may result in resentment from all quarters.
8. Thou shall learn to forgive and forget with an attitude of gratitude
They say that as we age, we become wise. Wisdom is about forgiveness and also conscious forgetfulness while embracing an attitude of gratitude. It’s time we forgive and try to forget the words uttered in the heat of the moment in
youthful arrogance by our near and dear people. After all, we have only one life to be lived; so let’s not spend our last few years on this earth all alone in the name of keeping our scores even because of the past baggage that we carry.
9. Thou shall monetise assets close to your retirement
Many a time, people take pride in the number of physical assets they own: multiple houses, luxury cars, diamond sets, etc. However, close to retirement, it makes ample sense to monetise some of these assets, especially if your children are NRIs well-settled in countries across the globe. And if possible, give back to the less privileged generously.
10. Thou shall draw a will
We keep postponing one of the most important aspects of retired life, which is to write a will so that the transfer of assets happens smoothly after we leave this world. Our society is replete with stories of families fighting over property mainly because there were no wills left behind by elderly people about the inherited ancestral property. Be kind to yourself before you plan a bequest. We need to make it easy to pass on by leaving instructions about everything— even the funeral arrangements and gratuitous donations.
Jane Fonda, an American actress, activist, and former fashion model, in her popular TED talk, talked about our increasing life spans in the present day enabling us to live long and fulfil “third acts.” Hence, it is all the more important that we plan well in advance for this “third act” during our retirement days so as to make it really “fruitful” for one and all.
Sujatha Rao is a retired banker. She has been contributing articles to various newspapers and mag- azines over the last two decades. Two of her short stories were placed third in Times of India’s national level Write India contest (Seasons 1 and 2). Her first book titled In the Company of Stories was published recently. Her other interests include reading, traveling, practising yoga, and mindfulness.
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Planning 51
JOURNEY
MONEY AND RELATIONSHIPS
Be prudent as well as humane when dealing with people about money as it is something which can make or break relationships, says Shivi Verma
We need, crave, and love which works on exchanges of all And lastly, give without
money. But we also
love harmony and good relationships with others.
Have you seen how often both of these clash? No sooner money gets involved in relationships than the situation becomes either fragile or volatile if not handled with extreme care, sincerity, and honesty. There are cases galore of children, siblings, or friends betraying their loved ones for money. Property and inheritance issues have driven a wedge between families and blood ties. In extreme cases, even lives have been lost over money. Hearts get broken, faith gets destroyed, disappointment and bitterness sets in, and relationships get fractured forever if money issues are not dealt with wisely and with integrity. So then, how do we walk the treacherous terrain of money and relationships?
Let’s accept that, barring our children, we are circumspect in spending money on others. We want others to be financially independent and not come to us asking for a loan. We want our hard-earned money to work for us and take care of our needs and priorities. However, in this world
kinds, money too is a currency of exchange. We all have faced times when we have needed more money than we have and have had to approach friends, moneylenders, or family members for assistance. In those times, anybody who has come forward to bail us out of that tricky situation has been nothing less than an angel for us. Therefore, it doesn’t behove us to reject a call for financial help outright if someone is genuinely needy.
However, none of us want to burn our hands doing a good deed. So, before extending this help, it’s best to check the background of the borrower. Is their past conduct honest, upright, and virtuous? Is their reputation clean and trustworthy? Are they known for keeping their word? If yes, please help them. But if you feel that your loan will be wasted and not put to good use, it’s best to make an excuse and not give in to emotional manipulation. Sometimes, praying for the person or suggesting a business idea works better than offering direct financial aid. This will save your relationship with them.
Listen to your intuition and act accordingly.
expectations. Even if you are sure of a relative’s intentions to return the loan, it’s not necessary that it would happen. There are no guarantees in life. So when you give, give with the thought that it might not come back, and do not hold it against the borrower. It can save you a lot of heartache. Just take it as a lesson to be more cautious in the future.
