reveal your greatness

 

''Accept and appreciate everything and everyone on your path.
They’ve been placed there to help you reveal your greatness.''


by Yehuda Berg

the spiritual path

´´We tend to make spirituality a part of our lives in the same way we go to a yoga class, but it can’t really benefit us if it isn’t consistently becoming more and more the core of our being.

Spirituality isn’t something we do. It is part of our consciousness. It is how we see the world.
The spiritual path is a constant walk where we make a conscious effort to be the best version of ourselves, and make a difference in the lives of others.''

by  Yehuda Berg

 

 

Thriving not surviving

''We all have our own personal struggles.
Some people deal with health problems or abusive relationships, while others battle poverty or addictions.

In the midst of these struggles, we can become so consumed that simply surviving becomes the goal. We forget life is meant to be so much more than just keeping our head above water.

As long as the goal is merely surviving, we cannot arrive at a place where we are truly thriving.''

by Yehuda Berg

momento socrático

«Ao viajar pelo Oriente, mantive contatos com monges do Tibete, da Mongólia, do Japão e da China. Eram homens serenos, comedidos, recolhidos e em paz nos seus mantos cor de açafrão. Outro dia, eu observava o movimento do aeroporto de São Paulo: a sala de espera cheia de executivos com telefones celulares, preocupados, ansiosos, geralmente comendo mais do que deviam. Com certeza, já haviam tomado café da manhã em casa, mas como a companhia aérea oferecia um outro café, todos comiam vorazmente. Aquilo me fez refletir: 'Qual dos dois modelos produz felicidade?' Encontrei Daniela, 10 anos, no elevador, às nove da manhã, e perguntei: 'Não foi à aula?' Ela respondeu: 'Não, tenho aula à tarde'. Comemorei: 'Que bom, então de manhã você pode brincar, dormir até mais tarde'. 'Não', retrucou ela, 'tenho tanta coisa de manhã...' 'Que tanta coisa?', perguntei. 'Aulas de inglês, de balé, de pintura, piscina', e começou a elencar seu programa de garota robotizada. Fiquei pensando: 'Que pena, a Daniela não disse: 'Tenho aula de meditação! Estamos construindo super-homens e super mulheres, totalmente equipados, mas emocionalmente infantilizados. Uma progressista cidade do interior de São Paulo tinha, em 1960, seis livrarias e uma academia de ginástica; hoje, tem sessenta academias de ginástica e três livrarias! Não tenho nada contra malhar o corpo, mas me preocupo com a desproporção em relação à malhação do espírito. Acho ótimo, vamos todos morrer esbeltos: 'Como estava o defunto?'. 'Olha, uma maravilha, não tinha uma celulite!' Mas como fica a questão da subjetividade? Da espiritualidade? Da ociosidade amorosa? Hoje, a palavra é virtualidade. Tudo é virtual. Trancado em seu quarto, em Brasília, um homem pode ter uma amiga íntima em Tóquio, sem nenhuma preocupação de conhecer o seu vizinho de prédio ou de quadra! Tudo é virtual. Somos místicos virtuais, religiosos virtuais, cidadãos virtuais. E somos também eticamente virtuais... A palavra hoje é 'entretenimento'; domingo, então, é o dia nacional da imbecilização coletiva. Imbecil o apresentador, imbecil quem vai lá e se apresenta no palco, imbecil quem perde a tarde diante da tela. Como a publicidade não consegue vender felicidade, passa a ilusão de que felicidade é o resultado da soma de prazeres: 'Se tomar este refrigerante, vestir este tênis, usar esta camisa, comprar este carro,você chega lá!' O problema é que, em geral, não se chega! Quem cede desenvolve de tal maneira o desejo, que acaba precisando de um analista. Ou de remédios. Quem resiste, aumenta a neurose. O grande desafio é começar a ver o quanto é bom ser livre de todo esse condicionamento globalizante, neoliberal, consumista. Assim, pode-se viver melhor. Aliás, para uma boa saúde mental três requisitos são indispensáveis: amizades, autoestima, ausência de estresse. Há uma lógica religiosa no consumismo pós-moderno. Na Idade Média, as cidades adquiriam status construindo uma catedral; hoje, no Brasil, constrói-se um shopping-center. É curioso: a maioria dos shoppings-centers tem linhas arquitetônicas de catedrais estilizadas; neles não se pode ir de qualquer maneira, é preciso vestir roupa de missa de domingo. E ali dentro sente-se uma sensação paradisíaca: não há mendigos, crianças de rua, sujeira pelas calçadas... Entra-se naqueles claustros ao som do gregoriano pós-moderno, aquela musiquinha de esperar dentista. Observam-se os vários nichos, todas aquelas capelas com os veneráveis objetos de consumo, acolitados por belas sacerdotisas. Quem pode comprar à vista, sente-se no reino dos céus. Deve-se passar cheque pré-datado, pagar a crédito, entrar no cheque especial, sente-se no purgatório. Mas se não pode comprar, certamente vai se sentir no inferno... Felizmente, terminam todos na eucaristia pós-moderna, irmanados na mesma mesa, com o mesmo suco e o mesmo hambúrguer do Mc Donald... Costumo advertir os balconistas que me cercam à porta das lojas: 'Estou apenas fazendo um passeio socrático.' Diante de seus olhares espantados, explico: 'Sócrates, filósofo grego, também gostava de descansar a cabeça percorrendo o centro comercial de Atenas. Quando vendedores como vocês o assediavam, ele respondia:... "Estou apenas observando quanta coisa existe de que não preciso para ser Feliz"!!» Frei Beto

