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/blockquote>
Looking for some ideas on how to teach Across Five Aprils?
/blockquote>
Okay, attitude reflects leadership. The leadership
(principal) at my school is an incompentent, disorganized,
vindictive, back-stabbing idiot. Consequently the attitude
of the teachers is paranoia, disdain, grumbling, hostility,
apathy, etc.
So what I want to know is - how does the phrase "Attitude
R...See More/blockquote>
Okay, attitude reflects leadership. The leadership
(principal) at my school is an incompentent, disorganized,
vindictive, back-stabbing idiot. Consequently the attitude
of the teachers is paranoia, disdain, grumbling, hostility,
apathy, etc.
So what I want to know is - how does the phrase "Attitude
Reflects Leadership" apply to your school???
by Tony Williams
Mar 14, 2003
/blockquote>
Raggamuffin Connection Inc.
Presents
Freddie Powell,Original Jamaican
Olympic Bobsledder
Motivational Speaker
Promoting Cultural & Ethnic Diversity
Some of the Topics in Freddie Powell speech !!!!!!!!!!!!
Mr. Freddie Powell speaks about his experience as one of
the origina...See More/blockquote>
Raggamuffin Connection Inc.
Presents
Freddie Powell,Original Jamaican
Olympic Bobsledder
Motivational Speaker
Promoting Cultural & Ethnic Diversity
Some of the Topics in Freddie Powell speech !!!!!!!!!!!!
Mr. Freddie Powell speaks about his experience as one of
the original Jamaican Olympic Bobsledders. While stressing
the importance of teamwork in all aspect of life. He
encourages the students to take their education very
serious. While exhorting them to stay away from drugs,
crimes, and gangs, At the same time emphasizing, the
benefits of cultural and ethnic diversities.
In these times of change and uncertainties it is his (
Freddie Powell) hope that we can reclaim the values of
acceptance and tolerance that this great country America,
and Americans has always stood for.
(Note) Speech can also be integrated with School
program /curriculum.
Or any other special Events.
Freddie Powell represented Jamaica in the Calgary Canada
Winter Olympics and also went on the skeleton-Wellcup
Finals (world Cup) on January 29, 1989. He was honored in
Jamaica by having a commemorative stamp picturing him and
other team members.
He was also credited in the movie "Cool Runnings" produced
by Walt Disney. Freddie became well known after doing a
series of television commercials for a number of major
companies. He has also been featured in some of the nations
top magazines, radio shows, and television interviews.
Freddie developed his own way of educating and motivating
people of all ages, showing them how to have fun while
reaching for their goals.
Freddie is an electrician, reggae singer, and motivational
speaker!
For more information about an
Appearance By Mr. Freddie Powell
Contact: Tony Williams
Phone (602) 435-8298
Voicemail (602) 202-3979
P.O.Box 13492
Mesa, AZ. 85216
Website Ragga4u.com
E-mail [email removed]
by Emerson Lee
Mar 27, 2003
/blockquote>
Dear Friends,
May we share the following inspiring message with our
friends, which have inspired and uplifted many thousands.
Best Wishes and Warmest Regards,
(Please print out in small text (email small text) for
reading purpose. Thanks.)
Emerson Lee
Inheriting Treasures Of ...See More/blockquote>
Dear Friends,
May we share the following inspiring message with our
friends, which have inspired and uplifted many thousands.
Best Wishes and Warmest Regards,
(Please print out in small text (email small text) for
reading purpose. Thanks.)
Emerson Lee
Inheriting Treasures Of The Unseen World:
The 10 Golden Secrets Of Fruitful Living
(A Special Message of Hope, Faith, Peace and Awakening
which has inspired and uplifted many thousands.)
An essay By Emerson Lee for sharing with all truth-seekers,
author of Time-Honored Wisdoms On Wealth Creation
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
the man who gains understanding,
for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
Proverbs
3:13-14
We have what we seek. It is there all the time, and if we
give it time, it will make itself known to us.
Thomas Merton
We human beings can be nourished by the best values of many
traditions.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Eastern folklore has an illuminating story about a little
musk deer, an amiable creature which lived on the lower
slopes of the Himalayas.
One bright morning, the little musk deer detected a deep
lingering fragrance. He briskly went to his mother and
enquired, “What is this wonderful fragrance? Where is it
coming from?”
The mother deer smiled and said, “Perhaps you can visit
some of your friends to ascertain its source?”
Immediately, the little musk deer visited the rabbit, the
squirrels, the birds, the monkey, the chimpanzee, the
horse, the tortoise, the giraffe, the bear and the
elephant. However, to his dismay, none of his friends was
able to identify the source of his fragrance. Dejected,
the little musk deer returned home.
On seeing him, the mother deer smiled and suggested, “Why
don’t you smell your own paws? Remember, you have washed
them in the lotus pond last evening?”
The little musk deer lifted one of his paws, sniffed at it
and cried out in joy, “The fragrance comes from me ………...”
How can we discover our inner fragrance and inner
wholesomeness? Is there a need to discover our inner
wealth?
As our life unfolds, it emerges as a succession of trials
and difficulties.
Heartrending incidents. Distressing events. Tension,
conflicts, turbulence.
Intense economic competition and interpersonal rivalry.
Overdemanding bosses and customers; overtaxing job duties
and performance targets; workplace hypocrisy, pretences and
strife.
Stock market crashes and corporate downsizing;
retrenchments, job losses and bankruptcies; family breakups
and neglected children; poverty and crimes.
Our daily strivings to keep pace with the world. Our loved
ones and friends leaving us or passed away.
We suffer estrangement from others and from ourselves. We
suffer scorn, humiliation, rejections and betrayals.
Losses, grief and disillusionment continue to beset us.
Illness, loneliness, old age and death continue to impinge
on us. No one is exempt. None of us is immune.
But are we confined to a life of meaninglessness?
Are we resigned to aimless drifting?
Can we unearth the inner strength and higher wisdom to
glimpse into the mystery of all these, to glimpse into the
Higher Reality?
Can we be re-inspired?
Can we be rejuvenated?
Can we nurture a healthy perspective of life and sustain
our mental, emotional and spiritual health ?
Can we re-commit ourselves to positive growth and give up
bad and harmful habits?
Can we be uplifted to see that beyond estrangement, there
lies within us the wellspring of healthy self-acceptance,
an oasis of peace and deep wisdom.
Can we be uplifted to see that beyond interpersonal strife
and rivalry, there lies the opportunity for reconciliation,
self-transcendence and growth?
The external refuge that we built in the past has
crumbled. We can mend and rebuild it. But its shaky
foundation and mirage-like nature have been exposed.