Money does show the real character of people. It shows who cares for us and who is just out there to use us. It sieves out the wheat from the chaff. It tells us to be wiser in our dealings with people. It makes us more judicious in our judgement of people.
Despite all this, the best use of money is to keep some of it aside to help others selflessly. Money can get us comforts and peace of mind, but when it is employed to help those in need, it begins to give us happiness as well.
Editor of Life Positive, Shivi Verma is a devotee who found all her answers in loving God passionately.
We welcome your comments and suggestions on this article. Mail us at [email protected]
52 LifePositive | JANUARY 2023
RENEWAL
DIETO THE PAST
Dr. Bijal Maroo would like us to start Year 2023 with a promise to ourselves to not delve into the past but live life fully in the moment
53 LifePositive | JANUARY 2023
Renewal 53
The words “die to the past” are indelibly or the head is bound to roll away. Ego and
etched in my memory. They were
written by the famous author Eckhart Tolle in his best-selling book The Power of Now. To be intensely alive in the present moment, we must rid ourselves of the past.
We are all familiar with the tales of King Vikramaditya and Betaal. Why was the vampire given this particular name ‘Betaal’? Well, my interpretation is that it meant ‘be- taal,’ meaning ‘one who is out of sync or out of step.’ ‘Taal,’ as we all know, is the metric cycle of rhythm in music. Taal breathes life into the music. Hence, ‘Be-taal’ is the one without life, the corpse.
We are just like Betaal when we lose touch with the present moment and slip into the past. We are no longer alive because the past is no longer alive. We do not realise how often we die in this manner.
In Betaal Pachisi, Vikram was also tempted into commenting on an incident that was done and dusted in an era of yore. He was compelled to use his intellect to stand in judgment and justify what he stood for. All this made him lose consciousness and the past (Betaal) ran away with his lifeblood. Vikram kept chasing it instead of staying in the present moment. He did this foolishly, twenty-five times over. Lifeblood in this context means the awareness of the present moment.
What was the threat that Betaal used to coerce Vikram into answering? “If you don’t answer, your head will roll away from your body.” The head represents the intellect. It is your very identity and, hence, your ego. When truly conscious, one no longer takes sides, nor does one lose the present moment. Hence, the ego
54 LifePositive | JANUARY 2023
intellect belong to this world of illusions. Why, then, are we always so married to our past? Why can’t we divorce it and move on with our lives? This is because it comprises two types of thoughts:
• Pleasant memories—of happy times, of fun with family and friends.
• Unpleasant memories—things or events that did not happen as per our wishes.
Why do we revisit the past so often? We sit on the threshold of time with our backs to the present and continue to stare at the past. We do this because we are dissatisfied with the present moment. We resist it and are unable to surrender to what is. It’s the emotional charge of the past that makes breaking free such an arduous task.
When we are dissatisfied with our current lives, we seek to dive into a sea of pleasant memories. We feel a sense of poverty as compared to the better and more fulfilling past. We yearn for what we have lost.
However, when we delve into the past unpleasant conditions, we judge who was wrong and how we were served an injustice. Our ego makes us victims, and we take on this role willingly. We wish to turn back the clock as we desperately want to paint the past with different colours, with colours of our victory. We want to triumph over those who hurt us and over situations which turned against us and thus avenge ourselves. We live in the hope of better times and resist what we believe is a life we do not deserve.
Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, writes, “We suffer more in imagination than in reality.”
The actual incident occurs but once. Yet we die a million deaths, each time we relive the incident in our minds.
Besides dwelling in the past through our thoughts, we also act in default mode, living life mainly by force of habit. However, that need not be the case. Just as we have a totally new body every seven years, we can have a totally different mind, personality, and way of thinking, whenever we choose to.
So, how do we break off ties with the past?
