Healing...

By Vichara


We reach out in prayer, meditation and in reflection for help from however we describe it, the universe, god, divine presence, etc. While it is definitely good to reach out we must also reach within and release ourselves from the trouble that has been inside us all. As a good friend has told me, “we must heal ourselves”. By reaching out and in we expose both sides of this troubled coin to all of the healing powers that exist.

Opportunity is calling...

By Vichara


You will not be given a single thing in this life except opportunity…which is everything. Whatever misguided sense of entitlement that you believe is owed to you will only fail because of your unwillingness to see beyond the selfish personal barriers you have built. Whatever condition has greeted you in whatever part of this globe you live in there, opportunity will always be there. If you keep your “heart” open and invite those that will always cross your path they will always provide the “bridge” to the next path. From the most remote village to the hidden urban streets they are there. In the darkness that seems inescapable, they are there. In the cold that frightens you, they are there but you need to remove that cloak of anger and distain and be willing to at least meet them halfway. There is always a way out but you will need to take that first step.

Just by walking around...

By Vichara


Just by walking around we change the world. Our presence here is the culmination of a billion factors that has resulted in this living human being that can take a thought and inspire the many. Take a hand and support those in need. Make someone laugh and turn around his or her day. Hold that one that is sad and make them feel wanted. So much riding on simple gestures but as you may have heard, the simple can be so profound. In our compassionate wake we cab change the world just by walking around.

Your course...

By Vichara


The past is inescapable but the future is yours to design. I know that some of you believe that there could be an element of pre-determination and tat you may need to just accept what comes you way. Don’t be discouraged by circumstances, they are put there to assist in the re-configuring of your path. Ultimately the steps forward are determined by you and you alone. You do have a choice. You could fritter away your precious time away in discursive activities, mindless entertainment and general laziness or you could take back what you believe may have been taken from you and set your own course. Fill your sails with determination and integrity and use the wheel of compassion to chart your life. There may have been things left in the wake of your life that you may have not been too proud of but now you need to turn your attention to the bow and the future that you want.

Consider the day...

By Vichara


Consider the minutes of the day like drops of water.  Consider the day as a canteen that holds the minutes.  Like a thirsty traveler who cannot afford to lose a single drop consider that we should not want to waste a minute in devious conduct.  Instead weigh the value of the minutes given to you with the same measure of as a dehydrated person does with a cup of water.  We are all under the delusion that there is an endless amount of minutes but like the water in a canteen they do run out.  Drink wisely of the day and attempt to make each minute count.

All aboard!!...

By Vichara


There are times our minds feel like a commuter train. There are many stops along the way where we unload and pickup. Stops like Concern, Aversion, Regret, Frustration and Anger. However on this same track line there a few other stops that we sometimes forget to stop at along the way. There is Empathy, Respect, Encouragement, Forgiveness and Hope. The stops are determined by what train line you get on in the morning when you get up. Before you reach that ticket window in the morning decide what train you will ride, the Indifference Express or the Compassion Choo-Choo. It’s your ride and if you find yourself on a train where you do not like the view you can always transfer over. Ready?...All aboard!!!

The "journey"...

By Vichara


The lights go dim, you close your eyes and the curtain rises on another nocturnal production. Which series of scenes will be illuminated on this stage of reflection? What characters will enter from stage left and steer the scene with cryptic prose. Why was this dark turn of events juxtaposed with the nonsensical? Were the pages for this script dropped and scattered on the floor and then gathered without notice of the numerical sequence? Who is directing this production, Jung, Escher, Capra or David Lean? Is there truly any hidden messages contained in the slumber scenes or are thy just fragments of unused thoughts that are finally being released in relaxation like the leftover compressed air in a tank. The assemblage of images and messages can sometimes not make much sense but perhaps that is their purpose. Perhaps their intent is to halt us upon rising, make us focus on some fragment that will act as a catalyst to a revelation that we need to be exposed to and help us on our “journey”. I don’t know…it’s just a thought.

A new diet...

By Vichara


Everyone needs to go on diet today! A diet to cut out the calories of confusion and the excessive manipulation from the frenetic babble shoved at us. It is one thing to be informed but it is another thing to be fattened by gratuitous news and gossip 24 hours a day. I know, we all in a certain way think it’s just for fun and we don’t listen all the time but it can be silently insidious. We take a small bite of some salacious story and that leads to another to another, then another to another and we are fattened by the frivolous. By cutting one salacious story and replacing it with one nurturing or creative activity may not seem like much but it is a start. Pretty soon your mind and presence will be mentally svelte and lighter. You’ll be passing by that mental mirror and be thinking…”lookin’ good honey!”