Hence, let us gently awaken.
Let us rediscover and preserve the divine manger in our
heart where God resides.
May we rediscover that deep inner peace resides in the
depths of our being. May we rediscover that deep inner
peace is the ground of genuine fulfillment, the wellspring
of enlightenment.
The time is ripe to take an inner quantum leap.
The time is ripe to dwell into the depths of our being.
It is life-changing. It is life-enhancing.
It is said that there are two great moments in our life.
The first is when we were born. The second is when we
discover why we were born.
The deep Source of Life is awaiting us. It is patiently
beckoning at us to unearth and inherit the treasures of the
unseen world.
The most precious gift bequeathed to us by our divine
Creator are intact within us. They are the pearls and gems
of the perennial wisdoms. By gently opening our hearts and
minds, they will appear miraculously in our palms.
They will guide , console and revive us.
They offer insights into the origin of sufferings and
conflicts in the world.
They guide us to understand the deeper meaning of Life, and
the redemptive value of sufferings.
They enable us to see the higher order of things, and align
our being with the natural laws of fruitful living.
They guide and encourage us to patiently climb the mountain
of setbacks and difficulties, to perceive that every trying
moment offers its special insight and reward.
As we muster our courage and inner strength to ascend, as
we begin to accept that hardship and sufferings are
catalysts for growth, the mountain appears less forbidding.
As we ascend higher, our perspective of the mountain
changes further. The refreshing breezes begin to
invigorate our soul. The sweat beads on our eyebrows
ennoble our being.
It dawns on us that the rocks, crevices and boulders are
grist for the mill. It dawns on us that we are sowing the
seeds of perseverance, endurance and healthy awakening.
As we ascend higher, our faces being to glow and begin to
feel the warmth of radiant sunlight ………..
Alas, the mountain falls into perspective ……… for behind
every mountain emerges the eternal source of resplendent
light, hope, faith and love.
By patiently nurturing a broader and wider vision of life,
it dawns on us that beyond the mountain lies the boundless
blue sky, the immense sparkling ocean, the creeks, streams
and rivers trickling and throbbing with life, the panoramic
breathtaking horizons of lush green meadows, tranquil
lakes, vibrant forests, teeming valleys, chirping birds,
blooming flowers, magnificent canyons, majestic waterfalls
and awe-inspiring rainbows ……….. in divine chorus, liturgy
and unison, celebrating the diversity and immensity of Life
…………
How do we rediscover our inner fragrance? How do we
retouch our inner wealth? How do we transform a
competition-riven scarcity mindset into a healthy abundance
mindset ?
We can do so by practicing and sharing the following Ten
Golden Secrets of Fruitful Living:
(1) Be convinced of our inner wholesomeness.
(2) Nurture a healthy self-forgiving mindset.
(3) Understand the evanescent nature of thoughts,
emotions and moods.
(4) Nurture a healthy commitment to personal growth and
inner cultivation.
(5) Regard each day as an extra bonus day for growth
and contribution.
(6) Nurture a healthy simplicity in material needs.
(7) Identify and develop our special talent.
(8) Learn to derive intrinsic fulfillment in performing
worthwhile deeds.
(9) Understand that we may have to fail many times in
order to succeed once.
(10) Choose to be a constructive partner of Divinity.
*********************************
(1) Golden Secret: Be convinced of our inner
wholesomeness.
Without discovering our deep essence and nurturing wisdom,
our life purpose will elude us. Inner abundance will
elude us. We are unconscious of our ability to enjoy inner
peace, contentment and fulfillment that cannot be bought by
material riches.
To be oblivious of our inner wealth is crippling. To mire
in spiritual unconsciousness is to cloak the inner Light.
To be disconnected from the deep significance of our lives
is to forfeit our freewill and forego the unique capacity
to reinvent ourselves. To passively wait for strong wake-
up calls or traumatic events to jolt us from spiritual
unconsciousness is defeatist. It is like searching
desperately for a compass when we lost our way in a grim
forest, only to realize that we did not carry a compass in
the first place. In due course, our passiveness proves
to be a baneful self-imposed handicap.
Even though you live for just one day, if you can be
awakened, that one day is vastly superior to one endless
life of sleep …….
Zen Master Dogen
Cardinal Newman once wrote: “Fear not that thy life shall
come to an end, but rather that it shall never have a
beginning.” If we remained stuck in the quagmire of
spiritual torpor, sooner or later, we would become trapped
in the labyrinth of egoistic cravings, unable to unravel
and heal the inner morass of afflictive emotions. Our
higher intelligence becomes stunted, our higher creative
potential stultified. We unconsciously undermine our
lives.
An effective way of nurturing a healthy abundance
consciousness is to undertake meditation, silent
contemplation and creative visualization exercises. These
are time-honored methods and stepping-stones for spiritual
cultivation. Their benefits are profound and manifold,
which cross-fertilize each other. Apart from inducing
relaxation and alleviating stress, they enable us to
connect with our higher unitary consciousness and nurture a
healthy insightful awareness. They enable us to calm the
untrained wandering mind and its feverish energies. We can
thereby better understand the subtle dynamics, pitfalls,
snares and ambushes of the untrained roaming mind.
Effective self-mastery and positive reinvention of our
phenomenal self begin with recognizing and avoiding these
pitfalls and traps.
For beginners, we can undertake the following meditation,
silent contemplation and creative visualization exercises
at a quiet spot at home twice a day, eg. 20 minutes in
the early morning and 20 minutes before we go to bed.
Their beneficial effects will dawn on us within two weeks.
Broadly speaking, meditation follows a four-stage cycle.
The first stage involves gentle relaxation and calming
down. The second stage involves stabilizing our growing
sense of inner composure and serenity. The third stage
arrives when we touch the immensity of inner spaciousness,
boundlessness and freedom. The fourth stage is the state
of pure awareness, a kind of composed alertness and
vividness, where we can comfortably watch the interplay of
our conditioned thoughts, feelings and emotions, and we can
choose to repose ourselves in the sacred gaps and
spaciousness between our thoughts and sensations.
We shall begin our meditation by relaxing and calming
down. Inhale deeply through the nostrils. Hold our
breath for five seconds and exhale gently through the
lips. Repeat this deep breathing several times. As we
compose ourselves, allow our awareness to gently scan
through our body to identify muscle tension. If there is
muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, hands, legs or other
parts of the body, adjust our posture to reduce the
tension to a comfortable level.
Close our eyes. Breathe gently, relax and smile. Gently
remind ourselves that we have made a salutary decision to
allot half an hour to connect with the higher dimension
of our being, to dwell into our authentic life purpose.
