Buried Treasure

The men who dug into the earth had heard about the legend of the buried treasure. For ages, treasure seekers had been misguided, returning home with hollow expressions. A few who found the place were unable to dig through the mysterious layers of ice and earth that enveloped the chest of treasure.
But these group of men were well equipped. On their search, they had met a master who told them the secrets of uncovering the layers. They also learnt about the nature of the buried treasure, which was unlike anything the earth had ever seen. Even a glimpse could give a man the key to eternal joy.

The men worked at the hard layers for days. They had learnt that it would respond to their inner state of being. So they used cool water to wash away the heat of their anger and thoughts. The layers of earth began to soften too, and they found it easier to dig. Next, their shovels hit a layer of ice. They knew the warmth of fire would melt the hardness away, so they lit a large bonfire. Soon it began to warm their cold hearts and brought forth a love so pure that it nourished their exhausted bodies. The ice melted. Soft golden rays danced into the dark atmosphere. The men had finally reached the treasure, but the golden light came from some other source. They glanced about and noticed that each of their hearts contained a golden chest, which was now open and emitting beautiful waves of joy.

They realized that the hidden treasure had been with them all along in their hearts. Beneath the hardness of their impenetrable mind one one side and frozen emotions on the other, the chest had lain buried. The master had equipped them with elements like water and fire to balance their inner self and meditative silence to reach their spirits. They now knew neither happiness or unhappiness, only eternal joy.

Maintain the Shine

Pardon the directness but–stop sitting around, and go take that car for a wash! Seriously. In fact, some people say caked on dirt can chip the paint off a car. You don’t want, right? Still not convinced? Maybe you just had your car washed. Alright. Let’s change gears then.

How about considering the next item on your list…not dry cleaning or the doctor–but you. Perhaps you could use some cleaning right in those little crevices of your heart and mind. You know, those hard-to-reach places. It’s easy to visualize how a car gets dirty–bird droppings, dirty water, dust, leaves and so on. It may not be so easy to figure out the pollutants of your heart and mind though, and that’s why meditation is a must. Whether you’ve collected bad thoughts and habits over a period of time or you’ve let stress and bad decisions take control, meditation will help you get your act together.

When you station a car for an automatic car wash, it’s pretty fast. You don’t inspect each speck of dirt and think about where it came from and what to do about it–you just get the whole thing cleaned. Similarly, you don’t need to sort through the whole medley of thoughts or figure out each little thing that is pushing the stress button. Just station yourself in a quiet place, and let your inner system take care of the rest. With the silence and alertness that meditation brings, you’ll stay as perfect as a magical dirt-resistant car.

Right here, right now

Considering how expensive frames are, I decided to make one, which got me heading toward a library. After scanning through a whole shelf of books, I selected about four or five “how to’s,” and sat by a table in a cozy corner to begin reading. Soon, I was too engrossed in my books to notice the friendly voice, “You look like you need help framing.”
I glanced at the man, smiled and politely declined his help. “What I need is right here in these books,” I thought to myself. After an hour or two of reading, I realized that making a frame wasn’t going to be so easy. Feeling a little discouraged, I decided to go home. As I was leaving, I happened to walk by the man and notice his large bag … he was carrying frames. I turned back and asked him about the frames and soon went home with a bag of beautiful frames I’d got at a dirt cheap rate.
This small incident made me realize the need of being in the moment. I was so engrossed in my books at first that I missed the opportunity standing right before me … a guy willing to sell his frames for a great price, which was just what I needed.
I wonder how many of us miss special moments every day. Sometimes we miss the opportunity to simply enjoy because we’re too involved in our thoughts to notice the beauty of our environment, the love of our families or the peace that sits quiet in our hearts.

Gems of Society

Whether you’re watching Kevin Skinner on America’s Got Talent or enjoying the kindness of a trusted neighbor, there are some qualities that calm, inspire and touch our spirit.

These qualities are common in great men from Abraham Lincoln to Mahatma Gandhi. Such people represent ideal human beings, transcending nations, cultures and religions. They are citizens of the world. And as a global race, we have much to learn from their fruitful lives.

Let’s, for a moment, also take a look at history. Centuries before Abraham Lincoln or even Shakespeare, great “men” existed all over the world. They came as saints, prophets and incarnations.
Somehow as years passed, humans identified with only one prophet or messenger of God, failing to imbibe the essence of others. Perhaps it would serve us better to study saints and prophets from around the world, and let their eternal qualities be enjoyed and imbibed in us.

Watch Your Attention

Photo credit: www.smh.com.au

When someone kicks you on the shin, blood rushes to your head, you’re angry, and you want to retaliate.

Back in school, soccer was a favorite sport among boys and girls alike, but all too often someone would get hurt on his or her knee or shin. Surprisingly, that didn’t stop the game. In fact, the “victim” would keep playing, forget the hurt, focus on the game and play the best he or she could to score a winner goal.

In the game called life, sometimes we too face people who hurt us whether intentionally or not. When our focus stays on the hurt or on them, we can’t forgive, and all our thoughts are obsessed with how to get them back. We lose focus of the present and dwell in the past which doesn’t exist. In soccer, when a player does not pay attention to his game, he loses, and it brings the whole team down. Even if the attention shifts for a minute, the opponent takes control of the ball, and the game can be lost.
When someone takes control of your thoughts, you lose the enjoyment of being in the present moment. Perhaps, it’s better to forgive and move on. When we keep our attention on our spirituality, we connect better to our spirit, which is a source of deep joy within our hearts.