Ask the Light for help

''Sometimes students will come to me with issues or obstacles they are facing, and tell me they have tried everything. They have looked at every angle, exhausted every route trying to find a solution, and still they cannot overcome.

In these instances, many times the one thing they have forgotten is asking the Light for help.

It’s a step most of us miss because it seems too simple to really work, but it’s in the humility of knowing the solutions come from the Creator, and not from ourselves, that we can find the answers to our problems.

It might not take a lot of physical effort, but asking the Light for help is one of the most proactive things we can do.''

by Yehuda Berg

fulfillment

''We seek fulfillment in hundreds of ways: television, food, sex, drugs, and money – but while these things may give us temporary happiness, they don’t give us long-term fulfillment.

Life is about becoming the creators of our own fulfillment, instead of seeking it from things outside of ourselves.''

by Yehuda Berg

 

 

 

slow and steady

«Patience is an important skill to acquire on the path of change.

Take one lesson at a time, make it your sole focus, apply it practically and deeply. This way it has a much greater chance of being engrained into your being.

When we try to take on too much at once, we take on nothing.

It’s the slow and steady process that brings results.»

byYehuda Berg

The truth about our mistakes

«We tend to think mistakes are bad, but mistakes are woven into the fabric of the universe to help us learn.

This powerful shift in perception can take us from having destructive feelings about our failures (shame, guilt, helplessness, etc.) to feeling enthusiastic about discovering the lessons and growing.

The truth about our mistakes is that they are our best teacher»

by Yehuda Berg

Feeling Depleted

''There are times in our lives when it seems our bodies are running on empty.

We are not sick, nor are we necessarily pushing ourselves to the limit—rather, the energy we typical enjoy has mysteriously dissipated, leaving only fatigue.

Many people grow accustomed to feeling this way because they do not know that it is possible to exist in any other state.

The body’s natural state, however, is one of energy, clarity, and balance.

Cultivating these virtues in our own bodies so that we can combat feelings of depletion is a matter of developing a refined awareness of the self and then making changes based on our observations.
A few scant moments of focused self-examination in which you assess your recent schedule, diet, and general health may help you zero in on the factors causing your depletion.

If you are struggling to cope with an overfull agenda, prioritization can provide you with more time to sleep and otherwise refresh yourself. Switching to a diet containing plenty of nutritious foods may serve to restore your vigor, especially when augmented by supplements like B vitamins or ginseng. Consider, too, that a visit to a healer or homeopath will likely provide you with wonderful insights into your tiredness. But identifying the source of your exhaustion will occasionally be more complicated than spotting a void in your lifestyle and filling it with some form of literal nourishment.

Since your earthly and ethereal forms are so intimately entwined, matters of the mind and heart can take their toll on your physical self.

Intense emotions such as anger, sadness, jealousy, and regret need fuel to  manifest in your consciousness, and this fuel is more often than not corporeal energy.

Conversely, a lack of mental and emotional stimulation may leave you feeling listless and lethargic.

Coping with and healing physical depletion will be easier when you accept that the underlying cause might be more complex than you at first imagined.

A harried lifestyle or a diet low in vital nutrients can represent only one part of a larger issue affecting your mood, stamina, and energy levels.

(...)
 

If you are feeling depleted, your body is asking you to take time to make some real changes in your life.''

by Madisyn Taylor

A gift of Love

«Hurt people hurt people.

Abusive patterns get passed on, generation after generation, but we can break the chain with our choices.
Meet anger with sympathy. Meet contempt with compassion. Meet cruelty with kindness. Meet grimaces with smiles.

When you forget about the fault, there is nothing to forgive. (...)»

by Yehuda Berg

Accepting and Releasing Emotions

''Dealing with powerful emotions can be challenging, especially when we are going through chaotic, sad, or cruel experiences in our lives.

Often, it can seem like we have only two options for dealing with our feelings so they don’t become too overwhelming.