Inhale gently through our nostrils and count silently at
the bottom of our heart as “one”. Exhale gently through
our nostrils and count as “two”. Repeat this silent breath-
counting process up to “ten”. Thereafter, repeat the entire
cycle for ten minutes. Alternatively, if we are
uncomfortable with counting, we can silently label our
inhalation as “in” and exhalation as “out”. The crux of
this “mind concentration” exercise is to nurture and
sustain a composed attentiveness.
For beginners in meditation, during this ten
minutes, all kinds of thoughts, feelings, memories,
worries and neurotic projections would assail us. Do not
be fretful. Gently label them as “thinking” at the back
of our mind. Do not cling to them or invest emotional
energy in them. Instead, divert our attentiveness back to
our silent breathing.
Gently remind ourselves that by practicing
meditation, by relaxing and releasing our sense of
desperation and myriad anxieties, we are accessing the
innermost state of non-aggression, peace, tranquility,
ennobling grace and pure sacred awareness. This innermost
state integrates our phenomenal being with the Divine
Source of life. It allows us to rejuvenate, retouch and
rekindle our altruistic heart and to dedicate its natural
radiance to the wellness of all beings.
Next, visualize that we have become a glittering white
pebble sinking slowly to the bottom of a clear lotus
pond. Visualize the blessed stillness and silence as we
rest at the bottom of the lotus pond. Visualize that we
have reached this sacred resting place where all our
frenzied thoughts and emotions have dissipated. They are
replaced by a deep sense of calm and serenity. Our normal
consciousness has taken a quantum leap. It has discovered
its deep essence and sanctified source. It is positively
transformed and illuminated. It is knighted by its
pristine sentient quality of “divine thusness”. We become
both the glittering white pebble and the fragrant lotus
pond. We have witnessed the arising and passing away of
the dancing ripples of thoughts and emotions on the
shimmering surface of the lotus pond, realizing that these
ripples, whether haphazard, feeble, pattern-like or
vigorous, cannot disturb the beyond-the-surface inner
peace and profundity of the lotus pond.
Next, visualize Golden Light streaming and
emanating from our heart, from the depths of our being.
Visualize that we are comfortably enveloped and embraced by
Golden Light. Visualize inner abundance emanating from the
depths of our being, abundance of wisdom, compassion,
understanding, patience and forgiveness. Visualize our
inner negativities being dissolved and healed by the
outpourings of Golden Light from the depths of our being.
Gently sprinkle some of the following
contemplations into our creative visualization exercise :
Our thoughts, sensations, feelings, memories, thinking
and emotional patterns do not constitute our true essence.
They are not substantial or solid entities, but transient.
They arise and pass away.
Our “ego”, “personality”, “sense of personal
identity”, “self-concept” and “self-image” are not
independent, substantial or solid entities. Rather, they
are habitual thoughts and thinking patterns. Thus, they
are intrinsically transient and porous in nature and we
should not be fixated on them. We can undertake inner
cultivation to foster a healthy character and personality
that exude kind intentions, broadmindedness, compassion and
empathy.
Our physical body and physical appearance do not
constitute our true essence. The millions of cells that
make up our body undergo countless miniscule changes and
transformations every moment of our life. They are not
permanent, substantial or solid entities. They are
subject to the natural laws of birth, growth, aging, death
and disintegration.
Our cognitive intelligence, technical knowledge and
expertise, interpersonal skills, family and social roles,
occupation and job title, academic achievements, external
wealth, material possessions and social status do not
constitute our true essence. They do not comprise the
sanctified source of our being.
Like all phenomenal things, our physical body emanates
from the divine Nonmanifest Realm. Our true essence
partakes of Divinity. It is innately wholesome,
sanctified, eternal, beyond time, space and causation.
Past, present and future events cannot undermine our divine
essence. External circumstances cannot impair our innate
wholesomeness. Our deep essence is part and parcel of
divine Cosmic Consciousness and Intelligence. From the very
beginning, our true essence is resting in the arms of
Divinity.
Our innate wholesomeness and sanctity resemble the
pristine purity of the clear blue sky. Our pleasant or
unpleasant sensations, feelings, emotions, thoughts,
memories, intentions, motivations, urges and inner
energies are like the white, grey or pinkish clouds
floating across the clear blue sky. They arise and pass
away. They cannot diminish the pristine beauty, vastness
and purity of the clear blue sky.
Our authentic life purpose is to attune our intentions,
thoughts, words and deeds with the deep harmony and
wholesomeness of our divine essence. Inner peace,
contentment and fulfillment are the natural fruits of such
authentic living.
Let us be gently aware that we avail ourselves of this
deep insight and understanding for the purpose of healing
inner negativities, inner dislocation and existential
confusion. We thereby rediscover our spiritual essence and
innate wholesomeness. We touch the sacred and vibrant
oasis of inner peace.
Let us be gently aware that we are not generating
unhealthy attachment to a new specious spiritual
identity. Rather, we are learning to heal and dissolve
unhealthy attachment to erroneous concepts in a
substantial and separate self. We are learning to avail
ourselves of the higher truth of the deep kinship of
humanity, of the interwoven fabric of life. We learn to
substitute healthy commitment to worthwhile goals for
unhealthy attachment to narrow-minded pursuits.
For beginners treading the path of wisdom, it is
valuable to affirm to ourselves that external forces,
events and circumstances cannot impair our innate sanctity.
Such affirmations connect us with our innate
wholesomeness. Our inherent healing capacity is restored.
Visualize that our physical body is slowly merging with the
Golden Light emanating from the depths of our being.
Visualize that we are dissolving into the Golden Light,
partaking of its divinity and sanctity. Visualize that we
have awakened from spiritual unconsciousness, resting in
that sacred place within us, the wellspring of innate
wholesomeness ………. We have returned home. Like the
numerous sparkling streams flowing naturally back to the
immense ocean, like the early morning rays of beatific
sunlight dissipating the last vestige of mist in our
heart, revealing the fountain of hope and joy in the
depths of our being, we have truly come home ……….
The Buddha said that the potential for enlightenment lies
within our fathomlong body. May we awaken to the source of
authentic living and ever-flowing wealth within us. May we
awaken to the rich cadence and harmony of inner music
within us. May we wisely receive the true inheritance of
inner freedom and non-grasping gracious living.