Preventive Health Care

Preventive health care and cutting back on health care costs are important topics these days, and maybe we need to look beyond politicians, doctors and medicine for a solution.
Consider a person who’s been regularly visiting a doctor as a preventive health measure, and one day the doctor discovers that the person is developing a tumor and needs surgery. The surgery is performed and the patient is well again. Perhaps the same cycle begins- a person visits the doctor and after years they discover another problem and treat it.

The point is that no matter how many times you visit the doctor, he or she still can’t reach inside you and prevent every harmful virus or bacteria from settling in your body. The doctor may treat an illness once he sees it, and he or she may use technology or knowledge of symptoms to “see” it and then cure it before the illness becomes life threatening. While this may be a type of preventive health measure, it isn’t complete because modern medicine does not cure from the roots.

The understanding of the roots can be found through a proper meditation practice. Not all meditations provide that in-depth understanding, so one would have to be aware.

An understanding of your intricate network of chakras and channels is helpful. When a disease begins to develop in the body, you can detect it even before a doctor “sees” it, and with meditation you cure it quickly. The most important part of staying healthy not only physically but also mentally and emotionally is– regular meditation practice.
Meditation replenishes the life giving force within us that looks after our well being. Sahaja Yoga meditation has helped me to practice true preventive health care as it gives me the knowledge of the roots.
More information on health and meditation is available at researchingmeditation.org and freemeditation.ca

Eco-Friendly Earthlings

With all the news about Walmart introducing green labeling for its products, it made me wonder how much many of us are willing to pay for greener products.

Perhaps, earth-friendly products are not always cost effective for a business, and perhaps they don’t have that fine robotic perfection, but they’re certainly worth the investment. This is because a healthier environment means a healthier you.

Promoting and using handmade products is very planet-friendly. The more we take to handicrafts, the less we will need machines and factories that pollute. At least items for personal or home use such as as wall art, decor, clothing and so on should be natural and if possible handmade.

Additionally, it nearly always feels good to own a few handcrafted pieces rather than hundreds of machine-made or polluting plastics that form clutter. The less clutter and junk we create, the better it is for Mother Earth.

So, if a product is greener, its better to shell out a few extra bucks for it rather than paying with your life for a polluted planet.

Freedom of Mind

inner freedom

For centuries, the people of the United States have celebrated and cherished their freedom. Fourth of July brings back memories of the nation’s forefathers and the heroic stories of its freedom fighters. If it weren’t for its independence, the country would not have progressed as a nation. With heartfelt gratitude to those who came before them, American’s will celebrate this important day.
Perhaps, after attaining national independence, it is now time for this nation to start a new kind of freedom struggle, one that isn’t an outward war but an effort to free the mind and unload its burden.

A mind full of uncontrolled thoughts and stress is much like a prisoner who can’t escape although he lives in a free world. In such a case, cleansing the mind and bringing freedom to one’s spirit with a touch of meditative silence is vital. True inner freedom is a state where one is peaceful no matter what. No one can chain, control or hurt such a person.
In fact, the quality of the inner spirit, mentioned in ancient scriptures from all around the world, has been compared to gold as it is nontarnishable, and thus remains pure and ever shining.

The Human Touch

The old woman smiles gently as her rough hands attempt to wrap fine wool around a large spindle. She struggles to cover her head often as a bitter wind sweeps her frayed shawl off, yet she looks peaceful as she continues to weave intricate patterns on a colorful fabric outside her hut.

Not too many years ago, Indian writer and designer, Laila Tyabji, interviewed this simple village woman who made a living weaving. She was wearing a worn hand-loom wrapping not nearly warm enough for a Delhi winter. Laila asked her why she would not buy any of the warmer inexpensive synthetics available in the market to keep warm.

The 80-year-old woman replied, “I’ve spun this (fabric) out of my own hands; my mother and sisters have woven it. The warmth of so many fingers has gone into this. How can a machine make anything warmer?”

Indeed, how can a machine or a computer replicate the love and personal touch that goes into a hand made. Whether it is fine art or clothing, hand made pieces

Reporters, Step Back

It’s national book week in Israel, and Israel’s oldest newspaper brings in a touch of heart by hiring famous literary figures.
Creative writers have a way of bringing out the humor in society and above all touching the spirit in us. It would be a fun idea to leave a part of reporting to poets and literary figures who have no experience with reporting. That would balance the news, considering how depressing news can get with reports on crime and the plunging stock market.

Here is a “report” taken from the New Yorker website. You can check out some more here.

“Avri Herling, a cookbook and children’s-book author, wrote the business update:

Everything’s okay. Everything’s like usual. Yesterday trading ended. Everything’s okay. The economists went to their homes, the laundry is drying on the lines, dinners are waiting in place… Dow Jones traded steadily and closed with 8,761 points, Nasdaq added 0.9% to a level of 1,860 points…. The guy from the shakshuka [an Israeli egg-and-tomato dish] shop raised his prices again….”