With all the upheaval in the world these days, banks failing, stock market falling, people losing their jobs and homes, it is easy to wonder what is going on. Is this just another downturn that is going to reverse; Or is it like the band REM says ” it’s the end of the world as we know it” And should we be worried or to quote REM again “and I feel fine” can we feel good about what is happening.
From what I can see, one can always find a lot wrong with the world; the news is always showing us how bad it is and how we should be at the least concerned or worried about the future. But also, I see a lot great with the world; communication technology has made us all connected in ways we could never imagine a few years ago; there are all sorts of people talking about the new consciousness coming into the world; the “age of aquarius” has officially begun; Barack Obama was elected by people feeling hope for the country and the world.
Many teachers including Jesus, Buddha, and Lao Tzu have shown us that how you believe is how you will experience reality. If you see the world as a cold, dark, scary place that is what your world will be; and if you see the world as an abundant, peaceful, cooperative place, that will be your reality.
An example of this is from a friend’s experience she related to me about how at one point of her life, she was living without a lot of money. She wanted an ice cream maker for her son, but only had $40 she wanted to spend on it. She thought how it was not right to be so low on money that she had to look on Craig’s list to find a used one. She thought that was not good. But, when she showed up to look at an ice cream maker from a lady in the neighborhood, she found the woman was living in a house in the city; but the yard was a sustainable garden, complete with chickens and the lady had a daughter who wanted to sing. Well our friend is a singer with a wonderful voice and studies music and singing. Long story/short, our friend now teaches voice lessons and buys her organic chicken eggs from the lady, and my fiance is now going to learn organic farming for our yard; So this is good right? Can we really judge something as good or bad? Do we ever have enough data to see the big picture?
Well what all of the teachers of the past have taught is that you should not judge something as good or bad. We just don’t know the whole picture; we may never know the whole picture. So what to do. How to be happy; what if the world falls apart; how will we survive; what to do??? It sure seems bad; but there is a lot of good too……
The issue here is how do you derive your peace; your happiness? Is it from the circumstances in your life? If so, then prepare for the roller coaster. But if you listen to the great teachers, you will see that true happiness comes from within and that we are all truly connected in ways we cannot fathom. So what are we here for and what is our purpose; And how do we find true peace and happiness?
There is a term called yin and yang. It is useful to know about because it can show us how to connect to our true selves, to everyone else, the universe, the source and how to find our true purpose. Life can be thought of as yang; we are born and grow and get bigger, stronger, smarter, acquire more things and get more powerful and then there comes a time, yin, that we start to shrink, get smaller, retire, move slower and ultimately pass on. But what happens between life and death? There is a space when we are neither growing nor shrinking. This is the un-manifested state; where there is no time or anything. This is where that elusive thing that is no thing is; some call it God, others the source, or other words; but words cannot describe it;
This un-manifested state turning into form and returning to un-manifested is replicated throughout the universe; from stars being born and then burning out to animals, to all things; they come and go; We’ll if you think about it consider your breath in the same way. You breathe in and there is an expansion, an effort and then it turns and you breathe out; there is a return and the space between the out breath and the next in breath; that space; that is where you can connect to the infinite, to the source, to God.
Looking at Yoga, Qi Gong, Christianity, Buddhism and all the great teachers you can see that they all spoke of this. Consider the biblical words, “Be still, and know that I am God”. What is it saying? Be still and what happens when you are still? You know. And what do you know? You know God. You don’t just believe it, you know it. And what happens when you know something; I mean really know it? When you know God, or the infinite, the place we all came from and will return to; that is where you find true peace; but also you can start to see that this is your true purpose to connect to the source, to the infinite, to God; To bring consciousness into the world.
So this is a long way to let you know of a method to connect; to know; to find your true purpose. Many have shown this way; I learned it from Eckhart Tolle and John Major Jenkins and can see how my practice of Qi Gong with Ming Tong Gu (chicenter.com) has taken me to the same place. The words ” Be still and know that I am God” also point me to the right place.
How to be still? Here is a way to learn how to be still. Think of the breath as a microcosm of the macrocosm. A few times a day take a few moments to merely notice your breath. Notice the in breath and what you feel with the breath; then notice the top of the breath the space before you start to breath out; continue to notice the out breath; then the most important part; notice the space between the out breath and the next in breath. This space, when there is nothing, this space is the place you will start to notice the infinite. At first it may not seem like much; I mean you cannot really describe it; there is nothing there; just space; but if you do this; if you take the time to do it a few times per day you will start to notice something; a peace, a stillness, a connection. You will be connecting to the infinite; the place we came from and also the source that we are all in right now. The source which is everywhere. It is in this space that you can start to find peace, your purpose and how the infinite is to be expressed through you.
So here are a few thoughts about how to make sense of what is happening in the world. Many of the teachers have pointed to the idea that the world is in a place of transformation into more consciousness. But we can all have a choice. We can be part of this transformation or we can choose to not be part of it. This breath work is a simple but profound way to do that. For more information on these ideas you can read Eckhart Tolle or John Major Jenkins, Ming Tong Gu or many others. Please let me know your thoughts and experiences.
http://www.sdyoga.blogspot.com/ ( meditative breath work Yoga with Molly at Mission Hills Physical Therapy Sundays at 5 pm – $10/session. 928 Ft. Stockton Dr. Ste 201, San Diego, CA 92103 )
http://www.qifieldtherapy.com/ ( Wisdom Healing tm Qi Gong Classes with Federico at Mission Hills Physical Therapy, Wednesday nights 7:15 pm – $16/session, 8 sessions for $96 – First class $8) 928 Ft. Stockton Dr. Ste 201, San Diego, CA 92103)
thanks all
Ralph Havens
ralph@missionhillspt.com
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