Inner peace, Living a purposeful life Eckhart Tolle talk

What's the difference between happiness and peace? which one do you prefer? 

Happiness is conditional and based on external conditions. Where as inner peace is within yourself. It doesn't depend on any external condition.Peace is everlasting. happiness invariably turns to pain but not peace.

I was watching Eckhart Tolle's Talk "Living with Meaning, Purpose and Wisdom in the Digital Age." at google for it's employees to teach the significance of inner peace, consciousness, spirituality and calm.

 

This documentary is in a Q & A format. Most of the things he conveyed are familiar if you happen to read "power of now". But, one thing he highly recommended was to place a certain living object close to you at your work desk. it could be a plant, flower or dog. This elements play a critical role in helping to be in your consciousness. Just a glance at them, staring at them touching them will bring us back to our self. I think it's a great idea.

He also talks about mini-meditations. Just feel your body, breathe in and out, just relax. It brings you back. He talks about life underneath your life situations. A man who looks into himself for peace, happiness and sadness are equanimous.

He gives an example about the room which is filled with people, furniture and other stuff. We don't really care about the room itself. Similarly, our being is like a room which has not nothing to do with things in the room. The space in the room is your inner peace. You can't quantify.. I can't explain it correctly..

Inner worlds,Outer worlds documentary

Today, I was watching a spectable documentary/movie called "Inner worlds, outer worlds" created by Daniel schmidt. The film can be described as the external reflection of his own adventures in meditation. As Daniel came to meditative insights, he realized that these same insights were discovered over and over in spiritual traditions around the world and that all traditions share a
common mystical underpinning. He realized that it is this core experience that connects us not only to the mysterious source of all creation, but to each other as well.

Meditation is not so much a technique to master as it is a re-orientation of the heart; a selfless act of love and surrender into the mystery and stillness at the core of our being.

In the ancient traditions the dharma or the truth was always taught freely and never for personal gain or profit in order to preserve the purity of the teachings.

Daniel has started the awaken the world initiative www.awakenthworld.com to bring the ancient knowledge back to the earth in order to restore balance and harmony on the planet.

Outer space is not really empty. Saints, sages and yogis who have looked within themselves have also realized that within the emptiness is unfathomable power, a web of information or energy which connects all the things.

The pythagorean philosopher plato hinted enigmatically that there was a golden key that unified all of mysteries of the universe. The Golden key is the intelligence of the logos, the source of primordial om. One could say that it is the mind of God. The source of this divine symmetry is the greatest mystery of our existence.

There is spiral in every living thing on the earth. A blooming lotus flower has represented the upward current or transcendence. The ancient tradition taught that a human being can become a bridge extending from the outer to the inner, from the lower chakras to higher chakras.

This documentary shed light on kundalini, concept of chakras in human body. It also tells how nature is self-organizing, manifesting beauty in symmetrical patterns esp. golden ratio , Arrangement of petals in a flower, sun flower. Everything is driven by divine mathematical equation or formula. Every thing is replicated again and again in the nature.

Everything is interconnected. From micro to macro. Our whole nervous system is a macrocosm of how whole universe is arranged.

Interesting spanish wisdom words..

Spanish Quotes for your pleasure...

A lo hecho, pecho

The saying is telling us that what is done is done, and lamentations are of no avail.One should face the consequences of one's actions with fortitude and courage.

A quien madruga, Dios le ayuda

God helps him who rises early

No por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano

Getting up very early won´t make the sun rise any sooner
Your effort will only take you so far. Not everything is in our hands. Know when it´s time to let go, relax and let things take their course!

En boca cerrada no entran moscas
Flies don´t enter a shut mouth

En todas partes se cuecen habas

”Habas” everywhere are cooked. Habas are a type of broad bean. They used to be regarded as food for the poor as well as for animals. No one and no place is exempt from problems and unpleasantness.

Más vale ser cabeza de ratón que cola de léon

Better to be a mouse´s head than a lion’s tail.According to this famous Spanish saying, it is preferable to lead at a more modest level than to be one-among many in higher circles.

Beautiful quotes....

Another set of beautiful quotes from smart, intelligent and wise people...

1. Hope cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. It is just like roads across the earth. For actually the earth had no roads to begin with, but when many men pass one way, a road is made.

2. Trust only him who doubts.

3. When you talk with famous scholars, the best thing is to pretend that occasionally you do not quite understand them. If you understand too little, you will be despised; if you understand too much, you will be disliked; if you just fail occasionally to understand them, you will suit each other very well. - Lu Xun

4. Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does. -MihalyCsiksgentmihalyi

5. When we are left alone, with no demands on attention, the basic disorder of the mind reveals itself. With nothing to do, it begins to follow random patterns, usually stopping to consider something painful or disturbing.

