To the New Year...

By Vichara


The year is coming to an end and we have exchanged gifts with affection and gratitude. There has been joy and sadness with those that we reconnected with those that have left us. With the flipping over of the calendar we all have both excitement and apprehension. Use that space in between those two to plant the seeds of potential in compassion, love and patience. From here no matter where the road takes it will be well grounded. Let me give you one last gift for the holiday season to take with you to the New Year. “Death” is inescapable, it will come regardless but at the same time “Life” is inescapable as well. Don’t waste it on the past that cannot be changed, use it for the future and what you can do to change the world around you for the better.

The next wave...

By Vichara


We are swimming upwards in the last few feet towards the surface, to the light, to the air, to the New Year that awaits us all. What will happen when we reach the surface, the New Year? Will there be a tsunami that will force you down many leagues an initiate another struggle upwards again to break free or will you initiate the fortitude and resilience that has been lying dormant and finally kick it into high gear. It is up to you; no truly it is when it come down to it. Once on the surface the waves of challenge can be massive like those in our mighty oceans or the size of a ripple in a mud puddle. Every one of you out there has the height and the strength to overcome and to stand tall to what the New Year brings. The power comes from a renewable source that is charged by Love, Compassion and Patience. The more you put in the more resilient and inspired you will be. But again…it is up to you.

Happiness...

By Vichara


If you could be anywhere elsewhere would it be? Possibly what year would it be? Or even what universe? Regardless of where or when it may be I would bet good money that the common element that all of us share is that we want happiness. And I would double down on the bet that it would not be an ephemeral happiness but you all would want a much more longer lasting, deep happiness. We all know from the reminders in this forum that all is impermanent. It is after all, the first of the 4 Noble Truths. But there are ways to be happy but you will not find it in the acquisition of objects or in chemical or alcohol diversions. They after all are all again, impermanent. Unhappiness comes from our desire and craving for things that are well…impermanent. Because when they don’t last, which all things don’t, we are sad. End the unhappiness by eliminating the desires and craving you have for things impermanent and enjoy the moments of happiness as they pass by like clouds. Be “present” with openness for happiness to reach you, be felt by you and pass on its way to be felt by someone else.

The journey...

By Vichara


You can give the world all the answers but they may not still want to listen…or even understand. There have been through time wise women and men who have given mankind some very profound thoughts and ideas. They have given us insights and help establish guideposts to help us better understand life. For me personally these wise people have open portals that opened doorways that lead to paths where I have not only gained insights but also discovered essential truths. Teresa of Avila, Gandhi, Hildegard of Bingen, Blaise Pascal, Krishamurti, Thomas Merton and many others. As this solstice and New Year approaches why not discover a new voice and listen.

Sorry...

By Vichara


Try this exercise…repeat the word “sorry” 25 times without stopping. Finished? I bet half way through the word “sorry” became a jumble of words and syllables and maybe at the end you forgot the word. Without being mindful of our words and action both will lose their meaning and importance. Be cognizant of your words and temper your actions with a mindful heart.

Experts recommend...

By Vichara


4 out of 5 doctors agree, experts say, leading industry officials recommend. There is always some unknown authority guiding our consumer decisions but there is one area that no perceived authority should have dominion over and that is your spiritual domain. There is only one expert – you. And as a guiding mechanism to all of your actions I recommend the new and improved, long lasting and minty fresh Love, Compassion & Patience available everywhere!

Stop...

By Vichara


When was the last time you just sat and did nothing? No, I mean really nothing. Just sit, stop the phone, turn the computer screen off, turn the TV off, turn the iPod off and just sit. Feel each breath come in…….then out…..in…..then out. Feel a wave wash down and out of you and your focus becomes soft and relaxing. Oh no! You know what may come next?!...Insight.

Checkup...

By Vichara


The extent of our compassion is measured by the capacity in our hearts to receive love. If the chamber and vessels leading to this area are clogged with prejudices and hatred there will never be an outlet for you to complete the continuum of a fulfilled life. Take stock of your condition, perhaps it is time to clean house a bit.

Limited words...

By Vichara


Imagine you could only speak a limited number of words each day. Once spent there would be no reserve and you would need to be reliant on other means of communication through your eyes and touch. Instead of spending time in harmful and inane conversations why not parse out your words with thought and deliberation. Cultivating careful conversations would result in a more meaningful day. Ok that’s it for me I only have so many other words so…

Life...

By Vichara


Life does not pay attention to the calendar, it moves along without regard to it. Just because it is a certain holiday or celebrated date life and death will march on through, it just does not care. Don’t expect life to coincide with something that you want to do and don’t expect death to wait to wait even if it is Christmas; they have their own timepieces and agenda. These are the dynamics we must live with, regardless. You may want to protest, scream or cry but it will not and I repeat, will not have any influence on how life and death will comport themselves no matter what you believe or dream. Now that we got that out of the way what do we do with this knowledge? Nothing. This is not abandonment but acceptance with contemplative understanding. You may want things to go your way all the time but this type of living will eventually create and encounter roadblocks. It is best to be malleable with compassionate resilience and life will then flow with you and around you.

