) > 31) Learn a guided meditation at a public program led by Swamiji > A. ~ These guided meditations vary quite a bit; so, do not hesitate > to customize to your temperament ~ whatever brings you into the > silence and/or love more. > 32) Talk to God > 33) Talk to Amma; write letter to Amma > 34) Surrender your problems to Amma/God > 35) Talk to your mind; Amma give some examples how to. > 36) Do self-inquiry ~ ask questions ~ "Who am I?", "Where did I > come from?", "Where am I going?" , "What is my purpose here?" and > perhaps other questions ~ "What is God?", "What is mind?", "Why > suffering?", why does Amma say "the mind is a liar" ?, "What is the > nature of ego?" ~ some say questions are better at quieting the mind > than affirmations ~ but after the question, don't forget to listen > attentively for the answer ignoring bookish answers that you already > heard, etc > 37) Amma says "You are not the body; identification with the > body is the cause of all your problems." ~ so, what we see in the > mirror is not who we are. > 38) Neither are we our thoughts; so the words in our posts( > either sattvik or tamasic ) are not who we are. > 39) Contemplate Amma's Aphorisms such as ~ "Do not listen to > your mind." There are many others; just pick one at a time and see > if you can first contemplate it throughout the day and then practice > it in some meaningful way. Some others : "God is the only > doer." "God is all there is." "I Am the Supreme Self." "I am > nothing." "I am Amma's Child." ~ What are your favorites? > 40) Contemplate Amma's Aphorisms and spiritual stories > in "Immortal Bliss", "Matruvani", Amma's books( "Awaken Children", > etc ) > > 41) Sing and/or listen to devotional songs( bhajans ) > 42) Sing and/or listen to Arati to Amma > 43) Watch Breath > 44) Watch thoughts > 45) Watch EGO > 46) Feel body as in corpse position or walking very slowly > 47) Practice alertness( shradha ) throughout the day no matter > what you are doing. > 48) Notice the SILENCE and offer gratitude. > 49) Know yourself as the SILENCE. > 50) Smile ~ if we don't have anything to give at least we can > smile. > 51) Observe a fast or mono-diet. > 52) Observe Silence. > 53) Observe dietary guidelines; Amma gives some in "For My > Children." > 54) Observe and learn the nature( functionality ) of each thing > especially the mind/ego. > 55) Focus your meditation( mantra, deity, light ) on the heart > or third eye; heart is safer if not living with guru. > 56) Practice loving kindness > 57) Try to surrender everything to God. Surrendering does not > mean making your ego a slave to some other ego. Remember God or Amma > is egoless. So, surrender means to let go of the ego and thoughts > and become egoless and no-mind. > 58) While doing spiritual practices, say "yes!" to whatever life > offers. My understanding is that this allows things to flow more > smoothly. Otherwise, resistance creates painful blocks which may > create disease, other problems in life, etc. Easier said than done; > but I'm trying at least to be aware of this. > 59) To forgive and forget. "The past is like a canceled check." > ~ it seems that ~ there is no past or future other than the thoughts > in the present moment about the past( regrets or good times ) or the > future( plans, fears, expectations ); with all these thoughts about > past or future in the present moment, there seems to be no room for > the present moment without thoughts. > 60) Forgiveness helps to remove blocks of resistance. > 61) Not to criticize others. See our own faults and weaknesses > and make an effort to overcome them. Constructive criticism? Advice? > Need to be very careful; we ourselves are not perfect; are we? > 62) Contemplate "What would Amma want us to do in this > situation?"; "How would Amma respond?"; "What am I capable of at > this time?" > 63) Read "Awaken Children!" especially vols VI and VII > > This is a work in progress; comments welcome; thanks. > > Amma Bless, > amarnath > Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha! Terms of Service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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