By affirming our inner wholesomeness, may we have
the inner strength to bring comfort and consolation when
there is grief; lovingkindness when there is pain;
broadminded acceptance when there is discrimination;
understanding, patience and forgiveness when there are
hatred, jealousy and discord; generosity and a spirit of
sacrifice when there are egotism and selfishness;
resilience and fortitude when there are setbacks and
failures; peace, insights and higher wisdom when there are
confusion and spiritual unconsciousness.
(2) Golden Secret: Nurture a healthy self-forgiving
mindset.
The practice of compassion and broadmindedness begins with
self-forgiveness. Genuine self-forgiveness is not easy.
In fact, many of our emotional negativities arise from
subtle self-hatred and non-forgiveness of our
imperfections. In fact, many of us spend our entire lives
amassing external possessions and scoring external
victories to mask our non-forgiveness of our inadequacies
and finitude.
Guided by inner wisdom, inner cultivation is an
ongoing process of forgiving and accepting our
imperfections as well as the imperfections of others.
For most of us, inner strife, discontent,
frustration and unease arise from our inability to forgive
ourselves. We could not forgive ourselves for not meeting
our high expectations and perfectionist standards. We
could not forgive ourselves for not meeting the
expectations and demands of our parents, spouses, children,
siblings, bosses and colleagues. We could not forgive
ourselves for not being as wealthy as our neighbors. We
could not forgive ourselves for not meeting the sales
targets. We could not forgive ourselves for not being able
to afford a decent overseas holiday for our family. We
could not forgive ourselves for not being able to afford a
splendid necklace for our spouse during her recent
birthday. We could not forgive ourselves for not being
able to afford a more luxurious car ……….. and the list goes
on ………….
The time is ripe to lessen self-criticism and self-
flagellation. Many of us have been too harsh and
demanding on ourselves. Owing to years of negative
environmental conditioning, we have become unreasonably
perfectionist.
In order to relax and touch our innate
wholesomeness, we need to continuously befriend and
forgive ourselves. We need to learn to release our
harshness and high expectations. We need to set more
realistic standards and learn to continuously compliment
ourselves whenever we attain them. With ripening wisdom,
it will dawn on us that, regardless of external
achievements and failures, regardless of life events and
circumstances, we are wholesome in the depths of our
being. We gradually rise to a higher form of healthy self-
esteem that imbues us with vibrant confidence and
commitment to engage in activities that contribute to the
positive growth of others.
Whenever I have been too harsh and demanding on myself, I
will remind myself of the following factual account which I
learnt from a spiritual teacher some years ago:
Whenever a person acted wrongly or irresponsibly in a tribe
in South Africa, he would be placed in the center of the
village. Everyone in the village stopped working and
gathered in a circle around that accused person. Each of
the villagers would sincerely tell the person and the other
villagers about the good things that he performed in the
past. All that person’s positive attributes, good deeds,
strengths and kindnesses are clarified for everyone to
hear. The ceremony continued for several days until the
person is welcome back into the tribe.
Although we rarely encounter such magnanimity and
broad-mindedness in our society, we should be magnanimous
and broadminded with ourselves. When we have committed a
mistake, we repent promptly and forgive ourselves. We
retouch our innate sanctity, gently remind ourselves of our
strengths and innate goodness, offer sincere apologies and
make amends as appropriate. We learn from our mistake and
constantly apply mindfulness in our future words and deeds,
so as not to commit the same mistake.
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member
of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?
As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven
times, but I tell you, seventy-seven times.”
The Bible
On the other hand, how do we forgive others, if we perceive
that they have hurt us?
Many of us subtly cling to past grievances. We harbor
anger, resentment and hatred against someone who
mistreated, disappointed, humiliated or committed some
wrongdoing against us. We may erroneously believe that
this is the correct way to protect ourselves and to punish
the wrongdoer. We may erroneously think that if we
were to extend forgiveness to the wrongdoer, it would
imply that we agree with his wrongdoing. We may think that
to forgive is to admit that we were wrong and that the
wrongdoer was correct. We may think that to forgive is
to reveal that we are weak or cowardly.
It is important to clarify to ourselves that these beliefs
are not accurate. To harbor an unforgiving mindset is to
cripple the wings of our broadmindedness, surround our
heart with barbed wires and imprison ourselves in a dark
dudgeon. To harbor an unforgiving mindset is to subtly
recycle and reinforce inner negativities and hostility.
Harboring negative and hostile energies corrode our inner
peace and physical health, preventing us to realize our
deep potential. As explained by the Buddha, “Holding on
to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of
throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets
burned.”
Hence, we need to learn to extend insightful
compassion and kind understanding to others. We learn to
empathize with their spiritually unconscious thoughts,
words and deeds. We gently remind ourselves that we are
all human beings implanted with the sacred seeds of innate
wholesomeness. By forgiving the spiritually unconscious
words and deeds of others, by forgiving their slippage
into spiritual unconsciousness, we allow our compassionate
heart to mature and ripen.
As mindful living is embedded in everyday living,
forgiveness does not involve forgoing moral reasoning,
ethical principles and values which are valuable for
sustaining our ethical vision. We therefore continue to
engage in moral reasoning, to distinguish between
ethically correct and incorrect thoughts, words and deeds.
We continue to uphold ethical norms and rules. We also
inculcate in our children correct ethical principles and
values, teaching and enjoining them not to commit
wrongdoing.
Thus, forgiveness does not mean that we agree with
the wrongdoing of other people. We continue to cognitively
and rationally identify them as morally wrong. We continue
to advocate that we should not commit wrongdoing, that we
should not transgress basic ethical principles like the
Golden Rule and the Silver Rule. We continue to denounce
immoral and law-violating deeds that are detrimental to
human well-being.
For example, if we became aware that one of our neighbors
is a terrorist who is planning to plant a bomb in a
shopping mall, although we forgive his spiritual
unconsciousness, we should proactively take actions to stop
him from harming innocent people (eg. notifying the local
authorities). Forgiveness does not mean that we agree with
or support actions that undermine the well-being of other
people.
Furthermore, forgiveness does not mean that we passively
accept or endure unjust or harmful actions against us. We
should honor our own well-being as well as that of others.
Forgiveness is an inner process of releasing ourselves from
the festering grip of resentment, enmity, vindictiveness
and aggressive energies. It is an inner healing and life-
rejuvenating process. Inner negativities are transmuted
into positive energies, into broadminded acceptance of the
ugly aspects of human personalities. It also awakens us
more deeply to the preciousness of our body as a sacred
vessel to manifest the higher dimension of our being. We
therefore treasure our soul and body in a healthy balanced
way. In forgiving difficult people who have mistreated or
harmed us, we do not mindlessly expose ourselves to their
mistreatment or spiritually unconscious deeds. If these
difficult people did not awaken to their reprehensible
deeds and improve their character, we can extend kind
understanding to them and choose to leave the situation.
