Sunday, November 30, 2008

thoughts for month ending - november 30th
as i watched the news, i realized there was not one good news reported in the headlines. has the world become a place of tragedy and violence? whether through the sources of man-made weapons, or the force of nature. the impact of a tragedy results in death and destruction, yet generates different reaction. the impact of human violence results in fear, which turns to hurt followed by anger against the perpetrators.

the mumbai tragedy, will live in the minds and hearts of many. in the upcoming months, investigations and explanations will surface. we know that it will not undo the loss and pain, just give more reason for people to hate and discriminate. the news, crew will move on to cover another tragedy somewhere else, and the viewers will hear another story another day. as we hold the vigils, and say our prayers and express our condolences to share the grief..........can we promise, as homage to the lost lives, to remind ourselves everyday: i will stop and appreciate all i have, to replace my emotional and material greed with contentment............we are contributing to a better human race and a better world.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

thoughts from Nov 22
as i walked out this morning, the cold winter air made me gasp, and i caught my thoughts in the midst of their reaction. it was like a conscious manoeuvring to keep them on the positive track. i smiled as i walked along and the positive track of my thoughts helped me smile and remind myself how fortunate i was to be able to walk, look and enjoy this moment as i take each step. i carefully dodged all the ice on the sidewalk, as i was reminded of last winter. i had slipped more than once, and have now learned to focus on my path as i walk.

many thoughts came to mind this morning. i think of people that i meet on a regular basis, how unaware they/we are in our daily interactions. unaware that we are acting or reacting from our ego point and not from an inner space of graciousness. what does graciousness look like, for me it could be viewing a situation from many angles, the least of them would be from the point of view of vested interest and self promotion.

i gently bring my thoughts back to the moment, i am outdoors, the sun is shining, i feel energetic, my stomach is full and my mind is empty. i feel completely relaxed, as i say to myself life is and i am.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Thoughts from Sep 21, 2008

In life participate, be here.  Notice and learn, when to be a participant and when an observer. Whatever role you are in be interested. Ask yourself "Can their be activity in silence?"  The activity will be different if the act originates from the depth of silence or space. Leave aside the past and future thoughts and emotions.   You are in the moment.
Life is what I make of it. If you wait for life to happen then you are part of someone's story. Can you change someone's story? By being active and making it your story maybe you can. This also depends on whose story you become a part of. Someone might have a life story where they dictate what roles everyone plays. In order to be part of someones life story observe your life first. Ask yourself if in becoming a part of someones' life, is there a conflict with how you know yourself? Then what? Then become formless, become like water to move around the conflicts or obstacles. Remind yourself that "although I become formless, I still am. Who am I?" becomes the question. Am I the space, the silence and the presence supporting the external me?

By being, aware of the conciousness and unconciousness in myself and others, I Am.

Monday, November 3, 2008

November - day 3 thoughts

it is a beautiful night out i thought to myself, and decided to take the long way home.

as i was meandering, i thought that lately i had been noticing a difference in how i view life. when i find myself getting stuck, i review my reaction and realize that mostly i get stuck when i have a sense of entitlement buried somewhere, if i am able to change the entitlement to a sense of gratitude, everything eases off, and i can feel myself having lots of space to move away from where i am feeling stuck.

to relate something i noticed as i walked home today. a cyclist was trying to cross a major intersection, but not at the traffic light, instead she wanted to zip across at a random point. the few cars going in one direction were not stopping, to allow the cyclist, who was already in the middle of the road, to complete her crossing. this cyclist was very annoyed, and the words coming out of her mouth were evidence of her annoyance......... i thought to myself, yes it would have been nice if at least one motorist had stopped to allow her to complete her crossing. then i focused on her attitude. it seemed that she was feeling a sense of entitlement, that somehow the traffic should be stopping for her, hence her anger. .......... in my mind i completed the scenario, of this person carrying all this anger with her, who knows for how long, and how it would manifest. the cyclist had two options, one was to cross at the traffic light, and the other was to drop her sense of entitlement, either option would have benefited her.......... witnessing this scene, and processing the reaction of the cyclist, reminded me how simple life becomes when i remember to approach the moments of a day with a sense of gratitude.

i realized that everyone finds their own way of developing gratitude, for me it has developed through daily practice of mindful meditation and living consciously in the moment.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

November - day 1 thoughts

yesterday, october 31st turned out to be an amazing day. the weather hit a balmy 18 degrees C, in my life time of some 31 years in toronto, i cannot remember any halloween being this warm.

things were kind of quiet at work, the economy and the other stuff have kept the mood mellow. so i decided to lighten up the mood and went around with my $1 pumpkin mask........... it was worth it, as I poked my face into offices and looked over the cubicles........the moment that they saw this pumpkin face, people burst out laughing.

the evening was spent with family, and i had a great time watching the children, it brought back pleasant memories of halloween past...............when our children, who are now young adults, were running around with their bags, collecting treats while us parents were walked with them and sensed their excitement........ a deep sense of gratitude filled my mindspace, gratitude for having experienced the past with the children and being here to share the present, the role has changed, the fun remains.

our minds believe the thoughts we put in the mindspace. it is known that the thoughts create the feelings which in turn become the actions and behavior that forms our personality. i wonder if we remind ourself everyday, that i have what i want, and i want what i have, will this manifest itself into abundance or contentment? it is what i am reading and hearing from certain, writers, speakers, and people who have done research in this field. so i am experimenting. <i live and have the 5 star of abundance, good health, wealth, family, friends and joy> let these thoughts manifest my life.