Monthly tools for self-discovery: November, 2007

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Introduction

 

There is a story about two young Hasidic students, one of whom was going to

study with a Rabbi in some faraway town. The student staying behind says, 'Well,

what are you going to study, are you going to learn all about the Torah and the

Kaballah?' The other student replies, 'No - I'm going to see how he does up his

shoe laces.' You may have met people who are very proficient in giving sparkling

lectures but don't know how to do up their shoe laces, or leastways they don't

appear to be very good at it.

 

Our daily life is generally lived by the clock, We measure our lives in months

and years and seasons. We grow old and die and that too takes place in time. We

have the whole language of progress or development, of growth, and evolution -

all measured or presented in relation to time.

 

However, we also inhabit a world in which everything is already here. The

capacity for love, for instance, has the potential to break out at any moment,

no matter what we are doing. What we can do in terms of these deeper dimensions

of our lives is to create the conditions that are most ideal for such states to

erupt.

 

What would some of these preconditions be? Being mindful, compassionate,

peaceful, attentive, loving are only some of the potentialities. If we can live

in such a way whereby we train ourselves to open to such qualities, such

conditions, then we are more likely to notice when these depth qualities emerge.

 

An image that a Tibetan lama gave once to illustrate this is that of a dirty

window. Light can do what it likes to try and come in, but if the window remains

uncleaned it simply won't be able to penetrate. What we can do is clean the

window and make sure it is kept nice and clean. We can't guarantee that the sun

is always going to be shining but when it does come out it will be able to get

through.

 

A key element is patience. One cannot force love, one cannot force wisdom, it

just won't work! They operate in their own time. There is a time that they

decide to fill our lives over which we have no control. So again,what we can do

is to create the conditions, to clean the window, so to speak.

 

On the following pages we share some suggestions and ideas to help you to

cultivate various values in your life - to become the window cleaner if you

like. We will have a different value and related suggestions each month. We hope

that you will find the exercises useful in keeping your windows sparkling clean.

 

 

 

Monthly tools for self-discovery: November 2007

 

Thoughts for contemplation

 

 

 

Faith

 

Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan

of thinking

Kahlil Gibran.

 

The offering of one's heart happens in stages. Faith evolves from an

initial bright faith - a falling in love with a teaching, a teacher, a way of

life - to a faith that is verified through our sincere efforts.

 

Then, as we come to deeply know the underlying truths of who we are and

what our lives are about, abiding faith, or unwavering faith as it is

traditionally called, arises. This abiding faith in ourselves is different from

'conceit'. Conceit lays claim to specialness - whereas our fundamental nature is

not personal, it's universal and shared.

 

When we look at the Buddha or a great teacher, we can see our own

potential for happiness and sustained compassion. This is a potential that all

beings everywhere share. However, if we stop at faith in another, admiring the

other and overlooking ourselves, our faith remains incomplete.

 

Sharon Salzberg.

 

Meditation excercise

 

 

 

Meditation on Faith

 

When outer conditions appear to be impossible, never give up. Never

waver or let go. Go deep within. Become very still. Feel God's limitless love

surround and infill you. Feel God's peace. Let God's light illumine you from

within, so that the without can be seen in a new light. Raise your consciousness

up and up. Leave all that is negative behind, banish all sense of defeat. Simply

know that in that raised state there is no such thing as defeat. Victory is

assured. You can overcome all things and hold on in faith until you see

everything working out in true perfection. Let your faith be a living, positive

faith that nothing can shake or destroy.

 

Caddy

 

Begin by finding a quiet spot and sitting comfortably, closing your

eyes and allowing your body to relax......notice that there are sounds around

you...just let them be there ..........move your attention to the sensations in

your body......notice the feelings of pressure, temperature, discomfort, etc.

......if you need to adjust your posture to be comfortable, than do

so...........move your attention to your thoughts as they pass through your

mind.....past thoughts, future thoughts, fantasies and facts......just notice

without judgment what your mind is thinking.......now gently turn your attention

to your breathing...notice that you are breathing in and breathing out, fresh

air filling your being.... bringing with it the quality of peace....allow your

body and mind to relax....

 

Now imagine that each breath you take is filled with a light infused

with love, the light of a universal oneness. See that light filling your whole

body until you feel totally filled with this limitless love, illuminated from

within. Spend some time resting in this feeling.

Now, before you come back to normal consciousness, reaffirm to

yourself that everything is working out in true perfection. Allow your mind and

body to sense what it feels like for this to be a reality.

 

Bring yourself back into the present moment. As you go through your

day, occasionally cultivate again that feeling of everything working out to

perfection, rekindle your faith.

 

 

 

 

Personal Inquiry

 

 

 

Inquiry Into Faith

 

People carry different associations with the work 'faith' - perhaps

it connotes adherence to a belief system, blind surrender, unthinking devotion,

or a lack of questioning. But, more uncommonly, it also implies the power to

place our hearts, with intelligence and discernment, upon that which is wise and

compassionate. Faith is a liberating capacity that many of us don't often tap

into.

 

Sharon Salzberg

 

As you connect with the above statement, connect with your own

definition of faith. What is it for you?

 

Look at the decisions you made today and the actions you took. Did

they involve faith and if so, faith in what?

 

Are you placing your heart, with intelligence and discernment, upon

that which is wise and compassionate? If not, what would help you to do so?

 

 

 

 

http://www.findhorn.org/

 

 

 

 

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