(3) Golden Secret: Understand the evanescent nature of
thoughts, emotions and moods.
If your mind is not clouded by unnecessary things,
This is the best season of your life.
Chinese poem
Discovering and patiently learning the art and science of
mind training is to inherit the essence of the perennial
wisdom.
Let us share an interesting Zen story about a man riding
a robust and energetic horse. He was seen galloping at
furious speed in various directions. When the horse was
finally exhausted and slowed down, his friends were curious
and enquired where was he going. He replied, “I don’t
know. Please ask my precious horse ………… ”
Without patiently taming, training and disciplining
our galloping mind, it is equivalent to riding on a robust
horse but not knowing where we are heading. Mesmerized by
its erratic streams of frenzied thoughts and plans,
internal dialogues, argumentation and soliloquies,
desultory imaginations and fantasies, we lose touch with
the inner wellspring of serenity. The cultivation of
wisdom is thereby impeded.
An untrained mind has short and erratic attention
span. Its concentration power is limited. Psychiatrists,
psychologists and social scientists have discovered that a
significant number of juvenile delinquents and maladjusted
adults in modern societies suffer from short attention
spans and low concentration ability.
How do we heal inner negativities that are spawned by our
attachment to the past and overwhelming anxiety about the
future?
Meditation and silent contemplation can nurture
healthy attention span, ameliorate energy-wasting
anxieties and lessen aimless mental roaming that distracts
us from present-moment experiences. Cultivating present-
moment awareness alerts us to the mental, emotional,
physical and spiritual imbalances of a frenzied life that
is dominated by urges to achieve future goals and satisfy
future expectations.
Growing up in materialistic societies have
negatively conditioned our minds. We are being constantly
bombarded by negative stimuli and erroneous messages
echoing that happiness and personal success depend on
external achievements, material acquisitions and social
status. Without patiently training the galloping mind, it
will internalize and recycle these erroneous messages.
Running amok like a wild horse, self-gratification and
self-advancement become its primary urges and motivations.
As time passes, the robust energy of the galloping mind
generates a gamut of inner negativities in response to
external events that hinder its quest for self-
advancement. Fixated on the physical-emotional dimensions
of the phenomenal self but oblivious to its deep essence,
the galloping mind misconceives that only the satisfaction
of self-seeking urges would bring fulfillment. It
misconstrues “thoughts”, “ideas”, “notions”, “concepts”
and “viewpoints” as the enduring building blocks of “self-
identity” or “personality”. Hence, it insidiously
transforms our consciousness to an anxiety-ridden fear-
dominated scarcity mindset.
By undertaking meditation and silent contemplation on a
daily basis, we can calm the galloping mind. It will dawn
on us that the endless streams of erratic thoughts are mere
thoughts. They do not constitute our true essence. We do
not need to seize and transmute them into tangible
entities.
(4) Golden Secret: Nurture a healthy commitment to
personal growth and inner cultivation.
By committing ourselves to inner cultivation, we
realize that it is the royal road to positive maturation.
With ripening wisdom, it will also dawn on us that post-
awakening practice is an ongoing lifelong process. It is a
year-by-year, month-by-month, day-by-day, moment-by-moment
nurturing and maturing process. Unending post-awakening
practice is the foundation and wellspring of enlightenment.
As we continue our inner cultivation, we should be vigilant
and wary of slipping into spiritual unconsciousness. Owing
to years of negative environmental conditioning, although
inner cultivation can enhance our spiritual-emotional
maturity, we can still lapse into spiritually unconscious
thinking and behavior. It is also relatively common that
as we continue our inner cultivation, we will be assailed
by doubts, anxiety, uncertainty and disappointment over our
imperfections and seeming inability to consistently uphold
compassionate intentions. Nevertheless, do not be
discouraged. This is part and parcel of post-awakening
practice, of the lifelong process of cultivating wisdom.
As we continue our spiritual path, it is useful to
constantly remind ourselves that although we have caught
glimpses of our innate sanctity and the ontological Higher
Reality, post-awakening practice is even more important.
The crux of post-awakening practice is to continue to
nurture and sustain a healthy insightful awareness in our
daily living, to foster a healthy commitment to catch
ourselves slipping into egoistic thinking. Such catching
is itself of momentous significance. It is an important
signpost of deeper awakening.
As we continue our inner cultivation, such catching and
alertness will ripen, becoming more natural and proficient
over time. It will dawn on us that owing to years of
negative environmental conditioning, we are always at risk
of regressing and slipping into egoistic thinking and
behavior. It is therefore imperative to be mindful at all
times, so as to minimize such slippage and the emergence
of unkind behavior.
Post-awakening practice also involves the healing
of emotional negativities and inner strife. No spiritual
teachers or mentors can undertake this process on our
behalf. By undergoing this self-healing process, we learn
to stop clinging to the past and worrying about the
future, to cease clinging to an ossified self-identity.
We learn to relish the immediacy of our experiences, the
immense healing potential of our innate spaciousness and
broadmindedness. Our basic conscience and compassionate
awareness will emerge to guide our daily words and deeds.
In the words of the Buddha, we become “a lamp unto
ourselves”.
As time passes, it dawns on us that daily living is the
fertile ground for planting and cultivating insightful
awareness. Daily living can be naturally transformed into
mindful and enlightened living. As time passes, we awaken
to the higher truth that enlightened living is the
naturally healthy, liberating, joyful and vibrant way of
living. In contrast, unenlightened living whereby we are
driven by self-seeking energies and urges are not only
crippling and destructive, but fundamentally unnatural.
They corrode our natural sense of peace, afflicting us
with restlessness, anxiety and inner strife.
With ripening wisdom, we realize that enlightenment is not
a static immutable achievement. Instead, it is a day-by-
day, hour-by-hour and moment-by-moment affair wherein our
words and deeds are aligned with the deep harmony and
potential of our divine essence. Enlightenment is
grounded on committed, patient and compassionate post-
awakening practice. It is grounded on and arises from the
ongoing non-idealistic non-romantic practice of sustaining
mindfulness in every word and deed, of avoiding slippage
into spiritually unconscious thinking and behavior. It is
grounded on and arises from sustaining a healthy insightful
awareness over subtle egoistic cravings and urges, so as to
heal and dissipate them. Enlightenment arises from moment-
to-moment acceptance of the present, of relaxing into our
inner wealth and wholesomeness, of sharing St Luke’s
insight that “The Kingdom of God is within”. Enlightenment
arises from moment-by-moment mindfulness over our basic
unity with the Ultimate Reality, with Divine Consciousness
and Intelligence.