1. Being unpredictable
Deep Trivedi, the author of the book I am the Mind, says that it is wise to be unpredictable, else people can take advantage of us. When we are predictable, they can confine us to a box with predefined labels. For example, if someone knows my temperament, they know exactly how I will behave in a given situation. Thus, they can plan their moves carefully and negotiate any contract to their advantage.
One way to do this is to try new things daily. We can break away from our routine every so often. It does not have to be very drastic; some small changes will do. We can change the daily breakfast menu or change the time we have it. We can take a different route to and from work. We can swap the time of our meditation or prayers and exercise. What if we let soft music play in the background or listen to an audiobook instead of playing the same rock, pop, or heavy metal while we exercise? We can even read a book by a new author or read a different genre of books, instead of picking up the newspaper, first thing in the morning.
The mind always clings to the familiar. It finds the unknown dangerous because it has no control over it. When we step beyond autopilot
mode, we finally start living in conscious mode. We go beyond the mind.
2. Meditation
It is only when we knock on the doors of consciousness during meditation that we realise how often we slip into unconsciousness. It helps us know the myriad ways in which the ego holds us captive. Hence, the practice of meditation holds the key to breaking away from the past, to breaking free from the vicious grip of the ego.
Meditation holds the key to becoming more present
EXPERIENcRenewal 55
3. Overcoming the emotional charge of past events.
A. Reminiscing pleasant memories: Well, we can try and be grateful for the good life we enjoyed in the past. Gratitude helps attract more of the same in our life. Then, we are busy creating more beautiful memories in the present moment rather than trying to cling to a beautiful but now dead past. Very often, we continue to take pride in our past laurels. By doing this, we stagnate and fail to learn new things and achieve more in life. Being grateful for our past successes helps us move on and achieve greater heights.
B. Replaying old, unpleasant memories: Forgiveness is the key here. We can forgive and learn to delete these from our memory. It is important, however, to take note of the insights and the lessons that these experiences offered. Thus, we unshackle ourselves and can perceive greener pastures, which were earlier obliterated by our myopic past.
Here, I cite some practical ways to overcome regret, guilt, resentment, anger, and other negative feelings of the past. We can use these three techniques to forgive ourselves and others:
I] The Sedona Method: This technique consists of a series of questions to ask ourselves. They lead our awareness to what we are feeling in the moment and gently guide us into the experience of letting go.
Exercise:
in this moment—all the anger, rage,
frustration, resentment, and guilt.
• Then we ask the following question: “Could I let this feeling go?” If the answer
is “Yes,”
• Then we ask, “When?” This is an invitation
to just let it go NOW. If the answer is “Yes,”
• We just visualise all the negative emotions
leaving us, in the form of a black cloud.
• We repeat these steps till we feel light and
free.
II] Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT): This technique consists of tapping on nine points which are considered to be energy meridians as per Chinese acupuncture.
The points are as follows:
• karate chop (KC)
• eyebrow (EB)
• side of the eye (SE)
• under the eye (UE)
• under the nose (UN
• chin cleft (Ch)
• beginning of the collarbone (CB)
• under the arm (UA)
• top of the head (TH)
The steps are as follows:
Identify the issue that is causing emotional distress.
Test the initial intensity. You need to set a benchmark level of intensity. The intensity level is rated on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the worst or most difficult.
The setup. Prior to tapping, you need to establish a phrase that explains what you’re trying to address. It must focus on two main goals:
- acknowledging the issues
- accepting yourself despite the problem
•
First, we focus on an issue that we would like to feel better about. Then, we allow ourselves to feel whatever we are feeling
56 LifePositive | JANUARY 2023
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The common setup phrase is “Even though I have this (situation or problem), I deeply and completely love and accept myself.” Begin by tapping the karate chop point while simultaneously reciting your setup phrase three times.
Next, while saying this phrase “The anger/ hurt/ fear that I feel about the situation/problem,” tap on each of the following points a few times, moving down the body in this order: EB, SE, UE, UN, Ch, CB, UA, and lastly on TH, without tapping on the KC again.