6. "Before the reward there must be labor. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy." - Ralph Ransom

7. "A desperate man is a manipulated man." - David Carvalhoj

8. "A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."

9. "When a finger points to the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger" - Chinese Proverbs

10. "Many Western doctors hold the belief that we can improve everything, even natural childbirth in a healthy woman. This philosophy is the philosophy of people who think it deplorable that they were not consulted at the creation of Eve, because they would have done a better job." - Kloosterman

11. "When you make a mistake, admit it. If you don't, you only make matters worse."

12. "The ability to see beauty is the beginning of our moral sensibility. What we believe is beautiful we will not wantonly destroy."

13. "He who every morning plans the transaction of the day and follows out that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through the maze of the most busy life. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidence, chaos will soon reign."

14. "When a thing is done, it's done. Don't look back. Look forward to your next objective."

15. “There are three wants which never can be satisfied: that of the rich, who wants something more; that of the sick, who wants something different; and that of the traveler, who says anywhere but here.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

16. Our freedom can be measured by the number of things we can walk away from.” – Vernon Howard

17. Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. - William Shakespeare

18. "A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is visible labor and there is invisible labor." - Victor Hugo

19. "I would rather have a big burden and a strong back, than a weak back and a caddy to carry life's luggage" - Elbert Hubbard

20. “They lose the day in expectation of the night, and the night in fear of the dawn.” 

Wisdom quotes of the week

1. "A person knows whom to trust the most when he clearly knows who puts the trust on him in time of his wealth lost."
2. “They say that life is an accident, driven by sexual desire, that the universe has no moral order, no truth, no God.
3. Driven by insatiable lusts, drunk on the arrogance of power, hypocritical, deluded, their actions foul with self-seeking, tormented by a vast anxiety that continues until their death, convinced that the gratification of desire is life's sole aim, bound by a hundred shackles of hope, enslaved by their greed, they squander their time dishonestly piling up mountains of wealth.
4. "Today I got this desire, and tomorrow I will get that one; all these riches are mine, and soon I will have even more. Already I have killed these enemies, and soon I will kill the rest. I am the lord, the enjoyer, successful, happy, and strong, noble, and rich, and famous. Who on earth is my equal?”―Ved Vyasa,The Bhagavad Gita
5. “Perform all thy actions with mind concentrated on the Divine, renouncing attachment and looking upon success and failure with an equal eye. Spirituality implies equanimity.
6. “The nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons.They arise from sense perception,and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.”
7. “He who has let go of hatred who treats all beings with kindness and compassion, who is always serene, unmoved by pain or pleasure, free of the "I" and "mine,"self-controlled, firm and patient, his whole mind focused on me that is the man I love best.” -The Bhagavad Gita
8. “For the senses wander, and when one lets the mind follow them, it carries wisdom away like a windblown ship on the waters.” ―Anonymous,The Bhagavad Gita
9. Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace.
10. Neither in this world nor elsewhere is there any happiness in store for him who always doubts.
11. The mind is restless and difficult to restrain, but it is subdued by practice.
12. You should keep your mind pure, for what a person thinks, he becomes—this is the eternal mystery… When the mind is silent… you can transcend the mind. (Maitri Upanishad)
13. Which is as poison in the beginning, but is like nectar in the end; that is declared to be "good" pleasure, born from the serenity of one's own mind. That which is like nectar in the beginning from the connection of the sense-object with the senses, but is as poison in the end, is held to be of "passion". ―The Bhagavad Gita
14. There is a path of joy and there is the path of pleasure. Pondering on them, the wise (one) chooses the of joy; the fool takes the path of pleasure. ―The Bhagavad Gita
15. Both the good and the pleasant approach a man. The wise man, pondering over them, discriminates. The wise chooses the good in preference to the pleasant. The simple-minded, for the sake of worldly well-being, prefers the pleasant.
16. "As one acts and conducts himself, so does he become. The doer of good becomes good. The doer of evil becomes evil. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad action."
17. "The smallest good deed is better than the greatest intention." - Anonymous
18. "The strength of a tree lies in it's ability to bend." - ZenProverb
19. "Love what you do, do what you love."- Zen Proverb
20. "Three things cannot be hidden; the sun, the moon and the truth."- Buddha
21. "When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills."- Chinese Proverb
22. "Let go, or be dragged." - Zen Proverb
23. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
24. I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character! –Theodore Roosevelt

There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.

