Spiritual Seekers

Roberto Ferri

''Part of the trap of a spiritual path is that one runs the risk of becoming a seeker instead of a finder.
We get energy from being inspired, from studying, from intellectually understanding the changes that we need to make. So we keep seeking to be re-inspired, to learn new things, or find a new way of hearing it.

The truth is, we can try everything from yoga to a retreat to a psychic to tarot cards to crystals, but until we truly do the work of changing ourselves we will always be seeking and never finding.

We’re not here to feel good for a second and then move on to the next fad.
We’re here to change into a being who can have all of the abundance the universe means for us to receive.
Committing to a path of change is hard.

Find a path that can really support you and make it long-term.''


by Yehuda Berg, in Daily Kabbalah

 

 

 

 

the joy of being

''While celebrations are intended to honor life’s more momentous occasions, much of real life tends to happen during the in-between times.

While moving from one moment in time to the next is seldom considered a significant occurrence, it is during those in-between times that we are most in tune with life’s most profound, albeit simple joys.

Between birth and death, triumph and sorrow, beginnings and endings, we enjoy innumerable experiences that often happen unnoticed. These times are just as worthy of celebration.
The in-between times are seldom about landmark moments.

How you choose to celebrate them or which moments you choose to celebrate is up to you.

You may want to celebrate the simple facts that you are alive and that every day is a chance to spend time with the people you care about or do the work that you love. Then again, when you look at the good that exists in your life, many reasons for celebrating the in-between times may become clear: a cup of your favorite tea, a beautiful sunrise, a good book, and the smell of fresh air can be reasons for celebration.
Celebrating the in-between times can be as easy as paying special attention to them when they do happen, rather than taking them for granted.

It’s your focus of attention that can turn an in-between time into a celebration.

You can also pay homage to the in-between times by slowing down and allowing yourself time to look around and allow your heart and mind to take in all of your life’s wonders.

Far too often, we can let those simple moments of awe pass us by. The in-between times are when life happens to us between the pauses that we take to honor our milestones occasions.

Without the in-between times, there would be no big moments to celebrate. ''

by Madysin Taylor

beyond counting blessings

''Often when we practice being thankful, we go through the process of counting our blessings, acknowledging the wonderful people, things and places that make up our reality.

While it is fine to be grateful for the good fortune we have accumulated, true thankfulness stems from a powerful comprehension of the gift of simply being alive, and when we feel it, we feel it regardless of our circumstances.

In this deep state of gratitude, we recognize the purity of the experience of being, in and of itself, and our thankfulness is part and parcel of our awareness that we are one with this great mystery that is life.

It is difficult for most of us to access this level of consciousness as we are very caught up in the ups and downs of our individual experiences in the world.

The thing to remember about the world, though, is that it ebbs and flows, expands and contracts, gives and takes, and is by its very nature somewhat unreliable.

If we only feel gratitude when it serves our desires, this is not true thankfulness.

No one is exempt from the twists and turns of fate, which may, at any time, take the possessions, situations, and people we love away from us. Ironically, it is sometimes this kind of loss that awakens us to a thankfulness that goes deeper than just being grateful when things go our way.
Illness and near-miss accidents can also serve as wake-up calls to the deeper realization that we are truly lucky to be alive.

We do not have to wait to be shaken to experience this state of being truly thankful for our lives.

Tuning in to our breath and making an effort to be fully present for a set period of time each day can do wonders for our ability to connect with true gratitude.

We can also awaken ourselves with the intention to be more aware of the unconditional generosity of the life force that flows through us regardless of our circumstances.''

by Madysin Taylor

Boas Festas

listening with your heart

''Most of us were born and raised in cultures that value the head over the heart and, as a result, we place our own hearts below our heads in a sort of inner hierarchy of which we may not be conscious.

What this means is that we tend to listen and respond from the neck up, often leaving the rest of our bodies with little or no say in most matters.
This is a physical habit, which sometimes feels as ingrained as the way we breathe or walk.
However, with effort and awareness, we can shift the energy into our hearts, listening and responding from this much deeper, more resonant place.
The brain has a masterful way of imposing structure and order on the world, creating divisions and categories, devising plans and strategies.
In many ways, we have our brains to thank for our survival on this planet.

However, as is so clear at this time, we also need the wisdom of our hearts if we wish to continue surviving in a viable way.

When we listen from our heart, the logical grid of the brain tends to soften and melt, which enables us to perceive the interconnectedness beneath the divisions and categories we use to organize the world.

We begin to understand that just as the heart underlies the brain, this interconnectedness underlies everything.

Many agree that this is the most important work we can do at this time in history, and there are many practices at our disposal. For a simple start, try sitting with a friend and asking him to tell you about his life at this moment. For 10 minutes or more, try to listen without responding verbally, offering suggestions, or brainstorming solutions. Instead, breathe into your heart and your belly, listening and feeling instead of thinking. When you do this, you may find that it’s much more difficult to offer advice and much easier to identify with the feelings your friend is sharing. You may also find that your friend opens up more, goes deeper, and feels he has really been heard. If you also feel great warmth and compassion, almost as if you are seeing your friend for the first time, then you will know that you have begun to tap the power of listening with your heart.''

by Madysin Taylor

 

 

the body is just a vessel for the soul

''Pobre não é o que tem pouco...''

Decidam com o vosso coração

expectativas

''Retira todas as expectativas. De tudo. De todos. Deixa de esperar que as coisas sejam assim ou assado. Deixa de esperar que as pessoas sejam assim ou assado. Deixa de fazer filmes, de criar ilusões. Isso só activa o teu controlo, a tua manipulação e o teu ego.