5. Measure the intensity of your feelings and continue steps 3–4 till the intensity is down to 1 or 2.
III] Ho’oponopono: This technique consists of accepting full responsibility for all the things that disturb us or make us distraught. We ask the Universe to help us forgive ourselves and all other people and situations which might have caused this disagreeable life condition. Later, we thank the Universe for coming to our aid and send out love into the Universe.
This entire exercise is done through four phrases:
• I am sorry
• Please forgive me
• Thank You
• I love you
We welcome your comments and suggestions on this article. Mail us at [email protected]
Send out good vibrations into the universe
We can say them in any sequence and chant them like a mantra repeatedly. This helps to clear up the negativity that we feel about a particular situation.
The famous singer Lionel Richie hit the nail on the head when he said, “When your past calls, don’t answer. It has nothing new to say.” I wish we can ring in the New Year that is truly new with no burden of ghosts from the past.
Dr Bijal Maroo
An Arts based Therapy practitioner, Dr Bijal Maroo is a homeopath- ic consultant, counselling and health psychologist since 20 years. She reflects on life through her gifts as a writer, poet and singer. Contact- [email protected] or visit www.drbijalmaroo.com
58 LifePositive | JANUARY 2023
SHARING
LET
Wagging Tongues
WAG
Swami Mukundananda encourages
You can never please everyone
us to remain true to ourselves and turn a Nelson’s eye to what others think or say about us
We spend too much thought and energy trying to gain the approval of others. While making decisions, ‘What will others think’ remains a dominant thought in the mind. Instead of running our own race in life, we get bogged down in pleasing others. This must change.
You can never please everyone
No matter what you do, there will always be those who will find fault, discourage, and dislike you. That is the nature of worldly people.
Even Mother Sita was not spared of it. Though she had proved her chastity beyond all doubt through a trial by fire, a dhobi (washerman) emerged who cast aspersions on her and said to his wife, ‘I am not like Ram who brought Sita home after she had stayed in Ravan’s Lanka for a year.’ When the Mother of the universe could not be free from detractors in the era of Lord Ram, then it is unrealistic for us to expect everyone’s approval in today’s environment of hypocrisy.
Sharing 59
As the expression goes, it takes all sorts to make this world. Others just cannot handle your success because it makes them look bad. For their own peace of mind, they love tearing you down.
Therefore, never be surprised if, even after doing good, you still receive caustic censure. If you receive the promotion you deserved, do not expect a standing ovation from everyone around you. Be prepared to hear comments like, “She butters up her boss” or “His rise is all because of office politics,” and so on. In fact, the more successful you are, the more criticism will come your way. Do not let the ‘gossip police’ sabotage your flight to glory.
Remember, it is not about you
People have their own conflicts and emotional issues that need resolution. They carry anger, frustration, and disappointment in them. They look for places to dump their baggage. If you allow them, they will empty their garbage onto you. Their negativity is not about you; it is just the way they are. If you consider their approval important, very soon, they will start controlling and manipulating you.
What is the key to handling negativity?
Remember this bit of wisdom—nobody can hurt you unless you allow them to. Here is an anecdote highlighting this principle:
speaking with his hands. “Why is your partner so annoyed?”
• The deaf person gestured with glee, “We had a fight. Now he wants to swear at me, but I refuse to look in his direction. That is why he is so mad.”
The deaf man was taking advantage of the fact that he could not hear. Hence, the other could only vent fury if he looked towards him. In our case, we will have to learn how to turn a deaf ear to the noise around us. Deal with it by growing in awareness. When you know someone is physically handicapped, it evokes your sympathy. Likewise, with a negative person, feel compassion rather than hurt by not taking it personally. One way to do this is to count your blessings and think, God is sitting inside the other person too. He is testing my tolerance in an attempt to push me to grow.