There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. - William Shakespeare


Taking cue from the Shakespeare quotation, which implies every thing in your life depends on how you look at them and your attitude. There are folks who stubbornly own events/memories and think they're responsible for everything. They think they stand to loose something but in reality, nothing matters in the end. Life is so short and we all should make it worth living. 

Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. - Aristotle

We tend to remember events or experiences from an first-hand perspective like playing victim or directly responsible for something. This causes us to own that moment and conjure up negative emotions we may not enjoy. Think about things from a third-person dimension(something happened to your friend) and you won't have that problem.

[Ozlem Ayduk from the University of California and Ethan Kross from the University of Michigan] had participants replay emotionally painful memories from a third-person perspective—which involves visualizing ourselves within the scene as if we were watching it from the perspective of an outside observer.

The difference between the two types of perspectives was profound. Participants reported feeling significantly less emotional pain when they envisioned the memory using a third-person perspective than when using a first-person perspective.

To achieve this new perspective, Winch suggests a little practice. Think of a sad and painful memory. Take a moment to "zoom out" from that recollection and watch it as an "ONLOOKER"/"BYSTANDER" mindset. Then, you feel less victimized.

Door to the hell - burning crater for last 35 years..

There are many mysterious places on planet earth whose attributes or existence usually go beyond our human reasoning capacity. They demand supernatural aura. Anyways, Here's story of such place...

This place in Uzbekistan is called by locals “The Door to Hell”. It is situated near the small town of Darvaz. The story of this place lasts already for 35 years. Once the geologists were drilling for gas. Then suddenly during the drilling they have found an underground crater, it was so big that all the drilling site with all the equipment and camps got deep deep under the ground. None dared to go down there because the crater was filled with gas. So they ignited it so that no poisonous gas could come out of the hole, and since then, it’s burning, already for 35 years without any pause. Nobody knows how many tons of excellent gas has been burned for all those years but it just seems to be infinite there.

Vegan foods

Here's my vegan food pictures in past few months.Being a vegan/vegatarian has many long term health benefits.Vegan diet is the only diet designed for optimum health for the human body. Plant based diet has numerous health advantages. I like to taste different cuisines and visit restaurants esp. vegan ones all around the city and capture the moments as given below...

vietnamese vegan

vegan calzone

is it's this nice? call it karma 

vegan soup and bowl

remain calm my friend!!

cute little flower

vegan quinoa salad

brown rice with peanut and curry

I don't quite remember.. but it's vegan though!!

Bombay sandwich

eggplant roast

Taquitos vegan

Another vegan burger

Kale Salad

Ethiopian Vegan food

                                          Ethiopian Vegan food

Indeed true though!!

Vegan burger

This shall too pass - Story of king who asks him minister to bring him magic ring which turns sad man to happy and happy man to sad

Here's one beautiful jewish wisdom folktale  I came across recently. This story reminds us of impermanence in life and hands us most powerful sentence which can change our perspective forever. 

One day, king who rules over his vast kingdom decided to ask his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Minister, there is a ring that I want you to bring to me.  "If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Minister, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?" "It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy."  King knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a test. Months and years passed, and still minister had no idea where he could find the ring. On one day, he ended up in one of the poorest towns in the kingdom. He passed by a blacksmith who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy man forget his joy and the sad man forget his sorrows?" asked minister. He watched the blacksmith take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When minister read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. Minister went back to king. After looking at minister arriving, "Well, my friend," said King, "Have you found what I sent you after?"  Minister held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as King read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three words on the gold ring: "THIS TOO SHALL PASS". At that moment King realized that all his wealth, riches, fame and power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust. The moral of story is impermanence; nothing remains forever, everything is passing, rising and decaying, appearing and vanishing in human life. The ring symbolizes the impermanence of life, it's typical understanding being death. Observing nature is a lesson in impermanence, change, life and death..

Stoicism and it's use in our life.

Recently, I stumbled upon Stoicism when studying about buddhism and other eastern mystic religions. Stoicism is very powerful and depression inducing (for some people) way of life adopted by ancient Greek people.

Stoicism is a branch of philosophy mostly associated with Greek Philosopher Seneca. What's big deal about this kind of philosophy? you may ask!! Certainly, it's relevant to our lives if you think about it.

There is lot we can take away from Stoicism and apply to our daily lives. We all want happiness and peace. don't we? Everything in life we do is executed with an end goal of happiness in mind. So, Where does stoicism fit in our mundane life?  Well, controlling emotions, letting go of expectations, fear and unhappiness and finally understanding that nothing matters in this grand universe.

Basically, Stoicism is a set of techniques to get the most fulfillment out of life and lower the periods of sadness or discomfort.