With ripening wisdom, the key message will dawn on us:
Upon awakening to our deep essence, we need to patiently
nurture a healthy insightful awareness. We need to be
vigilant against slipping into spiritually unconscious
words and deeds. Whenever we slip, do not be
discouraged. Quickly pick ourselves up and practice
again. Do not give up. Do not despair. Do not flee. It
is human to slip. But it is divine to muster our courage
and innate goodwill to pick ourselves up and try again with
a pure heart. It is divine to remind ourselves that the
only way to practice enlightened living is through daily
living. By extending indomitable kind intentions toward
ourselves, through commitment and determination, we become
attuned to our authentic life purpose, deepening our
insight that we are destined to awaken to our inner Light
and to be guided by it.
The spiritual journey is one of continually falling on your
face, getting up, brushing yourself off, looking sheepishly
at God, and taking another step.
Aurobindo
(5) Golden Secret: Regard each day as an extra bonus
day for growth and contribution.
By embarking on inner cultivation, we do not cling
to the past. By exercising healthy self-forgiveness, we
move on. We affirm and regard each day as an extra bonus
day for us to contribute to the well-being of our loved
ones, our friends and neighbors, and to the larger
society. Try affirming at the beginning of each morning
that “each day is a bonus”. We would all feel
invigorated.
(6) Golden Secret: Nurture a healthy simplicity in
material needs.
To heal emotional negativities, we need to nurture
a healthy simplicity in personal needs, and redefine and
lower our inner criteria for contentment. In many
instances, our inner criteria and rules for happiness are
excessive and sky-high. They forbid us to congratulate
ourselves and celebrate the many little successes in our
life journey.
Ponder deeply on what are the inner criteria that we impose
on ourselves before we allow ourselves to feel contented.
Can we really feel at ease and peaceful when we have
achieved our worldly prizes, when we have several million
dollars in our bank account, when we have two bungalows,
two BMWs, a yacht and a private helicopter? Are we
confident that when we possessed all these items, our
galloping mind will automatically cease its endless
comparison with the rich and famous? Are we confident that
we can thereby dissociate ourselves from further self-
centered pursuits and yearning? Are we confident that we
will automatically emerge from the abyss of self-fixation,
that we can resolve the gamut of negative emotions induced
by our egocentric competition-driven mindset, that we can
automatically heal our gnawing sense of fear and
apprehension of our physical vulnerability?
The foremost secret of contented living which is
free from the festering grip of inner negativities is to
have a low threshold for happiness. We allow ourselves to
feel contented and happy by strolling along the beach, by
having a simple picnic near a mountain lake, by hiking in a
tranquil forest, by watching the fascinating activities of
dragonflies and butterflies near a lotus pond. We allow
ourselves to feel contented and happy by simplifying our
personal needs, by dislodging from self-centered pursuits,
by attuning our daily activities to the guidance of heart
wisdom. We allow ourselves to feel contented and happy by
not cluttering, clogging and burdening our daily living
with excessive material requirements and attachment to
material comfort.
By nurturing healthy simplicity, we learn to de-
stress and slow down our pace in life, to heal the gnawing
sense of desperation, emergency, urgency and frenzy.
Slowing down is liberating and refreshing. We relearn to
be receptive to the beauty and radiance of the dancing
daffodils along the pedestrian walks. We relearn to enjoy
watching the placidity of the white clouds with countless
permutation of shapes and sizes floating leisurely across
the blue heaven. We relearn to enjoy watching the playful
movements of goldfish in a clear garden pond. We relearn
to imitate the leisurely yawning of little kittens
ensconced in a simple wooden shelter in our backyard. We
relearn to intelligently melt into the sparkling eyes and
innocent laughter of our children and grandchildren. We
relearn to embrace the supreme joy of resting our heart in
the inherent simplicity of life that opens itself to the
graceful fashioning hands of cosmic affection.
(7) Golden Secret: Identify and develop our special
talent.
Let us share a traditional story.
There was once a notorious bandit in India who, after many
successful raids, realized the terrible suffering he had
inflicted upon the villagers. Yearning to atone for his
sinful deeds, he visited a famous Hindu master. He
confessed to the master, “I am a sinner. I have robbed the
rich as well as the poor, and had caused much sufferings.
Am I incorrigible and hopeless? How can I make amends?”
The Hindu master looked at him compassionately and
asked, “Yes, you can make amends. Do you have any talent
or unique skill?”
“No, I have no talent or unique skill,” replied the
bandit morosely.
“I think you are good in something. God has always
fairly endowed each of us with some special gift or
talent. Ponder over this matter and visit me again two
days later with the answer,” advised the master.
The bandit returned to his hideout and pondered
deeply. Two days later, he visited the master and said, “I
think I do not have any talent or special gift, except for
stealing.”
“Aha,” exclaimed the Hindu master. “That is precisely the
skill that you need to liberate yourself from inner torment
and anguish. Now go to a quiet place and patiently watch
your breath. Use your vast imagination to steal the stars
and planets in the sky and dissolve them into the immense
spaciousness of your pristine mind which is filled with
natural lovingkindness. Sooner or later, you will
awaken.”
To tread the royal road to inner and outer success, we need
to identify our “inherent abilities”, our natural aptitude
and talent that can create value for others. Aligning
healthy life goals with our natural aptitude and talent
imbues us with higher levels of enthusiasm in working
toward them.
How do we identify our inherent abilities, natural aptitude
and talent?
The basic steps are as follows:
First, reflect on the list of positive activities in which
we have a passionate or keen interest.
Second, ascertain which of these positive activities can
effectively serve the needs and requirements of humanity
and enhance their well-being, whether it be related to
their physical, emotional, intellectual, economical or
spiritual needs. We should ensure that the activities that
we have a passionate and keen interest are conducive to
creating value for others as well as to our personal growth
and maturation. We can thereby avert pursuing activities
that would reinforce self-centeredness and self-seeking
urges.
Third, reflect on whether we have the inherent abilities or
natural aptitude to undertake these positive activities, so
as to effectively serve the needs of humanity.
All of us have some of these abilities in a smaller or
larger measure. The important point is to nurture and
develop those abilities with which we are endowed in a
larger measure which can be defined as our “aptitudes”
or “talents”. We can do so by identifying and enrolling in
appropriate functional courses or degree programs. We
should also seek to match our aptitudes or talents with
worthwhile activities which we have a healthy enthusiasm or
passion in undertaking. By constantly enhancing our
natural competency, aptitudes and talents, they will
mature gradually. Constructive wealth creation becomes a
natural by-product of our refined competency, aptitudes,
skills and talents that are oriented toward creating
optimal value for others.