What others say does not define you
People who barely know you feel they have the right to pass judegment on your worth. But as the saying goes, you cannot judge a book by its cover. Factually, what others say characterises them, not you.
Do also bear in mind that all the praise you receive will come to naught upon death. You leave it all behind and move on to the afterlife. At that time, the only thing of importance will be the extent to which God was pleased by your life and work. So, focus on being good in the eyes of the Lord who is the constant witness to
your karma.
Gain wisdom on all aspects of life by world-renowned Spiritual Leader, Swami Mukundananda, in his latest book, Golden Rules for Living Your Best Life, published by Rupa Publications India.
•
•
In an institute for the hearing and speaking impaired, two inmates had a serious tiff. An official was assigned to straighten out things between them. On reaching their section, the official found one of the men with his back to the other, chuckling with amusement, while the other was gesturing frantically. “What is going on here?” said the official,
H H Swami Mukundananda—a yogi, a world-renowned spiritual teacher, an authority on mind management, an IIT and IIM alumnus, and a bhakti saint—is the founder of JKYog. He is the author of several books: Science of Mind Management | Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God.
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LifePositive | JANUARY 2023
Sharing 61
SPIRIT
May a Million Gandhis Bloom
While on the threshold have a single portrait of him in to form consecutively larger
It is never the person. It is the principles and teachings that truly matter. Prioritise wisdom, not intelligence says Suma Varughese
of death, the Buddha
wisely advised his principal follower, Ananda, “Be a lamp unto yourself.” Sadly, this same person (the Buddha) has been converted into a god and worshipped. Statues of him abound, particularly in Buddhist countries, and minute vestiges of his body such as nail parings and locks of hair are preserved like precious artefacts in many of the
temples.
This same fate has overtaken prophet after prophet. Jesus Christ is, of course, God Incarnate for Christians, and Ram and Krishna too are part of the Indian pantheon. I hear a temple for Mahatma Gandhi has recently come up. The problem is not with deifying anyone. The problem is that in the process, we prioritise the person and not the teachings. And that is a tragedy because the person’s sole mission was to have brought us the teachings. We are short-changing not only the prophets but ourselves too when we worship them. For one thing, the gulf between us and them becomes so vast as to be unbridgeable. The teachings are meant to help us attain their status, but the pedestal we place them on defeats the purpose. I suspect that the hero worship is deliberate. It is so much easier to worship someone than it is to aspire to be them.
my house. I have a tiny wooden charkha (spinning wheel) showpiece someone gave me, and a line drawing of the back of his head, with the famous saying, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” For me, it is this quote that matters, though the line drawing is beautiful too.
I idolise his principles, his single- minded devotion to the truth and non-violence, his compassion and commitment to the poorest of the poor, and his broad embrace of differing practices, ideologies, religions, and ideas. And I am in love with his ideals and the tools that were crafted from them that enabled this country to nobly win freedom from British rule. His concepts of satyagraha (truth or soul force) as the sole weapon in the freedom struggle and antyodaya (compassion for the poorest of the poor and placement of their welfare first), and his personal conviction that it is not correct to own anything unless everybody has the capacity to own it have influenced me deeply.
I am also enamoured of his economic ideas for India, which include his concepts of trusteeship and Panchayati Raj. The former means that those who have means beyond their needs hold the surplus money as a trust for the rest of society, and the latter hinges
concentric circles that eventually include the whole country, thereby linking the smallest with the largest. I also subscribe to his concept of political self-rule, which anticipates that as every individual becomes more and more established in self-rule, the state will eventually atrophy because it will not be needed. A nation of self-ruled people will together create an orderly, law-abiding, other-focussed society. Each of these ideals thrills me and inspires me to strive ever harder to get to the space where I too will be able to contribute to their propagation.