The shores of communication...

By Vichara


You are an island, a collective of senses, tasks, emotions and declaratives. A mass of energies that will astound you with their depth and resourcefulness if…you grant them space, serenity and compassionate support to develop and create your own personal language that could not only guide your heart but for those around you as well. Keep the waters of love, communication and openness free from hindrances and obstacles. Build a channel of shared knowledge that can support and elevate each other. Retain dams and obstacles and you perpetuate selfishness and isolationist attitudes. Yes celebrate the unique quality of being your own island but share in its strength, beauty, knowledge and open shores of communication.

The Bank Of Compassion..

By Vichara


What if wealth was not measured by coin, paper and the traditional tangible means? What if wealth was measured by acts of compassion? What if the more compassionate you were to fellow humans and life in general the more you would be perceived as successful? I know that would be considered a fantasy and being naïve but consider a currency not based on something physically tangible but a currency derived from the creativity of our actions to be good to each other. The bank that would hold our riches would be embodied…well, in our bodies and minds. The exchange of this currency would not need ATM machines and as long as you exercise you’re compassionate heart the more your account remains solvent. An investment in compassion in produces compassion and there would be no restriction of how much you could invest. I know it is crazy to think this way but I think it is even crazier not to think this way.

Reach out...

By Vichara


Look into the eyes of those you meet. Ask them really how they are doing without judgment and know that they just want the same things that you want. Perhaps you can help; perhaps you have some words of encouragement. Maybe they have words to help you. Extend that “hand” with all that surrounds it. Change the world around you, even if it is just a little bit. The playwright George Bernard Shaw said that he wanted to leave a mark in the world, even if it was just a scratch. I think we can all do better than just a simple scratch.

Dead or alive?...

By Vichara


We walk among the dead even though they are breathing, walking and talking. The dead are mired in a self-possessed world where there is very little cognizant value that they give others beyond the perfunctory tasks they perform for the dead. The dead believe they are seeing but their vision is myopic at best and life’s peripheral existence does not even illuminate in their eyes to any great extent. The dead can hear but there is very little that registers other then their voices and maybe some of what the other dead are saying. There is some confusion for the dead when things don’t go quite the way they want it to go but like an over-stimulated child they drop whatever it was and go on. In their wake the dead leave the debris of unfulfilled promises that they made to others to get what they wanted. The dead see only themselves. The question when you look in the mirror – are you alive or one of the dead?

So much with so little...

By Vichara


We need so little, but want so much. We speak so much, but have so little to say. We can travel so far, but get much further just where we are. The pitfalls and pleasures of bring able to live in a time and place where opportunities and “things” are in abundance for those that can find the means and ways to obtain and can acquire. We revel in these items with their cleverness and ingenuity and even believe that we could not live without them. So many things, so much noise designed for a vision of someone we believe we are but this vision of ourselves is so far in the distance, we can never catch up with it. For those who want to, stop, pull back the reins a bit of perceived need and instead of using 10 things to get through a day, use 1 and use it well. Instead of speaking volumes without great substance, speak less but with clarity and compassion.

That something from yesterday...

By Vichara


We have left something from yesterday behind that needs to be brought into today. You remember what it was right? At the time we thought we should remember it but the circumstances of the day pushed it aside. It came back to us later on in the day when we didn’t think about it and we were happy. There was a moment where we thought it was important enough to write it down and then we got carried away with cooking. There was another moment when it jumped back in front of us and shook us from the complacency of the evening and then you know what happened. It’s ok, it’s still here and it can still be brought into today without a problem. It may even stick around because it feels so good and stay with us tomorrow. The main thing is that it came back and is with you now.

Today's playground...

By Vichara


We grow up and become adults but the playground just got bigger. We argue and laugh just like we did as kids in the park but it is more sophisticated and deadlier. This is not a video game. When you pull the trigger the bullet can’t be pulled back. You can’t re-set the game. The words once unleashed will make its mark. The cause will have its effect, the action a reaction. Why not choose from a more meaningful armament. Walk softly but carry a big heart conscious of how it will leave its mark.

Compassion footprint...