We can also apply the following technique for fulfilling
our vision:
(a) Write down as clearly as possible our vision.
(b) Write down the key long-term goal that will
contribute toward fulfilling this vision. It is prudent to
set a realistic timeframe of 3 to 5 years to attain this
key long-term goal.
(c) Privately pin up our vision statement and key long-
term goal at our working table at home, so that we can read
it aloud to ourselves at least two times a day.
(d) Do detailed and comprehensive research. Read up
useful books relating to the attainment of this key long-
term goal. Find opportunities to converse with people who
have attained worthwhile goals that are identical to ours
and tap upon their valuable experiences.
(e) Based on our research, readings, studies and
conversations with our mentors and teachers, devote two
weeks of our leisure time to silently contemplate,
brainstorm and write down the detailed activities that we
need to complete in order to attain our key long-term
goal. Thereafter, we can consider to show this list of
detailed activities to our trusted mentors or teachers with
the requisite expertise for their advice. If their advice
or comments are valuable, we can modify the list of
activities.
(f) Write down a schedule on the amount of time that we
plan to allocate on a daily basis to work on the detailed
activities. Do not be over-ambitious. Assign a realistic
timeline to complete each activity. Depending on our
financial situation, we do not need to resign from our
full-time job. Nurturing our aptitudes and talents takes
time. Working on our worthwhile long-term goal takes
time. If our current full-time job does not align with our
deepest interest, and our financial circumstances forbid us
to resign, we can still plan to allocate 15 to 30 minutes a
day to undertake activities that will lead to the
achievement of our key long-term goal.
(g) On a monthly basis, assess the rate of our progress
toward completing each key activity. Learn to derive
fulfillment and satisfaction from completing each key
activity. If there are any significant obstacles or
setbacks, reflect on them as valuable learning
opportunities. Reflect on whether we need to modify our
activities or overall strategy. Guided by our heart wisdom
and healthy life goals, we can be creatively flexible in
modifying our strategies and approaches in working toward
our key long-term goal.
(8) Golden Secret: Learn to derive intrinsic
fulfillment in performing worthwhile deeds.
If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep
streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed
music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep
streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will
pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his
job well.
Martin Luther King
Studies repeatedly indicated that many of us are not
deriving fulfillment and satisfaction from our current
jobs. The list of frequent grumbles include: “my working
life is ruined by a tyrannical supervisor”, “my pay is a
pittance when compared to my boss”, “my colleagues are so
selfish and unhelpful”, “promotions are reserved for the
elite and favorites of our boss”, “there is no promotion
and career prospect for me as my boss is biased against me
and disregard my good performance”, “there is no job
security since everything depends on results, profits and
bottomline ……..”
In our intensely competitive working environment,
it is difficult to nurture intrinsic motivation and
fulfillment from our job. However, all the more we should
learn to do so, to learn to put in our best and excel.
This is the foundation of inner and outer success.
We need not be mired in a particular job if we do
not like it. Nonetheless, before we look for another
job, it is important to learn from the negative aspects of
our current job. It is important to cultivate foundational
wisdom, spiritual qualities and emotional maturity that are
required of us no matter where we work. If we do not
commit ourselves to continuous learning, to continuous
broadening and upgrading of our technical-functional
skills, to cultivating higher wisdom, emotional maturity
and spiritual qualities like patience, understanding,
forgiveness, empathy, broadmindedness and perseverance,
no matter where we work, we will encounter similar
patterns of inner strife, frustrations and discontent.
Someone remarked to the famous French philosopher Blaise
Pascal, “If I had your brains, I would be a better
person.” Pascal thereupon replied, “Be a better person and
you will have my brains.”
This seemingly cryptic remark of Pascal contains an
ocean of truth. By realigning our values and life goals to
our authentic life purpose, to upholding integrity and
honest living, we experience continuous waves of
enthusiasm and moral courage to pursue constructive
activities. Guided by heart wisdom, we learn to derive
intrinsic motivation and fulfillment from engaging in
activities that are attuned to the deep harmony and
potential of our being. The achievement of outcomes and
end-results become secondary. We learn to put in our best
in performing every worthwhile activity. A natural law of
success is that when we put in our best in performing each
daily activity and task, the higher is the likelihood of
attaining the positive end-result.
We need to learn to inspire ourselves to put in our
best to create value for others, to assist others in their
positive growth, regardless of human commendation and
recognition. When we become receptive to inner wisdom and
learn to view Divinity as our true long-term employer, we
begin to see things in their proper perspective. We no
longer hanker after human approval and external prizes.
Instead, we learn to derive intrinsic satisfaction and
fulfillment from engaging in tasks and activities that are
guided by worthwhile purposes.
Let us share the memorable story of little Annie.
Many years ago, in a mental institution in Boston,
a young girl known as little Annie was locked in a
dudgeon. Although this institution was one of the more
enlightened ones for treating the mentally ill, the dudgeon
was reserved for the “hopelessly” insane. In little
Annie’s case, the doctors had given up hope.
However, an elderly nurse refused to accept the doctors’
view. She believed that there was hope in all of God’s
creations and was determined to nurse little Annie back to
good health.
On many occasions, Little Annie was violent and aggressive
against anyone who visited her dudgeon. Nevertheless, the
patience and affection of the elderly nurse slowly changed
her. During each visit, the elderly nurse would bring
brownie biscuits to little Annie and placed them outside
her dudgeon. Initially, little Annie ignored the elderly
nurse. But gradually, little Annie became aware of the
elderly nurse’s lovingkindness and started to eat the
brownie biscuits.
Many days passed. The elderly nurse continued to show her
love and concern for little Annie and would bring brownie
biscuits during each visit. After a period of time, the
doctors were surprised to observe that little Annie had
become more normal and receptive to advice. In due
course, they decided that it would be safe to transfer
little Annie to the normal hospital room for treatment.
Soon, little Annie recovered and the doctors finally
decided that she could return home. Thereupon, little
Annie decided that she would become a nurse. She was
determined to emulate the example of the elderly nurse and
bring love and hope to the less fortunate.
Years later, the Queen of England, while pinning
her country’s highest honor on a foreigner, asked Helen
Keller, “How do you account for your remarkable
accomplishments in life?”
Without hesitation, Helen Keller replied, “Had it not been
Anne Sullivan (“little Annie”), the name Helen Keller would
have remained unknown.”