Do I love Gandhiji? I revere him, but I do so because of all that he has done for this country and because of the nobility of his concepts. And I strive every day to be a little more him and a little less me. I hope and pray that there will be many more Gandhis emerging to take our country forward along the highest spiritual and ethical lines. We do not need more temples for Gandhiji. We need more Gandhijis.Just like we need more Rams, Krishnas, Buddhas, and Jesus Christs.
Suma Varughese is a thinker, writer, and former Editor-in- Chief of Life Positive. She also holds writer’s workshops. Write to her at sumavarughese@ hotmail.com.
We welcome your comments and suggestions on this article. Mail us at [email protected]
Now I am an ardent disciple of
Mahatma Gandhi, but I do not on small village units that combine
62 LifePositive | JANUARY 2023
MUDRAS
Faulty Food Pipe Solution
Abhay Kumar Shah shares mudras that are easy to follow by those who find it difficult to swallow
Esophageal spasms are painful contractions within the muscular tube connecting your mouth and stomach, called the esophagus (food pipe).
Esophageal spasms can feel like sudden, severe chest pain that lasts from a few minutes to hours. Some people may mistake it for heart pain, also called angina.
Esophageal spasms typically occur only occasionally and might not need treatment. But sometimes, the spasms are frequent and can prevent food and liquid from travelling through the esophagus. Esophageal spasms may interfere with your ability to eat or drink.
Symptoms
• Squeezing pain in the chest. The pain is often intense and might be mistaken for heart pain, or angina.
• Difficulty in swallowing solids and liquids, sometimes related to swallowing specific
substances. Red wine or extremely hot or cold liquids are more common culprits. Besides the physical discomfort and inconvenience, urinary incontinence takes its toll on the patient psychologically and socially as well.
• The feeling that an object is stuck in your throat.
• The return of food and liquid back up your esophagus, also called regurgitation.
Causes
It’s not clear what causes esophageal spasms. However, they appear to be related to the atypical functioning of nerves that control the muscles you use when you swallow. A healthy esophagus usually moves food into your stomach through a series of coordinated muscle contractions. Esophageal spasms make it difficult for the muscles in the walls of your lower esophagus to coordinate in order to move food to your stomach.
Mudras 63
Mudra solution
Vaayu Mudra
Touch the tips of the index finger to the root of the thumb. Keep the remaining three fingers comfortably straight. Place your palms on the thighs.
Practise for 16 minutes, twice a day. Mootrashay Mudra
Udaan Mudra
Touch the tip of the index finger to the tip of the thumb. Place the tip of the middle finger on the nail of the index finger. Keep the remaining two fingers comfortably straight. Place your palms on the thighs.
Practise for 16 minutes, twice a day.
Shankh Mudra
Place the tip of the right thumb on the hill under the left thumb. Wrap all four fingers of the left palm around the right thumb. Touch the tip of the right index finger to the tip of the left thumb. Rest the remaining three fingers of the right palm on the back of the left palm. (One can sweep the hands.)
Practise for 16 minutes, twice a day.
Varun Mudra
Touch the tip of the little finger to the tip of the thumb. Keep the remaining three fingers comfortably straight. Place your palms on the thighs.
Practise for 16 minutes, twice a day.
Apaan Mudra
Touch the tips of the middle and the ring fingers to the tip of the thumb. Keep the remaining two fingers comfortably straight. Place your palms on the thighs.
Practise for 16 minutes, twice a day.
Hope this helps you deal with spasms in the food pipe.
Abhay Kumar Shah is a mechanical engineer, who has learnt Mudra Shastra from experts and established his own method of using this science correctly, and in the modern context. He can be reached at: [email protected]
We welcome your comments and suggestions on this article. Mail us at [email protected]
64 LifePositive | JANUARY 2023
BANYAN TREE
BANYAN TREE
TEACHING STORY
‘LETTING GO
An old Zen practitioner, who was a farmer, was using a horse to till his fields. All day long, he relied on this horse for the health of his farm. But one day, the horse escaped into the hills nowhere to be found. All the neighbours came by to sympathise. “Oh, this is such bad luck!” they said. Only for the farmer to reply, “Bad luck! Good luck! Who knows?”
