Wednesday, July 26, 2006

hope

Why fill the heart with hopes? Leave it empty for God.

Robert Mertens

Hope assumes future. Future takes us away from Present. Hope requires mind stuff such as concepts, expectations, and results. Hope implies some type of resistance to what is Now. There's an opportunity to accept something. Let's accept whatever that is and it will give us a lasting peace, unlike hope.

Friday, July 21, 2006

what is kirten?

Kirten is realizing the greatness of God and being grateful for it. Greatness of God can be seen everywhere, in each particle of dust, in each insect, in sun, in each flower, in each person, in each breath. It needs alertness, focus and a still mind.

- paraphrased from a discourse by Bhai Jaspal Singh on a Shabad by Guru Nanak

Friday, July 07, 2006

daily conversation

we need to have a daily conversation with God.
we need to thank him for what we perceive to be "good" and ask for His help and guidance for "problems" and "challenges" we face.

- a devoted Sikh

Thursday, July 06, 2006

thoughts

"You are today where your thoughts have brought you;
you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you."

Trying to create a better life without monitoring the way we think is like driving a car in a circle. We can drive for miles and miles and still get nowhere..

- Beliefnet

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

quickest way to shift

Swami Beyondananda Answers Your Questions -- and You Will Question His Answers

Dear Swami:
What is the quickest way to
shift my consciousness?
S.D., San Rafael CA

Dear S.D.:

Well, that all depends on whether you want to downshift or upshift. Downshifting is quick and easy. Just turn on your TV, and voila! Just by a flick of the remote, you’ve shifted from consciousness to semi-consciousness. But if you want to shift your karma into surpassing gear up there into higher consciousness, you’ll need a powerful transmission. So the first thing is, go meditate to find out what Spirit wants to transmit through you. Then, whatever that is, do it. As soon as you are doing something that brings Spirit to the world, your consciousness will automatically upshift. True, shift happens. But if we want good shift to happen, we must make the shift ourselves. When we find our own expressway for expressing our spirit, that is where the karma meets the road.

Visit the Swami online at www.wakeuplaughing.com

Monday, July 03, 2006

ignorance

"citizenship?"
"US"
"Where were you born?"
"Afghanistan"
"ID's ..."
"Have you been back to Afghanistan?"
"No."
"Do you have another passport?"
"No."
"Have you been to Middle East?"
"No."
"What were you doing in Canada?"
"Attended a wedding."
"Where?"
"Toronto"
"Did you visit any mosques?"
"I'm not a Muslim."
"That was not my question."
"No, I have not visited any Mosques."

This was the question and answer during the crossing of the Windsor-Detroit border into US yesterday.

I could not believe a day would come where visiting a place of worship would be used to filter people out in United States.

After we got home, I had to explain my 7 years old daughter, why the custom officer asked about visitng a mosque. She was very curious.

My explanation included the topic of Al-Qaida, Bin-Laden, Taliban, 9/11, current conflict in Afghanistan, war in Iraq and recent terrorist activities. I gave my little story the title of "ignorance".

These were some of her questions after my explanation:
- Why would someone kill others just because they think or believe differently?
- How can someone kill himself and others and believe that they are going to Heaven?
- How can fighting bring peace?
- How can hatred remove hatred? Didn't Martin Luther King say Love removes hatred?

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