According to Webster dictionary, Stoicism refers to "The quality or behavior of a person who accepts what happens without complaining or showing emotion. 

It asserts that men should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submit without complaint to unavoidable necessity.

Stoicism tells us that no happiness can be ever permanent if it’s rooted in external & changeable things. Our relationships, material things, money, job & loved ones are not static. They are subject to change over time. 

The Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who was born a slave and crippled at a young age, wrote: “Where is the good? In the will…If anyone is unhappy, let him remember that he is unhappy by reason of himself alone.”

While it’s natural to cry out at pain, the Stoic works to stay indifferent to everything that happens on the outside, to stay equally happy in times of triumph and disaster. It offers freedom from the emotions and provides mastery of emotions, because Stoicism recognizes that fear or greed or grief only enter our minds when we willingly let them in.

Stoicism teaches us that, before we try to control events, we have to control ourselves first. Our attempts to exert influence on the world are subject to chance, disappointment, and failure–but control of the self is the only kind that can succeed 100% of the time. 

Stoicism emphasizes the compliance with laws of nature and fate and applies universal laws to our individual life. It suggests "Virtue is sufficient for happiness". 

To achieve true happiness, you must control your passions. Control your emotions at all times through the right assent of external and internal impressions - this is the Stoic's famous principle. 

Lead a plain and simple life. Stoicism advocates non-materialism. You should always be familiar with poverty, just in case you became poor.

Be happy in all circumstances. Stoic's advocated the idea that no matter what happens to you, you are still happy;

Prepare and be familiar with death for your life is short.

Believe everything is constantly changing and humans were unimportant; just tiny parts of nature, it is therefore necessary for you to accept fate without fuss. It is beautifully articulated in the following stoic quotation

"Or is it your reputation that's bothering you? But look at how soon we're all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that swallows it all. The emptiness of those applauding hands."

Quotations from Stoic Philosophers:

• "Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of men's desires, but by the removal of desire." 
• "Man is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them."  
• "Permit nothing to cleave to you that is not your own; nothing to grow to you that may give you agony when it is torn away." 
• "Get rid of the judgment, get rid of the 'I am hurt,' you are rid of the hurt itself." 
• "The point is, not how long you live, but how nobly you live." 
• "That which Fortune has not given, she cannot take away." 
• "Let Nature deal with matter, which is her own, as she pleases; let us be cheerful and brave in the face of everything, reflecting that it is nothing of our own that perishes."  

Secrets of Living Longer and Enduring Life

Secrets of Living Longer and Enduring Life

 Longevity has very much to do with your attitude

Being Optimistic:

There are many people who have experienced extreme adversity, such as living in a Nazi death camp, that have gone on to live long, productive lives well into their 90’s and beyond. They were eternally optimistic and found their true purpose in life.

Diet:

In the longevity hotspots of the world, such as Sardinia Italy or Okinawa Japan, the local centenarians have never had to go on a “diet plan. ” They never worried about cleansing or detoxing. For all of their long and healthy lives they have eaten fresh foods from their native regions and often from their own gardens.

Water:

Water is the elixir for a long and healthy life.

The purer the water and free from harmful chemicals the better. In longevity areas water is found in springs or glaciers containing natural minerals and trace elements. There is no need to drown yourself by drinking gallons of water, but sip it throughout the day to keep your body hydrated throughout the day. Pure water is the best medicine you can give yourself to stay healthy for life.

Physical Activity:

Gyms are not necessary or even in existence in most longevity hotspots. For strength training they will do chores such as house cleaning, gardening, picking olives or fixing fences into old age. You won’t find them attempting to run marathons or sweating profusely pumping iron. Many elders in those areas have had active sex lives well into their senior years.

Social Relations:

They are very rarely alone. Meals are enjoyed in the company of multi generations of family members and friends are treasured for life. Unplug yourself from Facebook, Twitter and online pseudo relationships on a regular basis and put yourself in the company of “real life” friends and family.

Quest for Learning:

It is said that when a person decides they no longer need to learn, they die. People who live alert and vital lives to 90 and beyond tend to stay curious and continue to pursue new areas of interest. This keeps their brains functioning and prevents the onset of dementia. Even though an elderly person may not be interested in solving crossword puzzles, they are still engaged in finding solutions to life’s challenges and aren’t the type to give up easily.

Smile:

If you look at some of the celebrities that have lived to be 90 or over, they’ve had a profound sense of humor and the ability to not take life as seriously as most.Laughter is one of the best ways to reduce stress.

Forgive & Forget:

People who live long tend to not be easily depressed and do not get hung up on the small stuff that causes anxiety in others. They are more laid back and adaptable.