A week later, the horse returned from the hills with a herd of horse friends! The farmer now had all this extra help. Of course, the neighbours came by to congratulate him. “What good luck you have!” they said. Again, he replied, “Good luck! Bad luck! Who knows?”
Soon after, as the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Again, the neighbours stopped by to say, “We’re so sorry to hear about this bad luck.” The farmer’s reaction, as usual, was “Bad luck! Good luck! Who knows?”
A month later, the army marched into the village, conscripting able-bodied young men. They saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg and let him off. The neighbours ran to the farmer and said, “Wow, what good luck!” Can you guess the farmer's response? “Good luck! Bad luck! Who knows?”
In life, we try so hard to stay in control. We resist experiences that are unfamiliar and didn’t anticipate. What if we start trusting that things may be happening for reasons we can’t yet understand? Because the reality is — we can’t.
Use it as a mantra throughout the day. See if it frees up your mental space.
THIS, I KNOW
(After meditating 15 hours a day for 6 months straight)
CORY MUSCARA
• A sign of growth is having more tolerance for discomfort. But it’s also having less tolerance for nonsense.
• Procrastination is the refusal or inability to be with difficult emotions.
• Desires that arise in agitation are more aligned with your ego. Desires that arise in stillness are more aligned with your soul.
• The moment before letting go is often when we grip the hardest.
• You don’t find your ground by looking for stability. You find your ground by relaxing into instability.
• What you hate most in others is usually what you hate most in yourself.
• The biggest life hack is to become your own best friend. Everything is easier when you do that.
• If you don’t train your mind to appreciate what is good, you will continue to look for something better in the future, even when things are great.
• There is no set of conditions that leads to lasting happiness. Lasting happiness doesn’t come from conditions. It comes from learning to flow with conditions.
• Spend more time cultivating a mind that is not attached to material things than time spent accumulating them.
• Sometimes we need to get out of alignment with the rest of the world to get back into alignment with ourselves.
65 LifePositive | JANUARY 2023
Banyan Tree
65
INSPIRATION
WHEN IS THAT GOLDEN MOMENT?
When the scale tells me I’ve not gained a pound When my glasses or phone or keys have been found,
When the cop pulls me over but spares me the ticket
When my ice cream cone drips and I get to lick it, When I read the obituaries and don’t know a soul, When the car just ahead of me pays for my toll, When my pants can fit without sucking my gut in When I’m on the dance floor and a man asks to cut in,
When it’s time for a movie and I get to choose it, When I cut out the coupon and remember to use it.
Everyone understands the worth
Of a big celebration: a marriage, a birth
But moments of joy, too many to mention Brighten each day, when we just pay attention. —Eileen Hession
ONE-MINUTE WISDOM
EQUANIMITY
The master was asked by what criterion he selected his disciples.
He said, “I act in a submissive and humble manner. Those who become haughty in response to my humility, I immediately reject. Those who revere me in response to my humble demeanour, I reject with equal speed.
—Anthony de Mello
QUOTE
“Humanity's problem lies in the misuse of the mind only. All the treasures of nature and spirit are open to the man who will use his mind rightly.”
— Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That
JUST FOR LAUGHS
HOW DARE HE BE HUMBLE!
Two monks were discussing humility.
“I have been praying and fasting, meditating and studying religion for 20
years. I have finally reached a level of humility where I am truly nothing,”
said one monk.The other monk nodded gravely. “I too have spent my life devoted to serving
God. I am also nothing.”
At that moment, a janitor passed by, holding his mop. Overhearing the conversation and feeling quite spiritual, he interrupted. “You know what? I am also nothing.””
The monks looked away in disgust. “Who the hell does he think he is to be nothing?”
LifePositive | JANUARY 2023
Banyan Tree
66