By Vichara


These days there is a great deal of emphasis in recognizing our “carbon footprint” in this world and trying to reduce it. I think the same kind of principles can be applied to increase our “compassion footprint” in the world. As we do little things to lesson the carbon footprint (i.e. using reusable water bottles, florescent light bulbs, etc.) likewise we can do little things to increase our “compassion footprint”. Be more forgiving of yourself and others. Tell someone you love and care about him or her for no apparent reason. Help someone that looks lost and discover the answer together. Hold the door for one more person. Make a phone call to someone just to tell him or her how much they mean to you…you get the picture. Reduce carbon, increase compassion.

All Points Bulletin...

By Vichara


We interrupt this program with this special bulletin. A special All Points Bulletin has been issued for the hunt to locate Compassion. Last seen with Patience it has not been seen in quite some time and is considered to be vital for the existence of mankind. Armed with Love and Empathy, Compassion has been known to positively affect scores of people if witnessed firsthand. Compassion does travel with Love and is considered armed with amazing qualities. If seen please embrace and incorporate in your lives before it is too late. We now return you back to your regularly scheduled program…

Evil?...

By Vichara


It has been written and proclaimed that “God” is a truly kind entity / presence and nothing can come from God except goodness and kindness. So which begs the question if nothing but goodness is attributable to God who is responsible for the bad? What if there is no other entity as identified in literature and spiritual texts as the “Devil” and that all of the troubles and negative conditions are as a result of our own human deviation from a more unified loving, compassionate, supportive human existence that we are given at birth to a selfish, manipulative one. Where in that after centuries of fighting, hatred and non-unity we have personally mutated conditions that have spun out of control. If we cannot place the blame on some so-called evil persona how do we create a more trustful, compassionate existence? How do we turn back the majority of what we have created and live a more unified life? I truly don’t have all the answers but I think it goes back to yesterday’s “thought” and perhaps we need forge a new agreement with all that you meet, a contract of compassion. That may be a start.

The Terms Of Acceptability...

By Vichara


...we have now reached the clause ion our "Human Existence" contract called the "Terms Of Acceptability" (TOA).  Before you sign this contract it would be most beneficial if you you were aware what this clause means.  The TOA lists several points that all must agreed to or else it is recommended that you don't sign. 
----------- Terms Of Acceptability------------

- Will you stand by and watch while people suffer?
- Will you accept the lies and deception that is presented to you?
- Will you trust that everything you see and hear from all resources to be true?
- Will you keep an open mind and try to listen to what the many faiths and religions are saying?
- Will you teach and give others what is truly in your heart?
- Will you to your best ability approach all that you meet with love and compassion?

If you can accept all of these that I recommend as your spiritual legal consul to sign and step forward.  If you cannot then I would suggest asking for change from not only you but from all of those around that you meet.  Contracts can be tricky things but what is even trickier is our personal self delusion that all is good around us.  If you eyes are open, open them further and let us attempt to forge a new agreement with all that you meet.  A contract of compassion.

Water will flow...

By Vichara


Water will flow and make its way to wherever it is accepted and needed, much like compassion and knowledge. You can open up the channels and release but unless they can find a home in hearts and minds they will lay dormant and dry up. It is up to each one of us to open up our personal reservoirs and direct these streams to the arid regions of the hearts and minds that we meet.

The only purpose?...

By Vichara


Have you fulfilled what you believe to be your purpose in being here on this planet? Do you think that you have a purpose for being here? I have often thought that being brought onto this “stage” that is called being human that there were things set in motion for each one of lives here that we were meant to do. Remember when you were a kid and people would say things like he’s so good at that he’s going to be “X” or she will more than likely is “Y”? Then expectation kick in and years later the echoes of what they declared did not come to be true. Although it is romantic to believe that certain destinies can come true I believe that this impermanent world creates too many variables and like waves is constantly changing the landscape. I think the most important thing I have learned after 5 decades is that after the wave recedes back and reveals whatever is next that the core of what you retain, what you carry with you is the integrity of just being a good person. Sounds simplistic but if you retain this simple measure all of the waves will crash and recede and this will still stand. Perhaps that is our only purpose and the rest is just window dressing. Not sure…it’s just a thought.

It is up to you...

By Vichara


Drink from the cup of today as if every drop would be the difference between life and death, pain and pleasure, knowing or not knowing. Breathe and fill your lungs with possibilities. Listen to the rustling of ideas that vibrate all around you. See as if each blink of your eyes you are given an infinite number of different lenses to see the world…it is up to you.