We may let our feelings out in an immediate and visceral way, or we may bottle them up by suppressing our emotions inside our bodies. Most people make the second choice, repressing their feelings in an attempt to deny them.

The truth is that there are many positive ways to deal with emotions, and experiencing your negative feelings doesn’t have to constitute a negative experience.

Denying your feelings is not only unhealthy for the mind and the body, but it may also rob you of valuable information you could be learning about yourself and your life.

Suppressing your emotions can even impede your short-term memory.

Acknowledging your feelings can help you better understand them and help you recover naturally from change, stress, and grief.

  If you find that facing your feelings head on is proving too difficult during times of emotional distress, you may want to explore alternative ways of expressing them.

Otherwise, the emotions you deny could morph into unconscious anger or self-hatred. Expressing your thoughts to friends or family can be helpful. If you don’t feel ready to share them, try giving them words by writing down what you are feeling. Give whatever you are feeling simple words like “livid” or “angry” or “excited” You can also funnel your feelings into a creative outlet, physical exercise, or chores. Even just accepting and speaking your feelings out loud to yourself can be a healing release. In releasing intense emotions, it is most beneficial to acknowledge the feelings, allow yourself to feel them, and let the feelings go.

Those who are willing to experience and release their feelings without judgment also find that their lives become less stressful. (...)

While burying negative or uncomfortable feelings can numb the pain, it also may inevitably dull your ability to experience your more positive and pleasurable feelings.

You may find yourself afraid to open up in the future for fear of getting hurt.

The feelings we deny aren’t limited to anger and sadness.

Suppressing our happiness or excitement can be just as unhealthy.

In learning how to express your intense emotions in a healthy way, you are giving yourself the freedom to fully experience the more joyful emotions that come with being alive.''

by Madysin Taylor

happy life

HAPPY life from mojebory on Vimeo.

Our Greatest Triumphs

 

''Babe Ruth had to step up to the plate many times before he hit his first home run.

We will all fall. This is not a shortcoming, nor is it a mistake. It’s part of the process. We are destined to fall, but we are also all destined to succeed.

Our greatest triumphs often come at the heels of our most painful failures.''

by Yehuda Berg

nearer than you think

''Whatever questions we need answers to, or problems we need solved, the solutions are usually nearer than we think.

We sometimes feel we have to read many books, travel long distances, or go to great lengths to find solutions, but in truth the universe puts our answers close to us.

We just won’t see the answers until we are willing to change.
When we have a willingness to do what needs to be done to make a change, we will see clearly that the answer to our problems were right in front of us all along.''

by Yehuda Berg

 

 

letting go of understanding

''All of us who seek to be conscious and aware regard our experiences as teachers, and we try to discern what lessons we are learning from the things that happen in our lives.

Sometimes the lesson is very clear from the get-go, and other times we have to really search to understand the deeper meaning behind some event. While this search often yields results, there also comes a point in the search where what we really need to do is move forward. It is possible that we are not meant to know the deeper meaning of certain occurrences.

Answers may come later in our lives, or they may come as a result of letting go, or they may never come.
We are all part of a complex system of being, and things work themselves out in the system as a whole.

Sometimes we are just playing a necessary part in that process with a result larger than we can understand.

It may have very little to do with us personally, and while that can be hard to understand, it can also free us from overthinking the matter.

Sometimes it is best to see it in terms of karma, a past debt we have been able to repay in this way, or as the clearing of energy.

We can simply thank the event for being part of our experience and let it go. This completes the process that the occurrence has made possible.
To make this letting go official, we can perform a ritual, make a final journal entry on the subject, or sit in meditation with the intention of releasing the event from our consciousness. As we do so, we summon it one last time, honoring it with our attention, thanking it, and saying good-bye. We then let it go out the door, out the window, out the top of our heads, or into the earth through the bottoms of our feet, liberating ourselves from any burden we have carried in association with it. ''

by Madysin Taylor

filhos e filhas de mil homens

«Todos nascemos filhos de mil pais e de mil mães, e a solidão é sobretudo a incapacidade de ver qualquer pessoa como nos pertencendo, para que nos pertença de verdade e se gere cuidado mútuo. Como se os nossos mil pais e mais mil mães coincidam em parte, como se fôssemos por aí irmãos, irmãos uns dos outros. Somos o resultado de tanta gente, de tanta história, de grandes sonhos que vão passando de pessoa a pessoa , que nunca estaremos sós.»

Valter Hugo Mãe, in  O filho de mil homens

Benedictus

made on Earth

Made on Earth from Enrique Pacheco on Vimeo.

breathing Morocco

The Maghreb from Enrique Pacheco on Vimeo.

breathing Hearth - Cambodia

Breathing Cambodia from Amit Dubey on Vimeo.