The empirical truth...

By Vichara


We need empirical proof. As much as we romantize about living or having faith we ultimately need to have empirical proof on many levels. We want to assume and believe that things will be done and entrust others with tasks and responsibilities but because things are interconnected we need proof. On a physical level most of the time the empirical is relatively easy to produce but on the metaphysical level far greater. We need a meal to eat so we gather ingredients, cook them and the meal appears. Try to have a greater understanding and that there is meaning and guidance to “this” all is much more difficult. It is not like you can purchase a GPS unit that leads you to esoteric answers. Of course this presumes you want answers but I would venture a guess you do. So where does this leave us? With need of the empirical – painted in the corner with faith. Consider faith being a boat. You know that by trial and testing that the boat floats…for the most part. So you climb aboard given that understanding as you push off from the dock you ultimately realize that the boast is only as sturdy as you build it. You are the draftsman, carpenter and captain and sometimes that is all the empirical proof you will have.

Weakness...

By Vichara


Perhaps within our frailties lies our strength. By acknowledging the weakness we can identify the hidden elements that will bolster our ability to gain more confidence in our actions and reactions. We will be dismissive in what would be perceived as weakness but perhaps it contains a lot more than we think. In nature we often see the animals that could be considered easy prey to the much more aggressive and larger. We are then amazed at the resourcefulness of the smaller beings in their ability to extricate themselves from their precarious situations. In similar ways when you find yourself in a situation that may seem hopeless you draw in and open a portal of information where suddenly the solutions appear. The thing is that it has always been there we just needed to tune in a little bit more to receive it. Don’t be fooled by weakness, there is great lessons and knowledge to be gained.

Question things...

By Vichara


Question everything. Question what you were just doing and question why you decided to do it that way. Question the way you spoke to that person. Question why you felt how you did when you left the room. This is not to create a self-imposed paranoia state. No, it is to heighten the senses and how we connect to the world every moment. This is not to make you hyper-sensitve and fearful, it is to strip away the thrashing about in how we spend a majority of our day and to rise up through the turbulent waters of maya to a place where we can easily float along aware of everything and yet bouyent with confidence that all can be resolved with a patient, compassionate heart.

Your own e-ticket...

By Vichara


Prisoners of time, we are all subject to and part of this brother/sisterhood. Bound by the minutes, the seconds, and the sands as they trickle down from an unseen personal timepiece. Our existence here on this plane is subject to some mystical biological clock that we have no chance of seeing or knowing. While pondering this may induce some hyperventilation to some let us use this as a striking point and reinvent our days for a change. When the alarm rouses us from our slumbering state envision that moment in your mind’s eye as a ticket for today’s ride. This is your own personal ticket purchased by your own thoughts and intent subject to the fine print on the back. Don’t bother turning it over to read, everyone has the same terms and conditions. Keep a good heart, good thoughts, good speech, good actions and good intent and the ride will be good.

Fear and more fear...

By Vichara


Perhaps you may feel like an island of sanity sometimes when some around you and the world behaves in an irrational and self-centered manner. You are not alone. The revving and screeching tires of that car cutting you off today, the pompous self-entitlement look that someone may give you, some erratic irrational act that has you shaking your head. All of it based in fear. Fear that they have of not being noticed, fear that they didn’t deserve things in life, fear no one cares for them and numerous shades of fear. We all have fears in one way or another as the world spins in unpleasant and unpredictable ways. The antidote lies in first recognizing this fact and not over reacting when you witness acts of fear and using patience and compassion with yourself and others to help disperse the fear.

Understanding...

By Vichara


Spiritual understanding is neither exclusive nor allusive. Each one of us can attain sufficient understanding in order to gain some solace and refuge from the perceived storms that swarm around our daily lives. It can be attained but as with every task it takes patience, work and a resolute nature that the destination is not just for a select few but for anyone who seeks understanding…anyone.

Stop...

By Vichara


We have a tendency to keep rushing forward in the belief that what we are looking for is in front of us. Perhaps we need to stop and allow what we have been searching for catch up to us.

Changing the landscape...

By Vichara


We are all grasping for straws of humanity in a desperate need to make some sense of lives that sometimes intersect with such indifference it leaves us little strength and resolve to move forward. And even if we close our eyes to the events around us we will still see images with eyelids closed. We need to change our vision, change what is out there and what is inside our hearts as well. Easier said then, as most would say right now, but there are ways. As I have stated in other times it will not be in grandiose actions that will necessarily make the difference in the world around us. It will be in the small gestures initiated with the heart that will have the most effect. Try to do something very small for someone else today to try to change the human landscape. Not with your wallet but with your heart.