Imagina que prescindes de ter expectativas em relação à vida. A partir desse momento, vais sentir que tudo o que a vida te dá é uma bênção, pois não esperas nada dela. E assim consegues agradecer tudo o que a vida te dá. Porque não achas que seja uma obrigação da vida dar-te essas coisas.

Imagina que prescindes de ter expectativas em relação às pessoas. Se elas falharem contigo ficas tranquilo, pois não esperavas nada. Se elas forem dóceis, sinceras e carinhosas, se forem amigas, cúmplices e companheiras, como não estavas à espera de nada, consegues ver e agradecer esses actos.

Normalmente o ser humano tem expectativas a mais, e tudo o que recebe acha pouco. Queria mais, achava que devia ter mais. E esse mais estraga tudo. Transforma o ser numa pessoa calculista, competitiva e mesquinha. E esse ser, nesse estado, só tem ressentimento. Não está grato por nada, não recebe nada porque acha que as coisas já são suas à partida. E esse ser vai ter mais decepções do que alegrias. Vai ter mais ressentimento do que gratidão. E uma alma sem gratidão não vai absolutamente a lado nenhum.''

listening and responding

escultura de Gustav Vigeland

''So much can be revealed to us when we listen to the language of our bodies. 

Our bodies are always speaking, sending us messages through the way we move, the sensations that arise from within, and the gestures and expressions that we make when we are communicating with others.

Tuning in to the language of our bodies can be very enlightening, especially as most communication is believed to take place nonverbally.
It is also believed that the body never lies, and that if we want to know the truth about ourselves and others, then we should listen to what our bodies have to say. 

Anyone who has ever flirted with someone they are attracted to has probably, at one point in time or another, brushed their hands through their hair or found themselves leaning forward to get closer to that person. Someone feeling defensive will tend to cross their arms over their chest, while a person who wants to withhold something may look away when speaking.

If you want to know how you truly feel about a person or a situation, then it is a good idea to tune in to what you are feeling inside. Excitement, nervousness, anxiety, and fear are just some of the messages that your body wants you to hear.
Your body can also be a very reliable compass. Anyone who has ever been somewhere they don’t want to be has probably experienced their bodies trying to move them away from that particular circumstance. And while it can be very easy to talk ourselves into and out of choices we may make with our minds, it isn’t so easy to change the truth of our hearts that reside within our bodies.


To begin tuning in to this subtle form of communication, start taking the time to notice what your body is telling you.

Greet each feeling or sensation as a message carrying wisdom from your body.

Tune in to what your body is telling you about the situations and people you encounter and listen to what others are communicating to you through their bodies.

We already are subconsciously receptive to the language of our bodies, but when we choose to consciously pay attention, we hear and understand so much more about ourselves and the people around us. ''


by  Madysin Taylor

escultura de Gustav Vigeland

now is the time

''Having a vision for our future that differs from our current circumstances can be inspiring and exciting, but it can also keep us from fully committing to our present placement.

We may become aware that this is happening when we notice our thoughts about the future distracting us from our participation in the moment.
We may find upon searching our hearts that we are waiting for some future time or situation in order to self-actualize. This would be like a flower planted in North Dakota putting off blooming because it would prefer to do so in Illinois.

There are no guarantees in this life, so when we hold back we do so at the risk of never fully blossoming.

This present moment always offers us the ground in which we can take root and open our hearts now.

What this means is that we live fully, wherever we are, not hesitating because conditions are not perfect, or we might end up moving, or we haven’t found our life partner.

This can be scary, because we might feel that we are giving up our cherished dreams if we do not agree to wait for them.

But this notion that we have to hold back our life force now in order to find happiness later doesn’t really make sense.

What might really be happening is that we are afraid to embrace this moment, and ourselves, just exactly as we are right now.

This constitutes a tendency to hold back from fully loving ourselves, as we are, where we are.
We have a habit of presenting life with a set of conditions—ifs and whens that must be fulfilled before we will say yes to the gift of our lives.

Now is the time for each of us to bloom where we are planted, overriding our tendency to hold back.

Now is the time to say yes, to be brave and commit fully to ourselves (...).

Now is the time to be vulnerable, unfolding delicately yet fully into the space in which we find ourselves. ''

by Madisyn Taylor

 

 

 

 

relating to the negative

''For the last several years, there has been a lot of focus on the power of positive thinking. Many people have come to misinterpret this wisdom to mean that it is not okay to have a bad mood or a negative thought or feeling.

This can lend a kind of superficiality to their relationship with life and relationships with other people.

It can also lead them to feel that if a negative thought or feeling comes up, in themselves or someone else, they must immediately block it out.

When they do this, they are engaging in the act of repressing a part of themselves that needs to seen, heard, and processed. When we repress parts of ourselves, they don’t go away so much as they get buried deep within us, and they often come out when we least expect it.

On the other hand, if we allow ourselves to be fully human, honoring all the thoughts, feelings, and moods that pass through us on a given day, we create a more conscious relationship with ourselves.

Instead of blocking out thoughts and feelings that we label as negative, we can simply observe them and then let them go.

They only get stuck when we react to them negatively, pushing them down and out of sight where they get lodged in our unconscious minds.

(...)

Rather than setting our minds up in such a way that we become fearful of the contents of our own consciousness, blocking out anything that is less than 100 percent positive, we might resolve to develop a friendlier attitude toward ourselves, trusting in our inherent goodness.

When we recognize our true inner worth, a few dark clouds passing through our minds will not intimidate us.

We will see them for what they are—small, dark figures passing through an expansive sky of well-being and truth.''

by Madisyn Taylor

Dhafer Youssef