It was little Annie who did not give up hope on Helen
Keller who was stricken by a disease at a very young age
and became blind and deaf. Anne Sullivan continued to
shower love and affection on her, encouraging her to lead a
normal life despite her physical disabilities. In turn,
Helen Keller influenced millions with her courage and
dedication to help and inspire others.
(9) Understand that we may have to fail many times in
order to succeed once.
There was once a scientist who planned to demonstrate
before a group of alcoholics the pernicious effects of
alcohol. He placed before them two glass containers, one
filled with water and the other with undiluted alcohol.
The scientist placed a worm into the container filled with
water. The worm swam around and headed for the side of
the glass. It slowly crawled to the top of the glass.
Thereupon, the scientist took the same worm and placed it
into the container filled with alcohol. The worm
disintegrated rapidly.
“What can you gather from this demonstration?” the
scientist asked the class.
A voice from the rear said, “If we drink alcohol,
we will never have worms in our stomach.”
There is a factual story of two brothers who grew
up in a broken family terrorized by an alcoholic father.
The father was unemployed and always came home beating his
wife and two sons.
Years passed and the two brothers grew up. One
became a drug addict while another became a highly
successful businessman.
When asked, the drug addict said, “How can I
possibly be different from my father? He was an alcoholic
and a drug addict. I’m merely following his footsteps …………”
The other successful businessman said, “Since
young, I grew up in a broken family tyrannized by an
alcoholic father. I resolved to myself everyday that when
I grew up, I shall never become an alcoholic. Instead, I
should continuously strive to improve myself and become a
useful member of society ……”
What makes the following famous people to triumph
over adversities and succeed in realizing worthwhile
goals ? It is the recognition that we may need to fail
many times before genuine success beacons at us: -
Blindness did not prevent John Milton from writing
England’s greatest poem, Paradise Lost.
Deafness did not prevent Beethoven from composing some of
the world’s most beautiful and inspiring music
Deafness and blindness did not prevent Helen Keller from
becoming a renowned author.
One day, a young child came home with a note from his
teacher and showed it to his mother, “Your Tommy is too
stupid to learn, get him out of school.” Tommy did not give
up, persevere in his self-education and transformed himself
into the renowned inventor Thomas Edison. Before Edison
invented the light bulb and brought light to the world, he
failed more than 10,000 times. Deafness also did not
prevent him from inventing the phonograph.
Walt Disney visited more than three hundred banks before
he found one which would invest in his theme park idea.
Noah Webster, the famous lexicographer, spent thirty-
six years to compile his great dictionary.
Leonardo da Vinci spent a decade to complete The Last
Supper, which was considered one of the finest works of art
in the world.
John Wesley preached an average of 3 sermons per day for
54 years, traveling by horseback and carriage for more than
200,000 miles. At the age 86, he was embarrassed to admit
that he could not preach more than twice per day and that
he would sleep until five in the morning.
As First Lord of the Admiralty during World War I,
Winston Churchill’s first major offensive, the Dardanelles
Campaign was a great failure in which thousands of British
troops died and he resigned. However, he did not give up.
Learning from his mistakes, Winston Churchill successfully
led his country as Prime Minister during the Second World
War and prevented the Nazis from defeating Britain.
Stricken by polio and barely able to walk at a young age
did not prevent Wilma Rudolph from winning three Olympic
gold medals as the “fastest woman on Earth” in the 1960
Rome Olympics.
Being imprisoned for 27 years did not prevent Mr Nelson
Mandela from succeeding in his fight against racial
discrimination in South Africa where he finally became the
President at the age of 76.
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment.
Full effort is full victory.
Mahatma Gandhi
(10) Golden Secret: Choose to be a constructive partner
of Divinity.
A group of children was playing on a beach. Each
of them brought along simple tools to build separate
beautiful sandcastles of various designs, shapes and
sizes.
After an hour or so, each of the children proudly declared
his separate sandcastle to be his sole possession and would
not allow other people to trespass on it. Thereafter, they
began playing chasing games and one of the children
accidentally stepped upon the sandcastle of another child
and partially demolished it.
The sandcastle’s owner was infuriated and shouted at the
top of his voice, “You destroy my sandcastle. I shall
also destroy yours.” In a revengeful manner, he promptly
jumped upon the sandcastle of his trespasser and kicked at
it angrily. Soon the two children were fighting with each
other. They clamped around each other and rolled on the
beach. The other children watched and laughed, with the
mischievous ones cheering them on. The more mature
children intervened and mediated between them until they
reconciled and began to continue their chasing game.
When night came, the children realized that it was time to
return home. In their rush to go home, they stepped upon
each other’s sandcastles and ignored their “sole
possession” status. Everyone was too busy returning home
to defend his or her separate sandcastle.
Did we sometimes lose our perspective of the higher reality
and bigger picture, and become fervently embroiled in
defending our separate sandcastles? Did we sometimes
become preoccupied with relative notions of “yours”
and “mine”, with erroneous concepts of a separate self
that needs constant defense and protection? Did we
sometimes mistake the relative truths as the higher
reality, and lose sight of our life priorities?
By patiently nurturing higher wisdom, we will gradually
awaken. We will begin to catch glimpses of the inner
Light within each of us. The deeper recesses of our
consciousness are illuminated. A profound sense of higher
purpose is ignited, unmasking our unique gifts and talents,
authentic potential and capabilities, revealing that we are
intimate partners of Divinity engaging in constructive co-
creation. Like the Northern Star illuminating and
sanctifying the path of all truth-seekers, the inner Light
reveals that we are ingenious designers, architects,
craftsmen, artists and molders of our lives.
The inner Light has always been there, awaiting our
discovery. With its guidance, we can tap our inner
wealth. With its guidance, a clearer vision of our life
purpose and direction will dawn on us. With its guidance,
we can awaken together to a fulfilling and fruitful path.
May we embrace authentic living and manifest the full
measure of our humanity. May glimpses into our inner
Light, innate sanctity and wholesomeness continue. May we
realize that we are destined to awaken to them and to be
guided by them. May we become tireless bridge builders
for each other, for our children and posterity.
By author Emerson Lee,
Author of Time-Honored Wisdoms On Wealth Creation
at 1stbooks.com or Amazon.com
……… let us pursue the things which make for peace and the
things by which one may edify another.
Romans
14: 19
The greatest good you can do for another is not just to
share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.
Benjamin Disraeli
- End -
****************************************************
****
/blockquote>
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/blockquote>
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Teacher Chatboards
On 3/24/03, Kristin wrote:
> I am may be relocating to the Seattle area. I am an
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