Sunday, July 27, 2014

Discover who you really are


If you have ever wanted to experience for yourself a moment of genuine spiritual awakening, or if you simply want to know who you truly are, then an Enlightenment Intensive could be for you.
Enlightenment Intensives are residential group retreats with a single aim: to help you find the answer to life’s great questions such as “Who am I?” and “What is life?”
Not an answer in the form of words or ideas, however, but a direct experience of who you are, of the very essence of your being — that which some call True Nature, or simply Truth.
In short, an experience of enlightenment. In just three days.
I went in being me but not knowing it. I came out being me and knowing it. It was this that changed my life.
Sandy (EI participant)

What does enlightenment mean?

I know that finding enlightenment on one short retreat sounds pretty far-fetched. But this is largely because the word itself is not well defined.
To many, enlightenment refers to nothing less than the Buddha’s final, permanent state of absolute freedom and perfection, “liberation from the wheel of death and rebirth” — something unimaginable to most ordinary mortals. To others, it can conjure up images of extraordinary saints, or gurus endowed with supernatural powers.
Less well known, perhaps, but a lot more common the whole world over, is an experience known as “sudden enlightenment”.
This is a kind of momentary inner awakening to what is ultimate Truth. It involves a simple yet radical shift in consciousness, an experience that is far different from normal perceptions, thoughts and emotions. It is a timeless moment in which you suddenly, spontaneously, awaken to the absolute essence of self or life or reality.
I laughed with sheer joy at the’rightness’ of it… No doubt you know the jubilantly satisfying ‘click’ one experiences when one finds the solution to, for instance, a complicated mathematical problem. Well, the experience I had was of a similar kind but carried to the ultimate. A king-size, super-hyper-Click!!! And with the feeling that I had ‘come home’. It included the blissful awareness of unity, of being in all, and all being in me.
(from The Relevance of Bliss by Nona Coxhead)
In Zen, this sudden awakening experience is known as or kensho or satori. In the West, we also refer to it as illumination, the unitive experience, mystical union, self-realisation and so on.
It is simply a moment of true inner knowing; a discovery of ultimate Truth … not by reading about it, not by listening to people who teach about it … but by finding it for yourself, within yourself, by direct experience.


Many modern accounts, as well as spiritual traditions, describe how very ordinary people have stumbled upon just such an experience, almost by accident. What people experience in these moments of illumination is both universal and, paradoxically, unique to each person.
Common descriptions include:
  • A profound sense of having “come home”
  • An awe and reverence for life
  • Unparalleled joy, fulfilment, gratitude
  • Quiet certainty
  • A deep sense of Love
For many people, knowing who and what they are brings a deep sense of relief and peace. Other people are surprised at the obviousness of it all, or amazed, or laugh hysterically at the cosmic joke involved. Some experience feelings of bliss; some a release of joy and energy that had been held back for years. It is not uncommon for people to recognise that this is what they always wanted but did not realise until they experienced it.
With the dropping away of the hope or desire to get it right, I caught a glimpse of something new; I sank into a direct if brief experience of who – or perhaps more accurately what – I am. It took my breath away. It moved through my body like fire and left me laughing with the sheer delight of being.
Oriah Mountain Dreamer (spiritual teacher, describing her experience on an EI)
But above all, enlightenment gives the most profound insight into reality, a sense of knowing and of oneness that is absolute … and hard to do justice with mere words!

Thursday, July 17, 2014

6 Traits Of People Who Live Peaceful Lives (They Might Surprise You)


 

1. Let Go Of The Ego And Just Be Yourself

“Take time to be an impartial observer of life particularly when an ending is causing despair.” Lao Tzu

2. Learn From Masters

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein

3. Bring Awareness To Your Life 

“The unaware life is not worth living.” -Socrates

4. Realize That We All Experience Conditioning Of Some Kind

“The only source of knowledge is experience” Albert Einstein

5. Understand You Create Your Own Experiences 

“Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him.” Aldous Leonard Huxley

6. How Do You Live Your Life – Through Fear Or Love? 

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Buddha



 

Saturday, July 12, 2014

How to Avoid People You Dislike?

 Steps

1.Plan so that you won't see them. Avoid the places they're likely to go to. Try not to attend events you'll know they'll be attending, or stagger your activities so that you're present at different times. If you don't see them often to begin with, you won't have to spend as much effort trying to avoid them. 
 
2.Keep on the move when they show up. Try not to hang around them for too long. When they walk up to you and start a conversation, make an excuse such as "I have to use the restroom" and walk away from them. Don't look back as you walk off.
 
3.Do not make eye contact with the person. This isn't the most subtle approach, but if they feel you are ignoring them they will likely follow suit and not interact with you. 

4.Dodge their calls and texts if needed. When they call you, ignore them. And if they ask why you didn't answer, say you were working or asleep. 
 
5.Ignore them more bluntly, if they're actually rude or aggressive. This can be extreme, but ignoring them is often better than making a scene or starting a big, aggressive argument. If they say things to you that are rude or aggressive, just ignore them and walk away. 

 

 

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Can You Change Other People?

Chances are, you have people in your life whose behavior you wish would change. Your romantic partner might be putting on a little weight. Your parents may complain too much. Your best friend won’t look for a new job, even though she hates the job she has now.

 Once you notice these annoyances, it is natural to want to push people to change. Is it actually possible to change someone else’s behavior? Should you even try?
It turns out that you can help people to change their behavior, but there is a limited amount you can do without their help. That is, there is some validity to the old

psychology joke:


Q. How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?
A. One, but the light bulb has to want to change.
The best way to help other people change is to learn about how to change your own behavior. The more you know about the factors that drive your own behavior, the better you can use the same principles to help other people change.

MORE: If Your Partner Changed, Would You Be Happier?

For example, human beings are a remarkably social species. We are wired to adopt the goals of the people around us. That means that there is something deeply right in Mahatma Ghandi’s exhortation to be the change you want to see in the world. (The original quote was, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change.” Truly fitting.) When you act in the way you want others to behave, you are helping the people around you to unconsciously adopt the goals you are pursuing.
People are also strongly driven by their environment. We generally do things that are easy to achieve and avoid things that are hard. That means that you can help people to change by removing temptations from their environment and replacing those temptations with items that promote desired goals. Many cities have taken this proposal to heart and have instituted bike-sharing programs that make it easy for people to leave their cars behind and to pedal from once place to another.

Unfortunately, there are limits to what you can change about another person without their cooperation. Unless someone is willing to really commit to a new goal and make plans that will help them achieve that goal and turn it into a habit, that individual is unlikely to make lasting changes in her life.

And that leads to the question of whether you should try to affect other people’s behavior.
The answer there is more complicated.

I am a big fan of communication. If you think that it is important for someone in your life to make a change, then talk about it. Do not try lots of indirect ways to get them to change. Most people quickly become aware of your attempts to influence what they do (and may reject or resent them). So, don’t assume you are being clever by hiding the Ben & Jerry’s or suggesting lots of early morning walks on the jogging path.